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Migrating from Visual Basic 6 to Visual Basic .Net/2005

vbopensource 4 Article 18.52

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.statistics.gov.uk/focuson/migration/images/migration.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.statistics.gov.uk/focuson/migration/images/migration.gif" width="189" /></a> 
</div><div class="KonaBody" style="text-align: justify;">Abstract 
As a Visual Basic 6.0 programmer, what is the roadmap forward for your applications? As Visual Basic 6.0 becomes ‘deprecated technology’ what will you do with your enterprise class applications written in Visual Basic 6.0. This article is the musings of a developer that has been looking at migrating existing enterprise-class Visual Basic 6.0 applications to Visual Basic 2005. 
Introduction 
If you have been a serious Visual Basic 6.0 programmer with very sizeable code investments in Visual Basic (we have 22 enterprise level applications), at least 18 of which are written with <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/programming-articles/when-it-is-crunch-time-migrating-from-visual-basic-6-to-visual-basic-net2005-1168824.html#" id="KonaLink0" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined"><span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">Microsoft <span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">Visual <span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">Basic<div id="preLoadLayer0" style="display: none; left: -18px; position: absolute; top: -32px; z-index: 4000;"><img src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/grey_loader.gif" style="border: 0px none;" /></div></a>, crunch time comes when you begin to think or when you decide to advance your applications to new versions. Crunch time comes when all of a sudden, your Visual Basic 6.0 projects don’t open properly anymore in the Visual Basic 6.0 IDE (especially when running on Windows Vista with <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/programming-articles/when-it-is-crunch-time-migrating-from-visual-basic-6-to-visual-basic-net2005-1168824.html#" id="KonaLink1" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined"><span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">Visual <span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">Studio <span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">2005<div id="preLoadLayer1" style="display: none; left: -18px; position: absolute; top: -32px; z-index: 4000;"><img src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/grey_loader.gif" style="border: 0px none;" /></div></a> installed). Crunch time comes most especially when it dawns on you that you are basically using ‘deprecated’ technology, that between Visual Studio 6.0 (which contained Visual Basic 6.0) and Visual Studio 2008 (the latest version of Microsoft’s Visual Studio development suite), they have been 4 (four) new versions of Visual Basic. 
Crunch time is the realization that for your software business to live, you will have to do something about your existing Visual Basic 6.0 applications. Our purpose in writing this article is to share our experiences of what we found as we endeavored to start to upgrade our Visual Basic 6.0 applications, and to discuss some of the touch decisions and choices that will undoubtedly have to be made. 
Appraising the current Visual Basic situation! 
What made Visual Basic special was its power, elegance and simplicity! It largely retained the style and syntax of the Basic language as we knew it i.e. if you had been using GW Basic, QBasic, Microsoft Basic Professional Development System (we shall call of these ‘Microsoft’s Basic’), etc, you could look at Visual Basic code and read it and understand it. Changing over from those early flavors of Microsoft’s implementation of the Basic programming language to Visual Basic was thus not difficult. In fact, the skills you learnt from using those early implementations of Basic made it easy and possible to immediately start building Windows database applications on Microsoft Access 2 using then Access Basic as implemented on those versions of Microsoft Access even though you had to learn a few new keywords and perhaps had to deal with the situation that some language features you knew had been removed! 
Further evolutions of Microsoft’s Basic implementations ensured that the Basic language as we knew it was preserved and skills of the Visual Basic programmer were further enhanced when Microsoft made Visual Basic the ‘unified programming/macro environment’ for its leading Microsoft Office suite of productivity applications as well as the premier scripting language for its ASP (Active Server Pages) <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/programming-articles/when-it-is-crunch-time-migrating-from-visual-basic-6-to-visual-basic-net2005-1168824.html#" id="KonaLink2" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined">Web development</a> system. Despite the very slight variations between Visual Basic, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), and VBScript, Microsoft’s Basic was Microsoft’s Basic and it was not difficult for the Visual Basic Programmer or someone with skills in some other implementation of Basic for that matter to be able to switch between any of these three core environments or implementations of Microsoft’s Basic! 
Now coming to Visual Basic 6, the most powerful and elegant release of these flavors (prior to the .NET flavors) of Microsoft’s Basic, the Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) emphasized a componentized systems design and development approach in which the meat of your application (<a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/programming-articles/when-it-is-crunch-time-migrating-from-visual-basic-6-to-visual-basic-net2005-1168824.html#" id="KonaLink3" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined">data access</a> code, data manipulation code and business rules) could all be built as COM (Component Object Model) components hosted on MTS/COM+. Your application front-end (Visual Basic Forms or ASP Web Pages) could then call these components to obtain any services required. The backend could be any database system that had an ODBC Driver or OLE DB provider. The front-end as already noted could of course be Visual Basic Forms (if you wanted your application to run as a Windows application) or ASP (if you wanted your application to run as a Web application). 
