How to create web based desktop software.

14 years ago

Hi

Most desktop languages, like Visual BASIC, will allow interaction with the Internet and with web-based API's.

Another route you may want to consider is Adobe Air. It allows you to build a desktop application using technologies you may already be familiar with, like HTML, JavaScript and Adobe Flash.

Bill

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nicelife 14 years ago

I think you'll be best off using the .NET platform and write Windows desktop applications using Visual Studio.NET or the free version, Visual Studio Express.

Here's the link to the FREE Express versions of the .NET development platform: http://www.microsoft.com/exPress/
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TrafficMystic

14 years ago

I use c#.net but its the same interface. Simply add a new windows form project and add the 'web browser' control and you can manipulate in code.

For scraping you may want to look at the 'http request' and 'http response' objects.
I use those in my scraper apps I create. You can also use the web browser object though.

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customertools

14 years ago

I use Delphi and Objective-C (Objective C is for Mac Applications) to write my Desktop applications and for the web portion I use PHP. If you want to learn to do these style applications I suggest learning a C style language like C, C++, Java, etc.. This will make learning most other major languages easier because they have similar syntax. (PHP and Perl are very easy to pick up if you know C) Do not waist your time with Visual Basic. It's a terrible language (no offense), it inherently teaches bad programming techniques. And I don't suggest learning Delphi, the only reason why I use it is because I've worked with Pascal since high school.

I would probable suggest starting out with Visual C++ or Visual C# if you want to write Windows Applications for Mac I would Suggest learning Objective-C (Mac's come with Xcode on the installation CD which is the compiler you would use on a Mac 99% of the time) Both will make it easy to learn PHP for web applications since they have similar syntax.

-Brad

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Mr. Enthusiastic

14 years ago

If you're brand new to programming, and this is a project for business, this project would be better outsourced. It's a fair amount of work no matter what language or toolkit you use.

I think it's great that you want to learn to write code yourself! I just don't want to see you take this project on as a first project, get swamped and discouraged about learning to code. Kind of like a cross-country drive when you really should lurch around the parking lot a bit more.

Since this is for programs you want to sell, you need to think a bit about the market. Do you want to have a single program that will work on both Windows and Mac? If so, that might rule out Objective-C. It's wonderful on the Mac but as far as I know, there's no runtime for Windows.

Another question is how much you expect to outsource development. If you think that's important, you might like to choose a more popular language like anything based on C, Java, or PHP. If you pick something "exotic" like Lisp, it could be brilliant but when you need help, the world's ten experts may all be busy for the next decade.

The popular languages have plenty of really mediocre coders, but you can also find experts when you need them.

By the way, VB 1 through 6 are thoroughly obsolete. VB.Net is still current and it's a great choice for many business applications.

Brad, I used Delphi a few years ago at work and really liked it a lot. I'd used Pascal in high school and college so it was easy to move to Delphi. Is the development environment still around? I haven't kept up on it since Borland spun it off.

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Dr-Neo

14 years ago

most of development languages can be used for this proposal
Delphi , VB , C , C++ , Pascal , Java , .NET Platform including the C# , VB.NET and C++.net .
its all depend on your needs
most of those languages are OOP " Object Oriented Programming " which mean its a little bit hard to learn couze you need to learn the concept of the OOP First .
for you if you really a newbie in the development world i recommend that you start with Delphi its a little bit easy language to learn

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buddywes1436

14 years ago

I started out on vb then went to delphi. And i must say i love delphi much better. I can spit out an app then vb to me. I also code in some other languages but dephi is prob my most fluent one. I recommend for a newb to go to delphi. The only issue is resources for delphi are limited to those that live in the US

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ibtha14u

11 years ago

Originally Posted by buddywes1436

I started out on vb then went to delphi. And i must say i love delphi much better. I can spit out an app then vb to me. I also code in some other languages but dephi is prob my most fluent one. I recommend for a newb to go to delphi. The only issue is resources for delphi are limited to those that live in the US

Hi,
i am also looking to create a software specific to my country, but never have i done anything of that nature. can anyone help, im mainly looking to outsource it.

Thanks
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fastlaneCoder 11 years ago

I tend to be more of a Java Person for Desktop Apps, but I've dabbled in C# and Python. When it comes to the web I use PHP! I prefer PHP b/c there's more open code available on the net and hosting is usually cheaper and more abundant than Ruby On Rails, Java and C#...but that's just my 2 cents!
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unsmashed

14 years ago

I would recommend you use C#. You can do many internet functions in a desktop app with that language.

