Refactoring VB in Visual Studio 2005

(Paul Kimmel) Two primary factions have polarized Visual Basic: VB6 programmers and OOP programmers. VB6 programmers want VB to be really easy to use; OOP programmers say VB needs to be as powerful a language as C# or C++, or VB is just a toy. VB can't be a hobbyist's language and a full-blown object-oriented language at the same time, and Microsoft can't figure out which constituency to satisfy. So right now, VB is trying to be both.

For example, VB.NET includes multithreading and operator overloading, but the IDE doesn't support VB refactoring. Adding the My feature panders to VB6 programmers, whereas adding operator overloading appeals to OOP programmers. However, Microsoft recognizes that excluding IDE Refactoring support in VB was an oversight and has made Refactor! for VB.NET available as a free download.