Improve Visual Basic 6.0 support in ReactOS

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Z98
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Re: Improve Visual Basic 6.0 support in ReactOS

Post by Z98 »

Konata, you're misreading dizt3mp3r's position. He's not suggesting the team create an alternate implementation of the VB6 runtime, he's suggesting the team get the currently existing runtime and IDE functioning on ReactOS.

That is not an unreasonable goal since at a basic level support for VB applications is equivalent to supporting any other program that requires a custom runtime that exists for Windows, but as a thought exercise let's consider the work that this requires. First, obviously one needs to get a copy of said runtime and IDE. Then we would need a large number of example applications written in VB. These would then need to be tested on ReactOS with debug logs generated to record any errors to crop up. Outright failures and their conditions would also need to be documented. That raw data would then have to be analyzed by the developers to determine what the cause of failure or errors is. If the cause of the error is due to a bug in Wine, things can get sticky since getting fixes to Wine tends to be cumbersome. If the cause is in ReactOS' own code, then it kind of depends on the complexity of the issue for how long it'll get fixed. But this of course presumes that a developer can find time to wade through all the data. Or testers can come up with the raw data in the first place. Manpower, as always, is a limiting factor.
DOSGuy
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Re: Improve Visual Basic 6.0 support in ReactOS

Post by DOSGuy »

That being the case, I generally prefer that developers focus on the big picture -- the fixes that will give ReactOS the broadest compatibility -- rather than focus on specific applications whose fixes might not benefit any other software. VB6 support would be great, but would it be reason enough to use an operating system that BSODs on any other software? ROS should support all Windows software, so report bugs that you find in any program. I just don't see the point in devoting a lot of effort to support one specific application while the OS is in alpha stage (with the exception of those applications required by the Community Edition). When ROS can print, use NTFS partitions, fully support USB, and run most Windows software, then spending a lot of time working on support for specific applications starts to make more sense. You have to build the foundation before you start furnishing the house.
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Webunny
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Re: Improve Visual Basic 6.0 support in ReactOS

Post by Webunny »

DOSGuy wrote:That being the case, I generally prefer that developers focus on the big picture -- the fixes that will give ReactOS the broadest compatibility -- rather than focus on specific applications whose fixes might not benefit any other software. VB6 support would be great, but would it be reason enough to use an operating system that BSODs on any other software? ROS should support all Windows software, so report bugs that you find in any program. I just don't see the point in devoting a lot of effort to support one specific application while the OS is in alpha stage (with the exception of those applications required by the Community Edition). When ROS can print, use NTFS partitions, fully support USB, and run most Windows software, then spending a lot of time working on support for specific applications starts to make more sense. You have to build the foundation before you start furnishing the house.
I largely agree with this. It's better to go from the general to the specific then vice versa. So it makes more sense to have a broadly good working OS for a lot of programs, then that it only works with a few, but crappy for all the rest. In regard to priorities for coding ROS, I would agree things like full USB support is more important.
PurpleGurl
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Re: Improve Visual Basic 6.0 support in ReactOS

Post by PurpleGurl »

Plus once you fix the big picture, those who have other priorities would have a mature OS base to start from. So if a person wants to add compatibility that may break other things or limit the hardware choices in favor of performance, they could in their own private build. So work on standard ROS for the masses first, and if others have fixes for minor or unsupported things, or they want to create libraries for deprecated functions, they can add those.
my123
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Re: Improve Visual Basic 6.0 support in ReactOS

Post by my123 »

Isn't there quite a lot of docs for it?
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