Visual Basic Programming

An Introduction
Why Visual Basic?
H Programming for the Windows User
Interface is extremely complicated.
H Other Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) are
no better.
H Visual Basic provides a convenient method
for building user interfaces.
H Visual Basic can interface with code written
in C, for efficiency.
What Visual Basic is not
H Visual Basic is not, a powerful
programming language that enables you to
do anything you want.
H Visual Basic is not, elegant or fast.
H Visual Basic is not, a replacement for C.
H Visual Basic is not, anything like any other
programming language you have ever used.
When You Program in VB:
H You draw pictures of your user interface.
H You draw buttons, text boxes, and other
user-interface items.
H You add little snippets of code to handle the
user interaction.
H You add initialization code, usually as the
last step.
H If you like, you can code more complex
functions. (But many do not.)
The Visual Basic Interface

Draw Your
Program
Here!
Drawing The Program

Select A Control From Here

(Click on the appropriate button)

Then Draw the control on the form

Types of Controls
Static Text Pictures
Group Box Editable Text
Check Box Button
Scroll Bar Radio Button
Drop-Down List List
Timer Scroll Bar
Folder Hierarchy Drive List
Circles and Stuff File List
Pictures Lines
Data Base Access

And the List Goes On and On ...

A Simple Program
Double-Click to
Add Code

Single-Click to
Select and
Change
Properties

Using controls: Static Text

Editable Text
Buttons
The Properties Window
List of Properties
For Currently Selected
Control

Click on Property, and

Type In New Value, or
Select New Value From
Menu.
Adding Code
Control External Event
Name Name

You must Write

The Body
Yourself

What to Do When It Happens

More Complex Controls
H Complex Controls Have:
– Action Properties to Execute Commands
– Active Properties that Cause Actions When
Values Are Assigned to Them
– Many Types of Events for Program Interaction
H Examples:
– Spreadsheets
– Word Processors
– Web Browsers
Using C Code
H Write a DLL in C
H Use the _export Property on Appropriate
Functions
H Write Visual Basic Definitions for each
Function
H Add VB Definitions to The (general)
section of the VB Program
H Use Functions as if they were VB functions
C Definition vs. VB Definition
C:
long FAR PASCAL _export HexToLong (char *Hex)

VB:
Declare Function HexToLong Lib “FIRSTONE.DLL”
(ByVal InString As String) As Long

Function Name Must Be The Same in Both Declarations.

The Lib keyword Must Give The Name of the Library.
Argument Name in VB is arbitrary.
A (Very Annoying) Problem
H It is sometimes difficult for VB to FIND the
.DLL file.
H If this occurs, copy the .DLL file to the
WINDOWS directory.
H Remember to Delete the file when you are
done.
Alternative Methods
H Some Versions of VB do not allow DLL
function definitions in the (general) section
of a form.
H To Get Around this Problem, Create a new
Module (File Menu)
H Add the declarations to the (general) section
of the module
H You can add your own VB functions to the
(general) section of a form or a module.
Syntax Considerations
H All Functions are Global in VB
H Variables are declared using the syntax:
– Dim <Name> As <Type>
– Every variable must have a type
– Dim A,B,C As <Type> will work, but gives
weird results
H Most Common Types: Integer, String, Long
More VB Syntax
H Use Integers for Booleans
– As in C, 0 = False, everything else = True
– Symbolic constants True and False may be used
– True = -1, False = 0
H Assignments are the same as in C
H The Val function converts strings to integers
H The Format$ function converts integers to
strings
VB Statements
H Assignments are the Same as in C
H Case is not significant
– Case will be adjusted for you on keywords
– For Variable Names, Case is ignored
H The Usual Operators can be used
– AND is the same as both & and && depending
on context
– OR = | and ||
– NOT = !
VB IF Statements

If <condition> Then If <condition> Then

<List of Statements> <List of Statements>
Else EndIf
<List of Statements>
EndIf

Comparators: =,<, >, <=, >=, < > (not equal)

Connectives: And, Or, Not

DON’T FORGET THE ENDIF!

VB While Statements

While <condition> do
<List of Statements>
Wend

The VB Manual Recommends a different structure.

Use the alternative if you wish.
VB For Statements
For <Variable> = <start> to <finish>
<List of Statements>
Next <Variable>

For <Variable> = <start> to <finish> Step <increment>

<List of Statements>
Next <Variable>
Example:
For I = 1 to 10 do
A[I] = A[I] + 1
Next I
VB Arrays
H Indices Always Start With Zero
H Dim A[10] As Integer Declares 11 elements,
indexed from 0 through 10.
H Multi-Dimensional Arrays are Permitted.
H Arrays can be resized at run time (See VB
Help File for ReDim)
VB Strings
H Variable Length
H Compare using standard comparators
H Maximum length is about 64Kb
H Minimum length is zero
H Allocated from VB “String Space”, so may
run out of space even on systems with much
memory.
And in Conclusion ...

