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1991-06-22
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Microsoft Backgrounder: Microsoft Visual Basic, May 1991
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Introduction
The Microsoft Windows graphical environment offers many benefits to
end users -- ease of use, user interface consistency, inter-
application integration -- but poses new challenges for programmers.
Writing Windows applications poses a challenge to programmers because
the available development tools lack the very combination of
functionality and ease of use that the applications themselves
feature.
Tools for Developing Graphical Applications
Microsoft Windows applications make doing powerful things easy. The
Microsoft Visual Basic programming system creates applications that
tap into such Windows functionality as rich forms and controls, pull-
down menus, graphics and animation, dynamic data exchange (DDE) and
multi-tasking. These are difficult for Windows programmers using
traditional tools to develop, but very easy to achieve in the
Microsoft Visual Basic programming system. In general, software
development tools have resided at either end of a spectrum, and each
extreme forced developers to make tradeoffs. High-level tools allow
faster development, which is paid for in reduced flexibility and
control and greater runtime overhead. Low-level tools provide better
control and less overhead, but require more programming skill. Thus,
choosing a tool often involves making an undesirable compromise.
Microsoft Visual Basic: Real Windows Applications Really Fast
Microsoft Visual Basic programming system is a general-purpose
graphical application development system for the Microsoft Windows
environment that bridges the extremes of the tool spectrum described
above. The Visual Basic system addresses the need for a Windows
programming solution that is both serious and easy to use. It is
specifically designed to accelerate Windows version 3.0 development by
harnessing the power of the graphical environment to make mainstream
programmers more productive. Visual Basic helps programmers create
real Windows applications real fast. Extremely easy to use, it is the
ultimate productivity tool.
Visual Basic Key Features
The following is a description of the key features of the Microsoft
Visual Basic programming system.
Visual Design Tools for the User Interface
The Visual Basic system offers rich design tools that enable the
visual components of an application to be designed with drawing tools.
No code is required to create graphical user interfaces. Programs are
designed, created and run within the target Windows environment.
With Visual Basic programming system, windows and dialog boxes are
designed visually by selecting a tool from the Toolbox of controls and
then placing and sizing them on a form. All the Windows controls are
included in the Toolbox: command buttons, option buttons, check boxes,
simple and drop-down list boxes and combo boxes, text fields, labels
(static text), pictures (that can display icons, bitmaps, Windows
metafiles and programmatic graphics), Frame (to visually and
functionally group controls), Timer (that responds to the system
clock), scroll bars, and file system controls (drives, directory and
file list boxes). These controls have the appearance and behavior of
Windows controls such as three-dimensional command buttons that push
in and out, scroll bars that scroll, and edit fields that accept text
input and support cutting and pasting without writing any code.
Visual design tools are also used to set the attributes of a form's
appearance and behavior, from within the Visual Basic environment. The
Property Bar provides a list of available properties for each type of
control. A color palette offers a visual way to assign color
properties. Menus, complete with access keys and accelerators, are
created in outlining fashion in a menu design window. A project or
application can include many forms.
A Structured, Powerful Programming Language
The Visual Basic language is a powerful, structured, general-purpose
programming language. It is a derivative of the Microsoft QuickBasic
modern programming system. Visual Basic language offers all the modern
programming structures such as Subs and Functions, Block
If...Then...Else..., Select Case, Do While/Until, For/Next and error
trapping with an easy-to-learn syntax.
An Event-Driven Programming Model
The Visual Basic system introduces a high-level, event-driven
programming model that is especially suited for programming in a
graphical environment. Events such as mouse clicks and key presses are
automatically detected and processed by the system. The Visual Basic
programmer doesn't need to deal with event trapping or Windows message
dispatching and can simply tell the Visual Basic application how to
respond to a specific recognized event on a particular form or
control. The Visual Basic system's visual design tools, combined with
its event-driven nature, free the programmer to think of how the
application should look and behave, instead of having to concentrate
on lower-level system events or coding the user interface.
A Fast, Responsive Coding and Debugging Environment
The Microsoft Visual Basic programming system's combination of an
intuitive front-end building tool with an easy-to-learn programming
language creates a highly productive development environment.
Further productivity is realized by the system's threaded p-code
incremental compiler, a technology first introduced in Microsoft
QuickBasic programming system version 4.0 in 1987. Each line of code
is automatically parsed and incrementally compiled as soon as it is
typed in. Syntax errors are trapped immediately, alerting the
programmer to any syntax problem. The incremental compilation allows a
very fast transition from Design mode to Run mode. Break mode is also
available when the program encounters a runtime error or a breakpoint
in the code. The programmer can then single-step or procedure-step
through the application. The programmer also can set the next
statement to be executed anywhere within a procedure. An Immediate
window lets the programmer interact with the application while it is
temporarily suspended in the running state. The programmer can check
or even change the value of a variable, or enter any valid line of
code, which is directly executed without affecting the source code.
