Visual Basic .NET Language Features

Fully Object Oriented

Objects, Properties, Events, and even Data Types all became classes and are treated exactly the same! Programmers who used to mess with objects in VB6 will be surprised to see how efficient VB .NET became regarding object orientation! Actually, I doubt existence of a more OOP language!

Very Fast

VB .NET code runs faster than any previous version of VB. According to some tests done by a friend of mine, its speed is quite the same of C++.

Hardware Independent

VB .NET code runs on any hardware platform since it is compiled into Microsoft’s Intermediate Language (IM) and further compiled by the framework on target machines as described previously.

More like C++

VB. NET code has inherited some properties of C++. My first notes are:

• Functions can now be overloaded.
• Objects became classes.
• Classes can inherit other classes.
• User-defined data types became structures.
• Objects now have constructors and destructors.
• Try/Catch scheme instead of On Error statement.
• Similar scope specification: variables declared inside inner loops are not defined outside them.

Improved IDE

Visual Basic was well known to have the best IDE (Integrated Development Environment) ever! VB .NET continues this, its IDE is more organized and user-friendly; the very sight of it will make programming even more enjoyable!

Great Controls

The .NET Framework provides a wide range of all-function controls. What is really amazing about these controls is that they are supplied by the framework itself rather than by the operating system, i.e. they can function under all platforms!

Improved Code Editor

The code editor has undergone dramatic improvements, it now automatically adjusts code as you make changes, it instantly detects syntax and some run-time errors, and it helps keep code more organized by automatic tabbing, formatting, spacing, and sub-dividing code.

No-more API

The .NET class libraries provide functions more than sufficient to establish any kind of program or application. Use of API to do work where the language couldn’t help is history. VB .NET can directly access the operating system and computer hardware.

Great Resources Support

When it comes to resources, it’s a bit like “Yummy” :D !

Using VB. NET, you can link and embed resources such as strings, icons, images, sounds, and files into your application. What’s more is that these resources are instantly added to your application as objects in the My.Resources() namespace, and you can manipulate, extract, vie, play, run them in any way you want. This support will lay path for greater multimedia applications in the future.

Automatic Saving and Loading of Application Settings

You can define some variables as “application settings”, and your program will automatically save and load them. Thus, you can easily create a settings profile for your application and have it save and load them while paying attention to what really need to be coded well instead.

Super-Integration with other .NET Framework Languages

Thanks for CLR, CLI, and CTS, VB. NET components can easily deal with components developed using other members of the .NET platform. This comes really comforting especially for those who have a personal experience with the pains of transferring data across components developed with different languages.

Up-to Date

VB6 had disabilities dealing with new software, like versions of Microsoft Office newer than 97, and Microsoft Windows XP. VB .NET is more fitting now.