1. Exploring the Visual Studio Integrated Development Environment
Part I Chapter 1
Exploring the Visual Studio Integrated Development Environment

2. Objectives Understand software and computer programs
Define Microsoft Visual Basic and identify the common features of Windows applications.
Identify and use the basic tools in the Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment.
Design a form and add objects to it.
Explain the meaning of "event-driven" and write code for an event procedure.
Understand and use the Help system.

3. Vocabulary Builds Class Code Controls Dialog box Event-driven
Event procedure
Events
File extension
Form
Graphical user interface (GUI)
Instantiation
Integrated development environment (IDE)
Menus
Method
Objects
Properties
Solution
ToolTip

4. Historically Speaking
The first general‑purpose computer of the modern age was the ENIAC—The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. It was invented to do only one thing, calculate firing tables for missiles in the Second World War. The ENIAC consisted of more than 18,000 vacuum tubes and filled a large room. To program the ENIAC, it had to be completely rewired. It was a far cry from what we have today. Its inventors, J. Eckert and John Mauchley, went on to found the first American computer company called UNIVAC.

5. Introduction
The set of instructions that directs a computer to perform tasks is called computer software, or a computer program
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

6. Introduction
Computer hardware is the physical equipment associated with a computer
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

7. Introduction
The basic function of many computer programs is to accept data, manipulate the data (process), and create output data or information
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

8. Introduction In order for the computer to execute a program:
Program and data must be placed in the computer’s random access memory (RAM)
The central processing unit (CPU) can access the instructions in the program and the data in RAM to perform activities directed by the program
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

9. Introduction
Saving, or storing, data refers to placing the data or software electronically on a storage medium
Hard disk
Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive
Persistent data remains available even after the computer power is turned off
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

10. Computer Programmers and Developers
A computer program is designed and developed by people known as computer programmers, or developers
Developers are people skilled in designing computer programs and creating them using programming languages
Applications may consist of several computer programs working together to solve a problem
Computer programmers write the code for programs using a programming language
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

11. Computer Programmers and Developers
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

12. Event-Driven Computer Programs with a Graphical User Interface
Most Visual Basic 2005 programs are event-driven programs that communicate with the user through a graphical user interface (GUI)
A GUI usually consists of a window, containing a variety of objects
An event means the user has initiated an action that causes the program to perform the type of processing called for by the user’s action
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

13. Event-Driven Computer Programs with a Graphical User Interface
For example:
The user enters the account number in the Account Number box
The user clicks the Display Account Balance button
The user clicks the Reset Window button to clear the text boxes and prepare the user interface for the next account number
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

14. Input Operation
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

15. Output Operation
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

16. Visual Basic 2005 and Visual Studio 2005
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

17. Programming Languages
Visual Basic 2005
Based on the Visual Basic programming language that Microsoft developed in the early 1990s
Based on the BASIC language
C++
Derivative of the programming language, C
Visual C#
Synthesis of C++ syntax and Visual Basic productivity benefits
Visual J#
Java language for use with Visual Studio
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

18. .NET Framework 2.0
.NET technologies and products were designed to work together to allow businesses to connect information, people, systems, and devices through software
The .NET Framework provides tools and processes developers can use to produce and run programs
Most recent version is .NET Framework 2.0
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

19. .NET Class Library A class is a named group of program code
A button is an example of a class
A class library stores the class and makes the class available to all developers who need to use it
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

20. .NET Class Library
A button created from a class is called an object, or sometimes an instance of a class
The process of creating a Button object from the Button class is called instantiation
Rapid application development (RAD) refers to the process of using prebuilt classes to make application development faster, easier, and more reliable
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

21. ADO.NET 2.0
ADO.NET 2.0 (ActiveX Data Objects) provides the functionality for a program to perform four primary tasks when working with a database:
Get the data
Examine the data
Edit the data
Update the data
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

22. ASP.NET 2.0
Allows developers to use Visual Studio 2005 to build Web application
Almost all .NET framework objects are available in ASP.NET 2.0
Easy to deploy a Web application on a Web server
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

23. Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) and Common Language Runtime (CLR)
Program compilation translates programming statements into instructions that can be understood by the electronics of the computer
Program compilation for a Visual Basic 2005 program creates a set of electronic code expressed in an intermediate language called the Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL)
When the program is executed, a portion of .NET 2.0 called the Common Language Runtime (CLR) reads the MSIL and causes the actual instructions within the program to be executed
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

24. Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) and Common Language Runtime (CLR)
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

25. Types of Visual Basic 2005 Applications
Windows application
Program will run on a computer or other device that supports the Windows GUI
Mobile application
Designed to run on mobile devices running the Windows CE operating system
Web site application
Uses ASP.NET 2.0 and runs on a Web server
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

26. Types of Visual Basic 2005 Applications
Office application
Includes Writing Visual Basic 2005 code to automate and manipulate documents created using Microsoft Office
Database application
Written using ADO.NET 2.0 to reference, access, display, and update data stored in a database
Other types of applications include console applications, classes for class libraries, Web services, and device-specific applications
Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Programming

27. Common Windows Objects
Minimize
button
Title bar
Menu bar
Menu
Maximize/Restore
Point out the Title bar, Menu bar, Toolbar, Menu and menu commands, Minimize button, and Maximize/Restore button
Toolbar

28. Shortcut Keys for File Menu Commands

29. Visual Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

30. New Project Dialog Box

31. An Empty Visual Basic Project in the Visual Studio IDE

32. Note
Each application program is called a project. Some applications require more than one project. The collection of projects that form an application is called a solution. The Solution Explorer shows the files and components that make up the solution.

