Cross Ref > Tool Basics

VB.Net projects require the .Net framework and any additional dependencies you've added such as Crystal Reports.

In Visual Studio.Net, you can create a Setup and Deployment project by using any of the templates available on the New Project dialog (Other Project Types).

In addition, VB.Net projects also support ClickOnce which brings the ease of Web deployment to Windows Forms and console applications. To get started, right click on your solution in the Solution Explorer, click Properties then select the Security tab. 

In addition, you can use any of the many free and commercially available installation packages.

 VB.Net Deployment Overview  

Java applets and applications both require the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) and any additional dependencies you've added.

Microsoft Visual Basic Express Editions (as in Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition) and the full version of Microsoft Visual Studio.Net are the current primary tools. VB.Net is not compatible with VB Classic.

Many compilers and development tools are available. Common development tools include Sun's J2EE, CodeGear JBuilder, and Eclipse.

Common source code file extensions include:

• .SLN - Solution File. Contains solution specific information such as links to the projects within this solution.
• .VBPROJ - VB.Net Project File. Contains project specific information in XML. When adding a file, it is added to the project file.
• .VB -VB.Net source file.
• .Designer.VB -VB.Net form file (a text resource file).

//Sample code snippet from the .vbproj project file:

<ItemGroup>
  <Compile Include="Cyborg.vb" />
  <Compile Include="Form1.vb">
    <SubType>Form</SubType>
  </Compile>

  //...

The customary primary source file extension for Java code is ".java" which could contain anywhere from a single class to the entire source code.

Other important files:

• .JAR - Java archive file (compressed code file). Archive that contains multiple Java files and is compressed using .ZIP compression; stores Java classes and metadata and may be digitally signed; runs as a program if the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is installed on the computer.
• .CLASS - compiled source code which are platform-independent. If a source file has more than one class, each class is compiled into a separate .class file. These .class files can be loaded by any Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

 Java File Extensions (.java)

Language Overview: VB.Net is an OOP language (no global functions or variables). You code using a fully OOP approach (everything is in a class).

Target Platforms: VB.Net is most suitable for creating .Net Framework applications. This includes desktop business application using WinForms and websites using WebForms.

Promoted as a single source cross-platform runtime system (Write Once, Run Anywhere). Java builds on and in some ways simplifies the object oriented features of C++. Java applications are typically compiled to byte-code and can run on any platform running the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

Target Platforms: Java is suitable for creating many types of cross-platform applications that target the JVM including desktop business applications as well as Java applets which target all the major web browsers.

Microsoft includes ReportViewer Starting with Visual Studio 2005. You can even surface this .Net solution in your VB Classic application if you wish.

For WebForm applications the client target is the browser (a document interfaced GUI), a common solution is to simply output an HTML formatted page with black text and a white background (not much control but it does work for some situations).

For WinForm applications, Crystal Reports is still very popular with VB.Net developers because it has been bundled with Visual Basic since VB 3, it's overall popularity, and compatibility with many different development tools.

 VB.Net Report Tools Overview

Both Eclipse 3.3 and JBuilder 2008 come bundled with Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools (BIRT). BIRT is an Eclipse-based open source reporting system with both a report designer based on Eclipse, and a runtime component that you can add to your app server plus a charting engine that lets you add charts.