Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Visual Basic VS FreeBASIC

Compare Visual Basic VS FreeBASIC and see what are their differences

Visual Basic logo Visual Basic

Modern, high-level, multi-paradigm, general-purpose programming language for building apps using Visual Studio and the .NET Framework

FreeBASIC logo FreeBASIC

FreeBASIC is a completely free, open-source, 32-bit BASIC compiler, with syntax similar to...
  • Visual Basic Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-13
  • FreeBASIC Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-23

Visual Basic features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Visual Basic is known for its simple syntax and readability, making it a good starting point for beginners.
  • Rapid Application Development
    It supports rapid application development through a drag-and-drop interface and integrated IDE, which can speed up the development process.
  • Strong Integration with Microsoft Products
    Visual Basic integrates well with other Microsoft products, such as Excel and Access, making it useful for automating Office applications.
  • Rich Base Class Library
    The .NET framework provides a rich set of libraries that can be utilized within Visual Basic, giving access to a wide range of functionalities.

Possible disadvantages of Visual Basic

  • Diminishing Popularity
    Visual Basic's popularity has been decreasing over the years, which may lead to a smaller community and less modern resources.
  • Limited Cross-Platform Support
    Compared to other languages like C# or Java, Visual Basic has more limited cross-platform capabilities.
  • Performance Limitations
    Applications written in Visual Basic may experience performance issues compared to those written in more modern or lower-level languages.
  • Less Feature-Rich for Advanced Programming
    Visual Basic may not offer as many features for advanced or high-performance programming compared to languages like C++ or Python.

FreeBASIC features and specs

  • Open Source
    FreeBASIC is open source, which means users can access the source code, contribute to the project, and customize it according to their needs.
  • BASIC Language Support
    FreeBASIC offers support for the BASIC programming language, attracting programmers who prefer or are familiar with this language, while also providing modern programming capabilities.
  • Cross-Platform
    It supports multiple platforms, including Windows, Linux, and DOS, which allows developers to write programs that can run on different operating systems without significant changes.
  • Compatibility
    FreeBASIC is compatible with Microsoft QuickBASIC and other older BASIC dialects, making it easier for developers to port legacy BASIC code.
  • Strong Community
    The FreeBASIC community is active, providing forums, documentation, and support that can be beneficial for both beginners and advanced users.

Possible disadvantages of FreeBASIC

  • Limited Library Support
    Compared to more popular languages like Python or C++, FreeBASIC has fewer libraries and third-party resources, which can limit functionality and ease of development.
  • Learning Curve for Beginners
    Although BASIC is traditionally seen as beginner-friendly, some aspects of FreeBASIC, especially its more advanced features, might present a learning curve.
  • Less Market Demand
    There is less market demand for FreeBASIC developers compared to more mainstream languages, which might limit job prospects for those who specialize in it.
  • Manual Memory Management
    FreeBASIC requires manual memory management, which can lead to potential errors like memory leaks if not handled properly, particularly for new programmers.
  • Outdated Perception
    BASIC languages, including FreeBASIC, sometimes suffer from an outdated perception that might lead to skepticism about its use for modern applications.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Visual Basic and FreeBASIC)
Programming Language
65 65%
35% 35
Text Editors
0 0%
100% 100
OOP
63 63%
37% 37
IDE
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Visual Basic and FreeBASIC

Visual Basic Reviews

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FreeBASIC Reviews

  1. Jose Galeno
    Can Not to Comapre FREEBASIC is a COMPILER NOT AN IDE

    HAS IDE AS FBEdit, FBNP,WINFBE, VisualFB, etc

    Competitors: Visual Basic
    Pros:    Compiler|32|64|Windows linux mac|Mingw32 and mingw64|Free to use|Binding to c, c++

Social recommendations and mentions

FreeBASIC might be a bit more popular than Visual Basic. We know about 5 links to it since March 2021 and only 5 links to Visual Basic. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Visual Basic mentions (5)

  • Is there a visual basic tutorial for people people who already know how to program?
    Yes. It's called the documentation. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Any good tutorials and books for VB.Net and VBA?
    The Microsoft documentation is probably going to be the best bet for VB.NET. Source: over 4 years ago
  • Magikcraft – Teaching Kids to Program Using Minecraft with Joshua Wulf
    And for that one, I had a friend who worked at the computer place who had Visual Basic, and I was like, "Give me the Visual Basic disc." And so I loaded that onto my computer and just made a CV as a program in Visual Basic, put it on a floppy disk, and then dropped it in the letterbox of this guy who was in his garage. He had a small business, and he needed an extra programmer. And that's how I started my first... - Source: dev.to / almost 5 years ago
  • Where can I find a very good VBA course?
    How about this by Microsoft? https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/. Source: about 5 years ago
  • Need help running a vb.net console application in powershell.
    Are you referring to the .NET version of Visual Basic here or the classic Visual Basic 6 which pre-dates .NET by quite a bit and whose extended support ended in 2008? Source: about 5 years ago

FreeBASIC mentions (5)

  • Microsoft's Growing Control of Linux
    Outside of Microsoft created QB64: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QB64 - https://lunduke.substack.com/p/the-wild-events-that-nearly-took Outside of Microsoft created Visual Basic IDE: - http://gambas.sourceforge.net/en/main.html - https://github.com/wekan/hx/tree/main/prototypes/ui/gambas Outside of Microsoft created FreeBasic: - https://freebasic.net. - Source: Hacker News / about 4 years ago
  • qb.js: An implementation of QBASIC in Javascript
    If you have linux or windows, you can try freebasic. I believe it has a qbasic compatibility mode. Source: almost 5 years ago
  • Ask HN: What are your opinions on modern BASIC dialects?
    Have you looked at https://freebasic.net/ and https://www.qb64.org/portal/ ? It's been ages since I actually wrote code in BASIC, but there do appear to be nice open-source options in the modern world. - Source: Hacker News / almost 5 years ago
  • How to compile a BASIC code in linux ?
    I used https://freebasic.net/ ages ago. Works fine. Source: over 5 years ago
  • Blank Projects - Then And Now
    And here you can live though that pain again: https://freebasic.net/. Source: over 5 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Visual Basic and FreeBASIC, you can also consider the following products

C++ - Has imperative, object-oriented and generic programming features, while also providing the facilities for low level memory manipulation

PureBasic - Fantaisie Software Official WebSite. PureBasic - Feel The Pure Power. PureBasic is a programming language based on established BASIC rules.

D (Programming Language) - D is a language with C-like syntax and static typing.

Liberty BASIC - Easy Programming for Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8 and 10

F# - F# is a mature, open source, cross-platform, functional-first programming language.

Xojo - Real Software and Real Studio are now Xojo.