Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 15th Jan 2013 21:24 UTC
"I was really excited to write this article, because it gave me an excuse to really think about what beautiful code is. I still don't think I know, and maybe it's entirely subjective. I do think the two biggest things, for me at least, are stylistic indenting and maximum const-ness. A lot of the stylistic choices are definitely my personal preferences, and I'm sure other programmers will have different opinions. I think the choice of what style to use is up to whoever has to read and write the code, but I certainly think it's something worth thinking about. I would suggest everyone look at the Doom 3 source code because I think it exemplifies beautiful code, as a complete package: from system design down to how to tab space the characters." John Carmack himself replies in the comments.
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Member since:2006-05-30
With regards to "WithEvents" - yes probably. But that's not what the MSDN says. As far as I can see, it's required when the "handles" clause is being used. That's not really legacy then.
VB.NET is completely type safe.
No it's not... not in the "you can't use the wrong type because it won't compile" sense of the notion. VB will happily munge and cast between integral types and Decimal/Double. VB will silently cast a Boolean to an integer. This should not compile, but it does:
Dim X as Boolean
Function WFT as Boolean
Return X
End Function
....
Switch Case Y
Case WTF ''This could be anything
....
Also, the switch statement with a boolean is probably going to evaluate to zero,
Yeah, probably. But when you have to run code to verify that fact, it's screaming "walk away" to me.
because that's what a bool of false (default value for the bool value type) evaluates to when converted to an int.
And the compiler silently casts the Bool to an Integer. That might be how VB6 worked, but VB.Net uses the CLR and so an explicit cast is required. How helpful VB.
Oh, and rewinding to "type safe".. try turning off Option Strict and Option Explicit and see how much worse you can make stuff... you don't even need to declare the return types of Functions... VB just guesses for you and silently casts the result to the type you assign the result to. Even with it on, you can still do everything else I mention. The first thing I do with VB code these days is look at the project properties and if it isn't already set, build it with Option Explicit and Option Strict turned on and fix all the errors. It is far, far too common to still find shops using VB.Net as if it was VB6.
Member since:2005-11-29
I agree with you that VB is terrible, but it doesn't make it type-unsafe because of it.
I think casting is more of a gray area and VB.NET definitely has more ambiguity. Its harder to know at a glance if something is correct.
C# does some implicit casting too, if you define an implicit operator overload. I'm sure VB.NET does something similar to manage to stay within the CLR sandbox.
What VB.NET does imho, is wrap bad ideas around syntax. Examples being like you said implicit conversions (which imo have always been a bad idea no matter the language) and implicit late binding.
VB.NET takes late binding, implicit typing, and implicit casts and muddies the waters into this incomprehensible soup of syntax.
However, it is still easy for VB developers to pick up VB.NET . That's always been the reason imo for VB.NET's existence. I'd never write any meaningful amount of code using it.
I think any time someone uses dynamic in C#, late binding in VB.NET or find yourself using some of these more weird features, they need to step back and think about what the hell they're doing.
Member since:2006-05-30
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.More Features »
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Member since:
2005-11-29
Oh jesus.. no it's not! Here is an example:
Define a class and on that class create a public event
I don't think what he said is untrue, just less true for some than others. People with a strong VB background have picked up VB.NET rather quickly (to my dismay, Id rather see it die a cold death, but ah well)
I think your counter-point underlines his point quite well though, in that WithEvents is a construct included in VB.NET for pure legacy reasons.
C# has the advantage of being able to learn from the mistakes of other languages, whereas when VB.NET was being developed, they likely valued VB familiarity over purity.
That's why you can do stupid things in VB.NET, but you can also do stupid things in C++, in Java, and in C# (Look at boxing before Generics for example).
C# not having as many ways to shoot your foot off is a testament to C# as a language, sure.
VB is dangerous, plain and simple and there's nothing you can do in VB that can't be done in a safer .Net language at a similar speed.
VB.NET is completely type safe.
Also, the switch statement with a boolean is probably going to evaluate to zero, because that's what a bool of false (default value for the bool value type) evaluates to when converted to an int.