News

Next Version of VB Dubbed 'VBx'

Hot on the heels of Microsoft's MIX07 conference in Las Vegas, Visual Basic guru Paul Vick revealed this week on his blog that the company is working on a reboot of Visual Basic, dubbed at this stage VBx (for Visual Basic 10, which would be the next numbered version.)

"VBx is the next version of Visual Basic, not a new version of Visual Basic," Vick writes.

Vick discusses how VBx and Visual Basic fit into Silverlight, Microsoft's new cross-platform runtime which works as a browser plug-in. At MIX07, the company revealed new capabilities and intentions for Silverlight, including the fact that it will include a version of the Common Language Runtime, as well as a Dynamic Language Runtime.

Right now you can use Visual Basic in Silverlight, but to do so you must compile the application on the desktop first, according to Vick.

Part of VBx, however, is to be a "hostable managed component" running atop the DLR, writes Vick. That will allow Silverlight to compile VB source code on the fly -- even on browsers running on a Mac.

"The important thing to keep in mind is that there is still only one Visual Basic language but once VBx arrives you'll have more than one way of getting to it," he writes. "You'll still be able to compile code into the traditional .DLL or .EXE, but you'll also have the option of compiling and running the code on the fly, within a running instance of the CLR. That's where things are likely to get interesting."

Vick says a community preview will land this year and the company will reveal more about the technology at this year's Professional Developers Conference, scheduled for October in Los Angeles.

Read more about VBx, Visual Basic and Silverlight here on Vick's blog: http://www.panopticoncentral.net/.

About the Author

Chris Kanaracus is the news editor for Redmond Developer News.

Featured

  • Microsoft Offers Support Extensions for Exchange 2016 and 2019

    Microsoft has introduced a paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program for on-premises Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, offering a crucial safety cushion as both versions near their Oct. 14, 2025 end-of-support date.

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.

  • Notebook

    Microsoft Centers AI, Security and Partner Dogfooding at MCAPS

    Microsoft's second annual MCAPS for Partners event took place Tuesday, delivering a volley of updates and directives for its partners for fiscal 2026.

  • Microsoft Layoffs: AI Is the Obvious Elephant in the Room

    As Microsoft doubles down on an $80 billion bet on AI this fiscal year, its workforce reductions are drawing scrutiny over whether AI's ascent is quietly reshaping its human capital strategy, even as official messaging avoids drawing a direct line.