CompuTest Uses REALbasic to Port Visual Basic Software to Mac OS X in Record Time
AUSTIN, Texas (November 9, 2004)— CompuTest LLC, a Lansing, Michigan-based software development firm, has successfully completed porting its Electronic Bluebook software product to Mac OS X, according to a new case study now available from REAL Software, makers of REALbasic.
“We were astounded at how fast and easy it was to port our product to the Mac with REALbasic,” expressed Greg Mitchell, a principal at CompuTest.
CompuTest, LLC offers Electronic Bluebook, a secure electronic test-taking program, to law schools. The product was originally built on the Windows platform using Microsoft Visual Basic. Due to the increase in the number of students using Mac OS X laptops, CompuTests' client institutions requested a Mac version of Electronic Bluebook.
In order to meet their clients’ request, CompuTest began researching what would be involved in creating a Mac version. With little experience operating Macs and no experience programming Macs, the programming team initially agreed to build a simplified version of Electronic Bluebook for the Mac platform, allowing two to three months for development.
Early in their research process, CompuTest discovered REALbasic. REALbasic provided a familiar environment, similar to Visual Basic. By using REALbasic Professional for Windows that cross-compiles to the Mac and assistance from REAL Software’s network user group, an online community and resource for REALbasic developers, CompuTest was able to deliver a beta version of Electronic Bluebook for the Mac in only 12 working days. In addition, REALbasic enabled them to incorporate the full functionality of the Windows version into the Mac version in this short timeframe.
The language similarities between REALbasic and Visual Basic made it possible to copy large amounts of code directly from Visual Basic to REALbasic for the Macintosh. For the small amounts of code that differed, it was quick and easy for the developers to learn the comparable code for REALbasic. By using REALbasic, CompuTest was able to efficiently port Electronic Bluebook to the Mac and impress their clients with the speed in which they accomplished the task and meet client requirements.
Greg Mitchell added, “REALbasic was wonderfully easy to learn and use because it is similar to and compatible with Visual Basic. REALbasic was a pleasant and much-appreciated surprise that cut our programming time drastically and helped us respond to client requests in record time.”
The case study is available online at: www.realsoftware.com/case_studies/computest/.
About CompuTest
CompuTest LLC was founded to create and market software for use in settings where secure testing on computers is mandated. Founded by Greg Mitchell, a law professor, and Chris Bombardo, a law student, CompuTest provides cross-platform electronic testing solutions such as Electronic Bluebook. To find out more, please visit www.electronicbluebook.com/.
About REALbasic
REALbasic is a full-featured software design environment easily suited to creating all kinds of applications, from utilities to enterprise-class applications. REALbasic is available now starting at $99.95 direct from REAL Software or at The Apple Store, Fry’s and other software retailers. REALbasic Professional Edition, required for cross-platform deployment, starts at $399.95 and includes extended functionality for database and team development. Download a free trial of REALbasic at www.realsoftware.com/demo.
About REAL Software
For everyone who seeks the flexibility to create their own software, REAL Software provides REALbasic, a powerful, easy-to-use software development tool for Windows and Macintosh. REAL Software, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is based in Austin, Texas. For more information visit www.realsoftware.com or call 512.328.7325.
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