VB 6.0 Extinction

[Anonymous Poster]

Hello Everyone,

I have been working on a few applications in VB 6.0 for about 8 months now
and pondering if I should pay any attention to all the buzz around .NET. My
only reason for switching to .NET would be if I simply couldn't run my VB
6.0 applications on Windows anymore. Is this the case in Windows 2K or XP?
Will it be the case when Longhorn is released? In everyones opinion, how
long can I reasonably expect my VB 6 apps to survive?

Thanks!
Anthony

[Rick Rothstein]

Re: VB 6.0 Extinction

> I have been working on a few applications in VB 6.0 for about 8 months now[color=blue]
> and pondering if I should pay any attention to all the buzz around .NET.[/color]
My[color=blue]
> only reason for switching to .NET would be if I simply couldn't run my VB
> 6.0 applications on Windows anymore. Is this the case in Windows 2K or XP?
> Will it be the case when Longhorn is released? In everyones opinion, how
> long can I reasonably expect my VB 6 apps to survive?[/color]

..NET is simply a program (not an operating system), so loading it (or
simply its existence) will not render any other programs (VB6 or otherwise)
inoperative. So, your copy of VB6 and the programs it creates will work fine
up to the current version of Windows. As to Longhorn... well, I guess
Microsoft could code it in such a way as to make VB6 and/or its compiled
programs stop working (whether intentionally or through oversight); but I
seriously doubt that will happen. There are literally millions of VB
applications in use in businesses worldwide. If Longhorn were to make them
all non-functioning, then I doubt that Longhorn would sell very well in the
business community. No business will want to devote the time, expense and
man-power to rewriting the vast array of existing programs (some of which
are surely mission-critical) that work well just so they can move up to a
new operating system. And even if they did, the time required to rewrite
those applications would cause a significant delay in introducing Longhorn
such that Microsoft would find it hard to accept.

Rick - MVP

[Larry Serflaten]

Re: VB 6.0 Extinction

"Anonymous Poster" <anonymous@anon ymousplace.com> wrote in message[color=blue]
> Hello Everyone,
>
> I have been working on a few applications in VB 6.0 for about 8 months now
> and pondering if I should pay any attention to all the buzz around .NET. My
> only reason for switching to .NET would be if I simply couldn't run my VB
> 6.0 applications on Windows anymore. Is this the case in Windows 2K or XP?
> Will it be the case when Longhorn is released? In everyones opinion, how
> long can I reasonably expect my VB 6 apps to survive?[/color]


At least until 2008 when MS pulls all support for that tool.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/support/vb6.aspx

But, it may be (it should be) that VB6 applications may be installed on
later OS's. For example VB3 (16-bit) programs will also run on NT
(32-bit) OS's. To be sure, you'd have to get the facts from MS....

LFS





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[Anonymous Poster]

Re: VB 6.0 Extinction

Gentleman,

Thank you both for your excellent replies. It certainly puts my mind at ease
in regards to VB 6.

Anthony

[Randy Birch]

Re: VB 6.0 Extinction

But ... if they also pulled support for NT4 .. and have now backtracked due
to the huge installation base.

--

Randy Birch
MVP Visual Basic

http://www.mvps.org/vbnet/

Please respond only to the newsgroups so all can benefit.


"Larry Serflaten" <Abuse@SpamBust ers.com> wrote in message
news:3fd378f3_4 @corp.newsgroup s.com...
: "Anonymous Poster" <anonymous@anon ymousplace.com> wrote in message
: > Hello Everyone,
: >
: > I have been working on a few applications in VB 6.0 for about 8 months
now
: > and pondering if I should pay any attention to all the buzz around .NET.
My
: > only reason for switching to .NET would be if I simply couldn't run my
VB
: > 6.0 applications on Windows anymore. Is this the case in Windows 2K or
XP?
: > Will it be the case when Longhorn is released? In everyones opinion, how
: > long can I reasonably expect my VB 6 apps to survive?
:
:
: At least until 2008 when MS pulls all support for that tool.
:
: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/support/vb6.aspx
:
: But, it may be (it should be) that VB6 applications may be installed on
: later OS's. For example VB3 (16-bit) programs will also run on NT
: (32-bit) OS's. To be sure, you'd have to get the facts from MS....
:
: LFS
:
:
:
:
:
: -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
: http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
: -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

[Raoul Watson]

Re: VB 6.0 Extinction


"Anonymous Poster" <anonymous@anon ymousplace.com> wrote in message
news:75fd3c419d 0b9c80327809c22 c417b59@news.te ranews.com...
[color=blue]
>... how
> long can I reasonably expect my VB 6 apps to survive?
>[/color]

Forever.. we still have apps from VB3 !

