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Developer Tools · Reviewed

Microsoft Visual Basic 6

The final classic Visual Basic development environment, combining a visual form designer, event-driven BASIC code and components for building Windows business applications.

DeveloperMicrosoft
First release1998
PlatformsWindows
LicenceProprietary
StatusDiscontinued
CategoriesDeveloper Tools

Overview

Visual Basic 6 lets developers construct interfaces from forms and controls, then attach code to events such as a button click. Its integrated environment includes editing, debugging and tools for connecting applications to data. ActiveX components provide additional interface and business functions.

The product is associated with native Windows application development using the classic Visual Basic language and runtime. It is distinct from Visual Basic .NET, which introduced a different runtime and programming environment. Existing applications also need their dependencies, not merely their executable files, to reproduce the original behavior.

Key features

Historical significance

VB6 enabled developers to build useful Windows applications with relatively little interface boilerplate. It supported a large ecosystem of departmental software, components and internal business tools. Its continuing legacy demonstrates how an application's operational lifespan can greatly exceed the supported lifespan of the environment that originally produced it.

History and development

Microsoft released Visual Basic 6 in 1998 as part of the Visual Studio 6 generation, continuing a language family introduced in 1991. It became the final major release before Microsoft's move to the .NET platform.

Support for the VB6 IDE ended in 2008. Microsoft has maintained a separate policy for selected runtime components on supported Windows versions, so IDE retirement and application execution are different questions. The large base of existing business software explains why that distinction remains important.

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