Hi All,
I am not sure if this is a dupe. I came across this Switching from VB.NET to C# - any advice for learning C#?
My case is the reverse. I would be moving from C# to VB.Net. To be more precise, I would be moving from C# 3.0 to VB 10.0 (.Net 3.5 to .Net 4.0). I am initially planning to use a C# to VB converter to cope up with the syntax.
Any other suggestions is highly appreciated.
I have nothing against VB.Net (from time to time I work in it) but this sounds like a seriously career limiting move. I'm guessing you find C# too difficult and are just a beginner. My advice to you is to stick it out, it will get easier. There are waaayyy more C# .NET jobs around over VB.NET ones.
That said, the easiest way to figure out the equivalent syntax (and probably the cheapest) is to write stuff in C#, then load up the compiled assemblies in Reflector and siwtch the language to VB.NET. It won't always be a perfect analog, but it will give you enough hints to get started.
edit: I have never inferred or stated that vb.net is inferior; in some areas it is superior (xml literals etc.)
edit: it appears this answer is not relevant as the poster is having this switch forced upon him. I assumed it was a choice.
-Oisin
OReilly have a very old (circa 2002) book that covers the differences between the two languages, with an eye to converting between them - I used it last year for switching from C# (3.5) to VB 9 (job required it for some aspects and maintaining old projects) and it was a great starting point so its still quite relevent!
According to MS (I heard this from the MS project manager for VB.NET), the number of programmers for C# and VB.Net are roughly the same. So if you believe him, it is not really a career limiting move.
C# and VB.Net are moving into a co-evolving cycle. The main difference between the two will primarily be the language syntax, and not their capabilities. There will always be small differences, like I can't see VB.NET forcing the use of semi-colons, and I can't see C# having automatic statement terminators. Pretty much anything you can do in C# you can do in VB.NET now.
My advice to learn it is to sit down and try and learn the syntax. It's not like switching from C# to F# where there are fundamental differences in approach. If you find yourself thinking, "Man I could do this in C#," Chances are, with .Net 4.0, you can do it in vb.net....now if you only knew a qa programming board you could ask about how to do something in vb.net by giving a C# example..... :)
I don't understand why there's such debate about VB.Net vs C#. Yep, C# does require fewer keystrokes. But it compiles to exactly the same bytecode.
I usually program in VB.Net as that's what most of the projects I work on are already in. But I don't have a massive problem reading or writing C#. Obviously there's a few little syntactical nuances between the two (which I quickly adjust to) but I don't see any reason why a developer can't be equally proficient in both.
I think C# is more prevalent because the old school 'proper' programmers are more comfortable with the C style syntax whereas people who got into it late and have maybe come from a VBA background prefer VB. I think there's a degree of snobbishness around the whole issue.
I personally prefer having my loops identified with End If and End While and Next rather than } and } and }. But I also like the terseness of C#.
All in all - they're effectively the same. And as for C# being harder I don't really get that. It's purely a syntax issue.
The best way to learn a new language is to immerse yourself in it and try not to compare it to any other language you already know. IMO you would be better off taking good examples of VB code and trying to understand them, using a conversion tool to convert to C# if you get lost in the syntax. Trying to write code in C# and convert it VB will always produce substandard code and will slow your progress to learning a new language.
Languages are just tools we use to get the job done, some are easier to understand than others, some produce more elegant code, some have a higher perceived status than others. These days the framework is more important than the syntax of the language you're using. Iif you stick around in programming for long enough your toolset will change and you will either have to change with it or get stuck doing the same old thing day after day.
IME people who are language evangelists are not as smart as those that are language neutral, and regardless of how popular a toolset is now, you don't know what is going to be popular in the future so having the ability to learn a new tool is very important if you wish to persue a career in programming.
It's not perfect, but this code translator may help you in the initial transition. If you are absolutely lost as to how to write something, write it in C# and then stick it in here. This thing has saved my ass more than a few times.