Here’s the Deal

Red vs Xojo

12 12

78 40

When comparing Red vs Xojo, the Slant community recommends Red for most people. In the question“What is the best programming language to learn first?” Red is ranked 40th while Xojo is ranked 53rd. The most important reason people chose Red is:

Other languages have complex, multi-step setups that beginners often get stuck on. Red has no installer, no setup, no dependencies*, just a single small (~1MB) command-line executable with both the compiler and repl. On Windows, you don't even have to launch executable from the command line--it has a GUI-console.

Specs

No specs yet!

PlatformsWindows, Linux, Mac, Pi, Web,iOS

Visual GUI BuilderYes

Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking

Common Questions

What is the best programming language to learn first?

What are the best tools for making a cross-platform application?

Pros

Pro
Simple toolchain

Pro
Very simple syntax

Red syntax is a lot like Rebol. It's easier than most languages for beginners to pick up.

Pro
Both low and high-level

Red has low enough access to do systems programming, but it's expressive enough for high-level scripting.

Pro
Low cognitive load

Red has very simple syntax that's easy to learn. It gets out of your way and lets you think about the problem instead, enhancing productivity.

Pro
Easy to use

Easy to make compiled native apps.

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Cons

Con
Not production ready

Red is still under development and not considered stable.

Con
Still in beta

It mostly works. It's good enough for building usable applications, but some planned features are missing.

Con
Subscription-based/Not free

Using this product you're betting the company will still be around. If they get bought out by an enterprise that wants to use the tech internally, all they need to do is stop offering subscriptions and suddenly you're scrambling to rebuild your entire app on other technology.