Visual Basic Programming for the Absolute Beginner

369 Pages·2001·9.9 MB·English

by  Michael Vine

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Team-Fly®
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Visual
®
Basic
Programming
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Visual
®
Basic
Programming
MICHAEL A. VINE
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©2001 by Prima Publishing. All rights reserved. No part Publisher:
of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any Stacy L. Hiquet
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
Associate Marketing Manager:
including photocopying, recording, or by any informa-
Heather Buzzingham
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mission from Prima Publishing, except for the
Managing Editor:
inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
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A Division of Prima Publishing
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tered trademarks of Prima Communica-
tions, Inc. PRIMA TECH is a registered Project Editor:
trademark of Prima Communications, Inc., Heather Talbot
Roseville, California 95661.
Technical Reviewer:
Visual Basic is a registered trademark of Microsoft
Duane Birnbaum
Corporation.
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All other trademarks are the property of their respective
Kris Simmons
owners.
Important: Prima Publishing cannot provide software Interior Layout:
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Information contained in this book has been obtained Johnna VanHoose Dinse
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ISBN: 0-7615-3553-5
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Printed in the United States of America
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This book is dedicated
to my mother, Nancy,
who never ceases to amaze me
with her ability to love, nurture, and inspire.
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Acknowledgments
A
s the author, I would like to acknowledge you, the reader of this book.
Thank you for choosing this book over many others.
I would like to thank all the hard-working people at Prima Publishing
who made this book possible. A special thanks to Andy Harris, who has been an
active mentor in my teaching and writing career, Melody Layne, who helped me
transform from writer to author, and Duane Birnbaum for his professional
advice and superb technical editing.
Many thanks to my parents, family, and friends for unconditional love and
friendship—love you all.
Most importantly, I would like to thank my wife and best friend, Sheila, for
putting up with me when I was teaching, going to school, working full-time, and
writing this book and for still loving me anyway. You’re the best!
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About the Author
M
ichael Vinespent six years working as a network administrator for var-
ious companies in and around Florida, New Mexico, California, Indi-
ana, and Tennessee, implementing and supporting enterprise
networks and data centers.
Although networks were his bread and butter, he enjoyed programming as a hob-
byist and enthusiast for about six years. It wasn’t until he wrote a few successful
desktop and client/server-based applications that he discovered his passion for
programming and software development.
Realizing his new calling, Vine quickly made the transition from hardware to
software, and he has been working as a software engineer for the past two years.
As a software engineer, he designs, develops, and supports client/server-based sys-
tems using technologies such as Visual Basic, C/C++, PowerBuilder, Oracle,
Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, and Seagate Crystal Reports.
After returning to school to complete a few degrees, he found another passion in
teaching, and he currently teaches as a part-time instructor of computer science
at Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI).
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Contents at a
Glance
Introduction xxvi
CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Problem Solving
and Visual Basic 1
CHAPTER 2 Visual Basic Fundamentals and GUI Basics 19
CHAPTER 3 Making Decisions 57
CHAPTER 4 Iteration 103
CHAPTER 5 Subprocedures, Functions,
and Controls Continued 127
CHAPTER 6 Advanced Controls 157
CHAPTER 7 Debugging and Error Handling 189
CHAPTER 8 Data Files and File Access 209
CHAPTER 9 Standard Code Modules, Multiple Forms,
and Encryption 233
CHAPTER 10 Arrays 257
CHAPTER 11 Drag and Drop 293
CHAPTER 12 Setup and Deployment 307
APPENDIX A Common ASCII Codes 325
APPENDIX B What’s on the CD 329
Index 333