what to use... vb or c/c++?

[Red-Soldier145]

Well, a little background on myself..

I've taken a year of 10th grade highschool vb - just went into the basics -control types, variables, branch structures (acutally only did the If statement), for/next and do loops, no arrays whatsoever, though I've created hundred of simple programs. Easiest course ever.

This year I'm taking the 11th grade VB course, though its still pretty basic... same stuff as last year with the addition of the select case statement and some string manipulation...

I somewhat resent how basic the course is.. I'd like to learn more of the functions of a RAD like VB... The thing is, there is no C course at my school so I couldn't take it even though I wanted to. I've tried some simple C++ from online tutorials, though I was put off by the range of C compilers and their range of different language and syntax nuances. Tried bloodshed, dev-c++, some other console based C compiler.

But I've always wondered how C++ is better than VB. I've heard that VB can serve all the same functions that C++ can, just with a different language. Why is it that so many of you prefer c++ to vb?

[jarrydn]

C++ is quicker and more portable :)

[Cinjection]

C++ is Object oriented for one. That's a really really major advantage. It's also faster, more efficent and portable. I think you can do several things in C++ that you can't in VB too. C++ also gives you A LOT more control over your program. On top of that it's more widely used in the programming community. And to top it all off, it's just plain sexy.

[thoughtpolice]

At 11/8/06 08:48 PM, Red-Soldier145 wrote: I somewhat resent how basic the course is.. I'd like to learn more of the functions of a RAD like VB...

Want to learn another RAD? Pick yourself up a copy of Delphi such as Turbo Delphi or Delphi 6, I believe Delphi to offer some of the absolute best RAD capabilities you can ask for.

But I've always wondered how C++ is better than VB. I've heard that VB can serve all the same functions that C++ can, just with a different language.

They are equivilant. It's just that some things are achieved differently and more easily/difficult than the other way. So it's really just a matter of application.

Why is it that so many of you prefer c++ to vb?

Dunno, some people just prefer other languages intrinsically, I suppose.

[Red-Soldier145]

But isn't Visual Basic object oriented as well? and what is meant by portability?

[CronoMan]

At 11/8/06 10:41 PM, Red-Soldier145 wrote: But isn't Visual Basic object oriented as well? and what is meant by portability?

Visual Basic.NET is object oriented, VB6 is not

By portability, he means that the code can be compiled on several platforms, and not just Windows. VB only runs on Windows.

There are some limitationts to vb (6) that can't be overridden (createwindow f. ex.)
and VB6 is ANSI and NT is natively unicode which can lead to certain problems when tricking your way into more complicated api calls.

VB6 is (as others have earlier mentioned) alot slower than C++ as well