Visual Basic Walkthroughs

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Walkthroughs give step-by-step instructions for common scenarios, which makes them a good place to start learning about the product or a particular feature area.

Distributed Applications Walkthrough

Data Walkthroughs

  • Reading XML Data into a Dataset
    Describes how to read XML data into a form.
  • Validating User Input in a Web Forms Page
    Describes how to use Web Forms validation controls to check user entries without code, including required entries, data types, patterns, and specific values.
  • Creating a Master-Detail Windows Form
    Describes how to build a parent-child data relationship on a Windows Form.
  • Creating Read-Only Data Access in a Web Forms Page
    Describes how to create a Web Forms page with an ASP.NET DataGrid server control on it that uses a data reader to display read-only data.
  • Displaying Data in a Windows Form Using a Parameterized Query
    Describes how to create a Windows Form with individually bound controls that display different data depending on what the user enters into a text box.
  • Mapping Data Source Tables to Dataset Tables
    Describes how to map the structure of tables in a data source to the structure of a dataset.
  • Simple Data Access in a Windows Form
    Describes the steps to create a Windows Form containing a data grid that displays information from a SQL Server database.
  • Creating a Dataset with Tables, Keys, and One-to-Many Relationships
    Describes the steps to create a dataset and use it to validate data in a one-to-many or keyed relationship.
  • Creating an XML File with an Associated XML Schema
    Describes the steps for creating an XML file and a schema, associating the two, and working on the XML file in the designer's XML view.
  • Creating an XML Schema with the XML Designer
    Describes the steps to create an XML purchase-order schema as part of a Windows application.
  • Handling a Concurrency Exception
    Creates a Windows application that raises a concurrency error and illustrates one strategy for handling it.

XML Web Services Walkthroughs

Windows Forms Walkthroughs

  • Creating a Simple Windows Form
    Describes how to build and run a simple Windows Form.
  • Simple Data Access in a Windows Form
    Explains the steps for creating a Windows Form to display data in a grid.
  • Creating Dynamic Context Menus on Windows Forms
    Steps through a detailed example of creating a single context menu to serve two or more different controls.
  • Switching Windows Forms Menu Structures Based on Application State
    Gives directions for switching between MainMenu objects programmatically.
  • Demonstrating Visual Inheritance
    Describes how to create a base Windows Form and compile it into a class library. You will import this class library into another project, and create a new form that inherits from the base form.
  • Creating a Multipane User Interface with Windows Forms
    Describes how to create a multipane user interface that is similar to the one used in Microsoft Outlook.
  • Creating a Windows Service Application in the Component Designer
    Describes how to create a long-running executable file that does not have a user interface.
  • Calling XML Web Services from Windows Forms
    Describes how to make calls to XML Web service methods from a Windows application.
  • Persisting an Object in Visual Basic .NET
    Demonstrates how serialization can be used to persist an object's data between instances, allowing you to store values and retrieve them the next time the object is instantiated.
  • Retrieving Dialog Box Information Collectively Using Objects
    Gives directions for using an object to expose a group of related data from a dialog box.
  • Updating Status-Bar Information at Run Time
    Gives directions for programmatically controlling the data within status bar panels.

Web Forms Walkthroughs

  • Creating a Basic Web Forms Page
    Illustrates the basic techniques of how to create a Web Forms page in Visual Basic or Visual C#, add controls to it, and run it.
  • Creating a Web Application Using Visual C# or Visual Basic
    Describes how to write a Web Forms application and then integrate a business-object component that gives you a 10% discount for purchases.
  • Creating a Web Application Using a Third-Party Business Object
    Describes how to write a Web Forms application using Managed Extensions for C++ and then integrate a third-party business-object component that gives you a 10% discount for purchases.
  • Validating User Input in a Web Forms Page
    Describes how to use Web Forms validation controls to check user entries without code, including required entries, data types, patterns, and specific values.
  • Displaying Data in a Web Forms Page
    Illustrates a basic data-access scenario, providing step-by-step instructions for how to create a Web Forms page that displays data in a grid control.
  • Creating Read-Only Data Access in a Web Forms Page
    Describes how use an ADO.NET data command and data reader to provide optimized access to read-only data in a Web Forms page.
  • Updating Data Using a Database Update Query in Web Forms
    Describes the basic techniques of creating a Web Forms page that uses a data command to update the database.
  • Using a DataGrid Web Control to Read and Write Data
    Gives step-by-step details on how to use a grid control to allow users to view and edit data.
  • Creating Paged Data Access using a Web Forms Page
    Describes how to create a Web Forms page that allows users to view data records a few records at a time, paging back and forth to view earlier and later records.
  • Creating a Web User Control
    Describes how to create a Web Forms user control — a page configured to act as a control — and use it on another page.
  • Converting a Web Forms Page to a User Control
    Describes how to convert a basic Web Forms page into a user control that can be hosted on another page.
  • Creating a Web Custom Control
    Describes how to create a custom control, add it to the toolbox, and use it on a Web Forms page.
  • Displaying an XML Document in a Web Forms Page using Transformations
    Gives step-by-step details on how to read an XML file and display it in different ways on a Web Forms page.

