Why Use Visual Basic?

Visual Basic is the fastest and easiest way to create applications for Microsoft Windows^®. Whether your goal is to create a small utility for yourself, a large enterprise-wide system, or even distributed applications, Visual Basic has the tools you need.

• Data access features allow you to create databases, front-end applications, and scalable server-side components for most popular database formats, including Microsoft SQL Server, ORACLE, and other enterprise-level databases.
• ActiveX™ technologies allow you to use the functionality provided by other programs, such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, Flash, etc.
• Internet capabilities make it easy to provide access to documents and applications across the Internet or intranet from within your application, or to create Internet server applications.

The finished application is a true .exe file that uses the Visual Basic runtime environment that you can freely distribute.

The Programming Process

Over time you'll find your own way of writing programs that works best for you. Nevertheless, you'll generally follow these standard set of steps when creating your application.

• Decide what your application is to do by creating an overall design.
• Create the visual (GUI) portion of your application.
• Add VB language code.
• Test your application to locate and remove any bugs.
• Compile the tested application and distribute the .exe file.

Do test your application to get all the bugs out.

A bug is a program error.