VB6 to .NET
I have run into allot of companies lately that need or want to move there legacy VB 6.0 applications to .NET. Amazingly they fear the change and think it carries a hefty price tag ( IDE, Training, Hours of Porting over code ). Well the truth is they are correct, thinking that any VB 6.0 programmer can just fire up VS.NET 2002, 2003 or Whidbey and move around like a mallard on the pond is a fatal EXCEPTION. I ran into some terrific articles on that very subject to see what all the hub-bub was since I didn't come from the VB 6.0 world of programming and harbor a distinct Hatred against visual VERY Basic. Hatred is a harsh word but it's correct; the finer points of the major pitfalls are so great that one author suggested that VB 6'ers should just clean the slate and move to C#, pity the thought.
Consider this snippet from an article
“By Michael Otey - I have an opinion about nearly everything, but I'm on the fence about Visual Basic (VB) 6.0 versus VB.NET. Microsoft and the VB.NET proponents claim that VB.NET is the next evolutionary step for VB—finally bringing to VB some of the advanced features that other languages have enjoyed for years. However, many expert VB developers maintain that VB.NET changes so many established VB features that it isn't even VB anymore.”
Some of the major points discussed were
- VB.NET is a full blown OOP language with all the bells and whistles ( inheritance, method overloading etc.)
- COM
- Deployment
- ADO.NET
- Syntax
I'll post the articles later on for all to enjoy. Strangely though VB.NET has gotten harder ( sort of ) and C# - the next version of C++ (sort of ) has gotten easier. What's next? VB# ??????????
God Help us, everyone.......