Final Lesson: VB6 Wrap-Up & Transition

Congratulations on completing the VB6 tutorial! Your journey continues with modern VB development

Congratulations!

You've completed all 40 lessons of our comprehensive Visual Basic 6 tutorial! You've gained valuable skills in Windows application development that form a strong foundation for your programming journey.

Your VB6 Journey Recap

Let's review what you've accomplished throughout this tutorial:

Core Programming

Variables, data types, control structures, functions, and arrays

GUI Development

Forms, controls, menus, and event-driven programming

Database Applications

ADO controls, SQL queries, and report generation

Multimedia & Graphics

Animation, image processing, and media players

Lesson 1-10

Language fundamentals

→

Lesson 11-20

GUI and controls

→

Lesson 21-30

Advanced applications

→

Lesson 31-40

Professional development

Transitioning to VB.NET

While VB6 remains useful for maintaining legacy systems, modern development has moved to VB.NET. Here's what you need to know:

1 Why Move to VB.NET?

Modern Framework: Access to .NET's extensive libraries
Object-Oriented: Full support for OOP principles
Web Development: Create ASP.NET web applications
Mobile Development: Build apps with Xamarin
Security: Enhanced security features
Long-Term Support: Microsoft continues to update .NET

2 Key Differences

Feature	VB6	VB.NET
Platform	Native Windows	.NET Framework
OOP Support	Limited	Full Support
Memory Management	Manual	Garbage Collection
Error Handling	On Error Goto	Try...Catch Blocks
Multithreading	Limited	Full Support
Web Development	Not Supported	ASP.NET

3 Migration Strategies

Rewrite: Start fresh with VB.NET for new projects
Gradual Migration: Move components incrementally
Interoperability: Use COM to communicate between VB6 and .NET
Wrapper Approach: Wrap VB6 components for .NET use

Pro Tip

Focus on learning VB.NET concepts rather than trying to automatically convert VB6 code. The paradigms are different enough that direct conversion often creates suboptimal solutions.

4 Essential VB.NET Concepts

Namespaces: Organize code logically
Classes & Objects: Full OOP implementation
Inheritance: Create class hierarchies
Interfaces: Define contracts for classes
Delegates & Events: Advanced event handling
LINQ: Language Integrated Query
Async/Await: Asynchronous programming

VB.NET Example

Imports System

Module Program
    Sub Main(args As String())
        Console.WriteLine("Hello VB.NET World!")
        Dim today As Date = DateTime.Today
        Console.WriteLine($"Today is {today:D}")
    End Sub
End Module

VB.NET Learning Path

Start with VB.NET fundamentals, then progress to Windows Forms, ASP.NET Web Applications, ADO.NET for databases, and finally advanced topics like LINQ and asynchronous programming.

Continuing Your Learning Journey

Here are recommended paths to continue developing your programming skills:

VB.NET Path

Modern VB development with Visual Studio

Excel VBA

Automate Excel and create powerful spreadsheets

Web Development

Learn ASP.NET for web applications

Mobile Development

Create apps with Xamarin and .NET MAUI

Recommended Learning Resources

VB2022 Tutorial

Modern Visual Basic programming with Visual Studio 2022

Start Learning

VB2019 Tutorial

Visual Basic with Visual Studio 2019

Start Learning

Excel VBA Tutorial

Automate Excel with Visual Basic for Applications

Start Learning

Microsoft Learn

Official VB.NET learning paths from Microsoft

Explore Resources

Your Achievement

By completing all 40 lessons, you've demonstrated commitment and skill in mastering Visual Basic 6. Here's what you've accomplished:

Core Programming Skills

Mastered VB6 syntax, data structures, and control flow

Application Development

Built desktop applications with professional UIs

Database Expertise

Created data-driven applications with SQL integration

Multimedia Applications

Developed media players and animation systems

Next Steps

Build a portfolio of projects to showcase your skills. Consider contributing to open-source VB projects or modernizing legacy VB6 applications as a professional service.

Recommended Books

Continue your learning journey with these excellent resources:

Visual Basic 6 Made Easy

by Dr. Liew Voon Kiong

The comprehensive reference guide for all VB6 concepts covered in this tutorial.

Book Features:

Complete VB6 reference
Practical examples
Project walkthroughs
Troubleshooting guide

Get on Amazon

Visual Basic 2022 Made Easy

by Dr. Liew Voon Kiong

The perfect next step to transition from VB6 to modern VB.NET development.

Book Features:

VB.NET fundamentals
Windows Forms development
Database programming
Web application development

Get on Amazon

Final Words

Your journey with Visual Basic doesn't end here—it's just beginning! The programming skills you've developed are transferable to many other languages and technologies. Continue building projects, exploring new concepts, and challenging yourself. The world needs developers like you who understand both classic and modern approaches to software development.