Juan Said:

what is the best GUI written in VB (any software package) that you know of? Most creative look and feel? (InVB

We Answered:

The most impressive example of a GUI application written in VB (Microsoft Visual Basic) to date is Quicken QuickBooks. It was written in VB and the initial version took less than 2 months to create.

Despite the slim development time the program has been a huge success.


Visual Basic is a programming language and development environment that has one purpose: to create GUI programs. Web programs are something entirely different.

Web programs have user interfaces that operate in a web environment. They generate a document which from a user perspective is a web page. The document will consist of some combination of one or more of the following:
1. HTML
2. XHTML
3. XML
4. SVG
5. MathML
6. XForms (in early adoption phase now)
7. CSS
8. Javascript (also called ECMAScript generically, or JScript if page is IE-specific) - latest version is called E4X (ECMAScript for XML) or JavaScript 1.6
9. Java applet(s)
7. Flash
8. ActiveX controls (if page is IE-specific) using OBJECT tag of HTML/XHTML
9. Plugins (if page is for Netscape/Mozilla or Safari) using EMBED tag of HTML/XHTML


These are not really VB things. Microsoft created ASP (Active Server Pages) as their attempt to bring BASIC to HTML web pages. Essentially, they did it by allowing you to merge the two.


Converting a VB program to ASP is probably very difficult. Even if you accomplished it, it is probably a very bad idea. Since Visual BASIC is proprietary and not a standard, the programmers at Microsoft tend to change the VB language itself a little or a lot with each release. Every version of VB requires you to make changes. Some versions - like going from VB3 to VB4 or VB6 to VB.NET have forced VB developers to make huge changes to their programs, just to get them running in the new version.

In contrast, many programs written by Java developers back in 1995 still run.

VB programs are also notorious for tightly weaving their GUI with their data modules, business logic.


Java and other OOP languages make it simpler to create a separate layer for each of the folowing: view-controller GUI elements, application model, domain model, and persistence/storage model. This approach, which Java technologies facilitate, make it easy to move a big chunk of your program from a desktop GUI client to web application or web service servers. Or the other way.


Sun just made their programming tool for creating Java applications that work on the web free. It is called Java Studio Creator 2. I have included links to its page, as well as an article describing the original version of JSC - just for background.

Sun is also continually creating more advanced tools for developers to harness the latest approaches to solving IT problems for businesses. You might want to glance at the Java Studio Enterprise preview page I included a link to. It is more than you would want now. But I think it will give you a sense of security that if your responsibilities increase you will find increasingly powerful Java tools available to you.


Things like Yahoo Maps use something called AJAX - Asynchronous Java and XML. They are web pages which contain some JavaScript in them. They use one Javascript function in particular, XmlHttpRequest that was created by Microsoft a few years ago. It works in IE, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari web browsers. It sends an HTTP request to the web server.


As for changing a GUI appearance without rewriting the program - there are several terms for this. Most commmonly, the words used are "skinning" and "theming". Sometimes, especially in Java, the term is "LAF" (Look and Feel).

In Java desktop and client apps, you can create a custom reusable LAF and use it in all your applications. Some stock ones come with it too, to give it a unique non-1998 look or even make it look like the current desktop apps it is running alongside.

On webby apps, as you put it, you use something called CSS. I have included a link to an article that describes what is involved in using CSS to control appearance. It has some links off to some excellent sites that will show you how to create beautiful looking web apps.


In order to create a web application, at this time, you are probably going to need to know some HTML and some CSS. They are good to know, easy to learn, and simple to try out - I kind of know you have access to a web browser right now!

You can view HTML for existing web pages, glance at the specs at W3.org, and create your own simple web pages and save them on a file on your hard drive to examine with your favorite web browser(s). Mess around with the HTML and the CSS.


In the future, create form-based web applications like you are probably interested in now, will get much simpler.

