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Kung Fu Kenobi
Neophyte
4 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 10 2004 : 03:46:37 AM
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I've just started with VB6, like 5 days ago. Before then I was having a rough time of it with things like C/C++/C#, Java, J#, and the whole .net thing in general. 5 days of VB6, has been more productive than over a year with those other languages. Something just clicked, and I took off.
Up until a few days ago I was more or less oblivious to VB.net, and a net search for VB6 VS VB.net left me confused. I'm not sure which VB is right for me, and would very much appreciate some help.
-I'm a hobbyist, with no dreams of turning pro. Ever.
-I'd gladly sack performance to shallow the learning curve.
-I only care about features that make life easier. (but the flip side is...)
-If I have a choice between simple, and "lame", VS cooler and more complicated. Lame almost always wins.
-I'm an artist first. Time spent programing is time not making content.
-I'd rather be making content.
-VB6 totally clicked where many (MANY!) other languages just didn't.
Which VB is right for me?
Are people sticking with VB6?
Are people jumping on .net?
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Crysstaafur
Squire
USA
37 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2004 : 04:04:31 AM
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Although a hybrid user of VB6(for windows stuff) and Quickbasic7(for ms-dos stuff). Taking your circumstances into thought, I'd probably go with
DarkBASIC(for windows stuff, media friendly) and QB(good for learning fundamental stuff, like user defined types, modular coding, etc). Then tackle VB 5 or VB 6.
Hope this helps...
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Zarneth
Knave
Australia
62 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2004 : 05:30:20 AM
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| I'd reccomend VB.Net myself. The dev environment is much better than VB6. Though you can't edit code while it's running like in VB6, this really isn'ta problem once you're used to it, considderiny you're only just starting you prolly wont' even notice. |
"VB is gay because it's simple, stylish, functional, and simply works as expected." |
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Eric Coleman
Gladiator
USA
811 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2004 : 08:37:27 AM
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I wouldn't recommend VB.NET just because of the IDE. Collapasible sections of code was fun for about 5 minutes then the novelty wore off. Honestly, VB.NET is more complicated than VB 6.
Lets try not to turn this thread into vb6 vs vb.net.
>-I'm a hobbyist, with no dreams of turning pro. Ever.
Then VB is a good choice. If you ever need more power, you can also use VB for the majority of your program and then write a simple C DLL with speed critical code that can be called from VB.
-I'd gladly sack performance to shallow the learning curve.
VB6 wins here. There is a lot more information (in terms of game programming) for VB6 than for vb.net.
-I only care about features that make life easier. (but the flip side is...)
-If I have a choice between simple, and "lame", VS cooler and more complicated. Lame almost always wins.
Well, I wouldn't call VB6 lame, but it is simpler than VB.net. The .NET framework is really large, and now that I think about it I really need to get a reference book.
-I'm an artist first. Time spent programing is time not making content.
VB6 wins here for you. There are a lot more code samples for VB6 than VB.net, and that means it should hopefully be easier (and quicker) for you to learn new things instead of having to do the research on your own. MS really left out a lot of information in Directx 9 with regard to VB.NET, and unfortunately that lack of documentation has really effected the transition for a lot of people.
-VB6 totally clicked where many (MANY!) other languages just didn't.
That should be your answer. Don't try to fix it if it works.
As Crystaafur pointed out, there are some BASIC dialects specifically suited for game programming. The two that I know of are http://www.blitzbasic.com/ and http://www.darkbasic.com/ . They both have developer communities, so if you decide that you like either of those products then you won't be without help.
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Zarneth
Knave
Australia
62 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2004 : 10:18:21 AM
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quote:
Collapasible sections of code was fun for about 5 minutes then the novelty wore off.
Err you're kidding right? It's so mcuh easier not having to search though large ammounts of code trying to find the section you want. Just collapse everything and uncollapse the sections I'm working on.
quote:
VB.NET is more complicated than VB 6.
It is? I guess so. I'd been using VB6 previously and har no problems moving to .NET. I went back to VB6 the other day to fix xomething in one of my older projects and I was getting really annoyed at the lack of popup tooltips in the code which seem to be a bit more frequent in .NET. among other little missing features. And i'm still using .net 2002 I think. I could be wrong but I believe that was the first release of .net?
quote:
There are a lot more code samples for VB6 than VB.net
True. For a beginner this may be a bit of a problem. Not so much for the advanced user. Though if you're a beginner wanting to get into game programming it's definitly a big issue. So yeah. Experienced users I still say .net is the way to go, but beginners should go for vb6 for the ammount of help and samples out there. |
"VB is gay because it's simple, stylish, functional, and simply works as expected." |
Edited by - Zarneth on Nov 10 2004 10:19:22 AM |
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Lachlan87
Moderator
USA
160 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2004 : 11:49:43 AM
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The more I use VB.Net, the better I like it. I definitely prefer it to VB6. With that said, given your priorities, I'd have recommend you stick with VB6. The Visual Studio.Net editor was greatly improved, and a lot of things added to the language that make my life a lot easier, but I think VB6 remains easier to learn.
More importantly, you said you didn't like C#, and Visual Basic.Net feel just like C#, except with a superior syntax. |
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Kung Fu Kenobi
Neophyte
4 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2004 : 7:12:59 PM
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So if I've got this straight, vb.net has lots of new toys for more advanced users, but isn't easier to learn. By learning VB6 I'm not "just missing out" on .net, in the same way I would not upgrading (for example) to a new version of photoshop.
