I'm A VB: Sinhue Baez

· How long have you been using VB?

I’ve been using VB since version 5, when I started to work in my current job, 9 years ago. Then I moved to 6, then to VB.NET first with Framework 1.1, and I’m currently developing in 2.0 (VS 2005).

· What industry do you work in?

I work in the foods industry. I work for the biggest poultry producer in Mexico.

· How big is your development team?

We are 2 guys here, who currently develop software.

· What kind of apps do you most commonly build?

I build Windows Forms applications most of the time, client-server apps using Microsoft SQL Server.

· What’s the most interesting app you’ve ever built?

A couple of Windows Services to integrate the company’s ERP with an external client’s (a chain of supermarkets) webservices. It had to be a solution that would be transparent to the end user, so no UI, no start on demand, and needs to be working all the time, so I picked up the services solution.

· Please tell us about an app that you’re working on at the moment.

I’m working on an application that will integrate a system that is operating in the plants of the company, with the central system in the corporate offices.

· What other technologies do you most commonly use?

I use a variety of technologies, but I frequently use: XML, PHP, C#, ASP.NET, SQL Server 7/2005, MySQL, XNA.

· What are some of your favorite VB features?

Case insensitivity, continuous compiling, the “For Each” statement, “My” feature. Those are things that make your life easier and your work productive. The ability to use DirectX with it (something that was reserved to Visual C++).

· What do you like most about VB as a programming language?

VB is easy to use and powerful, that’s a strong combination; now it’s a serious language because you can get all the OOP features you couldn’t in VB 5/6.

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