Visual Basic 6 - Part 1

Introduction to Visual Basic

In this part, you will learn about the Microsoft Visual Basic development
environment. Visual Basic is a powerful development tool that you can use to quickly
and easily create feature-rich applications for Microsoft Windows and Windows NT
operating systems. Although professional programmers use Visual
Basic, it is easy for
novices to program in Visual Basic with professional results.
Visual Basic is bas ed on the Basic programming language. It differs from previous
versions of Basic because it is based on an event-driven programming model. Visual
Basic provides a rapid application development (RAD) environment, a rich objectbased
language, and an easy-to-use set of debugging tools.

Features of Visual Basic

Using Visual Basic is the quickest and easiest way to create powerful, full-featured applications that take advantage of the graphical user interface in Microsoft Windows.For companies developing custom applications, Visual Basic reduces development
time and costs. Its intuitive interface makes Visual Basic an excellent tool for programmers.New users benefit from mouse operations and a consistent look and feel; more advanced users benefit from ease-of-use features, such as drop-down list boxes and multiple-window applications.Visual Basic provides the basis for the programming language used in all Microsoft Office applications, Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, and for a variety of applications from other vendors.Visual Basic supports a number of features that make it an excellent language for
quickly creating full-featured solutions, including:

Ø Data access features
Data access features allow you to create databases, front-end applications,
and scalable server-side components for most database formats, including
Microsoft SQL Server and other enterprise-level databases.

Ø ActiveX technologies
ActiveX technologies allow you to use the functionality provided by other
applications, like Microsoft Word processor, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and
other Windows applications. You can even automate applications and objects
created using the Professional or Enterprise editions of Visual Basic.

Ø Internet capabilities
Internet capabilities make it easy to provide access to documents and
applications across the Internet, or an intranet, from within your application, or
to create Internet server applications.

Ø Rapid Application Development (RAD)

Ø Support for multilingual applications

Ø Interactive debugging support
Edition OF Visual Basic
In this section, you will learn about the different editions of Visual Basic. The Visual
Basic development system version 6.0 is available in the following three editions:

Ø Learning Edition
The Learning edition allows programmers to easily create powerful applications
for the Windows and Windows NT operating systems.

Ø Professional Edition
The Professional Edition adds to the capabilities of the Learning Edition
allowing you to create client/server or Internet-enabled applications.

Ø Enterprise Edition
Developers in a corporate environment benefit by using the advanced features
in the Enterprise Edition to create robust distributed applications in a team
setting.