Modern Access developers now have two powerful emerging technologies that could reshape how they approach development projects: twinBASIC as a VBA successor and AI as an intelligent coding assistant.

In a comprehensive presentation at Access DevCon Vienna 2024, Microsoft Access MVP Mike Wolfe provided updates on twinBASIC's progress toward its 1.0 release and shared practical insights on effectively leveraging AI tools for Access development. The presentation highlighted both the upcoming capabilities of twinBASIC as a potential VBA successor and strategies for using AI assistants to enhance development workflows rather than replace human developers.

Whether you're considering migrating VB6 projects to a modern platform or looking to incorporate AI into your Access development process, this presentation offered valuable insights into technologies that could become essential parts of the Access developer's toolkit.

twinBASIC Progress Update

Current Status

• Approaching 1.0 release target date of July 1, 2024
• Fully compiled language with 100% backward compatibility with VBA and VB6
• Commercial release likely delayed until later in 2024 for administrative reasons
• Close to achieving complete VB6 compatibility goal
• Major VB6 applications successfully ported (XYplorer, PhotoDemon, Pac-Man)

New Features

• Windows Services creation capability
• Multi-document interface forms
• Access-like reporting functionality
• Static library support for streamlined deployment
• Continued compatibility improvements, especially with ActiveX controls

Compatibility Roadmap

• Currently in the final stages of achieving complete VB6 compatibility
• The journey from 90% to 100% compatibility represents half the development effort
• Focus on matching the idiosyncrasies of VB6, including specific event triggering order
• Working toward addressing edge cases and undocumented implementation details

Windows Services Potential

Developer Opportunities

• Monitor file drops for automated data import
• Schedule data cleanup or archiving tasks
• Sync Access data with web APIs or services
• Provide real-time database change notifications
• Run backend processes without requiring user login
• Create automatic application update systems (similar to Google updater)

Key Advantages

• Can run 24/7 whether users are logged in or not
• Can be set to start at system startup
• Able to perform tasks in the background without user interaction
• Built-in support for Windows event logging
• Inter-process communication capabilities

VBA Integration Possibilities

Potential Integration Levels

• Basic level: VBA development environment replacement with modern IDE benefits
• Intermediate level: New syntax features that can be transpiled to VBA
• Advanced level: Full language replacement with performance improvements

Modern IDE Benefits

• Code lens for function previews
• Sticky scrolling for better code block visibility
• Inline code hints showing associated block ends
• Better readability and navigation features

Licensing Options

Available Tiers

• Community Edition: Free for commercial use (splash screen for 64-bit)
• Professional: £26/mo (reflects 35% pre-launch discount)
• Ultimate: £39/mo (reflects 35% pre-launch discount)
• Gold Lifetime: £5,000 one-time payment (enterprise license)
• Special DevCon offer: Perpetual license available to attendees

Features by Tier

• All tiers include commercial use, royalty-free licensing
• Professional tier removes 64-bit splash screen and has optimized compilation
• Ultimate tier includes (future) cross-platform support (Linux/Mac/Android)
• Pre-order discount locked in forever if purchased before 1.0 launch

Understanding AI for Developers

How LLMs Work

• Not search engines - don't fetch external content for answers
• Analyze entire context of prompts rather than just keywords
• Generate responses one word at a time based on probability
• No real-time access to all training data - rely on embedded knowledge
• Create semantic connections between concepts ("word math")

Context Windows

• Represents the AI's "memory" of the conversation
• Includes both input prompts and generated responses
• Limited in size, varies by model and service
• When exceeded, earliest parts of conversation are forgotten
• Managing context effectively improves response quality

AI Strengths for Developers

Code Reading vs. Writing

• LLMs are better at reading code than writing it
• Excel at parsing and interpreting existing code
• Can effectively document complex functions
• Strong at explaining queries and procedures
• Can help understand inherited codebases

The Intern Analogy

• AI is like a code writing intern: cheap but needs supervision
• Enthusiastic and eager but often overconfident
• Confidence frequently exceeds abilities
• Requires guidance and explicit instructions
• Can generate code that's technically correct but logically flawed

Effective AI Utilization

Prompt Engineering Tips

• Use detailed prompts (opposite of search engines)
• Create "mega prompts" for recurring tasks
• Include sample outputs in prompts
• Iterate and refine responses
• Provide specific guidance for better results

Context Management

• Keep conversations focused on single topics
• Use separate chats for tangential questions
• Summarize long conversations for new chats
• Create and maintain quality starter prompts
• Use specialized bots for recurring tasks

Recommended AI Tools

General Purpose

• Poe: Access to multiple cutting-edge AI models
• Perplexity: Hybrid LLM and search engine
• GitHub Copilot: Good for sensitive data (though expensive)

Development Specific

• WindSurf: Alternative to cursor.com for code editing
• Whisper: Open-source audio-to-text transcription

Best for VBA Development

• Claude 3.7 (via Poe)
• GPT-4o Mini
• Different models have different strengths for VBA tasks

Conclusion

Mike Wolfe's presentation highlighted how both twinBASIC and AI represent complementary opportunities for Access developers rather than threats. While twinBASIC offers a modern evolution path for VBA and VB6 code with powerful new capabilities like Windows Services, AI tools provide ways to enhance developer productivity when used with appropriate guidance and expertise. As twinBASIC approaches its commercial release and AI tools continue to evolve, Access developers who embrace these technologies may find themselves better positioned for future development challenges.

Access to Recordings

This presentation was part of Access DevCon Vienna, a paid online conference for Microsoft Access developers. The full recording and other conference materials are exclusively available to registered attendees of the conference.

If you attended Access DevCon Vienna, you should have received an email from the conference organizers with a link to the videos.

Consider Attending Future Conferences

The quality and depth of content from Access DevCon Vienna demonstrates the value of professional development conferences focused on Microsoft Access. Consider attending future conferences to:

• Learn advanced techniques directly from expert presenters
• Gain access to exclusive content not available elsewhere
• Ask questions of expert presenters and other attendees
• Stay current with the latest Access development trends and best practices

For information about upcoming Access DevCon Vienna conferences, visit donkarl.com.

The next Access DevCon will take place on April 16+17, 2026, and will again be purely online in Microsoft Teams.

Partial Recording Available Online

The twinBASIC portion of this presentation is available on YouTube:

Acknowledgements

• Initial draft generated by Claude-3.7-Sonnet