Going Further: I Want to Know More About….

The Visual Basic Guided Tour introduced you to some of the things that you can do with Visual Basic Express and Visual Basic 2008, but it is only a beginning. If you want to learn more about an area that was covered in the tour, this is the place to start.

To Learn More About the Visual Basic Language

• Program Structure and Code Conventions (Visual Basic)
  Contains documentation on the basic structure and code conventions of Visual Basic, such as naming conventions, comments in code, and limitations of Visual Basic.

• Visual Basic Language Features
  Provides an overview of the important components of Visual Basic.

• Declared Elements in Visual Basic
  Covers variables, constants, enumerations, structures, properties, methods, procedures, procedure arguments, function returns, events, delegates, interfaces, and classes.

• Procedures in Visual Basic
  Describes Sub, Function, Property, and Operator procedures, in addition to advanced topics such as recursive and overloaded procedures.

• Control Flow in Visual Basic
  Shows how to control the flow of your program's execution.

• Development with My (Visual Basic)
  Discusses a feature named My, which provides access to information and default object instances that are related to an application and its run-time environment.

To Learn More About Windows Forms and Controls

• Getting Started with Windows Forms
  Provides links to topics that describe how to use the power of Windows Forms to display data, handle user input, deploy applications easily, and more.

• Enhancing Windows Forms Applications
  Describes enhanced features that enable you to build world-class Windows-based applications.

• Windows-based Applications (How Do I in Visual Basic)
  Provides links to help on widely used Visual Basic tasks for creating Windows-based applications.

• Controls to Use on Windows Forms
  Provides an alphabetical list of controls and components that can be used on Windows Forms.

• Windows Forms Controls by Function
  Lists the Windows Forms controls and components according to general function.

• Additions to Windows Forms for the .NET Framework 2.0
  Lists the new and enhanced features available with this release of Visual Basic 2008.

To Learn More About Debugging and Error Handling

• Debugging Your Visual Basic Application
  This page provides pointers to documentation for the debugging features built into Visual Basic.

• How to: Correct Run-Time Errors with the Exception Assistant
  The Exception Assistant, which appears whenever a run-time exception occurs in the debugger, shows the type of exception, troubleshooting tips, and corrective actions that may be applied through the Exception Assistant.

• How to: Apply Edits in Break Mode with Edit and Continue
  You can use Edit and Continue to edit your code in break mode, and then continue without stopping and restarting execution.

• How to: Set a Simple Breakpoint
  The Visual Studio debugger provides many ways of setting breakpoints. This topic gives two quick ways of setting simple breakpoints.

• How to: Correct Compiler Errors with Auto Correction (Visual Basic)
  Shows how to correct compiler errors in the Code Editor through the Smart Compile Auto Correction feature.

• Structured Exception Handling Overview for Visual Basic
  Discusses and demonstrates structured exception handling in Visual Basic.

To Learn More About Databases

• Accessing Data in Visual Basic Applications
  Visual Basic includes several new features to assist in developing applications that access data.

• Binding Windows Forms Controls to Data in Visual Studio
  Display data to users of your application by binding data to controls on a form. Create data-bound controls by dragging items from the Data Sources window onto a Windows Form.

• Data Sources Overview
  Data sources represent the data available to your application and are displayed in the Data Sources window**.**

• TableAdapter Overview
  TableAdapters provide communication between your application and a database.

• Walkthrough: Displaying Related Data on a Windows Form
  Provides step-by-step details on displaying data from two related tables and displaying the data on a Windows Form.

• Validating Data
  Datasets provide specific events that are raised as values in data rows change. Event handlers can be created to validate these changes based on your particular application requirements.

To Learn More About Object Oriented Programming

• Introduction to Objects in Visual Basic
  Provides an introduction to the terms and concepts used in object-oriented programming.

• Creating and Using Objects
  Shows how to create and use instances of classes.

• Managing Groups of Objects in Visual Basic
  Provides techniques for working with arrays and collections of objects.

• Understanding Classes
  Covers object creation and lifetime issues in a step-by-step procedure.

• Interfaces (Visual Basic)
  Describes what interfaces are and how you can use them in your applications.

• Inheritance in Visual Basic
  Describes how to define classes that serve as the basis for other classes.

To Learn More about User Controls and Components

• Property Statement
  Declares the name of a property, and the property procedures that are used to store and retrieve the value of the property.

• Creating and Using Components in Visual Basic
  Defines the term "component" and discusses how and when to create components.

• How to: Work with ActiveX Controls (Visual Basic)
  Demonstrates how to use existing ActiveX Controls to add features to the Visual Studio Toolbox.

• Constants and Enumerations in Visual Basic
  Discusses storing unchanging values for repeated use.

• Enumerations Overview (Visual Basic)
  Discusses storing and naming sets of related constant values.

To Learn More about Deployment

• ClickOnce Deployment Overview
  Describes the purpose of ClickOnce and how it solves important problems in deploying Windows Forms applications to client computers.

• Choosing a ClickOnce Deployment Strategy
  Describes the different ways in which you can deploy a ClickOnce application to client computers. Also describes the benefits and limitations of each strategy.

• Choosing a ClickOnce Update Strategy
  Describes the different options available for updating a ClickOnce application after it is installed. These include automated update subscriptions and on-demand updates.

• Troubleshooting ClickOnce Deployments
  Describes the most common problems that you might encounter when you deploy ClickOnce applications, and how to resolve them.

See Also

Tasks

Reusing Code: Making Things Easier

Concepts

Moving Forward: Where Do I Go from Here?

Other Resources

Visual Basic Guided Tour

How Do I in Visual Basic Express