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Visual Basic Programming Language and Its Significant Features

Visual Basic is a third generation event-driven programming language. The Microsoft Corporation released Visual Basic in 1987. It was indeed the first visual development tool from Microsoft. Visual Basic was derived from BASIC and enables rapid application development of graphical user interface applications, access to databases using DAO, RDO, or ADO, and creation of ActiveX controls and objects. The language not only allows Visual Basic programmers to create simple GUI applications, but also helps them develop quite complex applications. Visual Basic allows developers to target Windows, Web, and mobile devices.

Programming in Visual Basic is a combination of visually arranging components on a form, specifying attributes and actions of those components. Since the default attributes and actions ought to be defined for the components, it is very simple to write a program without the help of a Visual Basic programmer. Forms can be created using drag and drop techniques. Visual Basic provides many interesting sets of tools to help you in building exciting and entertaining applications. It provides these tools to make your life easier, since the entire coding is already written for you. Moreover, it is a user friendly language which is very effective and efficient. A tool is used to place controls such as text boxes, buttons, etc on the form window. Default values will be provided when a control is created, but it can be changed by the Visual Basic programmer.

Visual Basic is not only a programming language, but it also has a complete graphical development environment. Visual Basic has the ability to develop programs that can be used as a front end application to a database system, and serving as the user interface which collects input from the user and displays formatted output in an attractive format. As the Visual Basic programmer works in the graphical environment, much of the program code is automatically generated by the Visual Basic program. The main object in Visual Basic is called a form. Once you create forms, you can change the properties using properties window. Finally, you can add events to your controls. Events are responses to actions performed on controls.

Using Visual Basic's tools, you can quickly translate an abstract idea into a program design which you can actually see on the screen. VB encourages you to experiment, revise, correct, and network your design until the project meets your requirements. Visual Basic Programmer use the language in different areas such as Education, Business, Accounting, Marketing and Sales. Visual Basic supports a number of common programming constructs and language elements. Once you understand the basics of the language, you can create powerful applications using Visual Basic.

Visual Basic can create executables i.e. EXE files, ActiveX controls, but it is primarily used to develop Windows applications. It is also used to interface web database systems. This generation of Visual Basic continues the tradition of giving you a faster and easier way to create .NET framework-based applications. Visual Basic also fully integrates the .NET framework and the common language runtime, which provide language interoperability, garbage collection, enhanced security, and versioning support.

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.NET Framework

.NET Framework what is the role and how come?

Microsoft wants to come up with something standard so that everyone that everything can communicate to each other. Microsoft has invented a new system called .NET Framework is not an effective Operating System but the program will create an environment that can work in .NET If anyone has already used JAVA you may be familiar with the JAVA Virtual Machine .NET Framework it is considered as a Virtual Machine.

In the future, Microsoft hopes to bring.NET Framework is installed on all devices .NET Framework is divided into 3 large components Programming Languages, Base Classes Library, and Common Language Runtime.

Programming Languages

Language used to create programs that work under the conditions of .NET. Microsoft introduced language that would develop on .NET there are 3 numbers of the language all together.

• C # is a new language by Microsoft developed from C++ and JAVA language.

• VB.NET (Visual Basic.NET or Visual Basic version 7.0) is a language derived from Visual Basic version 6.0.

• Jscript.NET language development from a Jscript which is Microsoft's version JavaScript. These languages are an option that we have to use in the development of ASP.NET Web page with the following building-block.

Base Classes Library

Library is a group of commands provided for the programming language. The majority of the commands are commonly used. Therefore the inventor of memory to facilitate the programming within the Library system.NET will be in the form of that eclipse Called Class Library.
.NET has a mass amount of basic library and no matter what programming language you use to develop under .NET your entire Library series will be the same. Unlike before you can’t use the library from one language with the other language that means that each programming language has to have its own library. You can convert the source code from one language to another language one more easily.

Common Language Runtime (CLR)

Is the most important element in .NET Framework because CLR has a function that allows programs written in different languages to be converted into a language with the same standard format we call that language Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSL as known as IL) there for when you use the program to run on a different system CLR will translates IL to become appropriate to the system (converted into the system language of the machine).

NET Framework what is it good for?

Many will wonder why we write our program under .NET Framework and why it is better then programming the normal way.

1. The Library system has the same standard: Because the Library has the same standard. Allows us not to worry that the language of our writing is the correct Library or not, and you don’t have to worry that the Library that you use will not work in one's language.

2. Not the operating system: Because each operating system using MRI are not identical. However if the programming is running under .NET all you need is to have .NET Framework in your program it will allow the program to work on every supported operating systems.

3. All the language are the same: we do not have to study of new language every time you want to program some thing new and you can use the programming language that your most familiar with to develop you program.

4. A controlled environment: Because the system is standard. Distributed control systems are easy to use whether its memory allocation the machine can do the job faster and lowering the possibility of you computer crashing.

5. Security is more: .NET Framework has a security option called permission. That allows the user to set whether to use that part of the program or not Depending on the user and you also have a function to encrypt your data.

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Querying Table Data Using Visual Basic Code in Ms Access

In order to fully utilize the capabilities of MS Access, one must learn not only learn the Visual Basic (VB) programming language, but should also learn Standard Query Language (SQL). Once a grasp of these two languages have been obtained, MS Access users can begin to build faster and more efficient databases.

One tool that has proved itself very useful to me over the years is querying data from tables or queries using VB and SQL code. A brief introduction to this process is presented in this article. To best understand this process, an example is provided below along with an explanation of its parts.

