Making an Argument Against Using Visual-Basic?

ethan_clark asks: "I work for a small company (< 10 employees) as a software engineer. The company got its start with a software product written by the owner in VisualBasic. He hired me to assist in rewriting the software – only catch is, he's stuck on having it re-written in VisualBasic. This scares me, but I honestly can't make a good argument against VB because I'm not familiar enough with it. So my question is twofold: I am looking for some confirmation to my suspicion that VB isn't the greatest language for large projects; and If VB isn't good, arguments against using it. If it is good, what arguments would you use to argue for it (for my sake)?" If you are going to argue against a language, it is best if you do so after you become familiar with it so that you can argue fairly on its merits and deficiencies. VisualBasic, like just about every other language, has its place. For the sake of discussion however, what tasks would VisualBasic not be suited for?

Comments

Couldn't agree more!

[pilot1]

VisualBasic, like just about every other language, has its place.

And it's called hell.

VisualBasic = the devil

[Naikrovek]

Visual Basic (especially VB6) have no place in the enterprise.

C# and VB.NET are very similar, and C# has a much more standardized syntax style. It will take little time to teach someone C# that is familiar with Java or even C++, but it could take some time to acclimate that same programmer to VB's retarded syntax style. Any language with constructs like "If Not foo Is Nothing Then ... End If" rather than "if (foo) {...}" has no place in my brain.

JavaScript, C, C++, C#, Java, and even Perl have the same curly-brace blocks, statements end with a semicolon syntax style.

If your boss gives you the often used "anyone can learn visual basic in a day" line, give him the "anyone can learn Java or C# in a day also, and the talent pool for those languages is much larger" response.

Re:Give us a bone!

[Stormwatch]

What kind of project are you working on? The only description you provided is "Large". That could mean 3D FPS, relational database, mission-critical embedded vision system for an interstellar satellite, a cross-platform OS...

Or Duke Nukem Forever. Who knows...

reasons not to use VB

[rifftide]

1. Chicks won't be impressed because it's so nerdy

2. Geeks won't be impressed because it's so VB

3. Microsofties will explain how your language is "deprecated" unless it's VB.NET. Trust me, it's bad to be deprecated on.

4. Enterprise programmers will explain how C# (or Java) is better than VB.NET, has more constructs, etc.

5. (An elaboration of point #2.) To a programmer, "dim employees() as integer" just looks goofy.

6. You and your company will be a one-man profit center for Microsoft (their tools are priced so that they don't come cheap when you need to do real work). Here it's not so much big bad Microsoft that's a problem, but I hate being someone else's one-man profit center.

7. If it's Visual Basic 6, try to get a hold of Ted Pattison's (out of print) book on how to use Visual Basic with DCOM. It's a great book, but my takeaway was that it's easier and wiser just to say no. (I suspect this may have been Pattison's POV too).

Re:Easy answer

[geminidomino]

No, you pussy. Real Men(TM) use small magnets directly on platters. ;)

Re:Which version of VB is it?

[binkzz]

"If it's VB6, run for the hills. It's end-of-lifed."

It's not entirely useless; I'm using my three VB6 MS books as a stand for my monitor to get to the right height. The only downside is that I continuously have 'VB 666' staring at me in the face.