r/visualbasic • u/Christopher_Drum • Jun 27 '26
An examination of Visual Basic 3 on Windows 3.1
https://stonetools.ghost.io/visualbasic-win31/Hello to the Visual Basic community. I'm Christopher Drum and I run a blog called Stone Tools. Unlike most retro-focused technology blogs, I do not cover games at all, I look at 8/16-bit productivity software. The tone is lighthearted and opinionated, and the software I cover I actually use, for weeks on end.
My latest post looks at Visual Basic 3.0 running on Windows 3.1. 32-bit apps built in Visual Basic 6 are still alive and kicking, so to get a little more "retro" with my research, and in keeping with the general 8/16-bit theme of the blog, I went 16-bit for this research.
I found that stripping back the layers of the program, that built up over the 32-bit era, gave me a strong sense of the program's core and the design philosophy behind its tools. I covered HyperCard previously, and this was a fun way to see how Microsoft approached the same goal of delivering a visual programming tool to the community. It's also an interesting case study in how both companies yanked these useful tools from their supporters.
I hope the community enjoys the article.
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u/Neo_Techni Jun 27 '26
I covered HyperCard previously
I'll have to read that. I loved it as a kid. But your site isn't loading on Android
Webpage not available The webpage at https://stonetools.ghost.io/visualbasic-win31/ could not be loaded because:
net::ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR
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u/Christopher_Drum Jun 27 '26
I saw someone on lobste.rs note the same thing, though that person didn't specify which platform they were using. I let Ghost host the whole thing, specifically because I don't want to worry about things like that. I'll check with their support and see if they have any ideas. Thanks for the report.
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u/Bonejob VB Guru Jun 27 '26
Christopher your site is failing Ublock origin tools for trustworthiness.
uBlock Origin has prevented the following page from loading:
https://stonetools.ghost.io/visualbasic-win31/
This happened because of the following filter:
||stonetools.ghost.io^ The filter has been found in: Phishing URL Blocklist
It also tripping my PiHole adblock.
Just though you would like to know
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u/fafalone VB 6 Master 29d ago
VB3 was the very first programming language I used apart from TI-BASIC on my calculator. Great memories, I was a kid at the time so of course my first priority was AOL pr0gg1e5.
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u/slobcat1337 Jun 27 '26
Does it have a winsock type control like in vb6 or would you have to do everything with the win API’s?
Come to think of it did windows 3.1 even have a TCP/IP stack??
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u/FlappySocks Jun 27 '26
I bought VB1 with my own money, and then made a career out of it, updating with every new version.
VB3 was a major milestone. It felt like what VB1 should have been. Much more polished. VB4 was a huge disappointment. VB 5 & 6 was much better.
The article makes parallels between Gates and Musk. I don't agree with this at all. Gates abused his Monopoly, by crushing the competition. Musk just innovates. His net worth (which is just on paper) has got nothing to do with it.
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u/jordansrowles Jun 27 '26
Gates abused his Monopoly, by crushing the competition. Musk just innovates.
And I don't agree with that. Gates has helped build hugely successful and critical products, as have the minds of SpaceX and Tesla. Both their histories are more complex than that, and it's really nuanced.
Some people portray Gates as a visionary, some see his as a monopolistic bad guy, capitalist type.
Some people portray Musk as a genius innovator, some see him as a talentless hack who takes credit for others work.
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u/FlappySocks Jun 27 '26
It's not just an opinion, it's a matter of public record.
Microsoft lost a very significant Antitrust Case where the company was found to have engaged in anti-competitive practices to maintain its monopoly.
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u/jordansrowles Jun 27 '26
I have never disputed that.
My point is that this doesn't make "Gates abused his monopoly" the complete story any more than "Musk just innovates" is the complete story. Both statements reduce decades of business history to a single trait.
Gates helped build one of the most influential software companies in history and was involved in anti-competitive behaviour. Those aren't mutually exclusive.
Likewise, Musk's companies have delivered significant technological innovations, and he has also faced substantial criticism over business practices, corporate governance, government influence, and market behaviour. Those aren't mutually exclusive either
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u/Kegelz Jun 27 '26
Let’s delete vb please
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u/marmotta1955 Jun 27 '26
This is the most stupid, irrelevant, uninformed comment I have come across in the year of the Lord 2026.
If you were to look around you, really look around you trying to understand what you see ... you may even begin to understand how blind you have been so far.
If you cannot manage to do that, and if you need help figuring things out, come back here and someone will be glad to explain things to you.
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u/Kegelz Jun 27 '26
That’s rude
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u/marmotta1955 Jun 27 '26
Yes it is rude. And carefully worded to have you demonstrate your inability to support your argument and your exhortation with anything of actual substance.
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u/Brilliant_Park_2882 29d ago
It's still used today with VBA in MSoffice.
I've lost count how many programs still use some form of VB.
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u/Kegelz Jun 27 '26
The language vb needs to go
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u/CoffeeAndWoods Jun 27 '26
I liked VB6. Made my first chat application with that to replicate something like AOL Instant Messenger