Visual Basic

 

Visual Basic is a tool for creating computer programs that can make everyday tasks easier and more efficient. With its user-friendly interface and straightforward language, anyone can learn how to build software. Whether you're a beginner or a professional, Visual Basic is a valuable asset for bringing your ideas to life on the computer.

 

 

What is Visual Basic?

Visual basic is a high-level programming language developed by Microsoft in 1991. It is used to create GUI based desktop applications, mobile applications and web services.

Summary: 

1. Visual Basic is a Microsoft-developed programming language
2. Used to create Windows desktop apps, mobile apps, and web services
3. Known for its simple and intuitive language
4. Includes a user-friendly IDE
5. Versatile, capable of interacting with other programming languages
6. Focus on creating GUI applications
7. Ideal for solving real-world problems through software automation.

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Benefits of using Visual Basic

Following are the benefits of using Visual Basic:

1. Easy-to-learn syntax with English-like language
2. User-friendly GUI development through integrated development environment
3. Rapid application development with simple syntax and intuitive design tools
4. Versatile for creating a range of applications and interacting with other languages
5. Large community of users and developers for support
6. Supports Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) for easier code writing and maintenance
7. Rich library of functions for performing common tasks
8. Supports Cross-platform compatibility for Windows, Windows Phone, and more.

 

History of Visual Basic 

The Visual Basic language was first introduced in the year 1991. Let’s take a look at a brief history of Visual basic:

Year	Development
1991	Visual Basic 1.0 was introduced for Windows
1992 (September)	Visual Basic 1.0 for DOS was released with a text-based user interface and extended ASCII characters to simulate the appearance of a GUI
1992 (November)	Visual Basic 2.0 was introduced which was easy to use and has improved speed
1993	Introduction of Visual Basic 3.0 which included Microsoft Jet Database Engine version 1.1
1995	Release of Visual Basic 4.0 which was capable of creating 32-bit and 16-bit Windows programs
1997	Visual Basic 5.0 was released for 32-bit versions of Windows
1998	Visual Basic 6.0 was released with many improvements and support for creating web-based applications
2002	Release of VB.NET
2008	Extended support for Visual Basic 6.0 was ended but primary components of the Visual Basic 6 development environment still run in all 32-bit versions of Windows

 

Writing your first Visual Basic Program

1. Step 1 :Install Visual Studio Code: You can download the software from the official website.
2. Step 2: Open Microsoft Visual Studio: Click on the "Start" button and find "Microsoft Visual Studio" in the list of installed programs.
3. Step 3: Create a new project: Once Visual Studio is open, click on "File" and then "New Project."
4. Step 4: Add a form: In the development environment, add a form to the project. A form is a window in which the user interacts with the program. Add controls to the form such as labels, buttons, and text box.
5. Step 5: Write code: Write code to specify what each control will do when interacted with. For example, you can write code to display a message when a button is clicked.
   

6. Step 6: Compile and run the code: Compile the code by clicking on the "Build" or "Compile" button in the development environment. This will create an executable file (.exe). Run the executable file by double-clicking on it or by using the "Start" button in the development environment.

7. Step 7: Test the program: Test the program by interacting with the controls on the form. Observe the results of your code.

    

Visual Basic Control

The visual Basic language combines the functions and commands of BASIC language with visual controls. VB offers a graphical user interface GUI that enables developers to perform various tasks such as drag and drop objects in the program.

 

Visual Basic Controls

Here is the list of some commonly used controls in Visual Basic:

Control	Description
Label	Displays text or graphics
Button	Button shaped object that performs a task when clicked with the mouse
CheckBox	Box that checks or unchecks when clicked with the mouse
Form	A Window where other controls can be placed
ListBox	Box with a list of items
TextBox	Box, where users can enter the text or a program, can display the text
PictureBox	Displays a graphic image
HScrollBar	A horizontal scroll bar that increases or decreases value when moved with the mouse
VScrollBar	A vertical scroll bar that increases or decreases value when moved with the mouse

 

Features of Visual Basic

The following points highlight the features of Visual Basic:

1. It consists of various features that hold similarities with programming languages such as C++, C and Java.
2. Visual Basic is a modern and powerful programming language that is used for building applications.
3. VB is useful for developing web, windows and device applications.
4. It provides automatic memory management by clearing any unused objects.
5. Visual Basic is a type safe programming language that does not allow performing any unchecked type casts.
6. VB provides an extensible and structured approach for error detection and recovery.

 

Why learn Visual Basic?

