by Rachelle Reese

Created on: November 12, 2007

Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET) offers developers an object-oriented programming language and a robust development environment, Visual Studio .NET. In this article, we'll focus on two key comparisons: the advantages of using a .NET compliant development platform and the reason to choose VB.NET over other .NET languages.

The .NET Framework offers application developers and Web application developers an extensive library of controls and components. In addition, all .NET applications are loaded and managed by the Common Language Runtime (CLR). The CLR locates and loads assemblies (.NET applications and dynamic link libraries) and manages garbage collection. Because the CLR handles disposing of object instances automatically, it prevents memory leaks that were common in applications developed outside of the .NET Framework. The CLR also permits side-by-side execution for dynamic link libraries (DLL), putting an end to the DLL Hell that occurred when multiple applications used the same library and one application installed a version of that library that was incompatible with one or more installed applications. The .NET Framework also includes ASP.NET, a server-side development platform for Web applications. Unlike its predecessor, Active Server Pages (ASP), ASP.NET applications are compiled and executed, thus providing better performance and access to more functionality than ASP applications, which relied on server-side script.

The .NET Framework supports development in multiple languages. The most commonly used languages are VB.NET and C#. VB.NET is easier to use than C# because it is not case-sensitive. If you are moving from an earlier version of Visual Basic to a .NET language, you will also find the VB.NET syntax easier to use than the C# syntax, which is closer to C++ or Java. Visual Basic .NET also provides an upgrade path for applications written in earlier versions of Visual Basic.

An important point to keep in mind when deciding whether to use VB.NET or C# is that you can actually use both platforms in the same project. This means that a developer familiar with Visual Basic can build her assemblies in VB.NET, while a developer familiar with C++ can build hers in C#. These assemblies can work together in an application just as if they were developed using the same language. The flexibility this offers to a development team is one of the primary benefits of the .NET platform.

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