View Larger Image	Michael Halvorson Microsoft Press, Paperback, Bk&CD edition, Published March 2003, 648 pages, ISBN 0735619050
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• Programming : .NET
• Programming Languages : Visual Basic
• Programming Languages : VB.NET
• Programming : Object-Oriented
• * Series - Beg/Int Users : Step by Step

• Microsoft Press

Key Book Benefits:

• Teach yourself the fundamentals-from creating the user interface to running your first .NET-ready program-with Microsoft Visual Basic® .NET 2003!
• With STEP BY STEP, you work at your own pace through exactly the lessons and hands-on exercises you need.
• Instruction is designed so that new programmers can learn the essentials in the context of useful, real-world applications and experienced programmers can apply what they already know to extend their skills.
• Special call-outs and quick reference make quick work of upgrading Visual Basic 6-based code.
• Includes all practice files and sample projects, plus a complete eBook.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii

PART 1 GETTING STARTED WITH MICROSOFT VISUAL BASIC .NET 2003

CHAPTER 1 Opening and Running a Visual Basic .NET 2003 Program 3
The Visual Studio .NET Development Environment 5
The Visual Studio .NET Tools 10
The Windows Forms Designer 12
Running a Visual Basic Program 14
The Properties Window 16
Moving and Resizing the Programming Tools 20
Moving and Resizing Tool Windows in Visual Studio 21
Docking a Tool in Visual Studio 23
Hiding a Tool in Visual Studio 25
Getting Help 27
One Step Further: Exiting Visual Studio .NET 30

CHAPTER 2 Writing Your First Program 33
Lucky Seven: Your First Visual Basic .NET Program 34
Programming Steps 35
Creating the User Interface 35
Setting the Properties 42
The Picture Box Properties 47
Writing the Code 49
A Look at the Button1_Click Procedure 54
Running Visual Basic .NET Applications 56
Building an Executable File 58
One Step Further: Adding to a Program 60

CHAPTER 3 Working with Toolbox Controls 63
The Basic Use of Controls: The "Hello World" Program 64
Using the DateTimePicker Control 70
The Birthday Program 70
Controls for Gathering Input 77
The Input Controls Demo 80
Looking at the Input Controls Program Code 83
Using the LinkLabel Control 86
One Step Further: Installing ActiveX Controls 91
The Microsoft Chart Control 91

CHAPTER 4 Working with Menus and Dialog Boxes 95
Adding Menus Using the MainMenu Control 96
Adding Access Keys to Menu Commands 98
Processing Menu Choices 101
Using Dialog Box Controls 106
Changing the Object Names for Items on the File Menu 109
Disabling a Menu Command 110
Event Procedures That Manage Common Dialog Boxes 111
One Step Further: Assigning Shortcut Keys to Menus 118

PART 2 PROGRAMMING FUNDAMENTALS

CHAPTER 5 Visual Basic .NET Variables and Operators 125
The Anatomy of a Visual Basic Program Statement 127
Using Variables to Store Information 127
Setting Aside Space for Variables: The Dim Statement 128
Using Variables in a Program 129
Using a Variable to Store Input 133
Using a Variable for Output 136
Working with Specific Data Types 138
Constants: Variables That Don’t Change 144
Working with Visual Basic Operators 146
Basic Math: The +, –, *, and / Operators 146
Using Advanced Operators: \, Mod, ^, and & 150
Working with Math Methods in the .NET Framework 155
Operator Precedence 157
One Step Further: Using Parentheses in a Formula 158

CHAPTER 6 Using Decision Structures 161
Event-Driven Programming 162
Using Conditional Expressions 164
If…Then Decision Structures 165
Testing Several Conditions in an If...Then Decision Structure 165
Using Logical Operators in Conditional Expressions 170
Short-Circuiting by Using AndAlso and OrElse 172
Select Case Decision Structures 174
Using Comparison Operators with a Select Case Structure 176
One Step Further: Detecting Mouse Events 180

