Introduction to VB

The contents of this chapter include how to install Visual Basic, Add or remove Visual Basic parts, Visual Basic learning materials, and how to get more help.
Directory
Welcome to use Visual Basic
Install Visual Basic
Assistant in the actual work

Welcome to use Visual Basic
Welcome to Microsoft Visual Basic, which provides the fastest and easiest way to develop a Microsoft Windows (R) application. Whether you are a senior professional developer or a novice in Microsoft Windows applications, Visual Basic provides them with a complete set of tools to facilitate the development of applications.
What is Visual Basic? "Visual" refers to the method of developing a graphical user interface (GUI). There is no need to write a lot of code to describe the appearance and position of an interface element, but simply add a preset object to a point on the screen. If you've used a drawing program such as Paint, you've actually mastered the skills necessary to create a user interface.
"Basic" refers to the basic (beginners all-purpose symbolit instruction Code) language, one of the most widely used in the development of computing technology. Visual Basic is further developed on the basis of the original basic language, and so far contains hundreds of statements, functions and keywords, many of which are directly related to the Windows GUI. Professionals can use Visual Basic to realize the functionality of any other Windows programming language, and beginners can build practical applications with just a few keywords.
Visual Basic is not only a Visual Basic programming language. Visual Basic Programming Systems, MicrosoftExcel applications Edition,microsoft access and many other applications of Windows use this language. Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) is a widely used scripting language and is a subset of the Visual Basic language. In this way, the experience gained in learning Visual Basic can be applied to all of these areas.
From the development of personal use or team use of gadgets, to large enterprise application systems, and even across the global distributed applications via the Internet, can be achieved in the tools provided by Visual Basic.
1. The data access feature allows database and front-end applications to be established for most database formats, including Microsoft SQL Server and other enterprise databases, as well as adjustable server-side components.
2. With ActiveX technology, you can use functionality provided by other applications, such as MicrosoftWord word processors, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, and other Windows applications. You can even use applications and objects created directly by VBP or VBE.
The 3.Internet is powerful, making it easy for you to access documents and applications from within your application through the Internet or intranet, or to create an Internet server application.
4. The completed application is a true. exe file that uses the Visual Basic virtual machine, and you are free to publish.

Introduction to Visual Basic version

There are three versions of visual Basic that can meet different development needs.

The 1.Visual Basic Learning Edition makes it easy for programmers to develop Windows and Windows NT (r) applications. This version includes all internal controls as well as grids, tabs, and data-bound controls. The documentation provided by the Learning Edition includes the Learn VB now CD and the Microsoft Developer Network CD that contains all the online documentation.
2. Professional Edition provides a complete set of functional development tools for professional programmers. This release includes all the features of the Learning Edition as well as ActiveX controls, Internet information Serverapplication Designer, integrated visual Database Tools and DataEnvironment, Active Data objects and dynamic HTML Page Designer. The Professional Edition provides documentation for the visual Studio Professional features manual and the Microsoft Developer network CD that contains all the online documentation.
3. Enterprise Edition enables professional programmers to develop powerful distributed applications within a group. This release includes all the features of the Professional Edition and back Office tools such as SQL Server, Microsoft Transaction Server, Internet Information Server, Visualsourcesafe, SNA server and so on. The Enterprise Edition includes a print document that includes a Visual studioenterprise Features manual and a Microsoft developernetwork CD that contains all the online documentation.

Install Visual Basic

Use the Setup program to install Visual Basic. Setup installs Visual basic and other product parts from CD-ROM to your hard disk. It also installs the necessary files to view the documentation on the Microsoft Developer Network CD. You can choose to install only Visual basic documents and sample programs to your computer.
It is not important to copy the files on the CD-ROM directly to the hard disk and then run VisualBasic from the hard disk. You must use Setup to extract the files and install them into the appropriate directory.
1. Check before running Setup (Vbconbeforeyourunsetup) before installation.
2. Install visual Basic by installing visual (Basicvbconsettingupvisualbasic).

Before running Setup

Before you install Visual Basic, you must confirm that your computer meets the minimum installation requirements and read the Readme file in the installation packing directory.

