VBA to ASP.NET

[AP]

I've a fair bit of experience developing Excel VBA utilities and would
now like to learn to develop web applications. I've thought of using
Visual Basic 2008 to create .exe files that people can download but I
think users generally are reluctant to install .exe files these days.
So that leaves the obvious choice of learning (from scratch!) ASP.NET
using VB.net.

How transferrable are VBA skills to ASP.NET ? Can one for example
create userforms in ASP.NET, or use API calls ? Sorry if this seems an
absurd question but I have absolutely no experience in web
programming, and only have basic HTML knowledge. Would PHP be easier
to learn ?

 

[Scott M.]

Ditto.

-Scott

Firstly, take a deep breath, because you're not going to like this at
all...

ASP.NET bears *no relationship whatsoever* to desktop programming. None of
your Excel VBA knowledge will be of any use to you in ASP.NET. The reason
for this is the .NET Framework.

I would strongly urge you to get a copy of this:
http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-ASP...=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262082005&sr=8-3
and work your way through it from beginning to end. This will give you the
basic ASP.NET skills you require.



Secondly, forget completely about VB and learn C#. This will force you to
learn ASP.NET properly without carrying over any of the VB bloat and
baggage.



Not in any way whatsoever.



Maybe...

 

[Gregory A. Beamer]

I've a fair bit of experience developing Excel VBA utilities and would
now like to learn to develop web applications. I've thought of using
Visual Basic 2008 to create .exe files that people can download but I
think users generally are reluctant to install .exe files these days.
So that leaves the obvious choice of learning (from scratch!) ASP.NET
using VB.net.

It is not an obvious choice, except that it reduces the language syntax
learning curve. Unfortunately, it also makes you more likely to write
your web apps like VBA apps, as you will not make the paradigm change
necessary to develop good .NET apps.

The obvious choice for me is move to C# until you are proficient. If you
decide VB is your best option later on, you will at least be developing
..NET in .NET instead of VBA in .NET.

How transferrable are VBA skills to ASP.NET ?

The basics of programming apply everywhere. If you follow sounds
techniques, you will carrry them with you. If you follow unsound
techniques, you will likely get worse.

The paradigm of development from ASP to ASP.NET or VBA to ASP.NET are
radically different.

Can one for example
create userforms in ASP.NET, or use API calls ?

Not in the same way as VBA in Office apps. You can call down to the API
(windows API?), but you will find much of the functionality wrapped in
the framework.

Sorry if this seems an
absurd question but I have absolutely no experience in web
programming, and only have basic HTML knowledge. Would PHP be easier
to learn ?

ASP.NET or PHP? Both require rethinking how you develop, as both operate
in a different paradigm than the VBA "app" in Office. In some ways, I
can see PHP being easier, but not by enough of a margin to say it is you
best choice.

My advice is look at Monster, Dice and Career Builder (and possibly
others) and see which is hiring in your area (or the area you want to
move to) on a regular basis. I would not recommend PHP to my worst enemy
in Nashville, for example, as there are really NO JOBS in PHP. In a
different market, I would see things differently.

You can choose to be the big fish in a small pond, but it is more
profitable, starting out, to be a small fish in a large pond.
Unemployment checks are very small.

Peace and Grace,

--
Gregory A. Beamer (MVP)

Twitter: @gbworld
Blog: http://gregorybeamer.spaces.live.com

*******************************************
| Think outside the box! |
*******************************************

 

[Hillbilly]

Bullshit or as they say South of the border ca-ca de toro ;-)

There are thinking processes and skills that transfer over --exactly-- and
they are processes like branching logic and so on. So its not as bad as
those other poo-poo guys are claiming.

But it is bad.

Meaning it is a lot of work and requires a different paradigm to learn and
understand how programs are put together and then run on the server or the
client as the case may be. This is so only in the sense that learning the
..NET Framework requires learning to program using OOP. That's really the big
difference: OOP. Otherwise, generally speaking progam logic is progam logic.

To really answer this question best takes a lot of writing to explain and
pursuade. Few of us are up to it anymore so let's look at it this way.

There is an indisputable fact that all web development requires learning and
using Javascript to a significant extent for the vast majority of all web
development. It is also true that C# and JavaScript both come from C so it
can then be concluded that you will find it easier to learn one language and
get the price of two so to speak. The time to leave VB behind is now. It
served you well but now its time to move on as many if not most are now
using C# plus it can be used on Linux and makes reading and working with
Java also breeze because they all read exactly the same as they all come
from C. Is this making sense? If it does you'll be good at .NET someday and
if not? You may have to struggle with logic because my comments are logical
and based on common sense.

Now for the really big decision. Web Forms with AJAX or Silverlight?

I'd suggest Silverlight which is Microsoft's response to Flash and I say
that because Silverlight is derived from WPF and both use exactly the same
syntax and grammar and both can now be used to develop apps that run on a
desktop and other types of devices. The learning curve is very very very
steep but its the best choice when starting from scratch.

Finally, if you want to be coding on Windows --and-- Linux choose
PHP --but-- the learning curve is still there, the development tools are
nowhere near as robust as there is no equivalent to Visual Studio or the
Expression Suite and PHP will make you fart a lot.

Ditto.

-Scott