‘*********CODE***********

Dim rstTemp As Recordset

Dim strSQL As String

Dim routeNum As Integer

strSQL = "SELECT [Route], [Main Route PM], [Intersecting Route], [IntBeginPM], [IntEndPM] “

strSQL =  strSQL + “FROM Intersections_list WHERE (((CStr([Route])) = """ + cmbRouteQuery + """));"

Set rstTemp = CurrentDb.OpenRecordset(strSQL, dbOpenDynaset)

If (Not (rstTemp.EOF)) Then

    rstTemp.MoveFirst

    routeNum = rstTemp(0)

‘************************

After the initial variable declarations, the code assigns an SQL statement to the string variable strSQL. This statement directs Access to gather all the data in the Route, Main Route PM, Intersecting Route, IntBeginPM, and IntEndPM fields of the table named Intersections_list. Furthermore, it directs Access to only gather information from these fields where the Route field is equal to a value held in the combo box cmbRouteQuery.

Once the SQL statement has been set, it is passed to the next line of code which executes it. It should be noted that the dbOpenDynaset variable is built into Access and holds an integer value that changes the type of recordset to open. For most general purposes, using dbOpenDynaset will work just fine.

The “if statement” in the code example verifies that the recordset just created contains information. If information is present, the code directs Access to move to the first record in the recordset. The code then stores the route in the first record (routeNum = rstTemp(0)) in the variable routeNum to be used for later use.

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What is Type Library and How is it Related to the Registry?

A Type Library is a software file that describes software interfaces in an operating system, typically Windows. It also describes co-classes, and other resources in a Common Object Model server. A type library file created by Visual Basic will always have a .TLB extension. The .TLB file is required by a client to connect to a server.

A type library can be thought of as a binary version of an IDL (interface Definition Language) file. Visual basic creates a type library when you create a VB server object, thus eliminating the need for an IDL file. A C-like language used to define interfaces and co-classes for COM. Ole View is a COM utility that reverse-engineers a type library into a readable form of IDL. IDL is used to provide language-independence for COM interfaces so that identical interfaces defined in VB, C++, and Java look the same in IDL even though they look different in the language used for implementation.

Other Types of Type Library

There is also the type library in the system that is used to display the type or font on the screen and printed document. This type or font library is located in the systems registry. Every time a program calls upon the type library top to display the font, the type library looks up the registry to locate the type that has to be displayed. If the type is not present in the library the page displays the default of the closest matching font for that type.

So What Is The System Registry?

The operating system must have the knowledge as to where to find certain files when the programs call on them for some function. This information was initially stored in the information folder denoted as INF in earlier versions of Windows primarily 95 and 98 first edition. Microsoft introduced the registry in windows 98 Second Edition to speed things up while loading and locating programs. But this can also slow the system down drastically. This Registry is a database used to store settings and options for the 32 bit versions of Microsoft Windows including Windows ME and NT/2000. The Registry contains information and settings for all the hardware, software, users, and preferences of the PC. This registry is constantly growing and updating itself. There will come a time when it will need to be cleaned. This can be done with one of the free XP registry cleaner if you are using XP or any other Microsoft free registry cleaner.

The physical files that make up the registry are stored differently depending on your version of Windows; under Windows 95 & 98 it is contained in two hidden files in your Windows directory, called USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT, for Windows Me there is an additional CLASSES.DAT file, while under Windows NT/2000 the files are contained separately in the SystemRootSystem32Config directory. You cannot edit these files directly, you must use a tool commonly known as a registry cleaner to make any changes in the Registry. It is in fact, advisable never to fool around with the Registry unless you have a trusted registry windows cleaner such as the PC registry cleaner or the Eusing free Registry cleaner which are available on many download sites free.

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Programmers Should go for ASP .NET

ASP.NET has emerged as an answer to the problems that the developers used to face with the classic ASP. Since ASP has an extensive use, however, Microsoft ensured that ASP scripts perform without modification on a machine with the .NET Framework (the ASP engine, ASP.DLL, is not customized when installing the .NET Framework). Thus, IIS can accommodate both ASP and ASP.NET scripts on the same machine.

Advantages of ASP.NET

1. Division of Code from HTML:

To make a clean sweep, with ASP.NET you have the capability to completely detach layout and business logic. This makes it much simple for the programmers and designers to collaborate efficiently. There is also a high level of efficiency achieved through this.

2. Support for compiled languages:

The developer can use Visual Basic.NET and access those vital things like strong typing and object-oriented programming. Using compiled languages signifies that ASP.NET pages do not have the similar performance penalties which are all linked with interpreted code. ASP.NET pages are precompiled to byte-code and Just In Time (JIT) compiled when it is requested. All the requests henceforth made are directed to the fully compiled code, which is cached until the source changes.

3. Use services provided by the .NET Framework:

The .NET Framework offers class libraries that are usable by your application. Some of the chief classes help you with input/output, access to operating system services, data access, or even debugging.

4. Graphical Development Environment:

Visual Studio .NET offers a potential development environment for Web developers. It is feasible to drag and drop controls and set properties the way you do in Visual Basic 6. There is a full IntelliSense support, not only for your code, but also for HTML and XML.

5. State Management:

In answer to the problems which developers faced ASP.NET provides solutions for session and application state management. State information can, can be confined in memory or stored in a database. It is also sharable across Web farms, and state information can be recovered, in case the server fails or the connection breaks down.

6. Update files while the server is running!

You can update the components of your application while the server is online and clients are connected. The Framework will use the new files at the same moment that they are copied to the application. The files which have become old and needs to be removed are still in use are kept in memory until the clients have completed.

7. XML-Based Configuration Files:

Configuration settings in ASP.NET can be kept in XML files that are easily readable and can be edited. It is also easy to copy these to another server, along with the other files that include your application.

ASP Web Development has thus revamped the entire IT Industry in its own way.

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