Chapter 1 Introduction to Visual Basic Programming and Applications 1 Exploring Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Copyright © 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc. By Carlotta Eaton

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.2 Objectives  Machine language vs.. High-level language  Procedure-oriented, object-oriented, and event-driven languages  Background of Visual Basic  VB Integrated Development Environment  Online documentation and Help features

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.3 Application Programs Program - detailed set of instructions for a computer to execute Application programs (applications or apps) - self-contained collection of programs that perform a task for the end user Programming language - formal language used to give instructions to computers

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.4 History of Programming Languages  Machine language  Procedure-oriented languages  Object-oriented languages  Event-driven languages  Natural languages

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.5 History of Programming Languages  Machine Language different for each computer processor  Procedure-Oriented Languages FORTRAN COBOL Pascal C Ada

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.6 History of Programming Languages  Object-oriented languages Smalltalk C++ Ada 95  Event-driven languages Visual Basic most Visual languages

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.7 History of Programming Languages  Natural languages computer will accept a user’s native or natural language, such as English Researchers continue to work in this area

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.8 Background of Visual Basic  BASIC Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code By John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz Designed to teach programming to beginners BASIC language interpreter, one of Microsoft’s first products

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.9 Background of Visual Basic  BASIC Included with DOS QBASIC - included with DOS Version 5 - subset of BASIC  Visual Basic Visual Basic 1 for Windows 3 Visual Basic 4 - for Windows 95 Visual Basic 5 - for Office 97 Visual Basic 6 - for Windows 98 & Office 2000

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.10 Visual Basic Editions  Learning Edition  Professional Edition  Enterprise Edition  Included in Visual Studio suite (analogy Office for programmers)

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.11 Visual Basic Editions  Other Visual Basic packaging options VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) Windows CE Toolkit for Visual Basic Visual Basic Scripting Edition Control Creation Edition

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.12 Toolbox Form Designer Window Code Editor Window Project Explorer Properties window Form Layout Window Visual Basic 6 Interactive Development Environment

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.13 Elements of the Integrated Development Environment  Application icon  Application name  Context menus  Controls  Current project  Design view mode  Title bar  Major windows Form Designer Form Layout Toolbox Project Explorer Object Browser Properties Code Editor Immediate, Locals, Watch

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.14 Introduction to Visual Basic Hands-On Exercise 1 Start Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Open the Welcome Project Open the Welcome Form Run the Welcome Project End the Welcome Project Exit Visual Basic

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.15 Get Help When You Need It  MSDN Library  Microsoft on the Web  Learning Edition of Visual Basic 6.0 Visual Basic 6.0 in Action book Learn Visual Basic Now multimedia tutorial

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.16 MSDN Library Topic Pane Navigation Pane

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.17 MSDN Library  Visual Basic Documentation Documentation Map What’s New Programmer’s Guide Samples Reference Guidebooks Component Tools Guide Data Access Guide

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.18 Get Help from the CD Hands-On Exercise 2 Open the Calc Sample Application Run the Calc Sample Application Get Help from the MSDN Library Add a Topic to the Favorites List Search for a Definition Exit Help and Visual Basic

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.19 Help from the Web  Pull down Help menu  Select Help from the Web or

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.20 Get Help from the Web Hands-On Exercise 3 Use the Free Stuff Page to Update VB Install the Update (optional) Product News Frequently Asked Questions Online Support

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.21 Use the Right Tool for the Job  Microsoft Office Suite Word - word processing Excel - spreadsheet PowerPoint - presentation Access - database  OLE = Object Linking and Embedding  Use Visual Basic to create a specialized, customized application

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.22 Summary...  Event-driven languages is a major improvement in programming languages  Editions include Learning Edition, Professional Edition, and Enterprise Edition  CD-ROM includes the MSDN Library, and many sample programs

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.23 Summary  Integrated Development Environment includes Form Designer, Form Layout Code Edition, Project Explorer Properties and Object Browser  Choose the right tool for the job  Visual Basic is the glue that binds Windows objects together

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.24 Practice with Visual Basic 1. Automated Teller Machine 2. Personal News Service 3. Getting Assistance While You Work 4. Pricing Information

Exploring MS Visual Basic 6 Copyright 1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc.25 Case Studies  I Wish I Could  Visual Basic Help on the Web  Quick Reference Manual  Planning for Disaster