Any VB6 programmers trying to learn C#?

[MrPolite]

I was just wondering if there is any of you VB6 guys who want to learn C# rather than VB.Net. If so, can you tell me your reasons for doing so?;)

Umm, and in one of the books I was reading it suggested that if you are familiar with VB syntax, just stick with VB, and if you like C++ syntax then learn C#. Is it a good reason?!! There should be more major differences.
Also, is C# going to be more popular than VB.Net?

[kovan]

o o o finally someone asks

i been programming in vb for umm 5 years or so (on and off)
when .net came out, i decided i have had it with vb and wanted to learn c#
(yes i am familiar with c++ syntax)
and the reason why i went with c# is because i feel that it will hold a higher value to say "i know c#" then " i know vb.net"
and it really isnt that hard anyways, i just got started few weeks ago, and i am already confident to build a commercial app with c# (already started by the way)
in my HUMBLE opinion, vb is for wusses(Cander is a wuss)
:)

[MrPolite]

how about learning both? :D

[kovan]

once you learn c# you learned vb (thats if you know vb from before)
all the things you will learn doing c# will include all the new things in vb
so if you learn c#, you already are learning all the new features of the vb.net over vb6

[Cander]

They are so close to simliar that C# i find is pretty much as easy as VB..just learn the syntax. C# has the benefit of doing some more lower level things like bit shifting, unsigned values, overloading operators(which is a pretty interesting idea), and stuff like that which I am finding useful in some scenarios which is why I am learning C# so I can do such operations.

[yaz]

usable in vb anyway some say

[Fool]

I know some VB6 but I'm more of a Java guy than anything. C# is something I'm looking into, but I'm still learning so much about Java I don't know if I have any time to screw around with C#. I still have a class in C before I graduate college next year. ;)

[DevGrp]

If you like Java, you will love C#. The syntax will also be very familiar, so the transition will be smooth.

[Mih_Flyer]

i think learning any one of .NET languages will make it easier to learn another .NET language...coz the .NET framework is unique

[Wen Lie]

I'd love to learn c#
but oh man... I'm not so familiar with C++ language.
coz I come from VB6 programming
:p

Any help ?

Wille

[Fool]

Originally posted by DevGrp
If you like Java, you will love C#. The syntax will also be very familiar, so the transition will be smooth.

I'm installing VS.NET right now. Hopefully I'll have a little bit of time to poke around in C#. :)

[Wen Lie]

what about someone like me who never used to Java language ?

Wille

[donut]

Wen Lie, get a book on it ;)

i don't think the C-style syntax takes very long to get to grips with. you should get used to it after playing around with it a bit.

[MrPolite]

I'm sticking with VB:D

[kovan]

Originally posted by MrPolite
I'm sticking with VB:D
WUSS

[ender_pete]

dude ive been programming in vb for almost 7 years and i think C# owns vb.net i started learning vb.net but then got a C# book out of curiosity and i havent gone back to vb.net
Im still doing vb.net work at work but my fun coding is done in C#

[kleptos]

As much as i hate to say this, i might end up going over the the dark side. VB.Net is just not as fun as when i started, and if i read a few books right, C# can do more then VB.NET. I have been using VBV 6.0 for a while now, and C# just looks more interesting.

[BrianHawley]

Here's a bear minimum guide for going from VB to C# that lists the main differences for the total VB-only programmer:

http://www.4guysfromrolla.com/webtech/012702-1.shtml

[Magiaus]

I just decided to try and pick up C# today (oh, vb6 for 5 years & c++ for about 6 months) and I am having some trouble so far but it doesn't seem that much different from vb.net. I mean if you know JavaScript or ActionScript it's almost the same as knowing C++ syntax anyway.

Personal I think the two languages(vb.net and C#) are close enough that anybody who wanted to could move back and forth easy enough. I mean it's not like it's like a whole different ball game anymore.

imports == using or does using = imports wow it's mind boggling....

