OFF TOPIC ..... Looking for a Visual Basic Programmer.

[bpickering]

QUOTE: Originally posted by JohnT14808
Since Brian works for MS, I will be careful in my reply.

No need. [:)] Ken can relate, if he wants, how even-handed I was, in particular about agreeing with him that VB6 Deluxe Learning Edition would be the right thing to get if he could find a deal on it (which apparently he did).

Note the "v-" at the front of the biz email- it means I'm a "vendor", or an outside contractor. My "loyalty" to MS lasts exactly as long as my current contract, i.e., through September (although the boss tells me he plans to continue extending me). Of course, I have to parrot some loyalty, since my wife is a full-time employee, but she would also agree (somewhat to her chagrin) that I'm not particularly quiet about the Evil Empire's faults. [:p]

Brian "Iconoclast" Pickering

[JohnT14808]

Since Brian works for MS, I will be careful in my reply.

As an old COBOL dog converted over to VB6 and SQL and now VB.NET, if he is taking VB6, then try to stick with VB6. VB.NET is a great tool, but the .NET framework requires a relatively "recent" PC with the guts to drive the framework (a newer machine with lots of memory). The school may not have the equipment for VB.NET.
VB6 is just another programming language that will work on a 486x pc with only 64 megs of ram on board. VB6 is easier to write in and while both will involve a steep learning curve, it is NOT like the QBasic we all played with back in 1983. I suggest he start with VB6 and if he likes programming to switch to VB.NET when he can, so he doesn't have to "unlearn" techniques for VB6 that do not apply in VB.NET, and unfortunately there are a lot of differences between the two.

I wish him well. Programming has paid the bills here since 1981.

[bpickering]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Kenny2005
Does Visual Basic use the BASIC programming language that I learned years ago?

Yes and no.

VB6.0 is based upon that language, but highly modified. In particular, it is modified to be "object-oriented". That's something that the old Basic interpreters never considered.

QUOTE:
The actual code is written in BASIC, then VB lets you use that code to make Windows? Is that kinda right?

Not really. Think of the difference between a 1900's-era 4-4-0 and a mid-century 4-8-4 FEF-3, or perhaps even the Jawn Henry turbine. You recognize that they all utilize steam, but that's about where the resemblance ends. (Had to try to get us back on-topic, huh?)

QUOTE:
So, if I can find an old PC with a BASIC compiler (or is it an interpreter?) on it, and I let him write simple algorithms and then code them, he will have a head start for next year?

Kinda sorta. It's a start. However, object-oriented development (and please, if anyone is another in-the-know person who wants to argue whether VB6 is really OOP or not, please contact me off-list) is VERY different than good 'ol basic interpreters (the QBasic you recall). While he'll learn some useful stuff, he also might learn some things that he'll have to UNlearn to be good at VB6.

While it's not perfect, one thing he might consider is learning some Visual Basic.NET.
Advantages:
* object-oriented
* somewhat related to VB6 (in about the same way that FEF-3 is related to Jawn Henry...)
* Free compiler, at least, with the Microsoft.NET framework (a free download at Windows Update)

Disadvantages:
* many consider VB6 a real "non-programmer's" language, while VB.NET can be considerably more complex.
* no "development environment". He would be doing his editing in something like Notepad.

If you want to get more information, drop me a line.... While I've moved on (mostly doing C# and SQL these days), I've been working with Basic since I entered my first program on a teletype.

Brian Pickering (work email: [e-mail])
(Yeah, my profile reads "IT Slave". Make a little more sense, now? [}:)])

[Anonymous]

I think I remember people talking here about making changes to a Windows program that ran large layouts.

Nevertheless, this is OFF TOPIC.

Next year my son will be taking a computer programming course in high school, and it will use Visual Basic 6. He is an average student and I'd like to give him a little prep before that class. It seems like so many of the other kids are more into computers than he is.

Does Visual Basic use the BASIC programming language that I learned years ago?

The actual code is written in BASIC, then VB lets you use that code to make Windows? Is that kinda right?

So, if I can find an old PC with a BASIC compiler (or is it an interpreter?) on it, and I let him write simple algorithms and then code them, he will have a head start for next year?

I really can't go out and buy Visual Basic.

Thanks alot.
Ken