Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition Programming for the Absolute Beginner byJerry Lee Ford, Jr Course Technology 2006 (440 pages) ISBN:1592008143 Written in a straightforward style, using a gamesbased approach that makes learning beginning-level programming fun and easy, this book teaches programming skills using Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition as a foundation language Table of Contents Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition Programming for the Absolute Beginner Introduction Chapter 1 - An Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition Chapter 2 - Navigating the Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition Development Environment Chapter 3 - Creating an Application Interface Chapter 4 - Working with Menus and Toolbars Chapter 5 - Storing and Retrieving Data in Memory Chapter 6 - Applying Conditional Logic Chapter 7 - Processing Lots of Data with Loops Chapter 8 - Enhancing Code Structure and Organization Chapter 9 - Getting Comfortable with Object-Oriented Programming Chapter 10 - Integrating Graphics and Audio Chapter 11 - Debugging Visual Basic Applications Index List of Figures List of Tables List of Definitions and In The Real Worlds Back Cover Written for the beginning programmer with little to no prior programming experience, Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition Programming for the Absolute Beginner teaches programming skills using Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition as a foundation language Written in a straightforward style, using a gamesbased approach that makes learning beginning-level programming fun and easy, Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition Programming for the Absolute Beginner is the perfect introductory programming book About the Author Jerry Lee Ford, Jr is an author, educator, and an IT professional with more than 16 years of experience in information technology, including roles as an automation analyst, technical manager, technical support analyst, automation engineer, and security analyst Jerry has a master's degree in business administration from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia He also is the author of 14 other books, including VBScript Professional Projects, Microsoft Windows Shell Scripting and WSH Administrator's Guide, Learn VBScript in a Weekend, Microsoft Windows Shell Scripting for the Absolute Beginner, Learn JavaScript in a Weekend, and Microsoft Windows XP Professional Administrator's Guide He has more than five years of experience as an adjunct instructor teaching networking courses in information technology Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition Programming for the Absolute Beginner JERRY LEE FORD, JR Thomson Course Technology PTR, a division of Thomson Course Technology 25 Thomson Place Boston, MA 02210 http://www.courseptr.com © 2006 by Thomson Course Technology PTR All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from Thomson Course Technology PTR, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review The Thomson Course Technology PTR logo and related trade dress are trademarks of Thomson Course Technology and may not be used without written permission Microsoft and Visual Basic are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners Important: Thomson Course Technology PTR cannot provide software support Please contact the appropriate software manufacturer's technical support line or Web site for assistance Thomson Course Technology PTR and the author have attempted throughout this book to distinguish proprietary trademarks from descriptive terms by following the capitalization style used by the manufacturer Information contained in this book has been obtained by Thomson Course Technology PTR from sources believed to be reliable However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Thomson Course Technology PTR, or others, the Publisher does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from use of such information Readers should be particularly aware of the fact that the Internet is an ever-changing entity Some facts may have changed since this book went to press Educational facilities, companies, and organizations interested in multiple copies or licensing of this book should contact the publisher for quantity discount information Training manuals, CD-ROMs, and portions of this book are also available individually or can be tailored for specific needs ISBN: 1-59200-814-3 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2005923914 Printed in the United States of America 06 07 08 09 10 PH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Publisher and General Manager, Thomson Course Technology PTR: Stacy L Hiquet Associate Director of Marketing: Sarah O'Donnell Manager of Editorial Services: Heather Talbot Marketing Manager: Heather Hurley Acquisitions Editor: Mitzi Koontz Marketing Coordinator: Jordan Casey Project Editor: Argosy Publishing Technical Reviewer: Jonathan Harbour PTR Editorial Services Coordinator: Elizabeth Furbish Copyeditor: Ginny Kaczmarek Interior Layout Tech: Jill Flores Cover Designer: Mike Tanamachi Indexer: Katherine Stimson Proofreader: Sara Gullion Dedication To Alexander, William, Molly, and Mary About the Author Jerry Lee Ford, Jr is an author, educator, and an IT professional with more than 16 years of experience in information technology, including roles as an automation