mastering visual basic .net 2002

[...]... 2002 SYBEX, Inc., Alameda, CA www.sybex.com xxvii 2877c01.qxd 11/11/01 4:14 PM Page 1 Part I The Fundamentals In this section: N N N N N N N Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: Getting Started with VB.NET Visual Basic Projects Visual Basic: The Language Writing and Using Procedures Working with Forms Basic Windows Controls More Windows Controls Copyright 2002. .. Page 150 Copyright 2002 SYBEX, Inc., Alameda, CA www.sybex.com 2877c01.qxd 11/11/01 4:14 PM Page 3 Chapter 1 Getting Started with VB.NET Welcome to the Enterprise Edition of Visual Basic NET I’m assuming you have installed Visual Studio NET, Enterprise Edition You may have even already explored the new environment on your own, but this book doesn’t require any knowledge of Visual Basic 6 It doesn’t... access tools The emphasis is on the visual tools, and you will learn how to query databases and present data to the user You will also find information on programming the basic objects of ADO.NET Part VI is about Web applications Here you will learn the basics of ASP NET, how to develop Web applications, and how to write Web services Web applications are written Visual Basic NET, but they deploy a user... them with clear, practical examples VB6 ➠ VB.NET Experienced Visual Basic programmers should pay attention to these special sidebars with the “VB6 to VB.NET” icon, which calls your attention to changes in the language These sections usually describe new features in VB.NET or enhancements of VB6 features, but also VB6 features that are no longer supported by VB.NET This book tries to teach through examples... you shouldn’t give up Simpler applications would have made my job easier, but the book wouldn’t deserve the Mastering title and your knowledge of Visual Basic wouldn’t be as complete In the first part of the book, we’ll go through the fundamentals of Visual Basic NET You’ll learn how to design visual interfaces with point-and-click operations, and how to program a few simple events, like the click of... developing Windows and Web applications Visual Basic NET is just one of the languages you can use to program your applications Actually, Visual Studio NET was designed to host any language, and many companies are working on languages that will be integrated in Visual Studio NET Some people will develop Windows applications in Visual Studio NET with COBOL, or FORTRAN Copyright 2002 SYBEX, Inc., Alameda, CA www.sybex.com... in their browser Note The official names of the products are Visual Studio NET and Visual Basic NET Throughout the book I will refer to the language as VB.NET and mostly as VB When referring to the previous version of the language, I will use VB6 Starting a New Project At this point, you can create a new project and start working with Visual Basic NET To best explain the various items of the IDE, we... will be created (every project is stored in its own folder) Visual Studio will create a new folder under the one specified in the Location box and will name it after the project You can leave the default project folder and click the OK button Figure 1.2 The New Project dialog box VB6 ➠ VB.NET Unlike previous versions of Visual Basic, Visual Basic NET creates a new folder for the project and saves the... System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click Dim language As String language = TextBox1.Text Copyright 2002 SYBEX, Inc., Alameda, CA www.sybex.com 15 2877c01.qxd 16 11/11/01 4:14 PM Page 16 Chapter 1 GETTING STARTED WITH VB.NET language = language.ToUpper If language = VISUAL BASIC Or _ language = “VB” Or _ language = “VB.NET” Then MsgBox(“We have a winner!”) Else MsgBox(language & “ is not a bad language”) End... www.sybex.com 2877c01.qxd 4 11/11/01 4:14 PM Page 4 Chapter 1 GETTING STARTED WITH VB.NET So, what’s the distinction between Visual Studio NET and the language? Visual Studio NET is the environment that provides all the necessary tools for developing applications The language is only one aspect of a Windows application The visual interface of the application isn’t tied to a specific language, and the same . the .NET pic- ture (at least, it wouldn’t integrate very well into the picture). Visual Basic .NET is not VB7; it’s a drastic departure from VB6, but a necessary departure. Visual Basic .NET was. another decade. Who Should Read This Book? You don’t need to know Visual Basic to read Mastering Visual Basic .NET, but you do need a basic understanding of programming. You need to know the meaning. Mastering title and your knowledge of Visual Basic wouldn’t be as complete. In the first part of the book, we’ll go through the fundamentals of Visual Basic .NET. You’ll learn how to design visual