1. It is one of the best programming languages for beginners due to is basic style syntax through which they learn about handlers, delegates, functions, and event raising.
2. Using visual basic programming, programmers can create software interfaces and codes in an easy-to-use graphical environment. 
3. It is a combination of different components used on forms having specific attributes and actions through those components.
4. It is a language that uses visual basic tools. This allows ideas to convert into whole software when it enables updating and adjusting applications fittingly.

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The visual Basic language combines the functions and commands of BASIC language with visual controls. VB offers a graphical user interface GUI that enables developers to perform various tasks such as drag and drop objects in the program.

 

What is VB for Applications?

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is an event-driven programming language. It is the implementation of the Visual Basic language within existing MS Office applications. VBA provides simple programming options to extend the functionality of popular programs. Using VBA, we can develop automation processes and Windows API.

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VBA is not a standalone product and is used within MS Office applications. It helps users to create macros to automate repetitive word-processing and data-processing functions. We can also generate custom forms, graphs, reports, and more.

 

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Finance courses	Accounting courses
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Limitations of Visual Basic

Following are the limitations of Visual Basic:

1. It requires a lot of memory for initial installation so that it can function efficiently after installation. It is a GUI-based development tool with graphical components due to which it has more space requirement.
2. With Visual Basic, it is not feasible to declare a number of structure at the time of declaration. Due to this limitation, it is not very useful to develop programs that use lot of processing time.
3. Visual Basic is a proprietary programming language that is written by Microsoft. Programs written in Visual Basic language are difficult to transfer to other operating systems.
4. In comparison with C, it lags in the declaration of arrays since it is impossible to declare an array of structures at the time of declaration.

 

Understanding the Basics: Key Terminologies Used in Topic 

The following terminologies are used in Visual Basic:

1. Form: Container for UI elements, main interface in a Visual Basic application.
2. Control: Graphical element for user interaction and accessing form functionality.
3. Button: User-clickable for performing an action.
4. Label: Text display on a form.
5. TextBox: Accepts user input as text.
6. ComboBox: Displays drop-down list of items.
7. ListBox: Displays a list of items.
8. CheckBox: Represents Boolean value (True/False).
9. RadioButton: Represents mutually exclusive selection.
10. PictureBox: Displays an image on a form.
11. Timer: Triggers event at specified intervals.
12. ProgressBar: Shows progress of a task.
13. Module: File with code reusable in multiple forms and classes.
14. Class: Blueprint for creating objects that hold data and behavior.
15. Property: Data member of a class/object, accessible and modifiable by code.
16. Method: Function that belongs to a class/object, performs specific action.
17. Event: User or system action that triggers event handler.
18. Event Handler: Code executed in response to an event.
19. Variable: Named memory location holding a value.
20. Data Type: Type of data a variable can hold, such as Integer, String, Date.
21. Array: Collection of variables with same data type.
22. Function: Code that performs a specific task and returns a value.
23. Procedure: Code that performs a specific task without returning a value.
24. Loop: Structure for executing block of code repeatedly.
25. If-Then Statement: Structure for executing block of code based on a condition.
26. Exception: Error that occurs during program execution.
27. Try-Catch-Finally: Structure for handling exceptions and preventing application crash.
28. Debugging: Finding and fixing errors in code.
29. Breakpoint: Marker in code for stopping execution for debugging.
30. Watch Window: Tool for observing variable values during debugging.

 

Top Skills to Master Virtual Basic in 2024

The following skills are required for learning Visual Basic:

1. C: It is a procedure-oriented and structured language that offers low-level access to system memory. Java, JavaScript, and PHP are some of the programming languages that use the syntax and features of C programming language. Due to its performance and versatility, it is used for high-complexity data manipulation software such as databases. 
2. C++:  It is a case-sensitive and general-purpose programming language that is suitable for large-scale software development. C++ is used for creating reusable and modular code that is easy to maintain.
3. Microsoft Office: It is a discontinued family of server software, client software, and services that are developed by Microsoft. It has several features, such as Visual Basic for application scripting language, common spell checker, Object Linking, and Embedding data integration.
4. Programming Skills: It is the process of designing and developing an executable set of instructions for accomplishing a specific task on computer to get the desired result. Programming is the process of performing computation using executable program. It involves analysis, profiling, generation and implementation of algorithm called coding.

