Help out some VB Newbies

[kleinma]

There have been a number of request for help with some questions for a class. I have seen at least 4 of these posts now, so I am going to make this a sticky for a week. If any members want to answer these questions please do so here, and then the students can come get someones answers here.

That being said, any new posts on this topic will be deleted, and PLEASE if you are going to anwser these questions, do it profesionally. They can't bring in your bad humor filled answers to school, so if I see people NOT answering in a correct manner, or I see posts off the topic, then it will be deleted and you will be given NEGATIVE post ratings.

Here are a few quick questions for those who would be so kind to answer them.

1.) How long have you been using VB?

2.) What versions of VB did you start on? How much has it changed from the first version you used?

3.) Do you use VB everyday? What sorts of ways do you use it?

4.) What does the typcial VB project that you work on consist of?

5.) Are any of your VB projects used by others daily in their work?

6.) What do you like most and least about the current version of VB?

7.) Would you rather use VB or if you had a choice, another programing language? Why?

8.) What types of opportunities do you think there are for beginning VB users?

9.) Could you provide a small sample application, or perhaps a sample class you done and tell me about it? It's functions and purpose?

10.)Any parting advice for a new user of VB?

[wossname]

1.) How long have you been using VB?
About 7 years.

2.) What versions of VB did you start on? How much has it changed from the first version you used?
VB4. Its totally unrecognisable.

3.) Do you use VB everyday? What sorts of ways do you use it?
Yes, I'm currently exploring 3D game programming (of which VB.Net is eminently capable) and other general stuff.

4.) What does the typcial VB project that you work on consist of?
I write a lot of class libraries (DLL projects), not so many full apps these days because of all the documentation.

5.) Are any of your VB projects used by others daily in their work?
Yeah. But I can't give details, sorry.

6.) What do you like most and least about the current version of VB?
Most: OOP, its power. Least: Inability to override/overload operators, but tha'ts no big problem because you can get around it with overloaded shared methods and stuff like that.

7.) Would you rather use VB or if you had a choice, another programing language? Why?
VB.Net all the way for me. I love it. Can't think of a better language for me.

8.) What types of opportunities do you think there are for beginning VB users?
None. Nobosy wants a n00b.

9.) Could you provide a small sample application, or perhaps a sample class you done and tell me about it? It's functions and purpose?
I have nothing I am able to give you but I'd be happy to design one for you if you give me an idea. Free of course.
10.)Any parting advice for a new user of VB?
Get good fast, then get better, then get best and get your work out there.

[kebo]

1.) How long have you been using VB?
8 years

2.) What versions of VB did you start on? How much has it changed from the first version you used?
I started basic on the AppleII's then moved to DOS version of QB then finally to VB. Abviously the biggest change was the Visual part

3.) Do you use VB everyday? What sorts of ways do you use it?
Yes. I use it to write quicky one up test programs for internal use, and for a large embedded program for instustrial controls that will run under XP embedded

4.) What does the typcial VB project that you work on consist of?
GUI,controls, testing

5.) Are any of your VB projects used by others daily in their work?
Yes. The small test app's are used daily (and theyhave been for many years)

6.) What do you like most and least about the current version of VB?
the jury is still out. So faw though, moving from VB6 to VB.net I think there is a misconception that it is the same language. My personal opinion on this is that VB6 and VB.net should be considered as 2 different animals.

7.) Would you rather use VB or if you had a choice, another programing language? Why?
For GUI/UI apps, VB is still the coice. For console app however, I use C

8.) What types of opportunities do you think there are for beginning VB users?
I can't answer that cause I just don't know

9.) Could you provide a small sample application, or perhaps a sample class you done and tell me about it? It's functions and purpose?
not at this time....maybe later

10.)Any parting advice for a new user of VB?
have fun and enjoy programming or you will eventually hate your job
kevin

[Tool]

1.) How long have you been using VB?
On and off for about 8 years.


2.) What versions of VB did you start on? How much has it changed from the first version you used?
I Started with Visual Basic 3. It has undergone a ton of changes, the IDE used to be completely different, and much of the newer features and constants were not included in that version, and now they have added OOP (Object Oriented Programming)


3.) Do you use VB everyday? What sorts of ways do you use it?
I use VB almost every day. I am mainly using it for database projects and interacting with Crystal Reports.


4.) What does the typcial VB project that you work on consist of?
The typical VB program I work on at work is a database application that adds/updates/views all the data for the company I work for, including employees, students, financial data, etc… When I am using VB for fun I usually try to make apps that either further my knowledge in the language (i.e. working on things I have never used before), or working on projects to automate some of the more basic things I do on my computer (i.e. Log into certain programs by the click of a button, shell programs with hotkeys).


