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I'm planning on developing an Windows desktop-based GUI application, and I don't have a clue which language or IDE to choose. I'd REALLY like something with a WYSIWYG GUI editor. My application will rely on web-based XML feeds, so built in support for that would be great. I don't want the application to have any dependencies or require admin rights to run. Cross-platform is nice, not not required.

I'm willing to learn a new language if that's necessary.

Matt
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    You say "cross-platform is nice, but not required". If it's not cross-platform, what platform should it run on? – icktoofay Sep 04 '11 at 03:00

5 Answers5

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Delphi is well reputed for Windows GUI application developpment. It's even a 'RAD' Studio (rapid application development studio) as they call it.

az01
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Check out Delphi. Alternatively FreePascal with its Lazarus IDE is pretty much an open-source Delphi clone, which while not as polished, offers cross-platform support.

Herbert Sitz
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For Windows, I will definitely go for C#. If you know c++ and have MFC experiences, it should be fairly easy to learn.

Yes, it has WYSIWYG GUI editor.

Designing a User Interface (Visual C#) http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms173080(v=vs.80).aspx

and it seems this is what you are looking for?

SyndicationFeed Class http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.servicemodel.syndication.syndicationfeed.aspx

Good Luck!

young
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  • Thanks for your answer. Does C# require the user to have .NET installed? – Matt Sep 04 '11 at 03:30
  • It seems it does. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6146369/how-can-i-deploy-a-c-application-if-users-dont-have-net-installed – young Sep 04 '11 at 03:35
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There are several variants.

Windows only

C# + MSVS: One of the best choices on Windows platform today

  • +good documentation
  • +big developers community
  • -you need a system which has .net installed.

Delphi

  • +easy to start
  • all-in-one tool with GUI editor
  • not very widespread

Cross-platfrom

Qt or wxWidgets or some other toolsets

fat
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If you're looking for a free solution, you can use SharpDevelop, which is a free IDE for C# or VB.NET, and has a GUI designer similar to the one in Visual Studio. You should be able to use any classes and libraries from/for the .NET Framework.

You'll need the .NET Framework, but starting with Windows Vista it's installed by default (.NET Framework 3.0, I think).

Vlad
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