Is VB.net the right choice for this application

B

Brian

Dear Friend,

Would like to develop a new web application. This application would
be an order taking application for a deli. The end goal is save
orders to a sql server database. Would like to leverage knowledge of
VB6 and am considering VB.net.

Just a few questions for anyone kind enough to answer:

- Limited dollars to purchase software. Can I develop a web app with
vb.net alone or do I have to purchase visual studio.net?

- Is Vb.net a good choice for those whom would go to my site?
Specificly will those browsing my site have to have something other
than a browser to run my app?

- I am a graphic designer and new to all this but my partner has
written one other site (www.grandvillelaw.com). He developed it with
javascript, php and mysql. He also knows VB6. Is this a good choice
for him.

- At first glance this all looks very overwhelming! I really did not
want to get so involved in an OO language. This Will be my partners
first jab at anything .net. I have no experience in this and would be
so greatfull if someone could tell me whether we are biting off more
than we can chew. Maybe we should avoid the whole .net and go with
cold fusion.

- last question, Regarding ASP.net and ADO.net? Do I need to purchase
these as well?

My applogies If you have seem these questions before. I have looked
over about 300 postings and can't seem to find an answer to these
questions. REALLY REALLY APPRECIATE any help


Brian J Stoffer ([email protected])
 
A

Azhagan

Brian said:
Dear Friend,

Would like to develop a new web application. This application would
be an order taking application for a deli. The end goal is save
orders to a sql server database. Would like to leverage knowledge of
VB6 and am considering VB.net.

Just a few questions for anyone kind enough to answer:

- Limited dollars to purchase software. Can I develop a web app with
vb.net alone or do I have to purchase visual studio.net?

- Is Vb.net a good choice for those whom would go to my site?
Specificly will those browsing my site have to have something other
than a browser to run my app?

- I am a graphic designer and new to all this but my partner has
written one other site (www.grandvillelaw.com). He developed it with
javascript, php and mysql. He also knows VB6. Is this a good choice
for him.

- At first glance this all looks very overwhelming! I really did not
want to get so involved in an OO language. This Will be my partners
first jab at anything .net. I have no experience in this and would be
so greatfull if someone could tell me whether we are biting off more
than we can chew. Maybe we should avoid the whole .net and go with
cold fusion.

- last question, Regarding ASP.net and ADO.net? Do I need to purchase
these as well?

My applogies If you have seem these questions before. I have looked
over about 300 postings and can't seem to find an answer to these
questions. REALLY REALLY APPRECIATE any help


Brian J Stoffer ([email protected])
 
A

Azhagan

Hi Brian,

Since you have already been exposed to VB6, it is logical for you to
start coding in VB.Net.

If your budget can allow purchasing VS.Net (Enterprise Developer
edition), I would highly recommend doing so. Else, a professional edition
of VB.net will still do. In fact, Microsoft gives away the runtime of .net
for free. Only the IDE costs any money. The framework (~20MB) + SDK
(~120MB) can be freely downloaded from microsoft. In fact, you can even
write your code using NotePad and compile them using the command line
utilities.

If you are really tight on the money, but still want to make the move to
..net, there are lots of excellent open source editors. I would highly
recommend that you check this out...
http://www.icsharpcode.net/OpenSource/SD/Default.aspx for SharpDevelop. You
can use this IDE for coding VB.NET and C# code. Also, for snippets, you
might want to check this out...
http://www.sliver.com/dotnet/SnippetCompiler/

Hope your move to .net helps reap big benefits.

Best,
-Azhagan
 
A

Azhagan

I forgot to mention about ADO.NET and ASP.NET in your post. ado.net is
a dataaccess technology that comes with .net framework and so are all the
namespaces for asp.net. No need to purchase anything extra. A while back,
Microsoft was handing out free copies of VB.Net, I am afraid if its still
available.

Using the free SharpDevelop editor, you can develop using VB.net and
your friend, since he is already exposed to javascript and php, can feel at
home using C# (also available in SharpDevelop).

-Azhagan.
 
