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Visual Basic Tutorial

This document provides an introduction to visual programming languages. It discusses that visual programming languages use graphical elements like icons and diagrams rather than text-based code. Examples provided include Visual Basic and Visual C++. The document also covers considerations for visual programming like ease of learning, speed of development, and supported platforms. It provides an overview of the visual programming environment in Visual Basic, including the integrated development environment (IDE) interface and common controls. Finally, it discusses programming concepts in visual languages like variables, data types, and events.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
94 views48 pages

Visual Basic Tutorial

This document provides an introduction to visual programming languages. It discusses that visual programming languages use graphical elements like icons and diagrams rather than text-based code. Examples provided include Visual Basic and Visual C++. The document also covers considerations for visual programming like ease of learning, speed of development, and supported platforms. It provides an overview of the visual programming environment in Visual Basic, including the integrated development environment (IDE) interface and common controls. Finally, it discusses programming concepts in visual languages like variables, data types, and events.

Uploaded by

Daniel Nyagechi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to Visual Programming Language

Visual programming language is a programming language that uses graphical elements


and figures to develop a program.
Employs techniques to design a software program in two or more dimensions, and
includes graphical elements, text, symbols and icons within its programming context.
A programming language that uses a visual representation (such as graphics, drawings,
animation or icons, partially or completely)
A visual language manipulates visual information or supports visual interaction, or
allows programming with visual expressions.
A visual language is a set of spatial arrangements of textgraphic symbols with a
semantic interpretation that is used in carrying out communication actions in the world.
Visual programming language enables the development of software programs by
eliminating textual software code with a series of visual graphics elements.
!ncorporates these graphical elements as the primary context of the language arranged
in a systematic order. "he graphics or icons included within a visual program serve as
input, activities, connections and#or output of the program.
Visual language has a few types, such as iconbased languages, diagramming languages
and formbased language. Visual languages should not be confused with $%!based
programming language as they only provide graphical program authoring services.
&owever, their code#context is completely textual.
Examples of visual programming languages
Visual basic
Visual '((
)elphi
Software considerations for visual programming
Ease of learning
Ease of understanding
*peed of development
&elp with enforcement of correct code
+erformance of compiled code
*upported platform environments
+ortability
,itforpurpose
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
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Ease of Learning
'learly, the easier that the programming language is to learn, the quic.er that programmers
become productive. /ava is a lot easier to learn than '((0 ' is probably even easier. 1ut you
learn once and program for a long time, so that ease of learning is of only limited value.
Ease of Understanding
2ost code is written once and read many times usually, to focus on a particular point. "hus, it
is important that the reader quic.ly grasp the essence of what3s happening.
Speed of Development
!f you loo. at speed of development in the round, you must consider not only how long it ta.es
you to write code, but also how long it ta.es you to find a solution to the problem at hand and
find the bugs.
Help with Enforcement of Correct Code
"he ideal programming language should turn logic errors into syntax errors. A powerful means
to this end is type chec.ing. 2ost standard languages, such as /ava and '4145, have good
type chec.ing. 1ut some languages have an escape clause.
Performance of Compiled Code
Supported Platform Environments
1y platform environment, ! mean not only the operatingsystem facilities, but also the
middleware facilities, database facilities, and systemmanagement facilities.
Portailit!
"it#for#Purpose
Hardware considerations for visual programming
%ser friendly
'ompatibility
+ortability
Description of visual environment
Visual 1asic is a programming language and development environment created by 2icrosoft
'orporation. !t is an extension of the 1A*!' programming language that combines 1A*!'
functions and commands with visual controls. Visual 1asic provides a graphical user interface
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
6
($%!) that allows the developer to drag and drop ob7ects into the program as well as manually
write program code.
Visual 1asic is an event driven programming language. "his simply means that the applications
that are developed using Visual 1asic, much li.e any other windows applications, will act upon
the users actions (event procedures) such as 'lic., )ouble'lic., )rag)rop, 2ouse)own.
8henever you want the control in your application to respond to an event, you put the
instructions in the appropriate event procedure. 4f course the user does not initiate all the
events. *ometimes events are consequence of other events. ,or example as you start an
application the main ,orm is loaded in the memory and shows up on the screen. "his is a
,orm95oad event, which simply means that the 5oad event procedure is activated on the ,orm
control.
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
:
$he Integrated Development Environmen
!)E is a term commonly used in the programming world to describe the interface and
environment that we use to create our applications. !t is called integrated because we can
access virtually all of the development tools that we need from one screen called an interface.
"he !)E is also commonly referred to as the design environment, or the program. +rograms
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
;
written in visual basic are done in an !ntegrated )evelopment Environment (!)E). "he !)E
allows a programmer to<
'reate#design a user interface.
'ode the program.
*et the properties for the controls.
=un#compile the program.
)ebug the program.
Integrated Development Environment Elements
"he Visual 1asic integrated development environment (!)E) consists of the following
elements.
%enu &ar
)isplays the commands you use to wor. with Visual 1asic. 1esides the standard ,ile, Edit,
View, 8indow, and &elp menus, menus are provided to access functions specific to
programming such as +ro7ect, ,ormat, or )ebug.
Context %enus
'ontain shortcuts to frequently performed actions. "o open a context menu, clic. the right
mouse button on the ob7ect you>re using. "he specific list of shortcuts available from context
menus depends on the part of the environment where you clic. the right mouse button.
$oolars
+rovide quic. access to commonly used commands in the programming environment. ?ou
