A language divided

Abstract

With Visual Basic (VB) .Net, Microsoft took the risky leap of tightening up the language to make it compatible with the .Net Common Language Runtime. Ironically, by making VB .Net a more respectable language in terms of its structure and its object-oriented features, Microsoft has alienated some of its most loyal developers. Historically, the core programming skills that are prerequisite for languages such as C and Java have been unnecessary for VB beginners. Moving to VB .Net is a jarring experience. Suddenly constructs that a developer has always taken for granted are illegal or they are unsupported.