Which version should I use???  
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Dottj





PostPosted: Visual Basic Express Edition, Which version should I use??? Top

I everyone, I need some advice please. I am planning to write a program for my job, I have got it mapped out and the planning stage is almost done, but here is my problem - I have both Visual Studio.Net 2003 and Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition on my computer, and am not sure which progam would be best to use.

I was wondering what the experts out there think and the pros and cons of both of these programs. I really would appreciate some opinions on this and welcome any suggestions, comments etc.

Thanks, Diane



Visual Studio Express Editions26  
 
 
ahmedilyas





PostPosted: Visual Basic Express Edition, Which version should I use??? Top

depends what you want to do.

Express editions or rather .NET 2.0 would be the way to go since there are alot of improvements and additions to the framework than .NET 1.1

VS2003 will only use .NET 1.1, not 2.0.

Express editions do have limitations on what you can/cannot do. Really depends what you wish to do :-)

you could develop the entire solution in VS.NET 2003, then convert it to VS2005 Express and use it that way, perhaps find better ways of doing what you want to do, if not, then at least you have a solution there.

 

I would advice if you are going to be doing some serious development, to stick with .NET 2.0 but also invest in VS2005 Pro/Standard, as everything is in one environment and has many more features, unlike the express editions since they are stripped/lightweight editions of VS2005

 



 
 
OmegaMan





PostPosted: Visual Basic Express Edition, Which version should I use??? Top

(IMHO) Never develop programs using obsolete tools.

If you have to use the express version of 2005 to do C#, then use it...eventually one will either have to maintain the code which was written or upgrade it and the having to convert it between versions can be frought with problems...especially since the original developer could have mitigated that problem from the get go

Also don't be shy and make the company Pony Up for a new version of Studio if they are requiring this project from you....

One final thought: Check into a Professional subscription for studio. It will allow for tech support calls, up to three, on any coding problems one may run into. When the forums fail you, rare but it happens (even ahmedilyas and nobugz have to sleep), you can call Microsoft and a dedicated support person can determine the problem and propose a solution.


 
 
ahmedilyas





PostPosted: Visual Basic Express Edition, Which version should I use??? Top

Just to add - VS2003 is not obsolete ;-)

newer is bigger, greater and better. .NET 2.0 is really powerful and is worth investing in. Express editions are generally for hobbiests/enthusiasts but not to say that its only for them. There are limitations again. I agree with Omegaman that it is worth investing in VS2005 or even purchasing the MSDN subscription but talking about the product specifically, go for VS2005.

.NET 3.0 is only around the corner.....



 
 
spotty





PostPosted: Visual Basic Express Edition, Which version should I use??? Top

2005 has many new language features such as generics which can save you considerable coding to make typesafe collections. Althouhg you have the express version of the product for many applications this is sufficient and the limitations it has may not be applicable to you. Most of the limitations are really IDE support and the language and compiler is the same for all versions of the product as the command line compiler actually ships with the framework itself.

So if you do run into a limitation with the express IDE, you can purchase a copy of VB / VS and you project will require zero changes from the express version to work - you get the additional IDE features / tools you need.

I would agree that the current version is the best to target, as you dont want to be starting new development in old versions of a product as you then already have a ticking clock in terms of support from MS and users switching to the newer version. I cant really think of many good technical reasons to not use the latest version, although sometimes corporate environments may be a little slower in switching to newer versions of the .NET framework.