Develop Reference

Is it wrong to add razor (cshtml) and c# projects to a Visual Studio vb website?

I'm creating a new website in Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate / vb and I want to add things to it, to jazz it up. So I'm adding new projects from the VS Team Services templates. It seems there are many more projects in c# than vb. I'm trying to figure out if it's okay to add a c# and razor project to a vb website, because if not, I'll start the website in c#.
Will mixing languages between projects within your website present issues in the future when it comes time to build and publish? Or is it recommended I begin the website in c# (since there are more projects within VS) and keep the languages the same throughout the website? Thanks!

There is no issue in doing till you keep the projects separate. That is you should not write one controller in VB and another controller in C# in same project.
As far as i know there is no problem in keeping different projects in same solution

I think that is a great approach when you have a diverse skillset in your team, since some languages are better suited for specific tasks than others.
There sould be no problems with having different languages used in one solution (although you should use one langugage per project) since everything will be compiled into MSIL (some details can be found here).

A similar question was asked: Can you mix .net languages within a single project?
To add a bit more, I would never suggest anyone to mix two different languages. If you start with a solution with one programming languages, continue with that programming language even when you add new projects to that solution. There is nothing worse than having to switch your way of thinking from one language to another. We had a project at my former company where one project was C# and the other two were VB.NET. Maintaining those projects was a nightmare, not to mention a lot of subtle bugs in the way VB.NET and C# evaluate things like if statement.
My suggestion to you is choose one language and stick to it on your project. If you want to improve your knowledge in another language, work with that language, etc.

About "GUI in C# and code in C++"

First of all, until now, all my programming education, has been targeted to console applications, just like everyone who starts learning C and C++. (the 2 languages i know)
Now, i want to jump to the nice graphical World.
So, I am exploring Windows Forms, i have already got many headaches trying to understand the language that it uses (quite diferent from native C++), but i managed to do a couple of things like using textbox and buttons.
Well, the thing is, i have read in many places that, in order to avoid headaches trying to code winforms in C++, i'd better "Build the GUI in C#, because it's way easier, and the logic, and code in C++". And that is my question, i don't understand that statement, at all.
What is that supposed to mean?
Also, it's C# THAT similar to C++, as to affirm that statement? Cause, if C# was too diferent to C++, i would have to learn the whole C# language
hope you understand my doubt.
PD : Sry about my bad english.

Joan, while it is certainly possible to develop an applications Front End in C# and the logic in C++ I believe it to be a huge waste of effort to do it this way since you only complicate yourself for no real benefit since you can code both things in the same language.
C# has many advantages over C++ and I personally use mostly C#, but I can clearly see many programmers who love C++.
Now going into your question regarding the similarities between C++ and C# the answer is yes and no. Yes in the sense that C#'s syntax is clearly derived from C++. Many things like ifs and for loops are written exactly the same, so if you know how to write an if in C++ you can write it in C#.
The difference (and a critical one that is) lies in the way the languages work. C++ is an strictly compiled language (it goes from C++ code to machine code). C# is an interpreted language (it goes from c# to MSIL and during runtime to machine code). In C# you can't use pointer arithmetic without explicitly allowing, in C++ you can (and will) use pointer arithmetic. C# has garbage collection, C++ does not.
In the end, as I said in the first paragraph you can use both languages to build an application, but it would be highly complicated. My advise to you is to learn a bit of C# and then decide which language you would prefer to build your GUI application. But don't believe even for a second that C++ can't be used to build a front-end since there are a myriad of frameworks for that. One I remember from the top of my head is Qt.
Another option for you is to use "C++/CLI" which is a flavor of C++ which can use the .NET Framework (the same framework C# uses)
EDIT: Thanks Jerry for pointing out that Managed C++ is obsolete and that C++/CLI is the one!

