Charlie's RAD.sb

a rapid application development
framework for SpiderBasicยฉ
- Doc Version: 2020-05-28 12:43am -

PLEASE NOTE
RAD.sb is in very early development.


Site Content

RAD.sb Support Tools


Legal Stuff and Credits

Check out these RAD.sb-based SpiderBasic projects:

  • RAD.sb Tester (an application to test and showcase RAD.sb)
  • ASL.sb (an application to help learn American Sign Language)

Tips via PayPal

Welcome

2020-05-23 03:23am

Hello,

I am a career-long SQLWindows (today: OpenText Gupta Team Developer) programmer, just a little over 25 years now.

When I first worked with SQLWindows on a computer science work term back in 1993, I immediately appreciated the product because it worked in a way I think:

  • English-like (non-cryptic) programming language
  • A very organized outline for source code
  • Folding of source code that has always been best of class, unrivaled back in 1993 and still to this day
  • Object-Oriented in a way that makes sense to me
  • Event-Driven in a way that makes sense to me
  • Excellent for rapid development of database applications

Although a superb product, SQLWindows is much too expensive for hobby-programming. Besides, I have no interest in using any kind of computers other than Linux-enabled Chromebooks at home.

In my quest to find the right hobby-programming tools for home, I found myself extremely frustrated by available options until I discovered SpiderBasic. My likes:

  • English-like (non-cryptic) programming language that feels very familiar (fits right in with the Basic programming experience of my childhood and, along with Pascal and Fortan, the programming experience of my college years )
  • Compilation to javascript for creating client-side web applications
  • A wonderful lightness about it, a certain no-nonsense minimalism that makes it ridiculously fun and enjoyable.

Yet for all of my fascination with the little gem that is SpiderBasic, I found myself continuously frustrated by the lack of structure that suits me so well with SQLWindows. Hence this RAD.sb project.

With RAD.sb, I am attempting to create a framework that facilitates rapid development of database applications with SpiderBasic. With this TiddlyWiki instance, I hope to document the project effort along with technical details about the framework and how to guides about using the framework. Big job!

About RAD.sb

2020-05-23 03:20am

PLEASE NOTE
RAD.sb is in very early development.

RAD.sb is a framework for SpiderBasic that:

  • supports rapid application development
  • enables some object-oriented concepts
  • enhances event-driven programming

Rapid Application Development.(aka "RAD")

About RAD

Rapid-application development (RAD), also called rapid-application building (RAB), is both a general term, used to refer to adaptive software development approaches, as well as the name for James Martin's approach to rapid development. In general, RAD approaches to software development put less emphasis on planning and more emphasis on an adaptive process. [...]

RAD is especially well suited for (although not limited to) developing software that is driven by user interface requirements. Graphical user interface builders are often called rapid application development tools. Other approaches to rapid development include the adaptive, agile, spiral, and unified models.

- Wikipedia

RAD emphasizes the development of functional prototypes that can be quickly designed, developed, and altered/enhanced. Prototypes: