Any tips from VB6 to VB.Net 2010?

Davebert · December 9th, 2011, 07:39 PM

Any good tips or list of equivalent keywords when switching from VB6 Classic to .NET? I tried .NET when it first came out and wasn't having any luck and was hating the big change from VB6 so I just didn't switch. Now I feel I better before legacy support goes away...

Thanks,
DB

Davebert · December 11th, 2011, 03:49 PM

I did some research and found what I was looking for...It doesn't look as bad as it looked when .NET 2002 first came out and we realized it wasn't the VB7 we were expecting.

I bought the book (Visual Basic Programming 24-Hour Trainer) and am ready to get started. I also bought the reference book (Visual Basic 2010 Programmer's Reference) that Rod Stephens wrote too. I also have some of his VB6 books. All good stuff.
DB

Rod Stephens · December 12th, 2011, 10:51 AM

Sorry for the slow reply.

The book should get you started. It's not all that bad. Much of what you're used to still works: subroutines, For loops, Do loops, If statements, Select Case, etc.

Graphics is very different. Instead of using methods such as a PictureBox's Line method, you need to obtain a Graphics object and then use Brush and Pen objects to draw on it. It's not too bad once you get the hang of it, and the performance is much better.

Aside from that there are mostly just a lot of little details that you should pick up fairly quickly with a little practice.

Good luck and post questions if you get stuck!

Davebert · December 12th, 2011, 01:05 PM

Hi Rod,
Thanks for your response. I am sure to have plenty of questions but I will try to be careful and keep them related to the book above if I can.

Here is a non-related one. Code Obfuscation. I tend to work backwards sometime and this was another reason I stayed away from .NET so long. Is the code obfuscator that comes with VS2010 Pro good enough to keep your basic low level hacker from stealing your code? And what happened to control arrays?
Thanks,
DB

Rod Stephens · December 12th, 2011, 02:27 PM

Quote:

I am sure to have plenty of questions but I will try to be careful and keep them related to the book above if I can.

Don't worry about it if you stray from the book's topics but please start a new thread for new questions so other people reading the posts can know what's in each post.

Quote:

Code Obfuscation. I tend to work backwards sometime and this was another reason I stayed away from .NET so long. Is the code obfuscator that comes with VS2010 Pro good enough to keep your basic low level hacker from stealing your code?

I think it's probably good enough to stop the casual hacker or at least slow them down a lot. They turn all of your variables, method names, and other symbols into gibberish.

A really determined hacker may still figure out what you're doing but most of the time it's easier to rewrite the code from scratch based on the results you see when you use a program rather than trying to figure out what code you used.

Quote:

And what happened to control arrays?

They're gone. Sorry.

However, you can make an array containing references to controls and do some of the same things. For example, you can then loop through a series of TextBoxes and clear them all.

Here's a small snippet:

Code:

Dim text_boxes() As TextBox = New TextBox() {txtFirstName, txtLastName}

For Each txt As TextBox In text_boxes
    txt.Clear()
Next txt

Davebert · December 12th, 2011, 04:55 PM

Ok, will post new threads in the future to keep things organized for clarity. I am really just getting started and have the extended trial of VB Studio 2010. I try to make sure I can use it for my particular needs before plunking down the big bucks. I was also wondering about Visual Studio 2012 but I don't think it will be released soon enough. Can't find any info on it anyway for RTM. Thanks for the snippet on the control array question.
DB

Rod Stephens · December 12th, 2011, 05:07 PM

I would stick with the free Express Edition for now. There's very little in the more expensive versions that you should need for at least a while. Then you can buy a more full-featured version when VB 2012 comes out if you decide you need it.

Davebert · December 12th, 2011, 05:27 PM

Rod,
So I can use database stuff with the express versions? I actually want to use the SQLite DB with it and it seems to me I cannot without the Pro version. Correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks,
DB

Rod Stephens · December 12th, 2011, 06:03 PM

You can definitely use database stuff with the Express Editions. I'm not sure about SQLite in particular but this post makes it sound like you should be able to do this:

http://sqlite.phxsoftware.com/forums/t/2397.aspx

Most of the things missing in the Express Edition are team tools (things like testing and scheduling). And the integrated icon editor. (Although Inkscape and others available on the Internet are better anyway.)

If you have time, post a follow-up and let us know if you get SQLite working. (And how you like it.)

Davebert · December 12th, 2011, 06:57 PM

That sounds great. I will look into it some more and see if that works and if so I may wait till Visual Studio 2012 is released. I think the limited research I had done may have said the "designer" in the System.Data.SQLite dll would not work but I don't need that anyhow as I have a DB Management utility for SQLite already. I already have an icon maker too from Axialis. I won't be getting much done until after the holidays but I will definitely keep this forum posted.
Thanks,
DB

Edit: I just tested the SQLite dll and it works with Express 2010 Edition. WooHoo!