What is MAGIC programming language? Which other language is closest in syntax? [closed]

Question

I have recently heard about Magic programming language from several sources and didn't recall ever hearing about it before. It was mentioned that it is a programming language from Israel. I did some googling and couldn't find much information about it. I couldn't find any code examples, and wikipedia didn't have any information on it either. I think this is the site for it http://www.magicsoftware.com/en/products/?catID=70 though I am not sure, as it mentions uniPaaS instead of magic. However other material on the site indicates that this is the new name for it.

I was interested in learning more about it from it's practitioners, rather than the company. I saw several claims on the internet that it provided really fast application development, similar to claims made by RoR proponents when it came out.

• How does it compare to VB?
• Is it still a better RAD tool than current .net or mvc frameworks like django, ror ...etc?
• How hard is it to learn?

If you can post some sample code it would be most helpful as well.

Could this site be it? Though it links back to the page above.

Answer 1

You're right my friend, Magic is the original name of the "programming language", nowadays is called UniPaaS (Uni Platform as a Service), I use it to develop some business application. Maybe is the fastest way to create an applications(data manipulation), you can create apps in just a few days, but like everything in life has its own drawbacks:

• it's very weird so that makes it difficult to learn.
• you do not have all the control of what's happening in the background
• and you have to pay a lot for licensing (servers,clients, etc)

If you are interested in learning this, you can download a "free" version of the software that only works with sqlite databases called UniPaaS Jet.

Answer 2

Magic Language is as it’s called today uniPaaS, it used to be Magic than eDeveloper and now uniPaaS as PachinSV menchend before. uniPaaS is an application platform enabling enterprises, independent software vendors (ISVs) and system integrators (SIs) to more successfully build and deploy business applications.

You can download the free version of uniPaaS Jet here: http://web.magicsoftware.com/unipaas-jet-download, try it yourself and see how easy it is to use.

Magic technology as you descried is a Magic Software Enterprises tool (uniPaaS), you can find more information on:

1. official website: www.magicsoftware.com/en/products/?catID=70&pageID=55
2. uniPaaS Jet developer group on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/unipaasJet/
3. Magic developer zone: devnet.magicsoftware.com/en/unipaas

Let me know if you find the information helpful

Bob

Answer 3

As PachinSV explained, there is a RAD once called Magic, then eDeveloper, now UniPaaS. This RAD is dedicated for database applications. Programming in this RAD does not look like anything else I know, you mostly don't write code as with usual languages, but it is nearly impossible to explain just with words. The applications are interpreted, not compiled.

As PachinSV said, when developing, you must follow UniPaaS' way of doing things. This is probably why so many people never manage to use Magic properly: if you thought like Magic before learning about it, then you will adapt to it easily; but if you have a long and successful experience using other database development tools, then often the Magic paradigm will never become natural to you. The learning curve is quite steep, you must learn a lot of things before being able to write a little application.

Previous versions stored the "code" inside a database table. The last version, UniPaas stores the code in xml files. I could send you an example, if PachinSV does not answer you before. But the files are pretty big: the smallest xml file I have in a test app is 4000 bytes, and any application is made of at least 11 files, an empty application is 7600 bytes. You must also understand that developers never use those files (they are undocumented AFAIK), they are only the storage format used internally by UniPaaS. The only way to use them is to set them up as a UniPaaS application.