Why Microsoft abandons new inventions to Visual Basic after 2019

Lenny Li 6 Reputation points
2021-04-06T11:47:22.357+00:00

I'm somebody who first played with Basic programming language in the 80s. Im a mid age IT guy who worked in IT for more than 2 decades. It is a disappointment that Microsoft decided not to continue enhancing vb.net but chose to beef up c# instead. I hope Microsoft can reconsider their decision. I don't understand what makes it impossible for VB to be continued to be supported.

VB
VB
An object-oriented programming language developed by Microsoft that is implemented on the .NET Framework. Previously known as Visual Basic .NET.
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  1. Karen Payne MVP 35,036 Reputation points
    2021-04-06T15:02:01.337+00:00

    Microsoft has always been about the profit and VB.NET is not a cash cow although Microsoft has a commitment with VB.NET but not to keep C# in alignment with new features as they are with C#.

    There are several groups on the web that look at enhancing VB.NET such as VB Dev2Dev which I'm a member on GitHub.

    In some cases if a developer understands basics of C# and have found code that can not be translated to VB.NET because something is not supported they can create class projects, reference the C# class project in their VB.NET projects and use them while this does not always work.

    In the end, Microsoft announced just last week pretty much what I wrote above and that I seem to be one to look at for code samples moving forward.

    And lastly, combine what I mentioned coupled with @Duane Arnold and you have a clear picture for VB.NET future.

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  2. Sam of Simple Samples 5,516 Reputation points
    2021-04-06T18:18:38.633+00:00

    There are so many languages that it is difficult to keep up. I know COBOL, C++ and C# and many others. I never got around to learning Java. I avoid learning PHP. I think Python is worth learning.

    VB.Net is drastically different from the original BASIC. If you are concerned about Microsoft supporting VB.Net less then go ahead and learn C#. It is extremely more powerful than the original BASIC. Even if you learn VB.Net then there is very much to learn so the amount of time to learn is likely to be equal.

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