Xojo promotes itself as a Cross-Platform Development tool. Working with cross-platform tools often involves making compromises, and I believe everyone who uses such tools, whether a beginner or a pro, is aware of this. As a result, users are generally willing to accept some workarounds.
For years, this approach has worked reasonably well. Although not perfect, Xojo had valid explanations for its limitations, and it’s worth noting that the company often faced challenges from operating system manufacturers. Ultimately, users were content with the way Xojo adapted to new developments.
As long as Xojo (or Realbasic) focused on desktop applications, the limitations were well-known and transparent. Internet integration was a secondary concern, and users knew what they were getting into.
However, in my opinion, things have changed dramatically since the rebranding to Xojo. More and more promises were made (including some that were unsustainable), marketing efforts increased, and simultaneously, the number of bugs grew. Instead of stabilizing the product, unnecessary priorities were set, in my view. This has led to increased dissatisfaction among customers, as they now have to face reality checks more quickly and are reaching their limits.
A few still stick to Xojo with gritted teeth because they don’t want to learn an alternative or don’t have the time. Although you are actually making life more difficult for yourself in 2023. But everyone has to decide that for themselves.
The idea behind RB/Xojo is still good. But for a handful of developers, the scope is just too big. One could argue that even big companies like MS can’t pull this off, and Xojo does an excellent job. That is certainly correct in part. What such a small team can do is impressive. The only problem I have is that it is not recognized that we have 2023 and that “a good enough from 2008” is no longer sufficient today.
In addition, the world has not remained stagnant. We now have numerous open-source IDEs, many more free programming languages, and a variety of tools that more or less effectively tackle cross-platform development.
Thus, the question arises: under these circumstances, who would want to become a new customer, or who would actively seek out Xojo at all?
In any case, someone who has experienced the benefits of Git and understands the value of IDEs that truly assist, for example, by displaying help in pop-ups and offering autocomplete and refactoring features, will likely be disappointed. IDEs that start quickly and can integrate with any database on the planet make Xojo appear outdated. Xojo seems to have recognized this, indicating that more experienced users are no longer the primary focus.
- well, I was one of them. But that only makes sense with an olympic spirit of supporting a “start up”, etc. - Vintage car owners can’t expect to collect a lot of money via crowd-funding.
