Silverblaze4575

I'm currently struggling in deciding which Visual Programming language/application to use. I understand this is an opinionated question but I could use some help. I've used visual basic, and It seemed obsolete, but if its the easiest and most used I'll have no problem continuing to use it. Which visual programming application is the best.

opa6x57

I think the answer is: It depends on what you're trying to do.

If you're writing a visual application that must deal with millions of transactions a day - using TCP/IP packets and with heavy doses of SQL database interaction - then you should probably write that in something as tight as you can get. Some variation of C most likely.

If you're writing an application where most of the time the application is idle - waiting for user input - then the focus should be on the language that will give the user the best computing experience. And, here it may become a matter of which is more valuable to you - your time writing the program - or the milliseconds of extra time that the program MAY require because you wrote it in VB .NET versus MFC for example.

But, hey, that's just one man's opinion. I'm sure you'll get others.

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Ancient Dragon

If you use Visual Studio .NET then you can have the best of all worlds -- you can combine VB, C#, C++ and C all in the same program. I have not done it myself but that's what I've heard and read.

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BstrucT

I totally agree.
I was advised to look into Visual C# if I want to write for the windows platform, and haven't looked back.
I guess it's all platform independent.

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Jimbo

All of the languages in Visual Studio can be used for their own uses. Anything managed, which would be C#, VB, and Managed C++, will provide approximately the same functionality but they have some differences due to the languages themselves. C++ also has the advantage of being able to write unmanaged apps. You'll probably find Visual Basic.NET easiest to pick up if you're already familiar with VB syntax.

Yep, you can combine things pretty well. There's some stuff that don't mingle too well, like (IIRC) Modules in VB.NET. But interop between managed languages is otherwise pretty clean, and you can even (with a little effort) use unmanaged libraries in managed code as well.

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Infinite Recursion

C# for the win.

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OpenLoop

C# ++

lectricpharaoh

I also recommend C#. It's quite a slick little language, and should you need to call 'native' code (ie, not managed code written for .NET), it's fairly simple with p/invoke. My current project is a program to control my Griffin PowerMate, as the included software isn't quite as functional as I'd like it to be. I expected the learning curve to be rather steep, as I'd never done any USB programming before, but it's actually easier than I thought it would be. Still, for many programs, you won't need to use p/invoke at all, and can instead do everything from managed code.

If you're more comfortable with VB, there's always VB.NET. I'm not sure how different it is from VB6 and earlier versions, as I've never used those (and I try to avoid VB.NET where possible, too), but it should let you ease into things. If you do this, and decide to use C# later on, you can combine your C# code with your VB.NET code, as others have mentioned.

However, I would not stick with legacy VB. It's too old, MS probably doesn't support it much (if at all), and .NET programming offers a lot of advantages.

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JD-Salinger

So, does that mean that learning just one programming language would be a disadvantage compared to a programmer who knows many language?, my main language is c++ and i know just a little Java and what I'm planning is to learn python when i am comfortable in using c++, Opinions about this, anyone?

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lectricpharaoh

Well, it depends. If you're applying for a job as, say, a C# programmer, and the only requirement is experience with C#, it won't matter much. On the other hand, knowing more languages does mean you can apply for more positions, and having a broader perspective and the ability to approach problems in different ways is never a disadvantage.

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And once again, Probability proves itself willing to sneak into a back alley and service Drama as would a copper-piece harlot.
- Vaarsuvius, Order of the Stick