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Zarneth
Knave
Australia
62 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2004 : 11:24:42 PM
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Well I wouldn't say VB.net is harder to learn, if at all. But being relativly new it's harder to find code samples and help on the net. And that's a VERY big issue for anyone new to a language. so yes. stick with VB6. there's far more people and sites that can help you if you get stuck. It's probably easier and cheaper to get your hands on a legal copy of VB6 than vb.net aswell.
In fact I think I started out on the VB5 Controll creation edition. Which was seemingly free, but it couldn't complie exe's. |
"VB is gay because it's simple, stylish, functional, and simply works as expected." |
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sdw
Warrior
USA
160 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2004 : 11:27:49 PM
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| For your case, just use blitzbasic/darkbasic. |
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Zarneth
Knave
Australia
62 Posts |
Posted - Nov 11 2004 : 12:53:37 AM
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| Assuming he's only planning to try game programming? |
"VB is gay because it's simple, stylish, functional, and simply works as expected." |
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Kung Fu Kenobi
Neophyte
4 Posts |
Posted - Nov 11 2004 : 02:15:29 AM
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Which I'm not. I actually need a general purpose language for other things, as well.
Another thing has me confused though. If DarkBASIC is so much better for gaming, why are there so many sites for game related material in VB? |
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Zarneth
Knave
Australia
62 Posts |
Posted - Nov 11 2004 : 02:47:30 AM
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I'm guessing it's simply because it's been around a lot longer and is more widly known. With a big name like Microsoft behind it too. I know pratically nothing about Dark and Blitz basic but I wouldn't nesseciarrily say they're better for gaming. More so they're designed specifically for gaming. And as a result may be much easier and faster to make a game. They probably contain a built in multi purpose engine. But you may be limited to this engine too. With less options than with VB. If you're going to use VB normally you'd be best to stick with VB for everything. Then you don't have to deal with switching back and forth between languages and dev enviroments and getting royally confused by the diferences between the two.
If you wanna try your hand at 3d programming, but want flexibility and don't want to be stuck with a gaming only language, I'd reccomend using the Revolution3d Engine with VB6. It's a walk in the park compared to working directly with Direct3d. However I wouldn't really reccomend starting any form of 3d game till you have a reasonable ammount of experience in VB. |
"VB is gay because it's simple, stylish, functional, and simply works as expected." |
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Kung Fu Kenobi
Neophyte
4 Posts |
Posted - Nov 12 2004 : 06:21:22 AM
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| Cool. Thanks everyone for setting me straight on this stuff. |
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cbx
Swordmaster
Canada
296 Posts |
Posted - Nov 25 2004 : 11:05:12 PM
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Kinda late to be posting now, I thought I had posted earlier but I guess not. I would say the sooner you start with vb.net the better. I started using vb.net as soon as vb.net 2002 hit the shelves and I have not looked back since. Once you get into it you will truly apreciate the simplicity, speed, convienince and ease of use that it has to offer. I was a die hard fan of vb5/6 and looking back on those languages I realize that they were holding me and my skills back as a developer. I understood OOP (Object Oriented Programming) before I even began using vb5/6, but .NET really helped open my eyes, and allowed me to modernize my skills by allowing me to do things like take advantage of OOP, and interface programming etc. vb.net if a far superior language then vb5/6 were, and I would reccomend it to anyone. NOTE: personally I would wait if I were you until vb2005 ships. The advancements in the 2005 release will be well worth the wait!
Lets put it this way. Microsoft and the .NET framework are the future of programming. Heck the next version of windows (code name longhorn) will be rewritten in .NET! Microsoft is currently in the process of porting all of there software over to .NET so what does that tell you!
I'd also like to direct you to the fallowing link ...
http://www.vbgamer.com/msgboard/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20
... That link will bring you a previous fourm topic and describes how to get the vb.net compiler free, as well as some free and powerfulle IDE resources like SharpDevelop. |
Created by: X
http://www.createdbyx.com/ |
Edited by - cbx on Nov 25 2004 11:14:11 PM |
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VBBR
Moderator
Brazil
617 Posts |
Posted - Nov 26 2004 : 05:46:17 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by cbx
Lets put it this way. Microsoft and the .NET framework are the future of programming. Heck the next version of windows (code name longhorn) will be rewritten in .NET! Microsoft is currently in the process of porting all of there software over to .NET so what does that tell you!
That was really sounding like advertising to me until I read this:
quote:
Originally posted by cbx
I'd also like to direct you to the fallowing link ...
http://www.vbgamer.com/msgboard/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20
... That link will bring you a previous fourm topic and describes how to get the vb.net compiler free, as well as some free and powerfulle IDE resources like SharpDevelop.
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Whatever. Who knows... |
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VBBR
Moderator
Brazil
617 Posts |
Posted - Nov 26 2004 : 05:50:35 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by cbx
Heck the next version of windows (code name longhorn) will be rewritten in .NET! Microsoft is currently in the process of porting all of there software over to .NET so what does that tell you!
That's exactly the problem I have with .NET. It's perfect for Longhorn, really great for Windows XP, good for Windows 98/Me, and useless to Windows 95 (if I'm not mistaken it doesn't work on win95).
Problem is, Longhorn is not out yet and VB6 gives me an ENORMOUS advantage over compatibility. (not to mention a runtime pack 20 times smaller)
Also it's funny how M$ talks about ending DLL version problems with .NET and screws up completely the Managed DX 9.0c distribution. |
Whatever. Who knows... |
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VB6, and .net. Total noobness...help?
