Integrating .Net into a VB6 client

Integrating .Net into a VB6 client

• Umberto

  Well...

  That is no option... Its quite easy to use the framework in VB6... I just need to create a CCW and stuff the whole stuff into the GAC. If i keep a small interface this should pose no problems...

  But I am still open to other sugestions (Besides rewriting the legacy system.. Since its not "mine" and we only have a fixed-price Project)

  
  
  

• Patrick C

  An interesting podcast which deals with exactley the sceanrio you are talking about

  http://dotnetrocks.com/default.aspx showID=187

  This highlights an approach taken to incrementally move a VB6 application to .NET and some of the pitfalls. Interesting listening.

  
  

• R.Tutus

  Hi, Hatzi,

  See if this post helps:

  http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx PostID=565119&SiteID=1

  --Matt--*

  
  
  

• Minway

  most likely you would have to re-write everything into VB6, remember, you cannot use .NET Framework with VB6 or convert it backwards. Would also be advisable to update the system to .NET :-)
  
  

• ChocolateBob

  cool thanks for that! *bookmarked*
  
  

• GraemeWhelan

  spotty wrote:

  This highlights an approach taken to incrementally move a VB6 application to .NET

   

  I thought the original poster was talking about from .NET to VB6 or did I misinterpret something

  My apologies if I did :-)

  
  
  

• Pockey

  We just did this for our application. The majority of it is still in VB6 - but some parts were moved to .NET.

  In the .NET application, we created a single entry point. Any VB6 code just calls "LaunchFeature" to launch a particular .NET feature (primarily a form). The code looks basically like this:

  Public Sub LaunchFeatureWithParameters(ByVal sFormName As String, ByRef arrParameters As Object())

  Dim sClassName As String = ""

  Dim sFullName As String = ""

  Try

  ' Define the name of the component to execute

  sClassName = "myWin"

  sFullName = "myWin." & sFormName

  ' Load the assembly containing the DLL, if necessary

  If _WinAssembly Is Nothing Then

  _WinAssembly = [Assembly].Load(sClassName)

  End If

  ' Define the appropriate class

  Dim oType As Type = _WinAssembly.GetType(sFullName)

  ' Create an instance of the form and show it,

  ' Passing in the parameters as needed

  Dim frm As Form

  frm = CType(Activator.CreateInstance(oType, arrParameters), Form)

  If Not frm Is Nothing Then

  frm.Show()

  End If

  Catch ex As Exception

  ' Handle the error

  End Try

  Return

  End Sub

  So the only parts of the VB6 code that was modified was the code to call the .NET features (and of course the code that was repaced with the .NET code).

  Hope this helps.

  
  

• newbie1a

  I tell Dot Net Rocks is just a great show for listening to different technologies and people using the microsoft products.

  
  

• Nathan Blevins

  Thanks folks...

  That is exactly the stuff i was looking for... Nice show and its exactly what i need to do :)

  And the codesnippet also looks helpfull

  
  
  

• nikki01

  Yes... Thats basically what I am doing right now...

  I am writing a "Form" Control which encapsulates the whole Form as a "simple" usercontrol. At runtime I load those controls as needed and display them in a Form to let the user work with them.

  
  
  

• slippyC

  No you didnt miss something but what this does talk about is not allowing the whole solution to be ported in one shot and having to take an incremental approproach which requires you to move some components to .NET and keep the VB6 running with these new .NET components and doing a series of releases where you are moving small pieces at a time but preserving the application as a production application until you have ported much of it over to .NET

  The key part to this approach is making .NET code work with legacy VB6 code - and this is addressed in the podcast.

  
  
• Integrating .Net into a VB6 client