CHAPTER 7 Using Loops and Timers 185
Writing For…Next Loops 186
Displaying a Counter Variable in a TextBox Control 187
Creating Complex For…Next Loops 190
Opening Files Using a Counter That Has Greater Scope 193
Writing Do Loops 196
Avoiding an Endless Loop 197
The Timer Control 201
Creating a Digital Clock Using a Timer Control 201
One Step Further: Using a Timer Object to Set a Time Limit 204

CHAPTER 8 Debugging Visual Basic .NET Programs 209
Finding and Correcting Errors 210
Three Types of Errors 210
Identifying Logic Errors 212
Debugging 101: Using Break Mode 212
Tracking Variables by Using a Watch Window 218
Using the Command Window 220
Switching to Command Mode in the Command Window 222
One Step Further: Removing Breakpoints 223

CHAPTER 9 Trapping Errors Using Structured Error Handling 225
Processing Errors Using Try...Catch 226
When to Use Error Handlers 227
Setting the Trap: The Try...Catch Statement 228
Path and Disk Drive Errors 228
Writing a Disk Drive Error Handler 231
Using the Finally Clause to Perform Cleanup Tasks 232
More Complex Try...Catch Error Handlers 234
The Err Object 234
Specifying a Retry Period 238
Using Nested Try...Catch Blocks 241
Comparing Error Handlers with Defensive Programming Techniques 241
One Step Further: The Exit Try Statement 242

PART 3 MANAGING CORPORATE DATA

CHAPTER 10 Using Modules and Procedures 249
Working with Standard Modules 251
Creating a Standard Module 251
Working with Public Variables 254
Creating Procedures 259
Writing Function Procedures 260
Function Syntax 260
Calling a Function Procedure 262
Using a Function to Perform a Calculation 262
Writing Sub Procedures 266
Sub Procedure Syntax 266
Calling a Sub Procedure 267
Using a Sub Procedure to Manage Input 268
One Step Further: Passing Arguments by Value and by Reference 273
Which to Use: ByVal or ByRef? 274

CHAPTER 11 Using Arrays and Collections to Manage Data 277
Working with Arrays of Variables 278
Creating an Array 279
Declaring a Fixed-Size Array 280
Working with Array Elements 281
Creating a Fixed-Size Array to Hold Temperatures 282
Creating a Dynamic Array 286
Preserving Array Contents by Using ReDim Preserve 289
Working with Object Collections 291
Referencing Objects in a Collection 292
Writing For Each...Next Loops 292
Experimenting with Objects in the Controls Collection 293
Using the Name Property in a For Each...Next Loop 296
Creating Your Own Collections 298
One Step Further: Visual Basic for Applications Collections 302

CHAPTER 12 Exploring Text Files and String Processing 307
Displaying Text Files by Using a Text Box Object 308
Opening a Text File for Input 309
The FileOpen Function 309
Creating a New Text File on Disk 315
Processing Text Strings with Program Code 319
Processing Strings by Using Methods and Keywords 319
Sorting Text 321
Working with ASCII Codes 322
Sorting Strings in a Text Box 323
Protecting Text with Encryption 329
One Step Further: Using the Xor Operator 333
Examining the Encryption Code 335

CHAPTER 13 Automating Microsoft Office Applications and Managing Processes 341
Programming Application Objects by Using Automation 342
Using Automation in Visual Basic 343
The Visual Studio Object Browser 344
Automating Excel from Visual Basic 348
One Step Further: Starting and Stopping Windows Applications by Using the Process Component 356

CHAPTER 14 Deploying Visual Basic .NET Applications 361
Planning a Deployment 362
Different Ways to Deploy an Application 364
Creating a Deployment Project 365
Customizing Your Deployment Options 375
Building a Deployment Project and Testing Setup 381
One Step Further: Examining Setup Files and Uninstalling 386