S

Stephanie Stowe

Brian said:
Dear Friend,

Would like to develop a new web application. This application would
be an order taking application for a deli. The end goal is save
orders to a sql server database. Would like to leverage knowledge of
VB6 and am considering VB.net.

Just a few questions for anyone kind enough to answer:

- Limited dollars to purchase software. Can I develop a web app with
vb.net alone or do I have to purchase visual studio.net?

If you are developing a web app, you are likely to be using ASP.NEt which
has support for VB.NET and C#.NET for the code behind. I, personally, would
not choose to develop these without Visual Studio.net. But it is possible.
The question to myself would be would the productivity improvements and some
of the guidance available with Visual Studio make the investment in VS worth
it. Of course, if you have time and no cash, that point would be moot.
- Is Vb.net a good choice for those whom would go to my site?
Specificly will those browsing my site have to have something other
than a browser to run my app?

Not with ASP.NET.
- I am a graphic designer and new to all this but my partner has
written one other site (www.grandvillelaw.com). He developed it with
javascript, php and mysql. He also knows VB6. Is this a good choice
for him.

He has a foundation in client / server. ASP.NET / VB.NEt could be a good
choice for you since it allows separation of UI and implementation. But
then, so does Java/JSP. In both cases, it is about using it correctly.
- At first glance this all looks very overwhelming! I really did not
want to get so involved in an OO language. This Will be my partners
first jab at anything .net. I have no experience in this and would be
so greatfull if someone could tell me whether we are biting off more
than we can chew. Maybe we should avoid the whole .net and go with
cold fusion.

Can't tell that without knowing how fast you can think in your feet!
- last question, Regarding ASP.net and ADO.net? Do I need to purchase
these as well?

As Azhagan said, to run them, no. But if you want a development environment,
yes.
My applogies If you have seem these questions before. I have looked
over about 300 postings and can't seem to find an answer to these
questions. REALLY REALLY APPRECIATE any help


Unfortunately, there is no RIGHT answer to this question of what tool to
use. Some of the things that would come to my mind:

- How does this choice fit with my overall business plan. For instance, if
you are the deli, you want to find someone who can consult on it if ever
needed. So I would look for something mainstream. If you are a consultant
building software for a living, I would look at what I wanted in my toolset
in general and why.

- What are the project constraints. Is time of the essence. How fast can I
translate current skills (php, mySQL...) into the new skills. What are the
site hosting constraints....

- What is the whole cost of the tool. Am I going to need to pay for help in
database, coding, graphic design, tools (like IDE). What is the ROI if I
invest in these things.

Just some thoughts.
 
T

Terje A. Bergesen

Brian said:
Dear Friend,

Would like to develop a new web application. This application would
be an order taking application for a deli. The end goal is save
orders to a sql server database. Would like to leverage knowledge of
VB6 and am considering VB.net.

If you would like to leverage knowledge of VB6, .NET is a good answer.

.... others have answered ...
- I am a graphic designer and new to all this but my partner has
written one other site (www.grandvillelaw.com). He developed it with
javascript, php and mysql. He also knows VB6. Is this a good choice
for him.

You say you are developing an order-taking app. You do not say anything
about where it is hosted etc. Is it hosted on a computer owned by the
Deli? Do they have an administrator that can take care of it? Remember,
keeping a Windows-based PC on a public network (needed for web-access,
right) does require quite a bit of TLC. Hosting it with someone else is
frequently easier and cheaper.

If your partner has experience with PHP and mysql, I see no reason for
you two to go out and learn a whole new technology for the new site. He
should probably learn .NET at some stage to keep him self up-to-date,
but learning on a money-making project is never a good idea. You will
not (for a relatively simple app like this) gain anything extra using
..NET over using PHP.

If you are a graphic designer I see no reason you should learn .NET at
all, it is a programming technology. You do not want to get involved in
an OO language, and there is no reason you should.

The parameters you are listing to me would indicate you should develop
the site with PHP and some SQL database. You can do this on Windows or
any other main operating system. If you intend to host at a professional
hosting company (which I think I would recommend) it is probably easier
for you to stick with PHP.
 

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