clic. a button on the toolbar once to carry out the action represented by that button.
$oolox
+rovides a set of tools that you use at design time to place controls on a form.
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
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Controls in toolox
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
A
Pro'ect Explorer (indow
5ists the forms and modules in your current pro7ect. A project is the collection of files you use
to build an application.
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
B
Properties (indow
5ists the property settings for the selected form or control. A property is a characteristic of an
ob7ect, such as siCe, caption, or color.
"orm La!out (indow
"he ,orm 5ayout window allows you to position the forms in your application using a small
graphical representation of the screen.
)'ect &rowser
5ists ob7ects available for use in your pro7ect and gives you a quic. way to navigate through
your code. ?ou can use the 4b7ect 1rowser to explore ob7ects in Visual 1asic and other
applications, see what methods and properties are available for those ob7ects, and paste code
procedures into your application.
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
D
"orm Designer
*erves as a window that you customiCe to design the interface of your application. ?ou add
controls, graphics, and pictures to a form to create the loo. you want. Each form in your
application has its own form designer window.
Code Editor (indow
*erves as an editor for entering application code. A separate code editor window is created for
each form or code module in your application.
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
E
)thers
Immediate* Locals* and (atch (indows
"hese additional windows are provided for use in debugging your application. "hey are only
available when you are running your application within the !)E.
$oolox Controls with prefix
"extbox txt
A control for accepting user input.
5abel F lbl
A control that displays unedited text to the user.
'ommand button F cmd
A control which represents a button. "he user clic.s on it initiate an action.
+icturebox F pic
A control that displays images.
,rame F fra
A control that is used to group ob7ects.
'hec.box F ch.
A control that provides user with a toggle choice.
5istbox F lst
A control that provides a list of items
'ombobox F cbo
A control that provides a short list of items.
)ata F dat
A control for connecting to a database.
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
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45E F ole
A control for interacting other windows applications.
*hape F shp
A control that is used to draw circles, rectangles.
Creating visual Environment with o'ects
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
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Program structure
$erms used in visual asic
+rogram
A set of instructions that are aimed at accomplishing a certain tas..
+roperties
"hese are characteristics of ob7ects in a program.
'ontrols
"hey are elements that you place inside a form to create the user interface.
2ethods
"hese are actions or function associated with the ob7ects in visual basic.
Events
"hese are responses toE actions performed by programs.
V+,I+&LES
Variables are memory locations that hold values to be used by the program at execution time.
!t is a valid identifier.
,ules for creating variales
Variables cannot be .eywords in visual basic.
Variables must begin with letters.
"he maximum length of variable names is 6@@ characters.
Variable names can contain letters, numbers and underscores.
Variales categories
*tatic variables
"hey are those variables that don3t change when the program executes.
)ynamic variables
"hey are those variables that change when the program executes.
$!pes of variales
$lobal variables
"hese are variables that are accessible through the program when it executes.
5ocal variables
"hey are programs that are accessible within the function or procedures in which they
are declared.
-&. the .eyword )im is used to declare dynamic variables in visual basic. "he .eyword const
is used to declare static variables in visual basic.
D+$+ $/PES
A data type shows the .ind information or data a certain variable stores.
!nteger
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
-6
*tores whole numbers ie nonfloating numbers .
1oolean
=epresents true or false values.
1yte
*tores a byte of information.
)ouble
=epresents a precision floating numbers.
*trings
=epresents a single precision floating point numbers.
*trings
*tores a series of characters.
Variant
*tores data types of any type.
)ate and time.
*tores date and time formats.
5ong
*tores whole numbers with greater magnitudes.
'urrency
*tores monetary valus.
)ata type 1ytes =ange
!nteger 6 :6BAD to :6BAD
1yte - G to 6@@
'urrency D E66::B6G:AD@;BB to E66::B6G:AD@;BB
)ate#"ime D - /anuary -GG to :- )ecember EEEE
)ouble D -.BEBAE:-:;DA6:6E:GD to -.BEBAE:-:;DA6:6E:GD
5ong ; 6-;B;D:A;D to 6-;B;D:A;D
1oolean 6 "rue or ,alse
4b7ect ; Any ob7ect type.
*ingle ; :.;GD6:E:D to -.;;G-6EEDE;@
*tring -G( G to 6G,GGG,GGG,GGG
Variant -A Any value within the range listed above.
Example 0
8rite a program that calculates the sum of two integers
+lgorithms
*tart
Enter the integer values.
'ompute the sum the two numbers.
+roduce results
*top
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
-:
"lowchart
Interface
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
-;
Start
Enter the two integers
Compute the sum of the two integers
$he sum of the two integers
Stop
Code
+rivate *ub cmdcompute9'lic.()
)im num- As !nteger
)im num6 As !nteger
)im sum As !nteger
num- H Val(txtnum-."ext)
num6 H Val(txtnum6."ext)
txtsum."ext H Val(txtnum-."ext) ( Val(txtnum6."ext)
End *ub
+,I$H%E$ICS I- VISU+L &+SIC
Visual basic allows programmers to do mathematical operations using various arithmetic
operators.
Vb operator Arithmetic operator Algebraic expression Vb expression
Addition ( I(y I(y
*ubtraction ab xD
2ultiplication J ?b ?Jb
)ivision # u#v u#v
)ivision(integer) K Lone uKv
Exponentiation M qp NMp
Legation e e
2odulus 2od Nmodr qmodr
),DE, )" P,ECEDE-CE
"hese are visual basic arithmetic rules that determine the sequence of evaluating values in a
visual basic expression.
=ules
%se the operators in order of precedence. ,or operators on the same precedence, evaluate from
left to right in an expression.
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
-@
)rder of precedence S!mol )perator
- ( ) "he value between the brac.ets
6 M "he exponentiation
: Legative (negative values)
; J # 2ultiplication and division
@ K !nteger division
A 2od =emainder division
B ( Addition and subtraction
5astly O *tring concatenation
Example 0
Evaluate the expression below
"otalH-G(-@J6#;M6
"otalH-G(-@6#-A
"otalH-G(:#-A
"otalH-G(-.DB@
"otalH--.DB@
Example 1
LumberH (D@)J:M6
LumberH:J:M6
LumberH:JE
LumberH6B
Example 2
IH (D@J:) M6
IH (B) M6
IH;E
Example 3
LumberH ((D@)J:) M6
LumberH (:J:) M6
LumberHEM6
LumberHD-
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
-A
Visual asic reserved words
AndAlso Ansi As Assembly
Auto 1oolean 1y=ef 1yte
1yVal 'all 'ase 'atch
'1ool '1yte ''har ')ate
')ec ')bl 'har '!nt
'lass '5ng '4b7 'onst
'*hort '*ng '*tr '"ype
)ate )ecimal )eclare )efault
)elegate )im )irect'ast )o
)ouble Each Else Else!f
End Enum Erase Error
Event Exit ,alse ,inally
,or ,riend ,unction $et
$et"ype 4oSu $o"o &andles
