Top Graphical RAD Tools / Programming Languages to make Graphical Desktop Applications on Linux

[mudassir]

Hi, This thread is dedicated to all Software Developers.. and welcome their opinion on choosing the right Programming Language and Graphical RAD Framework for making (ideally cross-platform) Desktop Applications... on Linux, or say Mint Also to assist former Visual Basic Classic / Visual FoxPro Programmers to choose a good platform / language. As both the languages are discontinued and people used to develop application with these tools are (still) seeking a platform to work / port projects.

Classic Visual Basic (VB6), one of the most widely used programming languages was officially discontinued on 28 April, 2008 but after almost 16 year, it surprisingly stands strong at Rank 23 in TIOBE Index - Feb 2024.

Another (one of the best) RAD tools for making data-centric applications, Visual FoxPro got it's last release on Dec 2004 (though a patch was released in 2007), it discontinued and support ended in Jan 2010 but still stands at Rank 27 in TIOBE Index - Feb 2024.

That (I believe) is sufficient to back the claim that these languages are still in use. And a good number of applications made in these languages are functional around the world. But as both the languages are officially discontinued by their developer, anyone used to code in them is seeking an alternative. Preferably some programming language with graphical UI designer and ability bind code for events.

Note: This thread is made for General Discussion and to get input from developers. If you used to write programs in some language, your input is valuable for many people going through this page in hope to find some information. Please be kind to share your opinion. Thank you.

[mudassir]

I never wanted to be the fist to advice any Language / Framework to use on Linux Mint for Rapid Application Development. But here we go anyway.. Here's a list of some great frameworks, I tested and find helpful.. Not in any particular order but the list would go through several edits whenever I test and list any new entry.


Lazarus / FreePascal:

Lazarus is a free, cross-platform IDE for Rapid Application Development, language used is FreePascal. Lazarus and Free Pascal strives for write once compile anywhere. Since the exact same compiler is available on all of the major platforms. So, all you need to do is compile your application to run on desired platform i.e. Linux, Windows or MacOS or others. The language, FreePascal is so capable and extensible. Lazarus IDE provide:

• A graphical / visual User Interface designer

• Lots of capable GUI widgets (controls) or visual components such as edit boxes, buttons, dialogs, menus, etc.

• Non-visual components for common behaviors

• Various data-connectivity components for MySQL, PostgreSQL, FireBird, dBase, FoxPro, VFP, Oracle, SQLite, Sybase, and others

• Data-aware widget set / data-bound controls

• Interactive debugger

• Code Completion, Syntax Highlighting.

What I like most in Lazarus: Almost everything, just a few to mention.. Very well-build Graphical Interface / Form Designer with a lot of widgets / controls. The language FreePascal is very capable. Rich Code editor packed with required features. Data connectivity is good. It's highly extensibility via custom components. Community is strong and supportive.

Links:
Lazarus Homepage | Lazarus Documentation | Free Pascal Documentation | Forum

Many thanks to billyswong, AndyMH and BwingBob to introduce me such a wonderful RAD Framework and Great Language.



Gambas:

Gambas is a free and very well built IDE for Rapid Application Development and the language is an object-oriented dialect of well known BASIC Programming Language. It is designed to build graphical applications for Linux or Unix like operating systems (only) using QT or the GTK toolkit. Gambas is developed by French programmer Benoît Minisini, having the goal to make a free software development environment that could quickly and easily make programs with user interfaces. The language is versatile and easy to learn. Gambas provide:

• A very neat graphical development environment / form designer

• Lots of capable GUI widgets (controls) such as edit boxes, list, grid, buttons, dialogs, menus, etc.

• Non-visual components for common behaviors

• Data-connectivity components for PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite2, SQLite3, ODBC

• Data-bound controls

• Capable Code editor support Code Completion, Syntax Highlighting.

• Fast compiler

What I like in Gambas: Well, it's too good.. the language is very well known, easy to adapt and the IDE is so neat.. very well-build Graphical Interface Designer, lot of widgets / controls. Beautifully designed Rich Code editor packed with required features. Data connectivity is good. Community is helpful, though not so big.

Links:
Gambas Homepage | Documentation | Gambas wiki | Forum

[BwingBob]

What I like in Gambas: Well, it's too good.. the language is very well known, easy to adapt and the IDE is so neat.. very well-build Graphical Interface Designer, lot of widgets / controls. Beautifully designed Rich Code editor packed with required features. Data connectivity is good. Community is helpful, though not so big.

Took a look at Gambas today, it looks pretty good and it produces appimages! I have not done any VB programming in a while, did some QuickBasic back in the DOS day because it was free and came with DOS. Might try it for a quick utility, not sure I want to start anything big with it just yet.

Bob

[mudassir]

Took a look at Gambas today, it looks pretty good and it produces appimages! I have not done any VB programming in a while, did some QuickBasic back in the DOS day because it was free and came with DOS. Might try it for a quick utility, not sure I want to start anything big with it just yet.

Yes, it might be good and easy for quick utilities.. I would give it a full test run by doing some personal project or maybe for some Linux-only program idk. But there is a QtBasic or Basic for Qt, that may be used for cross-platform applications.. Here's the link to their website, if somebody is interested.

[BwingBob]

Took a look at Gambas today, it looks pretty good and it produces appimages! I have not done any VB programming in a while, did some QuickBasic back in the DOS day because it was free and came with DOS. Might try it for a quick utility, not sure I want to start anything big with it just yet.

Yes, it might be good and easy for quick utilities.. I would give it a full test run by doing some personal project or maybe for some Linux-only program idk. But there is a QtBasic or Basic for Qt, that may be used for cross-platform applications.. Here's the link to their website, if somebody is interested.

Gave Gambas a test. I recreated a utility that I wrote to use at work, calculates the proportional and integral terms of a PID controller based on a bump test. It started out life as a spread sheet, I later added a VB form in excel. I ported it to Gambas and had Gambas create a .deb that I installed on my work laptop. Everything worked perfectly. I even added some addition error testing of the inputs.

The deb install properly and added the application to my menu.

This took about 4 hours. Pretty cool.

Bob

[mudassir]

Perfect! Glad to know it worked for you
I have not made any real thing in Gambas yet. Just some forms for several random tests.

[Michael Thomas Greer]

I’ve been playing with wxWidgets (a C++ GUI library). I like it a lot.

+1 on Lazarus/FPC too.

[BwingBob]

I’ve been playing with wxWidgets (a C++ GUI library). I like it a lot.

+1 on Lazarus/FPC too.

If you are playing with wxWidgets you should look at wxFormBuilder https://github.com/wxFormBuilder/wxFormBuilder

Bob