The myths about Visual Basic migration make it easy to play the “blame” game instead of trying to understand the issue. Often, in making the wrong assumptions, we “write off” some alternatives without even considering them. However, with training, support from automatic migration products and the use of a comprehensive migration methodology, the migration is not only possible using a fraction of the resources required for a rewrite, but it is also the right choice to reduce the Total Cost of Operation and prepare applications to maximize their future business value.

September 2006 - Posts

• Visual Studio Magazine: Refactor Your Way to Migration Success

  This is a very interesting article with yet another way to approach the Visual Basic migration issue.  It demonstrates once more that the process is not only feasible but highly rewarding. Refactor Your Way to Migration Success Source: Visual Studio Magazine – Refactor Your Way to Migration Success   In addition, I would like to also comment that ArtinSoft's Visual Basic Upgrade Companion product already implements most of the suggested refactorings and thus reduces dramatically the time required to move from VB6 to Optimized .NET. Posted Sep 19 2006, 03:19 PM by Fzoufaly with no comments

• Joel Spolsky: Things you should never NEVER Do

  "When you throw away code and start from scratch, you are throwing away all that knowledge. All those collected bug fixes. Years of programming work. You are throwing away your market leadership. You are giving a gift of two or three years to your competitors, and believe me, that is a long time in software years." Joel Spolsky. -- (The second NEVER in the title is mine, not Joel's!.) I am not sure if when Joel wrote this quote (to which I profoundly agree) was thinking about automatic conversion of software.  I absolutely agree that if you have a running applicatiion and you want to move it to a new platform, a rewrite from scratch is the WORST possible option.  You would not believe how frequently I see this happening in my day to day work at ArtinSoft. When you can automatically transform your source code to a new language you can have the best of both worlds. Let me explain.  With automatic conversion you maintain all the knowledge that is embedded in your current application.  At the same time, you are able to move your source code to the more modern environment and immediately be able to take advantage of the new features and to effectively extend the life of your code.  The cost of migration of programmers skills is also reduced dramatically by the automatic upgrade approach.  What is the most difficult aspect to learn for a programmer?  Is it the new language or the inner workings of an application?  I would argue it is the second aspect.  Programmers are very adaptable in terms of technology, but learning the intricacies of a business model supported by an application can take years!  Again, the automatic migration approach allows a smooth transition for a programming team.  All the knowledge they had about the application is still there.  In fact, they can easily study the converted code and learn from it.  It is much easier to start modifying an existing program than creating one from scratch when you have never programmed in a certain language. In summary, Joel is right.  You should NEVER throw away your code.  Automatic Upgrade from Visual Basic 6 to Visual Basic .NET is an excellent option to modernize your app while maximizing its ROI. Posted Sep 19 2006, 04:57 PM by Fzoufaly with 1 comment(s)

• Getting started: Tips for VB6 to VB.NET 2.0 migration

  Some comments to the VB Upgrade Guide and how to approach the Migration exercise. Link to Getting started: Tips for VB6 to VB.NET 2.0 migration   An excerpt of the above page that I believe is important to always remember when approaching a migration: Functional equivalence A migration of any kind tends to face a quandary. "As long as this application is being moved over," someone will ask, "why don't we add some features?" In organizations large and small development managers are constantly pressed to create new functionality, but the essential goal when you move an application is to create a baseline reference of the app and the development team. How long does it take to develop/migrate? What has to be done? Does it still work the same? These are questions you need to answer, but cannot answer with assurance, if your application has morphed into something new. Said Pleas, "When you add a feature, you are satisfying somebody's need and that can be important if they have the budget." It can be difficult to focus on the objective of learning as you migrate, Pleas indicated, but that is just what is needed if you are to achieve a successful outcome. "It is very important to separate the actual migration project from further advances, said Eugenio Pace, product manager, Patterns & Practices, Microsoft. "We have found separating the migration [from other functional development] is very pivotal." "It is important because you now will have a baseline against which you can test. If you had a test [before in the VB6 version], the application should now perform in the very same way," he said. Achieving a "functional equivalent" is crucial, said Fedrico Zoufaly. As Zoufaly, Pleas and their co-authors point out in their migration guide, the process that you use becomes a key factor in upgrade projects. Maintaining functional equivalence as you move into the new technology is highly recommended. Put another way: Take something over that you know is working in COM or DCOM and then you can actually see what is needed to make it work in .NET. Posted Sep 19 2006, 03:49 PM by Fzoufaly with no comments

• Thomas F. Abraham - On Technology : Code Conversion Tools - VB6 to VB.NET, Java to C# and more

  Thomas, Thank you for your comments on ArtinSoft's technology.  Link to Thomas F. Abraham - On Technology : Code Conversion Tools - VB6 to VB.NET, Java to C# and more My blog has many links towards resources that can simplify the migration process and make the CIO justification much more palatable! Posted Sep 19 2006, 03:33 PM by Fzoufaly with no comments