Visual Basic

Overview

Visual Basic (VB) is an object oriented programming language (OOP) that is developed by Microsoft. The language provides a graphical programming environment. You can develop a user interface visually, and your programming software will generate the relevant code. VB is an integrated interactive development environment (IDE) rather than a programming language, alone. VB is event-driven. For example, objects can react to different events like mouse clicks.

There are six versions of Visual Basic. The first was released in 1991, and the most recent was released in 1998.

Visual Basic is derived from BASIC and enables rapid application development (RAD) of graphical user interface (GUI) applications. It accesses databases using Data Access Objects (DAO), Remote Data Objects, (RDO), and ActiveX Data Objects (ADO). Using various codes, VB creates ActiveX controls and objects. Visual Basic has one of the largest user bases in business programming.

Package prices from $380 to $500 and depends on your version and desired capabilities.

Benefits

VB has a simple, user-friendly, and efficient programming environment. VB is comprehensive and interactive with an extensive online help network. VB's Component Object Model (COM) can be written and integrated with various programming languages. You can reuse VB codes universally and use Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to develop customized applications for customers. Integration can help your organization share data more efficiently.

How It Works

Begin by installing VB from the Microsoft Visual Studio CD. Once installation completes, you will be given the options to start a new project, open an existing project, or select a list of recently opened programs. If you do not want to install Visual Basic, you can complete these steps from a web browser.

Programming in VB requires you to visually arrange components or controls on a form, specify attributes and actions of those components, and write additional lines of code for more functionality. You can write a simple program without using any code at all. You can add code by dragging and dropping controls and then defining appearances and behavior.