FS & Applications

[S1User]

Not sure why, but for some reason Flowstone appears to be largely desired for it's ability to create VST plugins and Instruments without the relative difficulty of C++. While that's a heck of a selling point (x64 being missing aside), and the main reason I purchased it, I find it odd how it doesn't get more visibility as a general Window development platform, for stand alone apps.

I program in VB.NET, C#, Javascript, and I dabble in a few other scripting languages here and there and long, long, long ago I stumbled on Visual Basic at one of the big box stores and bought it on a lark, having not ever done any coding before and thinking it might be a fun hobby, and it was so easy to use and so logical and readable I was hooked into coding right away.

Now I look at FS and wonder why it doesn't appear to be doing similar, attracting lots of random people who have no desire to be professional developers and just want an easy and logical way to make Windows applications. Do they even really push that aspect of it at all beyond robotics and similar? If not, that's a real shame and imo, a missed opportunity.

When people ask me how to easily do that, make Windows apps, and I know they aren't trying to make Photoshop or trying to learn C or C++ or Java and all that and don't care about all that, I send them to VB Community which is free, easy to learn, and almost instant gratification. When you see internet threads asking those question, FS never gets mentioned.

Along those lines I'm going to develop a small standalone app with FS and maybe blog along the way. I find it a quite fascinating option for throwing together quick Windows applications.

[noisenerd]

I've noticed that most of the users posting here seem to be using it for audio-related things, but I'm not sure if that's misleading as far as the actual user base... it could be that the non-audio people just don't come around here.

In any case, I for one would read that blog.

[RJHollins]

I've had similar thoughts ... FS could be much more.

One thing I find missing ... there seems no way to PRINT something [to a printer]. Even if just basic text/pics ... that would open other possibilities.

[S1User]

Here's the thing... from my perspective anyway...

Something like Visual Basic (a pretty powerful language actually, despite some feeling C# is more powerful which isn't really true) gives "enthusiasts" almost instant gratification. You can sit down with someone who's never coded anything and in like, less than an hour, show them how to make a basic Windows application that actually works.

FS also has that same thing going on, the instant gratification thing, once you spend an hour to grasp it. It has the additional advantage of it working (for testing) without it being compiled (or at least it doesn't seem so) while it has the disadvantage of lots of the standard windows tool sets or classes being missing, or not being standard.

The thing is though... and I'm investigating this... you might somehow be able to call and use the Windows frameworks directly, rather than write a Ruby list box, just call the Windows listbox class, which would nullify that disadvantage if possible.

(is it? I mean, if you can call API functions, can you also instance Window's classes? Can you use the full .NET framework directly from inside FS?)

But yeah, I'm really surprised they don't market it more that way. There are lots of people who'd like to write apps but clearly don't want to (and won't) spend 6 months learning how in C++ or Java or whatever.

[RJHollins]

Can VB generate VST plugins ?

I've been always curious about VB [i think called Visual Studio], as I not a programmer and can't afford years of study/learning to fprint 'Hello World'.

The only 'other' language I got good with was GFABasic ... for the ATARI STe platform. A form of 'Structured Basic'. Sure, I had to study to get good with it, but it was logical. It was easy to test ideas, and the compiled exe was very efficient. It was actual fun to work with.

VB ... just seems interesting, but I avoid reading up on it

[S1User]

Nah, windows apps, dll's, javascript, and web apps and things. It's just a really fast language to develop in, for basic Windows stuff. Once you get into other things like DAW's and plugins you need to go with some kind of C++, or maybe VST.NET.

Anyway... here is the Ruby code where I'm trying to generate a windows listbox via the API, but not getting anywhere. It looks correct and it's not giving any errors, but nothing is happening.

Now I do know when you create an instance from a class on the fly in VB you also do have to literally make it visible to actually see it, but I don't think it's even happening here as watching "cw" appears to show it as 0. If this is possible (or not) I wish someone at the company would speak to it.

I think this may not work at all. I couldn't find any examples of it actually working when Googling it.

Code: Select all

require 'Win32API'

Createwindow = Win32API.new('user32', 'CreateWindowEx', ['l', 'p', 'p',
'l', 'i', 'i', 'i', 'i', 'l', 'l', 'l', 'P'], 'l')

cw = Createwindow.call(0, 'ListBox', 'My List', 0x40000000 |
0x10000000, 0, 0, 200, 100, 0, 0, 0, 0)

[S1User]

I've been always curious about VB [i think called Visual Studio], as I not a programmer and can't afford years of study/learning to fprint 'Hello World'.

Takes all of a minute in VB. It's the easiest language I've ever tried. Visual Studio is more an IDE for all of their supported languages, it uses them all, VB, C#, C++ and some others. The best thing about it is that it's free, as is their version of GIT (VS Online).

Here's "Hello World" in VB...

Code: Select all

Sub Main()
     Console.WriteLine ("Hello World!")
End Sub

One thing for sure, you don't have to spend hours manually coding a Ruby listbox and some other things. But (of course) you can't make VST plugins with it either.

[tulamide]

One thing for sure, you don't have to spend hours manually coding a Ruby listbox and some other things. But (of course) you can't make VST plugins with it either.

And that's the point. VST doesn't allow for Windows controls in the VST window. You get away with everything that opens in it's own window, for example menus or dropdown lists.
Historically, Flowstone is a combination of two specialized applications: Synthmaker and Robotics. It was never intended to be yet another general programming language. Instead it focuses on simplification. Try to program an interface for one of the many Robotics boards without Flowstone. It replaces all the hard lower level programming by ready to go prims. An awesome concept, but not very effective if trying to offer the Windows API as is (A prim for a new window? A prim for a windows control that needs a handle to the active window? Ooh, I see issues arising).

Regarding this I will see with interest what you will come up with. It surely isn't easy.

[Tronic]

@S1User
If you know c++, vb, or other, why you not use the DLL primitive?
You can create windows easly, or other things you like.
If you are an programmer it's an easy task.

[S1User]

I've not looked into the DLL primitive. I'll read up on it.

Oooh... C++, not my thing at all, but I'll look at it anyway.