VBx Language, What is this?

Question

In Ironpython site exists references to a language called VBx using DLR. But i can't find any reference to this in google. Where is it?

Edit: Is a Implement of Visual Basic 6.0 in DLR? if yes is so cool. Is more expected for people using VB6 yet and can't migrate because big frameworks.

Answer 1

VBx was one of the four language implementations that were originally driving the design of the DLR, the other three being IronPython (from which the DLR was extracted in the first place), IronRuby and Managed JavaScript.

VBx was intended to be a dynamic version of Visual Basic.NET or a .NET version of Visual Basic 6, whichever way you want to look at it. It was primarily intended as a testbed for the flexibility of the DLR, secondarily as a testbed for a more dynamic version of VB.NET and tertiarily (is that a word?) as a scripting language for Silverlight. It has fulfilled its primary goal and the designers of VB.NET decided that they want to pursue goals two and three within the existing VB.NET language, rather than producing yet another slightly different incompatible version of VB. (You already have VB.NET, VB, VBA and VBScript.)

Managed JavaScript was also abandoned, the team was folded into the IE team and is responsible for the ECMAScript 5 engine in IE 9.

Answer 2

Straight from the mouth of Paul Vick (long time VB architect)

• What is VBx?

Answer 3

Apparently it's an implementation of VB in the DLR:

http://www.mail-archive.com/users@lists.ironpython.com/msg05933.html

Answer 4

From this mailing list post:

VBx was an implementation of Visual Basic on the DLR. It was first meant to be in Silverlight, but the VB team decided they'd rather put VB.NET in Silverlight rather than build a new implementation up from scratch. So, VBx is on hold.