Your data-aware classes could easily establish connections to the database and then create recordset objects in its Init event that could then be returned to a calling application by calling the GetDataMember method of such a class. 
Even in terms of data access technology, if you had been using DAO (Data-Access Objects) or RDO (Remote <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/programming-articles/when-it-is-crunch-time-migrating-from-visual-basic-6-to-visual-basic-net2005-1168824.html#" id="KonaLink4" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined">Data Objects</a>) in versions of Visual Basic prior to version 6, changing over to using ADO (ActiveX Data Objects) was not very difficult since both technologies had similar terminology and interface (e.g. A recordset object in DAO was similar in concept to a Recordset Object in ADO) and methods of processing the objects returned. 
This then is a general and short summary of what Basic programmers using Microsoft’s implementation of that language have had to deal with until the arrival of Visual Basic .NET flavors of Basic. 
What is all the Hullaballoo about? 
Visual Basic programmers expected Microsoft to maintain the look and feel of Microsoft’s Basic that we had always known (especially in the language implementation). But behold! What did Microsoft choose to do?  They decided to fulfill the biblical prophecy recorded at Zephaniah 3:9 which states ‘For then I shall give the peoples a change to a pure language, in order for them to call upon the name of Jehovah, in order to serve him shoulder to shoulder’. 
The attempt to fulfill this biblical prophecy resulted in Microsoft’s attempt to create the New Jerusalem (the .NET Framework) and of course as we now know it, the .NET Framework languages! The result has been a massive genetic modification of the Visual Basic language and an attempted premature extinction of ‘perceived dianosaurs’ (e.g. Visual FoxPro). 
If you are a lover of ‘game meat’ and Visual Basic prior to .NET was a charming wild mountain goat (an Ibex on the Highlands of Ethiopia), and you were then given the ‘new ‘ Visual Basic (i.e. the .NET Flavors of Visual Basic), you would not want to eat the meat at all because the color of the animal has changed, its size has changed (it looks more bloated), its natural smell has changed (it smells not like Basic but like C/C++), even its meat tastes different (not the C/C++ like syntax for writing code)…the grand creator (Microsoft) says it is the same or better but we all (aspiring citizens of the New Jerusalem) can see it is not! You cannot even open a Visual Basic 6.0 project in Visual Basic 2005 and expect it to run…it is that bad! 
Crunch Time! 
The million dollar question then is ‘If you are a Visual Basic 6.0 Programmer with significant code investments, what would you do?’ Should you migrate to other implementations of the Basic Programming language such as REALbasic 2009 (from Real Software Inc) or Liberty Basic? Should you try Visual Basic 6 lookalikes that also offer multi-platform compatibility such as Jabaco 1.4 (by Manuel Siekmann) or should you just rewrite your code in Visual Basic 2005/.NET? What alternatives did we find and what choices will have to be made? 
Jabaco: Jabaco is startlingly like Visual Basic 6.0. Even the startup forms, property windows, toolbox, project explorer are astonishingly like Visual Basic. What is more, even the code syntax you write is pure VB 6-like! We made a copy of our Fixed Assets Software system and then opened it in Jabaco (we are using Windows Vista Home Basic) and the conversion process was seamless. To run the code, we made some minor changes (e.g. Converting Currency to Double) or removing Windows Controls such as the toolbar control and that was that! The structure of the Jabaco code, its keywords, its syntax, the functions and procedures are Visual Basic 6 alike. Even the way you make your Exe’s after writing your program was simple and straight forward. If you are a Visual Basic 6.0 programmer, and you are looking for a secure non-Microsoft way forward for your projects, you will feel instantly at home with Jabaco 1.4 from the very minute you start the application…you can start writing tons of code immediately! When we tried to run our program (both on Windows XP SP2 and <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/programming-articles/when-it-is-crunch-time-migrating-from-visual-basic-6-to-visual-basic-net2005-1168824.html#" id="KonaLink5" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined">Windows Vista</a> Home), we were pleased to see that it could run without hitches! Jabaco would compile your application to Java byte code. In addition, Jabaco is free! The big cat is certainly prowling – power, elegance, speed, simplicity, multi-platform capability by compiling to Java plus a pure preservation of the spirit of Visual Basic…this is Jabaco! 
Liberty Basic: Liberty Basic appear to offer a nice RAD look and feel! The method for building your application is reverse to what you normally do with Visual Basic 6 where you would draw your form’s on a Canvas! Liberty Basic is indeed a free-spirit, a true implementation of the Basic Programming Language! We did not test drive this tool! You would definitely have to look at this one for yourself…we have not evaluated this tool closely! 
True Basic: True Basic is another viable alternative to Visual Basic! This implementation of the Basic programming language is touted as the true descendant of the original Dartmouth Basic and is available in Silver, Bronze and Gold editions. Again, we could not test drive this tool but product descriptions sure make it look like a powerful alternative to Visual Basic! 