Go
Have
Fun!
Visual Basic Programming

An Introduction
Why Visual Basic?
H Programming for the Windows User
Interface is extremely complicated.
H Other Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) are
no better.
H Visual Basic provides a convenient method
for building user interfaces.
H Visual Basic can interface with code written
in C, for efficiency.
What Visual Basic is not
H Visual Basic is not, a powerful
programming language that enables you to
do anything you want.
H Visual Basic is not, elegant or fast.
H Visual Basic is not, a replacement for C.
H Visual Basic is not, anything like any other
programming language you have ever used.
When You Program in VB:
H You draw pictures of your user interface.
H You draw buttons, text boxes, and other
user-interface items.
H You add little snippets of code to handle the
user interaction.
H You add initialization code, usually as the
last step.
H If you like, you can code more complex
functions. (But many do not.)
The Visual Basic Interface

Draw Your
Program
Here!
Drawing The Program

Select A Control From Here

(Click on the appropriate button)

Then Draw the control on the form

Types of Controls
Static Text Pictures
Group Box Editable Text
Check Box Button
Scroll Bar Radio Button
Drop-Down List List
Timer Scroll Bar
Folder Hierarchy Drive List
Circles and Stuff File List
Pictures Lines
Data Base Access

And the List Goes On and On ...

A Simple Program
Double-Click to
Add Code

Single-Click to
Select and
Change
Properties

Using controls: Static Text

Editable Text
Buttons
The Properties Window
List of Properties
For Currently Selected
Control

Click on Property, and

Type In New Value, or
Select New Value From
Menu.
Adding Code
Control External Event
Name Name

You must Write

The Body
Yourself

What to Do When It Happens

More Complex Controls
H Complex Controls Have:
– Action Properties to Execute Commands
– Active Properties that Cause Actions When
Values Are Assigned to Them
– Many Types of Events for Program Interaction
H Examples:
– Spreadsheets
– Word Processors
– Web Browsers
Using C Code
H Write a DLL in C
H Use the _export Property on Appropriate
Functions
H Write Visual Basic Definitions for each
Function
H Add VB Definitions to The (general)
section of the VB Program
H Use Functions as if they were VB functions
C Definition vs. VB Definition
C:
long FAR PASCAL _export HexToLong (char *Hex)

VB:
Declare Function HexToLong Lib “FIRSTONE.DLL”
(ByVal InString As String) As Long

Function Name Must Be The Same in Both Declarations.

The Lib keyword Must Give The Name of the Library.
Argument Name in VB is arbitrary.
A (Very Annoying) Problem
H It is sometimes difficult for VB to FIND the
.DLL file.
H If this occurs, copy the .DLL file to the
WINDOWS directory.
H Remember to Delete the file when you are
done.
Alternative Methods
H Some Versions of VB do not allow DLL
function definitions in the (general) section
of a form.
H To Get Around this Problem, Create a new
Module (File Menu)
H Add the declarations to the (general) section
of the module
H You can add your own VB functions to the
(general) section of a form or a module.
Syntax Considerations
H All Functions are Global in VB
H Variables are declared using the syntax:
– Dim <Name> As <Type>
– Every variable must have a type
– Dim A,B,C As <Type> will work, but gives
weird results
H Most Common Types: Integer, String, Long
More VB Syntax
H Use Integers for Booleans
– As in C, 0 = False, everything else = True
– Symbolic constants True and False may be used
– True = -1, False = 0
H Assignments are the same as in C
H The Val function converts strings to integers
H The Format$ function converts integers to
strings
VB Statements
H Assignments are the Same as in C
H Case is not significant
– Case will be adjusted for you on keywords
– For Variable Names, Case is ignored
H The Usual Operators can be used
– AND is the same as both & and && depending
on context
– OR = | and ||
– NOT = !
VB IF Statements

If <condition> Then If <condition> Then

<List of Statements> <List of Statements>
Else EndIf
<List of Statements>
EndIf

Comparators: =,<, >, <=, >=, < > (not equal)

Connectives: And, Or, Not

DON’T FORGET THE ENDIF!

VB While Statements

While <condition> do
<List of Statements>
Wend

The VB Manual Recommends a different structure.

Use the alternative if you wish.
VB For Statements
For <Variable> = <start> to <finish>
<List of Statements>
Next <Variable>

For <Variable> = <start> to <finish> Step <increment>

<List of Statements>
Next <Variable>
Example:
For I = 1 to 10 do
A[I] = A[I] + 1
Next I
VB Arrays
H Indices Always Start With Zero
H Dim A[10] As Integer Declares 11 elements,
indexed from 0 through 10.
H Multi-Dimensional Arrays are Permitted.
H Arrays can be resized at run time (See VB
Help File for ReDim)
VB Strings
H Variable Length
H Compare using standard comparators
H Maximum length is about 64Kb
H Minimum length is zero
H Allocated from VB “String Space”, so may
run out of space even on systems with much
memory.
And in Conclusion ...

Go
Have
Fun!