Visual Basic Introduction and History What is Visual Basic? VISUAL BASIC is a high level programming language which evolved from the earlier DOS version called BASIC.BASIC means Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. It is a very easy programming language to learn. The code look a lot like English Language. Different software companies produced different versions of BASIC, such as Microsoft QBASIC, QUICKBASIC, GWBASIC ,IBM BASICA and so on. However, people prefer to use Microsoft Visual Basic today, as it is a well developed programming language and supporting resources are available everywhere. Now, there are many versions of VB exist in the market, the most popular one and still widely used by many VB programmers is none other than Visual Basic 6. We also have VB.net, VB2005 , VB2008 and the latest VB2010, which is a fully object oriented programming (OOP) language. It is more powerful than VB6 but looks more complicated to master. VISUAL BASIC is a VISUAL and events driven Programming Language. These are the main divergence from the old BASIC. In BASIC, programming is done in a text-only environment and the program is executed sequentially. In VB, programming is done in a graphical environment. In the old BASIC, you have to write program code for each graphical object you wish to display it on screen, including its position and its color. However, In VB , you just need to drag and drop any graphical object anywhere on the form, and you can change its color any time using the properties windows. On the other hand, because the user may click on certain object randomly, so each object has to be programmed independently to be able to response to those actions (events). Therefore, a VB Program is made up of many subprograms, each has its own program code, and each can be executed independently and at the same time each can be linked together in one way or another.
History of Visual Basic Alan Cooper is considered the father of Visual Basic. In 1987, then Director of Applications Software for Coactive Computing Corporation wrote a program called Ruby that delivered visual programming to the average programmer/user. VB 1.0 was introduced in 1991. The drag and drop design for creating the user interface is derived from a prototype form generator developed by Alan Cooper and his company called Tripod. Microsoft contracted with Cooper and his associates to develop Tripod into a programmable form system for Windows 3.0, under the code name Ruby .Tripod did not include a programming language at all. Microsoft decided to combine Ruby with the Basic language to create Visual Basic. Visual Basic can used in a number of different areas, for example: Education, Engineering, Research, Medicine, Business, Commerce, Marketing and Sales, Accounting, Consulting, Law, Science
Visual Basic Introduction and History Evolution of Visual Basic
March 6, 1988 Microsoft Buys Tripod
Alan Cooper, the 'father' of Visual Basic, shows a drag-and-drop shell prototype called Tripod to Bill Gates. Microsoft negotiates to buy the concept, now code-named Ruby. The Tool includes a widget control box, the ability to add widgets dynamically, and a small language engine. March 20, 1991 Visual Basic 1.0 Debuts at Windows World Microsoft marries QuickBasic to Ruby shell app and gives it a new code name: Thunder. The result is the first tool that lets you create Windows apps quickly, easily, and visually. Features include a drag and drop control toolbox, codeless UI creation, and an eventoriented programming model. March 1992 Visual Basic 2.0 Toolkit (Rawhide) Released This toolkit integrated several third-party tools into a single package, putting controls in the hands of many VB developers for the first time. It provided instrumental in helping VB's third party market achieve critical mass. September 1992 Visual Basic 1.0 for DOS is released. Figure this one out :) The language itself was not quite compatible with Visual Basic for Windows, as it was actually the next version of Microsoft's DOS-based BASIC compilers, QuickBASIC and BASIC Professional Development System. November 1992 Visual Basic 2 Debuts Adds ODBC Level 1 support, MDI forms, and object variables. First version to feature the Professional Edition. The programming environment was easier to use, and its speed was improved. June 1993 Visual Basic 3 Debuts Integrates the Access Engine (Jet), OLE Automation and reporting. It came in both Standard and Professional versions. Visual Basic 3 included version 1.1 of the Microsoft Jet DatabaseEngine that could read and write Jet (or Access) 1.x databases. October 1996 Visual Basic 4 Debuts Permits you to create your own add-ins. Also introduces classes and OCX's. Was the first version that could created 32 bit as well as 16-bit Windows programs. April 1997 Visual Basic 5 Debuts Incorporates compiler, WithEvents, and the ability to create ActiveX controls. A free, downloadable Control Creation Edition was also released for creation of ActiveX controls. It was also used as an introductory form of Visual Basic: a regular. exe project could be created and run in the IDE, but not compiled. October 1998 Visual Basic 6 Debuts Introduces WebClasses, windowless controls, data designers, new reporting designers, and the ability to create data sources.
