Codeguru Update eNewsletter – June 17th, 2008

CodeGuru.com

Earthweb.com Network
Tuesday June 17, 2008


This Week’s Topics


Comments from the Editor



This past week, Paul Kimmel wrote an opinion piece that we published on Developer.com and Codeguru. The article, titled “Visual Basic As A Second Class Citizenship Is a State of Mind” can be found at http://www.codeguru.com/columns/vb/article.php/c15295/.

In this opinion piece, Paul implies that Visual Basic .NET is a solid language that stands up to all the other .NET languages, including C#. Paul indicates that a lot of VB.NET developers have the mindset that Visual Basic .NET is not at the same level of C#.or that Visual Basic .NET is inferior because it doesn’t have the same level of marketing glitz.

Is this a chicken-and-egg scenario where, because the developers believe it isn’t as good, it ends up not being as good? Similarly, do Visual Basic .NET developers tend to get paid less than C# developers because C# is a better language, or is it because Visual Basic .NET developers are selling their skills as being worth less than C#? Is Visual Basic .NET a second class language, or is it just being treated as one?

On our sister site, VBForums, the topic of Paul’s opinion piece has spurred some interesting discussion. You can join that discussion at http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?t=527149 or feel free to post your thoughts in the Codeguru Feedback forum

Until next week…

Brad!
—————————
Bradley L. Jones
www.CodeGuru.com
—————————

Recently Published Books


For those of you keeping up by reading books. The following are just a few of the new books that have been recently released. If you’ve read any of these, feel free to write a review to be posted on CodeGuru. See the submission guidelines.

Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Step By Step

By Londer, English, Bleeker, and Coventry for Microsoft Press
450 pages for $24.99 w/ CD

Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 Step by Step


By Penelope Coventry for Microsoft Press
400 pages for $29.99 w/ CD

Pro ASP.NET 3.5 Server Controls and AJAX Components


By Rob Cameron and Dale Michalk for Apress
760 pages for $59.99

New & Updated Articles on CodeGuru


Following are short descriptions of new articles on CodeGuru. If you are interested in submitting your own article for inclusion on the site, then you will find guidelines here.


Sound and DirectXSound Tutorial


By CVMichael
Learn just about everything you need to know about using DirectX 8 and DirectSound to create and modify sound files.


A Database Driven Reporting Application


By Chi-Wei Wang
Discover how reporting applications can adapt to changing reports by shifting its report-related information into a database.


OP-ED: Second Class Citizenship Is a State of Mind


By Paul Kimmel
VB.NET can do anything C# can do. VB.NET is a first class language with all of the object-oriented elements that support mega-enterprise software development. Why then do some outspoken VB programmers feel like they are treated like second class citizens? I say it’s a state of mind.


Windows PE 2.0 Tutorial


By Anpino
Learn how to build a custom Windows image running a windows application like Vista installation.


Extending the ComboBox with C#


By Hannes du Preez
Learn how to create a Fonts Combo, an Image Combo, Align all the Combobox parts, and display colours in a Combobox


Beginner’s Guide to SQL Server Database Development with VSTS Database Edition


By Jeffrey Juday
Learn how to make Visual Studio Team Suite Database Edition part of your development process.


Improving Visual C++ Debugging with Better Data Display


By Nick Wienholt
Code is run in a debugger for two main reasons: examining the branches of code that are being executed, and examining data values to determine why the code is behaving in a certain manner. Inspecting data values can be significantly improved by customizing the debug information. See how that can be done in the Visual C++ debugger.

Discussion Groups


Check out the CodeGuru discussion forums

Forums include Visual C++, General C++, Visual Basic, Java, General Technology, C#, ASP.NET, XML, Help Wanted, and much, much, more!

… HOT THREADS …


Heap and free Store in C++ (C++)


Zip recursive folders (VB 6)


Default constructor? (C#)

New Articles on Developer.com


Programming MIDlets for Interactive Behavior

By Richard G. Baldwin
Discover how to add commands to a MIDlet and how those commands are presented to the user in the Sun cell phone emulator. You will also learn how to produce interactive behavior within a MIDlet.

A Database Driven Reporting Application

By Chi-Wei Wang
Discover how reporting applications can adapt to changing reports by shifting its report-related information into a database.

Integrate Legacy Web Applications as Full Page IFrames in WebLogic Portal

By Scott Nelson
If you must use IFrames to integrate legacy web applications into your portal, here is a manageable, extensible, and maintainable approach.

More by Author

Get the Free Newsletter!

Subscribe to Developer Insider for top news, trends & analysis

Must Read