Updating a VB6 application to .net

Question

I know a lot of questions have been asked about VB6 migration (and I've read most of them), but I'm still not entirely certain on what the best way to go about this is.

We have a client that we built an order tracking application for about a decade back and they came to us this week saying they were having some issues with it. The app was written entirely in VB6, which has been something of a hassle as tracking down the necessary tools to work with a project so old took some considerable effort. In an effort to make any future maintenance less of a headache, my boss wants to pitch the idea to them of updating the app to .net and wants to know what exactly that would entail. I've never done anything like this before, but what I've read (both here and elsewhere) suggests that Microsoft's "auto-update" from VB6 to .net simply doesn't work very well and I'd pretty much have to rebuild the app from the ground up.

To get to the crux of my question: is this the case? Would I pretty much just need to rewrite it, or is there another means of going about this that could/would save me a lot of time/effort?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

VB6 and VB.NET are radically different. The syntax has changed, and so has the underlying structures, forms, custom controls, and almost every single aspect you can possibly think about.

A complete redesign and reassessment of needs and functionality is imperative. With .NET the plethora of new libraries and features supersede the antiquated VB6 libraries, OCXs, etc. Also if you feel bold, you can migrate your code to C# and other CIL languages aside from VB.

Answer 2

Out of hand, the Microsoft migration tool will not do much. Moreover, it also depends on whether you have your business logic well separated from your GUI. Otherwise, it will make it even harder. Depending on the size of your application, it might make it quite expensive. Another possible solution you might consider is to run your app in a virtual environment or on a remote app http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc730673(v=ws.10).aspx that will ease the deployment pain.

Answer 3

I have also researched this topic.

Try the smart rewrite solution that converts 95% of the code automatically. first, run your app through the assessment wizard to determine estimated costs and resources needed. http://visualwebgui.com/Gizmox/Solutions/InstantbCloudmoveb/tabid/744/Default.aspx