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mgkimsal 14 years ago

Very late to the thread here but two things I'd suggest looking at:

RealBASIC - no direct experience with this, but a friend of mine had good experiences using it.

Titanium from Appcelerator - bundles PHP, Ruby, Python and JavaScript libraries in to one downloadable and installable app.

With either of these products above, the net result is an app that will install and run on Windows Mac and Linux. Rather than targeting one platform you can target/support multiples if you want.

You'll likely find doing basic web operations easier in PHP/Python/Ruby easier than C#. $data = file_get_contents("http://www.mysite.com/"); is much simpler to write than the equivalent functionality in C#. It all depends on what you're trying to do, but if you're still looking (or if anyone else is reading this thread) take a look at either of the platforms above (Titanium is free, RealBASIC costs something).
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chuawenching

14 years ago

Can embed Web Browser control into the .NET Windows Forms

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1 reply

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simpleonline1234 14 years ago

I'm in the process of learning too....Visual Basic seemed to come to me easier..I tinkered with it for a few weeks and spit out a few little programs....even built a web browser..... I'm currently thinking about moving over to C# just because there are more options to use......programming in NET is much easier because Visual Express does a lot of the coding for you...
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- chuawenching 14 years ago
  
  it falls back to your background, most people who are new to programming .. will prefer vb
  
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jhoney142

14 years ago

Hi,

microsoft/exPress is free Express versions of the .NET development platform.... This is runs on the .Net

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weaveronline

14 years ago

.net is bet for desktop application

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green_agent

14 years ago

But if you mean a desktop application looking web app, try checking extjs.

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Nail Yener

14 years ago

Thanks to all who contributed to the thread, I now decided on one way to go and that is Visual C#. I am using Microsoft Visual C# Express Edition and it is what I had in my mind.

With its "windows forms application" project I am able to create the things I want.

Thanks
1 reply

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Katie_White 14 years ago

You can make it either in vb.net or c# easily you should use socket programming for it and you will be able to do it. If you have problem making it please send me pm and i am ready to help you
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milo_pl

14 years ago

You make also take a look at Chilkat HTTP component, as an alternative for WebRequest or WebClient. And yes C# or VB.NET are the best langs for that kind of projects, but be prepared for at least 1 month of studying, and get some C# or VB book for beginners.

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darkgray102

14 years ago

With this kind of requirement, .Net is the way to go. I have developed a similar desktop application used by my company's clients in sort of updating a remote server. VisualBasic.Net is just pure awesome!

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jminkler

14 years ago

Shame all these replies and only one mention of Adobe Air. Everyone seems to like to make things so freakin complicated heh

Market Samuri is Adobe Air, and it is the best keyword/seo tool out there for niche finding/promoting

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kidino

14 years ago

Here's what I'll do...

I'll create a custom web application hosted somewhere on the net. Let's say it's mywebapp.com. Users would need to login to it. And then, to make it a desktop application, I would create a custom browser application that has no toolbars, address bar, buttons, etc... and the browser limits the browsing to mywebapp.com only!

To create a browser like that, you can use something like HTML Executable - Website and Ebook Compiler Software ... there options on how you want the browser to behave, buttons, etc... compile a new browser and distribute it.

Let me know if this works out for you.

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getboris

14 years ago

Adobe Air?

Oh someone mentioned it already. If you are not hardcore programmer I would look at Adobe Air. User friendly, relatively easy to use and is designed to integrate with Internet various protocols. And its fun, from what I heard anyway

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RokNStoK

14 years ago

I vote for PowerBuilder! (ducks the eggs and rotten tomatoes)

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kidino

14 years ago

I think this list would solve the problem...

OK, I found 9 ways to easily convert your web application into an EXE desktop application, mostly for PHP. I am not talking about RIA, Flex or PHP-GTK. This is where you code an application and then compile it into a custom browser with built-in web server.

FREE OPTIONS
Bambalam Bambalam PHP EXE Compiler/Embedder 1.21 - Free php to exe converter!
Wapache Wapache - Power of Apache to Go... See More
Embeder win32std:embeder [Wild PHP Wiki]
PHP Apollo Php Apollo - Converts PHP scripts to executable
Roadsend Roadsend

COMMERCIAL OPTIONS
ExeOutput ExeOutput for PHP - Visual PHP to EXE Compiler Software for Windows
ZEE PHPExe ZZEE PHPExe: compile your PHP web scripts into Windows GUI exes
NuSphere PhpDock NuSphere PhpDock - unique php deployment solution
Website Compiler http://www.byterun.com/website-compiler.php

I haven't tested any of those but I am considering ExeOutput. I've used another product from the same company, HTMLEXE, and I like it. I think it could be similar to ExeOutput plus the built-in PHP-compiler or webserver.

