Chapter 1: Moving from VB6

Overview

You ve read the articles that promise it ll slash hours off your development time. You ve seen the promotional videos showing what a glamorous Silicon Valley lifestyle you ll have as soon as you start using it. You ve had one of those Hate Linux, Love .NET T-shirts thrust into your hands at the last PDC.

Yes, you ve heard about .NET, and you get the idea that it s something to do with a fresh release of Visual Basic, too. But just what is it, and can you get up and running with the new system, today? It s possible. And, over the next twenty pages or so, I ll be showing you how.

We ll start our journey by looking at the big picture of .NET and just where Visual Basic fits in. Then we ll begin our whirlwind tour of the new .NET development environment, explaining how it differs from VB6 as we go about creating a simple application.

We ll also learn about the new project types and where you can find out more about them in this book. Finally, we ll spend quality time listing exactly how our actual code will alter. From core data type changes to new keywords, it s all here.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your host, Karl Moore, requesting all passengers strap in tight. The plane to .NET is about to depart. And, at first, it may be one slightly turbulent ride.