Fortunately, you can prepare your code in advance. Actually, it is essential to work on your code before you load it in VB.NET.

There is one program that fulfills the tool recommendations below. The code analysis and VB.NET Compatibility Check features of Project Analyzer are designed to help in moving from your current VB version to VB.NET. Read more about upgrading from VB6 to VB.NET with Project Analyzer.

The migration process

1. Decide whether to upgrade or not. There are program types that are best left in your current VB version. Projects that use UserControls, WebClasses, DHTML pages, VB’s add-in model and other special techniques cannot easily be upgraded. Use a compatibility check tool to estimate what you can upgrade to VB.NET and how much work it will require. Alternatively, try to load your project in VB.NET and see the upgrade report for critical issues.
2. Remove dead and duplicated code. Start by deleting all the code your programs don’t use. It is not uncommon to have 30-40% dead code in a medium or large sized project. Migrating that code means extra burden and no benefits. Additionally, you should consider joining any duplicated functions to reduce the amount of code even further. — Now, how do you know what code is dead or duplicated? Of course you can try to find that out manually, but if your goal is to minimize work, we strongly recommend that you get a decent source code analyzer to find the dead and duplicated code.
3. Upgrade problematic syntax and controls. Use of certain syntax and control versions will cause you a lot of trouble. Take the Data control or VB5 Common Controls controls (ComCtl32.ocx or ComCt232.ocx), for example. You must upgrade to ADO data control or MsComCtl.ocx and MsComCt2.ocx, respectively. And, if you happen to be still in VB3 or VB4, you must port it to VB6 first. Obsolete syntax like GoSubs need to get removed, and you even need to prepare your conditional compilation (#If statements). Fortunately, you don’t have to upgrade everything, only those things that the VB.NET upgrade wizard doesn’t handle. Use a compatibility check tool that recommends what to fix now and what to leave as is.
4. Fix your data declarations. If you’ve used a lot of Variants and undeclared variables, you’re almost doomed. Now it’s your final chance to add those Option Explicit statements and add proper type declarations to every Dim statement. Not only will this make your code more robust and optimized - it will also enable the upgrade wizard to properly port your code. Control object variable declarations are of special importance if you don’t feel like writing half of your method and property calls again. In addition, certain array and user-defined structure definitions are going to change. Use a source code analyzer that lists the declarations requiring a fix.
5. Load your code in VB.NET. Let the upgrade wizard do its job. You’ll get a large report detailing the found upgrade issues, both fixed and unfixed. You’ll get comments in the code near places that need to get worked on. What you’re not getting is a list of undetected issues, of course.
6. Try to compile your project. It won’t succeed. You’ll have a long list of compile errors. Now it really starts to pay off to be properly prepared. The list would be much longer if you hadn’t prepared in advance.
7. Go back. You might want to go back to step 1, 2, 3 or 4, fix some issues, and then go to step 5 and run the upgrade wizard again.
8. Compile & fix cycle. Fix all the compiler issues. Finally, it runs.
9. Fix the commented issues. The upgrade wizard left comments in your code. Find them and do what they say. Now it’s also beneficial to review a list of expected behavior changes, like events that won’t fire.
10. Test. Now you’re back to daily life. Run and test your program to make sure it works as expected.

Do you plan to move code from VB6 to VB.NET? Upgrading to VB.NET is not just a matter of loading your existing code in it. Simply put, your code won’t run without changes. It’s essential to prepare your code before you migrate it.

You can easily start the preparations today. It makes sense to write .NET compatible code even if you’re planning to stay in VB6 for a while.

Project Analyzer and VB.NET compatibility check

Project Analyzer Enterprise Edition contains several tools that help you prepare your existing code for VB.NET. Among the most useful features are automatic dead code removal and VB.NET Compatibility Check.

• Check that your projects are upgradable. It’s not possible or sensible to upgrade certain project or file types.
• Evaluate the upgrade work. Find out what you need to change.
• Remove dead code to save your efforts. It doesn’t make sense to upgrade those pieces of code that aren’t in use.
• Prepare your declarations and syntax. Fix your form design. Plan the data structures.

Problem categories detected by VB.NET Compatibility Check
The VB.NET Compatibility Check feature analyzes your existing Visual Basic code to find features and syntax conventions that have changed in VB.NET. When it finds an incompatibility, it marks the location with a problem icon in one of the following categories.

• Feature not upgradable. VB.NET doesn’t support this feature. You should either consider leaving the code in your current Visual Basic version, or prepare for major upgrade work. Example: web programming.
• Fix required before upgrade. You can’t upgrade this feature as is. You will have to rewrite your code before you upgrade to VB.NET. Example: data binding, conditional compilation.
• Fix recommended before upgrade. You will save work if you adjust your code or forms before you upgrade. Example: correct declaration of variables and class members.
• Can be fixed before or after upgrade. The code needs to be changed. You may do it now or after the upgrade. Example: explicit declaration of procedure parameters.
• Work required after upgrade. The code needs to be reviewed or changed, but you can’t do it before the upgrade. Example: syntax changes, changes in control object models, unsupported functions requiring complete redesign where used.

