Visual Basic

[Moser]

I haven't been here in awhile, no time really. But I just figured I'd come back to see if anybody knew anything about Visual Basic 6. I am trying to learn it and doing a decent job, i guess..

But yeah, anybody know anything about the program? heh.

[TimP]

I'm pretty decent with it. I did a bunch of VB6 in 2003 although I haven't used it much since then.

[CrankyBuddha]

Im actually taking a college class right now on Visual Basic, and i have one huge ass text book, so if you have any questions feel free to PM me them and ill try to answer them.

[Mindslaver]

Unless you're working for Microsoft, I would avoid Visual Basic 6 like the people in the Middle Ages avoided the plague. If you intend to move on to a more complex programming language, you will be more confused than if you started from scratch. Visual Basic.NET fixes some things and makes the language truly OOP, along with the fact that the same object-code is generated by the compiler regardless of which .NET language you use.

If you want to use Visual Basic, at least use Visual Basic .NET. If you're on a tight or nonexistent budget, do not even bother learning .NET. If you're hell-bent on .NET, then use C#, not Visual Basic.NET. Of course, this stems from a personal hatred of VB.

Just learn Python (http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide), from these tutorials. You will be learning a more useful language that can accomplish things with similar ease. If you feel sad that you've lost your graphical GUI generator, take a look at BoaConstructor (http://boa-constructor.sourceforge.net/).

I can safely say one thing - to start learning programming with Visual Basic was one of the worst programming decisions I ever made. I should have jumped straight into Python (http://python.org)/Perl (http://perl.org)/Ruby (http://ruby-lang.org), and then into C++, skipping C. I would advise you to avoid Visual Basic, but that's just me.

[TimP]

I generally agree with what Mindslaver said except for a few points.

If you're on a tight or nonexistent budget, do not even bother learning .NET.
The .NET Framework, SDK, and compilers are all free. It's Visual Studio that costs money. There are some free alternatives (SharpDevelop (http://www.icsharpcode.net/OpenSource/SD/)).

Just learn Python (http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide), from these tutorials. You will be learning a more useful language that can accomplish things with similar ease.
I like Python too from a hobbyist standpoint, but generally Python doesn't seem to be very common professionally. Nothing wrong with that, like I said, I use it as a hobbyist, but VB.NET is already very visible in web and desktop apps. Python seems to be a lot more prevelant with sysadmins and people who need to write scripts, although Python is an immensely powerful language.

P.S. Thanks for the Boa Constructor link, I've been looking for a visual wxPython designer.

[Mindslaver]

The .NET Framework, SDK, and compilers are all free. It's Visual Studio that costs money. There are some free alternatives (SharpDevelop (http://www.icsharpcode.net/OpenSource/SD/)).
I forgot that the compilers are free, but I meant that he would better spend his time learning a scripting language, and then moving to C++ or Java.
I like Python too from a hobbyist standpoint, but generally Python doesn't seem to be very common professionally. Nothing wrong with that, like I said, I use it as a hobbyist, but VB.NET is already very visible in web and desktop apps. Python seems to be a lot more prevelant with sysadmins and people who need to write scripts, although Python is an immensely powerful language.

Python is a perfect starting point, and jumping board into other languages. Although it is quite prevalent commercially, you are correct in saying that it is much more valuable from a hobbyist's standpoint. However, it is a growing language, and is wending its way into the commercial world. But it will continue to remain an invaluable asset to the open-source community.

P.S. Thanks for the Boa Constructor link, I've been looking for a visual wxPython designer.
No problem ;).