VB.Net, If Not VB, what now?

If Not VB, what now?

Author	Message
Kevin Youn #1 / 25	If Not VB, what now? I look after a small business unit within a large organization and have recently started down a path to modernize our information systems. The existing applications are primarily database related and were developed in Visual Fox Pro 5. The systems were good when developed, however, times have changed and the systems no longer meet our needs. We have found there is no longer staff on hand that are familiar with VFP and that VFP is not user friendly enough for some of the non-techies that must use the system and produce reports. Where we are located, there is absolutely no schools offering training in VFP so it doesn't make sense to redevelop the systems using it. VB was recommended since there is a large pool of programmers and a ton of books and training available. With VB.NET on the horizon, my question is this. From everything I've read it seems as though if we develop in VB6, in a year or more we are going to find ourselves again in the same position we are in now with VFP? This does not make good business sense and so what are the alternatives? Developing in a beta language will not be an option.
Fri, 30 May 2003 05:53:26 GMT

Wally McClur #2 / 25	If Not VB, what now? I would start developing in VB6 now, as in today. Get comfortable with the language. Learn how to use the product. Learn the basics on how to write multi-tier applications. Learn how to write business logic in middle tier components are are then usable across Windows and Web/ASP applications. The jump from VB6 to VB.Net will not be anywhere near as large as the jump from nothing to Vb.Net. VB6 will be around for a while. It won't go away when VB.Net ships. Wally Quote: > I look after a small business unit within a large organization and have > recently started down a path to modernize our information systems. The > existing applications are primarily database related and were developed in > Visual Fox Pro 5. The systems were good when developed, however, times have > changed and the systems no longer meet our needs. > We have found there is no longer staff on hand that are familiar with VFP > and that VFP is not user friendly enough for some of the non-techies that > must use the system and produce reports. Where we are located, there is > absolutely no schools offering training in VFP so it doesn't make sense to > redevelop the systems using it. > VB was recommended since there is a large pool of programmers and a ton of > books and training available. With VB.NET on the horizon, my question is > this. From everything I've read it seems as though if we develop in VB6, in > a year or more we are going to find ourselves again in the same position we > are in now with VFP? > This does not make good business sense and so what are the alternatives? > Developing in a beta language will not be an option.
Fri, 30 May 2003 07:25:47 GMT

Jonathan Alle #3 / 25	If Not VB, what now? VB programmers are not going to disappear in a year, so you can still use VB6. Basically, can you afford to wait for a year to develop your apps? If yes, wait for VB.Net, otherwise VB6 is a reasonable choice. -- Jonathan Allen Quote: > I look after a small business unit within a large organization and have > recently started down a path to modernize our information systems. The > existing applications are primarily database related and were developed in > Visual Fox Pro 5. The systems were good when developed, however, times have > changed and the systems no longer meet our needs. > We have found there is no longer staff on hand that are familiar with VFP > and that VFP is not user friendly enough for some of the non-techies that > must use the system and produce reports. Where we are located, there is > absolutely no schools offering training in VFP so it doesn't make sense to > redevelop the systems using it. > VB was recommended since there is a large pool of programmers and a ton of > books and training available. With VB.NET on the horizon, my question is > this. From everything I've read it seems as though if we develop in VB6, in > a year or more we are going to find ourselves again in the same position we > are in now with VFP? > This does not make good business sense and so what are the alternatives? > Developing in a beta language will not be an option.
Fri, 30 May 2003 06:29:25 GMT

Syd #4 / 25	If Not VB, what now? I would recommend using VB6, and developing HEAVILY component-based, black-box, code - put almost all of your "intelligent" code into active-x dlls, and make sure they are robust enough to stand the test of time. You will be able to access these dlls from .NET environments in the future. It will make the transition easier in a year! As for the re-training, the VB language syntax stays similar in VB7, it is just that it is greatly EXTENDED, so any VB training will still be useful ammunition in facing the .NET mammoth in a year from now. Quote: > I look after a small business unit within a large organization and have > recently started down a path to modernize our information systems. The > existing applications are primarily database related and were developed in > Visual Fox Pro 5. The systems were good when developed, however, times have > changed and the systems no longer meet our needs. > We have found there is no longer staff on hand that are familiar with VFP > and that VFP is not user friendly enough for some of the non-techies that > must use the system and produce reports. Where we are located, there is > absolutely no schools offering training in VFP so it doesn't make sense to > redevelop the systems using it. > VB was recommended since there is a large pool of programmers and a ton of > books and training available. With VB.NET on the horizon, my question is > this. From everything I've read it seems as though if we develop in VB6, in > a year or more we are going to find ourselves again in the same position we > are in now with VFP? > This does not make good business sense and so what are the alternatives? > Developing in a beta language will not be an option.
Fri, 30 May 2003 22:57:26 GMT

