Getting out of Windev/Webdev

Hi...
I know a lot of us are looking at various options for the "escape from WD/WB". Would be great if we could share our successes, hopefuls and dead ends. Let's share and help each other out. Many of us have been on the various WD forums for about 20 years, so I know we're not spring chickens. The learning curve for a new platform is killing, and a little guidance will go a long way in helping us avoid the hype and concentrate on the probable options.

Thanks

Hi

I spent a couple of months before WX2026 came out looking at alternatives to WD/WB/WM, and come to the conclusion that I couldn't find anything to match the price / performance of the WX suite. Now that I am using WX2026 with the new AI integration (I'm using Claude) it is literally a new ball game and can't see any reason to look for a new tool. The only area the current AI integration can't assist with is UI development, and I believe that is in the PCSoft pipeline.

Rgds
Paul

Morning All,

Compliments of the season.

Regarding Webdev:

Considering that NONE of the Webdev bugs I reported in Version 2025, even the ones reported in 2024 have NOT been fixed in v 2025, and then considering the new bugs reported in version 2025 was not there in version 2024.

Now version 2026 has been released, it is safe to say those bugs will not be fixed at all in previous versions, and who knows how many new bugs has been introduced. and of course, not to mention version 2026 requires a annual fee for running the WAS server,

It seems safer to stay with Version 2024, which I see as most the most stable version, even though we upgraded and paid for version 2025.

These are the alternatives to Webdev that we are considering, and taking into consideration that we do not want our code to be held hostage, when we don’t use the tool.

APP Builder - [www.appbuilder.dev]

UI Bakery - [uibakery.io]

Let me know your thoughts.

Regards
Christo

Your choice Paul
The disadvantages are discussed and give many reasons, not to change to the cloud. AI is surely not a reason to stay.
You are right, to find alternatives are difficult but lots of users gave already good opportunities.
But to change is worth to keep independence.

Hi Herbert

I hope you find some alternatives to your liking. I'd suggest though that you find something open to vibe coding, as that is the future. Personally typing code as we have in the past - those days are done. That is why it was so important to me that AI integration has been done well in WX2026. I type little of my code now, I just tell Claude what I want done and it creates the code for me right inside the WX code editor.

Rgds
Paul

so why not pay for windev .The whole thing was it costs a lot of money but the code is really sumple an thus it makes me verry productieve. Vibe coding in windev is nuts .

vibe code use react or next js and get the newest of the newest for free.

Why is it nuts? It works beautifully...for example. At the moment I am rewriting a large project I wrote over 10 years ago, which is client-server. The new version is 3-tier using REST. My code is probably 90% embedded in classes. This morning I had Claude (the AI coder I use) read the logic from the old project, translate the functionality in terms of the new classes being used, write the new classes with all necessary methods, and integrate it into the new code. The code it writes is beautifully commented, written direct into the WX IDE - all I do is review it, test it, and ask for changes. This leaves me free for the more creative / design aspects of the project, or if I wish I can work on another project in a 2nd (or 3rd) instance of the IDE.

Rgds
Paul



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2026 11:59PM by pauly139.

Hi Paul,
how are you using Claude with windev?
Is it from inside the windev IDE, which windev or are you using it outside independently from the WD IDE?

Regards
Steven Sitas

Hi Steven,

This is a feature available directly inside WinDev. The brochure for 2026 explains how it works. You need to subscribe to an AI provider, Claude is one option but there are others, and then using the API key inside WinDev you ask it to analyze your project or to suggest code to accomplish a task etc. I am not using 2026 at this time.

Hi JP,
I was wondering if there is better INTEGRATION of AI in the WD2026 IDE than the one in WD2025 IDE.
For WD2025 I do everything manually - I copy and paste to Claude or ChatGPT

Regards
Steven Sitas

Seems like 2026 has it all built in directly but I am not using 2026 so not 100% sure. From the brochures and what Paul says it would seem to be built-in and very good.

Since the days of windows millenium, I am always skeptic about what "brochures" say

Hi Steve
The is no comparison between the AI integration in WX2025 and WX2026. In WX2026 it is fully integrated into the IDE. So it writes code directly in the code editor in response to your instructions in the AI panel.

I'm relatively new to this new way of coding, where you simply explain what you want done, generally in high level terms, and it reads your existing code and structures, determines what it needs to do, and simply does it. Debugging is now so easy, in that I explain what is going wrong, and it reads the code to determine what could be causing the issue and fixes it.

At the moment it can't access the window designed, but if I remember correctly Pete said PCSoft is working on that capability at the moment.

Rgds
Paul

Hello,

I don't think anyone is really disputing that Windev is great for it's purpose and the cost increases of the new regime are manageable for professional developers.

The issue is that the SAAS developers model that PCSoft has imposed means they are in total control of our businesses future.

The choices to stay or go are then:

#1 How long can I continue with my dongle version ? For me with V25 and my advanced age, the answer is for the foreseeable future.

#2 Can I live with being held hostage to the whims and future of PCSoft. The additional question there is, can I find a viable alternative and the answer is probably not so you stay and pray.

Regards
Al

For those who are used to WX and its IDE check out Builder (https://www.builder.io/).
It has a very genrous free tier and the paid tier is also very reasonable.

Its AI features are really very powerful and help in enhancing users productivity.

Check out the prices here - [www.builder.io]

HTH

--
Yogi Yang

I think Builder is better than both of these.

[www.builder.io]

As for internal apps AppSmith and LowCoder are way better then UiBakery.

--
Yogi Yang

why use windev then ? or is claude included inthe subscriprion? If it is in the sub scrioptionthen it is not a bad deal .But if not why use windev and be limited to windev . AI claude can do a lot more then windev . but not cheep

I have been testing anvil.works, which can be used to develop web apps, since the beginning of January. At the beginning of February, I started implementing my first project, which is intended to serve as an extension of my existing Windev software.

For me, the main advantage of anvil.works is that I don't need JavaScript (which I hate), but can implement everything with Python (although JS is still possible).

There is a drag-and-drop designer, an open-source version, and you can host the databases and the app yourself. The free version is perfectly adequate for testing, and there are numerous tutorials.

I plan to synchronize the web app with my Windev software, which can be done either using web services or, more interesting and elegant for me, the uplink function. I write functions in Python (for example, in PyCharm), which I import into my Windev project. This allows me to exchange data bidirectionally.

Of course, it's difficult to make a real recommendation after such a short time; weaknesses only become apparent gradually. But so far, it makes a promising impression.

The main change for me so far is that I'm used to working with SQL statements. This is implemented differently here, but with a little practice it will certainly not be a problem. Basically, the topic of data binding is implemented sensibly and reduces development effort.

Incidentally, Anvil.works is not an AI builder, which is fine with me because I need to understand what I'm doing. And many low-code tools state on their websites that they are intended for the development of internal programs, which does not exactly inspire confidence.

Use cursor and you will be off cheap ( use the cusor model ) this tool you canmake web apps mobile and more. At speed 10 times plus compared to windev.