 

Eligibility for Learning Visual Basic

There is no prior educational background required to learn Visual Basic. In terms of software, you will need the following:

1. Windows 8 and above
2. Adobe Acrobat Reader
3. Visual Studio 2015 Community Edition
4. Microsoft Edge/ Google Chrome/ Mozilla Firefox
5. Boot Camp/ Parallels for Mac users

 

Who Should Enrol in a Visual Data Course?

Those who want to:

1. Develop GUI-based Windows applications
2. Create functions and sub-procedures to run programs and allow code reuse.
3. Build user interfaces using forms and controls
4. Create data structures in different forms

 

Scope of Visual Basic

Visual Basic is an important programming language that helps businesses achieve their simple and complex requisites effectively and efficiently manner. It is a great language to learn for creating a productive development environment.

Today, many professionals consider VB.Net as an important unit for their project developments. Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET) is an object-oriented programming language implemented on the .NET Framework. It has support for object-oriented features such as abstraction, encapsulation, polymorphism, and inheritance. The future of Visual Basic includes both .NET Framework and .NET Core that are focused on stability.

Also Read: What is Coding: Difference Between Coding And Programming

 

Real-Life Application of Visual Basic in the Industry 

Visual Basic finds real-life applications in the following manner:

1. Office suite programs share common programming languages. These languages have the capability to integrate VBA code to enhance the program. Since the nature of data analytics, spreadsheets, and data organization.
2. Financial professionals use Visual Vasic to write macros through which they can analyze and adjust data quickly. They can also create and maintain complex trading, pricing, risk management models, forecast sales as well as earnings, and generate financial ratios.

 

How are top companies using Visual Basic?

The following points explain how companies are using Visual Basic:

1. Using VBA, companies can produce a list of customers, invoices, forms, and charts, analyze data and manage data display for forecasting. 
2. Businesses can develop entire programs using VBA and excel. This allows users to leverage the features of excel in custom programs.
3. It helps in expanding and superseding the abilities of application-specific macro programming languages such as WordBASIC of Word. 
4. In large-scale applications such as Excel and Access, there is a limited subset of Virtual Basic capabilities. These capabilities are known as VBA, which is used as a macro language to control parts of existing applications. 

 

Best Resources to Learn Visual Basic

Following are some of the best resources to learn Visual Basic:

1. Visual Basic Books

Books are a good way to get started with your Visual Basic learning journey. Below are some of the most popular books to help you learn the basic and advanced concepts in VB:

1. Visual Basic 2015 Unleashed by Alessandro Del Sole
2. Microsoft Visual Basic .NET: Complete Concepts and Techniques (Shelly Cashman Series) by Gary B. Shelly, Thomas J. Cashman, Jeffrey J. Quasney Visual Basic Courses
3. Visual Basic.NET FUNdamentals by Alfred C Thompson II
4. Programming with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET: An Object-Oriented Approach, Introductory by Michael Ekedahl, William Newman

 

2. Popular Courses and Certifications in Visual Basic

There are many popular courses online that can help you learn Visual Basic. The following are some of the best Visual Basic courses from top course providers:

1. Introduction to Computer Programming with Visual Basic Specialization on Coursera
2. Visual Basic Programming: Inheritance and Polymorphism on Coursera
3. WPF for the Visual Basic Programmer - Part 1 on Pluralsight
4. WPF for the Visual Basic Programmer - Part 2 on Pluralsight
5. Visual Basic Programming: Classes and Collections on Coursera
6. Introduction to Visual Basic Programming on Coursera

 

3. Video Tutorials

The following are video tutorials that will help in learning Visual Basic:

1. Visual Basic (VB.NET): Full Course for Beginners: Through this course, you will learn about basic constructs of the high level programming languages. This course will help in building event driven, form base and user interface to capture input.
2. Learn Visual Basic in 30 Minutes: This is a 30 minute long crash course for those who want to learn the basics of Visual Basic.
3. Visual Basic Tutorial 2017: This is an updated courses through which you will be able to quickly learn this language. 

 

Must Read: Best Resources To Learn Programming Online

 

Conclusion

Visual Basic is a widely-used programming language that gives a simple and accessible way to write basic programs. Due to its simplicity, Visual Basic is a great language to learn for new programmers interested in writing simple programs.

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Following are the top exams for Visual Basic. Students interested in pursuing a career on Visual Basic, generally take these important exams.You can also download the exam guide to get more insights.

Following are the most popular Visual Basic courses, based on alumni reviews. Explore these reviews to choose the best course in Visual Basic.

Following are the most popular Visual Basic UG Courses . You can explore the top Colleges offering these UG Courses by clicking the links below.