| Visual Basic: |
Visual Basic (VB) is the third-generation event-driven programming language and integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft for its COM programming model. VB is also considered a relatively easy to learn and use programming language, because of its graphical development features and BASIC heritage.
|
| Derivative languages: |
Visual Basic for Applications(VBA) is included in many Microsoft applications like
|
|
 Visual Basic.NET |
Sage Accpac ERP |
| ArcGIS |
WordPerfect Office 2002 |
| AutoCAD |
SolidWorks |
| Gambas |
StarOffice |
|
| Example code: |
| Here is an example of the language: Code snippet that displays a message box "Hello, World!" as the window Form loads: |
Private Sub Form_Load()
execute a simple message box that will say "Hello, World!"
MsgBox "Hello, World!"
End Sub |
| Characteristics : |
| Multiple assignment available in C language is not possible. A = B = C does not imply that the values of A, B and C are equal. The boolean result of "Is B = C?" is stored in A. The result stored in A could therefore be false(0) or true(-1). |
| Logical and bitwise operators are unified. This is unlike some C derived languages (such as Perl), which have separate logical and bitwise operators. This again is a traditional feature of BASIC. |
|
| Relatively strong integration with the Windows operating system and the Component Object Model. The native types for strings and arrays are the dedicated COM types, BSTR and SAFEARRAY. |
| Language Features: |
Visual Basic was designed to be easily learned and used by beginner programmers.
The language not only allow programmers to create simple GUI applications but can also develop complex applications.
Programming in VB 6.0 is a combination of visually arranging components or controls on a form, specifying attributes and actions of those components, and writing additional lines of code for more functionality.
Although programs can be compiled into native code executables from version 5 onwards, they still require the presence of runtime libraries of approximately 1 MB in size.
This runtime is included by default in Windows 2000 and later, but for earlier versions of Windows like 95, 98, NT it must be distributed together with the executable.
Forms are created using drag-and-drop techniques.
|
| Legacy Development and Support: |
| Development and maintenance development for Visual Basic 6 is possible on legacy Windws XP, Windows Vista and Windows 2003 using Visual Studio 6.0 platforms, but is unsupported. |
| Documentation for Visual Basic 6.0 its application programming interface and tools is best covered in the last MSDN release before Visual Studio.NET 2002. Later releases of MSDN focused on .NET development and had significant parts of the Visual Basic 6.0 programming documentation removed. |
| History: |
| VB 1.0 was introduced in 1991. The drag and drop design for creating the user interface is derived from a prototype form generator developed by Alan Cooper and his company called Tripod. Microsoft contracted with Cooper and his associates to develop Tripod into a programmable form system for Windows 3.0, under the code name Ruby (no relation to the Ruby programming language).The ability to load dynamic link libraries containing additional controls (then called "gizmos"), which later became the VBX interface. |
