Bah!
So improper parameter validation in a user-written subroutine is somehow Microsoft's fault?
Sorry, Kubla Cant. With the best will in the world I can only shake my head and declare this an own goal by the people you worked for.
VB had many issues that had to be worked around, but lazily leaning on the VARIANT datatype to stand duty for whatever you needed at that moment in time with no verification and trusting in the good will of the universe was and is an obvious non-starter.
Azathoth, even in the days of Cobol on the mainframe we knew better than to let a computer take a hint-less guess. That's how so many CS graduates "know" Cobol "doesn't work". They lazily used COMPUTE on mixed numeric types once, got a C- on their course project and never cracked the manual to read the "NEVER DO THIS - because" page included in every version I've ever seen. Thus, they go on to make the same mistake in their beloved language of choice in their first job.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
