Visual Basic Programming Tutorial - (Second Edition)

Author: Liu Bingwen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-07-01
Features: [Preface] Visual Basic can be said to be one of Microsoft's most successful development tools, with millions of users worldwide. Its popularity stems from multiple factors, but the main ones are its powerful functionality and ease of use. The emergence of Visual Basic broke the monopoly of professional C programmers in Windows application development, allowing non-professionals to create high-quality, user-friendly applications in a relatively short time. Visual Basic is highly functional and covers a wide range of topics. After version 5.0, Visual Basic has evolved into a large-scale programming language. It is unrealistic to cover all its features in a single book. In my opinion, beginners should focus on the fundamental and commonly used aspects first, and then explore other areas once they have a solid foundation. This book introduces the basic knowledge of Visual Basic 6.0, which is the fundamental part of the language and suitable for beginners. Considering the characteristics of beginners, the book is structured and content-wise designed to progress from simple to complex, from shallow to deep, in a step-by-step manner, with a strong emphasis on the integration of theory and practice. When introducing new concepts, the book generally starts with specific problems, gradually leads to concepts and conclusions, and uses various types of examples to help readers master the methods and techniques of Visual Basic programming, aiming to ensure smooth understanding and mastery of each new concept.
Since Visual Basic is designed for application software development, the examples in this book are primarily used to deepen the understanding of concepts. Only by grasping these fundamental concepts can one design complex applications in Visual Basic. After mastering the content of this book, readers can enter a higher realm of expertise.
To meet the needs of a broad range of beginners, this book does not require readers to have a specialized background in computer science or prior programming experience in other advanced computer languages. However, it does require a basic understanding of Windows. Visual Basic 6.0 is a programming language that runs in the Windows environment and has a very close relationship with Windows. To save space and focus on programming techniques, the book does not provide a separate introduction to Windows operations, but it is an important aspect of learning and mastering Visual Basic programming. Therefore, to learn Visual Basic programming smoothly, readers should acquire a basic understanding of Windows before studying this book.
Visual Basic 6.0 includes three versions: Learning Edition, Professional Edition, and Enterprise Edition. These versions are built on the same foundation, so most applications can be used across all three versions. This book uses the Chinese Enterprise Edition of Visual Basic 6.0, but its content is applicable to the Professional and Learning Editions as well. All programs in the book can run on the Professional and Learning Editions. Additionally, most of the book's content is actually unrelated to version updates and is equally suitable for users still using versions 5.0 or even 4.0.
The first edition of this book was published in July 2000 and was well-received by readers, with multiple reprints. Based on expert and reader feedback, as well as the author's practical experience, the revised edition was released. This revision includes additions, deletions, and adjustments to the content of the first edition, making related topics more centralized and easier to learn and master. Moreover, to adapt to the development of computers and practical applications, the National Computer Rank Examination (NCRE) organized by the Ministry of Education has included Visual Basic programming as a test subject since 2002. The revised Visual Basic Programming Tutorial covers all the Visual Basic exam content specified in the NCRE (2002 Edition) syllabus.
The book is divided into 15 chapters, covering main topics such as the Visual Basic program development environment, object-oriented and event-driven concepts, common internal functions and expressions, data input and output, standard controls, basic control structures, arrays, procedure calls, keyboard and mouse event procedures, menu programming, dialog programming, multi-form programming, multiple-document interface (MDI), and file handling. Among these, recursion (Section 9.7) and MDI (Chapter 14) are not part of the NCRE exam content.
For ease of learning and teaching, each chapter includes exercises, and a companion Solutions and Lab Guide for Visual Basic Programming Tutorial (Second Edition) and an electronic teaching plan for instructors are provided. In China, Visual Basic is gaining increasing attention from both computer professionals and non-professionals. It is hoped that this revision will bring some convenience to readers in learning and using Visual Basic.
Thank you for choosing and using this book. I welcome experts and readers to provide criticism, corrections, and suggestions, which would be greatly appreciated.
Visual Basic is simple to learn, powerful, and widely favored by both computer professionals and non-professionals. Through numerous examples, this book introduces the development environment, object-oriented and event-driven concepts, operators and expressions, data input and output, standard controls, basic control structures, arrays, procedure calls, keyboard and mouse event procedures, menu programming, dialog programming, multi-form programming, multiple-document interface (MDI), and file handling of the Chinese version of Visual Basic 6.0.
Designed for beginners, the book is structured to progress from simple to complex, from shallow to deep, and in a step-by-step manner, aiming to be easy to understand and practical, enabling readers with basic Windows knowledge to master the fundamentals of Visual Basic programming. Each chapter includes exercises for learning and teaching purposes.
This book can be used as a textbook for higher education institutions, training courses, and the National Computer Rank Examination (NCRE) preparation. It is also suitable for self-study. Accompanying materials include the Solutions and Lab Guide for Visual Basic Programming Tutorial (Second Edition) and an electronic teaching plan for instructors.