Programming Forums > Application Development > Visual Basic

Firebirdracer14 · Jul 26th, 2005, 9:38 PM

I was thinking about learning VB before i learn C because ive heard it would make learning C alot easier. If I want to mainly use C is it going to make it extremely easier to learn if I already know Visual Basic? Or should I just try to jump in and learn C???? Ive also heard that a few years from now that visual basic will not be used any longer is this true????

DaWei · Jul 26th, 2005, 9:48 PM

Personally, I'd recommend skipping the VB. I'd even recommend going straight for the C++. Never count a language completely down and out, though. They tend to hang around just to make some contracts more difficult!

Navid · Jul 26th, 2005, 11:02 PM

Don't learn VB. It could develop bad habits, the way loops and if-statements are designed are really bad in my opinion. I would go straight to C++ as well, i wish i did instead of C.

thechristelegacy · Jul 26th, 2005, 11:26 PM

Any language you wish to start with will teach you the concepts of programming. Each language is a bit differnt than the next, and although the concepts are similar, in most languages they're a bit differnt. Take for the for statement in Python vs. C#.

In Python for is used to itterate between items, while in C based languages, for is used to do an action a certain number of times.

Python

(Toggle Plain Text)

name = "Anthony"
for letter in name:
     print letter

This produces the output A n t h o n y because it itterates though each character of the string Anthony.

C#

(Toggle Plain Text)

using System;
class Test
{
     public static void Main ()
          {
               for ( int i = 0; i < 100; i++)
                    {
                              Console.WriteLine("PFO Rules!");
                    }
          }
}

The above will print out PFO Rules 100 times.
What I'
m trying to prove is that functions change throughout all languages, and no matter what you pick, you're going to end up learning basics about programming.

Note: There is a function in C# that does the same thing as for in Python and thats foreach.

Hope this helps you out a bit

Firebirdracer14 · Jul 26th, 2005, 11:35 PM

Thechristelegacy thanks for the info that does help out alot also again thanks for the info to you others.

bl00dninja · Sep 20th, 2005, 2:16 AM

although VB will allow you to do some amazing things very quickly (RAD), i wouldn't suggest it for learning programming. i'd learn C or C++ or Java or even python first. BASIC in all its forms has sloppy syntax compared to the more "terse" languages, and can be a setup for frustration. the thing that vb will help you with is GUI concepts end "event-driven" programming a little bit earlier than the C-style languages. it's ok for a survey of CS, but really, don't waste your time.

ChiHappens · Sep 20th, 2005, 5:55 AM

I agree with everyone, although I still have to program in VB sometimes (due to supporting older applications), VB programmers (those who's first language is VB) tend to be horrible code designers. I have worked with many and they are all the same. Now, those that started with another language (especially fond of C/C++ programmers) tend to have more structure, more understanding of what their side effects are, and also, since it is strongly typed, tend to be very succinct (sp?) in their code design.

If you have to learn VB, learn VB.Net, at least it is more structured. C/C++ can be very difficult to start with. C# is very much like C++ but the learning curve is not as steep. Finally, Java is a great language to learn because it is completely OOP. There is nothing in Java (primitive types are even wrapped in OOP) that are not objects. I think Java gives a great foundation to logical object oriented programming.

In addition, it is free. You can download Eclipse and create platform independent code that you can give to friends (and programmers here) to help you with since it doesn't matter what they are using (unix,linux,windows,macos).

Finally, leveraging the knowledge you gain from Java will allow you to program in C# (as C# is basically C++ * Java) as well as C++ (minus the pointers of course).

Hope this helps,
Chi

Rory · Sep 21st, 2005, 5:16 PM

VB.NET is now more structured and strictly typed than Delphi (with Explicit and Strict on) and would be a very good first language: full OO theory and you can actually get somewhere without suddenly hitting a brick wall you never knew existed (pointers, multithreading, etc), so it's worth a look.

Jul 26th, 2005, 9:38 PM	#1
Firebirdracer14 Newbie Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 15 Rep Power: 0	Will Visual Basic help me later I was thinking about learning VB before i learn C because ive heard it would make learning C alot easier. If I want to mainly use C is it going to make it extremely easier to learn if I already know Visual Basic? Or should I just try to jump in and learn C???? Ive also heard that a few years from now that visual basic will not be used any longer is this true????

