VB -> dotnet code migration question

[Keith R]

I have VB6, and eventually plan to upgrade to dotnet.

I will soon start writing an application that will be mostly local
(client?) but will interface with a server a few times, to authenticate
users (and assign a user code), and at the end of the program, to upload
some data back to the server.

I figure I can write all the local stuff in VB6 (I'll have to learn more
about the server side stuff, never done any of that before) but I don't
know enough about dotnet to know if I will be able to seamlessly migrate my
code when I'm ready (which will be when I can afford dotnet, and after I
figure out how to distribute the framework to users with dialup
connections)

Is it reasonable for me to start in VB6 and migrate later, or will I be
faced with so many migration issues that I might as well start it in
dotnet?

Any advice welcome and appreciated.
Thanks!
Keith R

[Anthony Moore]

There are a lot of good documents on MSDN about migration. I suggest you
make a search to get a feel for what is involved. If you have ever upgraded
an application from an earlier version of VB, you should be aware that VB6
->VB7 is a much more difficult migration because more has changed than
usual. In the past, your code would have mostly run as before without
needing any changes, and the toughest part would be finding OCXs and the
like. You should be aware that the language syntax has changed quite a lot
and the forms engine is different.

There is an excellent migration tool that will convert most of your code to
the new .NET way, so you don't need to rewrite your application. But there
are some things that it can't handle that it will advise you to fix up
manually.

If you are doing the server in DotNet anyway, it is really worth climbing
this learning curve on the client now as well. The interaction with the
server, particularly if you are using Web Services, is much easier