analyst, technical manager, technical support analyst, automation engineer, and security analyst Jerry has a master's degree in business administration from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia He also is the author of 14 other books, including VBScript Professional Projects, Microsoft Windows Shell Scripting and WSH Administrator's Guide, Learn VBScript in a Weekend, Microsoft Windows Shell Scripting for the Absolute Beginner, Learn JavaScript in a Weekend, and Microsoft Windows XP Professional Administrator's Guide He has more than five years of experience as an adjunct instructor teaching networking courses in information technology Jerry lives in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife, Mary, and their children, William, Alexander, and Molly Acknowledgments This book represents the culmination of efforts provided by a number of individuals I would like to thank Mitzi Koontz, who served as the book's acquisitions editor Special thanks also go to Kevin Haley and Jonathan Harbour for serving as the book's development and technical editors I would also like to acknowledge Ginny Kaczmarek for lending her copy editing services Finally, I'd like to thank everyone else at Thomson Course Technology PTR for all their hard work Introduction Welcome to Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition Programming for the Absolute Beginner Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition is the newest incarnation of Visual Basic This particular version of Visual Basic has been developed for first-time programmers and computer hobbyists It is designed to enable the development of applications that execute on computers running a Windows operating system Unlike other current versions of Visual Basic, Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition is limited in scope It provides a subset of Visual Basic functionality found in other versions of Visual Basic For example, it cannot be used to develop software for smart device applications or to develop Web-based applications Microsoft created Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition with the individual user in mind, intending it to provide a lightweight programming experience Microsoft's intention is to introduce Visual Basic programming to as many people as possible This new version of Visual Basic costs significantly less than previous versions, making it affordable to just about anyone (In fact, just prior to the publishing of this book, Microsoft announced that it would make Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition available as a free download until November 6, 2006.) Yet Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition still packs plenty of punch, providing a powerful, yet easy to learn, programming language from which first-time programmers can quickly learn how to develop their own fully featured Windows applications WHY VISUAL BASIC 2005 EXPRESS EDITION? Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition makes for an excellent first programming language It is one of a number of programming languages supported by the Microsoft NET Framework The NET Framework provides an environment that supports application development by providing everything that programmers need to test, debug, and run Windows applications Other NET-supported programming languages include Visual C++ NET, Visual C# NET, and Visual J# NET Of these languages, Visual Basic is the easiest to learn and use It is certainly the most popular If you want to develop Windows applications, Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition will suit your needs well Once you have mastered the basics of programming using Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition, you'll find yourself well prepared to upgrade to the full version of Visual Basic 2005, where you can then apply your programming skills to the development of Windows and Web-based applications In addition, you'll be able to apply what this book has taught you to the development of applications that support smart devices such as the Pocket PC or PDAs (personal digital assistants) WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK? This book is designed to teach you how to develop Windows applications using Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition Although a previous programming background is helpful, this book does not assume that you have any previous experience with Visual Basic or any other programming language However, a good understanding of computers and Microsoft Windows operating systems is expected Whether you are an experienced programmer looking for a jump start on learning Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition, or a first-timer looking for a friendly programming language and a book that will help you to begin your programming career, you will be happy with what this book has in store for you You will find that this book's unique games-based teaching approach makes learning easier and a lot more fun WHAT YOU NEED TO BEGIN This book was written using Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition for its examples All of the figures and examples that you see as you read along will show Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition running on Windows XP Therefore, if you are using a different Windows operating system, or if you are using a different version of Visual Basic, such as the version of Visual Basic supplied with