Microsoft® Visual Basic® 2008 Express Edition: Build a Program Now!, Second Edition

Microsoft® Visual Basic® 2008 Express Edition: Build a Program Now!, Second Edition

Released February 2008
Publisher(s): Microsoft Press
ISBN: 9780735625419

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Book description

In this lively, eye-opening, hands-on book, all you need is a computer and the desire to learn how to program with Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition. Featuring a full edition of the software, this fun and highly visual guide walks you through a complete programming project a desktop weather-reporting application from start to finish. You ll get an introduction to the Microsoft Visual Studio® development environment and learn how to put the lightweight, easy-to-use tools in Visual Basic Express Edition to work right away creating, compiling, testing, and delivering your first ready-to-use program. You ll get expert tips, coaching, and visual examples at each step of the way, along with pointers to additional learning resources.

Key Book Benefits

This dynamic, full-color, highly-visual book is designed to help novice programmers build fundamental programming skills for Windows® quickly and easily

Provides a quick-start, project-based approach!

Provides complete software for Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition and all the instructions needed to understand and put those tools to work right away

Features a complete desktop application that can be easily modified and reused a great learn-by-doing example

Table of contents

  1. Microsoft® Visual Basic® 2008 Express Edition
  2. A Note Regarding Supplemental Files
  3. Introduction
    1. Who Is This Book For?
    2. How This Book Is Organized
    3. Conventions and Features in This Book
    4. System Requirements
    5. Code Samples
    6. Installing the Code Samples
    7. Using the Code Samples
    8. Uninstalling the Code Samples
      1. On Windows Vista
      2. On Windows XP
    9. Prerelease Software
    10. Technology Updates
    11. Support for This Book
    12. Questions and Comments
    13. About the Author
    14. Dedication
    15. Thanks
  4. 1. Introducing Microsoft Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition
    1. What Is .NET?
    2. What Is Visual Basic 2008?
    3. Is Visual Basic 2008 an Object-Oriented Programming Language?
      1. Data
      2. Actions
    4. What Is Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition?
      1. What Kinds of Applications Can You Build with Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition?
      2. What Are the Key Features You Need to Know About?
    5. In Summary…
  5. 2. Installing Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition
    1. Preparing to Install Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition
      1. Side-by-Side Installation
      2. Prerelease Versions of Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition
    2. Installing Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition
      1. To Install Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition
        1. To Install Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition
    3. In summary…
  6. 3. Creating Your First Applications
    1. Three Types of Applications: What Are the Differences?
    2. Getting Started with the IDE
    3. Building the Projects
      1. Building a Console Application
        1. To Build a Console Application
      2. Getting to Know Solution Explorer
      3. Getting Help: Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Express Edition Documentation
      4. Coding Your Console Application
        1. To Code a Console Application
      5. Customizing the IDE
        1. To Customize the IDE
      6. Creating a Windows Application
        1. To Build a Windows Application
    4. In Summary…
  7. 4. Creating Your Own Web Browser in Less Than Five Minutes
    1. What Is a Project?
    2. What Is the Design Layout?
      1. To Create a Simple Web Browser
        1. To Wire the Click Action to a Button
    3. Putting It All Together
    4. In Summary
  8. 5. Using Rapid Application Development Tools with Visual Basic 2008
    1. Snapping and Aligning Controls Using Snap Lines
      1. To Create a New Windows Form Using Snap Lines
        1. To Create a New Windows Form Using Snap Lines
    2. Using IntelliSense—Your New Best Friend!
      1. Using IntelliSense as You Go
      2. Using IntelliSense Filtering: Removing the "Uncommon"
      3. Opening IntelliSense: Pressing Ctrl+Spacebar
      4. Opening IntelliSense: Typing a Period or Left Parenthesis
        1. To Use IntelliSense
        2. To Select from a List of Options in IntelliSense
      5. Using IntelliSense Code Snippets: The Time-Saver
      6. Invoking IntelliSense Code Snippets
        1. To Use Code Snippets
    3. Exploring Real-Time Error Detection and Correction
      1. To Use Real-Time Error Detection
        1. To Use Real-Time Error Detection
        2. To Choose from Several Correction Options
    4. Oh, My…My Is Great
    5. Renaming
      1. Why Should You Rename?
      2. How to Use the Rename Feature
        1. To Use the Rename Feature
    6. Exploring Common Windows Controls
    7. What Happens When an Event Is Triggered?
      1. To Wire Source Code to Events
        1. To Wire Source Code to Events
