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

Good and Bad Sides of VB

[TheLogster]

I couldn't resist :)

Good Points about VB:

1. It's a fast development environment. You can get a decent sized program from idea to final build in hours and not days
2. It's an easy language to master. It is based on BASIC after all.
3. It has a large number of extra controls that can be used to do things like display webpages, upload/download from FTP sites, talk over IP, etc
4. It understands COM, so you use automation objects with it.
5. Now that PCs are so fast the execution time of the interpret is not an issue any more. However, VB is a slow language
6. It's Database objects are easy to use, and supports Access, SQL server, ODBC...

Bad Points of VB

1. It's BASIC, so the language has its limitations
2. It's OOP implementation is backwards. Parent class members cannot be called directly by their child descendants
3. It's UI design elements haven't really changed that much, so building a nice looking interface takes some time
4. The Right Way, The Wrong Way, and The VB Way
5. It is interpreted and not compiled, so you can have difficulty giving an exe from VB to a customer and get it to run. The easiest way to get a program onto a customer's machine is to create an installer. The installation system that comes with VB hasn't changed since VB3 and doesn't look processional at all. Use Visual Installer instead.
6. You have to declare your User Defined Types in an ActiveX DLL with a class that is never used, in order to use your UDTs as parameters to your classes in your main project

Overall Thoughts

I have been programming in VB since Version 2, and right up to Version 6. I cut my teeth on programming Windows Applications using VB, and I have to admit it is one of my favorite development systems. I also program in C++. I use VB to prototype an application, the other guys and customers can comment of the look and feel of the software, and modifications are easy to make. Once everyone is happy with the App, it is then ported to C++.

VB.NET is not VB (google for Visual Fred) VB.Net is a completely different language to VB and it is not code compatible. Time will have to be taken to rewrite the parts of a VB app that don't work under VB.Net

VB is a fine system and well suited to RAD projects, DB projects, and client/server projects. However, if you are looking for a system that creates faster code, is more secure, and easier to maintain, then you'll need to start working with things like C/C++/Java/etc

There is only one REAL argument...

[ccallis]

First, VB.NET is everybit the language that C# and/or Java are (that is there is NOTHING that can be done in those languages that can not be done in VB.NET (Regular Expressions, Hashtables etc. and much more is available to programmers in VB.NET)

Second, if the original application was done in VB (6 or earlier) then there is no reason to believe that the language is no longer suited to the task, the only real question is "is the programmer up to the task?" Since VB and C# compile to MSIL (if both the VB code and the C# Code are "well written" then they will compile to the SAME MSIL (or near enough as to not matter...) the ONLY argument for one over the other is comfort/skill level of the programmer. This is not a trivial matter. I am far more productive in VB.NET because that is where I am comfortable, not because it is a better or worse language I can read/write VB much as I can [in my native language of] english. Where as I can read/write C# or Java about like my French, in which I am reasonably fluent, but I have to concentrate more on the translation. And thus we reach the ONLY real argument for you to make against VB, will you be more productive (and therefore cost your employer less) if you work in another language? If you believe this to be so, then you should already be able to quantify this.

Admittedly, There are far more "less skilled" programmers in the VB world than there are in the C#/Java realm. This is simply because people can learn to do "useful things" in VB (or VB.NET) far more easily than they can in C-based languages. The "entry threshold" to "being a VB 'programmer'" is lower. Still the high end abilities of the language are there, even if a number of programmers don't know how to use them, or use them correctly.

Anybody out there proclaiming that any language (other than C or assembler) is "better" then VB.NET is simply demonstrating their own ignorance of VB.

VB is the best language, VB is the worst language

[Maury Markowitz]

Or, to be more accurate:

VB, as a language, is the worst language I have used in the last 20 years.

VB as a development platform is the most productive system I have used in the last 20 years.

Hate the language, love the system. You will too.