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Ahhh...see, just like those that use CLI think themselves "better" than everyone else so too are you getting all upset because someone DARED to say the word programmer when they aren't talking about the language of your choice. kinda childish if you ask me, I'd say there is no different between that and the word mechanic, where one can be a mechanic only capable of working on your average Dodge or you can be a mechanic capable of working on formula one. That doesn't mean the formula one mechanic should get all butthurt if someone calls the Dodge guy a mechanic, after all he does get paid better and should frankly be happy with what he has.

In the end if the tool didn't do the job then it wouldn't be used, simple as that. And even after MSFT tried to kill it over a half a decade ago the fact that its still the #3 business language just shows that it still does the job many businesses require. The fact that you spent more than half your post trying to insult the tool (and the users of said tool being implied) just shows your prejudice more than anything, in fact it kinda reminded me of the old "Freetards and Winbreds" flame wars, where it wasn't enough to say you simply didn't like the software but you had to insult anyone who would use it. Kinda sad, but then again programmers aren't known for being the most social of creatures ;-)

Its not the language. I actually don't have anything against personal language choice - it is the ways in which Microsoft originally chose to extend the language for modern usage which caused all the grief. VB.NET? I have no issues with it at all. I personally don't "like" it (I much prefer C#), but to each their own. It is not fundamentally broken - VB6 is.

I'm not railing against classic VB because I don't like it - I am railing against it because it is _broken_ - it creates _broken_ programmers who learn all the wrong things and none of the right things, and it creates _broken_ products that can't be supported.

If you like to use it to solve your own problems I don't much care, that is your business. But for the good of the industry it needs to go away as a professional tool, at least as far as supported code bases.

It is like smoking... Smokers don't like hearing that it is bad for them, but that doesn't make it not true. VB6 is bad for you. But more importantly, it is bad for everyone else because code has a tendency to stick around like gum on the bottom of a desk - it is a nightmare to find and get rid of. It is bad enough we all have to deal with it's legacy - the last thing we need is new code written in VB6...

Microsoft is finally starting to treat application development for what it is - a fairly complex process that requires tools that allow programmers to impose rigid processes on themselves to get good results. .NET has those tools, VB6 doesn't and never did.



Unfortunately, the software industry doesn't have Board Certifications like Doctors or the Bar like Lawyers - all we have is stupid vendor certifications that don't mean anything. I expect eventually we will, but until then then I will happily try and defend the label as best I can. Being a professional programmer carries with it (or at least should) a sense of responsibility - you are writing things that can affect people in very unpredictable ways. There is nothing wrong with hacking or hobby development - but it that is not what I am talking about. VB6 is simply noot good enough to be used professionally - it is simply broken.

Well... ;p
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Super_Cub search "The Super Cub as cargo hauler" area.
(and that's just something I could rapidly find - in many places it's not that uncommon for ~scooters to haul cargo trailers of sorts; though yeah, not "truck drivers", I suppose - but then, different areas can't exactly agree on what a "truck" is)