INFO: Visual Basic 5.0 RISC Edition FAQ

• Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows, version 5.0
• Microsoft Visual Studio, Enterprise Edition 97

SUMMARY

The following is a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) concerning the Visual Basic 5.0 RISC Edition.

MORE INFORMATION

The following questions are covered in this article:

1. How do I obtain the RISC version of Visual Basic 5.0?

1. What is the difference between the Intel version of Visual Basic 5.0 and the RISC version of Visual Basic 5.0?

2. What are the advantages of compiling and running my Visual Basic 5.0 application on RISC rather than Intel?

3. Do you have any performance optimization tips for Visual Basic 5.0 RISC?

4. Does the Visual Basic 5.0 RISC have any additional features that Visual Basic 5.0 Intel does not have?

5. Does the Visual Basic 5.0 Intel have any additional features that Visual Basic 5.0 RISC does not have?

6. Is there anything that Visual Basic 5.0 RISC is less optimized for than Visual Basic 5.0 Intel?

7. Is there a Learning or Professional Edition of Visual Basic 5.0 RISC?

1. What is FX!32?

2. Does Visual Basic 5.0 RISC work if FX!32 is installed on the machine?

3. My middle tier ActiveX components are currently running on my Intel server and I would like to deploy these on my RISC server to take advantage of this performance. Do I need to change anything in my client applications since most of them are running on Intel and accessing the server via DCOM?

4. Can I create a Visual Basic 5.0 RISC native .exe and run it on an Intel platform?

5. Can I create an Intel .exe from Visual Basic 5.0 RISC?

6. Can I install Visual Basic 5.0 Intel on a RISC box when running FX!32? If so, can I compile native Intel executables and can I have Visual Basic 5.0 RISC coexist on the same development machine?

7. I want to run my Visual Basic 5.0 RISC COM components under MTS/IIS. Can I do this?

1. I have a large Visual Basic 5.0 project that is currently running on Intel. What changes do I need to make to it to compile it on Visual Basic 5.0 RISC?

2. My Visual Basic 5.0 application uses a lot of ODBC database access. Will this work on RISC?

3. I have a Visual Basic 4.0 32-bit application that uses many third- party .OCXs and I want to compile it under Visual Basic 5.0 RISC. How do I do this?

4. Can I still make the same Win32API calls from my Visual Basic 5.0 RISC application?

1. What other Microsoft applications are compiled to native RISC?

2. What other languages is Visual Basic 5.0 RISC localized in?

3. How can I debug my Visual Basic 5.0 RISC native .exe in the Visual C++ debugger?

Questions and Answers

1. Q. How do I obtain the RISC version of Visual Basic 5.0?

   A. Fill out and mail the order form enclosed in the Visual Basic 5.0
   Enterprise Edition for the RISC version of the product.

Comparing RISC and Intel

1. Q. What is the difference between the Intel version of Visual Basic 5.0
   and the RISC version of Visual Basic 5.0?

   A. The environment is exactly the same. Each produces a native .exe for
   its given platform.

2. Q. What are the advantages of compiling and running my Visual Basic 5.0
   application on RISC rather than Intel?

   A. Performance and scalability. The RISC CPU runs at clock speeds of up
   to 500mhz compared to 200mhz for an Intel P6. Digital Equipment
   Corporation provides a migration path up to multi-terabyte storage
   units.

3. Q. Do you have any performance optimization tips for Visual Basic 5.0
   RISC?

   A. Compile to native .exe to take full advantage of performance.

4. Q. Does the Visual Basic 5.0 RISC have any additional features that
   Visual Basic 5.0 Intel does not have?

   A. No.

5. Q. Does the Visual Basic 5.0 Intel have any additional features that
   Visual Basic 5.0 RISC does not have?

   A. There are no RISC ISAMs for the Jet Database Engine. The ISAMs are
   listed as options in the data control's Connect property and are
   documented in the Help file. However, attempts to open an ISAM database
   result in error 3170 - "Couldn't find installable ISAM."

   The RISC Jet Database Engine does not support the replication of
   databases. The MakeReplica method is documented in the Help file and
   appears when examining the Database object through the object browser.
   Attempts to use the MakeReplica method off the Jet database result in
   error 3251 - "Operation is not supported for this type of object."

   There are also some utilities that appear in the \Tools directory on the
   Visual Basic 5.0 Intel CD-ROM that were not ported to RISC.

