Some Novice Questions

[Trudye]

I was attempting to transcend from VBA to VB6 when I got a rude awakening. MS does not allow VB6 certification anymore they are phasing VB6 out completely. I have some very novice questions I would like to ask.

Is it true that you must learn VB6 before attempting to learn VB.NET because of the focus on ActiveX, COM and OLE, objects, ocx/dll?

Is it possible to load VB.NET on a PC? I want to learn VB.NET at home I saw it online for $50 - $80. Is there anything I should look out for? For instance insuring that certain modules/features are included?

Whew! I know that I am asking a lot of novice questions but I have found that Tek-Tips is the best place to get honest (they have no agenda) feedback about IT subjects. They have the most knowledgeable people who don't try to impress you be talking over your head or talking down to you.

Sincerely,
Trudye

 

[BuGlen]

Hi Trudye,

I worked in VBA and VB6 before starting to learn VB.Net and I can tell you that there is little difference between VBA and VB6 (with the exception of some ActiveX limitations in Office VBA projects). The main thing to consider when learning VB.Net is that everything in managed code is an object and working with records is different with ADO.Net.

You most certainly can install VB.Net on a PC, but you will have to have Windows 2000, XP, or 2003 as your OS. Given the price you saw, you were probably looking at the VB.Net standard edition. This is a good edition for learing the .Net way of thinking and building non-enterprise level applications. You may want to make sure you get the 2003 edition rather than the 2002 edition for the .Net framework 1.1 support.

For more information on Visual Basic .Net 2003 Standard Edition, visit the following site:

http://www.microsoft.com/catalog/display.asp?subid=22&site=11491

Hope this helps.

Glen Appleton

VB.Net student.

 

[RebeccaLynn]

Trudye;

In short ...

1. No, you do not need to learn VB 6 first. And in some ways it might be better to go right to VB.net.

2. Yes, as Glen said VB.net can be put on a PC with the right OS.

3. VB.net standard has everything you need to start writing programs in .net. I totally agree with everything Glen had to say.


Becca

Somtimes, the easy answer is the hardest to find.

Still under construction ...

http://webpages.charter.net/rlmsoft

 

[jwmii2]

Personally i just started learning vb.net about 3-4 weeks ago. But anyways before deciding to try vb.net i tried to learn some c language and some c++. It was alot harder than vb.net to understand in my opinion. At first i didn't think vb.net would be powerful enough, but after having spent some time with it i realize it is probably the most powerful dev tool you'll ever need to produce just about anything you can imagine. The only previous programming experience i had was with gwbasic back in the dos days before windows. We used to have to type games and apps in line by line. Well back then i started programming but my biggest problem wasn't the logic or syntax but the gui design. VB.net takes care of that and makes it very easy to use, design and integrate into your applications. The Visual Basic .Net 2003 Standard Edition is what i started out on. And since i've upgraded to vs.net so i can create apps for pocket pc and etc. Mind you i've only been at this for 3-4 weeks and i've already developed 1 game, 2 desktop apps, and 1 pocket pc app. So in a nutshell you can start with vb.net without knowing any other previous versions, and you can progress very well in a short time. And its very easy to read and understand. Even uncommented code is not that hard to follow, in fact someone else could easily come along and comment your code for you, heh try that with other languages. So vb.net is a great starting point, and i'm sure you'll be more than happy with your results.

 

[Trudye]

Thank all of you so much for taking the time during your holiday break to answer my questions. I just ran across somthing you might be interested in. It is two of the developers of CLR which is the core of .NET framework. I found it very interesting and informative. I have only done limited reading on VB.NET Framework (about 2 chapters) but I understood 90% of it. I think you will enjoy it.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/theshow/Episode020/default.asp

Have a GREAT holiday,
Trudye

 

[chiph]

Trudye -

I've said it before -- the steepest part of your learning curve will not be the VB.NET language -- it's very much like what you've been using. The tough part will be learning the .NET framework (shared with all .NET languages). There's an enormous amount of "stuff" in there that will help you write any sort of business application.

If there's something you need to do, but aren't sure of, look in the framework docs first -- it's probably in there.

Chip H.


If you want to get the best response to a question, please check out FAQ222-2244 first

 

[Trudye]

Thank you all again. I hope you don't mind my asking another question.

Yesterday I purchased Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Professional 2003 English software (a used version). I decided to pass on the smaller ED version.

Can I use MS Access via ODBC to connect to .NET? Unfortunately I do not have SQL Server, Oracle or XML.

I am but a lowly contractor trying to expand my marketability. I have no idea how I am going to get the experience I need in SQL Server and XML to land a job coding VB.NET. Oh well, one crisis at a time.

Trudye

 

[RebeccaLynn]

I wish I had answer for your new question, but I do have a suggestion. It might serve you better to start a new thread with the new question.


Becca

Somtimes, the easy answer is the hardest to find.

Still under construction ...

http://webpages.charter.net/rlmsoft

 

[Trudye]

Thanks Becca I think I'll take your advice.

Trudye

 

[bobhagan]

Re: databases. In the VS install there is a link to download MSDE, a cut-down freeware redistributable version of SQL Server. That can be seen and manipulated somewhat from the VS Server Explorer.

MS also offers a 120 day trial of the full version of SQL Server on cd or as a download, and have recently begun selling the developer version for $49. I ran into that at

http://www.foxtools.com

Oracle also offers something called Personal Oracle as, I think, a free download.

Bob Hagan

 

[Trudye]

That's very, very interesting Bob. Thanks for the input I'll look into the developer version of SQL Server for $49.00. That is truly unbelievable.

How difficult is it for someone who does not know SQL server to set it up? From what I've read setting up the Model is the hardest part.


Thanks again,
Trudye

 

[bobhagan]

Oops. The url is actually

http://www.foxtoolbox.com.

The install wasn't terribly difficult. A friend of mine calls SQL Server "Access on steroids", so compared to, say, Oracle its pretty easy to use. Also, if you've been using Access, or Foxpro, both have upsizer wizards to move your existing data models. Its also possible to connect to SQL Server from both, so with some modification, its possible to re-use an existing application as the front-end for a client-server app.

Bob Hagan

 

[Trudye]

One more question please. Can I setup SQl Server to run on OS MS-2000?

Thanks
Trudye

 

[BuGlen]

It will absolutely install on Win2000. Here's a link to the SQLServer 2000 requirements:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/instsql/in_overview_74vn.asp

If you're going to be using VB.Net Standard Edition, and you want to be able to use Server Explorer from the IDE, then you'll have to install MSDE for development. The Pro and Enterprise editions of VS do not have this limitation. Also, MSDE does not ship with the SQL management tools like SQL Server, but if you purchase a developer's license of SQL Server, you can use the management tools with MSDE as well as SQL Server.

Hope this helps.

- Glen

Know thy data.