Need an opinion

J

JL Amerson

Is there a reason why I should get/learn Visual Basic .NET? I'm trying to
read MS's home page for Visual Studio Tools for Office and I'm confused.
Nowhere does it tell me exactly what kind of things I can do to a website if
I learn the software. Maybe that tells me I don't need it but maybe y'all
can help me make the decision.
 
T

Tom Gahagan

I'm trying to
read MS's home page for Visual Studio Tools for Office and I'm confused.
Nowhere does it tell me exactly what kind of things I can do to a website if
I learn the software. Maybe that tells me I don't need it but maybe y'all
can help me make the decision.
Click to expand...

Hi JL.....

Visual Studio Tools for Office is a set of tools for developers to use in
developing applications that will incorporate some of the Office programs
into their program. Of course that is a pretty general statement and it can
be used for other things ( I guess??? :) ) but it is pretty much a developer
tool and probably assumes a pretty good level of experience with the Visual
Studio language(s).
Is there a reason why I should get/learn Visual Basic .NET?
Click to expand...

Sure... if you want to become a programmer and you are interested in that.
Go for it... if that is what you want.

As has already been suggested if you are really only interested in web work
asp and asp.net and perhaps php will be something to consider learning. Of
course, learning how to program in VB.NET would help with these choices as
well as you will learn programming logic, etc and that could prove
valuable..... but it is not required. You could learn the same skills with
these scripting languages.

I would also suggest learning database material (good design, relational
model, etc) and SQL as these will be skills that you will probably use in
your web work.

Anyway... you asked for opinions! < s >

Best to you......
Tom Gahagan
eThomaston.com
 
S

Stefan B Rusynko

And to install or use Visual Studio Tools for Office you will have to also install Visual Studio.Net




| One clarification. If you choose to learn ASP.NET, you will need to learn
| either VB.NET or C#.
|
| --
| Jim Cheshire
| Jimco Add-ins
| http://www.jimcoaddins.com
| ===================================
| Co-author of Special Edition
| Using Microsoft FrontPage 2003
| Order it today!
| http://sefp2003.frontpagelink.com
|
|
|
| | >
| > | >
| > >I'm trying to
| > > read MS's home page for Visual Studio Tools for Office and I'm confused.
| > > Nowhere does it tell me exactly what kind of things I can do to a
| website
| > if
| > > I learn the software. Maybe that tells me I don't need it but maybe
| y'all
| > > can help me make the decision.
| > >
| >
| > Hi JL.....
| >
| > Visual Studio Tools for Office is a set of tools for developers to use in
| > developing applications that will incorporate some of the Office programs
| > into their program. Of course that is a pretty general statement and it
| can
| > be used for other things ( I guess??? :) ) but it is pretty much a
| developer
| > tool and probably assumes a pretty good level of experience with the
| Visual
| > Studio language(s).
| >
| > > Is there a reason why I should get/learn Visual Basic .NET?
| >
| > Sure... if you want to become a programmer and you are interested in that.
| > Go for it... if that is what you want.
| >
| > As has already been suggested if you are really only interested in web
| work
| > asp and asp.net and perhaps php will be something to consider learning. Of
| > course, learning how to program in VB.NET would help with these choices as
| > well as you will learn programming logic, etc and that could prove
| > valuable..... but it is not required. You could learn the same skills with
| > these scripting languages.
| >
| > I would also suggest learning database material (good design, relational
| > model, etc) and SQL as these will be skills that you will probably use in
| > your web work.
| >
| > Anyway... you asked for opinions! < s >
| >
| > Best to you......
| > Tom Gahagan
| > eThomaston.com
| >
| >
| >
|
|
 
S

Steve Easton

JL,
I just installed Visual Studio Pro Version 6 last night,
Plus the MSDN library.
A full install, including the MSDN library takes 1 gig of hard drive space,
and you'll want to do a full install or you'll be constantly prompted for
disk 2 of the library set as you browse the Help files..

That said, there is nothing you can't do with it. From writing
software applications to building web pages.


I thought I was fairly well versed in windows, but... imho
he learning curve is so steep it's "vertical,"
( for me anyway )
;-)
 
T

Tom Gahagan

I thought I was fairly well versed in windows, but... imho
he learning curve is so steep it's "vertical,"
( for me anyway )
;-)
Click to expand...

LOL!!! Not just for you my friend! Meeeeeeee toooooo !

It is a huge commitment in every way. It is doable but it could be a real
discouragement, I think, to someone just getting started.

imho.... I would encourage her to start with good old asp.... learn some
good database stuff.... combine the two to do some web work and if she finds
that interesting and up her ally then get NET and start with VB.NET
again.... just my opinion for the .02 it is worth! < s >

Tom Gahagan
 
M

MD WebsUnlimited.com

JoAnn,

VB.NET is just a language and does not teach you ASP.NET. If you're going to
learn a language then I would suggest C# instead of VB.NET. It is more
robust.
 
