I love irony me.
From the ‘distributing Office 2007 migration tools’ page:
- OFFSCAN.EXE – OMPM File Scanner program
- ACCSCAN.DLL – Application library modules
- OFFSCAN.INI – Configuration file
- MSVBVM50.DLL – Visual Basic 5.0 runtime version
- SYSTEM.MDW – Access system database
The Office 2007 migration tools require MSVBVM50.DLL. Thats the runtimes for VB5 – the one before VB6 that they terminated in what, 2000? So VB5.0 must have been 96? 97? 98?
The real irony is that Office 2007 will not open VBA5 (Excel 97) VBA projects!
Now if they had used VB6 (why wouldn’t they?? (lost the source code??)), those runtime are on most desktops anyway.
So questions: why isn’t this in .net? and if proper VB is good enough for this (and therefore by definition better than .net (for this)) why don’t they bring it back?
If MS just made VB6 sp6 available for sale again plenty of people would buy it – I still see more VB6 jobs than VSTO. Just a thought , y’know with the economy an’ all.
Google have increased their ads per page to beat the recession, MS could re-release all the software they forcibly removed against users wishes.
Anyone else still got a copy of VB5.0? (I think I probably have – I did the VB5 option in my original MCSD)(before they turned it into such a blatant marketing tool).
Cheers
Simon
[I suppose VB5 could be their only tech that can correctly identify the pre VBA6 projects that 2007 will remove, but I would hope not]
Friday, 14th November, 2008 at 1:56 pm |
I use VB6 SP6 on a regular basis together with VB 2008. Actually, I still ship more solutions with VB6 then with VB 2008.
VB5? No, I have placed that version in the archieve and have no intention to pick it up again!
Kind regards,
Dennis
Friday, 14th November, 2008 at 2:19 pm |
I bet there is a reason, but it is staggering. I read some where else about something to other, were MS say do it this way, (i think it was to do with where to put file in vista), but there apps actually put there files in a special MS only can get to place. One rule for them, one rule for every one else.
Friday, 14th November, 2008 at 5:22 pm |
I have yet to build a .Net solution, but I am hopeful it won’t be long, but I do lots of VB6 as well as VBA.
I do have a ciopy of VB5 but I haven’t looke dat it for years. Must dig it out and see what it was like.
Friday, 14th November, 2008 at 11:35 pm |
I wonder if it has to do with some quirk in Office 97 files?
“If MS just made VB6 sp6 available for sale again plenty of people would buy it”
Once in a while I pop into a few VB6 forums and I’m amazed at the level of activity still going on. They could probably sell a completely unsupported license and still make a bundle.
Sunday, 16th November, 2008 at 11:08 am |
I’ve got the disks for all VBs going back to version 3.
I also have VB1 for DOS on an old floppy somewhere. In those days VB couldn’t read JET databases, so the entire data access functionality consisted of reading and writing text files. To be fair though, text file random access can be quite fast.
Bob, VB5 was very similar to VB6. I’m sure there were significant differences under the covers (was VB6 the first to use the VC compiler?), but the look and feel were practically the same.
Rob
Sunday, 16th November, 2008 at 5:13 pm |
Hey Rob,
In my time I have used VB5. It just seems so long ago now. It will be interesting to see, just to see the IDE, check out the look and feel, and so on.
Never used anything before 5 though, I remember suggesting it for a project in my job some time in the 90s, and the contempt on the faces of the ‘real IT Pros’ was something to behold. I was lectured long and hard how it was mickey-mouse, didn’t support OO, was unstable, etc., etc. I wonder where those people are today.