VB.Net or Visual Studio.Net

[Jay1b]

My company is looking at buying some more licenses for VB.NET, i know that Visual Studio comes with more tools and options then standard VB.NET, but i dont know which ones.

Is it worth buying the Studio package?

I looked on MSDN, but it didnt seem very clear whether it was worth spending the extra money or not.

 

[Denaes]

If you want to create your own .dll files and user controls (very handy), then you need more than vb.net standard. Im not sure if there is a standalone vb.net pro that has these features or not.

VS.Net gives you access to j#, c# and c++... Im not sure if vb.net standard allows ASP.Net using vb or not.

Really it might be worth it to have a single liscensed studio for the extra features like compiling .dlls and components/controls but if you really wanted to get hardcore you could still do it using the .net framework and compiling things by hand using command line options.

Its also sometimes nice to have a C# compiler because a lot of code and open source projects on the internet are in C# and the C#-> VB.Net converters dont always work perfectly

 

[Jay1b]

Thanks......................

 

[Nerseus]

I think there may be some confusion about what your company is buying - this is partly Microsofts fault as they have blended .NET with Visual Studio.

You dont buy "VB.NET" or "C#" or the compiler - thats ALL free.
What you are buying is Visual Studio, in one of a number of forms. You can buy the Visual Studio for VB.NET edition or you could buy something like Visual Studio Enterprise (which include support for all languages plus a lot of extras).

You dont have to pay ANY money to write, compile, and distribute/sell a .NET application the last I heard - the .NET framework and its compiler are free.

Im only trying to be clear because Im not sure what you have and what youre looking for. Its probably best to talk to Microsoft directly when you have purchasing questions. Theyre very upfront about the costs, discounts you might get for multiple versions, and letting you know what each "edition" offers so you can make your own decision. From my experience they are not pushing the Enterprise Edition - they tend to try and figure out what youll be doing and offer the right product.

MS also sells an "MSDN Universal" product, which offers a LOT of stuff - at a hefty price. I think it was around $2500 last I checked, but you get discounts for multiple copies. It includes the Enterprise edition of Visual Studio, Office, operating systems (WinXP, Win2003, etc.), SQL Server and more. These editions CAN be used on your developer box. There are some restrictions, but MS can explain them. For example, you can install SQL Server Enterprise on a server and use it (or on your local machine) as long as you dont use them for YOUR business needs. Meaning, you can use it to create databases and develop against. When you go to sell or distribute your application and its database, the client must buy a copy of SQL Server. If you decide to write a time-reporting application to keep track of your companys hours, then your company would have to buy a copy of SQL Server since its being used for your business needs.

-nerseus