Best Practices for Upgrading Visual Basic ® 6.0 Projects to Visual Basic .NET Name Title Microsoft Corporation

Agenda Upgrade Overview Common Upgrade Issues Upgrade Summary

Upgrade Overview

Common Upgrade Issues

Upgrade Summary

Upgrade Overview To Upgrade, or not to Upgrade? Upgrading Is Not A Requirement Leave Existing Code in Visual Basic 6.0 Continue developing in Visual Basic 6.0 Or interoperate between Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual Basic .NET Selective Replacement Upgrade to Visual Basic .NET Considerations Application Architecture and Technologies Maintenance or New Development

Upgrading Is Not A Requirement

Leave Existing Code in Visual Basic 6.0

Continue developing in Visual Basic 6.0

Or interoperate between Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual Basic .NET

Selective Replacement

Upgrade to Visual Basic .NET

Considerations

Application Architecture and Technologies

Maintenance or New Development

Upgrade Overview Your First Upgrade Open Project in Visual Basic .NET Run the Upgrade Wizard Project Doesn’t Compile or Run Why? Upgrade VB6 Project ???

Open Project in Visual Basic .NET

Run the Upgrade Wizard

Project Doesn’t Compile or Run

Why?

Upgrade Overview The Upgrade Wizard Automatically Upgrades 95% Form Layout ActiveX Controls ADO Data Binding Code Syntax Changes COM Libraries RES files Upgrade Report

Automatically Upgrades 95%

Upgrade Overview Finishing The Upgrade Prepare Visual Basic 6.0 application See “Preparing Your VB6 Application For The Upgrade To VB.NET” msdn.microsoft.com/library/techart/vb6tovbdotnet.htm Fix issues Micro issues Macro issues Add new features Upgraded Project Add Features Fix Issues Visual Basic .NET Upgrade Visual Basic 6.0

Prepare Visual Basic 6.0 application

See “Preparing Your VB6 Application For The Upgrade To VB.NET” msdn.microsoft.com/library/techart/vb6tovbdotnet.htm

Fix issues

Micro issues

Macro issues

Add new features

Common Upgrade Issues Micro Issues User defined type APIs Non zero arrays LSet App object Variants ActiveForm Strongly type Resolve default properties Some Automatic, Some Manual Initialization code marshalling attributes Replace ‘As Any’ with overloads Zero based arrays, or System.Array Custom method

Demo 1: Micro Issues

Common Upgrade Issues Macro Issues Transactions ActiveX documents DHTML pages Deterministic finalization Graphics On x Goto RDO/DAO data binding StrPtr, ObjPtr, VarPtr Leave in Visual Basic 6.0 Navigate to Visual Basic .NET Memory pinning Use GDI+ Dispose Use GC methods Use ADO .NET System. EnterpriseServices Select..Case

Common Upgrade Issues Upgrading Transactions Inherit from System.ServicedComponent Add attributes Assembly Class Method Create strong name

Inherit from System.ServicedComponent

Add attributes

Assembly

Class

Method

Create strong name

Demo 2: Macro Issues

Upgrade Summary Why Upgrade Make New Enhancements in Less Time Integrate with web services Expose web services Application specific performance counters Integrate with the event log Just about anything the client asks for will be easier with .NET (it certainly won’t be harder) Let Your Developers Become Technology Leaders Lower Deployment Costs Lower Maintenance Costs Beat the Competition

Make New Enhancements in Less Time

Integrate with web services

Expose web services

Application specific performance counters

Integrate with the event log

Just about anything the client asks for will be easier with .NET (it certainly won’t be harder)

Let Your Developers Become Technology Leaders

Lower Deployment Costs

Lower Maintenance Costs

Beat the Competition

Upgrade Summary Why Upgrade First Class Object-Oriented Constructs Inheritance Structure exception handling Parameterized constructors Windows ® Forms Visual inheritance Control anchoring, in-place menu editor Connected and disconnected databinding

First Class Object-Oriented Constructs

Inheritance

Structure exception handling

Parameterized constructors

Windows ® Forms

Visual inheritance

Control anchoring, in-place menu editor

Connected and disconnected databinding

Upgrade Summary Why Upgrade Web And Server Features Web forms Web services RAD for the server Better Deployment DLLs Don’t Need to Register! XCopy Deployment Builds .msi and .cab setup programs

Web And Server Features

Web forms

Web services

RAD for the server

Better Deployment

DLLs Don’t Need to Register!

XCopy Deployment

Builds .msi and .cab setup programs

Upgrade Summary Why Upgrade Power Features Multi-threading Debugging across all languages Built From The Ground-up on .NET Framework Direct access to .NET classes Code access security ADO .NET XML

Power Features

Multi-threading

Debugging across all languages

Built From The Ground-up on .NET Framework

Direct access to .NET classes

Code access security

ADO .NET

XML

Upgrade Summary Lessons Learned Start with one component Slowest part of upgrade is debugging runtime errors Testing is important Upgrading is much faster than rewriting Expect upgrading to take 5 – 10% of the original development time Upgrade first, then Enhance

Start with one component

Slowest part of upgrade is debugging runtime errors

Testing is important

Upgrading is much faster than rewriting

Expect upgrading to take 5 – 10% of the original development time

Upgrade first, then Enhance

Upgrade Summary After The Upgrade Is Complete Positioned For the Future Competitive Advantage Achieve Better Code Reuse Attract and Retain Resources Easily Meet Client Requests Eliminate the Common Frustrations Deployment Maintenance Development

Positioned For the Future

Competitive Advantage

Achieve Better Code Reuse

Attract and Retain Resources

Easily Meet Client Requests

Eliminate the Common Frustrations

Deployment

Maintenance

Development

MSDN Subscriptions THE way to get Visual Studio .NET Visual Studio .NET MSDN Subscriptions NEW Professional Tools to build applications and XML Web services for Windows and the Web MSDN Professional $1199 new $899 renewal/upgrade MSDN Enterprise $2199 new $1599 renewal/upgrade MSDN Universal $2799 new $2299 renewal/upgrade Enterprise Developer Enterprise lifecycle tools Team development support Core .NET Enterprise Servers Enterprise Architect Software and data modeling Enterprise templates Architectural guidance

Professional

Tools to build applications and XML Web services for Windows and the Web

Enterprise Developer

Enterprise lifecycle tools

Team development support

Core .NET Enterprise Servers

Enterprise Architect

Software and data modeling

Enterprise templates

Architectural guidance

Resources “ Upgrading Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 to Microsoft Visual Basic .NET ” – MS Press MSDN Articles “ Preparing Your Visual Basic 6.0 Applications For the Upgrade to Visual Basic .NET” “ Upgrading Your Visual Basic 6.0 Applications to Microsoft Visual Basic .NET” Visual Basic .NET Upgrade Guide www.microsoft.com/vbupgrade ArtinSoft Consulting Services Microsoft Tech·Ed 2002 New Orleans, LA April 9 – 13, 2002 msdn.microsoft.com/events/teched

“ Upgrading Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 to Microsoft Visual Basic .NET ” – MS Press

MSDN Articles

“ Preparing Your Visual Basic 6.0 Applications For the Upgrade to Visual Basic .NET”

“ Upgrading Your Visual Basic 6.0 Applications to Microsoft Visual Basic .NET”

Visual Basic .NET Upgrade Guide

www.microsoft.com/vbupgrade

ArtinSoft Consulting Services

Microsoft Tech·Ed 2002

New Orleans, LA

April 9 – 13, 2002

msdn.microsoft.com/events/teched

Questions?

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