Visual Basic

Benjamin Dodd4-Aug-07 9:14

4-Aug-07 9:14

haha

i jus bought the VB 6 book, Frown | :(

and that comment is not funny haha, you are a Genius hehe, you know lots of languages, im only 16, what do u suggest i use to program, i used C++ some time ago i have the books for that. Just found it a bit ahrd after a while.

Any suggestions

Benjamin Dodd

Paul Conrad4-Aug-07 9:20

4-Aug-07 9:20

Benjamin Dodd wrote:
you know lots of languages

Awww, shucks Smile | :)

I started programming when I was 9 and that was almost 26 years ago.

Since you just got a VB6 book, carry on. I'd get the fundamentals down, and move on to C++/C#.

Benjamin Dodd wrote:
ust found it a bit ahrd after a while

What is so hard about C++? Object Oriented Programming? MFC?

"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese" - anonymous, found in Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

Benjamin Dodd4-Aug-07 9:25

4-Aug-07 9:25

ok, wow you started at 9, thats real early Smile | :)

i started at 15, and i was doind ok with c++ just wasn`t understanding the codes very well and when i got to the secong chapter in my book, variables and strings i was confused however another read i may understand it more, because at this time i was taking my GCSEs so it wernt the best time to fill my head with new knoledge, i will read 'C++ in easy steps' a bit tomorro, maybe i will get a better understanding of it. I will contiue with VB 6 however because i have the book hehe. What was the first language u got familier with?

Benjamin Dodd

Paul Conrad4-Aug-07 9:32

4-Aug-07 9:32

Here's the chronological order I went with:

First actual language I became familiar with was the built in Basic that came with the Commodore 64/128 systems.
From there, I went on to learning assembly language for the 6502 chip which the C64/128 ran on.
After that, I upgraded to my first Intel based machine in 1991, a 386 running at 25mhz, and it was a significant leap from the C64/128.
Did a quick stint with Quick Basic 4.5/VB 1.0 (never really looked at VB again until VB.NET showed up), with some Microsoft Pascal.
Started at the local community college in 1992, learning Ada (at the time concurrently C++).
Java came around a while later, along with PHP.
Started with C# around 2002, or so, and that has been pretty much the language of choice, unless clients dictate otherwise.

"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese" - anonymous, found in Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

Benjamin Dodd4-Aug-07 9:37

4-Aug-07 9:37

ok wow thats alot, i have used BASIC before when i installed it in school haha, it was quite good however went swiftly on to VB 2005 express edition then i couldnt get the book for that version, so i switched to VB 6, and before BASIC me and a friends used to use C++ in school to make .exe files and just play around with C++ really, thanks for your help i will contiuse with VB 6 however at the same time i shall learn C++.

I hope i have more luck with C++ this time around haha
i'm sure doing a level math will help me with this

I want to learn at least 5 programming languages before i die hehe

This is including JAVA whith at the moment i know nothing about.

Benjamin Dodd

Paul Conrad4-Aug-07 9:43

4-Aug-07 9:43

Benjamin Dodd wrote:
I want to learn at least 5 programming languages before i die

Once you've got a few languages under your belt, then learning more is actually pretty easy once the the fundamentals are down pat Smile | :)

"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese" - anonymous, found in Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

Colin Angus Mackay4-Aug-07 13:14

4-Aug-07 13:14

Benjamin Dodd wrote:
I want to learn at least 5 programming languages before i die

Given the way technology moves on you are most likely to achieve that before leaving university.

Apparently the upcoming languages of choice are functional languages like ML[^], which has actually been around since the 1970s. Microsoft Research are doing a lot of work with functional languages and they could becoming mainstream sometime in the next few years.

Upcoming events:
* Glasgow: Mock Objects, SQL Server CLR Integration, Reporting Services, db4o, Dependency Injection with Spring ...

"I wouldn't say boo to a goose. I'm not a coward, I just realise that it would be largely pointless."

My website

Luc Pattyn4-Aug-07 9:39

Luc Pattyn

4-Aug-07 9:39

Hi, don't waste your time on an old language such as VB6.
If you study the ancient books you seem to own, you will be old before you get
to the current stuff, and it will not increase your market value.
Don't let the accidental book take the decisions for you...

I would go for C#: modern language, fully object oriented, more powerful than
VB.NET, less hassle than managed C++, offers all the powers .NET provides.

So I suggest you buy one introductory book on C# and study it thoroughly,
download Visual Studio C# Express Edition (it is free), and read some
CodeProject articles.

Smile | :)

Luc Pattyn

try { [Search CP Articles] [Search CP Forums] [Forum Guidelines] [My Articles] }
catch { [Google] }

Benjamin Dodd4-Aug-07 9:42

4-Aug-07 9:42

Hi, thanks for your comment, my books are quite old hehe because i buy them second-hand cheep. Thanks, i will download C# tomorro and get a book from the libary to introduce me to it.

