Software Development

Folly Beach, SC, South Carolina, Visual Studio Designer

Migrate VB to .NET

Your existing Visual Basic (VB) application may be due for an upgrade. Perhaps the time has come for a major functionality enhancement. Maybe performance or stability concerns are at issue. Perhaps the enhanced security capabilities of the .NET platform are appealing. For these reasons and many others, you may wish to upgrade to .NET. Productive Technology can help you plan, understand, prepare for, and execute your upgrade.

Upgrade or Rewrite

Because the underlying Common Language Runtime is completely different from the runtime used by previous versions of VB, significant upgrade considerations usually exist. Productive Technology's consultant has experienced many different scenarios and can advise you on the pros and cons of each approach: upgrade, rewrite, or a combination of the two.

Upgrade Wizard

At times, the Upgrade Wizard included with Visual Studio .NET can shorten the amount of time required to perform an upgrade. There are, however, limitations to how much the Wizard can help. The upgrade process can introduce unexpected differences in application behavior. Thorough testing is essential, and manual modifications to the Wizard-generated code are likely to be required.

Consider a Rewrite

Rewriting an application to .NET, as opposed to upgrading it, usually takes longer, but produces better results. This can be an excellent opportunity to remove obsolete features, add new functionality, and improve the system's performance, security, usability, and maintainability.

Rapid application conversion is one of Productive Technology's core competencies. Our consultant is fast and accurate, with professional attention to detail. Since your existing application probably includes much of the logic, business rules, and features required by the upgraded system, your consultant can often accelerate the requirements definition and architectural design phases, substantially shortening delivery timelines.

Interoperability

Legacy VB code can use programming developed in the .NET languages. Similarly, the .NET code can utilize legacy VB code. Productive Technology's consultant understands how to apply this interoperability to your best advantage. You may choose to keep most of your existing logic in its current form, but proceed with enhancements under the more modern .NET platform. In this manner, you do not add to the amount of legacy code that will eventually increase the costs of a full upgrade. You can incrementally update portions of your software system to .NET as required. Let Productive Technology assist you in choosing the most appropriate course for your software.