Rob Jol #5 / 25	If Not VB, what now? Quote: > This does not make good business sense and so what are the alternatives? > Developing in a beta language will not be an option. My company is facing the same dilema. We decided to switch to Delphi now rather than wait for VB.NET to stabilize and become reliable since that's probably still a couple years away. Delphi isn't as widely used as VB so you should look into training, etc. It already has all the goodies of VB.NET (complete framework, OOP, multithreading, SEH, etc.) but is a true native code compiler like C++. There's a fully working evaluation to download at http://www.borland.com/delphi/ The other mainstream choices are Java and C++. Borland has free evaluations of those compilers on their site as well.
Sat, 31 May 2003 02:15:19 GMT

Kevin Youn #6 / 25	If Not VB, what now? Thanks for all the input! You've given me several options to consider and I appreciate that.
Sat, 31 May 2003 10:49:12 GMT

Henrik Sealande #7 / 25	If Not VB, what now? TRUE! And it really is a shame that vb is lacking this because the VB6 syntax is nice and easy to understand. I hope that MS will put some more effort in keeping VB.net a "real" language and a keep up the competition with Delphi in the future. I'm saying this because I have a Delphi programmer next to me and he always keep annoying me by telling all the features he got........... - I want to win over him at least. :-) /HS Quote: > > This does not make good business sense and so what are the alternatives? > > Developing in a beta language will not be an option. > My company is facing the same dilema. We decided to switch to Delphi now > rather than wait for VB.NET to stabilize and become reliable since that's > probably still a couple years away. Delphi isn't as widely used as VB so you > should look into training, etc. It already has all the goodies of VB.NET > (complete framework, OOP, multithreading, SEH, etc.) but is a true native > code compiler like C++. There's a fully working evaluation to download at > http://www.borland.com/delphi/ > The other mainstream choices are Java and C++. Borland has free evaluations > of those compilers on their site as well.
Sat, 31 May 2003 23:59:40 GMT

Richard Curzo #8 / 25	If Not VB, what now? Hope you stayed out of the debate. If you've been around the industry, you'll know that Borland has been close to the brink a number of times. This "stability" keening lately is a very shallow view of what's going on. If a company the size of MS bets the company on a large framework like dot-net, and VB hitches its wagon to that, then you are not going to find anything more likely to be around in 10 years in the entire industry IMO. Delphi is at much greater risk IMO. Yes there's a painful break with VB6. Is it easier to port VB6 to Delphi though?! If you really think so, go for it, but I think you're getting carried away. regards Richard. Quote: > > This does not make good business sense and so what are the alternatives? > > Developing in a beta language will not be an option. > My company is facing the same dilema. We decided to switch to Delphi now > rather than wait for VB.NET to stabilize and become reliable since that's > probably still a couple years away. Delphi isn't as widely used as VB so you > should look into training, etc. It already has all the goodies of VB.NET > (complete framework, OOP, multithreading, SEH, etc.) but is a true native > code compiler like C++. There's a fully working evaluation to download at > http://www.borland.com/delphi/ > The other mainstream choices are Java and C++. Borland has free evaluations > of those compilers on their site as well.
Sun, 01 Jun 2003 01:34:41 GMT

Zorie #9 / 25	If Not VB, what now? Also to note that when Visual Studio is released there will be three Pascal Languages for it was well. So if you do choose Delphi (Pascal) you will not be left out of the DotNet world. Pascal is also available on all platforms from Linux, Windows, Mac and even Amiga (not sure about the new released version). VB is a great language, but it is best to find one that you and your staff are comfortable learning and can take you where you intend to go in the future and where you need to be now. -V- Quote: > > This does not make good business sense and so what are the alternatives? > > Developing in a beta language will not be an option. > My company is facing the same dilema. We decided to switch to Delphi now > rather than wait for VB.NET to stabilize and become reliable since that's > probably still a couple years away. Delphi isn't as widely used as VB so you > should look into training, etc. It already has all the goodies of VB.NET > (complete framework, OOP, multithreading, SEH, etc.) but is a true native > code compiler like C++. There's a fully working evaluation to download at > http://www.borland.com/delphi/ > The other mainstream choices are Java and C++. Borland has free evaluations > of those compilers on their site as well.
Sun, 01 Jun 2003 12:28:32 GMT