PART 4 ADVANCED USER INTERFACE DESIGN

CHAPTER 15 Managing Windows Forms 393
Adding New Forms to a Program 394
How Forms Are Used 395
Working with Multiple Forms 396
Positioning Forms on the Windows Desktop 403
Minimizing, Maximizing, and Restoring Windows 408
Adding Controls to a Form at Runtime 409
Organizing Controls on a Form 412
One Step Further: Specifying the Startup Object 415

CHAPTER 16 Adding Graphics and Animation Effects 421
Adding Artwork by Using the System.Drawing Namespace 422
Using a Form’s Coordinate System 423
The System.Drawing.Graphics Class 424
Using the Form’s Paint Event 425
Adding Animation to Your Programs 427
Moving Objects on the Form 428
The Location Property 429
Creating Animation by Using a Timer Object 430
Expanding and Shrinking Objects While a Program Is Running 434
One Step Further: Changing Form Transparency 436

CHAPTER 17 Inheriting Forms and Creating Base Classes 439
Inheriting a Form by Using the Inheritance Picker 440
Creating Your Own Base Classes 445
Adding a New Class to Your Project 446
One Step Further: Inheriting a Base Class 453

CHAPTER 18 Working with Printers 459
Using the PrintDocument Class 460
Printing Text from a Text Box Object 465
Printing Multipage Text Files 469
One Step Further: Adding Print Preview and Page Setup Dialog Boxes 476

PART 5 DATABASE PROGRAMMING

CHAPTER 19 Getting Started with ADO.NET 487
Database Programming with ADO.NET 488
Database Terminology 489
Working with an Access Database 490
Creating a Data Adapter 494
Working with Datasets 499
Using Bound Controls to Display Database Information on a Form 501
Creating Navigation Controls 505
One Step Further: Displaying the Current Record Position 509

CHAPTER 20 Data Presentation Using the DataGrid Control 513
Using DataGrid to Display Database Records 514
Formatting DataGrid Cells 523
One Step Further: Updating the Original Database 525

PART 6 INTERNET PROGRAMMING

CHAPTER 21 Displaying HTML Documents Using Internet Explorer 531
Getting Started with the Internet Explorer Object 532
Adding the Microsoft Internet Controls Reference to Your Application 533
Investigating the Internet Explorer Object Model 534
Displaying HTML Documents 537
One Step Further: Responding to Internet Explorer Events 541

CHAPTER 22 Using Web Forms to Build Interactive Web Applications 545
Inside ASP.NET 546
Web Forms vs. Windows Forms 547
HTML Controls 548
Web Forms Controls 549
Getting Started with a Web Application 550
Installing the Software for ASP.NET Programming 550
Using the Web Forms Designer 556
Adding Web Forms Controls to a Web Application 559
Writing Event Procedures for Web Forms Controls 561
One Step Further: Creating a Link to Another Web Page 565

PART 7 APPENDIXES

APPENDIX A Upgrading Visual Basic 6 Programs to Visual Basic .NET 2003 573
Assessing Visual Basic 6 Programs for Compatibility 574
Problematic Issues 575
Internet Resources for Migration 576
Upgrade Steps 577
Running the Visual Basic Upgrade Wizard 577

APPENDIX B Where to Go for More Information 587
Visual Basic .NET Web Sites 587
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/ 588
http://www.devx.com/ 588
http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/ 588
http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/ 588
http://communities2.microsoft.com/home/ 589
Books for Visual Basic .NET Programming 589
Visual Basic .NET Programming 589
Web Programming with ASP .NET 590
Database Programming with ADO.NET 590
Visual Basic for Applications Programming 590

UPGRADING INDEX 591
INDEX 597

About the Author

Michael Halvorson is the author or coauthor of more than a dozen computer books, including Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Step By Step, Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Professional Step By Step, Learn Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Now, Microsoft Word 97/Visual Basic Step By Step, and the forthcoming Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Database Programming Step By Step. Michael earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, and master's and doctoral degrees in history from the University of Washington in Seattle. He worked at Microsoft Corporation as a technical editor, an acquisitions editor, and a localization manager from 1985 to 1993. He currently teaches European history courses at colleges in the Pacific Northwest.

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