A new Visual Basic 6 focused Web Site
I'm doing something I don't usually do too much. I'm recommending another Visual Basic website.
I was recently contacted by Matt West, creator of the VB6.us web site. Matt told me that he has decided to fill what he believes is a gap in the online support picture for Visual Basic 6.0 programmers.
Good for you, Matt!
Long time readers of this site know that I have never thought it was right for Microsoft to cut VB 6 off at the knees as they have done. I have written before that it's the kind of stab-in-the-back move you might expect from a company like Enron, not from a "developer friendly" company that Microsoft wants you to believe they are.
Having debated this issue with more than one Microsoftie in person (at seminars and conventions), I can tell you what they say about it.
"Why would anyone want to continue to use a clearly outdated technology when something much better is available?"
Why? Because it's fast and easy to learn. Besides, a lot of people put a lot of investment into VB 6 - investment that they might not want to throw away just yet.
"Microsoft provides lots of help to make the move to VB.NET."
Yes, but even Microsoft's tools can't do 100% of the job. That's because VB.NET is really a new language that just happens to look like VB 6 on the surface. See my article about the six major differences: The Top Five Changes between VB 6 and VB.NET. Upgrading a significant system is going to take a bite out of your bottom line under the best of circumstances.
"Microsoft isn't telling people they can't use VB 6!"
That's true. Legally, they couldn't. But they are eroding the foundation of support that makes it practical to continue using it.
The thousand pound gorilla is that Microsoft isn't selling VB 6 anymore. If you want to buy a copy of VB, you're forced to buy VB.NET. Or another language. Recent statistics show that a lot of people are choosing this option instead. Microsoft may have shot themselves in the foot. They certainly altered the attitude of a few people. Me, for instance.
So I was glad to see a new site being established just to support VB 6 and I decided to extend an official welcome to Matt. I know that we have some VB 6 programmers here. (And this site will continue to be VB 6 friendly as long as I'm connnected with it.)
But You might also want to see what Matt has to offer on his site.
Some very good insight.
Microsoft doesn’t seem to comprehend that end users generally could care less what language an application is written in as long as it performs well and does the job. Assuming that all of the VB6 code currently in use is just straight-converted to .Net (no UI or functional enhancements) the end user will likely never notice the difference unless there is a large (positive or negative) difference in performance. In other words, my time and effort in converting my huge code base from VB6 does nothing to help me sell more software.
Microsoft should have continued making new VB6 licenses available (or at least bundle it with the most current .NET products) to allow people to gradually move new development to .NET while still being able to add developers to profitable VB6 products that need to have enhancements added to generate new sales.
Lack of support can be worked around, but the unavailability of new licenses causes even more problems.
The rationales given by Microsoft show how little they understand programmers in the real world.
Of course I’d use a new superior product. What I *don’t* want is a new superior product that has been made arbitrarily incompatible with my old product in which I have millions invested.
What I *don’t* want is the prospect of my next version upgrade being a complete rewrite from scratch. The Visual C++ guys can still use their unmanaged MFC code. That *COURTESY* was not extended to the users of one of the most commonly used languages on the planet.
Yes, I’ll rewrite our applications and eat the millions aready invested. I have to, but after this little episode with Microsoft, we’re learning Java and we’re starting to think that Ubuntu Linux is looking pretty good.
Hey Dan,
Thank you so much for the shout out for my VB6 help site I appreciate you’re encouragment and help in getting this site up and running. Thank you!
Microsoft and Bill Gates are a result of that non unusual advantage of being in the right place at the right time.
With the intro of .Net I think they have added gross audacity to the milking of the Microsoft cow.
I have been using VB for years,but now it’s full swing over to Java.
Jim
I think you’re giving Bill Gates and Microsoft (Version 1.0), a bad rap. And I think you’re giving .NET a bad rap too. It really is a superior technology that is now attracting support from competing companies.
But there’s no denying that Microsoft is a different company now than the one that fought the “David and Goliath” battle with IBM back in the 80′s and 90′s. The reasons IBM lost include some of the same problems Microsoft has now. The problem isn’t Bill Gates. It’s actually the lack of Bill Gates. He’s not running the company anymore.
I actually wrote a whole essay about this a while back: “Is Visual Basic in Trouble?”
http://visualbasic.about.com/od/usingvbnet/a/vbevans01.htm
Long live Free Software and Kudos to the makers of it
Microsoft has already taken off their support for VB 6. Even you cannot find a download page for VB 6 software. They just give away some downloads for updates. This means something. Whatever Microsoft does it has failed from stopping people using VB6.
