Last-modified: 22-Aug-95
Hope this makes it easier for Our Regular Readers ;-)
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The EXE files on ftp.microsoft.com (and other places) are simple self-extracting files. They don't do any automatic updating of your system, just dump the file(s) inside them in the current directory on your disk, uncompressed and ready for use. Just replace the old files on your system with the new files (same name, usually).
This FAQ (ahem) is a pretty good source as a digest of many of the VB issues that are discussed in the comp.lang.basic.visual.* newsgroups, but as such the information contained in this FAQ may not have been thoroughly tested or verified.
For easier access to and use of this FAQ document, get the Windows Help file format FAQ doc by anonymous ftp to ftp://quasar.sba.dal.ca /www/hlp. The .HLP version is made by Tim Roberts (tjr@sbacoop.sba.dal.ca). This is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Dave McCarter puts out a nice Windows help formatted document called "Visual Basic Tips and Tricks". A good resource with information that isn't found in the Knowledge Base. It can be found by anonymous ftp at ftp://ftp.cica.indiana.edu/pub/pc/win3/programr/vbasic/ as VBTIPS??.ZIP, where '??' is the version number (yes, get the one with the highest number).
[[ Mark Schoonover has started a monthly magazine called _VBWin Programmer's Magazine_ that is compiled around the Discussion of Microsoft Visual Basic and Related Issues mailing list. This magazine is available at the usual ftp sites like cica and at his BBS (619) 571-2846. Mark can be contacted at schoon@cts.com. It also has its own anonymous ftp site: ftp://ftp.cts.com/pub/schoon/VBWM.Issues directory. - ED: this appears to be down, alas. ]]
Jakob Faarvang (jakobf@apexsc.com) maintains the useful CLBV Digest: http://www.apexsc.com/vb/clbv-digest/ and ftp://ftp.apexsc.com:/pub/cgvb/clbv-digest/ An email Address for him regarding CLBV Digest is clbv-digest-editor@apexsc.com
There is presently an effort to put together a VB code library so that VB users can share their best - and trickiest - programming work. The code library project is being spear headed by Hein Ragas who has managed to get a directory on CICA for code snippets to be deposited. Stayed tuned to comp.lang.basic.visual.misc for more information.
There's a VISBAS-L mailing list for Visual Basic (Thanks to David Liden (DL9U@Virginia.EDU) for tracking it down for me when it moved). You can subscribe to this mailing list by sending an email to listserv@listserv.tamu.edu Place the following text in the *body* of the message (no, not the subject line):
Also,to unsubscribe, do as above but with 'UNSUB' in the body of the message to the LISTSERV address, *not* to the VISBAS-L list address itself (Believe it or not, we usually receive 2-3 sub/unsub mails every day on the list, and we're really fed up!)
Also, this mail server was split and a new list called VBDATA-L was made for Vb database (Jet) related topics. Same procedure for registering (SUB VBDATA-L Real Name).
The address for the MS ACCESS listserver is listserv@indycms.bitnet or listserv@indycms.iupui.edu The list name is ACCESS-L. To subscribe, you follow the same procedure as for the other lists.
Sorry, I know no mailservers or other Internet resources dedicated to VBA specifically. Send me any information you may have, and I'll bring it on.
There are several Usenet newsgroups dedicated to MS Windows programming and use. In fact, far too many to list here :-)
NOTE: PLEASE don't post VB stuff to comp.lang.visual. This group has *nothing* to do with Visual Basic, and the academics discussing "real" visual programming there are very, very annoyed at what they call "quasi-visual" stuff and postings about those languages to their group.
If you have a Compu$erve account, you will find a forum for Visual Basic there, including some support from Microsoft: MS BASIC Forum (GO MSBASIC)
Message Sections Available: Libraries Available: 1 Forum News/Info 1 MS Info and Index 2 Setup Wizard/Kit 2 Setup Wizard/Kit 3 Data Access Objects 3 Data Access Objects 4 The Data Control 4 The Data Control 5 Programming Issues 5 Programming Issues 6 ODBC Connectivity 6 ODBC Connectivity 7 SQL Queries 7 SQL Queries 8 ProEdition Controls 8 ProEdition Controls 9 Calling API's/DLL's 9 Calling API's/DLL's 10 Using OLE/DDE 10 VBWIN-ODBC/Database 11 MSCOMM control 11 MSCOMM control 12 MCI/MAPI controls 12 MCI/MAPI controls 13 DOS Visual Basic 13 DOS Visual Basic 14 DOS and Mac Basic 14 DOS and Mac Basic 15 Suggestions/Mktg. 15 Suggestions/Mktg. 16 CDK 16 CDK 17 3rd Party Products 17 3rd Party Products
There are magazines dedicated to VB. The best known is Fawcett Technical Publications' Visual Basic Programmer's Journal
Phone: 800-848-5523 (for US credit card orders)
Phone: 303-541- 0610 (int'l and US other orders)
Email 74003.224@compuserve.com to Shirley Modric for subscription info
280 Second Street,
Suite 200
Los Altos, CA 94022-3603 USA.
(Note: for completeness other VB magazines should be listed, and I would like to receive info on those!)
- From Randy Coates (rcoates@telerama.lm.com):
- I currently subscribe to Inside Visual BASIC for Windows from the Cobb Group. Although it is a helpful monthly paper (about 14 pages per publication), I find it to be overpriced when compared to VB Programmers Journal. Here is the information anyway:
Domestic $59/yr ($7.00 each);
Outside US $79/yr ($8.50 each)
Phone: Toll Free: 800-223-8720),
Local: 502-491-1900,
Customer Relations Fax: 502-491-8050,
Editorial Department Fax: 502-491- 4200.
Address:
Inside Visual BASIC for Windows
9420 Bunsen Parkway, Suite
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6. WWW pages for VB! [**]
- Carl 'n Gary's Visual Basic HomePage is a good place to start at http://www.apexsc.com/vb/ This page has hotlinks to lots of goodies, including the FAQs, clbv.* archives (with search tool), etc. Send any e-mail inquiries (about the page!) to: vb-admin@apexsc.com [Gary Wisniewski (gary@apexsc.com)]
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7. Are there any examples of commercial applications built using Visual Basic?
- Profit by Microsoft was written mostly in Visual Basic. In fact, Profit was one of three programs selected as PC Magazine's Editor's Choice among Windows small business accounting packages.
Most of the current version of Quicken was written in VB2.
The viewer/launcher/installer in the oh-so-popular Way Cool [Topic] for Windows series of CD-ROMs was written in VB3.
Microsoft uses VB extensively for smaller utilities. 3 of the small apps in the Windows and Windows for Workgroups Resource Toolkits are written in VB. Also, if you have the Microsoft Bookshelf CD-ROM, you will notice that the MVOPTION.EXE program, which is an 'options' program for MS Viewer, is created in VB.
Note: The existence of VBX files in a package doesn't ecessarily mean that it was written in VB. The most popular C++ compilers also support VBXes.
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8. Limits of VB?
- Are you kidding? VB have *no* limitations... Uh, yeah ;-)
For starters:
An enormous amount of contributers to this topic! Can you guess why?
- It's not a true compiler, hence it's slow for non-interface stuff (it's of course slow for interface stuff as well, but that's *Windows* not VB)
- It's not really object-oriented (Try looking for the parent of ie. a line control, and you'll wonder why it has no hWnd - SpyWorks is an add-on you may need if this is annoying)
- A statement must be on a single line! (Note: Fixed in VB4!!!!)
- No arrays of constants.
- Your Complaint Here!
[Entry suggested by Andre van Meulebrouck (vanmeule@netcom.com)]
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