Peter G. Aitke #10 / 25	If Not VB, what now? Quote: > I look after a small business unit within a large organization and have > recently started down a path to modernize our information systems. The > existing applications are primarily database related and were developed in > Visual Fox Pro 5. The systems were good when developed, however, times have > changed and the systems no longer meet our needs. > We have found there is no longer staff on hand that are familiar with VFP > and that VFP is not user friendly enough for some of the non-techies that > must use the system and produce reports. Where we are located, there is > absolutely no schools offering training in VFP so it doesn't make sense to > redevelop the systems using it. > VB was recommended since there is a large pool of programmers and a ton of > books and training available. With VB.NET on the horizon, my question is > this. From everything I've read it seems as though if we develop in VB6, in > a year or more we are going to find ourselves again in the same position we > are in now with VFP? > This does not make good business sense and so what are the alternatives? > Developing in a beta language will not be an option. VB6 is certainly a good option. Looking to the future, Microsoft has published a set of guidelines for developers to use creating VB6 apps that will eventually be moved to VB.Net. Following these guidelines you can minimize the hassle that will occur when and if you need to migrate to .Net sometime down the road. Peter G. Aitken
Mon, 02 Jun 2003 04:27:17 GMT

Rob Jol #11 / 25	If Not VB, what now? Quote: > If a company the size of MS bets the company on a large framework like > dot-net, and VB hitches its wagon to that, then you are not going to find > anything more likely to be around in 10 years in the entire industry IMO. > Delphi is at much greater risk IMO. A few years back I listened to the "Borland is dying" talk and went with VB. Now Delphi is still much alive and kicking while VB is on life-support with an as yet unproven Java-like replacement still under development. Fool me once, shame on you, etc. etc. Borland is a dev tools company and MS is an OS one. In a way, MS needs Borland to show there are alternative sources for tools to sell it's OS. In any case, if Borland does die Delphi will be sold off and supported by some other company. So what. The next version of Delphi and a compiler for Linux are both scheduled for release before VB.NET 1.0. One could argue there's less risk in going with the more established tool. Quote: > Yes there's a painful break with VB6. Is it easier to port VB6 to Delphi > though?! If you really think so, go for it, but I think you're getting > carried away. Yes, strangely enough, I do believe a port to Delphi will be easier. Going from VB6 to VB.NET demands a rewrite to take advantage of the new framework, OOP, error-handling, and all the rest. So given a rewrite is necessary, doing so for a dissimilar language will be "cleaner" than trying to the mesh the similar but incompatible syntax and workings of VB.NET. To me, the current version of Delphi is better than what VB.NET is even promising. Full OOP, multithreading, structured error handling, and the framework... all there already... but no runtime baggage. I couldn't care less about Java-like garbage collection but on the other hand, as an experienced VB user the OS upgrade required for .NET really sends shivers down my spine.
Mon, 02 Jun 2003 07:39:03 GMT

Jonathan Alle #12 / 25	If Not VB, what now? Quote: > A few years back I listened to the "Borland is dying" talk Wasn't Borland bought out a couple years ago? -- Jonathan Allen
Mon, 02 Jun 2003 07:43:10 GMT

Zorie #13 / 25	If Not VB, what now? Nah, Borland bought some Data Access company and changed it's name to INPRISE. They found out that Borland was branded too much and the INPRISE name was hurting them, so they went back to using Borland. They were going to merge with Corel, but pulled out of that one. In Borland's history, they have purchased a few companies or their products (remember Ashton-Tate?) -V- Quote: > > A few years back I listened to the "Borland is dying" talk > Wasn't Borland bought out a couple years ago? > -- > Jonathan Allen
Mon, 02 Jun 2003 10:18:13 GMT

Jonathan Alle #14 / 25	If Not VB, what now? That was the name. I thought Inprise bought Borland, not the other way around. Oh well, it doesn't matter. The lively hood of product is not directly tied to the lively hood of it's company. Companies like Corel have proven it many times over. -- Jonathan Allen Quote: > Nah, > Borland bought some Data Access company and changed it's name to INPRISE. > They found out that Borland was branded too much and the INPRISE name was > hurting them, so they went back to using Borland. > They were going to merge with Corel, but pulled out of that one. > In Borland's history, they have purchased a few companies or their products > (remember Ashton-Tate?) > -V- > > > A few years back I listened to the "Borland is dying" talk > > Wasn't Borland bought out a couple years ago? > > -- > > Jonathan Allen
Mon, 02 Jun 2003 15:53:21 GMT

Garry Sherrif #15 / 25	If Not VB, what now? Didn't Microsoft just make a multi-million $ investment in Borland? Maybe Delphi will become Delphi.NET? :-) Actually that concept sounds familiar... Quote: > Borland is a dev tools company and MS is an OS one. In a way, MS needs > Borland to show there are alternative sources for tools to sell it's OS. In > any case, if Borland does die Delphi will be sold off and supported by some > other company. So what. The next version of Delphi and a compiler for Linux > are both scheduled for release before VB.NET 1.0. One could argue there's > less risk in going with the more established tool.
Mon, 02 Jun 2003 17:53:26 GMT

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