VB.NET Language in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

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By Steven Roman, PhD, Ron Petrusha, Paul Lomax

Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Released: April 2002

Pages: 688

With the release of the Microsoft .NET platform comes a new version of Visual Basic dramatically unlike its predecessors. So extensive are the changes, in fact, that some VB programmers argue that Visual Basic .NET is an entirely new programming language. In the updated second edition of this popular book, you will find complete documentation for the Visual Basic .NET language.

Beginning with a brief overview of the language, VB.NET Language in a Nutshell covers basic programming concepts, and introduces the .NET Framework Class Library and programming with attributes. The bulk of the book consists of an alphabetical reference to Visual Basic .NET statements, procedures, functions, and objects. Each entry has a standardized listing containing the following information:

Its syntax, using standard coding conventions

                                                          <li type>Differences in the operation of the keyword in Visual Basic .NET  and in VB 6.0</li>  <li>A list of arguments accepted by the function or procedure</li>  <li>A description of the data type returned by a function</li>  <li>The finer points of a language element?s usage that are often  omitted from or blurred over by other sources</li>  <li>Tips and warnings that include undocumented behaviors and practical  applications for particular language elements</li>  <li>An invaluable section for diagnosing or avoiding potential  programming problems</li>  <li>A cross-reference to related keywords</li></ul><p>

On the CD-ROM (included with print edition of the book) is a plug-in that adds a copy of the book's language reference to the dynamic help within Visual Studio .NET. The plug-in requires any edition of Visual Basic .NET or Visual Studio .NET.

                                                        <p>No matter how much experience you have programming with VB, you want this bookclose by, both as a standard reference guide and as a tool for troubleshooting andidentifying programming problems.</p>

The Basics
1. Chapter 1 Introduction
  1. Why VB.NET?
  2. What Is VB.NET?
  3. What Can You Do with VB.NET?
2. Chapter 2 Program Structure
  1. Getting a VB Program to Run
  2. The Structure of a VB Program
3. Chapter 3 Variables and Data Types
  1. Variables
  2. Declaring Variables and Constants
  3. Data Types
  4. Arrays
  5. Object Variables and Their Binding
  6. The Collection Object
  7. Parameters and Arguments
4. Chapter 4 Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming
  1. Why Learn Object-Oriented Techniques?
  2. Principles of Object-Oriented Programming
  3. Classes and Objects
  4. Inheritance
  5. Interfaces, Abstract Members, and Classes
  6. Polymorphism and Overloading
  7. Accessibility in Class Modules
5. Chapter 5 The .NET Framework: General Concepts
  1. Namespaces
  2. Common Language Runtime (CLR), Managed Code, and Managed Data
  3. Managed Execution
  4. Assemblies
  5. Assemblies and VB.NET
6. Chapter 6 The .NET Framework Class Library
  1. The System Namespace
  2. Other Namespaces
7. Chapter 7 Delegates and Events
  1. Delegates
  2. Events and Event Binding
8. Chapter 8 Attributes
  1. Syntax and Use
  2. Defining a Custom Attribute
  3. Using a Custom Attribute
9. Chapter 9 Error Handling in VB.NET
  1. Error Detection and Error Handling
  2. Runtime Error Handling
  3. Dealing with Logical Errors
  4. Error Constants
Reference
1. Chapter 10 The Language Reference
Appendixes
1. Appendix What’s New and Different in VB.NET
  1. Language Changes for VB.NET
  2. Changes to Programming Elements
  3. Obsolete Programming Elements
  4. Structured Exception Handling
  5. Changes in Object-Orientation
2. Appendix Language Elements by Category
  1. Array Handling
  2. Clipboard
  3. Collection Objects
  4. Common Dialogs
  5. Conditional Compilation
  6. Conversion
  7. Date and Time
  8. Debugging
  9. Declaration
  10. Error Handling
  11. Filesystem
  12. Financial
  13. IDataObject Interface
  14. Information
  15. Input/Output
  16. Integrated Development Environment
  17. Interaction
  18. Mathematics
  19. Program Structure and Flow
  20. Programming
  21. Registry
  22. String Manipulation
3. Appendix Operators
  1. Arithmetic Operators
  2. Assignment Operators
  3. Concatenation Operators
  4. Comparison Operators
  5. Logical and Bitwise Operators
  6. Operator Precedence
4. Appendix Constants and Enumerations
  1. Visual Basic Intrinsic Constants
  2. ControlChars Class
  3. Visual Basic Enumerations
5. Appendix The VB.NET Command-Line Compiler
  1. Compiler Basics
  2. Command-Line Switches
  3. Using a Response File
6. Appendix VB 6 Language Elements Not Supported by VB.NET

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Title:

VB.NET Language in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

By:

Steven Roman, PhD, Ron Petrusha, Paul Lomax

Publisher:

O'Reilly Media

Formats:

Print
Safari Books Online

Print:

April 2002

Pages:

688

Print ISBN:

978-0-596-00308-1

| ISBN 10:

0-596-00308-0

Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of VB.NET Language in a Nutshell, Second Edition, is a catfish. Catfish can be found all over the world, most often in freshwater environments. Catfish are identified by their whiskers, called "barbels," as well by as their scaleless skin; fleshy, rayless posterior fins; and sharp, defensive spines in the dorsal and shoulder fins. Catfish have complex bones and sensitive hearing. They are omnivorous feeders and skilled scavengers. A marine catfish can taste with any part of its body.

Though most madtom species of catfish are no more than 5 inches in length, some Danube catfish (called wels or sheatfish) reach lengths of up to 13 feet and weights of 400 pounds. Wels catfish (found mostly in the U.K.) are dark, flat, and black in color with white bellies. They breed in the springtime in shallow areas near rivers and lakes. The females hatch eggs in their mouths and leave them on plants for the males to guard. Two to three weeks later, the eggs hatch into tadpole-like fish, which grow quickly in size. The largest recorded wels catfish was 16 feet long and weighed 675 pounds. Catherine Morris was the production editor and proofreader for VB.NET Language in a Nutshell, Second Edition. Ann Schirmer assisted with the copyedit. Sarah Sherman and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Judy Hoer wrote the index.

Pam Spremulli designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout, based on a series design by Nancy Priest. Neil Walls converted the files from Microsoft Word to FrameMaker 5.5.6 using tools created by Mike Sierra. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. This colophon was written by Linley Dolby.

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VB.NET Language in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition Review

By jrichins

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Comments about O'Reilly Media VB.NET Language in a Nutshell:

I can't believe you let Mr. Roman write another book...

Although I received this book as a gift, I likely would have purchased it myself, as I am very excited about the prospects of .NET, and am anxious to begin using .NET technologies.

It took no time at all to discern the portions of the text written by Mr. Roman. The degree of superfluity increases exponentially in his sections, and in some instances, borders on inaccuracy. In particular, having spent a great deal of time in ASP and web-based user interfaces myself, the frequent characterizations of VB6 as a technology inadequate for web development struck me as ill-considered.

The perfect example of Mr. Romans nascent desire to display his technological prowess can be found on page 36 of my first edition - the formal, mathematical definition of an array. The section is set off by itself, is not referred to again in the text, and is even qualified with the following:

"Many authors of programming books misuse the terms associated with arrays, so let's begin by establishing the correct terminology. In fact, if you will indulge us, we would like to begin with a formal definition of the term array."

Since I've been misusing the terms associated with arrays for all of these years, maybe I'll just be better off if I skip VB.NET, and try C# instead.