You may want to check out my VB website which I have worked for a long time to make it a better VB resource. Freetutes.com
Thanks for the comments. I did check out your site. Nice site!
Your optomism about the power of the people to keep VB6 alive is admirable, but probably wrong. As a ‘child of the sixties’, I have watched the wrong side win on too many occasions to have that kind of optomism now. Maybe Microsoft shouldn’t have abandoned their VB6 customers, but they did, and for all practical purposes, VB6 is dead.
Since I was a software development manager during the last part of my working career, I was very interested in your “System Analysis and Design” course. It’s a nice technical presentation! And very well organized, too!
But I have two comments about it …
1) There are a lot more methodologies than the ones you list. There are probably more variations and opinions here than in any other part of the software development process since it’s the part where you really can’t ‘prove’ any method is better than any other. For a few years, it looked like UML was going to ‘win’ because it became an independant standard and most companies (including Microsoft!) were at least saying they would support it. But then IBM bought the leading UML company (Rational) and that broke the mold again. Now UML is a dirty word around Microsoft again and the whole discipline is splitting up into incompatible, proprietary methodologies. Too bad, but there it is.
2) You left out THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP! (And I speak with long and painful experience here.) That is getting the customer signoff of the requirements definition. If you don’t have a sufficiently detailed statement of what the system will do, signed by the guy paying for it, you’re dead. The project will fail at some point because you’ll be chasing a shifting target forever.
Hi Dan, I appreciate your feedback regarding my comment and I do have to agree with you in this instance.
I am glad you are interested in “System Analysis and Design” and thank you for your comments on that. As a matter of fact, I started this course for absolute beginners for software engineering. Due to this I made it very simple and quite easily understood. I am still working on this course to update it with more contents and I would surely consider regarding your statements about the important factors which I should have included.
This site is very useful for IT students like me
More Power!
The last project I developed in VB was in 2002, after which I never touched VB again until recently when a client requested something which I happen to have made ten years ago. I was surprised to find out that VB .NET is not compatible with VB6 project. Fortunately I kept my VB6 disc so I re-installed it. However, now I am playing wiht VB .NET 2010 and it is better and I can understand why it’s incompatible.
However, I find it ironic that there is even a free software that converts VB6 project and code to Delphi (http://www.marcocantu.com/tools/vb2delphi.htm) and Microsoft didn’t make one. For Win32 RAD, I actually prefer Delphi now. Java is not the only alternative, Delphi is also very backward compatible across versions.
Furthermore, Delphi executable are easier to distribute than VB executable, generally.
I hate the say it, but I agree with you (well … sort of). Delphi has made business decisions that are more friendly to their COM based customers than Microsoft has since there is still a supported Delphi COM based product that you can use. (Not owned by the same company … my understanding is that they sold it … but the point is that you can still buy it and it’s still supported.)
On the other hand, .NET remains a much much larger, more complete, and technically advanced product. (Can you say, WPF, Azure, SQL Server, LINQ, etc, etc, etc?) So if you plan on expanding your horizons to the limit, .NET remains the way to go. But if you just want to keep a VB6 based system running with the fewest problems and minimum expense … well … Microsoft isn’t helping much.
Compat… Of VB6 and Win 7
I do thank you sir…Finally I have an an answer…I am 79 years old….and fighting cancer…(please no sorry’s…have more than enough) and am doing the one thing I have wanted most of my life…That is programming in VB6. Many moons ago I so enjoyed programming in DOS (Ok so I am masosistic to a fair the well) that I had planned this trip into VB6…
If it is necessary I will buy another computer ( IF they still sell them LOL)
If you don’t mind a few tears for all the money spent on Discs and books…let alone computers…
So I need to learn .Net and I hope it is you, but if not can you recommend someone or place…We do thank you..The wife and I thank you ever so much….just spotted .N
net by you…
jimmidge@gmail.com
I remember DOS well!!! Back in the day, there was nothing I couldn’t do from the command prompt. Good times! Good times!!
I’m a little embarrased to admit it, but I don’t have any personal experience running VB6 with Windows 7. I’ve taken my own advice and left VB6 in the rear view mirrow these days.
If I can help with VB.NET, however, let me know.