In 2006, you will probably start to see some companies streamlining their web application creation process using a combination of XForms/XHTML plus CSS. The Javascript that allows rapid validation/recalculation updates by writing custom programs for each page to run in the browser will probably start to fade away over the next couple of years. These things are handled nicely by XForms and it makes no sense to keep writing custom programs to do it for each web page, web application, enterprise, or platform.


Note that a lot of these technologies can be combined. Web standards are, or are at least becoming, very modular. Picking and choosing which ones make sense for meeting your particular requirements and personal preferences is not only possible - it is encouraged!


Sadly, VB does not appear skinnable out of the box. I searched around in vain for articles on skinning VB applications without getting proprietary, third-party components. Instead, it appears there are lots of different third party components from different companies. No doubt they are all incompatible with each other. Most likely, they will break when the next version(s) of VB come out. You will either have to upgrade when that happens, or punt and start over.


Speaking of starting over, how much work it takes to go from VB to Java depends on how much code you can reuse. There are tools, like the one from Diamond Edge, that convert VB to Java. Search around on the web or in magazines and you will probably find more.


Alternatively, you can try to port your VB application to C# and stay with the Visual Studio type of tools. Personally, I find they rely too much on "code generators" which is something that never really worked well for 20 years before Microsoft tried it - and has not been working too well for developers after Microsoft tried it either. The problem with code generated by Visual Studio "wizards" is that in meeting real world requirements, you have to change the wizard generated code.

Microsoft's solution, which I have been reading about this year, are things called Software Factories and Domain Specific Languages. It is looking like Microsoft will be applying this in a really weird way. Visual Studio will basically become equipped with wizard wizards!


This sounds attractive at first. Huge explosions of code created with very little input/effort up front. No doubt what will follow is an even greater headache of retooling and rework has programmers strain to deal with changing business requirements and physical data layouts/representations.

If you want a quick-and-dirty short-term solution, check into one of the myriad skinning products for VB.NET applications. You will probably regret it in a year - two years tops. If your app is only going to be used for one more year anyway, then you probably do not care.

If your application is going to be around for another five or ten years, then you should look at the Java technologies and web standards I have listed and outlined the use of. There are plenty of links that I mentioned that I am including with this solution to get you introduced to these subjects.


I have another piece of advice. My observation is that the "half life" of a given piece of Microsoft technology is about 3 years. That is, within 3 years after its introduction onto the market for sale - it is half "used up". Microsoft's own programmers have already grown tired of it. The team maintaining it quite possibly has been replaced with newer ones. The old team or a new group of developers in the company is now touting the "next big thing" and they and the company start to charge off in that direction.

Backward compatibility, especially for products like VB as well as many non-VB APIs and development tools, tends to get sacrificed. But if you look at Java, that has not happened very often or much.

Java and web technologies tend to have a much more smooth, continuous growth. Apps written in them can evolve much more easily, especially with a little forethought in their planning. There are loads of good tools and good advice out there to help do that.

Many Java and web tools/libraries/languages are completely free - so you do not have to shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars per developer or user desktop. The price of developer tools and per-user desktop runtime royalty fees can really be quite high with most of these Microsoft products and third-party add-ons!

Anna Said:

Do any writers out there Know?

We Answered:

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Viola Said:

What reason could I give to a university as to why I'm choosing web design and not Software design?

We Answered:

You'd tell them, maybe, you know in advance you don't have the background for software design (like heavy duty math skills), and that you're being mature and realistic enough to know that software design is not your sensible direction for highest achievement.

Or describe visual and graphics interests as opposed to grim and tedious pure full-time grunge logic.

Richard Said:

What songwriting software would you recommend for a computer novice?

We Answered:

Bless your heart! I have been through the handwriting process. It's a pain.
My dear friend, who is also a song writer got a new computer and gave me her old PC which has Sibelius music writing program on it. I have been so happy to finally get my music on paper in a more professional looking and more easily readable form. I really can't say about other programs. But, I really like this one for my needs. I have done lead sheets with melody and chord markings, piano or keyboard and voice, as well as parts. There are many features which I have not yet learned to use, including playing the music as you want it and the program writing it for you. This is a good for people who have piano skill. I am a vocalist with limited keyboard ability, even though I am a trained musician.
I hope this info helps and may your songs bring joy to many.