The programmer can then copy code entered in the Immediate window to
the Code window, to be included in the program's source code. This
revolutionary technology, first introduced in Microsoft QuickBasic
system version 4.0, is the threaded p-code incremental compiler.
For additional productivity, help is readily available in both online
and printed form. A detailed computer-based tutorial gets the user up
and running fast, and manuals (Programmer's Guide and Language
Reference) provide further training and reference materials. Context-
sensitive online Help provides readily available reference information
on the programming language and environment. Code examples from Help
can be copied and pasted to an application's source listing.
The Ability to Create Real Windows .EXE Files
When a program is designed, coded, debugged and fully functional, the
programmer simply chooses Make EXE File from the File menu to create
an .EXE file that can be freely distributed, without any royalties or
runtime fees. .EXE files can have all the features generally
associated with Microsoft Windows programs, such as multiple windows,
pull-down menus, standard controls (command buttons, text fields,
option button), graphics and icons, drag-and-drop and DDE.
Interoperability and Extensibility
Microsoft Visual Basic programming system gives programmers access to
DDE and dynamic link libraries (DLLs) for interoperability and
extensibility with other applications. Inter-application communication
and integration is available via DDE. Visual Basic applications can be
DDE clients, servers or both. The environment offers high-level DDE
(paste-link) as well as programmable DDE in the language. Visual Basic
environment includes a rich set of DDE events (LinkOpen, LinkClose,
LinkExecute, LinkError), properties (LinkMode, LinkTopic, LinkItem,
LinkTimeout), and methods (LinkExecute, LinkPoke, LinkRequest,
LinkSend).
Visual Basic programmers can access external routines in DLLs,
including directly calling the Windows API (applications programming
interface). This is accomplished with a very straightforward syntax. A
one-line Function or Sub Declaration is all that is required to use an
external DLL routine as though it were built into the Visual Basic
system's language.
Users can gain powerful additional functionality by extending the
Microsoft Visual Basic development environment with custom controls.
Microsoft has separately announced the Visual Basic Control
Development Kit, which allows Windows developers to create extensions
to the Visual Basic system. Custom controls can have predefined
properties and events and some built-in functionality, just like the
standard controls in the Visual Basic Toolbox. A Visual Basic
programmer can load a custom control into a project, then assign
properties and write code for it just as though it were a built-in
control. Custom controls, like the standard ones, can trap events and
call the appropriate event procedures written in Visual Basic
language. This mechanism allows the Visual Basic environment to be
extended in many different ways, providing custom user-interface
components and specialized functionality such as multimedia, data
access or communications capabilities.
Visual Basic For High Productivity
Visual Basic programming system is designed to make Windows
application developers more productive regardless of skill level or
application complexity. Its tightly integrated graphical development
environment helps move applications from concept to executable code in
the shortest possible time.
The Visual Basic User
Users of the Microsoft Visual Basic system have the common task of
creating Windows applications, although they come to it with different
backgrounds and skills. They are professional programmers working with
small ISVs, VARs and system integrators; part-time programmers,
including engineers, scientists, analysts and educators; corporate
development staff and MIS professionals; and general PC "power users"
who want to create their own Windows applications. Visual Basic system
doesn't require programming experience, but it is helpful if the user
is familiar with general programming concepts. Anyone who has written
a macro or batch file, or has programmed in any high-level language,
can be productive very quickly with Microsoft Visual Basic. Using the
Visual Basic system, programmers can carry out a variety of tasks,
including writing standalone GUI applications; integrating
applications; developing application front ends, utilities or tools,
and graphical display-oriented programs; and prototyping.
Summary
As Microsoft Windows grows in popularity, development environments are
naturally evolving toward graphical hosts, allowing programmers to
realize the productivity benefits of the graphical user interface.
Microsoft visual Basic programming system is a low-cost (under $200
U.S. suggested retail price) Microsoft Windows-hosted and targeted
development tool that uses an event-driven programming model. It
offers high-level visual design tools to help programmers develop
interfaces.
A graphical tool for graphical systems, the Visual Basic programming
system provides a simple solution to the otherwise complex task of
creating and integrating real Windows applications. It is the only
general-purpose, high-productivity programming system for the
Microsoft Windows environment.
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