C# has braces, semicolons, and uses the concept of classes. It has "C derived" syntax, but otherwise is very dissimilar to C++. Java is really the precursor to C#, not C++.
You can build application GUIs using C#, and then use various methods of calling into C++ (such as P/Invoke). Unless you are using lots of existing libraries, or looking for absolute performance, its going to be a headache.
If you are looking for examples of modern Windows GUIs using C++, take a look at the Hilo example program.

It is not very difficult to switch to a new language. The few keywords you would have to learn are not the issue. What costs most energy if to get used to the new environment and class libraries. That is probably what you mean and it is true, you'll need some time.
Now coming to the split GUI in C# and code in C++, then you'll have to make all bindings and marshalling of parameters if there are buffers and strings for example. I don't think this would make your life any easier. Interfacing with native Dlls can become some pain. However if you use third party dlls and have already a large working codebase you could try to compile the logic code with /clr enabled. This generates a DLL that can be used from within .NET directly.
NOTE: WinForms is now out-of-date for new applications, consider using WPF instead. It scales nicely, but the learning curve might be steep for newcomers.

Please note that you have native C++ and C++/CLI, the first one is the one you have learned, but the second one is the one you will need to use if you want to combine it with a C# GUI. However, I would suggest you to stay away from C++/CLI because this will cause a lot of confusion if you don't have a solid ground in C++, C# and .NET.
The reason that you can't use the native C++ is because C# is a managed language, so you will either have to find another GUI that fits with C++ or you will have to go C# for everything. For more information about managed see the environment part of Difference between C++ and C#, the article will also provide you with a good comparison between both.

Well, this aint a direct answer but hope it will help you. Since you stated that, you are just started and you want C++ combined with GUI, I suggest you to take a look at Qt. IMO I found C++ and GUI made easy in Qt. Also it's good too.

Although it's not a direct response to the question you're asking, I'd first caution that WinForms are already basically a dead-end, so for new code you'd be much better off avoiding them. If you're going to do a GUI in .NET, the currently preferred choice is WPF.
Some people find C# an easier way to do a GUI. It's definitely true that Microsoft provides considerably more in the way of Wizards and such to do it with little or no coding if you use .NET for the job. Other people (especially those with more experience doing so) can produce a GUI in C++ just quickly (or even a little more so) using C++ instead.
Mixing languages like this can work well in relatively large projects where you have completely separate teams of people working on the different parts. For smaller projects where the same people typically work on both parts, the difference in syntax is at just about the worst possible level -- not enough different to really shift gears and think differently, but still enough different that you can't plan on just typing things and having any hope of them compiling. All in all, you're usually a lot better off picking one language and sticking to it.

Microsoft CCI - resources, references for writing compilers

Some time ago, I was working on compiler, I've used System.Reflection to generate code (IL) from my AST. Now, I've an idea for another compiler that I'd like to work on (it will be another pet project, nothing that will be used in production code, at least, not now).
As you know, pet projects have one big advantage over production code: you can experiment and fail. So, I've decided to try to write compiler using Microsoft's CCI.
The only good reference I've found is a sample compiler of basic language (that is a part of CCI on codeplex), but, I'd prefer to have some other resources, more like tutorials, books, articles, where I could get more information other than studying code (which isn't always the best method to learn something, as you see a solution, but you don't know what alternatives you have, or why such code works).
So: Do you have any resources (tutorials, books) about CCI, in context of writing compilers and handling AST?

For the start, I'll throw few links, for those, who aren't familiar with CCI:
CCI-AST project for generating and compiling abstract syntax trees.
CCI-Metadata project for reading / writing meta data of clr assemblies, supports also reading / writing pdb.
CCI-Samples project contains small basic compiler, which I was referring to in 1st post.
Lang.Net presentation about CCI, a little "why and how?"
VCC - concurrent c compiler, on top of CCI. I haven't dug into it yet, but I expect it to be another big project, without any explanations, not that good for learning constructing compilers from the beginning (beside this, it's mainly written in F#).

What Are The Advantages/Disadvantages of Using Both VB.Net and C# In The Workplace?