33. The Visual Basic Standard Toolbar

34. Note
The Tools menu and the Toolbox window may vary from system to system due to different system configurations.

35. The Standard Toolbar Showing the Add New Item ToolTip

36. Note
ToolTips give a short explanation of what a control does. They appear as yellow boxes near a control when your mouse pointer rests over the control

37. The Add New Item Box
Figure 1-8

38. Note
Menu commands and buttons appear in color or solid black when they can be used and are grayed out when they cannot be used.

39. The Visual Basic Toolbox
Figure 1-9

40. Building Communication Skills
Before starting any project, it is important to make sure that you, the programmer, understand exactly what your client expects from the program. One of the best ways of making this happen is to interview the client or the client's users. Do not assume that, just because you think something should be done one way, the client thinks the same thing.
Building Communication Skills

41. Note
Attaching your program tools to a particular place in the development environment is called docking.

42. Note
Double‑click a tool in the Toolbox and a control of default size appears on the form.

43. Understanding the Solution Explorer Window
The Solution Explorer window lists all of the forms and modules used in the project or projects that make up the complete application called the solution.

44. The Solution Explorer Window

45. Examining the Properties Window
Like any physical object, each object in Visual Basic has properties. The properties describe the object's appearance, position, and behavior. The Properties window lists the characteristics for the selected form or object. The left column displays the names of the properties associated with the selected object and the right column displays the current setting for that property.

46. Properties Window

47. Building Programming Skills
Despite legal battles that have embroiled Microsoft over the last few years, the company has brought a level of continuity to the PC environment. Windows users, as a result, have come to expect certain things when they launch a Windows application. It would be unwise for a programmer who wanted to sell an application to deviate from industry standards.

48. Tip
An easy way to change a property setting is to double‑click the property's name (not the name of the object) in the left column. The property setting is selected and ready to be replaced. Once selected, just keying a new value from the keyboard will replace the old value. Double-clicking a property's name in the left column of the Properties window may change the property's value by cycling through the possible values.

49. Tip
The properties are listed in alphabetical order with the exception of Name, which is at the top. While each object has its own unique set of properties, every object has a Name property. Visual Basic automatically gives each object a name when it is created, but the values are not particularly descriptive (for example, Form1). It is a good idea to give each object a more descriptive name after adding it to the project because you use the object's Name property when writing code.

50. Computer Ethics
As a programmer, it is important to remember to give credit where credit is due. If you use someone else's work, make sure you have permission to use their work and give them credit for it.

51. The Visual Basic Project
A Visual Basic project is composed of all the forms, controls, code, and other items that make up the entire application. You may also want to add prebuilt components to your application. By using all of the tools available to you, powerful applications can be created quickly and efficiently.

52. Creating a Form
The form may have buttons, scroll bars, menus, list boxes, menus, and any of the other features that are common to Windows programs. Forms are the main building blocks of an application. You begin by creating the forms, adding the controls, writing the code, testing the application, and then finally using it in its actual setting. Proper planning helps ensure that users will be able to quickly find their way around a program. It is the programmer's responsibility to consider the multitude of users that may access their program and anticipate all of the different options that they may need.

53. Note
In Microsoft Word, you may close a document before closing Word, although it is unnecessary to do so. You might be tempted to right-click the project name in the Solution Explorer and select Remove to remove the current project from Visual Basic; do not do so. Later in the book, you will have two projects open at the same time. This creates a solution with multiple projects. The Remove Project command is meant to remove a second (or third) project from a solution. It is not meant to remove a project at the end of a programming session.

54. Class Name List Box
Figure 1-12

55. Note
If you click the Class Name list box, you will see four entries: Form1 (MyFirst), (Overrides), IblHello, and Form1. Form1 and IblHello correspond to the objects that are available to this application at this point. If you were to add additional controls, they would be listed here as well.

56. Summary
Microsoft Visual Basic .NET is a set of programming tools that allows you to create applications for the Windows operating system and for the Internet.
Programs in Visual Basic are event‑driven. Users initiate an event with a mouse click or by pressing a key.
The code written by a programmer to respond to an event is called a method.
The Solution Explorer lists all the files and modules that make up an application. It may contain information about more than one project.
The toolbar provides easy access to frequently performed commands. A number of specialized toolbars can be displayed to make other commands readily available.

57. Summary
The Toolbox contains many controls that you can add to your forms. More controls can be added to the Toolbox to give you even greater capabilities.
The Properties window lists the properties information for a selected form or object.
Standard prefixes have been developed for commonly used controls.
It is important to give all objects descriptive names. Build the names with the appropriate prefix followed by one or more words starting with uppercase letters. The word(s) should describe the control’s use.

58. Summary
A Visual Basic project is composed of all the forms, controls, code, and other items that make up an application. Use the Solution Explorer to view those components.
Files are designated by the filename, a period, and the file extension.
Programs in Windows work based on messages that generate events for the application. Each event executes code contained in the event’s method.
Select items in the Debug menu to run the program.
To exit Visual Basic, choose Exit from the File menu or click the Close button on the title bar.