Microsoft Visual Basic .NET programming for the absolute beginner

450 Pages·2002·2.09 MB·English

by  Jonathan S. Harbour

Microsoft®

Visual Basic® .NET

Programming
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Microsoft®

Visual Basic® .NET

Programming

JONATHAN S. HARBOUR
© 2002 by Premier Press, a division of Course Te c h n o l- Publisher:

ogy. All rights re s e r ved. No part of this book may be Stacy L. Hiqu e t

re p roduced or tra n s m i t ted in any form or by any means,
Marketing Manager:

e l e c t ronic or mechanical, including photo c o py i n g ,
H e a ther Hurley

re c o rding, or by any information storage or re t r i eval sys-
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e xcept for the inclusion of brief qu o tations in a review. Sandy Doell

The Premier Press logo and re l a ted trade dress Acquisitions Editor:

are tra d e m a r ksof Premier Press, Inc. and may Todd Jensen

not be used without written permission.
Senior Project Editor:

M i c ro s o ft, the .NET logo, Visual Basic, H e a ther Ta l b o t

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ISBN: 1-59200-002-9
L i b ra ry of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2002106530
P r i n ted in the Un i ted States of America
02 03 04 05 BH1 09876 54321
P remier Press, a division of Course Te c h n o l o g y
2645 Erie Avenue, Suite 41
Cincinnati, Ohio 45208
Thisbookisdedicatedtomysister,Joy.

Mayyoufindhappinessandcontentment.
Microsoft®

Visual Basic® .NET

Programming
Acknowledg ments

I
would like to thank everyone who helped make this book a reality.
First, I thank God for giving me a talent for expressing my thoughts in
writing. Thanks to my family and friends for their support. To my wife,
Jennifer, for hanging in there during my hectic schedule the past few
months. To Jeremiah and Kayleigh, for causing so many welcome and needed dis-
tractions while I’m writing. To fellow lan party campers: Justin Galloway, John
Striker, Chris Henson, and Gerald Winkler. To some great people with whom I’ve
had the pleasure of working: Steve Myers, Todd Schuett, Tom Biermann, Randy
Smith, Long Nguyen, Maria Maldonado, Matt Klein, Matt Hamby, and the rest of
the Phoenix staff at ValueOptions.
I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone at Premier Press who helped to create this
book. I am amazed with the amount of creative freedom I’m given, and appreci-
ate their trust. To Emi Smith, who got the idea after several of my proposals that
I wanted to do something other than a game development book—thanks for
being supportive. To Mitzi Foster, for cheerfulness and lending an ear from time
to time. To Todd Jensen, for your energy and passion for getting things done!
Thank you for keeping me on schedule and for putting up with the many
changes this book went through before it was completed. To Heather Talbot for
managing the project and putting in all the finishing touches. To Andy Harris,
series editor, for input that helped guide the direction of this book. He was right;
it is surprisingly difficult to write a beginner’s book. To Greg Perry, technical edi-
tor, for some very helpful suggestions.
To the developers of Paint Shop Pro at Jasc Software for a truly excellent program
that has gotten me through several books now. To the developers of WinAmp and
the following musicians for keeping me inspired: Enya, The Cranberries, U2,
Paula Cole, Enigma, Heather Nova, Faith Hill, John Williams, Shania Twain, and
Creed. Finally, to Microsoft for developing products that not only provide many
with a living, but also with a great deal of entertainment. Okay, back to another
round of HALO…
A o t t A t o
b u h e u h r

J
onathan S. Harbour has been fascinated with computers since his first
experience with a Commodore PET in 1979. He’s been programming for
15 years, having started with Microsoft BASIC and Turbo Pascal on a
Tandy 1000. Jonathan graduated from DeVry Institute of Technology
with a degree in computer information systems in 1997. He has since worked on
information systems for cellular, aerospace, pharmaceutical, education, medical
research, and healthcare companies. He is currently employed with ValueOptions
in Phoenix, Arizona.
In his spare time, Jonathan enjoys learning new coding tricks in Visual Basic,
C++, and other languages. He regularly hosts HALO LAN parties with friends and
fellow Xbox fans. He also reads programming and science fiction books. Jonathan
authored Visual Basic Game Programming with DirectXand Pocket PC Game
Programming. He is currently working on a game programming book based on
the DarkBASIC language.
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