Software Engineering - Is C/C++/C# more compact than VB

Author

Is C/C++/C# more compact than VB

williammaw@aol.com

2007-10-30, 7:11 pm

I think VB tends to create a bunch of dlls that you need to install to
run the software. Does C variants (++/#) produce smaller and lighter
code, i.e. with little or no dlls?

Thank you in advance ...

Auric__

2007-10-30, 7:11 pm

On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:32:41 GMT, williammaw@aol.com wrote:

> I think VB tends to create a bunch of dlls that you need to install
> to run the software.

Not exactly. "Classic" (not-dot-Net) VB requires the VB runtime DLL
(plus any DLLs or OCXs the developer used) to run, but by default
doesn't actually create anything except a single EXE. VB.Net (which
is everything after VB6) only requires that the appropriate .Net
runtime be installed.

> Does C variants (++/#) produce smaller and lighter
> code, i.e. with little or no dlls?

It depends on the specific C compiler used, but the answer is usually
yes. (For that matter, most other BASICs don't require runtime DLLs,
either.) C# & C++.Net should *in theory* produce EXEs about the same
as equivalent VB.Net programs.

--
auric dot auric at gmail dot com
email sent to the above address is not treated as private
*****
To err is human, to forgive is Not Company Policy.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

H. S. Lahman

2007-10-30, 7:11 pm

Responding to Williammaw...

> I think VB tends to create a bunch of dlls that you need to install to
> run the software. Does C variants (++/#) produce smaller and lighter
> code, i.e. with little or no dlls?

I think deployment in DLLs and compact/"light" code are orthogonal. IOW,
the code size has very little to do with how many DLLs are used to
deploy it.

[Note that in UML there is a separate diagram, the Deployment Diagram,
that describes how the application is physically broken up into
deployable units like DLLs. That diagram references other diagrams'
elements that describe how the software is logically constructed. Thus
the UML Deployment Diagram provides a mapping between physical and
logical structure. IOW, the code size and "lightness" depends upon
logical structure while DLL deployment depends on physical structure.]

What I suspect you are observing stems from how VB is used. Typically
one only sees VB in RAD environments for CRUD/USER processing. Such
environments are characterized by layered models and substantial
"canned" infrastructure in a software backplane. The VB code is then
developed essentially as individual plugins into the infrastructure. As
a result they tend to be quasi-independent, standalone modules. It is
then tempting to deploy them mechanically as individual DLLs rather than
logically grouping them in libraries.

*************
There is nothing wrong with me that could
not be cured by a capful of Drano.

H. S. Lahman
hsl@pathfindermda.com
Pathfinder Solutions
http://www.pathfindermda.com
blog: http://pathfinderpeople.blogs.com/hslahman
"Model-Based Translation: The Next Step in Agile Development". Email
info@pathfindermda.com for your copy.
Pathfinder is hiring:
http://www.pathfindermda.com/about_us/careers_pos3.php.
(888)OOA-PATH

Sponsored Links