Alternatives to VBA for Excel programming

[AllSensibleNamesTaken]

I am looking for a fully ObjectOriented language (one of the .NET languages
being the obviou choice) but with exacly the same ease of interoperability
with Excel that VBA currently provides.

The main factors in the Excel VBA relationship that provide the ease of
interoperability I'm reffering to are:
- Macro recording from Excel actions producing code that can be studied
and modified. This code would now need to be in the a .NET language. Ideally
the .NET language chosen by the user.
- Embedding of code within the Excel document so that the code and
document can be depoyed as a unit. This could be done directly (analogous to
"By Value" ) or via references, which I think is even better.
- Seamlessless debugging capability of code triggered by Excel actions
- Ease with which one can write a function and have it be immediately
called from within Excel cells
- Control Toolbox toolbar to generate controls that can be easily
identified and behaviorally implemented in code.

Have the users of this forum found something like this?
I am being told that VSTO can bring .NET languages to office, but with
nowhere near the ease of interoperability that VBA can (as described above)

Any comments from people that have looked for this and/or found it are vey
much appreciated.

Thanks so much

 

[Charles Williams]

At the moment there is no alternative language to Excel VBA that works as
you have described.

Charles
__________________________________________________
The Excel Calculation Site
http://www.decisionmodels.com

 

[RB Smissaert]

What is wrong with VBA?
Bear also in mind that it is very easy to VB6 with Excel.

RBS

 

[AllSensibleNamesTaken]

The interoperability of VBA with Excel is great.
As a languge however, VBA is clearly quite poor.
It's stuck in the pre OO age and as such is an order of magnitude more
difficult and time consuming to write efficient and maintainabe code with it
than with a full OO language like the .NET languages.

I won't comment on this further but I'm sure you'll find plenty on the topic
in any programmer's forum going back 10 yrs.

 

[RB Smissaert]

VBA is clearly quite poor

Can't agree there at all.
What actual, concrete thing are you missing in VBA or VB6 that any of the
..net languages has?

difficult and time consuming to write efficient and maintainabe code

Can't agree there either. What kind of applications are you developing?

RBS