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1. ==== Developer .NET Perspectives ====
by Bill Sheldon, bills@interknowlogy.com

The Horse Race Between Visual Basic .NET and Visual C# .NET
Visual Studio .NET provides four English-based languages: Visual
Basic .NET, Visual C# .NET, Visual C++ .NET, and Visual J# .NET. One
question that inevitably comes up when discussing the Windows .NET
Framework is which programming language is the best to use. Because
all four languages build on a common framework and run in a common
environment, they support many of the same capabilities. However, of
the four languages, only Visual Basic .NET and Visual C# .NET provide
access to the Windows .NET Compact Framework and Visual Studio Tools
for the Microsoft Office System. Thus, for the majority of developers,
it's a two-horse race between Visual Basic .NET and Visual C# .NET.
When you're trying to decide between Visual Basic .NET and Visual
C# .NET, one piece of advice you might hear is that if you're familiar
with Visual Basic (VB) 6.0 or Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), you
should use Visual Basic .NET. Similarly, if you're familiar with C++,
J++, or Java, you should use Visual C# .NET. However, in reality, the
decision typically isn't that simple. Sometimes, people don't have
significant experience with any development language. Other times, an
organization is attempting to have everyone use the same language, but
people in that organization are familiar with different languages.
So what factors should you take into account when choosing a
language? As I just noted, Visual Basic .NET and Visual C# .NET have
many of the same features, so the selection of a language almost
always de-evolves into a discussion of which you like better.
Accordingly, no single feature present in one language will make this
decision cut and dried. Thus, you need to look at the overall
characteristics of each language you're considering.
So, let's take a look at a way of categorizing languages. Many
years ago, back when I was still a junior engineer, some really smart
people decided to categorize programming languages into various
generations based on key characteristics. The idea is that as
programming languages evolve from machine-specific language closer to
natural language, they're advancing through generations.
The machine code associated with commands at the processor level is
an example of a first-generation language (1GL). Second-generation
languages (2GLs) consist of low-level languages, such as Assembly. You
can write tight, fast-running code with 1GLs and 2GLs, but it comes at
a high price. Writing and maintaining the code is time-consuming
because of the languages' complexity.
Unlike 2GLs, 3GLs consist of higher-level command languages that
you compile down to 1GL code (i.e., machine code). C++ is an excellent
example of a 3GL. C++ starts to bridge the gap from machine-oriented
programming to human-oriented programming. You can use C++ to write
code that addresses low-level system details, but C++ provides much
higher-level system access. However, the ability to get at the lowest
levels of the OS means that C++ is a complex implementation language,
which makes it a dark horse in the programming-language race.
If a language is classified as 4GL, it's closer to natural language
than machine-specific language. Although you write commands that are
closer to sentences, you have only limited access to the underlying
system details. T-SQL and VB are commonly cited examples of a 4GL.
Even before the .NET Framework, VB abstracted away the
machine-specific details such as pointers, memory addresses, and
memory management. As with natural language, VB isn't case sensitive.
A 4GL tends to make programmers more productive, but at a cost: A
4GL tends to generate code that's generic or, in an interpretive
environment, might not compile down to machine code, which causes the
resulting application to consume more system resources.
Languages in the last category, 5GL, concentrate less on words and
more on visual elements. The idea is that instead of worrying about
language and syntax, you develop solutions by manipulating components
that are available as part of your environment. Whitehorse, which will
debut with Visual Studio 2005 (formerly code-named Whidbey), will be a
5GL development engine.
So where does Visual Basic .NET and Visual C# .NET fit in this
programming-language scale? Visual Basic .NET is a 4GL, whereas Visual
C# .NET is a 3+GL because Visual C# .NET keeps some of the lower-level
workings exposed. These low-level capabilities, however, add to the
complexity of using that language to design and implement projects.
And those complexities exist regardless of whether or not a project
implements low-level details. So, when compared with Visual Basic
.NET, Visual C# .NET doesn't provide the same level of productivity.
The bottom line is that the small differences in complexity between
Visual C# .NET and Visual Basic .NET add up. Thus, Visual Basic .NET
is a better implementation choice for most business projects,
especially given that the .NET environment lets Visual Basic .NET run
with the same speed and efficiency as the more complex alternatives.
To this end, let's discuss a related consideration: the language
compiler. The Visual Basic .NET compiler is a generation ahead of the
Visual C# .NET compiler.
The Visual Basic .NET team started with what was essentially a
mature compiler (i.e., the VB 6.0 compiler). To adapt the VB 6.0
compiler to Visual Basic .NET, the team mainly concentrated on
updating the syntax and runtime environment.
The advantage of having a mature compiler from which to build is
reflected in many of the Visual Basic .NET compiler's features. For
example, with the Visual Basic .NET compiler, you can compile as you
type. And in Visual Studio 2005, the Visual Basic .NET compiler will
have edit-and-resume capability, which means that you can edit and
continue your execution of your compiled code. These features are in
the Visual Basic .NET compiler before the Visual C# .NET compiler
because even though portions of the Visual Basic .NET compilation
engine had to be reworked, the underlying ideas were already present
in the compiler's design.
I'm not saying that Visual Basic .NET's compiler and generation
level make it superior to the other languages in every situation.
However, in the end, the same productivity-oriented features that made
VB the most popular development language in the world make Visual
Basic .NET the best choice for the majority of projects today. Thus,
whether you're starting out with .NET as your first programming
environment (so existing familiarity with a given syntax isn't a
factor) or whether you're attempting to select a language that lets
your organization be more productive, I recommend that you use Visual
Basic .NET. If you'd like more information about programming
languages, check out these links:
- For an overview of programming language generations, go to
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci211502,00.html
- For a basic discussion of how Microsoft sees each .NET language's
role, check out
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/productinfo/whitepapers/default.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vsintro7/html/vxgrflanguageequivalents.asp
- For a basic feature comparison between Visual Basic .NET and
Visual C# .NET, go to
http://blogs.msdn.com/csharpfaq/archive/2004/03/11/87816.aspx
- For an introduction to Whitehorse, I recommend watching MSDN TV
at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdntv/episode.aspx?xml=episodes/en/20040129vstudioat/manifest.xml

Finally, as part of this commentary, I should disclose that I'm a
contributing author to "Professional VB.NET" from Wrox. However, that
contribution has in no way influenced my analysis. I've worked with
all types of languages, including Visual C++ .NET and Visual C# NET.
In fact prior to the release of .NET I spent more time working with
C++ then working with VB. The fact is that, when all else is equal,
Visual Basic .NET is a better selection for productivity reasons. As
developers, our job isn't to work at the lowest level but to create
solutions and be productive--goals that Visual Basic .NET is uniquely
positioned to help us accomplish.