2020 March 12, Microsoft officially announced: although they will continue to support Visual Basic on .NET 5.0, but no longer as an independent VB language development, it will only do some stability, compatibility, maintenance work .
This means: 29 years of wind and rain Visual Basic, Microsoft officially give up, VB ended up.
VB have also been brilliant, it is the first visual interface design language support.
VB, formerly known as Quick BASIC, introduced by Microsoft in 1987. If more Farther back, Quick BASIC or BASIC successor. BASIC language was born in 1971, is designed for beginners, Fortran and Algol 60 language that is difficult to grasp when the non-science and engineering students.
Quick BASIC language is developed under DOS, and later Windows systems with the introduction of added graphical design, in April 1991, Microsoft changed its name to the new version: Visual Basic, once available, it will be favored by many programmers.
In 1998, VB 6.0 release, is a very broad application version, VB is a high moment of light.
Over the next many years, VB has been very popular. Today, there are still many products are maintained by the VB. Even some domestic well-known open source projects, such as: Ty2y anti-virus , but also actually VB masterpiece.
Then came the era of .NET. In 2001, VB migrated to the .NET platform, named VB .NET. VB .NET language features of BASIC made significant improvements.
But also this version of VB separates the camp, part of developers to use the .NET version, others have insisted on using VB in the past, such as the classic VB6. Developers say the two languages vary considerably, .net more like java.
Microsoft .NET chosen direction. In 2005, Microsoft announced that it would no longer provide free support for non .NET version of VB, one hundred MVP letter also failed to protest.
Later, in 2010, Microsoft has integrated into both versions of Visual Studio.
Including the fight to win the VB .NET, but not withstood external opponents: C #. C # 2000 and the .NET development platform with the release by Microsoft. .NET development platform supports multiple languages, where the primary language is C #.
Today, almost all of Microsoft's documentation related development with C #, VB source code examples of increasingly difficult to find.
But it is amazing is that, VB. NET has been active in TIOBE programming language list, in December 2018 has more than C #, ranked fifth. The latest list in March, C # came in fifth, VB. NET than the bit slipped to sixth, VB ranked No. 18 last March.
However, we should say that, despite the decline of VB, but in fact there are many programs and APP is written in VB, like many office applications designed for small and medium enterprise development, rapid prototyping VB can, and very easy to use. But also have to worry about operational problems, as long as the Windows system still exist, VB.net, VB6.0 to write programs it will always function properly.
There are many developers expressed for VB, VB and miss use of time 20 years ago. These developers migrate in almost 90 years, from FoxPro to VB, 2000, and later switch to C #. So nostalgia aside, they also strongly encouraged developers to VB C #.
Goodbye VB. 29 years of development, UI developed invasive early language, once very brilliant, and finally to drown in river development era.