OS/2, eCS & ArcaOS - Technical > Programming

Getting started with OS/2 development - any recommendations?

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Doug Clark:
RTAN,

FWIW I agree with Neil that VAC 3.0x is a good choice if you are creating a new app from scratch for OS/2.  I wouldn't worry about the age of VAC v 3 and getting help.  There are plenty of people here on the site that are familiar with that product and can help you when you need it.

If you are intending to build GUI applications you basically have 3 choices with VAC v 3:

1) Code to the Presentation Manager and Control Program API using C or C++.

There are a number of books available for teaching and assistance.  I would recommend "OS/2 2.1 Workplace Shell Programming."  Despite the title the book is really about programming to the PM API.  I believe that book is available online.

2) Code to the IBM Open Class Library (IOC) that is included in VAC 3.x.  The IOC is a extensive set of C++ classes that can be used in place of calls to the PM API.  Coding to the IOC can be faster and easier than coding to the PM API.  But the disadvantages is the GUI part of the library it not UNICODE compatible, and the library was written before C++ was standardized so some of the library classes do not conform to the C++ standard.

This means that if you want to use one of the classes from the standardized C++ library you might have to use the IBM alternative supplied in VAC instead.

I recommend the book "Power GUI Programming with VisualAge C++"  It contains lots of includes sample code.  I believe it is also available online.

3) Use the Visual Builder tool to make your GUI application.  This is a tool for building GUI application/screens by dropping "controls" (parts in Visual Builder terminology) on a composition surface and connecting events, attributes and actions of the control(s)/parts together.  When you click the "build" button the tool creates source code for the application that you then compile with the VAC compiler.

2 books: "VisualAge for C++ Visual Programmer's Handbook",  and "Object Oriented Application Development with VisualAge for C++ for OS/2"  Both books will guide you step by step through building a simple application.  I believe both books are available online.

If you want to program a GUI application in Rexx you might consider DrDialog.  It is more powerful than MAID but simpler (and less powerful) than either VxRexx or VisProRexx.  It is IBM employee written software and has always been free. 

Hope this helps.

Jan-Erik Lärka:
I use OpenWatcom 2.0 Beta 3, a specific build that work well, as it didn't introduce problems as a later one does..., to build support libraries in C/C++ (see post about rexx library for Uniaud).
I do like the visual/gui debugger and come up with ways to debug those libraries and spot problems.

VisualAge v4 visual development was a disappointment.

DrDialog is however my choice to create gui stuff, as one otherwise need to invent new wheels over and over again.
VX-Rexx seem more powerful, but writing SOM code for must be a daunting task and the image control lack so much compared to DrDialog.

There's a lack of a grid control (no, not ValueSet, grrrr) and additional controls to use for the whole os.

Pete:
Hi Richard

An alternative to c and rexx is pascal - very similar to c.

WDSibyl is a fairly good RAD system, similar to Delphi, and may be of interest https://wdsibyl.org/en/


Regards

Pete

Olafur Gunnlaugsson:

--- Quote from: Pete on December 28, 2023, 05:10:09 pm ---Hi Richard

An alternative to c and rexx is pascal - very similar to c.

WDSibyl is a fairly good RAD system, similar to Delphi, and may be of interest https://wdsibyl.org/en/

--- End quote ---

That website has some issues, you can try the os2.org archive instead at https://archiv.os2.org/

RTAN:
I really appreciate everyone's continued replies, thank you very much for your thoughts, opinions, comments about pro's & con's, and links to other sites. There's certainly a lot of options here so I'll take time to look at each of those in detail. What a great community that's so keen to offer advice and recommendations!

Best,
Richard.

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