REALbasic 2009 R3: What about REALBasic 2009! We had known of this tool for sometime, having come across a white paper that we downloaded on the Internet! We downloaded a 30-day evaluation of the REALbasic 2009 R3 from the product website (<a href="http://www.realsoftware.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" rel="nofollow">www.realsoftware.com</a>)! As with Jabaco, installation was a breeze! If we can consider Visual Basic 6.0 to have been a charming wild mountain goat on the highlands of Ethiopia, you may consider REALbasic as beautiful and dainty wild goat variety such as those found on the forests of Cyprus -  a beautiful and tasty variety indeed! A powerful viable alternative to Visual Basic .NET/2005! A Visual Basic 6.0 programmer could look at REALbasic code and readily enough read it understandably despite some minor differences in code structure! Both languages (Visual Basic 6 and REALbasic 2009) share many keywords and reserved words in common even though! Even though the IDE is different, it is readily enough understandable! Unlike Jabaco, REALbasic will not allow automatic conversion of Visual Basic 6.0 projects (or perhaps we did not look deeply enough) but rewriting your Visual Basic 6.0 code in REALbasic should definitely not be as difficult as doing a rewrite in Microsoft’s own Visual Basic 2005! Another attraction to REALbasic was that it ships with its own Client/Server SQL Database so that you can be up, building database applications quickly! This would mean that if you are using REALbasic, you would be obtaining a complete applications development studio (everything you need in the package)! And then to boot, REALbasic is multi-platform capable, allowing you to compile directly to Machine code (for windows, MAC OS and several other OS’s) thus achieving significant performance gains similar to those of C/C++ flavors that also compile to machine code! We think that the differences between REALbasic and Visual Basic can be accounted for in the motivation behind the creation of the language…the fact that the creators of REALbasic are in this for real…they are offering a genuine, powerful, viable, non-Microsoft alternative to Visual Basic. 
Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: And what about Microsoft’s Visual Basic 2005 (this is what we have installed to enable us start conversion of our programs)? We cannot pretend that we are happy with the fact that we are required to re-write major league enterprise applications almost bottom up! As very experienced Visual Basic developers, we had expected to get up and quickly using the new Visual Basic (but that was not to be)! 
 Be that as it may, Microsoft’s pioneering efforts in programming language design and innovation cannot be just discounted! The new Visual Basic 2005 is not Visual Basic 6 but it does stand shoulder-to-shoulder with C# (Microsoft’s new toy), J# and Visual C++ in terms of syntax and programming constructs! The New Visual Basic 2005 also includes expanded project types and language capabilities! It also has enhanced language constructs and new data types that will easily put you at par with the C# or C++ programmer while providing tools to rapidly create Web applications and access the latest versions of Microsoft’s own SQL Server 2008 and Oracle 10g/11g. 
If it is name recognition that you want (Microsoft is a known name world-wide and their marketing power is unmatched); if you want to be a developer building applications with tools from an ‘approved supplier’ then you will have to embrace the new Visual Basic 2005 (Visual Basic 2008 has already been released as at the time of writing)…learn to eat genetically modified meats with a slightly different taste and feel so that you do not starve to death! 
I think it is worth mentioning if you must stick with Microsoft that C#, Microsoft’s new C-like language that Microsoft created specifically for .NET Framework programming can also be a powerful contender! We found that mastering C# was both exciting and fun, probably because I was aware that I was learning a completely new programming language and therefore had no preconceptions of what to expect! On the contrary, learning Visual Basic 2005 was not so much fun perhaps because I approached the language as a Visual Basic programming veteran! I expected the language and keywords to be familiar enough! I expected the program structure to be familiar! I expected programming constructs and abstractions to be familiar! If you are a Visual Basic 6.0 programmer hoping to mater Visual Basic 2005 quickly, be forewarned – simply disabuse your mind! Approach Visual Basic 2005 as if you knew nothing at all about Visual Basic, approach it as if you are learning a completely new language that you have never really used for large-scale commercial projects (like say C/C++)and you will master Visual Basic 2005 soon enough! 
Conclusion 
All the options I have examined will involve some amount of code re-write! They can be no avoiding that no matter how little and I guess that is the risk attendant to our trade is it not?  If you want to keep your VB6 code almost as pure as it is, Jabaco is it! Otherwise, REALbasic is the next best alternative! If you want to stick with Microsoft, you would have no choice but to go Visual Basic 2005 because alas! Microsoft’s massive marketing machine ensures that most companies requesting new software (especially for those of us in the bespoke) software market are all requesting their projects in Visual Studio .NET! Also, it is a reality that the next generation of programmers being trained are being trained in Microsoft’s Visual Studio .NET as exemplified by the new popularity of C# 
And what about us? We are taking a serious look at Visual Basic 2005, learning to like and desire the new meat so to speak! But we plan to also be delivering cross-platform solutions in Jabaco! Our quest for a solution brought us in touch with great tools out there being built by little known companies…it is worth checking out! 
</div>