!f !mplements !mports !n
!nherits !nteger !nterface !s
Let 5ib 5i.e 5ong
5oop 2e 2od 2odule
2ust!nherit 2ust4verride 2y1ase 2y'lass
Lamespace Lew Lext Lot
Lothing Lot!nheritable Lot4verridable 4b7ect
4n 4ption 4ptional 4r
4rElse 4verloads 4verridable 4verrides
+aramArray +reserve +rivate +roperty
+rotected +ublic =aiseEvent =ead4nly
=e)im =E2 =emove&andler =esume
=eturn *elect *et *hadows
*hared *hort *ingle *tatic
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
-B
*tep *top *tring *tructure
*ub *ync5oc. "hen "hrow
"o "rue "ry "ype4f
%nicode %ntil Variant 8hen
8hile 8ith 8ithEvents 8rite4nly
Ior 'onst External*ource P!f..."hen...PElse
Add Add&andler Address4f Alias And
AndAlso Ansi AppActivate As Asc
Asc8 Assembly Auto 1eep 1oolean
1y=ef 1yte 1yVal 'all 'all1yLame
'ase 'atch '1ool '1yte ''har
')ate ')bl ')ec 'har 'h)ir
'h)rive 'hoose 'hr '!nt 'lass
'lear '5ng 'lose '4b7 'ommand
'onst 'ount 'reate4b7ect '*hort '*ng
'*tr '"ype 'ur)ir )ate )ateAdd
)ate)iff )ate+art )ate*erial )ate*tring )ateValue
)ay ))1 )ecimal )eclare )efault
)elegate )elete*etting )escription )im )ir
)o )ouble Each Else Else!f
End Enum Environ E4, Erase
Erl Err Error Error"o*tring Event
Exit External*ource ,alse ,ileAttr ,ile'opy
,ile)ate"ime ,ile$et ,ile5en ,ile4pen ,ile+ut
,ile8idth ,ilter ,inally ,ix ,or
,ormat'urrency ,ormat)ate"im
e
,ormatLumber ,ormat+ercen
t
,ree,ile
,riend ,unction ,V $et $etAll*ettings
$etAttr $et'har $etException $et4b7ect $et*etting
$et"ype $o"o &andles &elp'ontext &elp,ile
&ex &our !f !!f !mplements
!mports !n !nherits !nput !nput1ox
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
-D
!nput*tring !n*tr !n*tr=ev !nt !nteger
!nterface !+mt !== !s !sArray
!s)ate !s)1Lull !sError !sLothing !sLumeric
!s=eference !tem /oin Qill 5ast)llError
51ound 5'ase 5eft 5en 5et
5ib 5i.e 5ine!nput 5oc 5oc.
54, 5ong 5oop 5*et 5"rim
2e 2id 2inute 2!== 2.)ir
2od 2odule 2onth 2onthLame 2sg1ox
2ust!nherit 2ust4verride 2y1ase 2y'lass Lamespace
Lew Lext Lot Lothing Lot!nheritable
Lot4verridable Low L+er L+V Lumber
4b7ect 4ct 4n 4ption 4ptional
4r 4rElse 4verloads 4verridable 4verrides
+aramArray +artition +mt ++mt +reserve
+rint +rint5ine +rivate +roperty +rotected
+ublic +V N1'olor =aise =aiseEvent
=andomiCe =ate =ead4nly =e)im =egion
=em =emove =emove&andle
r
=ename =eplace
=eset =esume =eturn =$1 =m)ir
=nd =*et ="rim *ave*etting *ee.
*criptEngine *criptEngine *criptEngine *criptEngine *econd
1uildVersion 2a7orVersion 2inorVersion *elect *et
*etAttr *hadows *hared *hell *hort
*ingle *5L *ource *pace *pc
*plit *tatic *tep *top *tr
*tr'omp *tr'onv *tr)up *tring *tr=everse
*tructure *ub *witch *?) *ync5oc.
*ystem"ypeLame "ab "hen "hrow "ime4f)ay
"imer "ime*erial "ime*tring "imeValue "o
"oday "rim "rue "ry "ypeLame
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
-E
"ype4f %1ound %'ase %nicode %nloc.
%ntil Val Variant Var"ype Vb"ypeLame
8ee.)ay 8ee.)ayLame 8hen 8hile 8ith
8ithEvents 8rite 8rite5ine 8rite4nly Ior
Visual asic input output commands
%athematics
=ound =ounds a number to a selectable number of decimal places
o result H round ( tempvariable,6 )
Val =eturns the numerical content of a string
o result H Val (R-6:.;R)
!nt =eturns an integer by truncating (different than ,ix)
o i H int ( tempvariable )
,ix =eturns an integer by truncating (different than !nt)
o i H fix ( tempvariable )
&ex =eturns the hexadecimal value of any number
o tempS H hex ( tempvariable )
4ct =eturns the octal value of any number
o tempS H oct ( tempvariable )
"an =eturns the tangent of an angle
o tempvariable- H tan ( tempvariable6 )
=nd =eturns a random number between G and -
o tempvariable- H rnd
=andomiCe !nitialiCes the =nd function so it gives different answers each time
o randomiCe
*gn =eturns the sign of a number
o i H sgn ( tempvariable )
*in =eturns the sine of an angle
o tempvariable- H sin ( tempvariable6 )
'os =eturns the cosine of an angle
o tempvariable6 H cos ( tempvariable )
Abs 'onverts a number to a positive value
o i H abs ( tempvariable )
*qr =eturns the square root of a number
o tempvariable- H sqr ( tempvariable6 )
5og =eturns the base -G logarithm of a number
o tempvariable- H log ( tempvariable6 )
Atn =eturns the arctangent of an angle
o tempvariable- H atn ( tempvariable )
+artition *ort of an oddball function but segregates values according to ranges
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
6G
o
"ype 'onversions A variety of conversion functions
o '1ool, '1yte, ''ur, ')ate, ')bl, ')ec, '!nt, '5ng, '*ng, '*tr, 'Var
Strings
5eft =eturns the left n characters of a string
o tempS H leftS ( teststringS, ; )
=ight =eturns the right n characters of a string
o tempS H rightS ( teststringS, ; )
"rim =emoves leading and trailing spaces of a string
o tempS H trimS ( teststringS )
5"rim =emoves only the leading spaces of a string
o tempS H ltrimS ( teststringS )
="rim =emoves only the trailing spaces of a string
o tempS H rtrimS ( teststringS )
%'ase 2a.es all characters upper case
o tempS H ucaseS ( teststringS )
5'ase 2a.es all characters lower case
o tempS H lcaseS ( teststringS )
2id =eturns n characters from a string, starting a any position
o tempS H midS ( teststringS, -, ; )
5en =eturns the length of a string (how many characters it has)
o tempS H len ( teststringS )
5*et +ositions a string inside another, flush to the left
o tempS H lrset ( teststringS )
=*et +ositions a string inside another, flush to the right
o tempS H rsetS ( teststringS )
,ormat =eturns a string formatted according to a userdefined format
o tempS H formatS ( teststringS, RPPPP.GR )
*tring
o tempS H leftS ( teststringS, ; )
'hr =eturns the string representation of a number
o tempS H strS ( :6 )
Asc =eturns the A*'!! code of a single character
o tempS H asc ( RAR )
*pace =eturns n spaces
o tempS H spaceS ( -@ )
!nstr )etermines if one string is found within a second string
o i H !nstr (starthere, string-, string6)
!n*tr=ev )etermine if one string is found in a second, starting at the end
o i H !n*tr=ev (string-, string6, start)
*tr'omp 'ompares two strings
o result H *tr'omp (string-, string6)
*tr'onv 'onverts the case of a string>s characters
o *tr'onv (string, vbuppercase)
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
6-
*tr=everse =everses character order in a string
o *tr=everse (string-)
=eplace =eplaces each occurrence of a string
o =eplace (bigstring, searchstring, replacementstring)
,ormat'urrency =eturns a string using a currency format
o ,ormat'urrency(var-, 6)
,ormat)ate"ime =eturns a date or time expression
o ,ormat)ate"ime(R:#6#EER,vb*hort"ime)
,ormatLumber =eturns a number formatted according to a variety of options
o ,ormatLumber(var-, 6)
,ormat+er'ent =eturns a number formated as a percent
o ,ormat+er'ent(var-, 6)
+rra!s
4ption 1ase )etermines whether the lowest range of an array is G or -
o option base -
Erase Erases all values of an array
o erase (arrayname)
)im 'reates an array
o dim arrayname(6@)
=edim =esets the bounds of an array (has option to save values)
o redim arrayname(6D)
%1ound =eturns the upper dimension of an array
o i H ubound (arrayname)
51ound =eturns the lower dimension of an array
o i H lbound (arrayname)
,ilter =eturns a subset of an array based on a filter
o ,ilter (inputarray, searchstring)
Array ?es, there is a function called array. !t returns an array that has been filled with
data from a list. !t allows you to put the actual data values in the code to avoid having
