If you’re like many experienced software developers, you long for the days when less was more. I started this programming journey in 1981 with my parents’ gift of a Commodore 64 computer and cassette tape storage device. Even as a 12 year old, I had no interest in games, yet I quickly delved into learning BASIC programming. I wasn’t even thinking of information technology or computer science as a future career. As a kid who liked to tinker with electronic gadgets, I was solely interested in learning how to make a computer do things. That was relatively early on in world of personal computer use.
However, in today’s world, almost everyone has some type of personal computer, even if just a smart phone. Therefore as a budding coder, you may indeed be seeking to pursue a computer science related career, but wish the process of getting started was less daunting. There are such an overwhelming number of programming languages along with many different integrated development environments (IDE) for each language. On the surface, this plethora of choices appears positive. However, it has actually had the deleterious effect of hindering entry of new coders to the industry by increasing the learning curve, extending development times and creating less standardization. The ultimate result of this is an application development industry where everything from the training of coders to distribution of software hinders the rapid evolution from idea to solution. Add to that the number of platforms today compared to yesteryear: Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Linux, Raspberry Pi, ESP8266 & Arduino. In essence, we’ve buried the joy of coding underneath an unnecessarily vast expanse of too many choices. How can a new programmer get started? And how can an experienced coder keep their knowledge current with so many different languages spanning so many different platforms?
Enter B4X by Anywhere Software, the official language for rapid application development on all of the above-mentioned platforms. With B4X as the core of your development kit, you have everything you need to develop real-world, robust, cross-functional applications. Simply learn one common, core language for mobile, web, Android, iOS, IoT, desktop or server.
Example Code:
Sub Process_Globals
Private fx As JFX
Private MainForm As Form
End Sub
Sub AppStart (Form1 As Form, Args() As String)
MainForm = Form1
MainForm.RootPane.LoadLayout("Layout1") 'Load the layout file.
MainForm.Show
End Sub
Furthermore, the B4X family is replete with educational resources to encourage and foster your journey to develop business solutions, games, utilities, and automated time-saving processes. There are video tutorials, written documentation, and an extensive array of fully functional example programs for each of the IDE’s. And unlike proprietary solutions, many of which only work on one platform in either native, web or hybrid formats, B4X is an all-in-one solution. Every IDE in this arsenal is 100% free for personal or commercial use with the exception of the iOS development tools. And speaking of iOS development, you won’t need to own a Mac as B4X hosts an on-line builder service. The Hosted Builder allows you to connect to your iOS devices via the B4X Bridge for debugging and eventually release compiling of your next great app.
B4X has been used successfully by large corporations, private firms and indie game developers to develop some great apps. With features such as resumable code, a WYSIWYG visual designer, auto-fill, and a generous and complete set of libraries, you have a complete solution for all your programming needs.
The main IDE window:
The Visual WYSIWYG Designer:
No longer do you have to install and configure Visual Studio, Android studio, buy a Mac in order to gain access to the Swift or Objective-C SDK’s within Xcode, or set up multiple coding, simulation and testing environments. B4X allows you to concentrate on moving from idea to final application solution quickly and all within one IDE environment while writing lines of code based on one official programming language. Begin your coding journey with an all-in-one solution or simply enjoy writing code again with a development kit that works for you as opposed to you having to adapt to it. And when you do need some assistance or just want to share your latest creation, there is a friendly user forum with over 100 thousand members with whom to collaborate.