VB compared to C++

**C+noob** · 07-06-2005

i mean im gonna stick with C++ but Visual Basic?!?!? is there anything Visual Basic can do that C++ cant?

i heard Visual Basic lacks the flexibility of C++ that pretty much you can do anything your mind desires with C++ and not visual basic. Whats up with this?

**adrianxw** · 07-07-2005

As usual, I'll make the point that they are not designed to do the same thing, therefore trying to compare them on a one v one basis is totally meaningless.

**major_small** · 07-07-2005

C++ allows more lower-level functions that does VB...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-le...mming_language

also: try writing a VB program that runs on linux.

**nvoigt** · 07-07-2005

Is VB better ? No. Quicker, easier, more seductive.

VB is the dark side of the source.

**Stoned_Coder** · 07-07-2005

Using VB is about as fun as masterbating with a cheese grater!

**ober** · 07-07-2005

>>also: try writing a VB program that runs on linux.

Believe it or not, you can get some VB programs to work in a *nix environment.

And VB has it's place... it's the best language I know for creating a quick GUI with some functionality.

**BobMcGee123** · 07-07-2005

Originally Posted by Stoned_Coder

Using VB is about as fun as masterbating with a cheese grater!

I resent this statement...I have a cheese grater fetish.

It entirely depends on what type of programming you want to do. You *can* accomplish anything in VB that you'd want to do including 3D graphics, but VB is better for quickly creating pretty applications without farkling around with arcane operating system code. Remember, you can compile VB apps into executables, so not everything has to be run interpreted, but whenever something is inefficient you cannot optimize it due to its high level nature. It also makes working with databases quite easy (I remember having to write SQL apps in high school as a part of the VB course there).

**confuted** · 07-07-2005

Originally Posted by ober

>>also: try writing a VB program that runs on linux.

Believe it or not, you can get some VB programs to work in a *nix environment.

WINE is pretty clever, isn't it?

**Terrance** · 07-09-2005

Originally Posted by nvoigt

Is VB better ? No. Quicker, easier, more seductive.

VB is the dark side of the source.

Exactly, that's what vb does, that c++ doesn't.

Coding in MFC, .Net, writing link lists and binary trees are all great. I spent 750 class hours learning all of those things as well as coding up several real world projects in an intensive masters certificate course. Now, two years later, I have trouble writing a gui calculator in MFC/c++.

Now that I'm a junior in college, studying CIS, (couldn't take any real computer classes my frosh and soph year of college, except intro), I'm now opting to take my electives in VB, advanced VB, XML, and other web development languages. These languages aren't as powerful as c++, but at least I know I'll still be able to use them if I stray away from them for a couple of months.

But I def don't regret learning c++ first, just wish I could actually code a halfway decent program two years after learning it.

**major_small** · 07-09-2005

Originally Posted by confuted

WINE is pretty clever, isn't it?

I meant without external help... but now I'm wondering if ober meant it the way I did...

**ober** · 07-09-2005

I meant without WINE. Certain VB apps can run in a *nix environment, but I'm not going to sit here and tell you that any small app could make the leap. Most require the VB runtime, which runs only under Windows.

**major_small** · 07-09-2005

Originally Posted by ober

I meant without WINE. Certain VB apps can run in a *nix environment, but I'm not going to sit here and tell you that any small app could make the leap. Most require the VB runtime, which runs only under Windows.

that's interesting... I never knew that before

**ober** · 07-09-2005

You learn a lot when you spend a lot of time asking and answering questions on programming bulletin boards like this one.

**~~nickname_changed~~** · 07-09-2005

Forgetting that it's not a great question to ask here considering the obvious bias towards C++ that you would expect at a C++ programming forum, the original poll question was "which is better in the long haul". If you are a young student and want a career as a programmer, I'd go C++.

C++ will teach you much more about the internals of programs and how things work at a lower level. I work as a C#/VB.NET developer, but every day I am thankful that I learnt C++ first, because it's given me an understanding that I wouldn't have if I had started with C#/VB.NET. That said, I haven't written a line of C++ in almost two years now, and I don't plan to.

I don't believe this is a question that deserves the stock standard "pick the right tool for the job" response. If he had asked which language would be best for writing a website and finishing it in less than a week, then this would be the correct answer. But I believe that in 20 years, you're much more likely to say "I'm glad I spent hours chasing that memory leak in C++ way back" than "I'm so glad I learnt how to concatenate strings in VB".

**major_small** · 07-09-2005

Originally Posted by ober

You learn a lot when you spend a lot of time asking and answering questions on programming bulletin boards like this one.

I have to say most of my initial knowledge of C/C++ came from these boards...

View Poll Results: Which is Better in the long haul?

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