B

Bob Lehmann

I would suggest C# instead of VB.NET. It is more robust.

Marginally, if at all. See numerous posts on the subject in the DotNet
groups.

Bob Lehmann
 
M

MD WebsUnlimited.com

Bob,

You'll always have camps that like one side or the other. The reason for my
choice is that the syntax of the language is similar to JavaScript, 'C',
'C++', Java, PHP, and a number of other languages that I program in. IMHO,
I also find it more robust.
 
J

Jim Cheshire

It's a misnomer, Tom. C# and VB.NET both code against the base class
libraries of the .NET Framework. The power is in the Framework, not the
language. It is possible to write unsafe code in C# and it's not in VB.NET,
but other than that, there are very few differences. It is not accurate to
say that C# is a much more robust language than VB.NET.

--
Jim Cheshire
Jimco Add-ins
http://www.jimcoaddins.com
===================================
Co-author of Special Edition
Using Microsoft FrontPage 2003
Order it today!
http://sefp2003.frontpagelink.com
 
T

Tom Gahagan

Jim said.....
It's a misnomer, Tom. C# and VB.NET both code against the base class
libraries of the .NET Framework. The power is in the Framework, not the
language.
Click to expand...

No argument here....
AND I would add, however, that the complexity and the great size of the
framework is one (of serveral) factors that make NET have such a steep
learning curve.
It is possible to write unsafe code in C# and it's not in VB.NET,
but other than that, there are very few differences. It is not accurate to
say that C# is a much more robust language than VB.NET.
Click to expand...

Well here I think we get into personal preferences, taste, and opinions and
for that we have to allow each other some room. I started programming with
Clipper and dBase languages and to this day I would prefer to write in
Visual FoxPro. For me.... IT is an elegant and robust language. Why do I
think that? Probably because it is what I know and I'm comfortable with.
Years ago I took it upon myself to learn C and found it to be nasty. < S >
Why do I need (I thought then) to write 600 lines of code when I can use 2
lines in FoxPro and do the same thing. For me... that was robust. Of course,
there were plenty of things that a C programmer could do that I could not
but that did not change MY mind at all.

So from my background..... VB.NET is probably a better fit than C# and the
VB.NET courses I've taken have been pretty easy and a lot like Visual
FoxPro, of course with a number of exceptions.... but you get my gist.

If someone wants to say that C# is a more robust language ( and my comment
to Bob was that most of the folks that would say this are probably the types
that drink a lot of Jolt cola......) that is cool with me as again, from my
perspective... it is more about opinions and preferences than any actual
real difference between the two languages.

I guess.... robustness.. is in the eye of the beholder. :)

Anyway.... not saying that you are wrong in any way... just giving my take
on the issue.

Thanks for the good discussion... I really hope that JL will benefit from
it!

Tom Gahagan
 
B

Bob Lehmann

Jim,

Thanks for that. If Mike would have said from the beginning that his
background/experience was in a C type language, his argument would have had
some merit. "More robust" is misleading as a reason for someone trying to
pick a language.

Bob Lehmann
 
J

Jim Cheshire

A lot of people from the C++ world believe that C# is more robust because of
the ability write unsafe code. (By that, I mean that you can use pointers
in C#, and you cannot in VB.NET.) However, I have thousands of hours of
development experience in .NET languages, and I've only encountered one time
when unsafe code was needed.

--
Jim Cheshire
Jimco Add-ins
http://www.jimcoaddins.com
===================================
Co-author of Special Edition
Using Microsoft FrontPage 2003
Order it today!
http://sefp2003.frontpagelink.com
 
M

MD WebsUnlimited.com

What does using the .NET framework have to do with it.

The .NET Framework is just a library of predefined classes used by the .NET
languages. In the case of the .NET framework it is usable by a number of
languages. I do concur that the power of all the .NET languages is within
the Framework, but each language that interfaces withit has merits and C#,
IMHO, is a more robust language -- there is more to it than just pointers.
 
M

MD WebsUnlimited.com

Bob,

My background is all over the place from PL1 to 'B' to 'C' to assembler. 'B'
was the language before 'C', BTW - it was typeless and yes more robust than
'C'. There was nothing that you could not do with it.

Most of my work today is in the VB / VB.NET arena (all the new WU products
are written in VB), however that does not change my mind that C# is a more
robust language. It is easier to write, the syntax is more sparse, exception
processing is easier to handle, etc.

I respect your opinion not to agree.

I don't even drink coffee, Tom ;>)
 
T

Tom Gahagan

I don't even drink coffee, Tom ;>)
Click to expand...
lol Point taken... I feel into the bad habit of stereotyping.... forgive
me! :)

by the way...... what do you mean when you say c# is "sparse". Just
curious... ????

Thanks
Tom Gahagan
 
M

MD WebsUnlimited.com

The language has very few syntax statements as compared to other languages.
 
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