Then came VB6 (1998) which added some final polish. This step attracted better programmers and they created better VB programs. you could create 'real' Windows applications with it, that were often (not always) as fast as C++ applications (that’s the language with the good reputation). Then came VB5 (1997), a giant step forward because now VB could compile to native system code (machine code), i.e. Then came VB4 (1995), a promising step forward but still noob material.

Those were the days when the reputation went down the drain. Those were the days of VB1, VB2, and heavily VB3. So in the early 90s of the last century countless noobs started to produce crappy code (aka spaghetti code) and flooded the digital world with bad programs. It has been so successful because it was (and is) easy for beginners. Is that a contradiction? No, it’s a consequence. Visual Basic (VB), born 1991, one of the most successful programming languages ever, has a pretty bad reputation.

OK, here is the long version: A Short History of VB and its Bad Name

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