Developers currently using Visual basic 6.0 on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 will continue to be able to do so come the next iteration of the Windows client. According to the Visual Basic team, Microsoft remains committed to delivering a level of “It Just Works” compatibility when it comes down to the integration of Visual Basic 6.0 applications not only on Vista and Windows Server 2008 but also on Windows 7. In this context, the software giant has updated the Support Statement associated with the Visual Basic version 6 runtime. The new documentation now also covers the Windows 7 client as well as Windows 7 Server (Windows Server 2008 R2).

“The Visual Basic team’s goal is that Visual Basic 6.0 applications that run on Windows XP will also run on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7. The Visual Basic team is also committed to the Visual Basic 6.0 development environment running on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7. As detailed in this document, the core Visual Basic 6.0 runtime will be supported for the full lifetime of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7, which is five years of mainstream support followed by five years of extended support,” Microsoft informed.

The initial support statement for Visual Basic 6 made no reference to the next versions of the Windows client and server platforms. However, following the update, Microsoft revealed that it would offer the Visual basic 6 runtime for Windows 7 in conjunction with the necessary support. This will be valid for the entire lifetime of the operating system. However, there are no plans whatsoever to continue accommodating Visual Basic 6 on Windows 8, the successor of Windows 7.

“So, the VB 6 runtime will continue to be shipped with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, exactly the same way it was with Windows Vista and Windows 2008 Server. Beyond that, there [are] no plans to ship or support the VB6 runtime on future Operating Systems,” concluded Michael Epprecht from Microsoft Switzerland.