Check hardware and system requirements

To run Visual Basic, you must have the appropriate hardware and software systems installed on your computer. These system requirements include:
1.Microsoft Windows NT 95 or later, or Microsoft Windows Ntworkstation 4.0 (recommended Service Pack 3) or later.
2.486DX/66 MHz or higher processors (recommended Pentium or higher processors), or any Alpha processor running on the Microsoft Windows NT Workstation.
3. A CD-ROM drive.
4.Microsoft Windows supports VGA or higher-resolution monitors.
5.16 MB RAM for Windows 95, MB of RAM for Windows Ntworkstation.
6. Mouse or other fixed-point equipment.
For more information about system installation requirements, see "System Requirements for Visual Basic applications" in Appendix A, "Specifications, limitations, and file formats for Visual Basic".

Read the Readme file

The Readme file enumerates the changes since the publication of the Visual Basic document. You can read the file by selecting "Read Me First" on the original installation screen, or you can find it in the root directory of the CD-ROM. You can also access from the Visual Basic start Page in the document. The first part of the file is about installing Visual Basic details and new information, please check it.

Install Visual Basic

When you run Setup, you create a table of contents for Visual Basic, which allows you to select the VisualBasic part you want to install.
In addition to the operating system files in the \os directory, other files on the CD are not compressed, so they can be used directly from the disk. For example, there are a number of tools and parts in the \tools directory that can be run or installed directly from the CD-ROM.
To install from a CD disk, follow these steps:
1. Insert the CD disc in the CD-ROM drive.
2. Setup is available in the root directory of disk 1 and can be run using the appropriate commands in the operating system. If your computer is able to run AutoPlay on your system, the installer will automatically load when you insert the CD disk.
3. Select "Install Visual Basic 6.0".
4. Follow the installation instructions on the screen.
For more information about installing Visal Basic, please read the Readme file.

Add or remove Visual Basic parts
You can run Setup as many times as you need. For example, you can reinstall VisualBasic in another directory, or you can install other parts of Visual Basic.
To add or remove a Visual Basic part, follow these steps:
1. Insert CD disc in CD-ROM drive.
2. Setup is available in the root directory of the CD disk and can be run using the appropriate commands in the operating system. If your computer is able to run AutoPlay on your system, the installer will automatically load when you insert the CD disk.
3. Select the Customize button in the Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Setup dialog box.
4. In the Customize dialog box, in the Options list box, select the part you want to install (or deselect the part you want to delete).
5. Follow the installation instructions on the screen.

Start Visual Basic
Once the installation process is complete, you can start VisualBasic by clicking the Start button in the Windows taskbar. If you can start AutoPlay on your system, you can also insert the Visual Basic CD into the drive to start Visual Basic.
For more information, see chapter II, "Developing applications in visual Basic."

The

Actual Work Assistant
online documentation system provides Visual Basic assistance for all of you. This includes all the manuals for
1.Visual Basic, which provides conceptual information about using Visual basic power features.
2. Language references, including information about the Visual Basic programming environment and a wide range of language content.
3.Visual Basic Online link, which provides pointers to Visual Basic information resources in the world Wide Web.
4.Microsoft Product Support Services to provide technical support information.
Note that you can view the document from the MSDN CD (you must go through the MSDN installation process) or, during the MSDN installation process, select a custom Visual Basic installation and install only the documents and samples to your computer. The content help for reading Help includes many features designed for easy reading.
New in 1.Visual Basic 6
Use this section to quickly learn what new and enhanced Visual Basic features are. By functional classification, there are approximately 200 descriptive links to provide detailed information.
2. Quick Find
You can use this section to sort topics that cover the entire document. For example, depending on the type of project you are working on, you can find a wide variety of debugging information. This section describes the links that make retrieval easier.
3. Topic Summary
Before you read a variety of topics, you can learn about the summary of the topics contained in the manual or in each chapter. By providing a summary of the content of each topic, the description link at the beginning of the book, the summary section at the beginning of each chapter, and the chapters, saves a lot of time for the user.
4. See links
Click the See also link below the topic to view more detailed or relevant information about the topic.

