vb, vb.net, & vba

  • Thread starter Thread starter DesCF
  • Start date Start date
To my understanding, VB is Visual Basic, which is the basis for VB.net,
a newer build (created in 2003). IT includes lots of new stuff, and
puts VB on a par with other languages in terms of OOP and other stuff.
Macros are coded in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications). It includes
special features and references that mean that you can use VB with
Excel etc

I'm sure someone else will redefine it, but this is roughly right isn't
it?
Hope this helps,
Jarry
 
Macros are coded in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications). It includes
special features and references that mean that you can use VB with
Excel etc
Click to expand...

Actually, vba is (imo) a very scaled down version of classic visual
basic. It's main purpose is help automate Microsoft Office products (or
some other applications). For example MS Access uses VBA to power the
forms, reports, etc in a database application. You can even build
simple UI forms to help user automate complex tasks. Excel uses it to
define custom functions or like Jarry said to write macros. It can be
used in Outlook to take special actions on emails. The list
continues....

It should be noted that anything that can be done in VBA can be done
with classic visual basic, so vba doesn't really have any special
features, it just includes the neccessary references to the program (be
it word, excel, or access). Also, anything done in classic vb can be
done (some easier some harder) with VB.Net. This "chain" doesn't work
the other direction (i.e. vba cannot do most things VB.Net can). The
point here is that (imo) vba is at the bottom of the visual basic food
chain, then comes classic vb *sigh*, and then the reigning king right
now is VB.Net (again in my opinion).

Hope that helps,

Seth Rowe
 
DesCF said:
What are the differences between vb, vb.net, & vba ?
Click to expand...


They have been obfuscated to an extent by Microsoft, but broadly it is this.

VB is the name given to the older versions of Visual Basic, up to and
including VB6 which was released in about 1998.

VB.NET is the name generally given to more recent versions of Visual Basic
released from 2000 onwards, and which make use of the .net framework.
Although VB.NET is claimed by Microsoft to be an update to VB, they aren't
all that compatible and you should be wary about attempting to port any
project of significant size from VB6 to any later version.

The obfuscation creeps in because Microsoft calls the most recent version
"VB2005", dropping the .net suffix from the name even though it uses the
VB.NET syntax, not the VB6 syntax.

VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) is the version of VB that is included
inside various of the Microsoft Office applications, and is also licensed by
Microsoft for other companies to include within their own applications. It
uses the VB6 syntax and usually makes available a specialised object model
for controlling the host application, and has a simpler forms library than
VB6 (VBA UserForms are simpler and less capable than VB6 Forms).
General-purpose VB6 code can often be imported into VBA projects and work
unmodified.
 
Thanks for all that, clears it up nicely. Are there any books out there
on vb.net that anyone would recommend ?
 
For the language, I highly recommend "Programming Microsoft Visual Basic
2005: the Language" by Francesco Balena. It doesn't cover data access, web
stuff, forms, etc. -- just the language itself. I've found it to be very
readable.

For forms, check out "Pro .Net 2.0 Windows Forms and Custom Controls in VB
2005." by Matthew MacDonald. There's also a great data binding book by Brian
Noyes. Unfortunately, the examples are in C#, but you can download the code
samples in VB.

Good luck.
Robin
 
Personally, I think "Start-to-Finish Visual Basic 2005" is a great book,
not that I'm biased. It will be available mid-November.
 
I live in Cambridge so I'll check it out when it arrives Tim. Just out of
curiosity since you're here, how much can someone expect to make from
writing a book like this and how easy is it to do ?
 
Although my contracts forbid me from revealing the payment terms for my books,
I can tell you this: As an author, you can expect a life of poverty and sadness,
with fingers warn to the nubs from correcting all of the mistakes you included
in the book. Your eyes glaze over from constantly checking the position of
your book on Amazon.com. And you hide in the corners wondering if everyone
is going to find out that you really aren't an expert on any topic.

