I just completed an interesting project in VB6 that I'm planning to market.
It doesn't use any external database but beaucoups of existing folders and files. While being in 'Basic', there are clearly some shortcomings in MS Basic (VB, QB, GWB or Dartmouth) that an experienced MV programmer will come across. Probably one of the most advanced features of MV Basic that doesn't exist directly in the others is the dynamic array. Sure, they have dimensioned arrays. But dynamic arrays are very powerful. I sorely miss the INSERT and DELETE functions. When parsing complete MS filenames, I miss the FIELD function for breaking out folders vs filenames. Many other functions show up in both but the number one function pair is OCONV and ICONV. How incredibly powerful these are. I actually wrote two functions called OCONV and ICONV and manually manage some MTHS and MD2 stuff. Teaching a newbie MV Basic as an entre' to 'Basic' is like giving a new teenage driver a Lexus as their first car. They'll never get the real appreciation for the advanced features of the Lexus until first endured a much lessor car. Sure VB has tons of object-oriented entities as well as many system-level stuff based on the environment. But it lacks some of the more obvious functions that I've had to create by myself. My 1 cent Mark Johnson ----- Original Message ----- From: "Charles Barouch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 9:26 PM Subject: Re: MV Books (Formerly: [U2] Incubator - News from the board) > Mark, > Not a class on MV, a class on introduction to programatic thought, > using MV as a clean, graspable BAISC. > > - Chuck "Stealth" Barouch > > MAJ Programming wrote: > > I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for any college courses for MV. > > I have 2 kids, aged 20 & 17. When the 20 yr old was in 7th grade (7 years > > ago) they were exposed to Microsoft Office items like Word, Excel, > > PowerPoint, Publisher and even Access. Likewise for the 17 yr old more > > recently. > > >From that point forward, the kids are incredibly immersed in everything > > GUI/windows/internet. The endless hours of IMing, downloading, surfing and > > everything else GUI seems to point forward in the right direction. > > Thus, imagine a college student considering such courses as Cisco > > Certification, MCSE and other highly visible entities also considering an MV > > course if it were offered. Upon the first day they would quickly drop the > > course as MV offers neither an entertainable/WYSIWYG environment, a familiar > > data structure (to those weened on everything MS), a practical purpose for > > the individual nor any seemingly useful employment opportunities. > > > > Sorry for the dark cloud but I can't imagine even the most purposeful young > > adult considering MV. I teach the Computer merit badge in the Boy Scouts and > > even that course outline is heavily MS. I even took the brightest kid in my > > class, a senior at a local High-Tech (Gifted & Talented) high school and > > fired up one of my D3 systems to show him how I make a living. > > > > I spent way too much time trying to make analogies in MV to what I know he > > knows about MS Access. This kid is Cisco Certified from his school and > > capable of understanding the MV model. But since it was different, it was an > > uphill battle to illustrate some of its superior features. > > > > I saw the look in his eyes that he was being polite in letting me speak but > > he was clearly not interested in something that looks like DOS. While I know > > that there are many 4GL's and GUI overlays for MV, it still is a huge amount > > of command-line stuff. > > > > We are the best kept secret in the computer business. Virtually zero people > > have heard of Pick, MV or any of the old or present flavors. Yes, everyone's > > heard of IBM but that's about it. Honeywell makes air conditioners, Mcdonnel > > Douglass makes airplanes and Sanyo makes consumer electronics. > > > > I believe there is a delicate balance between proficient MV programmers and > > MV environments. The newer MV programmers may have gotten thrust into > > supporting a MV environment when their employers added that slight > > responsibility to their otherwise IT (network/Ms/unix) list. > > > > I'm sure actual mileage may differ but not by much. I'm glad I'm an > > independent programmer as a few of my full-time MV programmer > > acquaintenances are now looking at their MV jobs disappearing with each MV > > system being replaced. Hopefully they are professionally versed in other > > environments as I am endeavouring as well. > ------- > u2-users mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/ ------- u2-users mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/