the user input it or to avoid having to read it from a file
o ArrayLame H Array (-G, 6G, :G)
/oin 'oncatenates strings within an array
"ile Handling 54eneric6
)ir =eturns a filename that matches a pattern
o tempS H )ir (RJ.JR)
'ur)ir =eturns the current directory
o tempS H 'ur)ir
2.)ir 'reates a directory
o m.dir ( RnewdirectorynameR )
'h)ir 'hanges the current directory to a new location
o chdir ( RnewdirectorynameR )
'h)rive 'hanges the current drive
o 'h)irve RAR
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
66
=m)ir =emoves the indicated directory
o rmdir ( RdirectorynameR )
,reefile =eturns an unused file handle
o i H freefile
4pen 4pens a file for access, loc.ing it from other applications
o open RfilenameR for input as P-
'lose 'loses a file so that other applications may access it
o close P-
54, =eturns the length of a file in bytes
o i H lof ( P- )
E4, =eturns a boolean value to indicate if the end of a file has been reached
o statusvariable H eof ( P- )
Lame As =enames a file
o name Rfilename-R as Rfilename6R
Qill )eletes a file
o .ill RfilenameR
,ileattr =eturns attribute information about a file
o i H int ( tempvariable )
$etAttr =eturns attributes of a file or directory
o i H $etAttr(Rc<KwindowsKtempR)
*etAttr *ets the attributes of a file
o *etAttr pathname, vb&idden
=eset 'loses all dis. files opened by the 4+EL statement
o =eset
,ile)ate"ime =eturns data file was created or last edited
o ,ile)ate"ime ( filename )
,ile5en =eturns length of file in bytes
o ,ile5en ( filename )
,ile'opy 'opies a file to a new name
o ,ile'opy sourcefile, destinationfile
5oc. 'ontrols access to a part or all of a file opened by 4+EL
o 5oc. P-
%n5oc. =estores access to a part or all of a file opended by 4+EL
o %n5oc. P-
8idth P *et the output line width used by the 4+EL statement
o 8idth P6, DG
"ile Handling # +SCII#specific
5ine !nput =eads an entire line of A*'!! text
o line input P-, tempvariableS
8rite +uts data in a file, with separators for the data
o write P-, tempvariableS
+rint +uts data in a file with no separators
o print P-, tempvariableS
*pc %sed in a print statement to move a number of spaces
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o +rint P6, var-0 spc(-@)0 var6
"ab %sed in a print statement to move to "A1 locations
o +rint P6, var-0 "ab(6G)0 var6
"ile Handling # &inar!#specific
$et =eads data from a file
o get P-, anyvariable
+ut +uts data into a file
o put P-, anyvariable
*ee. 2oves the current pointer to a defined location in a file
o see. P-, 6A
!nput
o input P-, anyvariable
5oc =eturns current position with an open file
o i H 5oc(P6)
Declarations
)im %sed to define a variable as a certain type
o i H dim i as integer, r as single
o ?ou can use the 4ption Explicit to ma.e sure that V1 forces you to declare
every variable you use. )!2 is that simplest way to declare a variable
=e)im %sed to change the dimensions of a dynamic array
o redim arrayname(:B)
o )on>t be afraid of this one. ?ou can use =e)im to create an array whose siCe
grows by - every time you want to add a number to it. "hen, the %1ound tells
you how many numbers you>ve added.
*tatic Establishes a procedure variable which .eeps its value between calls
o static i as integer
o ,or example, if you want to .eep trac. of how many times you>ve been in a
procedure, set a counter as *"A"!' and increment it by one for each visit to the
procedure. !t will never go away until the program is terminated.
+ublic 'reates a variable which can be accessed outside its own procedure
o public i as integer
o Even if you>re the only programmer writing code in your application, use of
+rivate vs +ublic will help catch errors if you inadvertently try to access an out
ofscope variable
+rivate 'reates a variable that can be read only in its own procedure or module,
according to where the declaration too. place.
o private i as integer
o %se this as often as possible to avoid unnecessary exposure of your variables to
coding mista.es.
*ub )efines a procedure which can execute a bloc. of code
o *ub Lew+rocedure (var- as integer, var6 as string)
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o 1e sure to chec. out &E5+ for how to handle *ub arguments. "here are more
questions and mista.es made concerning the use of arguments than 7ust about
anything else !>ve seen.
,unction )eclares a procedure which can return a value
o ,unction Lew,unction (var- as integer, var6 as string) as *!L$5E
o "his is actually the most versatile of the *ub#,unction procedure types. !t can do
anything a *ub can do as well as returning a value for use in an expression.
'all "ransfers control to a *ub or ,unction (is optional)
o 'all +rocedure -
o *ince the use of 'A55 is optional, forget you ever saw it
'all1yLame Executes a method of an ob7ect or set#returns a property
o 'all1yLame(form-,procedurename,vb2ethod)
o "he really cool thing about this is that you don>t have to hardcode a procedure
call. /ust use a string variable with the name of the procedure to call.
4ption Explicit !nstructs V1 to force an explicit declaration of all variables
o 4ption Explicit
o ?ou>re borderline stupid if you don>t use it to catch typing errors. *et up the V1
!)E to automatically include this in all pro7ects.
4ption 'ompare !nstructs V1 on how to ma.e string comparisons
o 4ption 'ompare 1inary
o "his can add caseinsensitivity for those times when you don>t want to hard
code it
4ption +rivate +revents a module>s content from being referenced outside a pro7ect.
o 4ption +rivate 2odule
o $enerally doesn>t apply to most V1 applications. !f you find a good use for it let
me .now.
+roperty $et )eclares how to get the value of a property
o +roperty $et Lame()
o ?ou won>t use this much until you get into creating classes of your own
+roperty 5et )eclares how to assign a value to a property
o +roperty 5et Lame()
o ?ou won>t use this much until you get into creating classes of your own
+roperty *et )eclares how to set a variable reference to an ob7ect
o
o ?ou won>t use this much until you get into creating classes of your own
*et Assigns an ob7ect reference to a variable
o *et I H form-.txt!nput,rom%ser
o Very useful for ma.ing code more readable or simply to cut down on how much
typing you have to doT
5et +recedes assignment of a value to a variable
o 5et i H :
o !t>s optional, no one uses, so forget you ever saw it
"ype...End "ype 'reates a user defined part type which consists of standard V1 data
types
o type anytypename
o one as string
o two as integer
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o three as boolean
o End "ype
o "his is a really excellent way to .eep several .inds of data under one variable
name. +lus, you can +%" or $E" a userdefined type with a single line of code.
'onst 'reates a variable whose value is fixed
o const anyname
o 1asically, use this to give easy to remember names to values. ,or example,
suppose you use the value :B.6 a lot in your code, then if you put '4L*"
2yAge H :B.6 in your code you>ll be able to insert the 2yAge where the :B.6
should have gone. Easier to type and easier to read. Also, you can chane the
value of the constant by changing only the declaration line of code, rather than
searching out every place the value was usedT
)eclare %sed to define a procedure that exists in another file
o declare functionname (arg- as integer, arg6 as string) as integer
o
o ArrayLame H Array (-G, 6G, :G)
o !mplements *pecifies a class to be implemented in a module

