Significant Language Features

Visual Basic is not only a programming language, but also a complete graphical development environment. This environment allows users with little programming experience to quickly develop useful Microsoft Windows applications which have the ability to use OLE ( Object Linking and Embedding ) objects, such as an Excel spreadsheet. Visual Basic also has the ability to develop programs that can be used as a front end application to a database system, serving as the user interface which collects user input and displays formatted output in a more appealing and useful form than many SQL versions are capable of.

This form will eventually be incorporated into your program as a window. To this form you add controls. Controls are things like text boxes, check boxes and command buttons. Controls are added to your form by choosing them from the Visual Basic "tool box" with the mouse and inserting them in the form. Yours may look different, but the basic Visual Basic Tool Box looks like this :

Once forms/controls are created, you can change the properties ( appearance, structure etc. ) related to those objects in that particular objects properties window. From this window, you choose the property you want to change from the list and change its corresponding setting. Here is an example of a properties window :

Finally, you can add events to your controls. Events are responses to actions performed on controls. For example, in the "Hello world" program sample on this page, when you click on the command button on our form the event that is triggered is the output of the message "Hello world" to the screen. Code must be written to create an event. You can do this in Visual Basic's code window. Yours will look similar to this ( except of course, the body of the sub-procedure where the actions are specified) :

Once the code box is open, you select the object to create an event for and the triggering action ( such as a certain mouse action ) from the drop down menus in the code box. You can open a code box for a particular form by choosing it from the project window and selecting the View Code button. The project window contains a list of objects associated with that project. Below is an example of a project window :

Once all your objects are created, you can combine them to form a single executable program that can be run outside of the Visual Basic environment, in Microsoft Windows.

Areas of Application

The term "Personal Programming" refers to the idea that, wherever you work, whatever you do, you can expand your computer's usefulness by writing applications to use in your own job. Personal Programming is what Visual Basic is all about.

Using Visual Basic's tools, you quickly translate an abstract idea into a program design you can actually see on the screen. VB encourages you to experiment, revise, correct, and network your design until the new project meets your requirements. However , most of all, it inspires your imagination and creativity.

Visual Basic is ideal for developing applications that run in the new Windows 95 operating system. VB presents a 3-step approach for creating programs:

1. Design the appearance of your application.
2. Assign property settings to the objects of your program.
3. Write the code to direct specific tasks at runtime.

Visual Basic can and is used in a number of different areas, for example:

• Eucation
• Research
• Medecine
• Business
• Commerce
• Marketing and Sales
• Accounting
• Consulting
• Law
• Science