Migrating from Visual Basic 6 to Visual Basic .Net/2005

Abstract As a Visual Basic 6.0 programmer, what is the roadmap forward for your applications? As Visual Basic 6.0 becomes ‘deprecated tech...

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Visual Basic .net Programming

vbopensource 1 Article 23.27

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.medcoretech.com/images/icon_frameworkdotnet_vb_logo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.medcoretech.com/images/icon_frameworkdotnet_vb_logo.gif" /></a>Visual Basic.NET is a robust, versatile programming language designed for Web Based as well as Windows based application development. The language has been used by programmers to develop professional applications and offers advantage of the features of .NET environment. <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/visual-basic-net-programming-117159.html#" id="KonaLink0" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined"><span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">Visual <span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">Basic <span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">.net</a> programming offers a variety of object oriented features that were previously available with Java, C++ only. 
</div>The applications that are used in a business environment involve the manipulation of the data that are part of relational databases. Visual Basic.net programming is an object oriented language that is an evolutionary version of Visual Basic, which is implemented on .NET framework. Most of the <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/visual-basic-net-programming-117159.html#" id="KonaLink1" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined">VB.NET</a> developers use Visual Studio .NET as their IDE, integrated development environment. 
Many changes have been incorporated in Visual Basic .NET to make it easier to use and more powerful than Visual Basic 6.0. It has an interesting and useful feature of garbage collection that is administered by a Common Language Runtime and helps to provide better memory management. As the system is universal it offers greater <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/visual-basic-net-programming-117159.html#" id="KonaLink2" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined">interoperability</a> besides contributing in enhancing the power and flexibility available in Visual Basic .net programming. 
Paladin Consultants offers custom software development in a number of languages that include C, C++, Visual Basic, .Net technology, Java, SQL Server, JavaScript, and Visual Basic .net programming etc. We have developed a variety of software that are used in wide range of businesses such as Robotics, CRM applications, Accounting, Industrial along with a number of Financial engineering programs that are used by various corporations. 
Paladin Consultants offers customized solutions as per the business type and its specific requirements. After a deep and carefully study of the websites, software solutions are designed by incorporating Rapid Application Development (RAD) methodology. RAD involves use of object oriented or functional modular routines in the project. The modular nature of the routine offers three advantages that include re-useable code, identification of logical objects in the business model along with swapping of the objects. All these advantages help the model to be more responsive for future usage. 
Paladin offers a vast variety of services besides offering custom software development that include <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/visual-basic-net-programming-117159.html#" id="KonaLink3" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined">database design</a>, IT consulting, website design and Visual Basic .net programming services. We are located in metropolitan New York and offer software development to business organizations. Visit the site www.paladn.com and know more about the services offered by the .net Programming Consultants New Jersey Company.

