An Introduction to Visual Basic Terms Concepts What

An Introduction to Visual Basic Terms & Concepts

What is VB? • Visual Basic is a programming language (actually an environment) designed to create computer programs that run in Microsoft Windows. • VB has been developed through many versions. This course uses VB 2008.

Getting Started VB 2008 addresses problem solving “from the outside, in. ” In other words, the user interface is designed and created first, then its Events are programmed.

The Windows GUI • The Graphical User Interface (GUI) is the means through which users can interact with programs. • Each window is called a form. • Each form is populated with controls. • It is through these controls that the programmer handles I/O in VB.

The Windows GUI • There are many different kinds of controls: – – – Label Text box Radio button Check box Command button Image List box Drop-down list Frame Line / Shape Tab

A Sample Form Tab Checkbox Drop-down list Label Textbox Command Button

Programming Language Paradigms Recall the programming paradigms: • Procedural • Functional • Declarative • Object-oriented – Event-driven In this paradigm we develop projects rather than programs.

Object Oriented Programming A VB project consists of: – Objects - the nouns of OOP • forms and controls are examples of objects. – Properties - the adjectives • size, location, name, caption – Methods - the verbs • Move, Print, Resize, Clear The dot operator – Object. property is the syntax for referring to a particular property of a particular object.