Are you wondering what's Microsoft support policy for Visual Basic 6? Here is the information:
Link to Microsoft Support Lifecycle
SearchVB website just published a QUIZ to test your knowledge about VB6 migration.
I read the questions, the answers and the pointers to more resources. It is a fun way to learn a bit more about the process. I do agree with most answers and pointers even if sometimes the comments on why to move or how to move are a little away from what I believe. I still think you can find this useful.
-- "It's not tremendously exciting stuff and we'd all like to be able to start from scratch, but there's a huge investment in these legacy applications," said Keith Pleas, MVP architect and head of Keith Pleas & Associates. --
There is a fundamental question in the software world. Are applications like cars? Do we use them a few years and then we throw them away? Or are applications like buildings? We treat them as important assets and we try to extract as much value as possible from them? Nobody blows away a building just to build a new one from scratch ( well... maybe in Vegas!) , on the other hand we tend to do exactly that with software applications. Should we???
You ought to yourself and the company you work for to evaluate Automatic Migration as an option to bring new life to VB6 applications. As Keith points out, there is a huge investment and we need to maximize the ROI.
This web cast about the VB Migration Guide gives you a nice overview of the content of the book and some essential guidance to make decisions.
Link to Webcast: How to upgrade legacy VB 6 applications
My friend Chazu Lee from Microsoft in Japan shared this page with me. It contains lots of resources in Japanese for VB Migrations. Thank you Chazu!!
Link to パートナー情報
In this webcast, we present a complete and proven methodology for semi-automatically upgrading a Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 project to Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2005. We cover all of the phases involved in migrating to Visual Basic .NET 2005, from initial assessment and return on investment (ROI) calculation to final testing and deployment of the application. Tune in to learn about ArtinSoft’s proven expertise, including actual statistics from real-world migration projects.
Presenter: Hendel Valverde, Senior Consultant & Trainer, ArtinSoft
Link to ArtinSoft News And Events: ArtinSoft and Microsoft Announce New Webcast on VB6 to .NET 2005 Migration Methodology
Si usted habla español este sitio es un excelente repositorio de información acerca de las migraciones a .NET en general. Por el momento el enfoque es más hacia Visual Basic.
Link to Centro de Excelencia en Migración MSDN
"El CEM.Net es un programa de apoyo a clientes en Latinoamérica, que busca asegurar el éxito en los proyectos de migración de software hacia la plataforma .Net. "
El CEM tiene cómo meta \de compartir conocimiento, dar soporte y apoyar el creciente número de clientes con necesidades de migración a .Net. ¡Actividades como eventos en línea y capacitaciones en sitio están disponibles!
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The Center of Excellence for migration is a Microsoft program targeted at LATAM customers to help them make the JUMP to .NET. If you speak spanish this is an excellent repository of information.
I find it always interesting that new ways to postpone the VB6 migrations are introduced. the title of this post is the combination of an Infoworld and an Eweek article on the subject. I understand where a tool (Microsoft InteropForms Toolkit 1.0 ) that attpepts to tempt VB6 developers use .NET while retaining a safety net in VB6 is coming from. The whole idea is to reduce the risk, to make a transition smoother. But are we really achieving the business benefits by doing it? I think it goes all back to the fact that people do not believe an automatic migration from VB6 is possible. I firmly believe it. If you have followed this blog, you probably believe it too. In any case, every effort in the direction of helping customers move is laudable!
Look at the Infoworld article: http://weblog.infoworld.com/techwatch/archives/008022.html
or the Eweek article: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2019386,00.as...
This is another big overlook of mine. ArtinSoft's VB Companion has been able to directly generate C# for ages. How come I have not told about it here?
Anyway, maybe the question to ask is: Should I move to VB.NET or C#? Of course the answer is not obvious. From the technical perspective both languages give you pretty much the same power. Microsoft is positioning VB.NET more as a RAD environment and C# more for Systems programming. However, in my opinion it is more a question of preference. If your company has chosen C# for .NET development then the VB Companion can help you go straight there.
What do you prefer? C#? or VB.NET? Which one do you think is easier for the VB6 Programmer?
I cannot believe I just overlooked this link for so long. I have announced back in May that the VB Upgrade Guide is available in print, but I forgot to mention that it is also available for download at MSDN.
Link to Upgrading Visual Basic 6.0 Applications to Visual Basic .NET and Visual Basic 2005
This is a great resource to understand how to perform the upgrades. In addition, if you are looking for the VB Companion mentioned in the guide please go to: http://www.artinsoft.com/pr_vbcompanion.aspx it substantially reduces the cost of an upgrade.
I'd like to hear comments on the usefulnness of the guide. Let me know!
This is a very interesting article with yet another way to approach the Visual Basic migration issue. It demonstrates once more that the process is not only feasible but highly rewarding.
Refactor Your Way to Migration Success
Source: Visual Studio Magazine – Refactor Your Way to Migration Success
In addition, I would like to also comment that ArtinSoft's Visual Basic Upgrade Companion product already implements most of the suggested refactorings and thus reduces dramatically the time required to move from VB6 to Optimized .NET.