Visual Basic .net Programming

Visual Basic.NET is a robust, versatile programming language designed for Web Based as well as Windows based application development. The la...

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Visual Basic Programming Language and Its Significant Features

vbopensource 0 Article 23.07

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9_F8ocKdG1o/Smq9z6LpI9I/AAAAAAAAAA8/IWEBLb1n40Y/s1600/vb_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9_F8ocKdG1o/Smq9z6LpI9I/AAAAAAAAAA8/IWEBLb1n40Y/s200/vb_logo.jpg" /></a> 
</div><a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/programming-articles/visual-basic-programming-language-and-its-significant-features-297034.html#" id="KonaLink0" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined"><span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">Visual <span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">Basic<div id="preLoadLayer0" style="display: none; left: -18px; position: absolute; top: -32px; z-index: 4000;"><img src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/grey_loader.gif" style="border: 0px none;" /></div></a> is a third generation event-driven <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/programming-articles/visual-basic-programming-language-and-its-significant-features-297034.html#" id="KonaLink1" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined"><span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">programming <span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">language<div id="preLoadLayer1" style="display: none; left: -18px; position: absolute; top: -32px; z-index: 4000;"><img src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/grey_loader.gif" style="border: 0px none;" /></div></a>. The Microsoft Corporation released Visual Basic in 1987. It was indeed the first visual development tool from Microsoft. Visual Basic was derived from BASIC and enables rapid application development of graphical user interface applications, access to databases using DAO, RDO, or ADO, and creation of ActiveX controls and objects. The language not only allows Visual Basic programmers to create simple GUI applications, but also helps them develop quite complex applications. Visual Basic allows developers to target <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/programming-articles/visual-basic-programming-language-and-its-significant-features-297034.html#" id="KonaLink2" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined"><span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">Windows</a>, Web, and mobile devices. 
 
Programming in Visual Basic is a combination of visually arranging components on a form, specifying attributes and actions of those components. Since the default attributes and actions ought to be defined for the components, it is very simple to write a program without the help of a Visual Basic programmer. Forms can be created using drag and drop techniques. Visual Basic provides many interesting sets of tools to help you in building exciting and entertaining applications. It provides these tools to make your life easier, since the entire coding is already written for you. Moreover, it is a user friendly language which is very effective and efficient. A tool is used to place controls such as text boxes, buttons, etc on the form window. Default values will be provided when a control is created, but it can be changed by the Visual Basic programmer. 
 
Visual Basic is not only a programming language, but it also has a complete graphical development environment. Visual Basic has the ability to develop programs that can be used as a front end application to a database system, and serving as the user interface which collects input from the user and displays formatted output in an attractive format. As the Visual Basic programmer works in the graphical environment, much of the program code is automatically generated by the Visual Basic program. The main object in Visual Basic is called a form. Once you create forms, you can change the properties using properties window. Finally, you can add events to your controls. Events are responses to actions performed on controls. 
 
