Customer Reviews

Visual Basic.NET or C#...Which to Choose?

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got my money's worth. He really packs a lot of information into 45+ pages. He pretty much goes blow-by-blow each feature and then gives his impression as to who the winner is. At the end, he addresses his recommendations for Java, C++, and Visual Basic programmers. Although programmers familiar with other languages aren't specifically addressed, this is still a good read and you'll know more about .NET than a lot of people who use C# (and think VB.NET is missing a lot of features, like I did).

For someone who writes Visual Basic books almost exclusively, Mr. Appleman actually seemed to overcompensate for this potential bias towards VB.NET. (I agree 100% with his final opinion on the last page regarding how one should choose languages.)

I'm a C# programmer who was thinking of trying out Visual Basic.NET (Basic was the 1st language I learned back when I was in gradeschool on my Commodore 64). Clearly, Basic has come a long way. Based on what I've learned from this book, Visual Basic.NET actually EDGES out C# in my humble opinion. However, that's not the answer he gives.

I think I'll use Visual Basic.NET in my spare time.

Software managers should get this. You know, the people that have to put up with us weird software developers. I bought a copy, primarily to see what one of the better software authors/developers had to say. I was not disappointed. You may not agree with the end result, but it certainly is cheap -- good bang-for-the-buck considering this level of consultant charges ... per hour. Take a long and start out with an informed decision.

So-so. The treatment of the issue is fair and balanced, but one could really do without the author's comment and footnote that programmers who feel C-like syntax is "morally superior" to VB-like syntax are "fools" or "full of c...". This is really off-putting.

Overall, useful and reasonably priced but no great revelations.

Dan's obviously a prolific writer, but his musings here simply were not up to his usual standard. Everything boils down to 'it's a matter of personal preference' and 'if you're a vb6 programmer, don't be intimidated into learning c#.'

I've been using .net for almost a year, and while I found myself agreeing with his points, I would not have understood them as a .net newbie. Maybe a better title would have been "vb.net vs. c# - where are the differences."

Perhaps because you can find that free in about 100 different places on the web?

EXCELLENT read! More than I bargained for a ... eBook. Money VERY WELL spent (but the hook in it is, it inspired me to order his new "Moving to VB.NET..." book). Being someone who loves using VB6 (his "Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the Win32 API" is one of my many bibles), and the thought that Visual Fred (or VB.NOT) was ruining my beloved VB, I remembered the words I used to pass on as an Editor for 80 Micro magazine: "You can be victim of change, or a participant in it." I decided to participate, and I am embarrassed to say that after all my lamenting, I was sold on .NET after only 15 minutes of review. My new strategy is as follows: Let Dan Appleman do all the research, and I'll just buy his books and glean the fruits from his labor. Works for me. So expect more purchases. He's replaced Michael Waite as my favorite technical writer.

The book does a nice job of comparison of specific language features but does not deal with the issue of programmers from backgrounds other than C++, Java, or VB6. If you do not have people with those specific skills to consider in your selection, then the book has limited value.

Overall a good comparison of VB .NET and C#. The author has a good deal of knowledge on both languages. His technique of comparison is both fair and accurate. He highlights advantages of one language over the other and why one might choose one over the other.