What "VB" Means in the Curl Rich Client Platform Context

Updated

In the Curl platform context, "VB" almost certainly refers to Visual Basic, not a Curl-specific term. The Curl product pages from SCSK Corporation list "VB" only as a keyword alongside "rich client," "SOA," "web service," "3D," and "RIA" — it is a search/discovery tag, not a documented Curl component. Curl's own development language is Curl, and its toolchain is the Curl Language Integrated Development Environment (CDE) plus the Runtime Engine (RTE). If you want to build Curl rich clients, start with the Curl language and CDE; do not expect a Visual Basic integration path from the product site.

Why "VB" Appears on a Curl Page

The keyword list on the Curl product page is a set of technology terms used to describe the platform's market space: rich internet applications, service-oriented architecture, web services, 3D, and rich clients. "VB" fits that pattern as a legacy enterprise development technology that Curl-style RIA platforms were often compared with or positioned against.

What the page evidence does not show:

  • No Visual Basic SDK, add-in, or interop documentation
  • No VB code samples, project templates, or migration guide
  • No statement that Curl applets can be written in or called from VB

So "VB" on that page is context, not a capability claim. Treating it as a Curl feature would send you looking for tutorials that the site does not provide.

The Three Roles, Kept Separate

Component What it is Role in a Curl project
Curl language The language Curl applets are written in Your application source code
Curl CDE Curl Language Integrated Development Environment Editing, building, and debugging Curl applets
Curl RTE Runtime Engine that executes Curl applets Runs the finished client on the user's machine
Visual Basic A separate Microsoft language and toolchain Not part of the Curl toolchain per the site

The practical takeaway: Curl is its own language with its own IDE and runtime. Visual Basic is a different ecosystem. Sharing a keyword list does not make them interoperable in any documented way.

If You Want to Build Curl Rich Clients

Start from the Curl language and CDE, not from VB:

  1. Confirm the platform is still appropriate. The release history on the page shows active maintenance — Curl RTE 8.0.16 and CDE 8.0.16001 released March 31, 2026, following 8.0.15 in October 2025 and 8.0.14 in January 2024. That tells you the runtime and IDE are maintained, but it says nothing about VB.
  2. Get the right tools. The site's Download section lists the CDE, the RTE, and development libraries, plus previous RTE versions. Those are the entry points for development.
  3. Learn the Curl language. The site points to a Global Community with a blog, bulletin board, and tutorials. That is where language-level learning material lives.
  4. Verify your target environment early. See the compatibility notes below before committing to a client architecture.

If You Already Have Visual Basic Skills

There is no documented bridge from VB to Curl on this site, so plan on one of two paths:

  • Learn Curl as a new language if the Curl RTE/CDE platform meets your deployment needs. Your VB experience transfers as general programming knowledge, not as syntax or library reuse.
  • Stay in the VB/.NET ecosystem if reuse of existing VB code and tooling is a hard requirement. The Curl pages give you no basis for assuming code-level interoperability.

The decision hinges on whether the Curl platform's specific strengths — rich client rendering, 3D, dashboard and data-visualization demos such as CurlGraph and eyeDecide — are what you actually need. If they are not, the VB keyword is not a reason to migrate.

Compatibility Caveats Worth Checking

The release notes on the page record several historical dependency issues that matter if you are evaluating older client stacks:

  • Java dependency: A May 9, 2013 note states that applying Java update 6u45 or newer caused the CDE to fail to work.
  • Internet Explorer end of support: A June 1, 2021 entry covers impacts on Curl applets due to the end of IE support, and an April 15, 2021 entry addresses applet behavior in IE.
  • OS support changes: March 25, 2019 entries document changes to supported operating systems for Curl RTE products and for Appsnaut.

These are historical records, not current requirements, but they illustrate that Curl client deployments have depended on browser and runtime versions. Before adopting the platform, check the current RTE release notes for the supported OS and browser matrix rather than assuming modern-browser parity.

Bottom Line

"VB" on the Curl product page is a descriptive keyword pointing to Visual Basic as an adjacent enterprise technology — not a Curl feature, integration, or development option. Curl development means the Curl language, the CDE, and the RTE. Use the site's Download and Global Community sections as your entry points, and treat any VB-related expectation as unverified until you find explicit documentation.