5.) Are any of your VB projects used by others daily in their work?
The application I am working on for work is used daily by 90% of the employees at the company I work for.


6.) What do you like most and least about the current version of VB?
I would say that my favorite features of VB.NET is its object orientated side, code indentation and structure of the classes. It has made much of what I would do in VB6, or previous versions, much easier to do. The only thing I have seen that I have disliked so far is .NET memory usage. I am sure there are ways around it that I have not tried yet, but that is the only gripe I have so far.

7.) Would you rather use VB or if you had a choice, another programing language? Why?
If I had a choice of programming languages, I would say C++ (although I am still learning it). I have only worked with it for maybe a week or so now, but it just seems like a lot more fun than VB, just not near as easy. But for applications that need to be created on a deadline I would much rather use VB because it is much quicker to create applications in, and much less code.


8.) What types of opportunities do you think there are for beginning VB users?
No idea how to answer this question


9.) Could you provide a small sample application, or perhaps a sample class you done and tell me about it? It's functions and purpose?
I really do not have anything on my work machine to share, but if you want an example of something that would be helpful I could work on it.

10.)Any parting advice for a new user of VB?
My advice is to stick with it even thought it will most likely be confusing for the first little while. Programming is fun when you start getting the hang of it.

[ntg]

1.) How long have you been using VB?
7 years

2.) What versions of VB did you start on? How much has it changed from the first version you used?
I started with VB4 but quickly moved to VB5. It is not an exaggeration to say that VB has changed dramatically since then.

3.) Do you use VB everyday? What sorts of ways do you use it?
I use VB almost every day. Uses range from component to full application creation.

4.) What does the typical VB project that you work on consist of?
In all my years of VB programming, I can't really say that there is a typical project that I've worked on.

5.) Are any of your VB projects used by others daily in their work?
Yes.

6.) What do you like most and least about the current version of VB?
Most: True OOP and full .Net language. Least: The allowance of the language for people that don't understand the true depth of the transition from VB6.

7.) Would you rather use VB or if you had a choice, another programming language? Why?
I do have a choice but in the current shop I'd rather use VB because that's what everybody knows best.

8.) What types of opportunities do you think there are for beginning VB users?
The exact types of opportunities there are for all .Net developers that target the Windows platform.

9.) Could you provide a small sample application, or perhaps a sample class you done and tell me about it? It's functions and purpose?
No.

10.)Any parting advice for a new user of VB?
Be open and become proficient in at least another language other than VB.

[RobDog888]

1.) How long have you been using VB?
VB 8 Years.

2.) What versions of VB did you start on? How much has it changed from the first version you used?
VB5. 99% Change.

3.) Do you use VB everyday? What sorts of ways do you use it?
Yes. Complete programs, dll creation, ActiveX controls, etc.

4.) What does the typical VB project that you work on consist of?
VB front end w/db backend, VB/Office Automation, & Stand-alone apps, just to name a few.

5.) Are any of your VB projects used by others daily in their work?
Yes, almost all of my programs are for business use for our clients and our internal business use.

6.) What do you like most and least about the current version of VB?
I can do the same things in .NET with much less code then it would take to do the same in VB6. I can get a much greater control of my programs/controls taking everything to the next level, so to speak.

7.) Would you rather use VB or if you had a choice, another programming language? Why?
VB.NET all the way. Because its a more advanced language then VB6 and I can use any of the other .NET languages quite simply since they are all based on the same framework.

8.) What types of opportunities do you think there are for beginning VB users?
Very limited as the job market is very competitive. .NET all the way with a background in VB6 or C++.

9.) Could you provide a small sample application, or perhaps a sample class you done and tell me about it? It's functions and purpose?
No, dont have allot of time and I am still learning .NET.

10.)Any parting advice for a new user of VB?
Do not limit yourself to VB only. Always learn as many languages as you can since projects are varied and may require other languages to complete the project. You need at least half a dozen languages or so to be considered for most positions. Also, if you wouldn't program for free then dont go into programming because you will end up hating your job.

[kleinma]

Guys I just want to post and say something about number 9.... as you can tell you aren't going to get too many responses on that one... Writing a program can be as simple as a few lines of code.. and as complex as a MILLIONS of lines of code... what you may want to do for this question is visit our vb.net codebank (its another forum on this site) and view some code samples that have been added there by our members...

http://www.vbforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=46

[abhijit]

Here are a few quick questions for those who would be so kind to answer them.

1.) How long have you been using VB?
5 years

2.) What versions of VB did you start on? How much has it changed from the first version you used?
Vb4 32 Bit.

