It uses Object Pascal as language, which is easy to learn, just like Xojo ist. But it also uses Visual Studio Code. They got it managed to develop a superb set of plugins for VSC to integrate a visual drag and drop designer.
The frontend compiles to javascript, html and css and the application brings it own webserver. Also just like Xojo does.
I haven’t had my hands on it, but I will for sure. But I read some user feedback and article on the web, it seems to be very stable and easy to use.
Dunno, was written in an article I suppose, but I can be wrong.
Currently I hadn’t had my fingers at it, so I am not really sure how it works. But I assume that it works similar to Xojo, since this makes the most sense, doesn’t it?
It doesn’t produce a server application, like Xojo does. It compiles to CSS, HTML and pure Javascript and is meant as frontend framework.
The connection to an backend works over socket-like objects (I think it uses the .fetch-API). The Backend has to provide an Restful API. With this it is more similiar to regular webdevelopment, where your frontend is separated from the backend. Which is in my opinion su much superior to the approach Xojo is using. But it also makes bit more complex.
As every regular webapp is.
The cool thing is, that you can also develop your server and you API in Pascal (or in PHP, Python, Node.JS) in VSCode right next to the frontend. So it feels like you work on one actual project, like in the other RAD-Tools.
Conclusion:
I haven’t seen such a vast frontend tool yet, where you doesn’t use Javascript.
But since you develop the server separately, the only advantage is the RAD/Drag’nDrop approach, compared to other frontend frameworks, like React, Angular or Svelte, which I would still prefer.
No problem at all. The CLI just comes WITH the IDE. It only works after install and proper license activation. It does not diminish their sales, the opposed, it just adds convenience.
What @npalardy meant was, Xojo knows best, and they know that people dont want to use another IDE.
For cuting edge technology and Tech Trends For Programmers xojo now uses Var
But on topic, looks like an interesting option, but in the page says that the vscode support is limited, this is intended to be used in embarcadero delphy or lazarus,
The current way the language is handled make it impossible to be a free style coding system. The language need to evolve very much to a point that all those cryptic #tag things die and more keywords and few annotations are introduced. “Imports” should be introduced too to make it a more modular free style code system, etc. not just the current “modules”. To make this thing work as it should be for a great CLI experience AND still being correctly loaded and presented in the IDE in a tree view as today (but showing inconsistencies needing fixes) will be really a huge task.
