so what lah...

Since both VB and VB.NET are different in syntax, methods and implementation... thousands if not millions of programs written in VB will have to be converted line by line. At this stage the question would be VB.NET or C#?? This is the same issue in the GIS industry as well.

ESRI used Avenue (ArcView 3.x) and AML (ArcInfo) as the programming, scripting and customisation language... all these years. Then suddenly there is a shift to COM technology and all those programs and scripts written in AML or Avenue have to be ported to new languages... a big task. Different way of thinking... GIS Engineers now will have to learn and master the current programming languages of Microsoft. This is a paradigm shift...

So the question is ... should we in Malaysia move along and change all our codes too?? I strongly believe... yes we should. Change is the only thing certain ... and changes bring progress (and the other way round)... BUT (a big HOWEVER!!) change is only necessary and needed if you are not happy with your current programs or applications.... not happy with the results or its innacurate. If it works fine and your results are satisfactory then why change?? We should change only to improve and solve our existing problems. So for me this change is a revolution wave thats hitting not only GIS Engineers but to all programmers...

No, the transition to Visual Basic .NET 2002 was a one-time-only thing that allowed us to make the big leap from COM to .NET. If we’ve done things right with .NET, and I think we have, developers won’t have to experience that level of change again.
Paul Vick, Author of the Visual Basic .NET Language Specification, .NET Rock Star: Paul Vick, Ziff-Davis Interview, April 18, 2004

Parable of the Rich Man. 1627. Oil on panel. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany. Rembrandt van Rijn

Philosopher Reading. 1631. Oil on canvas. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden. Rembrandt van Rijn