Microsoft Corp has announced a graphical application development system for Windows 3.0 that combines visual design tools with a general-purpose programming language and Windows .EXE compiler: the Visual Basic programming system can be used to develop any Windows-based application, including corporate business systems, tools and utilities, front ends to data (mainframe, server and local) or commercial Windows software products – it comprises visual design tools for creating the user interface components of an application, a set of Windows interface components created visually, without writing any code, while a forms engine for building the interface incorporates technology acquired from Cooper Software Inc; the system uses the Visual Basic language derived from Microsoft’s QuickBasic; the system supports DDE, the mechanism for exchanging data with other Windows-based applications, and dynamic link libraries to establish links with other Windows systems facilities and call the Windows programming interface or routines written in other languages and compiled into Dynamic Link Libraries; the product ships in June for $200.
