Is there a free/cheap execution/debugging environment for Visual Basic?

June 3, 2010 2:10 PM

I've been doing COM scripting for about two years, using a Sax-basic scripting application. It was a great app. It allowed line-by-line code execution, error reporting, and debug messages. I want to start using real VBS so I can port my widgets to a wider platform. I know I can write a script app in notepad and just run it with windows script host, but there's no real debugging there. Is there any free (or cheap) application that allows you to run VB script in a controlled way? I'd rather not plunk down a month's rent for Visual Studio if I can help it.
posted by clarknova to computers & internet (3 answers total)

Visual Studio Express is free. Go nuts.
posted by Oktober at 2:14 PM on June 3, 2010

Oktober's got it here. VSE is free and does most everything you will probably need.
posted by deezil at 2:30 PM on June 3, 2010

You know, of course, that there are excellent, free systems for COM scripting which do not require the horrible cludgy, arbitrarily and constantly changing ugliness of VB. Right?

Aptana and Python for example. Python does a great job with COM. http://www.boddie.org.uk/python/COM.html

Python is an example of an excellent, widely supported (more systems than Java, interestingly), and a well-thought-out language. Most people who dislike it seem to have an (bizarre in my opinion) attachment to some other syntax. Silliness.

It can also be compiled to an .exe. http://www.ehow.com/how_2091641_compile-python-code.html

VB is a terrible, terrible language, and it will ruin you as a programmer. http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?VbTeachesBadHabits

Do yourself a favor and learn a good language that has COM bindings (most decent languages will).

The end result will be that you can make widgets using a better language, faster, and with a far more commercially viable (anything but VB) language.

I've ever met in a single professional programmer - and I attend programming conventions, lecture, and write a lot - who considers VB a "real" language. Just my experience, but true. At the very least move to C# if you must stick with native Microsoft languages.
posted by Invoke at 4:33 PM on June 3, 2010