o ,riend Allows procedure to be callable from modules outside the class

o $et4b7ect =eturn a reference to an ActiveI component

o 'reate4b7ect 'reates and returns a reference to an ActiveI ob7ect

o $etAuto*erver*ettings =eturns information about the state of an ActiveI


component>s registration.

o Enum )eclares a type for an enumeration

o Event )eclares a userdefined event

o "ypeLame =eturns the type of data in a variable

o Var"ype =eturns the type of data in a variable

o )ef"ype *ets the default data type of variables


)ef!nt AU
o !* A variety of data type or status chec.ing options
!sArray, !s1indable, !s1ro.en, !s)ate, !s)irty, !sEmpty, !sError,
!s2issing, !sLull, !sLumber, !s4b7ect, !s=eady, !s=oot,older
Date7$ime
)ate $ets the current date
"ime $ets the current time
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Low $ets the current date and time
"imer =eturns the number of seconds since midnight
)ateAdd Adds a time interval to a date
)ate)iff =eturns how many time intervals there are between two dates
)ate*erial =eturns the month#day#year
)ateValue =eturns the date
?ear =eturns the current year
2onth =eturns the current month (integer)
2onthLame =eturns the text of the name of a month
)ay =eturns the current day
&our =eturns the current hour
2inute =eturns the current minute
*econd =eturns the current second
"ime*erial =eturns a date with the hour#minute#second
"imeValue =eturns the time
8ee.)ay =eturns the current day of the wee. (integer)
8ee.)ayLame =eturns the text of a day of the wee.
2sg1ox A builtin dialog box that gives a message and allows a user input
i H msgbox R=ead thisTR, vbo.only, R"est 2essageR
)oEvents Allows V1 to complete pending tas.s
doevents
*hell Executes a 6nd program from within the current program
shell Rnotepad.exeR
Lote V1 does not wait for the *hell>d program to quit before executing the
next line of codeT
'ommand $ives any text that followed a V1 .EIE execution command
tempS H command
Environ =eturns the system environmental space content
tempS H environ
1eep 2a.es the computer beep once.
beep
!nput1ox A builtin dialog box that allows entry of a text string
inputbox R!nput a valueTR, @
Address4f +rovides an entry point for an external program to use a procedure
Address4f ( procedurename )
AppActivate Activates an applications window
AppActivate ( windowtitle )
=aiseEvent ,ires an event declared at module level
=aiseEvent +rocedureLame
5oad 5oad an ob7ect
load form-
%nload %nload an ob7ect
%nload form-
5oad+icture 5oad a picture into a control property
form-.picture H loadpicture (filename)
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*ave+icture *ave a picture to a file
*ave+icture(form-.picture,filename)
5oad=es)ata 5oad the data from a resource file
5oad=es)ata(index,format)
5oad=es*tring 5oad a string from a resource file
5oad=es*tring(index,format)
*endQeys *end .eys to another app as though they were from the .eyboard
*end.eys V)48LW
N1'olor =eturns a value corresponding to the original N1 values G-@
form-.bac.color H N1color (-6)
=$1 =eturns a color value by inputting the red, green, and blue parts
form-.bac.color H =$1 (-6,-6D,6@A)
2e =efers to the current ob7ect, usually the active form
print 2e.caption
$et*etting $et a value from the =egistry
tempS H getsetting R"estAppR, R*ectionLameR, RQeyLameR, RdefaultvalueR
$etAll*ettings =eturns a list of .ey settings and their values
$etAll*ettings(appname,section)
*ave*etting *ave a value into the =egistry
savesetting R"estAppR, *ectionLame, Qey)ata
)elete*etting )eletes an entry from the registry
deletesetting R"estAppR, R*ectionLameR, RQeynameR
Program compiling
"his involves a process of testing a program in structured programming to chec. if the program
is error free. !t is a process of converting a program from course code to its ob7ect
equivalent.
Program deugging
"his is a process of correcting errors in a program. 8hen a program executes in structured
programming, it must produce the expected results. !f it doesn3t give the expected output
then it has errors. !n this regard the programmers should start the process of debugging.
$esting programs in structured programming
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"his is a process of running (executing) programs to find errors (bugs). "he process of finding
bugs is called debugging as mentioned above. +rogram testing is part of the procedure
which ensures that the program corresponds with original program specification and that
it wor.s in the intended environment.
$est plan
"hese are the stages involved in testing the programs. "hey include the following.
-. )es.chec.ing
After writing the program the programmer goes through the program on a paper to eliminate
any error that might cause extra wor. later.
6. "ranslator system chec.ing
After coding the program is chec.ed using the compiler or translator to detect any syntax error.
"he programmer corrects these errors and then resubmits the program to the compiler
until the errors are over.
:. +rogram run with test data
"hese re trial runs done with test data that includes all variations and extremes data including
data with errors to ensure that program does not grind to an halt if incorrect data is used.
;. )iagnostic procedures
,or complex programs diagnostic procedures are used to find logical errors. A trace routine
print the results at each stage to enable errors detected quic.ly. !f the trace routine is not
available, the programmer can insert instructions in the program to print out intermediate
results at .ey points.
@. *ystem test with actual data (fullscale) system
%sually new system are run parallel with existing system for a short period so that the results
are compared and ad7ustments made.
$ES$ D+$+
"his is the information that is used to test the new system or program. "he program tried and
executed at least once every routine through the program and the accuracy of the
program is verified to meet the original design specification.
Categories of test data
Dumm! data
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"his is the data input into a system for trial purposes. %sed to test the system for
correctness.
,eal data 5normal data6
"his includes the general data for which the system was designed.
Exceptional data
+rograms are designed to accept certain range of data. !f illegal data is input it should
be able to detect and re7ect it rather than try to process it to avoid getting wrong results.
Visual operators asic Expressions
An operator is a code element that performs an operation on one or more code elements that
hold values. Value elements include variables, constants, literals, properties, returns from
,unction and 4perator procedures, and expressions.
An expression is a series of value elements combined with operators, which yields a new value.
"he operators act on the value elements by performing calculations, comparisons, or other
operations.
$!pes of )perators
Visual 1asic provides the following types of operators<
+rithmetic )perators. perform familiar calculations on numeric values, including
shifting their bit patterns.
Comparison )perators< compare two expressions and return a 1oolean value
representing the result of the comparison.
Concatenation )perators< 7oin multiple strings into a single string.
Logical )perators< !n Visual 1asic combines &oolean or numeric values and return a
result of the same data type as the values.
+ssignment operator. assign variables to some values in visual basic for example
equal sign (H)
Evaluation of Expressions
"he end result of an expression represents a value, which is typically of a familiar data type
such as 1oolean, *tring, or a numeric type.
"he following are examples of expressions.
@ ( ;
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:G
-@ J *ystem.2ath.*qrt (E) ( x
R'oncatR O RenaR O RtionR
BA: X 6:
*everal operators can perform actions in a single expression or statement, as the following
example illustrates.
x H ;@ ( y J C M 6
Error handling in visual asic

