Visual Basic (.NET)

Evolving from Microsoft’s original Visual Basic (VB), Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET) represents a major improvement over classic VB, largely because it adopts a fully modern, object-oriented programming model. Microsoft introduced VB.NET as part of the .NET framework to allow existing VB developers to transition smoothly into the new platform while gaining access to its full capabilities.

Like C#, VB.NET is compiled into Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) and executed using a Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation process. The MSIL generated by VB.NET is semantically equivalent to that produced by C#, which allows C#, VB.NET, and even Managed C++ to interoperate seamlessly within the .NET runtime. Despite this shared execution model, C# includes certain language features that are not available in VB.NET.

Similarities

Classic Visual Basic was known for being simple and fast to develop with, though it lacked many advanced programming features. Visual Basic .NET preserves much of that ease of use while offering significantly greater flexibility, power, and access to the extensive .NET libraries.

A classic VB example:

Private Sub Command1_Click()
    MsgBox ("Hello, World")
End Sub
  

The VB.NET version:

Private Sub button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles button1.Click
    MessageBox.Show("Hello, World")
End Sub
  

The syntax is only slightly more complex, but thanks to the .NET framework, the language gains far greater capability and extensibility.

New features

The .NET platform largely avoids the so-called “DLL Hell” problem through improved assembly versioning and isolation, which is one of its most significant improvements. In simple cases, once the Common Language Runtime is installed, an application can be run by deploying its EXE file along with any required local assemblies.

Links

• GotDotNet User Samples

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