At a colleague's workplace, a decision is trying to be made about whether to use both languages in the workplace or to standardize on one? There are some VB.Net developers and some C# developers.
What advantages or disadvantages would there be to using both or to using one?
Edit: To clarify this question, the question is not asking the advantages of one over the other, rather what are the advantages/disadvantage of standardizing on both languages versus standardizing on one.
For instance, one point could be that C#/VB.Net may have more third party tools available and hence it may make sense to standardize all developers on that language.

We should probably put on our Reality Glasses for this discussion. It's not just Syntactic Sugar going on here.
You will find that you can write code very quickly in Visual Basic.NET. That is largely due to some features that it has that C# does not yet provide: namely, the My namespace, which provides a plethora of functionality that C# developers have to frequently code by hand. (And that's a damned shame, if you ask me.)
I code in both languages every day. Coding event handlers for forms in Visual Basic is a snap, and it's VERY obvious what methods handle which events. It's not always as clear in C#. On the other hand, you can't always be as explicit in Visual Basic as you want to be, because Visual Basic does so much of the work for you. C# has the advantage of just getting the heck out of your way, and letting you get down to the nuts and bolts. Quite often, that's extremely liberating.
VB will let you invoke static/shared methods on an object instance. C# won't. You'll learn that the hard way when you try to port your code. C# will complain about unreachable code; VB doesn't care one way or the other.
But under the hood, when you get right down to it, it's all .NET. It all compiles down to MSIL. There will be minor differences. Visual Basic, for example, doesn't care about the case-sensitivity of names, where C# does. And the big gotcha there is that the CLR does as well. You'll realize that when you try to use reflection. Does that mean you shouldn't use VB? Nope. Just make sure you case things consistently -- especially your namespaces. (Namespace "My" and namespace "my" are two completely different namespaces to C# and the CLR, but they're the same to VB.)
Choose the language that makes you most productive, that reduces ramp-up time and maintenance costs. You may find that that means working with both languages. (We do!)
EDIT TO ADDRESS OP'S EDIT:
Refactoring tools are available for both languages.
Automated unit testing tools are equally applicable.
3rd party controls are going to be available for both languages because they're compiled down to MSIL.
Now, for IDE productivity tools, the one thing that C# has at this time that VB doesn't is StyleCop. That may change soon (and I hope it does), but I don't view it as a roadblock by any stretch of the imagination.

This is personal experience mixed with workplace lore:
VB.NET is capable of being little more nimble, compared to C#, because there isn't a standards committee (except for any that may exist at Microsoft).
Most of the Google-able code hackery out there is done in C#, and most of the best resource books provide code samples in C# only.
VB.NET is tainted with a history of VB being accessible to even the most incapable of developers. This is unfair, imho, because VB.NET is much more a "real" language. But the taint isn't going to be washed away any time soon, and "real" programmers still generally despise it.
As for real life - I code in my own time in C# and VB.NET at work. I believe that because so much of the code one writes for .NET is calls against the framework objects, the differences are actually quite small. If you can declare variables in both languages you're 80% to being portable. If you understand the framework, the syntax of the languages is a small obstacle.
EDIT to directly answer your question: We happily use both (though mainly VB.NET) and haven't ever had any problems. We use Visual Studio which allows us to pretty freely mix code files/assemblies. I would encourage you not to limit to a single language - I think some diversity is good for the brain.

My workplace had traditionally been a VB.Net shop, but a decision was made a couple years ago to switch to C#. This happened mostly because the VB developers had either left or moved into other positions and most of the new hires preferred C#. We still have a large legacy VB.Net code base, but all new development is being done in C#.
I don't think there's a strong technical reason to choose one language over the other, as they are pretty equivalent in functionality, but I do feel there are some valid reasons to choose one type of developer over the other. While I believe VB and C# are equal, there's is the unfortunate perception that C# developers are better than VB developers. While there is some justification for this, it's overblown. (It was more applicable in the C++/VB days.) That said, the perception exists. This does cause some talented developers to avoid and bash VB (though they usually do so from ignorance). I do think it's harder to hire developers into a VB shop than visa versa, because a C# developer will often balk at the idea of having to use VB, but VB developers usually aren't as opposed to using C#. There is one significant disadvantage to choosing C# over VB and that's that C# developers generally get paid more.
In my experience, the best developers welcome using both languages. The more languages you know, the better.

