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Posts: 44158
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 05:47 PM
Harbour Builder
Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2026 05:12 AM
regards, saludos

Antonio Linares
www.fivetechsoft.com
Posts: 6983
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2005 07:07 PM
Re: Harbour Builder
Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2026 06:13 AM

Dear Antonio,
I saw your interesting announcement about “Harbour Builder” and wanted to quickly check if I understood it correctly.

From what I can tell, it looks like a new visual IDE for Harbour with:

  • Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux) via native backends
  • classic xBase-style syntax (DEFINE, @ GET, BUTTON, etc.)
  • its own OOP layer (TForm, TControl, …)
  • a visual designer with object inspector
  • a C/C++ core for performance, directly using native APIs
  • a bridge via HB_FUNC between Harbour and the native layer

Overall, it feels like a modern, cross-platform approach to GUI development with Harbour.

Are you planning this as a long-term replacement for FiveWin, or more as a parallel approach?

Best regards,
Otto

Posts: 44158
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 05:47 PM
Re: Harbour Builder
Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2026 06:42 AM

Dear Otto,

Harbour Builder it is just an experiment using "vibe coding" :)

I haven't coded a single line ot it. All of it has been coded by Claude code.

I am just directing Claude code about what to do. I was curious to see how far we can reach just using vibe coding, same as famous OpenClaw success this year that has been bought by OpenAI.

Will it be good enough ? Will it be easy ? Will it be fast developed ?

Same as Harbour was born following Linux development technique great success and Harbour succeded too. This time I wanted to check how far we can go vibe coding. Up to now, I must say I am really impressed about the quality of the code.

Bruno Cantero provided me a small example of how to use C++ GUI controls with Harbour and I just gave that example to Claude code. From that moment on, in two days we had a first prototype running on Windows, Mac and Linux. In three days, its close to be completed. Maybe we just need a week ? :wink:

If you run the Windows Harbour Builder IDE you will be much surprised about how incredibly fast it runs.

By this time many FWH users have invested years of development in their apps and they are not going to rewrite them, but for future generations this may be a nice legacy we can provide to them. Time will tell :wink:

regards, saludos

Antonio Linares
www.fivetechsoft.com
Posts: 44158
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 05:47 PM
Re: Harbour Builder
Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2026 06:49 AM

Harbour Builder es solo un experimento usando "vibe coding" :)

No he escrito ni una sola línea de código. Todo ha sido programado por Claude Code.

Yo simplemente estoy dirigiendo a Claude Code sobre qué hacer. Tenía curiosidad por ver hasta dónde podemos llegar usando solo vibe coding, al igual que el famoso éxito de OpenClaw este año, que fue comprado por OpenAI.

¿Será lo suficientemente bueno? ¿Será fácil? ¿Se desarrollará rápido?

Del mismo modo que Harbour nació siguiendo el gran éxito de las técnicas de desarrollo de Linux y también triunfó, esta vez quería comprobar hasta dónde podemos llegar con el vibe coding. Hasta ahora, debo decir que estoy realmente impresionado con la calidad del código.

Bruno Cantero me proporcionó un pequeño ejemplo de cómo usar controles GUI de C++ con Harbour, y simplemente le di ese ejemplo a Claude Code. A partir de ese momento, en dos días ya teníamos un primer prototipo funcionando en Windows, Mac y Linux. En tres días, está cerca de completarse. ¿Quizás solo necesitemos una semana? 😉

Si ejecutas el IDE de Harbour Builder en Windows, te sorprenderá lo increíblemente rápido que funciona.

A estas alturas, muchos usuarios de FWH han invertido años de desarrollo en sus aplicaciones y no van a reescribirlas, pero para las futuras generaciones, este puede ser un bonito legado que podemos ofrecerles. El tiempo dirá 😉

regards, saludos

Antonio Linares
www.fivetechsoft.com

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