REALbasic or "RB" is an object-oriented dialect of the BASIC programming language commercially marketed by the Austin, Texas based REAL Software Inc.

REALbasic is a strongly typed language with minimal automatic type conversion. The file format contains window and control placement data and is proprietary, however, XML export and Visual Basic import functionality is provided. All source can be contained in one file, but it is also possible to have classes/modules in separate files in the same way as most other languages or dialects (C programming language, Java, Visual Basic). REALbasic compiles directly to machine language for each platform.

The IDE for the current version (5.5.4) runs on Mac OS, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. The professional edition can compile programs for all these platforms and for Linux from the same source file. It can also access databases (Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL etc.) including the built-in single-user REAL Database engine. It can also compile console applications and has numerous other features.

The standard edition only compiles programs for the platform that the IDE is running on (either Windows or Mac), and does not access databases other than the built-in REAL Database. Academic licenses are available for all editions.

REALbasic has a complete feature set supporting hash tables, QuickTime, serial, TCP/IP sockets (including implementations of HTTP, POP3, SMTP, and SOAP), Apple Events, ActiveX, OLE, real-time 3D graphics, XML parsing and generation, and API calls on all supported platforms. The language blends VB-like syntax with modern OOP semantics. Classes in REALbasic support single inheritance but multiple interfaces, similar to Java.

Here's some sample code that takes the string value of two editfields (called firstfield and secondfield), concatenates them and puts them into a third editfield (thirdfield).

thirdfield.text = firstfield.text + secondfield.text

The following line of code would download an html document via http which is returned as a string which is then in turn displayed in a dialog box:

MsgBox new HTTPSocket.Get( "http://www.google.com/", 30 )

External links

• REALbasic (http://www.realbasic.com)
• Made with REALbasic Showcase (http://www.realsoftware.com/realbasic/showcase/)
• REALgurus (http://www.realgurus.com/), a REALbasic-centered forum
• REALbasic Garage (http://www.rbgarage.com), a REALbasic resource site
• ResExcellence REALbasic Articles (http://www.resexcellence.com/realbasic/)
• REALbasic Developer Magazine (http://www.rbdeveloper.com/)
• Windows Functionality Suite (http://www.aaronballman.com/programming/REALbasic/Win32FunctionalitySuite.php), extra functionality for developing applications for Windows
• REALbasic Gazette (http://rbgazette.com)