Using Visual Basic's tools, you can quickly translate an abstract idea into a program design which you can actually see on the screen. VB encourages you to experiment, revise, correct, and <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/programming-articles/visual-basic-programming-language-and-its-significant-features-297034.html#" id="KonaLink3" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined">network</a> your design until the project meets your requirements. <a href="http://www.dotcominfoway.com/portfolio/software_development_visual_basic.asp" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" rel="nofollow">Visual Basic Programmer</a> use the language in different areas such as Education, Business, Accounting, Marketing and Sales. Visual Basic supports a number of common programming constructs and language elements. Once you understand the basics of the language, you can create powerful applications using Visual Basic. 
 
Visual Basic can create executables i.e. EXE <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/programming-articles/visual-basic-programming-language-and-its-significant-features-297034.html#" id="KonaLink4" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined">files</a>, ActiveX controls, but it is primarily used to develop Windows applications. It is also used to interface web database systems. This generation of Visual Basic continues the tradition of giving you a faster and easier way to create .NET framework-based applications. Visual Basic also fully integrates the .NET framework and the common language runtime, which provide language interoperability, garbage collection, enhanced security, and versioning support.

Visual Basic Programming Language and Its Significant Features

Visual Basic is a third generation event-driven programming language . The Microsoft Corporation released Visual Basic in 1987. It was ind...

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Querying Table Data Using Visual Basic Code in Ms Access

vbopensource 0 Article 15.42

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVFDKVxsipvPjMxvMj1G7POs6u6d_HQCF-2pw04xs81GY57v8atW19L_DvM2e0CU-ZcEe8wF28_81vEDOuFFw50tSAqQOnD2pFpISSVjTA1cvnfb0Vr7-Fum4xPFWekxte-bu8kYWfOA/s1600-h/QueryDesign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVFDKVxsipvPjMxvMj1G7POs6u6d_HQCF-2pw04xs81GY57v8atW19L_DvM2e0CU-ZcEe8wF28_81vEDOuFFw50tSAqQOnD2pFpISSVjTA1cvnfb0Vr7-Fum4xPFWekxte-bu8kYWfOA/s320/QueryDesign.jpg" /></a> 
</div><div class="KonaBody" style="text-align: justify;">In order to fully utilize the capabilities of <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/databases-articles/querying-table-data-using-visual-basic-code-in-ms-access-558135.html#" id="KonaLink0" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined"><span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">MS <span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">Access<div id="preLoadLayer0" style="display: inline; left: -18px; position: absolute; top: -32px; z-index: 4000;"><img src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/grey_loader.gif" style="border: 0px none;" /></div></a>, one must learn not only learn the <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/databases-articles/querying-table-data-using-visual-basic-code-in-ms-access-558135.html#" id="KonaLink1" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined"><span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">Visual <span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">Basic<div id="preLoadLayer1" style="display: none; left: -18px; position: absolute; top: -32px; z-index: 4000;"><img src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/grey_loader.gif" style="border: 0px none;" /></div></a> (VB) programming language, but should also learn Standard Query Language (SQL). Once a grasp of these two languages have been obtained, MS Access users can begin to build faster and more efficient databases. 
 
One tool that has proved itself very useful to me over the years is querying data from tables or queries using VB and SQL code. A brief introduction to this process is presented in this article. To best understand this process, an example is provided below along with an explanation of its parts. 
 
‘*********CODE*********** 
Dim rstTemp As Recordset 
Dim strSQL As String 
Dim routeNum As Integer 
 
strSQL = "SELECT [Route], [Main Route PM], [Intersecting Route], [IntBeginPM], [IntEndPM] “ 
strSQL =  strSQL + “FROM Intersections_list WHERE (((CStr([Route])) = """ + cmbRouteQuery + """));" 
 
Set rstTemp = CurrentDb.OpenRecordset(strSQL, dbOpenDynaset) 
 
If (Not (rstTemp.EOF)) Then 
    rstTemp.MoveFirst 
    routeNum = rstTemp(0) 
‘************************ 
After the initial variable declarations, the code assigns an SQL statement to the string variable strSQL. This statement directs Access to gather all the data in the Route, Main Route PM, Intersecting Route, IntBeginPM, and IntEndPM fields of the table named Intersections_list. Furthermore, it directs Access to only gather information from these fields where the Route field is equal to a value held in the combo box cmbRouteQuery. 
 
