[AccessD] Old Dog, New Tricks / To Visual Studio or Not

Fri Mar 6 11:49:38 CST 2015

Richard,

Thanks for your insights.

Originally when I started to think about Visual Studio, I was thinking VB as I have worked with VBA for the past few years.

It looks like I need to take a closer look at C#.  I would like to better understand the benefits of C# over VB, however.

Brad   

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Griffiths, Richard
Sent: Friday, March 06, 2015 11:43 AM
To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
Subject: Re: [AccessD] Old Dog, New Tricks / To Visual Studio or Not

I must stress to jump to C# - I was initially apprehensive before I changed for some strange reason, s but it was probably the easiest 'new thing' I've ever done in 30 years plus programming - without getting into any VB.net / C# comparison arguments (not needed!) just do it for the simple reason the nowadays virtually all sample code, sample apps, frameworks etc are in c# - it’s a piece of cake.

Regards

Richard Griffiths
Developer
Tel: 0161 253 5169
email: r.griffiths at bury.gov.uk
web: www.bury.gov.uk
Bury Council Town Hall Knowsley Street Bury BL9 0SW

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of David McAfee
Sent: 06 March 2015 17:31
To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
Subject: Re: [AccessD] Old Dog, New Tricks / To Visual Studio or Not

If you've used VBA. the jump to VB.net isn't that bad, but I would strongly recommend against that and jumping straight into C# if time allows it.
If you've programmed in C (or one of its dialects in the past, C# should be a little easier for you to pick up).

I jumped into VB.Net first, and really wish I would have just spent the time (that I didn't have) learning C# right away.

Visual Studio is way more powerful and easier to deploy as most computers should have the correct run time already installed (free deployment).

It does take longer to develop stuff (IMO) in visual studio than it does in Access, but it's not that bad.

I take it that you would still be creating WinForms and not Webpage front ends?

I posted some code VB.Net code the other day under the thread titled "Automatic Update Function".

I can post the same code in C# to show you how similar/different they are to each other.

D

On Fri, Mar 6, 2015 at 4:50 AM, Brad Marks <bradm at blackforestltd.com> wrote:

> All,
>
> I have developed applications since 1975 with my first 33 years in the 
> mainframe realm (IBM, MVS, COBOL, DB2, Easytrieve, BAL, RPG, etc.)  I 
> am now semi-retired and work part-time for a small manufacturing firm
> (50 people).  Over the past few years, I have developed a number of 
> applications with Microsoft Access.  About five years ago, I suggested 
> to the management team that we look at using Visual Studio.
> This suggestion was voted down due to the time and expense of 
> introducing Visual Studio at that point in time.
>
> The company ownership and leadership has changed over the past few 
> months.  I believe that there might now be a willingness to consider 
> the introduction of Visual Studio.  I have briefly read about “Visual 
> Studio
> 2013 Community” and I have started to watch some Visual Studio 
> training videos on YouTube.
>
> It appears that I can experiment with “Visual Studio 2013 Community” 
> with no financial investment, just an investment of time.
>
> However, because the small firm that I work for has annual revenues 
> greater than one million, I would not be able to build and deploy 
> applications with “Visual Studio 2013 Community” at work.  We would 
> need to buy the professional version.
>
> I have some questions about moving from Access/VBA to Visual Studio 
> (or using VS to supplement existing Access application).
>
> How steep is the learning curve?
>
> How long did it take others to get up to speed with VS?
>
> When I develop applications with Microsoft Access, I use a “full” 
> version of Access.  The deployment is made to about 25 PCs that have 
> Microsoft Access “Runtime” (free).
> I assume that if an application is developed with Visual Studio, it 
> can be deployed to other PCs for free.  Is this true?
>
> I am going to be 63 years old in September.  I really like to learn 
> new things and experiment.  I have tons of free time to watch training 
> videos and play with the software.  However, at my age and with 
> possible cognitive disabilities from so many years of working with 
> COBOL, I am not sure that I want to take on something as large as 
> Visual Studio.  I know that this is really a personal decision, but I 
> would appreciate any insights about an old dog’s ability to learn new tricks.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Brad
>
> PS.  Currently all of my development work is for in-house desktop PC 
> applications.  Our website is outsourced to a contractor.  There has 
> been some discussion about bringing the maintenance of this website in-house.
> This would obviously change the picture.
>
> --
> AccessD mailing list
> AccessD at databaseadvisors.com
> http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd
> Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com
>
--
AccessD mailing list
AccessD at databaseadvisors.com
http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd
Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Why not visit our website www.bury.gov.uk
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Incoming and outgoing e-mail messages are routinely monitored for compliance with our information security policy.
The information contained in this e-mail and any files transmitted with it is for the intended recipient(s) alone. It may contain confidential information that is exempt from the disclosure under English law and may also be covered by legal,professional or other privilege.
If you are not the intended recipient, you must not copy, distribute or take any action in reliance on it. 
If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify us immediately by using the reply facility on your e-mail system.
If this message is being transmitted over the Internet, be aware that it may be intercepted by third parties.
As a public body, the Council may be required to disclose this e-mail or any response to it under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 unless the information in it is covered by one of the exemptions in the Act.  
Electronic service accepted only at legal.services at bury.gov.uk and on fax number
0161 253 5119 .
*************************************************************

-- 
AccessD mailing list
AccessD at databaseadvisors.com
http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd
Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com