Need some simple help

[TheBionicOrange]

OK heres the scenario. Tomorrow morning I am attending a meeting where we are to discuss getting the latest flavour of Visual Studio. We currently have a development department of 8 developers coding in VB6. We have several hundred client PC's running the programs we write.

OK here come the questions ...

1. Is it viable to buy Visual Studio rather than just the .NET module ? I know thats a bit open ended as you won't know what we do so can't suggest whats best, but has anyone had experience where costs have dictated you're better off buying the lot, rather than one bit, and then more as and when you need them ?

2. As far as the client PC's are concerned, I gather all I need to worry about is making sure each client PC has the .NET framework installed. Is this correct ? Also, does it matter if the version is 1.1 or 2.0 ?

3. Are there any common incompatabilities with existing software that anyone is aware of ?

I know they are all pretty big asks, but any relevant input would be very much appreciated, as I am sat here Googling like a mad thing at the moment trying to get some answers.

Thanks in advance for any help offered ....

Steve.

[dminder]

1. Is it viable to buy Visual Studio rather than just the .NET module ? I know thats a bit open ended as you won't know what we do so can't suggest whats best, but has anyone had experience where costs have dictated you're better off buying the lot, rather than one bit, and then more as and when you need them ?

I have no knowledge in this area so I plead the 5th

2. As far as the client PC's are concerned, I gather all I need to worry about is making sure each client PC has the .NET framework installed. Is this correct ? Also, does it matter if the version is 1.1 or 2.0 ?

If your client PC's are running XP with all of the latest service packs (or vista) then they already have the .net framework 2.0. If not then your company needs to check compatibility with the client PC configurations.

3. Are there any common incompatabilities with existing software that anyone is aware of ?

Not sure what you are asking about here. If your talking about software that was written in vb6, there are converters out there to do it. However depending on the intricasies (spelled wrong sorry) of the software, you would almost be better rewriting a majority of it. That is what the company I am working for is planning on doing. As for other software, it was designed to work well with all microsoft based products. Any questionable software should be setup on a test pc with the framework, visual studio for developer pc's etc prior to full rollout. This will tell you what your compatibility issues will be.

Good luck!

D

[TheBionicOrange]

Ok thanks a lot.
As far as "convertor" programs/utilities go, we will be avoiding those like the plague.
When mentioning common incompatabilities, I was referring to clashes with things like Visio (although thats Microsoft now anyway isn't it) etc.
OK thinking about it, I'll ignore that whole question as all are products are pretty much MS anyway.

Thanks for your input

[GaryMazzone]

I would probably try for VS 2005 Pro at least. I would also say have the 2.0 framework installed in the client machines (must be 2000 at least since 2.0 wil not run on 98)

[Andy_P]

One thing that is worth mentioning is that you can include the .NET framework as part of your deployment package.

That way, the framework is automatically installed first if it is not present, before your app is installed.

Of course if it is already present, the installer skips straight to installing your app.

[ThatSamiam]

One thing that is worth mentioning is that you can include the .NET framework as part of your deployment package.

That way, the framework is automatically installed first if it is not present, before your app is installed.

Of course if it is already present, the installer skips straight to installing your app.

How is this done?

[jmcilhinney]

1. There is no way to buy individual modules. The Express editions are all single language but all the paid for versions of VS include VB, C#, C++, J# and VWD whether you like it or not.

Where a modular approach does come in is with Team System. There are various versions of VSTS that contain different tools depending on the area they're aimed at. If you want to use Team system then you need to get a Team System version form the get-go. You can then get other Team System modules later if you have someone who needs that version, plus you can link them together using Team Foundation Server at any time. There's considerable additional expense involved doing it that way though.

2. The Framework is included as part of your deployment by default, although as an on-demand download rather than in the package. If you want it in the package it's a matter of checking a single radio button on the Prerequisites dialogue.

3. There was an issue with McAfee products that caused text to disappear on .NET controls. That was fixed some time ago. That's the only specific issue I'm aware of, although there may have been others with a lower profile.

[TheBionicOrange]

Thanks jmcilhinney. That pretty much answers all of my questions as much as I could have hoped for.
Thanks to everyone else for their comments too ... much appreciated.
I feel slightly less than "dull" on the whole subject now.