After tracking your question for a little bit and noting your edit, I have to wonder if you're fishing a little bit...
Either way, I think it's fairly obvious that at least the latest third-party tools favor C#. I, like the other responders, code VB for work and prefer C# for other development. I have definitely noticed that the documentation for many third-party addins/plugins and in some cases the products themselves favor C#. ReSharper, even though 4.5 has better VB support, is still vastly more comprehensive when using C#. And other frameworks, like Fluent NHibernate, don't support VB at all. So for tooling, especially when considering late-breaking stuff, I believe that C# wins. Not to mention the fact that C# got a few new features in 3.0 that won't be available until VB 10 makes a wide release.
I still agree whole-heartedly with the others; if you can do it in C#, you can do it in VB. It's all the same CLR, in the end.

I'd say given that there are "some VB.NET developers and some C# developers," there really is very little benefit to forcing everyone to use one language. Frankly even a VB.NET developer who's never looked at C# should be able to read C# code with no more than a brief introduction to the syntax, assuming he/she has a reasonable understanding of the .NET framework; and a C# developer should be able to do the same with VB.NET.
(I should also add: this is assuming everyone has access to a development environment in which the .NET languages can co-exist harmoniously -- e.g., VS2005, VS2008, etc., as opposed to one of the Express Editions, which as far as I know don't allow multi-language solutions.)

Don't fall for the "most examples / books are written for C#". Working out how to apply a C# example to VB.NET is trivial -- you'll have more trouble trying to understand what the moron who wrote the example / book is trying to do and what their hideous coding (un)convention is all about than you will mentally flipping C# syntax to VB syntax.
Also I'd say don't worry about whether you hire C# or VB.NET programmers: if they are any good at all then they won't have a problem with reading / writing both languages.
We use both here, and after a little resistance from some (we were using C++ before) have settled down fine. As I had predicted, the hardest thing for our team was (and probably still is) the conversion from MFC to .NET, not the language used to access the libraries.
FWIW our main split is VB.NET for UI code, and C# for backend / database / computation code.

C# and VB.net are the same with a different syntax. You can convert from C# to VB.net and back very easily.
VB.net does have a few extra advantages that C# does not, such as inline XML.
Most places have C# because its the more popular language.

I started out as a VB developer so naturally I migrated to VB.Net when I first worked with .Net. In fact my first .Net application was made in VB.Net too. But I tried out C# and found myself liking it better in a matter of weeks.
So I made some of that app in C# (some libraries) and it didn't hurt me. Now though I hate going back to the older VB.Net code and working on it. I really wish I could change it all to C# somehow.
That's not going to happen.
So what I am telling you here is, irrelevant of what language you choose (VB/C#) stick to it. Don't do mixed language development unless you have a compelling reason I can't think of yet :)

The advantage of standardizing on a single language is that basically everyone will have 1/2 as much to learn. I think it's better to spend the time learning more features of .NET, within a single language, rather than learning 1/2 the features in both.
As far as hiring goes, it does not really restrict you as a good VB or C# programmer should be able to switch to the other language without difficulty (or else they aren't really a good programmer :)

Learning C# help or hinder VB.NET learning [closed]

Closed. This question is opinion-based. It is not currently accepting answers.
Want to improve this question? Update the question so it can be answered with facts and citations by editing this post.
Closed 9 years ago.
Improve this question
I have just moved job and gone from VB 6 to VB.Net and found the learning jump fairly steep, have more a problem with the object / conceptual side of things .. but getting there now ... but as I was a assembler / C++ 10/15 years ago and was considering learning C++/C# .Net (XNA games library calls my name) but not sure if it would hinder my VB.NET learning .... or should I just get myself certified

