Our June 18th meeting – yes we’re still alive!

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Stephen Carroll

Just quick note that our small yet lively June 18th meeting took place on a not-so-popular father’s day weekend. We had several new members that registered but couldn’t make it (and one that did). I’d like to extend a welcome to our growing group and let everyone know that plans for our next meet up for July will be posted soon.

Meanwhile, RealStudio has released a new version, 2011 release 2. Along with many new improvements, there is a specific addition of an examples folder on the open dialog with a dedicated section for Design Patterns! Our next meet up will surely have lots to talk about. Stay tuned, and keep a look out for our next meet up email announcement.
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RealStudio Design Patterns

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Stephen Carroll

One of the cool things about object oriented programming and dot-syntax based languages (like RealStudio and Java) is the ability to reduce your lines of code while increasing readability and re-usability through “Design Patterns”. The subject of design patterns has been covered thoroughly in other OOP languages but has somehow shockingly escaped all documentation and terminology in RealSoftware and third party resources. Yet it is one of the most powerful assets every developer should have.

Why is this? I believe RealStudio has a bit of a marketing identity crisis. The language is marketed as ‘easy’ and ‘simple’ via its RAD / IDE (rapid application design / integrated development environment) which appeals to hobbyist programmers and professionals alike. But RealStudio’s design is amazingly object oriented. Strict in fact; the IDE forces developers to think in terms of compartmentalized objects and classes with even the editor preventing developers from a single, controversial linear view of all code. RealStudio just recently changed its name from RealBASIC and its friendly support has a large emphasis on VB conversion. But it’s OOP power is underrated. These developers have come to RealStudio with a familiarity from legacy languages like BASIC and entered a booming workforce during the introduction of Object Based (but not fully Object Oriented Programming) concepts. This was at around the time Alan Cooper brought Visual Basic and Bill Atkinson brought Hypercard to the world in the late 1980s (VB was fully baked in 1991). Interestingly, the average age of our user group is about the same age of Alan and Bill (both born in 1951). But that leaves at least a five year gap before the first published OOP book on design patterns in 1995. Being taught to college students would have to wait even longer and grossly expensive environments like Smalltalk inhabited its availability to the hacker community.

Hypercard and Visual Basic Side by Side

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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8 Bit Generation

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Stephen Carroll

The 8 bit generation ushered in the era of home computing. Check out these trailers from Lorenzo Faggi that capture a glimpse of developer history that I’m sure will appeal to new and seasoned authors alike. Hopefully a full featured documentary will come about soon.

Don’t forget to take a moment to vote on our latest meeting poll question at the break!

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Our First Meeting is a Success!

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Stephen Carroll

Our first meet up was a success! With 150,000 users spread out over 130 countries, it was nice to find ten local users that were able to locate this web site and register. Even more surprising was that six of us actually showed up! Real Studio users are still a small group in comparison to some of the languages and IDEs from the larger, publicly traded giants like Oracle or Microsoft. But with a long history of proven cross platform features and talented, passionate users, Real Software is sure to be around.

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Creating reusable out-of-process components

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Stephen Carroll

What is an out-of-process component?

Visual Basic users might be familiar with creating ActiveX EXE components on Windows, but what are they? Simply put, an out-of-process component is an application that exposes its internal objects to other application executables. This allows one program (a client) to call another program (a server) to perform a function and return the result. An application that exposes its internal objects is referred to as the server whereas the calling program is referred to as the client.

Currently, RealStudio does not support the creation of ActiveX executables and similar technology is not standardized across operating system platforms (i.e. ActiveX EXE is a Microsoft Windows only scenario). But fret not, as I’m going to show you how to create out-of-process servers and components that run not only on Windows, but also OS X as well. To do this, I’ll be using a free Open Source library called IPRO (InterProcess Remote Object) Library that you can download and include in your own personal and commercial projects. You can find the download link on the last page of this article. IPRO is written entirely in RealStudio and all the source code is provided for your convenience.

Out-of-process component technology exposes a Real Studio public class i.e. “myClass”
to other Real Studio applications. Create and access objects remotely without having
to write a communication layer or additional code by using a proxy class in the client.

Why create out-of-process components?

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Our First Meeting April 30th at 2pm

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Stephen Carroll

Our first meet and greet is scheduled for April 30th, 2pm at Corner Bakery Cafe in Mission Valley. Since we’re a small group, it would be really awesome if you can take the time and show your support!

To make it worth your while, I’ll be releasing some free code with the group to reveal how to use Real Studio to bring your application development up a notch. I’ll also be available to share and discuss my own experiences as an independent software developer and vendor. Have any questions about commercial or open source licensing and development? I’m not a lawyer, but I’ll do my best to share my own experiences and knowledge with the group. This will be a great opportunity to learn, share and connect with other Real Studio developers in your own back yard! Our agenda follows:

  • Introduction, Meet & Greet with fellow developers
  • Understanding GPL, MIT, Commercial and FSF licenses
  • Developing ‘enterprise’ applications with Steve’s free IPRO Library v 1.0
  • Code Clinic, bring your own experiences and questions to the group

I look forward to seeing you there! Please feel free to contact me should you have any comments or questions.

Regards,
Stephen Carroll
Fellow Real Studio Developer

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Welcome!

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Stephen Carroll

Welcome to the San Diego Real Studio Users Group!

The San Diego Real Studio Users Group is a group of people who share a common interest in Real Software’s technology, specifically Real Studio. We try to meet on a regular basis to share technical ideas and information. The subjects and arrangement of our meetings may vary greatly — from a small number of friends, to a specific hosted topic but always about Real Software’s Real Studio. Come meet with us even if you are just interested in Real Studio, a beginning user, or a seasoned developer! We hope to create a space for a sense of local community spirit around Real Studio.

Unlike meetup.com, we don’t collect nor expect membership fees. Anyone is free to attend. We’ve decided that the best venue is at a casual dining restaurant where as one Real Studio developer put it

The only $$$ out of pocket should be for your lunch/dinner… nothing more

Corner Bakery Cafe in Mission Valley

With that in mind, the user group is a great way to make new friends and connections and get local exposure to Real Studio with little obligation.

We’ve decided that the Corner Bakery Cafe in Mission Valley is the most central and easiest location for our group users.

 

 

Please take a moment to register with this site to receive notifications of our meet up, vote for the next subject topic and/or meet up date. While you’re there, feel free to fill in some information about yourself in your profile.

Regards,
Stephen Carroll
Fellow Real Studio Developer

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