Thanks for your help Smile | :)

Benjamin Dodd

Paul Conrad4-Aug-07 9:43

4-Aug-07 9:43

Luc Pattyn wrote:
don't waste your time on an old language such as VB6

Been trying to tell him Smile | :)

"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese" - anonymous, found in Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

Benjamin Dodd4-Aug-07 9:45

4-Aug-07 9:45

haha thanks everyone, you are great helps, so i will start with C# tomorro

Benjamin Dodd

Benjamin Dodd4-Aug-07 9:49

4-Aug-07 9:49

What type of applications can be made in C# i have heard about this language, it is really advanced, does anyone have experience with this language??

Benjamin Dodd

Luc Pattyn4-Aug-07 10:15

Luc Pattyn

4-Aug-07 10:15

Hi,

The number of messages in the C# forum far exceeds the number in the VB forum.
That may indicate there are more people interested, more application possible,
but also more questions, or maybe more problems.

I suggest you read some of the messages and make up your own mind on this.

I for one have been using just C# (and plain C for native stuff) since I started
using .NET, although I have been using VB long long ago.
And yes I do read messages in other forums too, most problems are not really
language specific anyway.

Smile | :)

Luc Pattyn

try { [Search CP Articles] [Search CP Forums] [Forum Guidelines] [My Articles] }
catch { [Google] }

Benjamin Dodd4-Aug-07 10:19

4-Aug-07 10:19

ok thank you, ill go in the other forum later, i came in this one to ask about VB 6.
Thanks

Benjamin Dodd

Paul Conrad4-Aug-07 10:23

4-Aug-07 10:23

Benjamin Dodd wrote:
What type of applications can be made in C# i have heard about this language

Just about any as in any other language.

Benjamin Dodd wrote:
it is really advanced

Nahhh, it's pretty straightforward. Advanced for a beginner like yourself, but the marketable skill set you get from it is far better than VB6 Roll eyes | :rolleyes:

"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese" - anonymous, found in Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

Colin Angus Mackay4-Aug-07 13:17

4-Aug-07 13:17

Benjamin Dodd wrote:
What type of applications can be made in C# i have heard about this language, it is really advanced, does anyone have experience with this language??

Pretty much any type of application. Web applications, desktop applications, mobile applications (with the compact .NET Framework), games (you need also the XNA framework for that), window services, web services and a whole bunch of other things.

There are a lot of people with experience in C#, there is a C# forum here at CP and a lot of articles are written for C#.

Luc Pattyn4-Aug-07 10:09

Luc Pattyn

4-Aug-07 10:09

Paul Conrad wrote:
trying

just a little bit of psychology is all that was required Big Grin | :-D

Luc Pattyn

try { [Search CP Articles] [Search CP Forums] [Forum Guidelines] [My Articles] }
catch { [Google] }

Colin Angus Mackay4-Aug-07 13:07

4-Aug-07 13:07

Paul Conrad wrote:
I started programming when I was 9

Hey! Me too!!! Big Grin | :-D

Paul Conrad4-Aug-07 13:36

4-Aug-07 13:36

Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
Hey! Me too!!!

And I'm only 15 months to the day, older than you, so we can pretty much say we've both been programming for about as long Smile | :)

"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer

Colin Angus Mackay4-Aug-07 13:39

4-Aug-07 13:39

Sure, once you've been going that long what's a year here or there! Big Grin | :-D

Paul Conrad4-Aug-07 13:45

4-Aug-07 13:45

Exactly, we could just say we've been programming for over a quarter of a century Eek! | :eek:

"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer

Colin Angus Mackay4-Aug-07 13:06

4-Aug-07 13:06

Benjamin Dodd wrote:
that comment is not funny

Actually, it is very funny. You are just upset because you made a wrong choice and it cost you money. We all do that from time-to-time. Get over it. It won't be the last time that happens. Heck the worst choice I ever made cost me £25K ($50K US) so just be glad it only cost you the price of an out-of-date book.

Benjamin Dodd wrote:
you know lots of languages, im only 16

At 16 I'd been programming for 7 years. A better argument would have been length of time writing software. And, you did ask what programming languages people knew, so you had to expect some sort of answer like that.

For the record my answer would be: Basic, Comal, Cobol, C, C++, Magik, SQL, C#, VB.NET. And a whole host of other languages I've long since forgotten because they've become obsolete or I just don't use them.

Benjamin Dodd wrote:
i used C++ some time ago i have the books for that. Just found it a bit ahrd after a while

C++ is quite hard compared to any flavour of basic becuase it is closer to the machine, so you have to think more like the machine does.

Paul Conrad4-Aug-07 13:35

4-Aug-07 13:35

Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
Actually, it is very funny.

Thank you, it makes me laugh everyday Roll eyes | :rolleyes:

Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
You are just upset because you made a wrong choice and it cost you money.

Bingo! Likewise, I've made mistakes before and have rolled with the punch and move on...

"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer

Kevin McFarlane5-Aug-07 9:53

Kevin McFarlane

5-Aug-07 9:53

Benjamin Dodd wrote:
i jus bought the VB 6 book,

It's not necessarily entirely wasted in that the Microsoft Office applications still use the VB 6 language in the form of VBA. So if you want to be an Excel macro developer...

Still, Microsoft is now pushing Visual Studio Tools for Office as the recommended toolset for such things.

Kevin