What is the difference between VC++6 and VC++.NET?

Visual C++ 6 and earlier is used to create win32 applications using Windows SDK API calls and Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC). Visual C++.NET on the other hand is part of the Microsoft.Net environment. Visual C++.NET may emit both un-managed (standard win32) code, at the same time; it may also emit the managed code facilitated by the Common Language Runtime (CLR). It is important to remember here that by-default, the VC++.NET compiler emits the unmanaged code unless specified otherwise. VC++6 developers had a lot of technologies to use in their applications.

VC++.NET, as its name implies, is the part of Microsoft.NET suite. Hence instead of using Win32 APIs, C++ standard library, MFC, STL, ATL, COM, DCOM and other complex technologies, you may simply opt for the .NET framework base class library and standard component architecture of .NET (assemblies). Since VC++.NET is such a powerful and the only language that it may contain both managed and unmanaged code at the same time; it is possible to develop any kind of program using VC++.NET, which is not the case with other .NET compliant languages. The best practice would be to implement low level system modules and resource intensive tasks in unmanaged code while write the rest of the code in managed modules.

While VC++.NET is a powerful programming language, it is not likely to be used for most of the programming tasks because of its still prevailing complexity, steep and long learning curve. Generally, people have found programming languages like Java, VB.NET and C# far easier and productive programming languages than flavors of C++ (and thus VC++.NET). Again keeping the technical aspects away, there is likely to be the shortage of VC++.NET developers and thus they are likely to be paid than developers using any other programming language :)

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