List of VB.NET compatibility issuesPopup link
Getting prepared in advance
Not upgrading to VB.NET yet? Then it’s even more important to know a little about VB.NET. With a minimum effort, you can write more .NET compatible code. When you upgrade, you have a few less things to worry about.
Download and try it now for free
Download the Project Analyzer demo. Select Options|Problem Options and enable a VB.NET related problem filter. Take a peek in the Add-ins|Enterprise Edition menu to see a compatibility report.

The first thing that you need to ask is, “Do I need to move my application to .NET?”

There is always going to be something new around the corner whether it is a new language or tool, and the person making the decision to migrate has to think ROI. If you have a solution that is already working, and your clients are happy using and working with the existing solutions, there is probably no reason for you to move into .NET. Visual Basic 6.0 is still a good product and currently Microsoft is going to continue support for it. However, if you wish to keep your solution as the latest and greatest, and it is in the best interest of your company and clients, you probably would want to migrate your applications to .NET.

The Strategy
When we start developing any new software solution, certain steps are taken. We begin with a plan, identify processes, gather requirements, and eventually build the architecture of the solution. Once things start taking shape, we start with development. Why do we choose this path? We all know that the path for doing the analysis and design up front has been proven to save a lot of time and cost for software development. In order to migrate projects from any prior version of Visual Basic, the path for analysis and design up front yields the best results.

The analysis part is slightly different in this case. We begin by studying the current application, and try to identify code blocks that require changes. In order to migrate your VB applications, we do not choose the path most recommended by others, i.e. convert your existing applications to .NET and fix the converted code in .NET.

We believe that even if your developers have been working with .NET for the past six months or even a year, they probably have spent much more development time on your existing applications. They would be more comfortable and much faster making changes in your existing application than the migrated .NET application. We recommend making changes in your existing applications and getting them to a stage that we call “Migration Ready”.

Here are the steps that we recommend for migrating applications:

1. Evaluate the project and create a migration strategy
2. Make the changes in VB 6.0 project and create a “Migration Strategy”
3. Migrate using Visual Basic .NET Migration tool
4. If the changes are not at par, make more changes and use Migration tool (Repeat 2 and 3 as necessary)
5. Get developers at speed and make changes in .NET
6. Build the .NET solution

The migration path we have always chosen to help our clients begins with implementing a proof-of-concept first. This help us estimate resources, and estimate the time and cost to migrate the project. We recommend extracting at least one complex working process of the application and build it into a small working solution. Then, we attempt to migrate this solution first. This could be a couple of forms with a report.

Figure 1: Migration Strategy recommended by ELLKAY for ASP or Visual Basic 6.0 applications to Visual Basic .NET or C#

Attempt to migrate this solution using the recommended steps. Repeating steps 3 and 4 will help you get an idea about the complexity involved. Once you have succeeded in implementing the proof of concept, only then should you start with the real application.

Which Language?
Companies spend a lot more time on this question than they should. Which language should be used? Should it be VB .NET or C#? Our opinion is that it really does not matter. Most of the functionality between the two languages maps one-to-one and each one has a slight advantage over the other. I would recommend that you base this decision on the resources you have available. If you have developers who have been working with VB 6 and you are planning to go into .NET now, I would recommend VB .NET. If you have developers who have already spent a lot of time learning C#, pick C#.

If you choose to move to C#, remember that you do not have to re-write your applications. We provide a converter that can help you convert your Visual Basic .NET applications to C#.

Figure 2: Converting a Visual Basic .NET solution to a C# solution is as simple as running in through the migration converter utility

Conclusion
None of the migration strategies we have read have talked about this approach. Of everything that you have read so far, you will probably see that the strategy that we chose and implemented for migration is different. It is more practical, efficient, and useful. We have been very successful in implementing this strategy for our clients. If you wish to migrate your projects to .NET, we recommend that you start with VB6 version and not with .NET. If the right approach is not taken, migration can become a nightmare.

The approach that we recommend requires patience and you need to resist yourself and your developers from into jumping into the .NET bandwagon right away. The fruits however, will be much sweeter:… successfully migrated solution!

taken from : http://www.ellkay.com/Migration.htm

Download all 101 Samples.

Base Class Libraries - Group 1 Samples

Base Class Libraries - Group 2 Samples

Data Access Samples

.NET Compact Framework Samples

Tablet PC Samples

Visual Studio Tools for Office Samples

Web Development Samples

Windows Forms Samples

The Windows Forms samples show how to use some of the new functionality available to developers building desktop applications. Samples include:

Download the Visual Basic version of the Windows Forms samples.

An application is software is created to function efficiently given the necessary parameters. Developers are conscious that, even in the most efficiently created software, errors of a certain nature can occur and must be provided for at design time. Yet other errors could occur at runtime and therefore applications need to be tested and debugged at runtime too. Therefore testing and debugging applications are an important part of application development. Visual Studio.NET provides the developer with several tools that he can use for testing and debugging the applications within the Integrated development environment (IDE).

