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Survey Results

Why are people derisive towards Visual Basic?   [Edit]

Survey period: 19 Jan 2004 to 25 Jan 2004

VB has received a lot of flak over the years. Why? (Sent in by FruitBatInShades)

OptionVotes% 
Because it's horrible39726.97
Because they have never used it16611.28
Because people are programming snobs36124.52
Because they need to grow up1177.95
Because it's not a real programming language!43129.28



 
GeneralRe: Some peeps need to grow up Pin
FruitBatInShades22-Jan-04 9:18
FruitBatInShades22-Jan-04 9:18 
GeneralRe: Some peeps need to grow up Pin
Jeremy Falcon23-Jan-04 17:16
professionalJeremy Falcon23-Jan-04 17:16 
GeneralHey! I want him on my team! Pin
Fortner24-Jan-04 3:27
Fortner24-Jan-04 3:27 
GeneralRe: Hey! I want him on my team! Pin
Jeremy Falcon24-Jan-04 4:24
professionalJeremy Falcon24-Jan-04 4:24 
GeneralThe god-complexed programmer... Pin
Fortner24-Jan-04 10:59
Fortner24-Jan-04 10:59 
GeneralBecause it has no built-in CListCtrl. Pin
Uwe Keim22-Jan-04 4:08
sitebuilderUwe Keim22-Jan-04 4:08 
GeneralThe exact answer is: it lacks elegance. Pin
Emilio CL22-Jan-04 0:55
Emilio CL22-Jan-04 0:55 
GeneralBe easy on me... I am molting. Pin
Fortner21-Jan-04 22:37
Fortner21-Jan-04 22:37 
OMG | :OMG:
The following are thoughts from a VB developer. Or maybe they're cries for help. You tell me:

I asked the same kind of leading question about VB to a local application development company for PDA's (AppForge) when they came to our university to give a speech on embedded systems. Their target market was VB because "it is the most popular programming language used." I didn't understand that because of such message boards as this. After looking through the literature of today's 200+ languages (with over 2500 since Fortran - see them at http://www.levenez.com/lang/) it certainly wasn't the most used by full-time developers. I think it went: C++, Java, Python, (then a large gap), then perl, C, ... , (another gap), then cobol, lisp, VB, pascal, etc. But the word 'popular' is what I was curious about. From what AppForge's market analysis found, it is probably true that VB is the most popular although not the most used.

But seeing the results on this survey so far I'm guessing the majority who are derisive towards VB use C/C++ or Java. Right? So, VB isn't a 'real programming language' and 'it's horrible.' But C/C++ and Java aren't truly object oriented languages! If you're going to be a purist and look down on VB this way then why not use Ada, SmallTalk or Simula? OK. OK. So you use what your company or your curriculum tells you. As for me I've worked on my own in the US for the last 3 years and I use VB. But be easy on me... I am molting. Yes, towards C++. Not because it's the best but because it's the defacto language for the majority of programmers.

My first love was assembly some 18 years ago. I knew exactly what the machine was doing for the graphics routines, leaving out stacks and interrupts. Then came work using Pascal 7 some 12 years ago after which I moved to VB and stayed there. Why? It has everything the applications required and it takes on average about HALF the lines of code compared to C/C++ to accomplish the same task! Or rather, "it's about time," stupid!

The track record? The Pascal 7 applications (equipment control and data recording) written and validated in '94 are still being used to this day with no problems, not even Y2K (so much for the software life cycle). The VB applications (company-wide international label/barcode system with mainframe sync) written between '95 and '97 have the same result. Yes, they have been revised as company SOPs changed but they're still being used, every day, every week, every month, 4 shifts, no problems. No, these are not COTS. Many a company SOP cannot conform to the average COTS. And the business logic layer is too broad to capture what needs to happen with specific end users. How many programmers take the time to find out what the end user really needs? From what I've seen, very little. Thus how I find my work.

VB not good for re-use? Give me a break. All depends on the programmer. I've read too many professional C++ source code files which have no naming conventions or comments at all. You call this maintainability? For VB I find on average better comments (and I don't mean ones lording over the stupid VB programmer about what the program is doing at every line) as well as good use of, say, the Reddick convention.

So, why not Java? Too slow. And the platforms were and still are a constant. And back when Java started it wasn't "write once, run everywhere" but rather "write once, debug everywhere." Like a new car model, wait 3 years for them to get the kinks out. Anyhow, which Java programmer knows all those classes AND uses the most appropriate ones? And worst of all, I wrote a very simple Java program that produced a surprising square root error only to the 10'th decimal place! Come to find out, This is also virtual-machine dependent! Horrible! This takes me back to TRS-80 days when the program had to be written so as to correct these errors. And if I'm to validate a Java application, then I need to control the end-user's virtual machine, which I can't.

Why not C++? Besides not having enough time to write twice as many lines of code and not wanting to forget how to use proper English, spelling and grammar, good question.

- good ideas are copied - great ideas are stolen -
GeneralRe: Be easy on me... I am molting. Pin
FruitBatInShades22-Jan-04 9:21
FruitBatInShades22-Jan-04 9:21 
GeneralActiveX Control Sizing Pin
clawton21-Jan-04 13:37
clawton21-Jan-04 13:37 
GeneralThink VB is to an extent jinxed by its past Pin
Hermit Dave21-Jan-04 12:38
professionalHermit Dave21-Jan-04 12:38 
GeneralI would have liked to vote for more than one answer... Pin
John M. Drescher21-Jan-04 5:55
John M. Drescher21-Jan-04 5:55 
GeneralRe: I would have liked to vote for more than one answer... Pin
Hermit Dave21-Jan-04 12:42
professionalHermit Dave21-Jan-04 12:42 
GeneralRe: I would have liked to vote for more than one answer... Pin
John M. Drescher21-Jan-04 12:49
John M. Drescher21-Jan-04 12:49 
GeneralRe: I would have liked to vote for more than one answer... Pin
Hermit Dave21-Jan-04 13:12
professionalHermit Dave21-Jan-04 13:12 
GeneralRe: I would have liked to vote for more than one answer... Pin
p05esto23-Jan-04 9:17
p05esto23-Jan-04 9:17 
GeneralRe: I would have liked to vote for more than one answer... Pin
John M. Drescher23-Jan-04 9:49
John M. Drescher23-Jan-04 9:49 
GeneralCute and FUZZY spoons... Pin
User 46247820-Jan-04 21:48
User 46247820-Jan-04 21:48 
GeneralRe: Cute and FUZZY spoons... Pin
Simon Hughes20-Jan-04 22:07
Simon Hughes20-Jan-04 22:07 
GeneralRe: Cute and FUZZY spoons... Pin
SimonS20-Jan-04 22:36
SimonS20-Jan-04 22:36 
GeneralRe: Cute and FUZZY spoons... Pin
bneacetp21-Jan-04 1:21
bneacetp21-Jan-04 1:21 
GeneralRe: Cute and FUZZY spoons... Pin
damasta3021-Jan-04 2:19
damasta3021-Jan-04 2:19 
GeneralThese gloves came free with my toilet brush! Pin
Shog921-Jan-04 5:23
sitebuilderShog921-Jan-04 5:23 
GeneralRe: Cute and FUZZY spoons... Pin
John M. Drescher21-Jan-04 6:02
John M. Drescher21-Jan-04 6:02 
GeneralRe: Cute and FUZZY spoons... Pin
Owen Hines22-Jan-04 2:14
Owen Hines22-Jan-04 2:14 

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