UI development: C# vs. VB.NET

[Olivier Gautier]

For UI development we need ideas to help us choose the
preferred language (C# or VB.Net).

Earlier with Visual Studio 6, VB used to be the preferred
option for UI development and also for rapid prototyping.
Though some people did use C++ (ATL/MFC) for UI
development - it was almost always more laborious than
development in VB6.

As far as familiarity with syntax is concerned - people in
our team have exposure to both C++ and VB6 and hence on
that front we'd give equal points to C# and VB.net.

Can anyone give ideas (and experiences) if VB.Net would
still be preferable ever Visual C# for UI development?

 

[Alvin Bruney]

C# as there are less of COBOL type keywords to get in the way. Its not only
propriety its also too wordy and that hides the actual codes meaning.

 

[Colin Young]

I'd pick the language you are using for your non-ui work (assuming it's one
of C# or VB.Net). It makes life much easier for your team if they don't have
to keep switching from one language to another.

Colin

 

[Mihai N.]

Can anyone give ideas (and experiences) if VB.Net would

still be preferable ever Visual C# for UI development?

Both C# and VB.NET use the same form editor and they are
more or less the same in respect of ui.
I would go with the one that your developers feel is better
for non-ui work.
I would go with C# for two reasons:
- C# is closer to C++ than VB.NET is to VB6
- C# seems to be the language "mapping" better to the undelying
MS byte-code, was created for this.
VB.NET seems to me a little "twisted" to make it closer to VB.
There are things you can't even do or use from VB NET
(for instance define your own = operator).

 

[Doug Holland]

C# was designed from the outset as a .NET language, VB.NET on the other hand
maintains some baggage left over from earlier versions of the language.

Its C# or the road for me

- Doug

 

[Alvin Bruney]

VB is like Java, PROPRIETY, C# is STANDARD, you chose where you want to be
locked up.

 

[Guinness Mann]

C# as there are less of COBOL type keywords to get
in the way. Its not only propriety its also too
wordy and that hides the actual codes meaning.

Espeshully if yew cant type good...

 

[md]

Which is clearer as to the meaning: End If or } ?

 

[Jon Skeet [C# MVP]]

Which is clearer as to the meaning: End If or } ?

To anyone who can read C#, which isn't hard, they're just as readable
as each other. Tell me, which is easier to understand:

(5+2) * 3

or

five plus two, all in brackets, then times three

? Symbols aren't always harder to read than words, and arguably by
making things like structure (which are also typically shown to humans
by indentation; the brace is mostly for the compiler) it makes the
"more important" things like actual executed code more obvious.

 

[Doug Holland]

Its really not a question in my mind as to which syntax is clearer, End If
or '}' ...

C# developers typically come from those who learned their skills using C and
C++ and as such are typically more experiacned and higher educated in this
field than many programmers who use VB to write their programs.

I have seen some very good code written in VB, the language is not deficient
.... but the chance of you hiring developers who write very well structured
code which will stand the tests of time is increased with C# due to the
background of most C# programmers.

Doug