Visual Basic Concepts

Chapter 2

Developing an Application in Visual Basic

It takes just a few minutes to build your first Visual Basic application. You create the user interface by "drawing" controls, such as text boxes and command buttons, on a form. Next, you set properties for the form and controls to specify such values as captions, color, and size. Finally, you write code to bring the application to life. The basic steps you take in creating your first application will show you principles that you'll use with every other application you develop.

This chapter provides an overview of the application development process, describes the terms and skills you need to use Visual Basic, and takes you step by step through several simple applications.

Contents

• Visual Basic Concepts
  
  
• Elements of the Integrated Development Environment
  
  
• Your First Visual Basic Application

Sample Application: Firstapp.vbp

Some of the code examples in this chapter are taken from the Firstapp.vbp sample application which is listed in the in the Samples directory.

Topics

	Visual Basic Concepts A comparison of Visual Basic and traditional programming languages.
	Elements of the Integrated Development Environment An introduction to the Visual Basic environment and tools.
	Your First Visual Basic Application Step-by-step creation of a simple application, illustrating basic techniques.

Sample application

Firstapp.vbp Some of the code examples in this chapter are taken from the Firstapp.vbp sample application which is listed in the Samples directory.