The number of ways in which the application can be tested and debugged in Visual studio.NET demands that the user create a test plan beforehand. The developer can add a test project. He can test for performance, international settings or an existing test can be opened. To this end he must chalk out:

1. What kind of tests are to be created?

2. What is the type of load test that will be required?

3. Will the developer be required to execute a manual test?

4. How will the tests be managed?

5. What will be measured in the test–functionality, validation, performance or others?

Once the test plan has been created unit tests can be executed.

Let us presume that we have a project that has both public methods and private methods. The project has to be opened and we have to create unit tests for public and private methods. The next task is to run the tests on the projects code; find and correct the errors.

ASP .NET test projects can be created in any of the two ways mentioned below:

(1) By generating the ASP.NET unit test.

(2) By configuring an existing unit test as an ASP.NET unit test.

Generating an ASP.NET Unit Test

1. Create an ASP.NET Web site within the Visual Studio solution.

2. Add a class to the Web site project, and

3. Finally, generate a unit test from that class.

4. We will use the existing Website to provide support for this.

5. Add a class to this project. To do this, in Solution Explorer, right-click the Web site and then click Add New Item.

6. In the Add New Item dialog box, click Class, and then click Add.

7. In the resulting Microsoft Visual Studio dialog box, click Yes.

Now we will generate an ASP.NET unit test.

(1) To do this, first open the new class file by double-clicking it in Solution Explorer.

(2) Right-click within the class in the class file. In the context menu and click on “Create Tests.”

(3) In the Unit Test Generation dialog box, click Generate.

The new ASP.NET unit test is added to a file in your test project.

To see the unit test, open the test file and scroll to the end. The attributes that are necessary to run a unit test as an ASP.NET unit test have been automatically set. The content of the test file is given below: (more…)

Opening a socket in PHP

Sockets are opened using fsockopen(). This function is both available in PHP3 and PHP4. It uses the following prototype :


<?php

int fsockopen
(string hostname,
int port [,
int errno [,
string errstr [,
double timeout]]])
?>


For the Internet domain, it will open a TCP socket connection to hostname on port port. hostname may in this case be either a fully qualified domain name or an IP address. For UDP connections, you need to explicitly specify the protocol: udp://hostname. For the Unix domain, hostname will be used as the path to the socket, port must be set to 0 in this case. The optional timeout can be used to set a timeout in seconds for the connect system call.

More information about fsockopen() : http://www.php.net/manual/function.fsockopen.php

Network News Transfer Protocol

Accessing a Usenet News Server requires using a specific protocol, called NNTP and standing for Network News Transfer Protocol.

This protocol is higly detailed in RFC977 (Request For Comment number 977), which is available at : http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc977/rfc977.html

This document described precisely how to connect to and then dialog with the NNTP server thanks to the various commands available for the task.

Connecting

Connecting to the NNTP server requires knowing its hostname (or IP address) and the port it is listening on. You should include a timeout so that an unsuccessful attempt at connecting does not “freeze” the application.

(more…)

CONDITION ? VALUE IF TRUE : VALUE IF FALSE

Here is an example to hopefully put this into context:

<?php
$id = isset($_GET['id']) ? $_GET['id'] : false;
?>

This one line of code does a surprisingly large amount. Firstly, it uses the isset() function to check if $_GET[’id’] exists. If $_GET[’id’] does exist it simply returns its value. However, if it does not exist the operator returns false. The value that the operator returns is then assigned to the variable $id. So, basically, if $_GET[’id’] exists then $id = $_GET[’id’], however if it does not exist then $id = false

The operator can be useful in a number of applications, and helps you to avoid loads of unnecessary if statements.

1. Fundamentals of Visual Basics: Free Education on the Internet provides this course intended for serious computer hobbyists, IT students, and IT professionals. Windows and Visual Basic are required for this course that ranges from a basic introduction to advanced applications.
2. “How Do I” Videos — Visual Basic: Microsoft provides dozens of videos designed for all Visual Basic developers, from the novice to the professional. New videos are added regularly, so check back often.
3. VBScript: Land of Code provides a beginner’s guide to everything you’d ever want to know about Visual Basic. Learn about variables, loops, arrays, conditions and strings in step-by-step tutorials.
4. Visual Basic: This book is written from a VB6 perspective although much of what is said is also valid for VB5 and VB4. This book does not cover VB.NET which is in fact a radically different language. This book seems to ain at beginners, but it seems more appropriate for mid-range programming skills.
5. Visual Basic 6: This site is dedicated to helping you learn and advance in VB6, mainly because many businesses still use this language for applications. You’ll find Visual Basic tutorials and Visual Basic source code samples for all levels from beginner to advanced. The VB6 forum is waiting for your questions, and the latest articles can help you stay up-to-date on VB6 issues