Error &andling enables programmers to write clearer, more robust, more faulttolerant
programs. Error handling enables the programmer to attempt to recover (i.e., continue
executing) from infrequent fatal errors rather than letting them occur and suffering the
consequences (such as loss of application data).
Error handling is designed for dealing with synchronous errors such as an attempt to divide by
G (that occurs as the program executes the divide instruction). 4ther common examples of
synchronous errors are memory exhaustion, an outofbound array index, and arithmetic
overflow. Error handling provides the programmer with a disciplined set of capabilities for
dealing with these types of errors.
Errorhandling code is interspersed throughout a program>s code. Errors are dealt with the
places in the code where errors are li.ely to occur. "he advantage of this approach is that a
programmer reading the code can see the error handling in the immediate vicinity of the code
and determine if the proper error handling has been implemented.
Deugging # Error $!pes in Visual &asic 8
Y Lo matter how hard we try, errors do creep into our programs. "hese errors can be grouped
into three categories<
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:-
-. *yntax errors
6. =untime errors
:. 5ogic errors
Y *yntax errors occur when you mistype a command or leave out an expected phrase or
argument. Visual 1asic detects these errors as they occur and even provides help in correcting
them. ?ou cannot run a Visual 1asic program until all syntax errors have been corrected.
Y =untime errors are usually beyond your program>s control. Examples include< when a
variable ta.es on an unexpected value (divide by Cero), when a drive door is left open, or when
a file is not found. Visual 1asic allows you to trap such errors and ma.e attempts to correct
them.
5ogic errors are the most difficult to find. 8ith logic errors, the program will usually
run, but will produce incorrect or unexpected results. "he Visual 1asic debugger is an
aid in detecting logic errors.
Logical errors
"his is a human error. A programming mista.e that ma.es a program code to output
results.
S!ntax error
"hese are errors that violate rules and regulations or the syntax of a language.
,untime error
"hese are the undiscovered error in a program.
(a!s to minimi9e errors
)esign your application carefully. 2ore design time means less debugging time.
%se comments where applicable to help you remember what you were trying to do.
%se consistent and meaningful naming conventions for your variables, ob7ects, and
procedures.
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,un#$ime Error $rapping and Handling
=untime errors are trappable. "hat is, Visual 1asic recogniCes an error has occurred and
enables you to trap it and ta.e corrective action. !f an error occurs and is not trapped, your
program will usually end in a rather unceremonious manner. Error trapping is enabled with the
4n Error statement<
4n Error $o"o errlabel
"his uses the $o"o statement. Any time a runtime error occurs following this line, program
control is transferred to the line labeled errlabel. =ecall a labeled line is simply a line with the
label followed by a colon (<).
"he best way to explain how to use error trapping is to loo. at an outline of an example
procedure with error trapping.
Private Sub Example ()
Declare variables..
On Error GoTo HanleErrors
Proceure coe
Exit Sub
HanleErrors
Error !anlin" coe
En Sub
4nce you have set up the variable declarations, constant definitions, and any other procedure
preliminaries, the 4n Error statement is executed to enable error trapping. ?our normal
procedure code follows this statement. "he error handling code goes at the end of the
procedure, following the &andleErrors statement label. "his is the code that is executed if an
error is encountered anywhere in the *ub procedure. Lote you must exit (with Exit *ub) from
the code before reaching the &andleErrors line to avoid execution of the error handling code.
*ince the error handling code is in the same procedure where an error occurs, all variables in
that procedure are available for possible corrective action. !f at some time in your procedure,
you want to turn off error trapping that is done with the following statement<
4n Error $o"o G
4nce a runtime error occurs, we would li.e to .now what the error is and attempt to fix it.
"his is done in the error handling code.
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Visual 1asic offers help in identifying runtime errors. "he Err ob7ect returns, in its Lumber
property (Err.Lumber), the number associated with the current error condition. ("he Err
function has other useful properties that we won3t cover here consult online help for further
information.) "he Error() function ta.es this error number as its argument and returns a string
description of the error. 'onsult online help for Visual 1asic runtime error numbers and their
descriptions.
4nce an error has been trapped and some action ta.en, control must be returned to your
application. "hat control is returned via the =esume statement. "here are three options<
=esume lets you retry the operation that caused the error. "hat is, control is returned to the line
where the error occurred. "his could be dangerous in that, if the error has not been corrected
(via code or by the user), an infinite loop between the error handler and the procedure code
may result.
=esume Lext +rogram control is returned to the line immediately following the line where the
error occurred. =esume label +rogram control is returned to the line labeled label.
8hen executing the error handling portion of the code and the end of the procedure is
encountered before a =esume, an error occurs. 5i.ewise, if a =esume is encountered outside of
the error handling portion of the code, an error occurs.
Deugging Visual &asic Programs
"hese are errors that don3t prevent an application from running, but cause incorrect or
unexpected results. Visual 1asic provides an excellent set of debugging tools to aid in this
search. "here are no prescribed processes that you can follow to eliminate all logic errors in
your program. "he usual approach is to eliminate them as they are discovered.
"he !mmediate 8indow.
"he 5ocals 8indow.
"he 8atch 8indow.
"hese windows can be accessed from the View menu (the !mmediate 8indow can be accessed
by pressing 'trl($). 4r, they can be selected from the )ebug "oolbar (accessed using the
"oolbars option under the View menu)<
All debugging using the debug windows is done when your application is in brea. mode. ?ou
can enter brea. mode by setting brea.points, pressing 'trl(1rea., or the program will go into
brea. mode if it encounters an untrapped error or a *top statement.
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4nce in brea. mode, the debug windows and other tools can be used to<
)etermine values of variables
*et brea.points
*et watch variables and expressions
2anually control the application
)etermine which procedures have been called
'hange the values of variables and properties
Deugging
%nli.e other examples, we3ll do this one as a group. !t will be used to demonstrate use
of the debugging tools.
"he example simply has a form with a single command button. "he button is used to
execute some code. 8e won3t be real careful about proper naming conventions and
such in this example.

