Hi Andrew, The flagship of Microsoft software development is the Visual Studio series. Since DotNET they've started incorporating all their languages into this one IDE. Visual Studio professional is rather expensive, but Microsoft has released freeware versions for C# and VB, these are good enough for serious software development. They obviously lack a bunch of features, most notably:
- No difference between Debug and Release build flavours. - No customizable Post-Build events - No off-line help file But I haven't checked out the latest versions (2008) so maybe these limitations don't even exist any more. If you develop with Visual Studio you'll be able to use the excellent auto-completion and navigation tools, as well as a great form designer and debugging tools. The editor in Grasshopper has only some very basic auto-completion and for some reason which I haven't been able to pinpoint yet it also feels very claustrophobic. Once you install Visual Studio you'll be able to load the myriad of example applications that are available on coding sites such as CodeProject.com -- David Rutten [email protected] Robert McNeel & Associates On Feb 9, 10:24 pm, andrew <[email protected]> wrote: > David, > > Could tell us more about the express environment. I am a relative > novice learning C and would like to focus specifically on the rhino > environment. Any advice would be incredibly helpful. > > -Andrew > > On Feb 9, 3:43 am, David Rutten <[email protected]> wrote: > > > This one doesn't explain, but it does the work for > > free:http://www.developerfusion.com/tools/convert/vb-to-csharp/ > > > -- > > David Rutten > > [email protected] > > Robert McNeel & Associates > > > On Feb 9, 4:41 am, damien_alomar <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Here's a reference for converting between the two. Pretty well put > > > together and it doesn't assume one over the other. And for not even > > > $10 you can't beat it. > > > >http://www.amazon.com/C-VB-NET-Conversion-Pocket-Reference/dp/0596003... > > > > -Damien > > > > On Feb 8, 8:50 pm, Chris Wilkins <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Thanks both for the advice. I'll download Express and start fiddling > > > > with C#. > > > > -Chris > > > > > On Feb 8, 2:30 pm, David Rutten <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > What Damien said. C# syntax will be more familiar to java programmers, > > > > > but it's only the syntax. Under the hood VB.NET and C# are practically > > > > > identical. There are even plenty of tools available that will > > > > > translate code 1:1 from VB into C# and vice versa. The whole of > > > > > Grasshopper is written using both C# and VB and they cooperate > > > > > flawlessly. Whether or not it pays to learn it... hard to tell. It's a > > > > > big step for beginners, but you obviously do not fall into that > > > > > category. > > > > > > Knowing C# is a great skill if you're a Rhino heavyweight. You'll be > > > > > able to write plugins for Rhino3/4/5 and beyond using high-quality, > > > > > free development environments as well as powerful standalone > > > > > applications. The implementation of C# and VB in Grasshopper is pretty > > > > > lame (especially compared to Visual Studio Express) so I definitely > > > > > advice you to download Express and learn inside that platform. > > > > > > -- > > > > > David Rutten > > > > > [email protected] > > > > > Robert McNeel & Associates > > > > > > On Feb 8, 2:48 am, damien_alomar <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > It sounds like c# is probably going to be a better bet for you. > > > > > > Java > > > > > > has a lot more in common with C style languages than it does with > > > > > > VB, > > > > > > so I think you'll be more familiar with it. I don't think that C# > > > > > > really requires C++ as a prerequisite, so no issue there. At this > > > > > > point, there's no practical difference between what can be done with > > > > > > C# and what can be done with VB.net. There might be something that > > > > > > works better or easier in one or the other, but no gaps between the > > > > > > two. > > > > > > > -Damien > > > > > > > On Feb 7, 8:30 pm, Chris Wilkins <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > Looking for quick education advice... Should I invest time in > > > > > > > learning > > > > > > > vb or c# with grasshopper? I've spent a lot time with java and > > > > > > > loved > > > > > > > it, and spent some bit of time with VB and care much less for it. > > > > > > > Never used c++, but wrote some c stuff in school. So considering > > > > > > > that, > > > > > > > what do you guys suggest? Is the any difference in the available > > > > > > > libraries, etc., between the two languages, or other benefits of > > > > > > > one > > > > > > > over the other? > > > > > > > > Thanks, > > > > > > > Chris- Hide quoted text - > > > > > > - Show quoted text -
