Objectives of the Week

• To understand the Class Room and Lab environment
• To learn the basics of the Visual Basic environment, including the Design, Run, and Break environments
• To understand the concepts of Event Driven Programming

Let's start with an example

Download the Example .EXE to your Desktop (Zipped)

GUI - Graphical User Interface

To your user, the GUI is the application. The user interacts with the controls on the form to initiate events that your application will handle. Compare a GUI with a text-based interface that allows keyboard only input to procedural application. With a text-based interface tied to a procedural application, it is generally the program that controls the flow of events.

Event Driven Programming

The user controls how the program operates by initiating events such as Mouse Clicks and Keyboard KeyPresses. Your VB program must "Handle" these events. Each time an event occurs, that is every time the mouse is moved or a key pressed, a message is sent to Windows. It is Windows that determines which application is to receive that message and passes it on to the proper program. Visual Basic makes it easy to interpret the messages that are initiated by the user and passed on to the application by the Windows operating system.

An explanation of Windows Platform Programming from "Visual Basic Concepts" in VB Help

Object Model

A program in Visual Basic is built around the GUI. The GUI consists of a Form Object that is populated with Controls. Each Control has Properties (or characteristics that describe the control), Methods (or an action that is associated with the control), and Events (or user initiated actions that the application can be designed to handle).

Here is a list of some of the standard controls that come packaged with Visual Basic with some of their Properties, Methods, and Events.

VB Environment

When you open Visual Basic, this is what you will see:

Some of the sections of Visual Basic

• The Toolbox
  This contains the icons that represent the controls. It is located on the left side of the screen
• The Form
  This is the user interface. You will build the form using controls from the Toolbox
• The Project Properties Window
  Used to name the Project
• The Control Properties Window
  Used to set Control Properties at Design Time
• Form Layout Window
  You can set the default location of your form when your application starts

Build the Example

Step by Step through the First Example

Click here to review some Programming Guidelines and the Save Project Procedure

Naming Conventions

When naming controls, give them a three character prefix that will reflect the type of control you are referencing:

Also note the structure of the Event Handler Procedure names:
    A Command Button named cmdPush has a Click Event Procedure called cmdPush_Click

Different Types of Errors

Two Labs

Lab 1 - From the Text - Page 48, VB Mail Order

Step by Step through the First Lab

Let me know when you are done and I will check you off as Complete

Lab 2 - From the Text - Page 49, VB Auto Center

You are on your own.

Assignment

Be sure to review some of the assignment guidelines

Reading Assignment

• Read Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of the text.
• Review the web material for Week 2
  

Programming Assignment

The assignment is due before the start of class next week

Assignment Packaging Instructions

Build a program consisting of:

• One Label Control
• Three Command Buttons

You must set your Form's Picture Property (Form.Picture) to an image that you will download from this site.
The Label Control will be used to display a message based on the user clicking on the first two command buttons. The third button will exit the program. You must set the Label Caption to "The remote is there on the right!" in design mode. Clicking on the first Command Button must change the Label Caption to "Well Done! You found it!". Clicking on the second Command Button must change the Label Caption to "Programmed by:" and your name. Clicking on the third Command Button will exit the program..

Here is the user interface

Click Here to download the Background Image and the .EXE for the assignment

What you have to figure out on your own:

• How do you get the Command Buttons to display White?

Follow the naming conventions! Be sure to test by using Run | Start with Full Compile Don't forget to code Option Explicit or your comment block at the beginning of the form.

Here is a list of the Program Grading Criteria

EMail me the Zipped Project Directory before the start of class next week.

As always, get started on this early, and if you have problems, email me with your specific question and a zipped copy of the project. Don't expect a quick response if you send your questions the day the assignment is due.