[Bob Butler]

Re: VB 6.0 Extinction

"Raoul Watson" <WatsonR@Intell igenCIA.com> wrote in message news:<9lRAb.155 2$kz2.67@nwrdny 01.gnilink.net> ...[color=blue]
> "Anonymous Poster" <anonymous@anon ymousplace.com> wrote in message
> news:75fd3c419d 0b9c80327809c22 c417b59@news.te ranews.com...
>[color=green]
> >... how
> > long can I reasonably expect my VB 6 apps to survive?
> >[/color]
>
> Forever.. we still have apps from VB3 ![/color]

Those blinders you have on may be a problem down the road...
As an example: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,44553,00.asp

I have much less trust than Rick that future versions of Windows will
be as able to run VB apps; at least not without serious performance
issues.

[mayayana]

Re: VB 6.0 Extinction

I just read today that XP is due to be pulled from the
OEM market in 2005. So now I'm thinking, the heck
with VB and VB.Net. There's a more pressing question:
Is it still worth upgrading to Longhorn, or at this late
date should I just wait for the next release?

[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> > >... how
> > > long can I reasonably expect my VB 6 apps to survive?
> > >[/color]
> >
> > Forever.. we still have apps from VB3 ![/color]
>
> Those blinders you have on may be a problem down the road...
> As an example: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,44553,00.asp
>
> I have much less trust than Rick that future versions of Windows will
> be as able to run VB apps; at least not without serious performance
> issues.[/color]

[Randy Birch]

Re: VB 6.0 Extinction

IMHO, ms can not afford to exclude corporations whose legacy applications
are developed in VB4, 5 and 6. So I don't foresee any issues with longhorn
and the ability to run existing applications.

--

Randy Birch
MVP Visual Basic

http://www.mvps.org/vbnet/

Please respond only to the newsgroups so all can benefit.


"mayayana" <mayaXXyaYYna1a @mindZZspring.c om> wrote in message
news:JP7Bb.6257 $7p2.205@newsre ad2.news.atl.ea rthlink.net...
: I just read today that XP is due to be pulled from the
: OEM market in 2005. So now I'm thinking, the heck
: with VB and VB.Net. There's a more pressing question:
: Is it still worth upgrading to Longhorn, or at this late
: date should I just wait for the next release?
:
:
: > > >... how
: > > > long can I reasonably expect my VB 6 apps to survive?
: > > >
: > >
: > > Forever.. we still have apps from VB3 !
: >
: > Those blinders you have on may be a problem down the road...
: > As an example: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,44553,00.asp
: >
: > I have much less trust than Rick that future versions of Windows will
: > be as able to run VB apps; at least not without serious performance
: > issues.
:
:

[Raoul Watson]

Re: VB 6.0 Extinction


"Bob Butler" <butlerbob@eart hlink.net> wrote in message
news:fa10fb0.03 12080926.1c79ef bf@posting.goog le.com...
[color=blue]
> Those blinders you have on may be a problem down the road...
> As an example: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,44553,00.asp
>[/color]

As a head of software development for over 15 years, I *know* Microsoft.
There are too many applications developed in VB. For them to make an OS that
will "break" the app, just won't happen.

If the app break, then the programmer is doing something not kosher like
using undocumented calls or functions.

[Bob Butler]

Re: VB 6.0 Extinction

"Randy Birch" <rgb_removethis @mvps.org> wrote in message news:<P0aBb.180 51$VEd1.15622@n ews02.bloor.is. net.cable.roger s.com>...[color=blue]
> IMHO, ms can not afford to exclude corporations whose legacy applications
> are developed in VB4, 5 and 6. So I don't foresee any issues with longhorn
> and the ability to run existing applications.[/color]

I hope you are right, I just don't see any reason to believe that.

I didn't think they could afford to do what they did to the VB product
line but they did. VB.Net totally shattered any trust I had that MS
has any respect for the VB development community.

I can easily see legacy apps running in some sort of crippled fashion
preventing them from using new features or getting performance
benefits from the new OS or newer hardware. I can also easily see
many legacy apps not running at all until they are rewritten.