Once the SQL statement has been set, it is passed to the next line of code which executes it. It should be noted that the dbOpenDynaset variable is built into Access and holds an integer value that changes the type of recordset to open. For most general purposes, using dbOpenDynaset will work just fine. 
 
The “if statement” in the <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/databases-articles/querying-table-data-using-visual-basic-code-in-ms-access-558135.html#" id="KonaLink2" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined"><span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">code <span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 0); color: rgb(0, 153, 0) ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 1px; position: static;">example<div id="preLoadLayer2" style="display: none; left: -18px; position: absolute; top: -32px; z-index: 4000;"><img src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/grey_loader.gif" style="border: 0px none;" /></div></a> verifies that the recordset just created <a class="kLink" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/databases-articles/querying-table-data-using-visual-basic-code-in-ms-access-558135.html#" id="KonaLink3" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;" target="undefined">contains information</a>. If information is present, the code directs Access to move to the first record in the recordset. The code then stores the route in the first record (routeNum = rstTemp(0)) in the variable routeNum to be used for later use. 
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Querying Table Data Using Visual Basic Code in Ms Access

In order to fully utilize the capabilities of MS Access , one must learn not only learn the Visual Basic (VB) programming language, but sh...

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Open Source Vs. Closed Source Software: The Great Debate

vbopensource 0 Article 15.31

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.mspmentor.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/open-vs-closed-source-managed-services-debate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="http://www.mspmentor.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/open-vs-closed-source-managed-services-debate.jpg" width="200" /></a> 
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Open source software can be defined as software distributed under a licensing agreement which allows the source code (computer code) to be shared, viewed and modified by other users and organisations. 
 
 
Cost 
 
Open source software is free. This is a huge draw card, and if your in-house capabilities are such that you are able to implement, train and support at little cost to your organization it may be an attractive option. Having said that, open source software requires a certain level of technical expertise in order to manage content. It is therefore important to take into consideration the costs incurred once the software is obtained may be substantial unless the resources are already in place to manage it. Long term costs include the cost of implementation, innovation, the opportunity cost incurred battling with service/support issues, and the costs associated with investment in infrastructure due to a general inability to scale (assuming the organisation will grow and develop and will therefore have evolving requirements). Notably, open source software providers are increasingly charging for add- ons, additional services and integration. The total cost of ownership for open source software may roughly equal some closed source options as a result. 
 
Service and Support 
Service is one of the key issues regarding open source software. Open source software relies on its online community network to deliver support via forums and blogs. While there are massive, loyal and engaged online communities that users can turn to, time-poor consumers of today are familiar with the immediate service and support that enables issues to be resolved in a timely manner, and these communities cannot guarantee the high level of responsive service and support proprietary software can offer. 
 
Innovation 
 
Open source software enables innovation by providing users with the freedom and flexibility to adapt the software to suit, without restriction. However, innovation may or may not be passed on to all users of the 
software. It is a user’s prerogative whether they wish to share their innovation with any online communities, and users must be actively participating in these communities to become aware of such innovations. It has been debated whether customized changes to the original source code limit the future support and growth of the software, as these can potentially result in a limited ability to apply future updates, fixes or modules aimed at improving the software, leaving the user with a version that may have irresolvable issues. It is relevant to note that open source software providers generally struggle to attract large scale R&D. 
 
Usability 
 
Open source software has been highly criticized for its lack of usability, as generally, the technology is not reviewed by usability experts and does not cater to the vast majority of computer users. Open source software is generally developer-centric, and without system administration experience or the knowledge required to manipulate programming language, use of the software and ability to fix errors as they arise is often limited to those with technical expertise. Furthermore, open source software does not legally require documentation such as user manuals or guides, hindering the creation of such tools. When 
documentation is provided, it is often general, containing implicit jargon, inhibiting learning. Without adequate documentation users must rely on alternative means such as online communities, assuming they are capable of finding them and the problem is one others have encountered or are willing to help resolve. 
 
