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I would like to write a small Windows program for myself with a very short list of requirements (that I am aware of):

  • I am not the least bit interested in OO
  • It must access an embedded database like MS Access.
  • It must be a Windows Form application with standard controls like edit, grid, button, etc.
  • I've never seen Eclipse so Visual Studio is my preferred IDE.

I assume I can achieve this with the Visual COBOL Person Edition, correct?

I am confused by the choice of NATIVE vs MANAGED. Does it matter in my case? Considering my project, what are the merits of one over the other?

If someone is aware of a tutorial or book that can take me through the process, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.


#VisualStudio
#managed
#VisualCOBOL
#nativecobol

I would like to write a small Windows program for myself with a very short list of requirements (that I am aware of):

  • I am not the least bit interested in OO
  • It must access an embedded database like MS Access.
  • It must be a Windows Form application with standard controls like edit, grid, button, etc.
  • I've never seen Eclipse so Visual Studio is my preferred IDE.

I assume I can achieve this with the Visual COBOL Person Edition, correct?

I am confused by the choice of NATIVE vs MANAGED. Does it matter in my case? Considering my project, what are the merits of one over the other?

If someone is aware of a tutorial or book that can take me through the process, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.


#VisualStudio
#managed
#VisualCOBOL
#nativecobol

Hi Bob13 

Yes, you can achieve what you want using Visual COBOL.

If you want to use Windows Forms you will be using managed code, and also OO, but you can call non-OO code from that. Visual Studio has tools to create Windows Forms and you can do so in managed COBOL or another language such as C# or VB. 

Managed code is code that is compiled to .NET intermediate language (IL) and runs using the Microsoft .NET runtime. Compiling to .NET enables straightforward use of .NET APIs such as the Forms you are interested in and interoperability with other .NET languages eg C#. The term also applies to code compiled to Java byte code. Native is code that is compiled to machine code.

The Visual COBOL product includes samples and tutorials of Windows Forms that should help you get started and there is an excellent book called Visual COBOL: A Developer's Guide to Modern COBOL by Paul Kelly.

I hope that helps,

Gael

Hi Bob13 

Yes, you can achieve what you want using Visual COBOL.

If you want to use Windows Forms you will be using managed code, and also OO, but you can call non-OO code from that. Visual Studio has tools to create Windows Forms and you can do so in managed COBOL or another language such as C# or VB. 

Managed code is code that is compiled to .NET intermediate language (IL) and runs using the Microsoft .NET runtime. Compiling to .NET enables straightforward use of .NET APIs such as the Forms you are interested in and interoperability with other .NET languages eg C#. The term also applies to code compiled to Java byte code. Native is code that is compiled to machine code.

The Visual COBOL product includes samples and tutorials of Windows Forms that should help you get started and there is an excellent book called Visual COBOL: A Developer's Guide to Modern COBOL by Paul Kelly.

I hope that helps,

Gael

Thank you for taking the time for this thorough answer. Do you mind if I send you a PM with more questions?

Thank you for taking the time for this thorough answer. Do you mind if I send you a PM with more questions?

The best way to get answers to your questions will be to post them to the forum rather than via PMs. I won't be able to answer questions about MS Access or your other question about getting Personal Edition for example but there are likely to be others viewing the forum who can.

I would like to write a small Windows program for myself with a very short list of requirements (that I am aware of):

  • I am not the least bit interested in OO
  • It must access an embedded database like MS Access.
  • It must be a Windows Form application with standard controls like edit, grid, button, etc.
  • I've never seen Eclipse so Visual Studio is my preferred IDE.

I assume I can achieve this with the Visual COBOL Person Edition, correct?

I am confused by the choice of NATIVE vs MANAGED. Does it matter in my case? Considering my project, what are the merits of one over the other?

If someone is aware of a tutorial or book that can take me through the process, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.


#VisualStudio
#managed
#VisualCOBOL
#nativecobol

I now understand that MANAGED code is the better choice for my needs. If I go this route, will the final result be an .EXE?

As I stated initially, I'm not interested in learning OO programming but @Gael Wilson says my projects will include some OO and I'd like to understand more about that. I ASSume that will be related to the controls but I'm not sure. I guess my question is, where is OO code mandated and where can I use Structured Code which is what I am most familiar and comfortable with?

I now understand that MANAGED code is the better choice for my needs. If I go this route, will the final result be an .EXE?

As I stated initially, I'm not interested in learning OO programming but @Gael Wilson says my projects will include some OO and I'd like to understand more about that. I ASSume that will be related to the controls but I'm not sure. I guess my question is, where is OO code mandated and where can I use Structured Code which is what I am most familiar and comfortable with?

If you use the Windows Forms project template then the default is to compile to an EXE. If you create other projects containing programs that need to be called by the main executable then those should be compiled as Class Library projects. These will compile as .DLLS. Windows Forms code is generated as OO code so you will need to have a general understanding of how it works. Basically the controls on the forms generate an event which in turn will invoke an event handler which is a method in your class.

I think what you need to do, when you get the product, is give it a try and follow the tutorials in the docs. This will give you a better understanding of how it all fits together.

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