[Rick Rothstein]

Re: VB 6.0 Extinction

> > IMHO, ms can not afford to exclude corporations whose legacy
applications[color=blue][color=green]
> > are developed in VB4, 5 and 6. So I don't foresee any issues with[/color][/color]
longhorn[color=blue][color=green]
> > and the ability to run existing applications.[/color]
>
> I hope you are right, I just don't see any reason to believe that.
>
> I didn't think they could afford to do what they did to the VB product
> line but they did. VB.Net totally shattered any trust I had that MS
> has any respect for the VB development community.
>
> I can easily see legacy apps running in some sort of crippled fashion
> preventing them from using new features or getting performance
> benefits from the new OS or newer hardware. I can also easily see
> many legacy apps not running at all until they are rewritten.[/color]

I might, and I emphasize "might", agree that your first thought could
possibly occur (although I seriously doubt it); but, like Randy, I just
don't think they can afford to kill off backward compatibility completely.
If Microsoft is going to make everyone rewrite their home-brewed legacy code
as well as require major updating of existing 3rd party software, then given
the major change and cost that entails, they would seriously have to worry
about defectors. Companies would have two choices (assuming they decide not
to follow like sheep)... one, stay with the current working operating system
and not move up to Longhorn or, two, decide Microsoft has stabbed them in
the back once too often and spend their money moving over to LINUX (which
appears to be quite stable; even IBM is pushing it) instead. I don't think
Microsoft can take the chance on encouraging either of these two scenarios;
their bottom-line won't allow it. I think they will have to find a way to
make legacy applications work... and without incurring a severe performance
hit.

Rick - MVP

[Steve Gerrard]

Re: VB 6.0 Extinction


"Bob Butler" <butlerbob@eart hlink.net> wrote in message
news:fa10fb0.03 12090834.62f22d 82@posting.goog le.com...[color=blue]
> I didn't think they could afford to do what they did to the VB product
> line but they did. VB.Net totally shattered any trust I had that MS
> has any respect for the VB development community.
>
> I can easily see legacy apps running in some sort of crippled fashion
> preventing them from using new features or getting performance
> benefits from the new OS or newer hardware. I can also easily see
> many legacy apps not running at all until they are rewritten.[/color]

I'm with the MVP dudes on this one.

First of all, current versions of Visual Studio .Net do not require
Longhorn, they run on regular 32 bit Windows. And there are already a
fair number of .Net apps up and running, some of them on large internet
server systems. 32 bit apps will be working well in Windows for quite
some time yet.

True, VB6 apps will not use 64 bit stuff, but so what? If anything, the
apps will run faster anyway, since if you have Longhorn you'll probably
have a 5Ghz pentium and 16 GB of ram, or whatever. No problem.

It may not last forever, but there is plenty of mileage left in VB6. And
then one day, you may find yourself programming in some descendant of
..Net, and find that its not so bad after all.

[Mike Minor]

Re: VB 6.0 Extinction

If you don't think they can kill off backward compatibility, then go and
look at all of the recent releases of MS Office products....the y clearly
state on the package that they will only run on W2K or WinXP...they
certainly seem to want to make you upgrade OS to by new applications. If so,
then why would you think they won't drop support of VB6 on new OS's...I've
certainly seen it happen in other programming environments from other
companies, not nearly as big and all powerful as M$...
I don't think MS respects anyone or anything other than the mighty dollar...

Thank you,

Mike Minor
Z-Code Systems, Inc.

"Rick Rothstein" <rickNOSPAMnews @NOSPAMcomcast. net> wrote in message
news:nuWdnYcGzZ syYEiiRVn-tA@comcast.com. ..[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> > > IMHO, ms can not afford to exclude corporations whose legacy[/color][/color]
> applications[color=green][color=darkred]
> > > are developed in VB4, 5 and 6. So I don't foresee any issues with[/color][/color]
> longhorn[color=green][color=darkred]
> > > and the ability to run existing applications.[/color]
> >
> > I hope you are right, I just don't see any reason to believe that.
> >
> > I didn't think they could afford to do what they did to the VB product
> > line but they did. VB.Net totally shattered any trust I had that MS
> > has any respect for the VB development community.
> >
> > I can easily see legacy apps running in some sort of crippled fashion
> > preventing them from using new features or getting performance
> > benefits from the new OS or newer hardware. I can also easily see
> > many legacy apps not running at all until they are rewritten.[/color]
>
> I might, and I emphasize "might", agree that your first thought could
> possibly occur (although I seriously doubt it); but, like Randy, I just
> don't think they can afford to kill off backward compatibility completely.
> If Microsoft is going to make everyone rewrite their home-brewed legacy[/color]
code[color=blue]
> as well as require major updating of existing 3rd party software, then[/color]
given[color=blue]
> the major change and cost that entails, they would seriously have to worry
> about defectors. Companies would have two choices (assuming they decide[/color]
not[color=blue]
> to follow like sheep)... one, stay with the current working operating[/color]
system[color=blue]
> and not move up to Longhorn or, two, decide Microsoft has stabbed them in
> the back once too often and spend their money moving over to LINUX (which
> appears to be quite stable; even IBM is pushing it) instead. I don't think
> Microsoft can take the chance on encouraging either of these two[/color]
scenarios;[color=blue]
> their bottom-line won't allow it. I think they will have to find a way to
> make legacy applications work... and without incurring a severe[/color]
performance[color=blue]
> hit.
>
> Rick - MVP
>
>[/color]

