Why convert a VB6 desktop ap to Dot Net?

  • Thread starter Thread starter tom c
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tom c

I am working on a VB6 desktop ap. I would like to talk the boss into
converting to dot net sooner rather than later. What are some good
reasons I can tell him to get him to convert as soon as possible?
 
My personal favorite is XCOPY deployment. Say goodbye to ActiveX/COM
installation hassles. :-)

Of course, that assumes that your app, once ported, won't rely on any
ActX/COM dependencies. Of course, you can use those with .NET, it's no big
deal, but the installation will no longer be as simple as copying files to a
folder.
 
Not sure which apply to you
* better deploy model
* less error prone
* easier to maintain
* If done properly (OOP), code is reusable
* More scalable

--
Gregory A. Beamer
MVP; MCP: +I, SE, SD, DBA
http://gregorybeamer.spaces.live.com

*************************************************
Think outside of the box!
*************************************************
 
Here is an opinion with a lot of history.

First the history
---------------

- Started with DBase II - Ok - did a successful project - 2 tables open at
one time was pretty limiting.
- Moved up to DBase III - much better - 10 tables open - major break through
- Multi-user with DBase III+ - panic time with corrupted indicies - ok, got
it to work processing $100 million/yr insurance
- Multi-user FoxPro - much better.
- Progress (character based) - talk about fast, reliable and no breakage -
even in a fire!
- Access 2.0, Access 95, Access 97 and on - really fast development,
unreliable multi-user and slow
- VB6 - Fast but really painful in development - 10 times the cost compared
to Access. Rates not acceptable for user desktop deployment - can we say
"DLL Hell".
- Back to Access with a really cool VB DLL for datamarshalling disconnected
data resulting in a network speed improvement of 125 times and 100%
reliability! That's correct - 125 times faster.


Now for Dot Net
------------------
- Most painful learning curve ever - be forwarned.
- VS 2005 IDE is really slow! Make sure you have source code control in case
your project gets corrupted.
- The end results are absolutely incredible. I'm doing stuff I've never been
able to do before. (can we say multi-threading and fantastic user interfaces
thanks to www.devexpress.com.)
- ADO.NET is amazing. Disconnected datasets are a joy to work with. (Just
happens to mirror Access on steroids)
- Development time - for me this is the interesting part. Once you figure
out how to do the data marshalling, it appears development time is maybe
1.25 times as compared to MS Access. That's acceptable.
- And finally - desktop deployment - goodby DLL HELL.

If you just want to redo an existing application with the same
functionality, it probably is not worth switching.

If you are going to significantly change the functionality or are coming out
with a brand new application - no question - make the switch.
 
I'd like to add that .Net is the platform for almost every time of nowadays
applications, Windows App, Web Apps, Web Services, even screen saver :)
Moreover, building distributed apps is easier than ever... And even easier
with the coming of the .net framework 3.0 with WCF and other magic stuffs.

Steve
 
tom c said:
I am working on a VB6 desktop ap. I would like to talk the boss into
converting to dot net sooner rather than later. What are some good
reasons I can tell him to get him to convert as soon as possible?
Click to expand...

Well, the first question to ask yourself is: why would you like to talk
the boss into converting to .NET sooner rather than later? You must
have a reason yourself - why not explain that to us first, and we may
be able to help to strengthen the case.
 
Well, the first question to ask yourself is: why would you like to talk
the boss into converting to .NET sooner rather than later? You must
have a reason yourself - why not explain that to us first, and we may
be able to help to strengthen the case.
Click to expand...

I have been working on .Net for several years. I have taken this job
because it is 5 minutes from my house, the money is good and I like
the owner. However I am not excited about going back to VB6. It
seems harder to work with and not as much fun. Those are totally
selfish reasons I know. Maybe there is not really a good reason for
the owner to convert. I need to figure that out one way or another and
give him an honest opinion.
 
You are not being selfish .... You have got to apply your opinions. So I
suggest if she does not agree and she is not very pretty, better look for
some other place .... VB6 is long gone ......VC++, well it would never be
out of fashin ... I laugh when people write wrappers to native calls in .NET
......
 
tom c said:
I have been working on .Net for several years. I have taken this job
because it is 5 minutes from my house, the money is good and I like
the owner. However I am not excited about going back to VB6. It
seems harder to work with and not as much fun. Those are totally
selfish reasons I know. Maybe there is not really a good reason for
the owner to convert. I need to figure that out one way or another and
give him an honest opinion.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a much better idea. It's perfectly okay to give your
language preference as a reason - that may well be a factor in what
your boss will want you to develop in, as presumably you're more
comfortable in .NET. Trying to find more "legitimate" reasons to cover
up your main reason isn't a good idea though, IMO. (Sure, find other
reasons too, but explain what the main one is.)
 
Let me ask a few related questions:

How would you make an intelligent decission about the wisdom of
converting a desktop app from VB6 to dot net?

When does MS stop supporting VB6, and when that happens, what exactly
does it mean?

What would be the advantages of converting this year rather than next
year?

Would it make sense to wait for dot net 3.0? When is it supposed to
come out?
 
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