Originally posted by CornedBee
I'm sorry to say it, but mastering VB is more a hindrance than a help. The only skill you can take over to C++ is the basic knowledge of the structuring of a programming language: what if-else is, what for-, while- and do-while-loops are, what a switch (case) statement is, what a function is. Other than that nearly nothing. C++ does not provide RAD development, has a quite different syntax, a different programming paradigm (OOP) and you have to do nearly everything in code. In return for that plus of work you get speed, executable size and a few other nice things.
I really do not agree with you on some things. Mastering VB would allow a new programmer to learn extremely complex libraries, such as OpenGL, or DirectX. The commands in those libraries do nnt change AT ALL. As for the programming paradigm, OOP is quite possible in Visual Basic. Obviously certain features (e.g. polymorphism and inheritance) are not totally implemented, however, it is still possible to use OOP. As for the executable size, well VB executables are MUCH SMALLER, which is a VERY GOOD THING!!! I first learned BASIC languages (GW, BASICA, QB, VB) and now find it much easier to learn C++. I know how/what the Windows API is and what it is supposed to do. I've learned how to make objects and learned to understand very advanced concepts MUCH faster in VB than is possible in C++.

With work, nearly everything that can be done in VC++ can be done in VB, and with usually smaller amounts of code. As for the speed, many of the applications that I find people asking for help on these forums are completely speed independent. Why would anyone want to right an additional ten thousand lines to do something that just lends itself to a different language.

I agree that C++ has some benefits and that is the small speed increase. However, VB still is VERY good and shouldn't be needlessly bashed.