Channel 9 - Discussions by MegaTrain

Coffeehouse - C# and VB.NET don't play well together???

MegaTrain — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 19:14:39 GMT

Ang3lFir3 wrote:

IIRC the Microsoft.VisualBasic Namespaces purpose is partly to provide compatability with the Visual Basic runtime.... It should not be used unless absolutely necessary. IT provides a way of using Classic VB syntax to create code that compiles in VB.NET.

Not true. Microsoft.VisualBasic != Microsoft.VisualBasic.Compatibility.

http://discuss.develop.com/archives/wa.exe?A2=ind0410b&L=dotnet-winforms&T=0&P=8399

Stuart Laughlin wrote:

To be clear, "the Microsoft.VisualBasic namespace contains the classes and
modules that constitute the Visual Basic .NET run-time library. The library
provides functions, methods, and properties you can use in your code. Each
module and class represents a particular category of functionality." [1] It
is an integral part of the framework that will not be deprecated until
VB.NET ceases to exist. The statements/functions you list as "dead" are
central fixtures to the VB language that are likewise here to stay and
should not be avoided, held in contempt, or otherwise denigrated.

The Microsoft.VisualBasic.Compatibility namespace, on the other hand, is not
part of the VB runtime library; it is not included in VB projects by default
and should never be included when doing new development. It is there only
for upgrade purposes, i.e. via the VB6 -> VB.NET upgrade tool.

Coffeehouse - Say goodbye to PDF support in Office 2007

MegaTrain — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 20:16:27 GMT

Harlequin wrote:

I could see Microsoft getting in trouble if they were "changing" PDF's, yeah. But if all they were doing is outputting/editing, then yeah, there are tons of other programs and utilities that do the same thing.

They are outputting only, Office 2007 cannot edit existing PDFs.

Which makes the whole thing a little silly. Adobe Acrobat (full version) still adds the extra value of editing/modifying PDFs, so I don't understand why they have a problem with their format being more widely available for users.

Plus, I've always hated the Adobe plugins, anyway. PDF reader always hangs my OS when I try to shut down if I've displayed a pdf in an IE browser window.

One more point:
The difference between a "fully integrated" save as PDF feature vs the "print to PDF" add-ons is that Microsoft's version actually maintained hyperlinks, bookmarks, tables of contents, all those handy things. Most of the other add-ons can't do that.

Ok, really my last point:
I don't know where people are coming up with the idea that Microsoft is "extending PDF" or "messing with the standard" or something like that. It is an Export-to-PDF feature that should result in 100% compatible PDF document. And frankly, from what I've seen, Office 2007 Beta 2 puts out some of the cleanest, nicest looking PDF documents I've ever seen.