I was (back in the day) a VB6 dev, and I would expect it to help. There is a much-commented tendency for VB6 developers to keep writing VB6 in .NET; even just a brief look at C# might help you think about VB.NET as a .NET language, rather than a Visual Studio 6 ancestor.
Of course, you might find (as I did) that you don't want to go back to VB.NET after C# ;-p
But as has already been mentioned - the framework is identical. And with C# 4.0, many of the differences will become even less (with "dynamic" making it easier for C# to talk to late-bound COM, and the named arguments / auto-ref stuff making it easier for typed COM).
There is a lot of drive for converging the feature sets of C# 4.0 and VB.NET in VS2010

To me the biggest obstacle for .NET is learn what is available in the framework. Therefore, if you find it easier to code in C# it will mean you only struggle with one thing instead of two. Once you know the framework it's just syntax really as 95% of the stuff you can do with C# can be done with VB.
Also, C# will force you to write code in a more object orientated manner as you can't fall back to coding in a VB6 style.
'yield return' is an example of something that doesn't have an equivalent in VB9 (there are rumours this is being added for VBX though).

Apart from the fact that a large part of what you need to know is about the Frameworks's libaries learning another syntax that targets the .NET's CLR is useful.
Seeing how another language expresses the same concepts helps you to separate the concepts from the language. This is always useful because the concepts are fairly constant, (for example a shadowed(VB) or hidden(C#) function) whilst different languages use different words to express them.
Understanding the concepts better will help you to utalise them when designing code.

IMX, learning C# helped me with learning VB. It's something about seeing the same concepts expressed in 2 ways rather than just 1.
EDIT: Anthony Jones beat me to it :-)

Well for one thing if your method does not return anything then you have to create a Sub in VB.NET and if it returns anything then call it a Function!
I just switched from C# to VB.NET (client requirement) and am still getting used to its nuisances :(
I would say coding in VB almost takes the OOPS out of .NET

I was also a VB6 developer before switching to .NET. First I tried to use VB.Net but it never felt comfortable so I tried C# and fell in love with it. :-)
There are some differences as noted in the previous replies, there are things you can do in VB.Net that you can't in C# (like indexed properties) and vice versa. But apart from that the differences are purely in the syntax. There are in fact several available translators that will convert C# to VB.Net and back.
So I would recommend you to try out C#. Since you know some C++ it shouldn't be very hard to get the syntax right, and the rest is learning to use the framework.

The only real hindrance learning C# would have to VB is documentation. There seems to be a lot more information out there for C# users and trying to find the VB equivalent syntax of sometimes pretty standard C# can be a pain.
That being said... it never hurts to know alot of different ways to do the same thing.

I agree with Garry, the biggest issue is the API.
The second biggest issue I have personally observed is VB6 developers writing VB6 code in VB.NET. That's a good reason in itself for VB6 developers to learn C# - it forces you to think in .NET style.

As a devoted .Net developer I have worked on big projects in both C# and VB.net. Having seen the strengths and weaknesses of both languages I have found VB to be the most frustrating at times.
The problem is that with VB (depending on your project settings) it will magically perform implicit operations such as casts. This can be helpful sometimes, but in the general case you do not want your code to do something unless you explicitly tell it to (this is how C# behaves, in an explicit manner). I would prefer a compiler time error to tell me I cannot convert from one object type to another rather than a runtime exception in our live deployment.
I have found that this implicit aspect of VB tends to hamper the "VB only" developer's understanding of what is going on behind the scenes. For these people, looking at C# seems to trigger some lightbulbs, where they say "aha!, that must be what VB is actually doing when I perform this operation".
I'd recommend you give C# a try, it'll give you a new perspective and you might find that you really like it.