Ask HN: Best approach for modernizing a legacy VB desktop app?

1 pointscyclecycle1y ago2 comments

I'm tasked with modernizing a legacy Visual Basic desktop application that interfaces with temp/pressure sensors via USB. The current app handles data collection, test management, and cloud uploads. The client wants to improve UI/UX, add features and automation, and ideally make it cross-platform (it's currently windows-only). I do have access to the old source code.

My background is in modern web development (preference for Svelte) and Python. I'm considering these options:

1. Electron: Despite its critics, VSCode's success makes me confident it could work well. However, I haven't found a straightforward Svelte setup. 2. Tauri: Looks promising with Rust backend and SvelteKit frontend support in the docs. I'm new to Rust but willing to learn. 3. Python with Tkinter: Familiar territory, but I'm leaning towards HTML/JS frontends for greater control over aesthetics. Pyinstaller seems viable for distribution though.

Ease of development and distribution are the main considerations. Performance less so as long as it's within reason.

What approach would you recommend? Are there other options I should consider? I'm open to learning new stacks if they offer significant advantages.

2 comments

gus_massa1y ago

Have you tried Gambas https://gambas.sourceforge.net/en/main.html

(Note: I didn't try Gambas, but I used VB6 a lot and still miss a few of the features. I have the disk to install it stored somewhere, but it's getting harder and harder to install it.)

PaulHoule1y ago

I have done some side projects with tkinter, the coding is not too terrible but the looks are atrocious. If I had it to do over I’d go with Electron.

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