Visual Basic on the PC with Windows 3.1

Article excerpt

Christopher Drum on the Stone Tools blog takes a look back at Visual Basic on the PC using the Windows 3.1 operating system. A while back, I dug into Apple’s HyperCard. Visual Basic gives us an interesting opportunity to look at a similar first-party, visual programming solution from Microsoft’s perspective. Like HyperCard, Visual Basic had its own dedicated magazine, and inspired legions of developers long after Microsoft ceased support in 2008. As recently as 2023, Microsoft has had to issue official statements on their support plans for “classic” Visual Basic, which keeps a huge number of bespoke, legacy applications alive, something HyperCard cannot claim. See how Christopher sets up a Windows 3.1 virtual machine and gives Visual BASIC 3.0 a spin in the post here.