In 1988, Alan Cooper created a visual programming language (code-named “Ruby”) that allowed Windows users to build “Finder”-like shells. He called it “a shell construction set." After he demonstrated Ruby to Bill Gates, Microsoft purchased it. At the time, Gates commented that the innovation would have a “profound effect” on their entire product line. Microsoft initially decided not to release the product as a shell for users, but rather to transform it into a professional development tool for their QuickBASIC programming language called Visual Basic, which was widely used for business application development for Windows computers.