Visual Basic Programmer

MICROSOFT VISUAL BASIC PROGRAMMER

Why Visual Basic.Net?

Here is a series of questions that provide a background to Visual Basic.Net. The answers highlight the problems and opportunities facing the Visual Basic programmer in using Visual Basic.Net.

Note that the number of developers using VB.Net today is roughly the same as for the C# language.

How different is VB.Net?

VB.Net is a complete rewrite of Visual Basic 6. The syntax is still almost "Visual Basic" as we know it, but everything else has changed. It now has all the functionality of "C", "C++" or "C#".

VB.Net is not VB6 with some enhancements. It is a completely different Object Oriented language incorporating Encapsulation, Inheritance and Polymorphism. Compatibility with VB6 has been well and truly broken.

Although VB.Net is now Object Oriented, it is still the best language for business-oriented, database management applications. With strict development standards compliance, most of the complexities can be avoided.

Is VB.Net easy to learn?

Visual Studio.Net incorporates Web projects and Web Services, new areas that need specialisation. ADO.NET is not simply a new Version of ADO, but a complete rewrite. For example, the new printing facility of VB.Net provides enormous power with its functionality (like borders, colours, fonts, etc), but the simplicity of VB6 has been lost.

The latest release, Visual Studio 2010 has many features. Together with Object Orientation, a huge learning curve is involved. It is extremely difficult for the Visual Basic Programming neophyte (and old hands too) to learn everything – especially as VB.Net is so vast and is evolving so rapidly.

The Microsoft Help system, although improved, is not good. There are now Visual Basic examples, instead of only C# examples. There is still too much that is at a low-level and esoteric. Defining how a procedure gets Overloaded in 40 different ways is not my idea of documentation.

Thankfully, there is a very active VB.Net community. The Internet is a great source of information on Visual Basic.Net. The trouble is trying to work out what is current and what has been superseded. Many books on Visual Basic.Net are half-baked, and rushed out to print too quickly.

Is VB.Net stable enough to use?

Visual Basic 2010 with Service Pack 1 is now reasonably stable and acceptable.

• The slowness of the development environment has improved.
• Programs developed in VB.Net, together with SQL Server, are fast and efficient.
• Getting Charting to work involves a large leaning curve, but the results are superb.
• The new Help system is a great improvement.
• The new Menu control for Websites, with the option to eliminate Tables, reduces page size and download times significantly.
• Publishing a Website should now be done with FTP, replacing FrontPage Server Extensions.

The 2010 code improvements, as well as the new functionality, are irrelevant to most Visual Basic Programmers.

How helpful was the VB.Net 2008 Upgrade Wizard?

Visual Studio 2010 no longer has an Upgrade Wizard – for these reasons:

• The Upgrade Wizard did not ensure a 100% upgrade.
• The output did not run – a multitude of Upgrade problems needed to be resolved.
• The Upgrade Wizard used a code standard that was difficult to maintain.
• The Upgrade Wizard used old VB6 controls, with massive amounts of warnings on potential problems, differing Events and Methods.
• The Upgrade Wizard was a poor learning aid – it did not produce up-to-date code.
• The conversion of any VB6 API was messy – there were always better VB.Net alternatives.

To get a "clean" version of the code, it is necessary to start a new project from scratch, and use a minimum of the "converted" code.

What about Data Grids?

Microsoft's DataGridView has all the functionality of any third-party software. It is just as easy to use, if not easier.

• The DataGridView control is free.
• It has an unbound mode. This allows the programmer more control than the bound mode.
• Microsoft's documentation on the DataGridView is dreadful (as usual), but the Web is a great source of information.
• The Style of each column can be easily set.
• Font and Colours can be changed – however the standard Grid layout is attractive.

Is it necessary to convert to ADO.Net?

No, it is not essential to convert to ADO.Net – all the old ADO routines are still available. You should consider the migration to ADO.Net when there is an efficiency problem. That is when:

• There are many opens and closes of a database.
• Disconnected database access is required for a Web site.
• There are heterogeneous sources of data.
• There is heavy database activity.

Programming Standards must be enforced

With the close compatibility with C#, all the new features are getting more and more esoteric. The language is becoming difficult to understand. Visual Basic is no longer the simple programming language that was previously so attractive for business applications.

If tight control of programming standards is not rigorously controlled, the Visual Basic programmers are likely to produce code that is not maintainable. This could prove very costly to a company. The programming standards should include a ban on Object Oriented Programming – besides the encapsulation techniques which are an essential part of Visual Basic programming. The programming standard should also restrict complex or seldom used features.

Maintainability and simplicity go hand in hand.

Project Deployment

Visual Studio Installer is still available, but will be discontinued – it has been replaced by the InstallShield LE software. Although the free InstallShield is a Limited Edition, it caters for all the essentials of project deployment. InstallShield is far simpler to use compared to Visual Studio Installer.