What are methods of app creation today?

I was a programmer in the 90s. I mostly wrote networking code in C and C++, but I also wrote some applications using XMotif, MFC, and Qt. Qt was my favorite, because I could write it all using a text editor if I wanted.

So now I am hoping to write a few apps for my own use. I have used PHP with MySQL in the past, but it is always a terrible struggle for me. It seems to be very hard to make a web application do things that were routine with older technology like MFC. I must not be the only person who struggles, because professional web sites like Amazon seem clunky (aside from the glitzy graphics).

I have data in MySQL and I need to create some applications that are easy to use, because they will be used all the time by other people. This would be doable in MFC or Qt, but I dread trying to use PHP.

I have heard of AJAX and Django and other things, but I am not familiar with them. I want something that isn't too hard to learn and is free or inexpensive. It doesn't absolutely need to use HTTP, but I thought it would be the modern way to do it. Qt was great, but it seems to have been sold to some cell phone company now, and it isn't HTTP (or maybe it is now?). The client computers will probably be Linux, but Windows would be nice too. For now, I don't need access outside my LAN.

Why don't I simply buy something off the shelf? - it would require conversion of the data and loss of some features. Maybe that is what I will have to do though.

Thanks for any advice. (Sorry this is so long and confusing. I have been out of the software industry for a long time, and I no longer have a clue on these things.)

Super14LDS said:

Swift is really cool on a Mac

Click to expand...

Thanks, @Super14LDS

MentalHolocaust said:

I shall take this opportunity to plug Python.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I have never used Python, but it looks much better organized than PHP. I need to revisit Python, because that might be a solution. I don't know what it can do for certain. Originally I chose PHP, because I wanted to use technology that was as common as possible. Of course Python is also very common.

lesliedellow said:

Nowadays C is only really used for systems and embedded programming, which is what it was originally designed for. In the PC world, C# is quite popular for applications programming. C++ grew to be too large and unwieldy; Java and C# were attempts to cut it back down to size.

Click to expand...

The worst thing about C++ in my time as a programmer (late 90's) was STL. I liked C++, but somebody should have just said no to STL. The syntax error messages generated by the compilers were so intimidating, and trying to step through the template code with a debugger was an adventure. LOL

Does C# run on anything besides Microsoft? I thought it looked like a nice language when I skimmed some of the text books.

MentalHolocaust said:

I don't personally use it, but I have a developer buddy who swears by C#.

Click to expand...

What is the relationship between C# and .NET? (Maybe .NET is no longer being pushed by Microsoft. I haven't been paying attention to these things for many years.)

Another thing I investigated at one time was Tomcat. I decided it was too complicated for me to set-up and use. I guess that was Java and some sort of server? I can't remember now.

Thanks, @MentalHolocaust and @lesliedellow something like a portable C# might be ideal. I experimented some with Visual Basic, and I was impressed with the ease of creating nice user interfaces. My impression was that C# was like a mix of Visual Basic and C++. The only problem was the Microsoft issue. The Microsoft servers require all that specialized training and have so much junk that I don't need or understand. Mostly I do bookkeeping, scanning papers, and managing naughty employees with all their problems. I wish I could just snap my fingers and solve all these computer problems I have

Thanks, @pgp_protector