Visual Basics & VBA

Discussion in 'Trading Software' started by Jerry78, Feb 24, 2004.

  1. Jerry78

    Jerry78

    Could anyone tell me about the difference between VB and Visual Basics for Application in terms of the followings?


    (1) Their Similarity

    (2) Their corresponding limitations


    Thanks !!!!!!
     
  2. Digs

    Digs

    Very little. Get VB & VBA "IN A NutShell" by Oreilly, best book on the language

    have fun !
     
  3. Are you asking about the langages or about the platforms ? As for the langages VBA is just a specialisation of VB. You must learn the langage VB to use VBA since A adds the Applicative part (Excel, Word). VBA cannot work without the association application whereas the VB platform is autonomous of any application.


     
  4. Hi Jerry,

    (1) VBA is at the same time a subset and an augmentation of VB allowing the programmatic interaction with M$ tools like Word, Excel, etc.
    As to their similarity, they make you a prisoner of M$ but are practicaly indispensable in the M$ environment. (Other languages may do, but make the development process even more cumbersome. They also lead often to a higher level of bugs).

    (2) As to their limitation, VB and VBA are good nowhere but for M$. Worse, the often as inferior and clumsy described VB language, result of many years of plastering over by M$, has now under the dot.NET hullabaloo once more been worked over thoroughly. Result: forget about your old VB6-based hard fought for masterpieces. The new VB is no longer compatible. Is the new one, VB.NET, any better? I'm not sure, many M$ prisoners now seem to flock in despair towards C#. (Note that C# is again good nowhere but at M$. :D)

    Hope this helps,

    nononsense
     
  5. To paraphrase the helpful answers above, the major difference between VB and VBA is that a VB application is launched as standalone application whereas a VBA program is launched BY a host application. The two most popular VBA host applications are Word and Excel.

    Here's a relevant link...

    http://www.idevresource.com/vs/library/articles/vbanutshell.asp
     
  6. I was wondering if any of the Excel/VBA experts can help me out. I am writing an Excel options valuation system and need to know how I can copy a function from 1 cell to another cell(s) . I know how to do it using the copy/paste in the menus. I need to do it programmatically so when I click a button, it copies a function lets say called" =Blacksholes (a1,$a2,$b3) " and copy it to cells a,b,c,etc.

    Been searching MS office assistant on the web with no success so far.

    Thanks in advance
     
  7. CalTrader

    CalTrader Guest

    ...another point to add about both of these is that they lock you into microsoft solutions thus putting you at the mercy of their pricing and offering little alternative but to take whatever price increase or other onerous requirements they unload onto their customers.

    VB and VBA are rapid development languages and you can do a lot quickly but if you intend to use them for solutions of long duration which may to continue to develop additional functionality you should think twice about using them .....
     
  8. Hi GATrader,

    Did you install VBA at all? If so, you should in your Excel Help find a lot of stuff about how to use VBA.

    As I have VisualStudio and VB6 permanently setup here, I'm not too sure what you have to do if you only would have Excel installed. I wonder whether you have to acquire Visual for this?

    nononsense
     
  9. I think I have all the references and components installed. I probably could find it but will take me all day to figure out how to do a simple thing of cutting/pasting a formula in a cell using VBa and not the menus or the ctl C/V . thanks
     
  10. Jerry78

    Jerry78

    thanks for you all!
     
    #10     Feb 26, 2004