VB---to C# Difficulty???? Opinion?

[SStory]

Hello Group.

I am a VB/VB.NET programmer. I have done some C/C++ years ago.

I am considering a job opportunity which is unfortunately in C# and not
VB.NET.

What is the group's opinion on the difficulty level/time frame of a VB.NET
programmer learning to program in C#?

Thanks for your opinions,

Shane

 

[Marina]

Very little. It's basically the same thing, slightly different syntax.

Because they both use the .NET framework, there should be almost no learning
curve, because the only difference is syntax - which is easy to learn.

 

[BrianDH]

If you can keep trak of the darn {} you got it made. Hate the little things
hard for me see. I prefer End If but thats me.

B

 

[Mick Doherty]

I'm in the process now of adding C# translations of my VB.net samples to my
site. It is amazing how easy it is. There's one or two little trip-ups but
nothing that google won't sort for you.

I have to say though that I much prefer VB.

 

[Russell Jones]

It's the case-sensitivity and the square brackets rather than parentheses
that will be the hardest for you to remember, probably. But you get used to
those too, in a pretty short time.

 

[Andy Becker]

Hello Group.

I am a VB/VB.NET programmer. I have done some C/C++ years ago.

I am considering a job opportunity which is unfortunately in C# and not
VB.NET.

Take it, you'll be just fine since you already know the objects involved.
The syntax differences only make you crazy if you switch back and forth all
the time.

Knowing both languages is a plus in the long run, IMHO.

Best Regards,

Andy

 

[Herfried K. Wagner [MVP]]

I am a VB/VB.NET programmer. I have done some C/C++ years ago.

So, you are already familiar with a weird syntax.

I am considering a job opportunity which is unfortunately in C# and not
VB.NET.
:-(

What is the group's opinion on the difficulty level/time frame of a VB.NET
programmer learning to program in C#?

Learning C# is very easy if you are familiar with C or any other
case-sensitive language. I am currently doing 75 percent in VB.NET and
the rest in C#, and I always have my problems with remembering the
correct case. For me, that reduces my performance in programming C# to
about the half of my VB.NET coding performance.

Aside from that, there should not be many problems, there are little
differences in the keywords, differences in array declarations, and
event handling, but the rest is pretty the same as in VB.NET. As a
first step, I would look up the table with the keyword equivalents in
the documentation and then take a look at arrays and event handling.

 

[Lucas Tam]

What is the group's opinion on the difficulty level/time frame of a
VB.NET programmer learning to program in C#?

All classes are the same between VB.NET and C#. There are only small
differences between the two. It shouldn't take nyou more than a couple
hours. Maybe a couple days or a week or two for the more obscure
features/syntaxes.

 

[Arne Janning]

Hello Group.

I am a VB/VB.NET programmer. I have done some C/C++ years ago.

I am considering a job opportunity which is unfortunately in C# and not
VB.NET.

What is the group's opinion on the difficulty level/time frame of a VB.NET
programmer learning to program in C#?

As Herfried and the others already stated there should not be many problems.

A small and useful book that points out the differences is:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/csharpvbpr/

Cheers

Arne Janning

 

[Greg Burns]

Second that. Well worth the $10 or so.

Greg

As Herfried and the others already stated there should not be many problems.

A small and useful book that points out the differences is:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/csharpvbpr/

Cheers

Arne Janning

 

[SStory]

me too... VB all the way! but need the work and this one is in C# and close
by.....

 

[SStory]

Thanks...
I have no idea why anyone would want to complicate their lives by choosing
C#--I see no advantage...

Unfortunately many companies have decided to go that road....

Danke,

Shane

 

[SStory]

Hey thanks for the book...

That will be great if I take the job..

Shane

 

[Bob Lehmann]

Technically, there is none. But, depending on your background, C# could
potentially easier to learn. From an emploer perspective, I'm sure there is
still a bias that VB* is a toy languge, and "real" programmers know C and/or
C++.

I prefer VB. However, I wish it had a line TERMINATION character ( instead
of a line CONTINUATION (_) character.

Hate the C style curly braces, though. Hate 'em, Hate 'em, Hate 'em.

Bob Lehmann

Thanks...
I have no idea why anyone would want to complicate their lives by choosing
C#--I see no advantage...

Unfortunately many companies have decided to go that road....

Danke,

Shane

 

[Lucas Tam]

I have no idea why anyone would want to complicate their lives by
choosing C#--I see no advantage...

People who use C# probably wonder the same thing about VB.NET, Java or any
other language.

It's just personal preference.

 

[Tom Shelton]

Hey thanks for the book...

That will be great if I take the job..

Shane

Take it... C# is a great language. Of course, I'm biased - I've always
been partial to C style syntax.

 

[David Anton]

Actually, while it seems simple at first to convert, there are some
insidiously nasty issues that you had better be prepared to deal
with:

- The "!" operator has greatly different precedence than VB's "Not".

- The ending condition of a VB.NET "For" loop is only tested once, on
the first entry to the loop; while a C# "for" loop tests the ending
condition on every iteration.

- Just try consistently remembering what the following translate to:
"x Is y" vs "TypeOf x Is y" vs "GetType(x)" (I've coded it into the
Instant C# converter, but I have trouble keeping them straight).

http://www.tangiblesoftwaresolutions.com/Conversion_Tips.htm

 

[Cor Ligthert]

Hi Shane,

Unbelievable so much messages and still I can add something.

In my idea is for a good VBNet programmer the only problem with C# that C#
has not that extremly well IDE what is used in VBNet.

Most errors come in C# only when you compile. While VBNet is non case
sensitive, it translate all classses and variables to the proper case. Which
is not done in C# which makes it difficult for a VBNet programmer in the
start.

In my opinion is that as well (because of the so much used English and
uprecasses in dotNet) that VBNet is (although that it uses more words)
better for international use (non English), because for a lot of programmers
the cases have less meaning than for English programmers.

However just my opinion,

Cor

 

[Herfried K. Wagner [MVP]]

People who use C# probably wonder the same thing about VB.NET, Java or any
other language.

It's just personal preference.

It's decision between being productive or not.

 

[SStory]

That's my concern.

I remember C being a pain to use with case sensitivity and hard pointer
syntaxes and so seems productivity would go down.

I don't suppose most employers would allow you to mix.
Some work in C# and some in VB.NET?

Would be nice.

Thanks,

Shane