Jul 26th, 2005, 9:48 PM	#2
DaWei Resident Grouch Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 6,453 Rep Power: 10	Personally, I'd recommend skipping the VB. I'd even recommend going straight for the C++. Never count a language completely down and out, though. They tend to hang around just to make some contracts more difficult! __________________ Abstraction doesn't make it impossible to write bad code; it makes it possible to write superior code. Contributor's Corner: Grumpy on C++ Exceptions DaWei on Pointers

Jul 26th, 2005, 11:26 PM	#4
thechristelegacy Expert Programmer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Somerset, Pa Posts: 708 Rep Power: 5	Any language you wish to start with will teach you the concepts of programming. Each language is a bit differnt than the next, and although the concepts are similar, in most languages they're a bit differnt. Take for the for statement in Python vs. C#. In Python for is used to itterate between items, while in C based languages, for is used to do an action a certain number of times. Python (Toggle Plain Text) name = "Anthony" for letter in name: print letter name = "Anthony" for letter in name: print letter This produces the output A n t h o n y because it itterates though each character of the string Anthony. C# (Toggle Plain Text) using System; class Test { public static void Main () { for ( int i = 0; i < 100; i++) { Console.WriteLine("PFO Rules!"); } } } using System; class Test { public static void Main () { for ( int i = 0; i < 100; i++) { Console.WriteLine("PFO Rules!"); } } } The above will print out PFO Rules 100 times. What I' m trying to prove is that functions change throughout all languages, and no matter what you pick, you're going to end up learning basics about programming. Note: There is a function in C# that does the same thing as for in Python and thats foreach. Hope this helps you out a bit

Jul 26th, 2005, 11:35 PM	#5
Firebirdracer14 Newbie Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 15 Rep Power: 0	Thechristelegacy thanks for the info that does help out alot also again thanks for the info to you others. __________________ My Site In Progress

Sep 20th, 2005, 2:16 AM	#6
bl00dninja Programming Guru Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: namespace std Posts: 1,246 Rep Power: 5	although VB will allow you to do some amazing things very quickly (RAD), i wouldn't suggest it for learning programming. i'd learn C or C++ or Java or even python first. BASIC in all its forms has sloppy syntax compared to the more "terse" languages, and can be a setup for frustration. the thing that vb will help you with is GUI concepts end "event-driven" programming a little bit earlier than the C-style languages. it's ok for a survey of CS, but really, don't waste your time. __________________ i put on my robe and wizard hat... Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?...Morons.

Jul 26th, 2005, 11:02 PM	#3
Navid Hobbyist Programmer Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 187 Rep Power: 4	Don't learn VB. It could develop bad habits, the way loops and if-statements are designed are really bad in my opinion. I would go straight to C++ as well, i wish i did instead of C.

Sep 20th, 2005, 5:55 AM	#7
ChiHappens Programmer Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brevard, NC Posts: 35 Rep Power: 0	I agree with everyone, although I still have to program in VB sometimes (due to supporting older applications), VB programmers (those who's first language is VB) tend to be horrible code designers. I have worked with many and they are all the same. Now, those that started with another language (especially fond of C/C++ programmers) tend to have more structure, more understanding of what their side effects are, and also, since it is strongly typed, tend to be very succinct (sp?) in their code design. If you have to learn VB, learn VB.Net, at least it is more structured. C/C++ can be very difficult to start with. C# is very much like C++ but the learning curve is not as steep. Finally, Java is a great language to learn because it is completely OOP. There is nothing in Java (primitive types are even wrapped in OOP) that are not objects. I think Java gives a great foundation to logical object oriented programming. In addition, it is free. You can download Eclipse and create platform independent code that you can give to friends (and programmers here) to help you with since it doesn't matter what they are using (unix,linux,windows,macos). Finally, leveraging the knowledge you gain from Java will allow you to program in C# (as C# is basically C++ * Java) as well as C++ (minus the pointers of course). Hope this helps, Chi __________________ http://www.starshipcombatsimulator.com They mostly come at night...mostly.

Sep 21st, 2005, 5:16 PM	#8
Rory Expert Programmer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: London Posts: 542 Rep Power: 4	VB.NET is now more structured and strictly typed than Delphi (with Explicit and Strict on) and would be a very good first language: full OO theory and you can actually get somewhere without suddenly hitting a brick wall you never knew existed (pointers, multithreading, etc), so it's worth a look.

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Programming Forums > Application Development > Visual Basic

Will Visual Basic help me later