1.
I always answer this question by asking the
following question: What
would be the point of "Killing A Fly With A
Hammer"?
Let me elaborate. If a method is available
that allows us to achieve the same desired result(s)
at LOWER cost, with LESS effort and in LESS time,
why should we fail to adopt it?
Certain IT persons insist that developing
executable applications using the standalone Visual
Basic programming language is "better"
as it does not limit the user to a particular user
application software environment. I concede that
this might be a valid point under certain conditions.
However, I point out that there are many users who
have very specialised, peculiar needs that do not
necessarily require complex solutions.
A lot of people today simply want
to get their data recording, (re)organisation, and
analysis for decision making done quicker and with
less effort. They also want to spend as little money
as possible to do this. In other words, they want
a cost-effective solution that gives them independence
from the solution provider in the long term - without
requiring them to undertake laborious skills acquisition
immediately.
This category
of everyday users of technology described above
are the ones I believe need Excel VB solutions of
the type I describe/provide. I anticipate that some
of these users will over time develop an interest
in acquiring advanced skills needed to develop their
own solutions - which is why I also offer coaching
services.
2.
Another question I ask, in answering the
"Why Excel VB?" question is : "Why
re-invent the wheel?"
My experiences(and
those of others who favour the use of Excel VB like
I do), confirm that to organise, and analyse data
for (financial/management) report generation and
decision making, you will
save hundreds of hours using already in-built, pre-programmed
Excel functions compared to a situation where you
used Visual Basic proper.
All the functions
needed to achieve the above purposes already exist
in Excel, so that you don't have to write
them all from scratch as would be the case if you
were to use Visual Basic.
Even though I had always felt this
way, my encounter with a similar justification stated
by a Microsoft Certified Professional, Pierre Leclerc
on his website(http://www.excel-vba-access.com),
gave me greater insight and clarity, that made me
decide to stick with Excel VB even
though I had attended a full training course in
Visual Basic in 2002.
Important Note!
The fact
that one uses Excel VB or VBA does not mean one
will not have need to use VB or other languages.
Over the years, the need for faster, more sophisticated,
robust, and secure Excel-based software has led
Professional Excel Developers to - whenever they
consider it necessary - actively utilise ANY other
applications and programming languages (such as
C/C++, VB6 or VB.Net) to deliver better performing
applications (learn more below).
