Why are Agents Important?

Footnote

Microsoft introduced Visual Basic controls — often referred to as VBX controls — in 1991, with the release of Visual Basic 1.0 for Windows.

The “father” of VBXs (Visual Basic eXtensions) is generally recognized as Alan Cooper. Here’s how that came about:

Alan Cooper, a software designer and developer, created an early visual programming environment called Tripod in the late 1980s. Microsoft acquired the rights to Tripod and, working with Cooper, developed it into Visual Basic 1.0, which launched in 1991.

Cooper’s prototype introduced the form designer concept — dragging and dropping UI elements (controls) onto forms — which directly led to the need for VBX controls as reusable, pluggable components.

Although Microsoft’s VB team (led by Scott Ferguson and others) implemented the actual VBX architecture, Alan Cooper’s foundational design and vision for a “visual, component-based programming tool” earned him the informal title of:
🧠 “The Father of Visual Basic” — and by extension, of VBX controls.