Security 
 
Open source software is often viewed as having security issues. New data from Forrester Research has shown that 58% of IT Executives and technology decision makers in large companies are concerned about the security of open source software. Open source software is not necessarily developed in a controlled environment. While big players often have a concentrated development team, oftentimes the software is being developed by individuals all over the world who may not work on the software for the duration of its developing lifetime. This lack of continuity and common direction can lead to barriers to effective communication surrounding the software. Furthermore, open source software is not always peer reviewed or validated for use. While users are free to examine and verify source code, the level of expertise required means that it is entirely possible for a programmer to embed back door Trojans to capture private and confidential information without the user ever knowing. Adopting a reputable brand with a concentrated development team supported by a strong online community will reduce the potential risk. 
 
2) Closed Source Software 
 
Closed source software can be defined as proprietary software distributed under a licensing agreement to authorized users with private modification, copying and republishing restrictions. 
 
Cost 
 
The cost of proprietary software will vary from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand dollars, depending on the complexity of the system required. This cost is made up of a base fee for software, integration and services and annual licensing support fees. This cost may be prohibitive for some; however what the user is paying for is a more customized product from a trusted brand that includes higher levels of security and functionality, continuous innovation, a greater ability to scale, ongoing training and support and a lower requirement for technical skills. In order to support these elements and maintain high availability websites, a mechanism must be in place to recoup the costs. As mentioned previously, increasingly open source software providers are also charging for add-ons, additional services, and integration, reducing the gap in cost between the two options. 
 
Service and Support 
 
If the internet is an important channel for an organisation, software is often a secondary concern, with service level and support structure requirements taking precedent in favour of maximising uptime and minimising downtime. Service is probably the greatest advantage of using proprietary software. Proprietary software providers offer ongoing support to users, a key selling point for users without technical expertise. If the user manual or guide is not enough, or if a user experiences a problem with the software, there is an immediate point of call to turn to for assistance. There is a certain reduction in the risk undertaken with proprietary software because users are working with companies that are viable, and people with intimate knowledge of the products and services being used should any questions arise. Because service is one of the main reasons users choose proprietary over open source software, many proprietary software providers compete on service, increasing the bargaining power of buyers and thereby increasing customer service levels among providers. 
 
Innovation 
 
Proprietary software providers do not allow users to view or alter the source code. While this may be viewed as a disadvantage to some, it ensures the security and reliability of the software. Furthermore, many proprietary software providers customize software for specific users to provide more flexibility while investing in R&D in order to regularly offer new products and upgrades. Moreover, proprietary software providers have online user communities that create value by sharing ideas, strategies and best practices through feedback mechanisms such as forums and surveys, which also foster innovation and allow the product to adapt with changing needs. This innovation comes fully tested, and is available to all users of the software. It does not require investment in R&D or the technical understanding of source code, and assistance with implementation is generally part of the package. Because vendors must ensure their software does not become redundant, users also benefit from the type of targeted innovation undertaken- continuous investment in R&D rather than “innovation for innovation’s sake”, business focused rather than technology focused. 
 
Usability 
 
Proprietary software generally employs expert usability testing, and as the software is normally aimed at a more targeted audience, and therefore more tailored, usability is generally ranked quite high. In addition, detailed user manuals and guides are provided. This enables faster training and provides an immediate reference, allowing users to move along the learning curve more quickly. Supporting services include seminars, targeted training courses and extensive support to help maximise use of the software. It is also important to note that while many people see proprietary software as “closed”, today’s proprietary software offers a vast array of mechanisms for enhancement by third party systems and developers. 
 
Security 
 
Proprietary software is viewed as more secure because it is developed in a controlled environment by a concentrated team with a common direction. Moreover, the source code may be viewed and edited by this team alone, and is heavily audited, eliminating the risk of back door Trojans and reducing the risk of any bugs or issues with the software. For Moreinfo 
</div><div class="author" style="text-align: justify;">By: <a href="http://www.articledashboard.com/profile/Jefferson-Daniel/137538">Jefferson Daniel</a> 
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