is visual basic worth learning?

[Amplicom]

i'm planning on taking a summer school class for visual basic. is it worth it? do i need it? i plan to eventualy learn sql too so will vb help with that?

thanks

 

[Nocturnal]

sure, why not? i wish they offered classes around here for visual basic. our school system here sucks!

 

[minendo]

I found the intro class to vb to be very easy. I took it as an elective and have actually used it every once in a while to make apps when I am bored. If you ever have any questions feel free to contact me and I'll try and help out.

 

[LiekOMG]

Haha, when i was in HS we had Basic classes (on some nice 286's). Actually wait no, i think it was QBasic. Oh, so advanced

And it was only about 4 years ago!

 

[Derango]

The more languages you know, the easier it would be to find some place to work coding in a language you know

 

[notfred]

is visual basic worth learning?

Only for ASP.

 

[Amplicom]

so vb doesnt help with sql? what will help with sql then?

thanks in advance

 

[joohang]

Originally posted by: notfred

is visual basic worth learning?

Only for ASP.

VBScript is not VB.

 

[joohang]

Originally posted by: Amplicom
i'm planning on taking a summer school class for visual basic. is it worth it? do i need it? i plan to eventualy learn sql too so will vb help with that?

thanks

I don't see why not.

Try to gain a good understanding of the programming concepts, though. You will need to learn how to extend your knowledge to move on to .NET languages, Java or whatever you choose to do later in your life.

 

[joohang]

Originally posted by: Amplicom
so vb doesnt help with sql? what will help with sql then?

thanks in advance

VB codes the programming logic. In a distributed model, VB codes the middle-tier and sometimes the presentation (for rich clients). SQL Server is the data store and most VB apps communicates with SQL Server through ADO.

Like I said in the earlier post, make yourself familiar with these concepts more than anything. Don't simply learn how to code up a simple select query and copy and paste every time. Learn how the thing works and get an understanding of the big picture. Since VB (assuming VB6 or older) is a gradually dying language, you will likely want to make a switch to .NET or J2EE in the future. Your understanding of the concepts will help you a lot more than scratching the surface with a few lines of code.

 

[xirtam]

Yeah. Learn VB. It's very versatile... but ultimately inefficient. I still do use it sometimes, though. Good for quick prototypes of applications and some database stuff. It'll also give you programming logic you'll use in other object-oriented languages. And it'll help you learn scripting languages as well for web stuff.

Learn it for awhile, then "transfer."

 

[hans007]

i am thinking of learning it one of these days. i hear its reallyrealy easy.

 

[KahunaHube]

sorry i am confused are we talking about microsoft visual basic software?
if so, why are people saying that it is a language?

 

[hans007]

well see you have normal basic. i learned basic when i was like 8 years old. but like... visual basic, is a bunch of libraries, and junk so you can make gui's and stuff really simple. like small apps basically. i dunno, i know java and c++ and those are harder, but i figure visual basic would help for making stuff fast, like little front ends to stuff.

 

[XZeroII]

Definatly. With VB.NET, VB has become mainstream (if it wasn't already). It's incredibly easy to learn if you already know the basics (For Loops, If statements, etc...). It's an easy 'A' and lots of fun.

 

[Descartes]

i dunno, i know java and c++ and those are harder

I hear this all the time, but mostly from non-developers.

When you say language A is more difficult than language B, you're presenting a poor argument. When referring to languages at such a superficial level (that is, simply discussing the language as a whole), you can't possibly discern the "difficulty" of either language. For a developer, all languages are easy. It's how well you can employ the proper design methodologies in the language that make it inferior or otherwise. Of course, C is an inferior language, in concept, when attempting to employ modern OOD, but the language was never suited for that in the first place. There's the proverbial argument that seems to perpetuate the idea of Java being a difficult language, or at least more difficult than Visual Basic. Java is not a complex language, it's the design metholodigies (facilitated by J2EE for instance) that make it a sophisticated, consequently more difficult, environment. Similarly, Visual Basic itself is not a complex language, it's the employment of VB as a tool in the MUCH larger picture, Windows DNA (pre .NET) that make it a sophisticated tool. VB is not a very consistent language in many regards, and I'd say that having to remember all the nuances of VB make working with it inherently more difficult than ostensibly more "difficult" languages like C, and C++. Both C and C++ are well-defined, unambiguous, and pretty straight forward.

 

[skace]

The cool thing about working with VB is that once you understand the basics, you can go back years later and pick right back up on it. So learn it, even if you don't work with it, you probably won't forget it as easily as c/c++.

 

[StageLeft]

Yes. AFAIK the language that has the most people in the world working with it right now is VB. Not to say that knowing it will get you a job, but it is a powerful language if only because it is quick. It also will help you if you want to get into .NET.

Although the computing power and manipulative abilities of VB are not as powerful as java or c++ in some ways it is a more powerful language in that it allows you to rapidly build an application. You can go from design docs to a working application in a very short period of time - definitely faster than java or C++.

 

[ggavinmoss]

Originally posted by: KahunaHube
sorry i am confused are we talking about microsoft visual basic software?
if so, why are people saying that it is a language?

Um... because it is?

 

[ggavinmoss]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Yes. AFAIK the language that has the most people in the world working with it right now is VB. Not to say that knowing it will get you a job, but it is a powerful language if only because it is quick. It also will help you if you want to get into .NET.

Although the computing power and manipulative abilities of VB are not as powerful as java or c++ in some ways it is a more powerful language in that it allows you to rapidly build an application. You can go from design docs to a working application in a very short period of time - definitely faster than java or C++.

That's VB's biggest selling point and the reason it's so widely used. Sure it isn't the most elegant language in the world, but the quickly developed apps with drag-n-drop GUI and easy database connectivity makes it a winner.

-geoff

 

[SagaLore]

Yea, go ahead and learn. It's a very useful tool. VB makes it very easy to interface with all sorts of types of databases and move data around.

 

[Juniper]

why not try the newer language C#?

 

[damiano]

I say.... Ya'll need to learn java instead...

 

[CraigRT]

I was told to start with Java, that it was even easier than VB.

 

[ProviaFan]

Visual Basic is an easy language to get started in, and it's good for writing quick little programs, but I'd be afraid to see what the performance of computers would be like if every program was written in VB!
Thus, I'd recommend C++, but then again that's just my personal preference