3.) Do you use VB everyday? What sorts of ways do you use it?
Yes. Mostly application development.

4.) What does the typcial VB project that you work on consist of?
Database connections, stored procedures, dll classes. Now days I mostly work on maintenance.

5.) Are any of your VB projects used by others daily in their work?
Yes.

6.) What do you like most and least about the current version of VB?
I hate the debugger in .NET. I do love these classes feature, and I know java so that I can relate to it.

7.) Would you rather use VB or if you had a choice, another programing language? Why?
I prefer C-Sharp nowadays.

8.) What types of opportunities do you think there are for beginning VB users?
Very limited opportunities for newbies. Better stick your fingers in something like Enterprise Applications.

9.) Could you provide a small sample application, or perhaps a sample class you done and tell me about it? It's functions and purpose?
If you need something drop me a line.

10.)Any parting advice for a new user of VB?
Code only if you enjoy coding, not for money.

[mendhak]

1.) How long have you been using VB?
4 years

2.) What versions of VB did you start on? How much has it changed from the first version you used?
VB 6. Not much. It was easy to pick up on VB.NET, as some of the VB6 concepts helped in learning. Other than those though, it has changed. The .NET framework is something new.

3.) Do you use VB everyday? What sorts of ways do you use it?
Yes. For web applications mostly. I work in VB.NET and C#.

4.) What does the typcial VB project that you work on consist of?
DBs with SPs, DLLs, the usual.

5.) Are any of your VB projects used by others daily in their work?
Yes. I've worked on a lot of internal applications as well, so they have to be used every day.

6.) What do you like most and least about the current version of VB?
Like: More powerful than VB6, can do much more.
Dislike: VB.NET doesn't have all the features that C# has.

7.) Would you rather use VB or if you had a choice, another programing language? Why?
No, I'll stay with VB.NET. Just because I've been using it for a longer time and am therefore more comfortable with it.

8.) What types of opportunities do you think there are for beginning VB users?
If the n00b can get good at VB.NET then there are opportunities right now. If he procrastinates and does it when everyone is jumping in, the market will have been saturated and there won't be many opportunities.

9.) Could you provide a small sample application, or perhaps a sample class you done and tell me about it? It's functions and purpose?
No, don't have a small one.

10.)Any parting advice for a new user of VB?
Always keep practicing, else your knowledge becomes theoretical and almost redundant.

[Edneeis]

1.) How long have you been using VB?
About 6 years.

2.) What versions of VB did you start on? How much has it changed from the first version you used?
VB6, it has changed a lot, but all of it was for the better. Most of the changes relate to making VB a more OOP language.

3.) Do you use VB everyday? What sorts of ways do you use it?
Not everyday, but at least 5 of 7. Most of the work at work is in VB.NET. We use it for internal applications, which generally have 2-40 users.

4.) What does the typcial VB project that you work on consist of?
A lot of data manipulation, translating things from one format to another and providing business logic to that conversion. Also for tools to make that conversion work better and make it easier to set up.

5.) Are any of your VB projects used by others daily in their work?
Yes mainly just a handful of internal staff, and we have a C# web application that is also used internally by about 40 people.

6.) What do you like most and least about the current version of VB?
I really appreciate Inheritance and reflection the most. I don't have a lot of complaints about it, but we need better version control tools.

7.) Would you rather use VB or if you had a choice, another programing language? Why?
We have projects in VB6, VB.NET, and C# at work so you get the mix. I definately love .NET more than VB6, and can't do without all the OOP aspects anymore. As for the C# vs. VB.NET argument I prefer VB but only for stylistic reasons. I like the more verbose syntax as opposed to the squiglies and brackets. I think it helps me focus more on the logic and less on the syntax.

8.) What types of opportunities do you think there are for beginning VB users?
I think the job market is a bit flooded with programming skills especially with VB but it really depends on the location you are in. The best bet is getting in to some kind of apprenticeship program or working 'officially' under another title and then proving yourself internally once in.

9.) Could you provide a small sample application, or perhaps a sample class you done and tell me about it? It's functions and purpose?
One small tool we use internally is a Selection Helper application. It allows you to pick apart textual data one line at a time and view differently and break it into parts so that you can map it to a standard interface.

10.)Any parting advice for a new user of VB?
Technology changes fast, at least the syntax and manner in which we program, but the principles are the same so make sure you understand the WHY for everything you do. Any problem solving skills gained will be helpful whether in programming or not.

[kleinma]

I have unstuck this thread as it has been up here for some time now and I am sure the guys got the info they needed