    8. In Summary…
  9. 6. Modifying Your Web Browser
    1. Opening Your application
      1. To Create a Splash Screen
        1. To Create a Splash Screen
        2. To View the Application Title, Version, and Copyright Properties
    2. Interacting Through Dialog Boxes
      1. Adding an About Dialog Box
        1. To Add an About Dialog Box
        2. To Link the About Box to the Help Menu
      2. Adding a Navigate Dialog Box
        1. To Add a Navigate Dialog Box
        2. To Wire the Form to the Application Using the Navigate Menu
    3. Having a Professional Look and Feel at Your Fingertips
      1. Adding a Tool Strip Container and Some Tools
        1. To Add a Tool Strip Container
        2. To Rearrange the Order of Controls
        3. To Add a Dotted Grip to the Menu Strip
      2. Adding a Status Bar to Your Browser
        1. To Add a Statusstrip Control and a Progress Bar
        2. To Populate Controls with Information
      3. Personalizing Your Application with Windows Icons
        1. To Add Tool Strips and Buttons to Your Browser
        2. To Modify the Behavior of Navigation Buttons
        3. To Add New Controls to the Tsnavigation Tool Strip
        4. To Configure the Browser to Navigate to the Url
        5. To Modify the Browser form Icon
    4. Redoing the Browser
      1. Windows Presentation Foundation
      2. WPF and XAML
        1. To Create a WPF Version of the Browser
    5. In Summary…
  10. 7. Fixing the Broken Blocks
    1. Debugging an Application
      1. Using a DLL in an Application
        1. To Add a Reference to Your Application
      2. Using Breakpoints, Locals, Edit and Continue, and Visualizers
        1. To Begin Debugging an Application
        2. To Continue Debugging the Application
        3. To Step Out of the Code
        4. To Begin Stepping Out of the ManipulateStrings Method
        5. To Fix the Out-Of-Range Problem
        6. To Add Code to Handle Different Exceptions
        7. To Use the Immediate Window
    2. In Summary…
  11. 8. Managing the Data
    1. What Is a Database?
      1. What's in a Database?
      2. What Are Data Normalization and Data Integrity?
      3. What Is Null?
      4. What Are Primary Keys and Foreign Keys?
        1. Primary Keys
        2. Foreign Keys
      5. How Do You Interact with a Relational Database?
    2. Using SQL Server 2005 Express Edition in Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition
      1. Creating a Database Using Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition
        1. To Create a Database Using Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition
      2. Creating Tables in Your Database
        1. To Create Tables in a Database
      3. Creating Relationships Between the Tables
        1. To Create Relationships Between Tables
      4. Entering Data in SQL Server Tables Using Visual Studio
        1. To Enter Data in SQL Server Tables Using Visual Studio
    3. What Are ADO.NET, Data Binding, and LINQ?
      1. Developing the CarTracker Application
        1. To Create a Dataset
      2. Using the Component Tray
      3. How Do I Get More Meaningful Information on My Form?
        1. To Data Bind with Domain Tables
        2. To Add Queries to Your Application
      4. Using LINQ
        1. To Use a LINQ Query
    4. In Summary…
  12. 9. Building Your Own Weather Tracker Application
    1. Exploring the Features of the Weather Tracker Application
    2. Creating the Application User Interface
      1. To Create a Data Source for a Main Form Control
        1. To Create a Data Source for a Main Form Control
      2. Adding Notification Area Capabilities
        1. To Create a NotifyIcon Control
        2. To Associate the Context Menu Strip with the Control
        3. To Stop an Application
      3. Adding the Splash Screen and About Dialog Box
        1. To Attach Forms to an Application
      4. Adding the Options Dialog Box
        1. To Add the Options Dialog Box Form
        2. To Hook Up the Form to the Context Menu
    3. Using the MSN Weather Web Service
      1. Connecting to MSN Weather Web Services
        1. To Connect to a Web Service
        2. To Add Weather Information to Your Form
      2. Setting User and Application Preferences
        1. To Create User Setting Entries
      3. Working in the Background
        1. To Add the MSN Weather Data Class
        2. To Perform a Task in the Background
        3. To Add Supporting Background Code
      4. Completing the Core Weather Tracker Functionality
        1. To Add the Create and Destroy Notification Icon Code
        2. To Finish the Main Form
        3. To Add Weather Icons
        4. To Add Unit Labels and a Conversion Utility
      5. Testing Weather Tracker
      6. Working with the Options Dialog Box
        1. To Validate User Input
        2. To Save Settings and Update Weather Data
      7. Testing Weather Tracker Options
    4. And Now, Just ClickOnce
      1. To Package and Publish Your Application
        1. To Package and Publish Your Application
    5. In Summary…
  13. Glossary
  14. Index
  15. About the Author
  16. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: Microsoft® Visual Basic® 2008 Express Edition: Build a Program Now!, Second Edition
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: February 2008
  • Publisher(s): Microsoft Press
  • ISBN: 9780735625419