In 2002 I did a pretty large VB6 app for a client. It used a lot of UserControls and a 3rd party menu control (for putting icons next to menu names). It had dynamically "splittable" panels, TreeViews with multi-state checkboxes, etc. A very rich UI. My total time on the project was about 500 hours, which the client graciously let me spread over a whole month. (Yeah, it was that kind of job.) They were very happy, though, and they paid the bill on time with no argument.

So after having no contact with them for years, they suddenly call and wonder if I can update the app to .Net for them. My initial reaction is just to decline, since I don't use VB.Net. And having read a bunch of posts on SO about the difficulties of porting, etc., etc., I'm even more inclined to decline, so to speak.

Still, before I tell them no I am interested in roughly quantifying the effort it would take. I would love to hear from anyone who has done this kind of thing and has a feel for how much work it is. Was it:

• Significantly less than the effort you used on the original?
• Somewhat less than the effort you used on the original?
• The same as the effort you used on the original?
• More?
• A lot more?

Please only respond if you have actually done this kind of port. And the answer doesn't have to be exact, since I really am only trying to ballpark this. My feeling is that the effort will be at least as much as it took for the original, if not more. But I could be wrong. Thanks for any help.