"he code attached to this button3s 'lic. event is a simple loop that evaluates a function
at several values.
+rivate *ub 'ommand-9'lic.()
)im I As !nteger, ? As !nteger
I H G
)o
? H ,cn(I)
I H I ( -
5oop 8hile I XH 6G
End *ub
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:@
"his code begins with an I value of G and computes the ? value using the general integer
function ,cn. !t then increments I by - and repeats the 5oop. !t continues looping 8hile I is
less than or equal to 6G. "he function ,cn is computed using<
,unction ,cn(I As !nteger) As !nteger
,cn H '!nt(G.- J I M 6)
End ,unction
"his code doesn3t do much, especially without any output, but it ma.es a good example for
loo.ing at debugger use. *et up the application and get ready to try debugging.
Using the Deugging $ools
Y "here are several debugging tools available for use in Visual 1asic. Access to these tools is
provided with both menu options and buttons on the )ebug toolbar. "hese tools include
brea.points, watch points, calls, step into, step over, and step out.
"he simplest tool is the use of direct prints to the immediate window.
Printing to the Immediate (indow.
?ou can print directly to the immediate window while an application is running. *ometimes,
this is all the debugging you may need. A few carefully placed print statements can sometimes
clear up all logic errors, especially in small applications.
"o print to the immediate window, use the +rint method<
)ebug.+rint Z5ist of variables separated by commas or semicolons[
)ebug.+rint Example<
+lace the following statement in the 'ommand-9'lic. procedure after the line calling
the general procedure ,cn<
)ebug.+rint I0 ? and run the application.
Examine the immediate window. Lote how, at each iteration of the loop, the program
prints the value of I and ?. ?ou could use this information to ma.e sure I is
incrementing correctly and that ? values loo. acceptable.
=emove the )ebug.+rint statement.
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&rea:points.
!n the above examples, the program ran to completion before we could loo. at the debug
window. !n many applications, we want to stop the application while it is running, examine
variables and then continue running. "his can be done with brea.points.
A brea.point is a line in the code where you want to stop (temporarily) the execution of the
program that is force the program into brea. mode. "o set a brea.point, put the cursor in the
line of code you want to brea. on. "hen, press X,E\ or clic. the 1rea.point button on the
toolbar or select "oggle 1rea.point from the )ebug menu. "he line will be highlighted.
8hen you run your program, Visual 1asic will stop when it reaches lines with brea.points and
allow you to use the immediate window to chec. variables and expressions. "o continue
program operation after a brea.point, press X,@\, clic. the =un button on the toolbar, or
choose *tart from the =un menu.
?ou can also change variable values using the immediate window. *imply type a valid 1asic
expression. "his can sometimes be dangerous, though, as it may change program operation
completely.
&rea:point Example.
*et a brea.point on the I H I ( - line in the sample program. =un the program.
8hen the program stops, display the immediate window and type the following line<
+rint I0?
"he values of these two variables will appear in the debug window. ?ou can use a
question mar. (]) as shorthand for the command +rint, if you3d li.e. =estart the
application. +rint the new variable values.
"ry other brea.points if you have time. 4nce done, all brea.points can be cleared by
'trl(*hift(X,E\ or by choosing 'lear All 1rea.points from the )ebug menu.
!ndividual brea.points can be toggled using X,E\ or the 1rea.point button on the
toolbar.
Viewing Variales in the Locals (indow.
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:B
"he locals window shows the value of any variables within the scope of the current procedure.
As execution switches from procedure to procedure, the contents of this window changes to
reflect only the variables applicable to the current procedure. =epeat the above example and
notice the values of I and ? also appear in the locals window.
(atch Expressions.
"he Add 8atch option on the )ebug menu allows you to establish watch expressions for your
application. 8atch expressions can be variable values or logical expressions you want to view
or test. Values of watch expressions are displayed in the watch window.
!n brea. mode, you can use the Nuic. 8atch button on the toolbar to add watch expressions
you need. *imply put the cursor on the variable or expression you want to add to the watch list
and clic. the Nuic. 8atch button.
8atch expressions can be edited using the Edit 8atch option on the )ebug menu.
(atch Expression Example.
*et a brea.point at the I H I ( - line in the example.
*et a watch expression for the variable I. =un the application. Lotice I appears in the
watch window. Every time you restart the application, the value of I changes.
At some point in the debug procedure, add a quic. watch on ?. Lotice it is now in the
watch window.
'lear the brea.point. Add a watch on the expression< I H ?. *et 8atch "ype to ^1rea.
8hen Value !s "rue.3 =un the application. Lotice it goes into brea. mode and displays
the watch window whenever I H ?. )elete this last watch expression.
Call Stac:.
*electing the 'all *tac. button from the toolbar (or pressing 'trl(5 or selecting 'all *tac.
from the View menu) will display all active procedures, that is those that have not been exited.
'all *tac. helps you unravel situations with nested procedure calls to give you some idea of
where you are in the application.
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Call Stac: Example.
*et a brea.point on the ,cn H 'int() line in the general function procedure. =un the
application. !t will brea. at this line.
+ress the 'all *tac. button. !t will indicate you are currently in the ,cn procedure
which was called from the 'ommand-9'lic. procedure. 'lear the brea.point.
Single Stepping 5Step Into6.
8hile at a brea.point, you may execute your program one line at a time by pressing X,D\,
choosing the *tep !nto option in the )ebug menu, or by clic.ing the *tep !nto button on the
toolbar.
"his process is single stepping. !t allows you to watch how variables change (in the locals
window) or how your form changes, one step at a time.
?ou may step through several lines at a time by using =un "o 'ursor option. 8ith this option,
clic. on a line below your current point of execution. "hen press 'trl(X,D\ (or choose =un "o
'ursor in the )ebug menu). the program will run through every line up to the cursor location,
then stop;
Step into Example.
*et a brea.point on the )o line in the example. =un the application.
8hen the program brea.s, use the *tep !nto button to single step through the program.
At some point, put the cursor on the 5oop 8hile line. "ry the =un "o 'ursor option
(press 'trl(X,D\).
Procedure Stepping 5Step )ver6.
8hile single stepping your program, if you come to a procedure call you .now functions
properly, you can perform procedure stepping. "his simply executes the entire procedure at
once, rather than one step at a time.
"o move through a procedure in this manner, press *hift(X,D\, choose *tep 4ver from the
)ebug menu, or press the *tep 4ver button on the toolbar.
Step over Example.
=un the previous example. *ingle step through it a couple of times.
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
:E
4ne time through, when you are at the line calling the ,cn function, press the *tep over
button. Lotice how the program did not single step through the function as it did
previously.
"unction Exit 5Step )ut6.
8hile stepping through your program, if you wish to complete the execution of a function you
are in, without stepping through it linebyline, choose the *tep 4ut option. "he function will
be completed and you will be returned to the procedure accessing that function.
"o perform this step out, press 'trl(*hift(X,D\, choose *tep 4ut from the )ebug menu, or
press the *tep 4ut button on the toolbar. "ry this on the previous example.
CL+SSES )" D+$+ $/PES
-umeric data t!pes
"hese are those data types that will store numbers or numeric values. "hey are computed
mathematically.
!ntegers F store numbers.
1yte F true or false values between G and 6@@.
=eal (double) F store D bytes of numeric data.
'urrency F stores monetary values.
)ate and time F store and time format.
*ingle F store ; bytes of numeric data.
5ong F stores ; bytes of numeric data.
)ecimal F stores -6 bytes of numeric data.
Character data t!pes
"hey are data types that stores characters or strings of characters.
*tring F fixed length. *tores - to A@,;GG characters.
*tring F variable length. *tores G to 6 billion characters.
)ate F /anuary -,-GG to )ecember EEEE
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
;G
1oolean F stores true or false values.
4b7ect F stores any embedded ob7ect.
Variant F numeric. Any value as large as double.
Variant F text. *ame as variable length.
&oolean data t!pes
*tores 1oolean data types. 1oolean is represented by either the .eyword true or false or non
Cero or Cero value. 1oolean are stored in two bytes and have no type declaration character.
User defined data t!pes
Visual basic lets the user create his own data type. "his is done when you wor. with mixed
data types.
Creating user defined data t!pes
8hen creating user defined data types use the .ey word _$!pe` statement in declaration
section of the form. )eclare variables associated with the new data types.
Example 0
Private type employee
#ame as strin"
Dateo$birt! as ate
Hireate as ate
Salary as currency
Gener as strin"
En type
$HE VISU+L &+SIC C)-$,)L S$,UC$U,ES
A control structure regulates the flow of a visual basic program, given a condition. )etermine
the output depending on the conditions used in the program. !t performs an indicated action
only when the condition is false or true.
$!pes of control structures
"here are three main control structures in visual basic<
Selection
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
;-
"hey are those control structures that provides options choose from depending on the
conditions given for example !f, if#then else, switch, and select case.
Iteration
"hese are control structures that repeat statements until a given condition turns true of
false for example while#wend, do#until, do#loop while, for#next, do#loop until.
Se<uence
A control structure that executes statements in a program procedurally0 one after
another.
If7then selection control structure
"his is a control structure that is used to choose among alternative action to ta.e.
Example 0
)etermining the age of students in a class.
Interface
Pseudo code7+lgorithms
)eclare the variables i.e. age and message
!nitialiCe variable age
!f age is greater than or equal to -D then
)isplay _you are a grown up. 5earn to be responsible.`
End if
Code
+rivate sub cmddisplay9clic.()
)im age as integer
)im message as string
AgeHvalue(txtage.text)
!f txtage.text\H-D then
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
;6
Enter the age
2essage
Displa! the age
"xtmessage.textH`?ou are a grown up. 5earn to be responsible`
End if
End sub
"lowchart
"he above flowchart represents if#then selection control structure. !t illustrates a single
selection control structure. !t performs the indicated action only if the condition is true
otherwise it is aborted.
If7then7else selection control structure
"he if#then#else control structure allows a programmer to specify that a different action can be
performed when the condition is true. !t tsts for true statements in a program.
Example 0
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
;:
*tart
!f
age\H-D
)isplay the message
*top
A student sat for a )!" !! exam an d score the below mar.s0
*A)H BG
+!H AG
+!!H DG
2athsH ;G
,e<uired.
'reate a visual basic program that calculates the average mar.. %se the average mar. and
assign the student the grade according to the grading system below
=e! to grading s!stem.
A H DG to -GG
1 HBG to BE
' HAG to AE
) H@G to @E
E H;G to ;E
, HG to :E
Interface
Pseudo code7algorithms
)eclare variables
!nitialiCe the variable that we input
'alculate the average
!f average is greater than or equal to DG then
)isplay _A`
Else if average is greater than or equal to BG then
)isplay _1`
Else if average is greater than or equal to AG then
)isplay _'`
Else if average is greater than or equal to @G then
)isplay _)`
Else if average is greater than or equal to ;G then
)isplay _E`
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
;;
*ad
+!
+!!
2aths
Average
$rade
'alculate
Else if average is less than ;G then
)isplay _,`

VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
;@
Code
+rivate sub cmdcalculate9clic. ()
)im *A), +!, +!!, maths as integer
)im average as single
)im grade as string
*A)Hval(txtsad.text)
+!Hval(txtpi.text)
+!!Hval(txtpii.text)
mathsHval(txtmaths.text)
txtaverage.textH val(txtsad.text)( val(txtpi.text)( val(txtpii.text)( val(txtmaths.text)#;
if txtaverage.text\HDG then
txtgrade.textH`A`
Else if txtaverage.text\HBG then
"xtgrade.textH`1`
Else if txtaverage.text\HAG then
"xtgrade.textH`'`
Else if txtaverage.text\H@G then
"xtgrade.textH`)`
Else if txtaverage.text\H;G then
"xtgrade.textH`E`
Else if txtaverage.textX;G then
"xtgrade.textH`,`
End if
End sub
Switch selection control structure
"his ia s control structure that is related to if#then#else control structure. Each argument passed
to switch control structure is either a condition or a value. !f a condition is true the value
associated with the condition is returned.
Example -
A student sat for a )!" !! exam an d score the below mar.s0
*A)H BG
+!H AG
+!!H DG
2athsH ;G
=equired<
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
;A
'reate a visual basic program that calculates the average mar.. %se the average mar. and
assign the student the grade according to the grading system below
=e! to grading s!stem.
A H DG to -GG
1 HBG to BE
' HAG to AE
) H@G to @E
E H;G to ;E
, HG to :E
Interface
Code
+rivate sub cmdcalculate9clic. ()
)im *A), +!, +!!, maths as integer
)im average as single
)im grade as string
*A)Hval(txtsad.text)
+!Hval(txtpi.text)
+!!Hval(txtpii.text)
mathsHval(txtmaths.text)
txtaverage.textH val(txtsad.text)( val(txtpi.text)( val(txtpii.text)( val(txtmaths.text)#;
txtgrade.textHswitch(txtaverage.text\HDG,`A`
txtaverage.text\HBG,`1`
txtaverage.text\HAG,`'`
txtaverage.text\H@G,`)`
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
;B
*ad
+!
+!!
2aths
Average
$rade
'alculate
txtaverage.text\H;G,`E`
txtaverage.textX;G,`E`)
end sub
VISUAL BASIC 6.0 TUTORIAL
PREPARED BY: KABA N. DANIEL
;D

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