Any advice for dBase & FoxPro Programmer now moving to VB Object Environment?

[deeaglex]

I am an old dBase IV and FoxPro programmer now moving to Visual Basic Object Oriented Environment. I have mastered writing code and functions in dBase & FoxPro but is there an easy migration. Do you have any advice on where to start? Any good CBT or websites that will help me along? I started to learn Visual Basic 6 but I am hearing that I should be learning .NET instead.

[Hack]

Moved to General Developer

I also started with dBase....dBase II actually, and went through III and IV...I moved to Access in the early 90's and SQL Server shortly thereafter so I'd say it is about time for you to on.

And definately go with VB.NET - you are finally moving away from dead databases so there is no point in including a dead programming language like VB6 in your move.

[RhinoBull]

... I have mastered writing code and functions in dBase & FoxPro but is there an easy migration...

There will be no easy migration.
However, as long as you have solid background in programming and some general understanding of computer science then your transition might not be as difficult.
Of course learning new language takes time and lots of effort and you really have to be committed but it's worth doing it if you're panning to stay in this business for another decade or so.

Go with VB 2008 (aka VB.Net but MS is no longer marketing this product as .Net) if you are already familiar with VB syntax or C# if you like C++ or Java syntax.
VB 2008 Express Edition is free and you can get it directly from MS. I would also recommend to get SQL Server Express 2008 - it is free as well.

[mendhak]

Wow, old school. What language is foxpro syntax closest to? C#-esque or VB.NET-esque?

[RhinoBull]

Fox's syntax style is closer to VB - no brackets.

[Hack]

Actually FoxPro's syntax is closer to dBASE than anything I've seen.

[RhinoBull]

You're absolutely right but we were trying to compare it to VB vs C style so I said it's closer to VB.

[deeaglex]

Hello Everyone, thanks for all your input thus far.

I am use to writing codes for everything. Even to draw a line or a box is a line or two in these old languages. It is too good to be true.

The problem I am having is that is am use to controlling everything in my software. Now I can draw a box and windows will add the codes and I will not know how that code works or where it is stored. I want to understand all that.

I am accustomed to opening databases and doing computation and making the changes very easily with a SEEK of FIND command then I can easily use a REPLACE command to change something in a record or loop it to change an entire database file.

I will save my program setting in a database file for easy retreival and changing. I can open the setting file and get the information I need then close it back. I can make changes and save it back easily.

I need a bit of understanding on this in Visual Basic. From my understanding it is easier to do this in VB using RECORDSET.

The next thing is that in Visual Basic Database means a different thing than in dBase or FoxPro. A database file in dBase or FoxPro is a "seperate file" with a name and .DBF extension. In VB a database is a collection of files that make up the database. Smile!

[si_the_geek]

I need a bit of understanding on this in Visual Basic. From my understanding it is easier to do this in VB using RECORDSET.

A Recordset is what you would use in Classic VB (VB6 or earlier), but not in newer versions (VB2002 and later, or VB.Net) which is what we recommend you use.

There are examples and explanations in the VB.Net section of our Database Development FAQs/Tutorials (at the top of the Database Development forum)

I am accustomed to opening databases and doing computation and making the changes very easily with a SEEK of FIND command then I can easily use a REPLACE command to change something in a record or loop it to change an entire database file.

It is generally simplest and quickest to use action SQL statements (like Update), which will do all the work for you with just one statement.

If you do that, there is no need to actually get any data into your program, so you don't need to use a recordset (or equivalent)

The next thing is that in Visual Basic Database means a different thing than in dBase or FoxPro. A database file in dBase or FoxPro is a "seperate file" with a name and .DBF extension. In VB a database is a collection of files that make up the database. Smile!

Actually that is not quite correct - for VB a database is the same as it is in the system you are working with.

If you want, you can work with a dBase or FoxPro database, and the meaning is the same.. from a search on a file format site (which links to a Borland technical document) it seems that a DBF file is just a Table, rather than being an entire database (from my limited knowledge, I can understand that the words could tend to be used interchangeably for dBase users).