.Net languages, which one?

dulpit

So I'm a 3rd year computing student, quite competent in java... Thing is I have this project to do for a small company near by, i'll be working with them for the summer...

All it is basically is a load of panels, each displaying various input variables, with simple calculations done with these and then displayed at the end... The whole thing was originally done using Excel but my new boss wants it all done again in any one of the .Net languages, my choice... All I really need to do is copy it from the Excel into whichever language i choose.... The only complicated thing (well not really, but relatively speaking...) is that it needs to hook up with a database (preferably mySQL but not essential)...


So, here's my question: Which language??

I haven't thought much about this, had a major project in college to complete, and have exams in a few weeks, the work doesn't start till summer but I still need to learn it a bit... I'm thinking VB is a good idea, I've heard it's the easiest of the lot to learn, not much to pick up... Will it be able to handle database transactions, etc. Or is there another alternative? I don't know much about any of the .Net languages at all, only done Java, C and C++ in college so any help at all would be much appreciated....


Nice one in advance

dazberry

Its a no-brainer - C#

Seriously, if you're competent in Java - you'll have little problem with C#.

D.

grahamor

I have to agree with Dazberry, C# is great and very similar in structure to Java C++ etc.

VB.net might be easier to learn but C# will be no problem to you coming from a java background.

Hope it helps

damnyanks

Make sure to try and do a good analysis of the application. Probably the biggest problem you will have with Visual studio and C# is thats its very easy and quick to make a half baked half planned unmanagable pile of code

dulpit

How easy is it to design/code in GUI's in C# then? Cause I'm fairly useless at the whole design end of things, not an artistic bone in my body... Is there a drag & drop facility like JBuilder for Java? Also (and this might be a dumb question) is C# free? Like a decent IDE? Do you have to use The Microsoft one and is it any good?

jhegarty

dulpit wrote:

How easy is it to design/code in GUI's in C# then? Cause I'm fairly useless at the whole design end of things, not an artistic bone in my body... Is there a drag & drop facility like JBuilder for Java? Also (and this might be a dumb question) is C# free? Like a decent IDE? Do you have to use The Microsoft one and is it any good?

Get Visual Studio Express.. its free and will do everything you want...

dulpit

I'll look it up, see if i can get some book somewhere in the college library too... Cheers for the help by the way... And you say its quite similar to Java, right? What sort of online documentation is available? Similar to the Java api's?

rogue-entity

I would concur with the general concensus, C# is probably the only decent .Net language, since C and C++ are not .net languages in their own right and vB is just rubbish.

Just on an asside, why would your boss insist on developing the programme in a .Net language, if you are creating a standalone application, Java and C++ are far better as they can be compiled and executed on non-windows machines as well.
If you are building a webapp, then PHP5 would get my vote.

dulpit

rogue-entity wrote:

Just on an asside, why would your boss insist on developing the programme in a .Net language, if you are creating a standalone application, Java and C++ are far better as they can be compiled and executed on non-windows machines as well.
If you are building a webapp, then PHP5 would get my vote.

Not too sure really, would have totally preferred to do the lot in Java (as that's what I'm familiar with) but he said something around the fact that the thing was in Excel so it would be the same sort of environment (or something)... Doesn't particularly make sense to me, but hey he'll be paying the cheques...

dermoto

.net is far better than java. besides, if its done in excel and you basicaly have to trasnfer it to .net, just drag the excel active x into a form n slap on a splash screen!

dulpit

dermoto wrote:

.net is far better than java. besides, if its done in excel and you basicaly have to trasnfer it to .net, just drag the excel active x into a form n slap on a splash screen!

sounds like a plan... Can spend the rest of my time posting on these things then...

stevenmu

rogue-entity wrote:

I would concur with the general concensus, C# is probably the only decent .Net language, since C and C++ are not .net languages in their own right and vB is just rubbish.

C# and VB.Net are almost (but not quite) exactly the same. You can't really rubbish one without rubbishing the other.

OP, I'd agree with the others, C# will be easier to pick up with your knowledge of Java and C/C++.

muckwarrior

stevenmu wrote:

C# and VB.Net are almost (but not quite) exactly the same. You can't really rubbish one without rubbishing the other.

Perhaps he's just referring to the syntax. It can seem pretty verbose when coming from a c/java background.

Mutant_Fruit

if you are creating a standalone application, Java and C++ are far better as they can be compiled and executed on non-windows machines as well.

Wouldn't compile once run everywhere be much better than compile everywhere run once?

.NET to the rescue

GoneShootin

dermoto wrote:

.net is far better than java.

In what way exactly?