Management by magazine please help!

[Guest]

Hi
We are being pushed to re-write and or when creating new to do everything in
C#.
The reason, “’cause C# is better, right?â€.
I am looking for any comparing information on C# & VB.Net

We are not against learning C# but I feel the reason we are being pushed to
use it is flawed.

Thanks
BrianDH

 

[W.G. Ryan - MVP]

Hopefully they aren't really serious about it. If you put VB.NET vs C# in
google, this issue has been beaten into the ground, but you should code in
whatever you like. Other than XML comments in C# and Unsafe code blocks in
C# and the ability to turn Option Strict Off in vb.net, there's little
reason to use one over the other except for personal taste. And since you
can mix assemblies in a solution, it's a moot point (and in ASP.NET 2.0 for
instance, you can use C# AND VB.NET int he same project).

Anyway, to win the battle, ask whoever the genius is that's proposing this
"What is better about C#?" If the answer is something like "All of our
developers are C++ or Java Developers" than that's a pretty good reason. If
it's somethign like "It's faster " or "Microsoft uses C# exclusively for
their internal stuff", then you'll easily be able to find out tons of
examples to refute that (MS mainly uses C# b/c most of their developers now
C style languages, but a lot is written in VB.NET as well and as long as you
have Option Strict on, there's not a performance difference worth noting).

 

[Dave]

I work for a Training company and we teach both CSharp and VB.NET. I've
also be around long enough to see the issues of moving from C to C++.

So, here's what I'm hearing in the classroom and some comments based on
my experience.

Over the last several years I've had several students who already knew
VB6 taking my CSharp class. When I asked why, the most consistent answer
that I got back was, "Well, we knew enough about .NET to realize that
VB.NET is way different from VB6. We figured, rather than carrying over
our bad habbits from VB6 to VB.NET, we'd just learn a new language and
avoid the 'assumption pit'" (ok, so 'assumption pit' is my term, but
the gist of what I'm being told by my students is exactly that.)

As I mentioned, I lived through the C to C++ transition. The number one
problem we had during those days was that 80% of the programmers ended
up writing C code using C++ syntax. That is, they were not using object
oriented programming techniques.

My biggest fear surrounding VB.NET is that programmers will pick it up
and start doing all the same stuff they did in VB6. Sure, they will be
able to get the code out the door, but will they really be using the
power of the language? Add on to this the fact that in .NET 2.0, so
much of the code is written for you, and I would dare to say we will
have three classes of VB programmers.

1) Point and click programmers.
2) Point and click VB.NET procedural programmers
3) Point and click VB.NET object oriented programmers.

Of course this completely leaves out the "I got a book that shows me how
to program in VB.NET" programmers who doen't even know the wizards exist.

So, is VB.NET or CSharp better? No. But, I think you are much more
likely to write object oriented code if you use CSharp and I think you
are much more likely to get object oriented code out of your new hire if
he knows csharp.

Of course, you can alway make CSharp procedural by creating one fat
partial class with a bunch of static (shared) methods in it too.

 

[Cor Ligthert [MVP]]

BrianDH,

There is a thread from a mile in the C# newsgroup.

http://groups.google.com/group/micr...ca2cbd0331d/1bacb9e89335992e#1bacb9e89335992e

I think that in that is enough written about this question even from very
emotional to C# biased persons.

I think that we will not create in this newsgroups threads like that.

Just my opinon.

Cor

 

[W.G. Ryan - MVP]

Dave - I programmed in VB6 but my main prior experience was C#. In the
strictest of terms, IF you have Option Strict on in VB6, then I think much
of your ability to write code carrying over your bad habits is reduced. I
can write crap in any language and nothing is every going to change that.
As to your three classes of programmers, I don't disagree but I'd say that
the same holds for C# and even though I greatly prefer C#, I think there is
a danger that isn't in VB.NET. A lot of point and click people act like
their code is great b/c it's in C# and a lot of people believe b/c it's in
C# that it can't be crap.

If you look at guys like Carl Franklin, Francesco Balena, Rocky Lhotka and
many other famous VB guys, there's some phenomenal code in their examples. I
won't even go into all the bad C# code I've seen.

So the real problem is with mentality. If you bought a teach yourself
________ in 21 days, and all you've used it for is 21 days, you aren't ready
for prime time. If you can only point and click, you aren't ready for prime
time. If you used to be the man at vb6 but haven't learned the framework
first, and think you can move to VB.NET, you aren't ready for prime time.

The bad part is that this crap will go on for a long time until the
marketplace gets a lot more discerning (regardless of how you feel about the
subject, pressure from India and other foreign countries has greatly helped
out in culling the dead weight), we'll have these three classes of
programmers.

 

[Cor Ligthert [MVP]]

Bill,

I can write crap in any language and nothing is every going to change
that.

I thought only in English, never saw you using another language.

Not serious, just for fun, I could not resist.



Cor