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1 Visual Programming - summary notes of vb

Information Technology (Technical University of Kenya)

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CHAPTER1 &2

VISUAL PROGRAMMING
In computing, a visual programming language (VPL) is any programming language that lets
users create programs by manipulating program elements graphically rather than by specifying
them textually. A VPL allows programming with visual expressions, spatial arrangements of text
and graphic symbols, used either as elements of syntax or secondary notation.

Examples of visual programming languages

Visual Basic

Visual Basic is a programming environment from Microsoft in which a programmer uses a

graphical user interface to choose and modify preselected sections of code written in the BASIC
programming language.

Visual C++

Visual C++ is part of the general "C suite" of programming languages often used for many
different types of development projects. The full name of the product is Microsoft Visual C++,
which is sometimes abbreviated as MSVC or VC++.

Delphi

Delphi is both an object oriented programming language (OOP) and an Integrated Development
Environment (IDE). Delphi is an alternative to language such as Visual Basic offering
development with both rapidity and good quality.

Minimal Hardware and software requirements for visual programming

The following hardware and software is required for Visual Basic applications:

 Pentium® 90MHz or higher microprocessor.

 VGA 640x480 or higher-resolution screen supported by Microsoft Windows.

 Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 or later, or Microsoft Windows 95 or later.

 24 MB RAM for Windows 95/98, 32 MB for Windows NT.

 Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.01 or later (version 4.01 Service Pack 1 or later for
DHTML application developers, and 4.xfor end-users of these applications).

 Disk space requirements:

 Standard Edition: typical installation 48 MB, full installation 80 MB.

 Professional Edition: typical installation 48 MB, full installation 80 MB.

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 Enterprise Edition: typical installation 128 MB, full installation 147 MB.

Additional components (if required): MSDN (for documentation): 67 MB,

Internet Explorer 4.x: approximately 66 MB.
 CD-ROM (no MS-DOS support assumed).

CHAPTER2

Visual environment
Visual programming environments provide graphical or iconic elements which can be
manipulated by users in an interactive way according to some specific spatial grammar
for program construction.

Event-driven programming is a programming paradigm in which the flow of the program is

determined by events such as user actions (mouse clicks, key presses), sensor outputs, or
messages from other programs/threads.

Integrated development environment (IDE)

An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that provides
comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development.

The environment to edit, delete and write code as well as develop windows based applications is
known as the 'Integrated Development Environment' (IDE)

An IDE normally consists of a source code editor, build automation tools, and a debugger. Most
modern IDEs have intelligent code completion. Some IDEs, such as NetBeans and Eclipse,
contain a compiler, interpreter, or both; others, such as SharpDevelop and Lazarus, do not. The
boundary between an integrated development environment and other parts of the broader
software development environment is not well-defined. Sometimes a version control system, or
various tools to simplify the construction of a Graphical User Interface (GUI), are integrated.
Many modern IDEs also have a class browser, an object browser, and a class hierarchy diagram,
for use in object-oriented software development.

Visual Basic is a high level programming paradigm. Its concepts are based upon Event driven
programming. The environment to edit, delete and write code as well as develop windows based
applications is known as the 'Integrated Development Environment' (IDE).

The development environment for Visual Basic is illustrated below

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Visual objects

Visual Objects is a concept aan object-oriented computer programming language that is used to
create computer programs that operate primarily under Windows. Although it can be used as a
general-purpose programming tool, it is almost exclusively used to create database programs

Types of controls

There are three broad categories of controls in Visual Basic:

 Intrinsic controls, such as the command button and frame controls. These controls are
contained inside the Visual Basic .exe file. Intrinsic controls are always included in the
toolbox, unlike ActiveX controls and insertable objects, which can be removed from or
added to the toolbox.

 ActiveX controls, which exist as separate files with a .ocx file name extension. These
include controls that are available in all editions of Visual Basic (DataCombo, DataList
controls, and so on) and those that are available only in the Professional and Enterprise

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editions (such as Listview, Toolbar, Animation, and Tabbed Dialog). Many third-party
ActiveX controls are also available.

Note Controls with the .vbx file name extension use older technology and are found in
applications written in earlier versions of Visual Basic. When Visual Basic opens a
project containing a .vbx control, the default behavior is to replace the .vbx control with
an .ocx control, but only if an .ocx version of the control is available. See "Updating
Older Versions of Visual Basic Controls" later in this chapter for information on updating
controls to the .ocx format.

 Insertable Objects, such as a Microsoft Excel Worksheet object containing a list of all
your company's employees, or a Microsoft Project Calendar object containing the
scheduling information for a project. Since these can be added to the toolbox, they can be
considered controls. Some of these objects also support Automation (formerly called
OLE Automation), which allows you to program another application's ob

Form window

An important part of Visual programming is the ability to create Windows Forms applications
that run locally on users' computers. You can use Visual Studio to create the application and user
interface using Windows Forms. A Windows Forms application is built on classes from
the System.Windows.Forms namespace.

The Properties window

The Properties window lists the design-time properties for selected objects and their current
settings. You can change these properties at design time. When you select multiple controls,
the Properties window contains a list of the properties common to all the selected controls.

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Immediate window

The Immediate window is used to debug and evaluate expressions, execute statements, print
variable values, and so forth. It allows you to enter expressions to be evaluated or executed by
the development language during debugging.

Code window

The Form window holds the program's interactive objects, to view the code for the Form
window or any object we can Select <View | Code >. The Code window is little more than a text
editor with which you write the programming statements that tie the application together.

The Toolbar

Visual Basic supports multiple toolbars which are split into three main areas

 Standard toolbar

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 Edit toolbar
 Debug toolbar

You are able to customise the toolbar by clicking the right mouse button of the toolbar and
selecting <Customize> and changing the options you require. The diagram and components of
the standard toolbar are illustrated below:

The Project Explorer Window

The Project Explorer window, often called the Project window, gives
you a tree-structured view of all the files in the
application. Microsoft changed the formal name from Project
window to Project Explorer window between versions 4 and 5.

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