Visual
Basic changed the face of Windows programming by removing the complex burden of
writing code for the user interface (UI). By allowing programmers to draw their
own UI, it freed them to concentrate on the business problems they were trying
to solve. Once the UI is drawn, the programmer can then add code to react to
events.
Visual
Basic has also been extensible from the very beginning.
When
Microsoft introduced Visual Basic 3.0, the programming world changed again. Now
you could build database applications directly accessible to users (so called
front-end applications) completely with Visual Basic. Microsoft accomplished this task with the
introduction of the Data Access Objects (DAO), which allowed programmers to manipulate
data with the same ease as manipulating the user interface.
Versions
4.0 and 5.0 extended the capabilities of version 3.0 in order to allow
developers to target the new Windows 95 platform. Crucially they also made it
easier for developers to write code, which could then be manipulated in order
to be used by other language developers. Version 6.0 gave us a new way to
access databases with the integration of ActiveX Data Objects (ADO). ADO was
developed by Microsoft to aid web developers using Active Server Pages to
access databases. With all of the improvements to Visual Basic over the years,
it ensured its dominant place in the programming world. It helps developers
write robust and maintainable applications in record time.
UNIT – I Customizing a Form and
writing Simple Programs: Starting a New Project - The Properties Window -
Common Form Properties - Making a Form Responsive - Printing a Visual
Representation of a Form - Creating Stand - Alone Windows Programs First Steps
in Building the User Interface: The Toolbox - Creating Controls-The Name
(Control Name) Property - Properties of
Command Buttons - Simple Event Procedures for Command Buttons - Access Keys -
Image Controls - Text Boxes-Labels- Navigating Between Controls - Message Boxes
- The Grid - The Display in Visual Basic- The ASCII Representation of Forms
First
Steps in Programming: Anatomy of a Visual Basic Application - The Code Window - Visual Basic’s Editing Tools -
Statements in Visual Basic - Variables - Setting Properties with Code - Date Types - Working
with Variables - More on Strings - More on
Numbers - Example Program: A Mortgage Calculator – Constants - Input
Boxes