Alright, I hope you like the list...

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anwar001

13 years ago

Originally Posted by kidino

I think this list would solve the problem...

OK, I found 9 ways to easily convert your web application into an EXE desktop application, mostly for PHP. I am not talking about RIA, Flex or PHP-GTK. This is where you code an application and then compile it into a custom browser with built-in web server.

FREE OPTIONS
Bambalam Bambalam PHP EXE Compiler/Embedder 1.21 - Free php to exe converter!
Wapache Wapache - Power of Apache to Go... See More
Embeder win32std:embeder [Wild PHP Wiki]
PHP Apollo Php Apollo - Converts PHP scripts to executable
Roadsend Roadsend

.

Thanks for the list of free options. Have you tried any of these free php to exe builders? Do they work with mysql database too?

Thanks
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SteveJohnson 13 years ago

Originally Posted by anwar001

Thanks for the list of free options. Have you tried any of these free php to exe builders? Do they work with mysql database too?

This thread is a year old - why are you trying to resurrect the dead?
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Oakleaf

14 years ago

You can't go wrong with C# if you're on Windows and want to develop web based desktop software. Its got a nice WebRequest class that will allow you to create almost any scraper, pinger etc and the GUI part is really easy to create thanks to the GUI designer.

VB.net might be easier at first but you'll be better off in the long run with C#(easier maintenance, reusability etc).

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LocoDice

14 years ago

Definitely recommend Adobe Air!

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wsylvester

14 years ago

Use Adobe Air, you write code once and it runs on many platforms. The UI library is good and there is reasonable library support. Embedded browser objects are a piece of cake. Code is written in Actionscript3 with layout in MXML. You can buy the Adobe IDE or leverage your own with the now open source library. The new Flash Builder replaced the older Flex Builder and encompasses Flash and Flex, Air is the desktop libraries within Flex.

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propecon

14 years ago

May be it's the software that you want.
"Design rich Web forms and apps that run as fast as desktop apps. Professional developers can extend Alpha Five using open JavaScript libraries, the X basic or SOL languages, Genies and X dialogs, the Report Builder, the Security Framework, over 1000 built-in functions, and more. Programming skills are optional with Alpha Five v10."
I would recommend you to use it

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alyssataylor1962

14 years ago

You must rebuild the entire application regardless of language websites you choose.If you do not know how to program,you need to hire someone to do the job.You need one of these. NET, Java, or perhaps.The only phones will be the data even if you move from Access to SQL Server when the access is not intended to be used as a web interface.

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Beavis 14 years ago

I wrote an email scraper in C# that queries Google or Yahoo, parses through the results and then loads the pages listed, parses those, etc. All done with the .NET framework HTTP... classes and WebClient classes.

I also created a program for a client that has a desktop interface but a browser object window to display proprietary data from their web server.

Since I've used it for years, the Microsoft Visual Studio suite has everything I need to create interactive web tools from desktop software. To each his own, though.
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- GopalG 14 years ago
  
  "Adobe Air" Will be the perfect tool....
  
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ramshankar

14 years ago

hi,
I think .NET platform will suit you very well and you can write your desktop application in Visual Studio or C#.

But the easy way is to use Adobe Air which i am sure you will be familiar.

Thanks

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athaneum

14 years ago

you can try adobe air..it use actionscript and you can also make it into a web application with some minor tweaks

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ddev

12 years ago

I think the age of the thread doesn't count. I arrived to it through a google search and g didn't warn me about the age of it. In fact, new development tools are released from time to time, that's why i don't understand why others should not keep on sharing things here.

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msu

12 years ago

If anyone is still looking for something like this then - depending on exactly what you want to do - an HTML 5 web app running "offline" on the desktop could also work. It's likely to be a lot easier to program too.

Won't suit every application though.

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CPAGodFather

12 years ago

Visual basic with C#. Has a drag and drop interface for the desktop app design. Pretty much all languages will have some way of interacting with http.

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madelinekim

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Nail Yener

I want to ask a simple question about programming as I know close to nothing about it. This is a really basic question to even those who know little about programming.

Which programming language or software or platform will I need if I want to create software which will run on desktop but will interact with web pages. The ones like keyword software, directory submitters, scrapers, posters and so on.

Thank you very much.

Well, As per view you should use ASP.net or PHP. Making web based desktop software is easy. You can even use Wordpress and CMS. Wordpress comes with lots of plugins and also open source.

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y8y8

11 years ago

you design a website with application style like Desktop

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How to create web based desktop software.

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