Visual Basic 2008

Introduction to Visual Basic 2008

Visual Basic 2008 is Microsoft's latest incarnation of the enormously popular Visual Basic language, and it's fundamentally different from the versions that came before it. Visual Basic 2008 is now more powerful and more capable than ever before, and its features and functionality are on par with "higher level" languages such as C++. One consequence of this newfound power is added complexity. Gone are the days when you could sit down with Visual Basic and the online Help and teach yourself what you needed to know to create a functional program.

This tutorial is divided into 14 chapters, each of which focuses on a different aspect of developing applications with Visual Basic 2008. These chapters generally follow the flow of tasks you'll perform as you begin creating your own programs using Visual Basic 2008. I recommend that you read them in the order in which they appear.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Getting Started With Visual Basic 2008

In this chapter, you'll complete a quick tour of Visual Basic that takes you step by step through creating a complete, albeit small, Visual Basic program. Read more...

 

Chapter 2: Understanding the Visual Basic 2008 Environment

In this Chapter, you'll learn how to customize your design environment by moving, docking, floating, hiding, and showing design windows, as well as how to customize menus and toolbars. Read more...

 

Chapter 3: Understanding Objects and Collections

In this chapter, you begin learning about an important programming concept: objects. Read more...

 

Chapter 4: Understanding Events

In this chapter, you'll learn about object events and event-driven programming, and you'll learn how to use events to make your applications responsive. Read more...

 

Chapter 5: Working with Windows Forms

In this chapter, you'll learn about how to design forms correctly enables you to begin creating solid interface foundations for your programs. Read more...

 

Chapter 6: Working with Controls

In this chapter, I'll introduce you to the most common controls. Read more...

 

Chapter 7: Using Menus and Toolbars

In this chapter, you'll learn how to build, manipulate, and program menus on a form. Read more...

 

Chapter 8: Creating Code Procedures

In this chapter, you'll learn how to create sets of code, how to create isolated code routines that can be executed, and how to invoke the procedures you create. Read more...

 

Chapter 9: Using Constants, Variables and Arrays

In this chapter, you'll learn the ins and outs of Visual Basic 2008's data types. Read more...

 

Chapter 10: Performing Operations

In this chapter, I explain what you need to know about Boolean logic to create efficient code that performs as expected. Read more...

 

Chapter 11: Using Decision Structures

In this chapter, you'll learn how to use the decision constructs provided by Visual Basic to perform robust yet efficient decisions in Visual Basic code. Read more...

 

Chapter 12: Debugging and Error Handling

In this chapter you will learn the basic skills necessary to trace and correct most bugs in your code. Read more...

 

Chapter 13: Displaying Dialog Boxes

In this chapter, you'll learn how to create functional and cohesive interaction between your application and the user. Read more...

 

Chapter 14: Working with Databases

In this chapter, you'll learn the basics of working with a database using ADO.NET, Microsoft's newest database technology. Read more...