Re: When will MS Stop supporting VB?

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From: Larry Serflaten (serflaten_at_usinternet.com)
Date: 09/04/04 

Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2004 13:03:02 -0500

"Ralph" <nt_consulting64@address.com> wrote

> I don't think, whether or not M$ will continue to have a "VB" product,
> is in question here. It is not a question of whether on not the VB
> version for .NET is superior, equal, or inferior to C# - it is simply the
> fact that source code written in VB (of any variety, flavor, or version) has
> proven to not be 'stable' and VB is not a good language choice for
> development efforts where language 'stability' is important.

Well, in Bob's post, its life expectancy was in question, and as far as
'stability' I find code written in VB3 still runs on current systems, so
how is that different from C code that still runs in DOS mode? What
part of 'stability' was lost?

> Perhaps, we need to define 'stability'? To you it appears 'stablility' is
> defined by the fact that M$ has provided 'Basic' language tools since its
> conception, and a 'Visual Basic' tool for the last 15 years. Let's include
> its VBScript, Visual Basic for Applications, and now its .NET version
> VB.NET. But I would disagree that it a true definition of 'stable'.

Funny you should mention that. I was refering to Bob's words:

> > a) it remains essentially as stable as the framework does

My position has always been 'stability' means the reliability any specific
piece of software has while running on a platform (the combination of
hardware and OS) Eg; software that never crashes is stable. What some
call stability, (meaning changelessness) is actually language constancy.

(An earlier post from 2002)
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=eEujiF6eCHA.2020%40tkmsftngp09

> So, IMHO, there is no way the term 'stablity' can be applied to M$'s Visual
> Basic.

I don't disagree, but then Windows itself hasn't been 'stable' either, and that is
their flagship product, so why should we expect any of their other products to
provide better results? What they have been doing is grandfathering old assets
in the form of backward compatability. But let's face it, software doesn't run
forever, at some point it needs to be retired to streamline the newer technologies.
People whose livelyhood depend on old assets are going to be displaced by
the newer generations writting new technology code.

What do you suppose happened to the old Ice House factories when people
started using electricity and a new technology 'ice box' called a refrigerator?
Were people supposed to keep an original 'ice box' in the home just to keep
the ice block factories from closing down? About the only difference is that
the speed of advancement and change in the technology sector is much more
rapid than anything we've seen, or than what people are accustomed to. But
eventually, the old will be retired, and the new will continue on. Even your
bookshelf must be showing its age....

For example, how many of your C books reflect the advancements made
by Intel, such as MMX technology (just to pick a fairly old addition)?

> To some people language stabiliy is very important. In the blog site you
> posted (in another post), you characterized developers who don't embrace the
> new change as curmudgeons and perhaps even dull-witted.

I did that? You are mistaken, I don't use those words....

LFS

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