As a programmer, it's always interesting to see other programmer's source code - especially when it's a popular product, or it does something clever.
I recently came across a bundle on eBay called Site Wizard Pro (SWP). It claimed that it would generate websites for you, that it came with resale rights, and also the source code.
As I am currently writing a series of website generators, I thought it would be useful to see how others did it, so I bought the SWP bundle. It was less than $4, so it didn't really matter if it turned out to be the rubbish that I was expecting.
As it turned out, it was ok, but not exactly mind-blowing. The vendor claimed that the software sells for $97. I'd be very disappointed if I paid $97 for it. In fact, I'd say that $9.70 would be high!
The source code is in C++, but specifically in C++Builder by the look of it, so impossible to rebuild in Visual C++.
The bundle included an HTML editor, complete with VB source code. This failed to run because it was missing an OCX file. Luckily I managed to download that from the net and get it running, but the average PC user wouldn't know what to do.
The program looked promising to begin with, but soon plummetted in my estimation when I clicked on a button and the entire application bombed out - No error message, no chance to save data - nothing. I later discovered that several of the controls cause it to bomb out in a similar fashion.
So I tried loading the source into my copy of VB (a later version than that used to create it), and it failed to convert the project to the later format.
There are sections of code that I'll find useful, but the overall product as it stands is rubbish. Unless you're a programmer who might find some of the source code useful, I'd stay away from SWP.
If you buy it with a view to reselling it, it might just come back and bite you as your customers start asking for their money back.