Willard Said:

How can I get my sons books of short stories published?

We Answered:

Well, it's great that he has a supportive parent. At first, I thought you were going to say that he was 7 or something, because I was going to direct you to self-publishing. Give him the tools he needs to research this information himself. He's the writer and the aspiring author, so he needs to do this research himself. It's easy for moms, dads, and other family members to be supportive, which is why people who are serious about becoming authors won't take seriously the reviews of family and friends - they're known to say that everything their son, daughter, family member writes is great. The best thing for you to do is read it and give him serious feedback. Telling him it's great won't help him get published. Telling him how he can make it better WILL go a long way with helping him get published. Encourage him to find writers groups, either locally or over the Internet, so that he can get feedback on the technical aspects of writing a publishable manuscript.

I'm serious. Just because it's fun to read and has a lot of action doesn't make it publishable. The number one reason people's manuscripts get rejected is because they can't write to save their lives. By "they can't write" I don't mean they can't write a compelling story, but that their manuscripts are wrought with a million and one grammar and spelling errors and has plot holes galore. Make sure your son's manuscript is in top form before he sends it off. This isn't information I've made up, this is information I've gotten from publishers and literary agents. I've read one publisher's blog (Del Rey) where the editor said that in order for them to buy a manuscript it has to be 95% of the way publishable. If the manuscript needs a lot of editing then they'll reject it, no matter how entertaining it is. So, if your son is serious about publishing then he needs to do a lot of research so he can know what to expect and what his manuscripts needs in order for a publisher to buy it. There are many books he can buy and websites and blogs he can visit to get the information he needs to have a manuscript that publishers might be interested in. I did a lot of research and that research helped improve my manuscript before I even started (literally!), because I was able to prevent many of the amateur writer mistakes that plague many new writers.

I suggest Stephen King's On Writing. King gives advice to aspiring writers and tells how he got his start in writing. He also says that there is only one book that's good enough to get his recommendation for aspiring writers and it's Shrunk and White's Elements of Style. Help him find critique groups so he can get feedback from other writers, and starting today, when you read his work give him honest feedback. Let him know if something doesn't make sense. Let him know if there are continuity issues. Let him know if he should delete a character, scene or chapter. Let him know if he should expand on something or give a character or scene more time to play out. That kind of feedback makes him better, so don't be afraid to give him constructive criticism.

I'm happy that you're excited about it, but his manuscript has to be better than 99% of those being submitted to agents and publishers, so help him get there. Also, if he hasn't then have him start editing his work, get feedback, edit it some more, and then start on a new story. ONe thing about publishing, all my information comes from extensive research, is that short stories aren't being bought by publishers unless the author has been previously published or he is already an established author. There isn't a market for short stories by unknown writers; people aren't buying those types of books. He should start submitting his work to magazines that publish those types of stories and that will open the door to being commercially published.

I intentionally left out self-publishing. If anyone wants their work to be read by the masses then self-publishing isn't going to give you that. Very few self-published books reach that status. But, if you have the time to market, promote, and sell his book and you have the money to spend hiring a top quality editor, publicist, marketer, and cover designer then he might have a chance of selling lots of books going the self-publishing route, but it takes a lot of time, money, effort, and skill to make that happen.

Good luck and have him start researching magazines that publish those types of short stories and make sure he gets feedback from other writers. Also, as far as software goes, I write my novels on Microsoft Word, but there are other writing programs he can use if he doesn't have Word.

Clayton Said:

Any tips on writing scripts and screenplays?

We Answered:

every page is one minute on screen dont write camera or character descriptions like micheal landon the cast just walked in and if thats who he though would be good for the part they got that part he very rarely wrote character descriptions and for format you can go on to many different websites and they will explain it yes you can buy software but you dont have to and if you dont format it right companies will throw it away
~~~Daddy's Baby Girl~~~