Microsoft plots the end of Visual Basic (thurrott.com)

Article summary

Microsoft has announced that it will no longer evolve Visual Basic as a language and will instead focus on stability and compatibility. Visual Basic will still be supported on .NET 5.0, but no new features will be added. This decision marks the end of an era for Visual Basic, which has been a popular programming language for many years. The change is likely to affect developers who have built applications using Visual Basic, but they may be able to migrate their code to .NET Core or .NET 5.0.

Main themes

• End of Visual Basic
• Programming language evolution
• Migration to .NET Core
• C# and other alternatives
• Powershell and scripting
• Legacy application support
• COM and legacy technologies
• Developer community reaction

What commenters say

• The end of Visual Basic is a sad day for many developers who have used the language for years.
• Some developers are not surprised by the decision, given the rise of C# and other programming languages.
• The transition from Visual Basic to other languages, such as C#, can be challenging, but many developers have successfully made the switch.
• Powershell is seen as a potential alternative to Visual Basic, but its syntax is considered ugly and cumbersome by some.
• The decision to end Visual Basic is seen as a natural progression, given the changing needs of developers and the industry.
• Some developers will continue to use Visual Basic for legacy applications, but may need to find workarounds to keep them running.
• The importance of language capability is debated, with some arguing that it is not the most important factor in choosing a programming language.
• The use of COM and other legacy technologies is still relevant in some contexts, but their support is declining.