In all seriousness, it is a tough job, especially if, like me, you write
in your spare time. And if you calculate the pay per-hour, it's pretty shocking
how little you make. But if you have writing in your blood, you just can't
stop yourself. You think about it all the time, and you love to do it, even
when the benefits seem scarce. I am constantly taking notes for future books
and articles, and it's a joy every time I put ink to paper.
 
That is a good reference, but be aware that it really targets those who already
use an earlier version of Visual Basic .NET. It's not for the true beginner.
 
It's about time! Your book been on my amazon.com wish list for a couple of
months now. I've been forced to read other books while waiting for this to
come out. I just noticed today that they finally stuck a date of 11/15 on
it. By then, I will have read 3 other books, but I'm still looking forward
to buying this one and working through it. So at least you'll sell one copy.
Maybe you'll eventually make enough $$ to buy yourself lunch somewhere nice,
like Taco Bell. ;-)

Robin
 
Poverty and sadness? What about the joy of being published, of people
picking up your book and reading it at B&N and then putting it back on the
shelf because they're too cheap to buy it? (B&N is NOT a library, people.)
What about the joy of people posting positive reviews on amazon.com because
they've gotten so many wonderful job offers because of the knowledge they've
gained from your book? What about the joy of knowing that somewhere out
there, someone is reading your book and thinking, "I could have done a
better job", but you know everybody *thinks* they can write a book while few
can actually accomplish it? Come on, now, the best stuff in life is free.
(Just ask the guy at B&N. ;-)

Robin
 
Thank you so much for your patience. I can fully appreciate your endurance
in reading those other books. As I eat my Enchirito (copyright 1902 to 2006
by Taco Bell and its team of lawyers), I will comfort myself in knowing that
in just three short weeks joy will return once again to your home. ;-)
 
DesCF said:
Another thought that just popped into my mind is where does vbscript fit
into this ?
Click to expand...

It is a simplified scripting version of VB without early binding or named
arguments.
 
As one who has been a Taco Bell aficionado since her first job back in the
late 70's (Dairy Queen, $1.40/hr), I'm glad to find someone else who
actually
enjoys Enchiritos. However, the pittance you earn from spending hundreds of
hours putting together a book translating Microsoft's technospeak into
"what you actually use this for" will go much further if you just settle for
bean burritos. I believe you can get almost 2 of those for the price of an
enchirito, which means if you drink water rather than soda, you can get
2 meals instead of 1 for each thousand books sold. Or whatever the ratio is.

As for my joy over the imminent release of your book, it has momentarily
exploded into reality with the posting of chapter 1 (thank you Theo)
which I will print and peruse with delight in comparison to the
somewhat more dry material I have been reading with dogged persistence
if not with vigor. A similar comparison might be zinfandel vs. dessert
wine (which should be consumed with peach cobbler, so I had better
go get some peaches and start baking now).

One does wonder why you did not mention your VB2005 Cookbook that
came out recently, which is what led me to your Start-to-Finish book
in the first place (following the link to see what else you had written;
isn't amazon a wonderful thing?). Is it because, having a co-author,
you can only buy a taco with each thousand copies that you sell? Or
are you living with the hope of trading up and going to Baja Fresh or
Chipotle?

Robin
irish underscore songbird at comcast dot net
 
The problem is that where I live in Microsoftland we have a fast-food outlet
called "Taco Time." The food is better, but at four times the price, and
there is no way any self-respecting Northwest programmer is going to eat
at Taco Bell more often than they eat at Taco Time. I mean, there are only
seven days in a week (so far), so that means 4 visits to Taco Time and 3
visits to Taco Bell. And there is the problem: programmer peer pressure in
the burrito wilderness.

To be honest, I wasn't sure what the policy was in these newsgroups. I hesitated
to even put my book title in my standard signature, but I saw other posters
doing that, so I succumbed. If you're interested in what I write, you can
visit timaki.com, my web site. If you're interested in what I eat, you can
visit tacotimenw.com.
 
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