[BrianHawley]

The main 'gottcha' most VB people will keep falling over is utterly trivial. It's the case-sensitivity.

I guess it's a matter of the habits you get into. I had to maintain some ancient Clipper code the other day (yes, we have some tight-wad customers still running DOS!) and my VB habits made me keep putting 'then' on the end of the 'if' statements, which of course Clipper does not like.

It's more a matter of instinct than knowledge, like when you are in a country where they drive on the other side of the road and you meet somebody driving towards you on a single lane dirt track. Your instincts can easily make you pull to the wrong side.

[kovan]

am totally moving to c#
and case sensitivity has been probably the biggest issue for me right now, always forget am not vbing..
but now when i try to program in vb, i use c# syntax.. kinda annyoing to use both at the same time

[kovan]

thats what i am talking about
i would NEVER think about using vb.net
but i still have to write a new app in vb6, and finish one i started
so its a pain

[kleptos]

Problem for me is the darn little semi-colon, thats my only problem thus far, the semi-colon....

[Cander]

I keep getting done in the butt by knowing when to instantiate a class or when to just call the class as is depending on whether your method is static or not.. and of course that freaking semi-colon...

[MrPolite]

well, I have C++ syntax for two reasons. 1- too many semi colons! 2- it's damn case sensitive!!!!:D

[BrianHawley]

But it's a small price to pay for the feeling of superiority you will have over vb.net programmers. (Bound to get flamed for that.)

[kovan]

Originally posted by BrianHawley
But it's a small price to pay for the feeling of superiority you will have over vb.net programmers. (Bound to get flamed for that.)

i got your back, no one darez

[Shawn N]

I think your reasons for calling VB programmers "wuss" are silly. I see hardly any major differences in the capabilities of both languages. As for pointers, they stray from the framework's garbage collector. Flame on. ;)

http://www.diacenter.org/kos/images/humtorch.jpg

[BrianHawley]

Hey, there was a grin on the end.

I'm up to speed on vb.net but I'm just learning C# - so I guess I'm still a wuss. Probably I'll use both for a while, until I find which I prefer. Tending to C# at the moment, but that may just be the novelty.

I know it's an irrational prejudice, but I think prospective clients, particularly muggles (non-technicals), may regard prospective C# as more 'professional' than vb. There is already some evidence that our customers lean towards C#. We have put out a few quotes where we have proposed either C# or vb.net as the development language and they have gone for C# 100% of the time. Don't know if this proves anything, except perhaps the ignorance of the customers.

One interesting point: theoretically you can write something in vb.net, compile to MIL, then decompile back to C# source. Lose your comments of course. Anybody tried it?

[hellswraith]

One interesting point: theoretically you can write something in vb.net, compile to MIL, then decompile back to C# source. Lose your comments of course. Anybody tried it?

I haven't done it myself, but it is possible from what I have read. There are people comming out with obfuscators to help solve this problem. http://www.preemptive.com/dotfuscator/index.html

We are all now like the Java programmers that have to find tricks to keep the code from getting out.

[Nator]

That's interesting in regards to the customers preferring C# over VB. I guess that has more to do with the novelty of name "C#". If MS changed VB's name but left the actual language as is, I think you would see the same thing. I could also see customers hearing TheApp was written in C++ and see it a negative. My customers really only care that the product I give them works. I've picked up C# simply by translating examples. At this point, I feel pretty comfortable in either environment. Both languages have features that I wish both had. Example: VB has the With statement. C# has the bracketed string builder ("My string {0} is cool", theString)

[BrianHawley]

I agree it's all in the mind. MS did themselves a great disservice by not renaming BASIC early on. What non-technical manager would want a mission critical application written in "beginners all- purpose symbolic instruction code".

Languages and OS's evolve. Early Windows was an extension to DOS, which was a port of QDOS, which stood for Quick and Dirty Operating System. They were pretty quick to lose the 'Q' and change the 'D' to Disk.