Re: RE: Why we don't use procedures more (was MOVE opcode in freeform / strangeb

["Richard B Baird" <rbaird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mike,

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm not much interested in learning vb
anymore....  Like I said, I 'taught' myself vb 3 separate times, but it's
the old 'use it or lose it' syndrome.  If I only use a skill a week or two
a year, I'm gonna lose it.

I'm an rpg guy with sql and web experience and business application
software experience.  that's where my bread is buttered, that's where the
demand for my time is.  My customers hire kids out of college to do the
excel, access and vb stuff - not very well in my opinion, but it's not my
place to say, and they do it at least as well as me - for a lot less than
they pay me.  Added to that - I quit programming for fun in my off time a
long time ago.  I have so little time for my family as it is.

The real point here is that I don't want to, and I don't think it should be
manditory or even preferable to, learn another language or two so that I
can program rpg better!   Why should I?  learning the syntax or the logical
flow of a new language isn't the problem.  it's the rest of the crap you
have to figure out to make the language powerful, that won't help my RPG -
OO skills at all - like database access, printer and other device
interfaces, all the operating system nuances that come completely natural
to me on an as/400, but are completely foriegn to me in other languages.

Anyway, I'll dig out my 'Code Complete' out of a box in the garage and give
it another go.  maybe I've learned enough since the last time I tried to
read it to understand.

ttfn,

Rick

---original message---
Rick,

This may not work for you, but I've found one good way to get reasonably
familiar with VB is through Excel macros, which are written in VB. Most
shops use Excel, and most shops have users who do at least some
repetitive, time-consuming things with it. Macros are a great way to
automate these tasks. The nice part is that Excel lets you record macros
as well as write your own, so if you want to figure out  how to do
something you can record a macro that does it and then look at the code.
Usually it has to be cleaned up a bit (remove hard references to cells,
etc.), but almost always the basics are there.
<snip, snip>