Context-sensitive help
Many parts of Visual Basic are context-sensitive. Contextual correlation means you can get help for these parts directly without having to search the Help menu. For example, to get help for any keyword in the VisualBasic language, simply place the insertion point on the keyword in the Code window and press F1. The
Press the F1 key on any context-related part of the Visual Basic interface to display information about that part. The context-related sections are: Each window in
1.Visual Basic (Properties window, Code window, and so on)
2. Controls in the Toolbox
3. Objects within a form or Document Object
4. Properties Window
5.Visual Basic keywords (statements, functions, properties, methods, events, and special objects)
6. Error message
Once you open Help, press F1 to get information about how to use Help.

To run the code example in Help
Many of the program language topics in Help contain code samples that you can run in Visual Basic. The following procedure shows how to copy and run the code sample from Help.
Note that the following procedure is used for code examples that do not contain public notoriety.
To copy a code sample from Help, follow these steps:
1. Choose Add Form from the Project menu, or use an existing form to create a new form (for more information about creating and using forms, see chapter II, "Developing applications in Visual Basic.") ）
2. From the Help menu, select Index.
3. Search for "graphics" in Help and go to the FillColor properties topic.
4. In the FillColor properties topic, click the sample Jump button, which is located at the top of the window, with a non-scrolling edge (The jump button is a word that you can click to go to another topic.) The jump text is underlined, and the jump text has a color. Select the part of the subroutine for the sample. Notice that the first "sub" is marked as the beginning of the subroutine, and the last "End Sub" is marked as the ending of the subroutine.
5. Right-Select the text and choose Copy from the context menu. Copy the text to the Clipboard.
6. Return to the form you created and double-click the form to display the Code window.
7. Set the insertion point under any existing code in the Code window.
8. On the Edit menu, choose Paste. The example appears in the Code window.
9. On the Run menu, choose Start or press F5.
10. Click the form to run the sample code.
Note Some code examples need to draw controls on a form. For more information about drawing controls, see chapter III, "Forms, controls, and menus."

Visual Basic Online Links
If you have a modem or other means of access, you can get more information about VisualBasic from the world Wide Web.

Microsoft Web Site
The Microsoft World Wide Web site contains several areas of interest to Visual Basic programmers. The Visual Basic home page address is:

Msdn2.microsoft.com/zh-cn/vbasic/default.aspx

。 The information contained in this site is as follows:
1. New feature updates, product launches, related products, meetings, and special events.
2. Additional information about the Visual Basic features, including white papers, tips and tutorials, and resources.
3.New Product downloads includes answers to the most common questions in product Support services.
Tip the Visual Basic Web site also contains a specific "owner's" area, and for registered owners (owners), the site contains a number of free samples, parts, tools, and so on. I hope you will go to msdn2.microsoft.com/zh-cn/vbasic/ms789072.aspx to register your VisualBasic version immediately.
To access the Microsoft Visual Basic Web site, follow these steps:
1. From the Help menu, select Microsoft on the Web.
2. Select the appropriate option from the submenu.
Note You must install your Web browser and connect to the Internet before you do this. Some of the content of a Microsoft Web site can be optimized for Microsoft Internet Explorer and can be seen completely on other browsers. You can uninstall the latest version of Internet Explorer from your Web site.

Microsoft Product Support Services
Microsoft offers a variety of support to help users get more from Visual Basic. If you feel a problem with the product, you should first view the online documentation. If you cannot find an answer, please contact Microsoft Product Support Services.
Microsoft offers support services across the United States and around the world. For more information, see "Getting technical support under the VisualBasic Help" menu.

Tell us what you think.
Microsoft is committed to providing customers with the best products possible. Each new version of Visual Basic tries to meet the changing needs of Windows programmers. We look forward to hearing from our customers. If you want future versions of Visual Basic to improve on some features, or want it to add new features, please let us know. You can use e-mail, our URL is vbwish@microsoft.com, or call us (425) 936-wish.