Limitations of Helix Visual Programming
One should note that Visual Basic follows a mixed approach to software development. The "Visual" aspect refers to the way a user interface is built, by dragging and dropping user-interface widgets such as labels, text boxes, buttons etc. on to a canvas (the form). However, double-clicking on particular widgets (or on the form) will bring up a code editor where one writes traditional code using a language that supports all aspects of structured programming (if..then..else, fixed-iteration and indefinite-iteration loops, switch statements, subroutines etc.). VB also has a "compilation" model, so that errors such as undeclared variables (which are often due to typing errors), or data-type errors, are caught before the code is run.
By contrast, in Helix, one must compose all code graphically - thus, an if..then..else construct is built using flowchart-type widgets such as decision diamonds, and loops are implemented using connectors.
While Helix's visual programming is possibly easier for novices to learn (because it uses a flowcharting paradigm that is intuitively understood by non-technical individuals), it becomes tedious when the amount of code to be written becomes significant,especially for an individual who can write code much more easily and conveniently than if forced to drag icons from a palette. Helix has consequently suffered from the lack of developer support and third-party applications. It is worth noting that originally, the 4th Dimension database software on the Macintosh also supported visual programming, but that as its programming language acquired more features, the visual programming capability was eventually dropped.
In 2010 the company turned resumed work on the final product, Helix RADE, promising an OS X native release before the year is over. Check out their latest word at http://www.qsatoolworks.com/tlw
Read more about this topic: Helix (database)
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