[Randy Birch]

Re: VB 6.0 Extinction

There is a huge difference between designing an application that makes use
of system APIs prevailing on a limited series of operating systems and
thereby restricting the systems those will run on, and designing the
operating system so as to prevent applications in existence and that do not
utilize those newer underlying APIs from running. IOW, office might be
written to target a set of APIs specific to certain Windows versions,
whereas VB applications and the VB runtimes, which don't know of those APIs
(because they were developed around the time of Win98), will function with
the older APIs. If you check the MSDN, while there are a lot of APIs that
have been depreciated over the history of 32-bit windows, none I can think
of have been removed. Enhanced, yes.

To do so would shoot corporate <enter country here> right in the balls, as
mission-critical apps, once debugged and deployed, are never upgraded just
for the heck of it.

--

Randy Birch
MVP Visual Basic

http://www.mvps.org/vbnet/

Please respond only to the newsgroups so all can benefit.


"Mike Minor" <mminorhsd@eart hlink.net> wrote in message
news:eQKBb.9690 $Ho3.2227@newsr ead1.news.atl.e arthlink.net...
: If you don't think they can kill off backward compatibility, then go and
: look at all of the recent releases of MS Office products....the y clearly
: state on the package that they will only run on W2K or WinXP...they
: certainly seem to want to make you upgrade OS to by new applications. If
so,
: then why would you think they won't drop support of VB6 on new OS's...I've
: certainly seen it happen in other programming environments from other
: companies, not nearly as big and all powerful as M$...
: I don't think MS respects anyone or anything other than the mighty
dollar...
:
: Thank you,
:
: Mike Minor
: Z-Code Systems, Inc.
:
: "Rick Rothstein" <rickNOSPAMnews @NOSPAMcomcast. net> wrote in message
: news:nuWdnYcGzZ syYEiiRVn-tA@comcast.com. ..
: > > > IMHO, ms can not afford to exclude corporations whose legacy
: > applications
: > > > are developed in VB4, 5 and 6. So I don't foresee any issues with
: > longhorn
: > > > and the ability to run existing applications.
: > >
: > > I hope you are right, I just don't see any reason to believe that.
: > >
: > > I didn't think they could afford to do what they did to the VB product
: > > line but they did. VB.Net totally shattered any trust I had that MS
: > > has any respect for the VB development community.
: > >
: > > I can easily see legacy apps running in some sort of crippled fashion
: > > preventing them from using new features or getting performance
: > > benefits from the new OS or newer hardware. I can also easily see
: > > many legacy apps not running at all until they are rewritten.
: >
: > I might, and I emphasize "might", agree that your first thought could
: > possibly occur (although I seriously doubt it); but, like Randy, I just
: > don't think they can afford to kill off backward compatibility
completely.
: > If Microsoft is going to make everyone rewrite their home-brewed legacy
: code
: > as well as require major updating of existing 3rd party software, then
: given
: > the major change and cost that entails, they would seriously have to
worry
: > about defectors. Companies would have two choices (assuming they decide
: not
: > to follow like sheep)... one, stay with the current working operating
: system
: > and not move up to Longhorn or, two, decide Microsoft has stabbed them
in
: > the back once too often and spend their money moving over to LINUX
(which
: > appears to be quite stable; even IBM is pushing it) instead. I don't
think
: > Microsoft can take the chance on encouraging either of these two
: scenarios;
: > their bottom-line won't allow it. I think they will have to find a way
to
: > make legacy applications work... and without incurring a severe
: performance
: > hit.
: >
: > Rick - MVP
: >
: >
:
: