advice for starting out in VB programming

Vchat20 · 02-04-2005, 02:23 PM

just wondering if any programmers here know of any places one could start with in learning VB. i got a copy of VB Studio .NET a while back from a cousin of mine but ive never gotten around to using it since i know jack squat about VB. since seeing what VB is capable doing from just what is here im anxious to get working with it.

thx

IntellaWorks · 02-04-2005, 02:59 PM

Get a good book or 10, typically starter books are the way to go. I dont know what your programming experiance is.. VB.net is very Object/Class oriented... so if your OK w/ C++ then you'll feel at home..

Good luck

johnwharrison · 02-05-2005, 05:12 AM

I bought a nearly new copy of Visual Basic .Net for dummies off amazon for about 6.95... best book to learn from IMHO

s003apr · 02-05-2005, 09:46 PM

I would not recommend VB. I really do think that it will be losing ground to better languages in the very near future. I think the best language for beginners is Python, without a doubt. My favorite book is "Core Python Programming". Plus there are some python front-ends for car software that other users around here have been working on that would make good examples for learning more.

Prolific · 02-05-2005, 10:05 PM

In my opinion C or C++ is the best core language for beginners to grasp the concepts of programming to begin with. I wouldn't recommend VB 6, but VB.NET or C# are also good places to start and are very similar.

IntellaWorks · 02-06-2005, 12:02 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by s003apr

I would not recommend VB. I really do think that it will be losing ground to better languages in the very near future. I think the best language for beginners is Python, without a doubt. My favorite book is "Core Python Programming". Plus there are some python front-ends for car software that other users around here have been working on that would make good examples for learning more.

uhh, I don't know about that whole python thing. Is support for python as great as MSDN ? Can you impliment active x controls ?

As far as learning a new programming language, or programming for the first time I'd say learning a language that is unmanaged could be tricky (for those of you who don't understand this, unmanaged simple means you have to keep track of memmory. Whereas managed code you don't have to keep track of memmory.

Learning memmory management can be confusing and is starting to be considered out of date, because most of the higher level programming languages have managed code: VB6, VB.net, C#, Managed C++, JAVA. Learning a programming language such as VB being that it is managed code, you will not have to know how to handles memmory and can save you some time...

I don't know about Python, as I dont have any personal experiances with it... But Microsoft spent lots of time designing VB and C# to allow the prorgammer to quickly design and deploy projects. They made the programming languages specifically for speed and rapid development.

The way things are going learning anything .Net would be your best bet. If you know VB.net then you will also know C# because the only difference between the two languages is syntax. Also unlike vb6 vb.Net is very class / object oriented and learning this will help you eventually jump into some of the unmanaged OO programming languages (OO = Object oriented)

deadweasel · 02-06-2005, 01:11 PM

Python is ok, but not the best way to start programming. Sure, C++ or C# would be a premo place to start, but those languages aren't very sensitive to the needs of a first-time n00b. (I STILL can't get a solid grasp on it). VB.Net is heavily object-oriented, but it's easy to read and understand what's going on.

Python simply won't do what VB can do, and C++/C# could do it much faster.
I say pick the middle of the road. VB isn't dying out anytime soon. The argument that C is going to win out because it's faster just doesn't hold water, because that speed isn't always evident, depending on what you're doing, and it's just plain difficult to understand. Not only that, but I think a lot of people are alluding to a race that simply doesn't exist. These languages exist for a reason. Each has its own slot.
Anyhow, VB seems to be the best suited to the task of creating an mp3 car application. It's flexible and easy to understand.
Books are your best friends for learning on this stuff. The "For Dummies" series is highly recommended for your first foray into the field. From there, look for those biggie fat Sam's books regarding the subject. They are great for referencing once you start popping code out of your butt like it's nothing but a thang.

/out

IntellaWorks · 02-06-2005, 01:39 PM

I'd have to agree with Deadweasel, all these languages do exist for a reason and VB seems to be the best logical choice.. It's syntax is closest to english and just plain makes better sense.

example:

Code:

if 1 < 2 then
do something
end if

god_of_cpu · 02-06-2005, 01:42 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by deadweasel

Anyhow, VB seems to be the best suited to the task of creating an mp3 car application. It's flexible and easy to understand.
Books are your best friends for learning on this stuff.

I would think VB would be one of the worst suited for creating a carputer applications. Its very easy to use and that makes it an excellent language to learn on, but its alot less flexible since it is at such a high level. If your writing a small project that will run on a desktop computer its pretty hard to beat VB in terms of design an implementation time, but when doing something like a carputer application that is meant for touch screen use with larger then normal controls and skinability, you have to constantly fight the default behavior of VB to get it to do what you want the way you want to do it. All of the VB carputer apps I've seen don't seem to have the best interface for use while driving, rather the best interface that VB will let you easily do.

If you just want to write a single program and be done with it VB is probably the best for you, but if you want to become a programmer, your best off starting with a low level language like C and working your way up so you become familiar with how memory managment and other low level things work and can later decide which one is best for you and your current project. Its usually great when the language handles low level things for you, but the tradeoff is the high level languages let you get away with some very bad programming practices that usually won't become evident until your project reaches a certain size and your project becomes unworkable.

god_of_cpu · 02-06-2005, 01:44 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by IntellaWorks

I'd have to agree with Deadweasel, all these languages do exist for a reason and VB seems to be the best logical choice.. It's syntax is closest to english and just plain makes better sense.

example:

Code:

if 1 < 2 then
do something
end if

Screw english, I have more social ability in C

Code:

(1<2) ? something();

^^Now thats literature!

deadweasel · 02-06-2005, 02:00 PM

God_of_CPU:

Ahh, but you see, you aren't limited in what you can create in terms of an interface for a carpc. Case in point: Frodo's pride and joy. That thing is skinnable and morphable to an insane degree, and it's done in VB. Sure, if you're new to VB, then you are likely to be unaware of any types of controls other than the default set. I myself thought I was stuck with those cheesy regular buttons for the longest time. Then I discovered that I didn't actually have to use a button object to have a button. Almost anything is clickable in VB.
That, coupled with the fact that the IDE in VB lets me design the interface before I start worrying overmuch about the actual coding. Sometimes the very act of designing the interface will give you better ideas for the overall project.

With almost every other language, you have to worry about coding, especially memory management and object placement BEFORE you can even consider what the thing is going to look like.
No thanks. I'll take the programming language that I can write, leave alone for a few months, then come back to and pick up where I left off fairly easily.
Most other languages REQUIRE commenting in the code so that others can understand wtf is going on in there. Bleh.

VB kicks *** for just this sort of project: heavily visual, easy to organize, and wide-ranging third party support in the form of ActiveX objects and pre-written routines and tricks. Yay!

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