Classic VB


Migrating VB6 Code to .NET 6? Here's a Tool

"This means VB.NET developers can keep using VB, and go to .NET, and get to .NET Core all at once."

Popularity Index: Classic Visual Basic Hangs In There

While the latest TIOBE Index of programming language popularity isn't earth-shaking -- focusing on an all-time high for statistical language R -- perhaps the the biggest surprise is this: Classic Visual Basic (VB6) is still in the top 20.

Basic Will Never Die: Microsoft Open Sources GW-BASIC

Microsoft has open sourced GW-BASIC, a programming language developed some 38 years ago. GW-BASIC and variants such as QBasic, QuickBasic and others provided the onramp to computer programming for many industry veterans.

Time's Almost Up for Visual Studio 2005

Official Microsoft support for the decade-old development platform ends mid-April. So, who is still using it to develop enterprise-grade apps?

B4J Keeps Classic Visual Basic Alive

According to Anywhere Software, B4J aims to be the modern alternative to Visual Basic 6.

Reverse Psychology

Everything at Henry's company revolved around contracts with vendors. The IT department had relied on the aptly named Contract Manager -- the sole remaining Visual Basic 6 client-server application -- to support that business for the past 12 years.

Arrested Development: VB6 Now and Forever

When Brett was hired on as a senior analyst, he wasn't surprised to learn that the older platforms were built around Visual Basic 6 (VB6), which was no longer supported by Microsoft.

The Logic Behind Modern Maintenance

When the big merger was announced, the IT staff of both corporations was a little bit nervous, and with good reason: The day after the announcement, many redundant positions were eliminated.

Discarding More Dependencies

Nearly all applications need to open or save data files. Use the common file dialog APIs to easily avoid another unneeded dependency and sidestep some system bugs as a bonus. (Part 2 of 2)

Discarding Dependencies

Why tempt fate by making your application dependent upon an easily replaced component? Karl Peterson shows how you can begin reducing external dependencies in your VB apps.

Stuffing the Console Keyboard Buffer

Console applications are alive and well in Administrator Land. Here’s how your console application can leave instructions for the command processor upon your exit.

Creating Admin Tools in a Least Privileged World

Administrators get no respect, either, in this world of Least Privileged Users. Here's how you can set aside those precautions, and still get at the information your users need.

VB Community Transition

As Microsoft shuts down its newsgroup server, the community resource lives on. You just need to know where to look for it.

Measuring Optimizations for Classic VB

We all tend to obsess on optimizations at times, often needlessly. Here's how to figure out if all your extra work is paying off.

Honoring Startup Requests

Windows provides numerous ways to tell an application how to size and position itself on startup. Here's how you can honor those requests.

Customizing the Ride Part 2

Karl Peterson returns with another batch of tricks designed to improve the IDE.

Customizing the Ride (Part 1)

There are countless tricks folks have learned to use within the classic Visual Basic IDE over the years. Here are a few of mine.

LINQed In

In the March C# Corner column, Patrick Steele explained how to use LINQ outside of databases to make code easier to read and maintain.

Easing the Data Cramp

64-bit versions of Windows present perils for Win32 apps, and opportunities too. For example, it's incredibly easy to double your address space.

Searching Within Byte Arrays

Still using Instr to search within binary arrays? Stop that! Use InstrB instead.

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