Visual Basic Introduction and History Visual Basic Version Summary. The evolution of Visual Basic can be summarized by the following table: Version 1 (for Windows) – March 20, 1991 Version 1 (for MS-DOS) – September 1992 Version 2 – November 1992 Version 3 – June 1993 VBA (VB for Applications) – 1993 Version 4 – October 1996 (16- and 32-bit support) Version 5 – April 1997 (no 16-bit support) Version 6 – October 1998 (part of Visual Studio) Version 7 (.NET) – February 2002 Version 7.1 (.NET 2003) – April 2003 VBA .NET for Office 2003 – October 2003 Version 8 (.NET 2.0, Visual Studio 2005) – November 2005 Version 9 (.NET 3.5, Visual Studio 2008) – released November 2007 Version 10 (Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0) – in Pre-release as of October 31, 2008 Visual Basic Editions Visual Basic is available in three editions, each geared to meet a specific set of development requirements. The features available to you depend on which product you have purchased. Visual Basic Enterprise Edition The Enterprise edition allows professionals to create robust distributed applications in a team setting. It includes all the features of the Professional edition, plus Back Office tools such as SQL Server, Microsoft Transaction Server, Internet Information Server, Visual SourceSafe, SNA Server, and more. Printed documentation provided with the Enterprise edition includes the Visual Studio Enterprise Features book plus Microsoft Developer Network CDs containing full online documentation. Visual Basic Professional Edition The Professional edition provides computer professionals with a full-featured set of tools for developing solutions for others. It includes all the features of the Learning edition, plus additional ActiveX controls, the Internet Information Server Application Designer, Integrated Data Tools and Data Environment, and the Dynamic HTML Page Designer. Documentation provided with the Professional edition includes the Visual Studio Professional Features book plus Microsoft Developer Network CDs containing full online documentation.
Visual Basic Introduction and History Visual Basic Learning Edition The Visual Basic Learning edition allows programmers to easily create powerful applications for Microsoft Windows and Windows NT®. It includes all intrinsic controls, plus grid, tab, and data-bound controls. Documentation provided with this edition includes Learn VB Now (a multimedia CD-ROM title), plus Microsoft Developer Network CDs containing full online documentation. Integrated development environment IDEs typically present a single program in which all development is done. This program typically provides many features for authoring, modifying, compiling, deploying and debugging software. The aim is to abstract the configuration necessary to piece together command line utilities in a cohesive unit, which theoretically reduces the time to learn a language, and increases developer productivity. It is also thought that the tight integration of development tasks can further increase productivity. For example, code can be compiled while being written, providing instant feedback on syntax errors. While most modern IDEs are graphical. An IDE normally consists of: a source code editor a compiler and/or an interpreter build automation tools a debugger
Visual Basic Introduction and History •
Menu / Toolbar This is the only element of the IDE which is always visible. You use it to select which other IDE elements to view and to add forms or controls to your project.
Toolbox The toolbox is simply a library of controls which you can place on your application. Once you've placed all the controls you need onto your applications forms, you can hide the toolbox to make room for working in the other elements of the IDE. Project Window This is simply a list of all the forms which make up your VB project. There are several kinds of forms.
Property Window Such things as push-buttons, scrolling text boxes, pictures boxes and other features of most VB applications allow you to enter parameters which define how these controls work. In VB, these parameters are called properties. Some properties can be entered at design time within the IDE, while others must be entered with code while the program is running.
Forms You add these to your VB application as they are needed. They are the windows which hold the various controls (buttons, text boxes, etc.) which make up your application.
Visual Basic Introduction and History Code Window Like it's name implies, this is where you type in the code that VB executes. Notice that the heading of the window indicates with which event the code is associated.
Defining Some Basic Terms The concept of computer programming
A computer program is an organized list of instructions that, when executed, causes the computer to behave in a predetermined manner. Without programs, computers are useless.Therefore, programming means designing or creating a set of instructions to ask the computer to carry out certain jobs which normally are very much faster than human beings can do. Event-Driven Programming In an event-driven application, the code doesn't follow a predetermined path — it executes different code sections in response to events. Events can be triggered by the user's actions, by messages from the system or other applications, or even from the application itself. The sequence of these events determines the sequence in which the code executes, thus the path through the application's code differs each time the program runs. What is an Enterprise Application? An enterprise application is a business application, obviously. As most people use the term, it is a big business application. In today’s corporate environment, enterprise applications are complex, scalable, distributed, component-based, and mission-critical. They may be deployed on a variety of platforms across corporate networks, intranets, or the Internet. They are data-centric, user-friendly, and must meet stringent requirements for security, administration, and maintenance. In short, they are highly complex systems. Application
An application is a collection of objects that work together to accomplish something useful. In VB the application is called a Project. A Project could be a the management of a Video store, the calculation of mortgages, a dating service or the Payroll Object (Properties, Methods and Events) An object is a piece of software that has properties, Method and Events that can be manipulated. Visual Basic forms and controls are objects which expose their own properties, methods and events. Properties can be thought of as an object's attributes, methods as its actions, and events as its responses.
Visual Basic Introduction and History Project File Formats Microsoft Visual Basic utilizes and creates a number of files at both design and run time. Which files will be required by your project or application depends upon its scope and functionality. Design-time and Miscellaneous Files The following table lists all the design-time and miscellaneous other files that may be produced when you develop an application: Extension
Description
.bas
Basic module
.cls
Class module
.ctl
User Control file
.ctx
User Control binary file
.frm
Form file
.frx
Binary form file
.log
Log file for load errors
.vbp
Visual Basic project file
Run-Time Files When you compile your application, all the necessary design-time files are included in the run-time executable files. Run-time files are listed in the following table: Extension
Description
.dll
In-process ActiveX component
.exe
Executable file or ActiveX component
.ocx
ActiveX control
