4D is what drove me to develop OOFILE about 12 years ago, as a c++
alternative.
BTW C++ is not necessarily arcane - you can use C++ very successfully
with a relatively junior team to produce a robust product by
enforcing some limits on what language features people use. You
couldn't develop a cross-plaform solution in RB or Java that would
deploy on, for example, 68K Macs, Windows 486 machines with 16MB RAM
etc. (OK, not in modern RB, I didn't start using it until 4.5 so
can't comment on earlier versions).
The things that keep ME using RB (although finding the transition
from RB5 to 2007 a bit painful)
1) the framework really is VERY good - speaking as a cross-platform
framework developer who also works in wxWidgets. I haven't compared
it to Qt but it solves some ugly problems in event handling and
encapsulating logic better than most GUI environments, even the ones
that are single-platform.
2) The language hits a bit of a sweet spot by enhancing Java-style
interfaces with operator overloading (rarely needed but really worth
it when adding data types) and in particular the 'extends' model,
which is responsible for much of Objective-C's reputation for
productivity.
3) The integration of IDE, language and framework is like Apple's
integration of hardware and OS - it's a competitive advantage. RB
would be a lot less plausible if it was just another language and IDE
without the framework.
4) The cross-platform bundling, especially making Windows deployment
easy. I would consider wxPython as a second choice to RB but shipping
built solutions with it is painful.
Andy Dent BSc MACS http://www.oofile.com.au/
OOFILE - Database, Reports, Graphs, GUI for c++ on multiple platforms
REALbasic, Python, Mac and Windows development and porting
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