Visual Studio 2003, you may notice small differences in the way some things look However, you should still be able to follow along with the examples shown in this book with little, if any, trouble If you don't already have Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition, you should be able to download a copy from msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/vb/ through November 6, 2006 After this date, Microsoft may begin selling Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition for profit on-line and at your local computer or office supply store Before you purchase Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition, you'll want to make sure that your computer has enough horsepower to run it First off, your computer must run one of the following operating systems: Windows 2003 Server Windows XP Home Edition Windows XP Professional Windows 2000 Professional In addition, you'll want to make sure that your computer meets the minimum hardware requirements specified in the following table However, minimum requirements are just that In order to really take advantage of Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition, you'll be a lot better off if your computer meets the table's recommended requirements Table A: Minimum Requirements for Running Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition Requirement Minimum Recommended Chapter 8: Enhancing Code Structure and Organization Table 8.1: Form Controls for the Hangman Game Table 8.2: Property Changes for Form 1 Table 8.3: Property Changes for the Panel Control Table 8.4: Property Changes for the Groupbox Control Table 8.5: Property Change for the Textbox Controls Table 8.6: Property Changes for the Label Controls Table 8.7: Property Changes for the Button Control Table 8.8: Property Changes for the Picturebox Control Table 8.9: Bitmap Images to Add to the Imagelist Control's Images Collection Chapter 9: Getting Comfortable with ObjectOriented Programming Table 9.1: Form Controls for the Rock, Paper and Scissors Game Table 9.2: Property Changes for Form 1 Table 9.3: Property Changes for Picturebox Controls Table 9.4: Property Changes for Label Controls Table 9.5: Property Changes for Button Controls Table 9.6: Property Changes for Textbox Controls Table 9.7: Property Changes for Timer Control Table 9.8: Bitmap Images to Add to the Imagelist Controls Images Collec'tion Chapter 10: Integrating Graphics and Audio Table 10.1: Drawing Methods Associated with the System.Drawing.Graphics Class Table 10.2: Predefined Colors Provided by the Pens and Brushes Classes Table 10.3: Form Controls for the VB Doodle Game Table 10.4: Property Changes for Form I Table 10.5: Property Changes for Panel Control Table 10.6: Property Changes for Label Controls Table 10.7: Property Changes for Button Controls Table 10.8: Property Changes for Combobox Control Chapter 11: Debugging Visual Basic Applications Table 11.1: Form Controls for the Tic-Tac-Toe Game Table 11.2: Property Changes for Form 1 Table 11.3: Property Changes for Panel Controls Table 11.4: Property Changes for Picture Box Controls Table 11.5: Property Changes for Button Controls Table 11.6: Property Changes for Label Control Table 11.7: Property Changes for Textbox Control Table 11.8: Bitmap Images to Add to the Imagelist Controls Images Collection List of Definitions and In The Real Worlds Chapter 1: An Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION IN THE REAL WORLD DEFINITION DEFINITION IN THE REAL WORLD IN THE REAL WORLD DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION IN THE REAL WORLD DEFINITION Chapter 3: Creating an Application Interface DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION IN THE REAL WORLD Chapter 4: Working with Menus and Toolbars IN THE REAL WORLD DEFINITION Chapter 5: Storing and Retrieving Data in Memory DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION IN THE REAL WORLD DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION Chapter 6: Applying Conditional Logic DEFINITION DEFINITION IN THE REAL WORLD DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION Chapter 7: Processing Lots of Data with Loops DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION Chapter 8: Enhancing Code Structure and Organization DEFINITION IN THE REAL WORLD DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION Chapter 9: Getting Comfortable with ObjectOriented Programming DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION Chapter 10: Integrating Graphics and Audio DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION Chapter 11: Debugging Visual Basic Applications DEFINITION DEFINITION DEFINITION ... prior programming experience, Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition Programming for the Absolute Beginner teaches programming skills using Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition as a foundation language... Welcome to Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition Programming for the Absolute Beginner Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition is the newest incarnation of Visual Basic This particular version of Visual Basic has been developed for first-time programmers and computer hobbyists... Because the focus of this book is on Visual Basic 2005 Express, from this point on in the book I use the terms Visual Basic and Visual Basic 2005 Express to refer to Visual Basic 2005 Express, unless otherwise specifically stated