By Nellaiappan L | June 15th, 2017 |
Migrating the VB application to VB.NET environment means the developer should have a thorough understanding of both the languages. This knowledge is essential to reduce the number of upgrade issues by preparing the source code well in advance to starting the actual conversion. Proper understanding of the two languages play an important role in understanding the modifications that are required for the migration process to be more efficient. Here we examine the four critical factors to be considered before performing any VB migration project.
Establish Successful Upgrades – There are two options when it comes to upgrading an application from VB 6.0 to VB.NET. One is to upgrade the application to an extent that looks and behaves exactly as the original application. This method helps in achieving functional equivalence, wherein the exact functionality of the VB6 application is replicated in the upgraded VB.NET application. Second is to add new features available in the new language and improve the overall functionality of the application.
Assessment and Analysis – Application assessment and analysis provides an in-depth understanding of the application to be upgraded and generates information required for planning and decision making. During application analysis it is essential to consider the components involved such as modules, third party components (COM objects) and intrinsic components. Syntaxes and elements that are no longer meaningful to .NET should be identified and rewritten. Such an extensive evaluation process helps in identifying the changes that are required to be carried out for a seamless upgrade.
Planning and Budgeting – Creating an effective project plan involves in understanding what has to be done and the duration it will take to complete. Planning is necessary to identify the components that need significant upgrade effort and quantify the amount of codes to estimate the time and cost required for the upgrade. With adequate planning inputs, calculating the return on investment (ROI) becomes much simpler, offering businesses to reduce the overall cost of building and maintaining the upgraded application.
Pre-migration Code Preparations – A well-structured code makes all the difference that ultimately leads to a successful conversion. Proper preparation of the code before conversion is essential as it substantially reduces time and effort in the conversion process. It is necessary to remove redundant functions and methods, perform data type enhancements and restructure the codes before the actual migration process. Removal of unused, duplicate codes and re-implementation features that are no longer supported in VB.NET reduces the number of compilation errors to be fixed during the upgrade process.
Upgrading VB6 applications to VB.NET enables increased performance, security, and scalability of the upgraded application making it more responsive and secure. Considering the above pre-migration factors will lessen the downtime and reduce the conversion investments significantly. All the above factors indicate that moving your application to Visual Basic .NET is the right decision for your business.
Macrosoft helps decision makers analyze and asses the costs and benefits of migrating VB6.0 applications to VB.NET. We assist our clients in putting forth a proven plan for upgrading their projects. Our pre-migration assessment provides ideas and pointers in preparing your applications for a successful and cost-effective upgrade.