6. Q. Is there anything that Visual Basic 5.0 RISC is less optimized for
   than Visual Basic 5.0 Intel?

   A. No.

7. Q. Is there a Learning or Professional Edition of Visual Basic 5.0 RISC?

   A. No. Visual Basic 5.0 RISC is targeted at the Enterprise customer.

Interoperability

1. Q. What is FX!32?

   A. Digital Equipment Corporation has translation software named FX!32
   that allows you to run Intel controls in your Visual Basic 5.0 RISC
   application, as well as run any Intel 32-bit .exe. You can find FX!32 at
   http://www.service.digital.com/fx32.

   FX!32 runs as an NT service and will intercept any calls to native Intel
   code and create native RISC replacement code. The Intel code will only
   have to be ported once during the session, increasing performance. For
   more information on FX!32, please refer to the FAQ on the Digital
   Equipment Corporation web site.

2. Q. Does Visual Basic 5.0 RISC work if FX!32 is installed on the machine?

   A. Yes, but you must disable FX!32 prior to installing Visual Basic 5.0
   RISC. To do this, use the Add/Remove Programs icon in the Control Panel
   to access the FX!32 Uninstaller. Follow the menu options to disable
   FX!32 and then restart the computer before installing Visual Basic 5.0
   RISC.

3. Q. My middle tier ActiveX components are currently running on my Intel
   server and I would like to deploy these on my RISC server to take
   advantage of this performance. Do I need to change anything in my client
   applications since most of them are running on Intel and accessing the
   server via DCOM?

   A. No. You will only need to reconfigure the client registry to point to
   a different server using RemAuto32.exe or Dcomcnfg.exe.

4. Q. Can I create a Visual Basic 5.0 RISC native .exe and run it on an
   Intel platform?

   A. No. A RISC native .exe will not run on an Intel machine. You must
   re-compile the project with Visual Basic 5.0 Intel.

5. Q. Can I create an Intel .exe from Visual Basic 5.0 RISC?

   A. No. Visual Basic 5.0 RISC only generates RISC executables. You must
   re-compile the project with Visual Basic 5.0 Intel.

6. Q. Can I install Visual Basic 5.0 Intel on a RISC box when running
   FX!32? If so, can I compile native Intel executables and can I have
   Visual Basic 5.0 RISC coexist on the same development machine?

   A. FX!32 allows developers to run Intel executables on a RISC machine.
   See the FX!32 FAQ on Digital Equipment Corporation's web site for more
   information about installing Intel applications on a RISC machine. Once
   Visual Basic 5.0 Intel has been installed on the RISC machine, it will
   create native Intel executables. Coexistence of Visual Basic 5.0 RISC
   and Visual Basic 5.0 Intel on the same machine may be possible but it
   is not supported by Microsoft Technical Support.

7. Q. I want to run my Visual Basic 5.0 RISC COM components under MTS/IIS.
   Can I do this?

   A. Yes. There is a native MTS and a native IIS for RISC. Visual Basic
   5.0 RISC ActiveX components run fine in these execution environments.
   There is an MTS CD-ROM in your Visual Basic 5.0 Enterprise or Visual
   Studio Enterprise package.

Porting

1. Q. I have a large Visual Basic 5.0 project that is currently running on
   Intel. What changes do I need to make to it to compile it on Visual
   Basic 5.0 RISC?

   A. No changes to the source code are needed. A Visual Basic 5.0 Intel
   Project is exactly the same as Visual Basic 5.0 RISC Project, so you
   will just need to re-compile for the given platform.

2. Q. My Visual Basic 5.0 application uses a lot of ODBC database access.
   Will this work on RISC?

   A. Yes. ODBC 3.0, RDO, and DAO work on RISC the same as Intel; nothing
   should be different.

3. Q. I have a Visual Basic 4.0 32-bit application that uses many third-
   party. OCXs and I want to compile it under Visual Basic 5.0 RISC.
   How do I do this?

   A. Contact your control vendor to see if native RISC .OCXs are available
   or you can use FX!32.

4. Q. Can I still make the same Win32API calls from my Visual Basic 5.0
   RISC application?

   A. Yes.

Miscellaneous

1. Q. What other Microsoft applications are compiled to native RISC?

   A. BackOffice and Visual C++ currently, with Word97 and Excel97
   to come soon.

2. Q. What other languages is Visual Basic 5.0 RISC localized in?

   A. Japanese.

3. Q. How can I debug my Visual Basic 5.0 RISC native .exe in the
   Visual C++ debugger?

   A. Search for the following in the Microsoft Knowledge Base at
   http://www.microsoft.com/kb:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q166275
   TITLE     : HOWTO: Debug a Native Code Visual Basic Component in VC++

Keywords          : vb5all kb3rdparty kbfaq
Version           : 5.0 97
Platform          : NT WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbinfo