Dummy in VB

[red_evolve]

Hi. I'm not new to the world of programming, but I have never touched vb before and would like to learn it.

Firstly, can vb be used solely to produce an application without using any other programming languages like c?

Well, secondly, if I am to use vb together with another language, what would be the best combination?
Thank you. :confused:

[samaru]

I recommend you start with C++. You'll learn good principles any programmer should learn. If you have those principles down pat, learning a new language is really no big deal. Every language I know resembles more to C++ one way or another. Of course, it won't be as fun as Visual Basic. With VB you see quicker results, but tend to learn less I believe.

You don't have to learn another language if you want to tackle VB, unless you're more advanced and decide to do things VB can't do. You'd have to write extensions in C++ or a lower level language and call them in VB. That gets more complicated.

I take it by VB you mean Visual Basic 6.0 or lower. There's a big difference between 6.0 and below against .NET (in the syntax and methodology). I don't recommend you learn VB.NET first though. Also, regular VB (6.0 and below) is being used more, but will die in time (probably not soon though) because MS is investing more time and money in their whole .NET tools.

If you're still interested in learning an additional language with VB I recommend SQL along with databases. Data is important and you need SQL to manipulate data in databases.

Personally though, I don't recommend VB or VB.NET as your first language. It's all up to you though. Just find a good book at Amazon.com with good reviews and stick with it. If you want to be a programmer this is the order I would learn languages in:

For Desktop Applications:
C++ --> SQL --> XML --> C# or Java or VB.NET

For Web Applications:
C++ --> PHP --> SQL --> XML --> C# or Java

[red_evolve]

Thank you so much for your advice.
Well, for a starter like me, I really appreciate as many opinions as possible from people like you. Actually, I have learnt C & C++ before hand but have not really master both languages.
I'll go for VB. The purpose I started this thread was to know whether using VB alone is enough to produce an application or not excluding usage of database. I know that database is important too. I'd like to ask one more question (however it might not belonged here though :cheesy: ).
Which of these 3 DBMS is more popular among companies in the working field? Oracle, DB2 or MySQL?
Thanks a lot.

[samaru]

Remember that learning the syntax and how a programming language works is only the first step in programming. You'll spend more time applying that knowledge than anything else. Don't think because you spend a year on it, you "know c++" or any other language. I thought I knew Perl until I had to write a server in it. Lots of things involved.

As far as databases, I'd throw Microsoft SQL Server in the mix. In most of the IT magazines that I've seen, as far as the best database, it's always Oracle. DB2 beats SQL Server by an inch. Then comes Sybase then MySQL. This is judged on performance, features, security, difficulty of configuration, and other factors. The price range is pretty much in that order I believe. Not too sure on Sybase though, but SQL Server originated from Sybase, so they're pretty much on par. You might want to check yourself on the price. Remember though, that this is and always will be a biased answer. Being "the best" is always in the eye of the beholder. Advocates are always going to support what they use.

What database is used the most? It depends what company it is. In my experience, from meeting CEOs, reading books, magazines, job search sites, tradeshows, actually being involved in the development process, this is what I believe:

Big Businesses: Oracle
Medium to Semi Big Businesses: MS SQL Server / DB2 / Sybase
Small Businesses to Medium: MySQL Server

One of the main reasons is price. You'll notice that an enterprise version of Oracle is $40,000.00 and a professional version of MySQL server is below $495.00. Oracle has more features and of course, like any other good product, it has the brand "Oracle." You'll read articles that MySQL may outperform any other database and it's blazing fast, etc., etc.. The reason is because they sacrifice functionality with speed. It requires a lot more money to provide all the facilities Oracle does, but they want to stand out. So rather than doing the impossible, they spend more effort on going with speed. That's just my idea. Don't make me give you the idea that MySQL is a bad database. It's not. For its price, it's the best you can get.

Now honestly, being a freelancer, and dealing mostly with small to medium sized companies, I've dealt more with MySQL. I also know many hobbyist who run MySQL for their sites, and a lot of non-profit organizations who do as well. This doesn't mean that it's being used in corporations though. So when someone tells you that MySQL or even Apache Server are the number one servers used in their field, just think about it. Little 12 year olds who run their site about their pog collections that use MySQL and Apache hardly count for anything business related. In my experience, I've found out that SQL Server is used the most. This is because it's far less cheaper than Oracle. Big business have at least one version of Oracle running for their important data, but may actually have more versions of SQL Server running for data that's not as important. So far, I've never seen any Windows server that runs anything BUT SQL Server.

Personally, I prefer SQL Server too. It's easy to use, contains a large array of management tools that can be used visually, and you don't have to know SQL, unless you're creating applications. You could use SQL however if the tools provided don't fit your needs. The installation is snap for most cases. If you ever try to install Oracle and configure it, it could be a nightmare. If you're selecting Visual Basic, I'd recommend it.

This is my opinion though. Remember, no matter what ANYONE tells you, it's always going to be biased. Even stats are biased depending who it comes from. I'd rather follow statistics than someone saying "it's the best because it is." Pick the tool that YOU think it's the best and stick with it. Only follow other people's advice if you think is safe. If you see any trace of being biased, even if they use lingo like "M$" or "Windblows" referring to Microsoft or Windows - don't bother. These people are ignorant. You want a fair assessment, and don't want to waste your time on other's personal opinions of a company. They'll hate and demean anything from Microsoft no matter what, so don't bother.

If you want to know what's used the most and have your own opinion on it, do research on each database. Then look up on google things such as "Oracle vs SQL Server" or "MySQL vs SQL server." Keep in mind that if it's a web site where they use open source utilities, chances are they're going to badmouth SQL Server just because it's from Microsoft. This is what I mean by being biased.

So in conclusion, if you're going with VB, my recommendation is SQL Server. I recommend that you do some research on your own though so you get into the habbit of knowing a biased answer. :cheesy:

[red_evolve]

I sincerely appreciate your post. A very long one and for once I didn't jump straight to the end paragraph which I always do as I dislike reading lengthy words. Thank you so much.

I've been taught DB2 here in college (have been using it for almost 7 semesters now), that is why I would like to try using other DBMS for my project this time since I have the option to make a choice. To me, if possible, I'd like to learn as much as I could because I know I'll be graduating in about a year's time & I don't think I am ready. I'm always worried about what I could do, can I satisfy the requirements needed, do I know enough, etc.

I've spoken to a programming teacher before, he told me that it's not about learning all the languages that you can. There are some things which you can only acquire when you enter the working world. You need not know everything, instead you can gain all the knowledge you want by experience.

Sigh, I'll be undergoing my industrial training real soon, & I have mixed feelings about it. Scared + excited + worried. What more with international companies being assigned to us, ie, Western Digital, Nokia, IBM, and such. I understand that I can learn a lot of things from there but the pressure is there.

Okay, I think I have gone far beyond the topic which is supposed to be QBasic/VB/VB.NET. :cheesy: Well, once again, thanks a lot for your opinions. ;)

[samaru]

You're welcome. :cool:

Your teacher is right. You don't have to know everything. IT changes so rapidly it's impossible even to know one thing. Things get changed, upgraded, deprecated, domesticated, defumigated... ok, the last two don't, but you get my drift.

It's impossible to know everything, but at least know one or two things really well. Kind of like a specialty. After a lot of research I chose PHP and XML. For a while it was ColdFusion but I decided it wasn't going to get as big as .NET so before departing from ColdFusion, I certified in it. Now I have my eyes set on C#. The only reason why I'm sticking with PHP is because it's high in demand for start up businesses. Most web hosts support it. The same reason why I'm sticking with SQL. In about a year or so, I'll drop PHP/MySQL and dedicate all my time on C# and MS solutions.

Any other advice you need, anyone here will be glad to help. ;)

[red_evolve]

Okay, I'm quite satisfied now. Plus, I am sure that I've grown an inch taller. Haha. Thanks a lot.

[big_k105]

dont forget about postgreSQL as a good database. its up and coming :)