Visual Basic Language Walkthroughs

  • Calling Windows APIs
    Explains how to use declare statements and call Windows APIs. Includes information about using attributes to control marshaling for the API call and how to expose an API call as a method of a class.
  • Creating and Implementing Interfaces
    Shows how interfaces are declared and implemented in Visual Basic .NET.
  • Creating Your Own Collection Class
    Describes how to use inheritance to create a simple, strongly typed collection inherited from the CollectionBase class.
  • Declaring and Raising Events
    Illustrates how events are declared and raised in Visual Basic .NET.
  • Defining Classes
    Describes how to declare a class and its fields, properties, methods, and events.
  • Handling Events
    Shows how to handle events using either the standard WithEvents keyword or the new AddHandler/RemoveHandler keywords.
  • Multithreading
    Shows how to create a multithreaded application that searches a text file for occurrences of a word.
  • Structured Exception Handling
    Demonstrates how to create and maintain programs with comprehensive error handling, and how to use Try...Catch...Finally.
  • Creating COM Objects with Visual Basic .NET
    Demonstrates how to create COM objects with Visual Basic .NET, both with and without the COM class template.
  • Implementing Inheritance with COM Objects
    Demonstrates how to use Visual Basic 6.0 to create a COM object containing a class, and then use it as a base class in Visual Basic .NET.
  • Interacting with Files and Folders in Visual Basic .NET
    Provides an introduction to the fundamentals of file I/O.

Dynamic Properties Walkthrough

  • Storing and Retrieving Dynamic Properties
    Describes the major steps in storing and retrieving property values.

Component and Control Authoring Walkthroughs

  • Authoring a Component with Visual Basic .NET
    Shows the development of a simple component in Visual Basic, illustrating the interaction between client and component, object lifetime and circular references, debugging clients and components, and the use of shared methods and instance methods.
  • Authoring a Simple Multithreaded Component with Visual Basic
    Demonstrates the development of a simple multithreaded component in Visual Basic, explaining how threads work and how to coordinate multiple threads in your component.
  • Authoring a User Control with Visual Basic .NET
    Shows the development of a simple control in Visual Basic that inherits from the UserControl class, and how to inherit from an established user control.
  • Inheriting from a Windows Forms Control with Visual Basic .NET
    Demonstrates how to create a simple inherited button control. This button will inherited functionality from the standard Windows Forms button and will expose a custom property.

Framework Services Component Walkthroughs

  • Exploring Event Logs, Event Sources, and Entries
    Describes how to use an EventLog component instance to interact with existing logs, create custom logs, and read and write values to logs.
  • Installing an Event Log Component
    Describes how to use an installation component to configure server resources needed for your EventLog component instance.
  • Creating a Queue and Working with Messages
    Describes how to use a MessageQueue component instance to interact with Windows message queues.
  • Changing and Retrieving Performance Counter Values
    Describes how to use a PerformanceCounter component instance to retrieve and set raw and calculated values from a Windows performance counter
  • Retrieving Categories and Counters
    Describes how to use a PerformanceCounter component instance to retrieve lists of Windows performance counter categories on a server
  • Managing a Windows Process
    Describes how to use the Process component to monitor and interact with Windows processes on a server
  • Reacting to File System Events
    Describes how to use a FileSystemWatcher component instance to monitor files and directories and react when changes occur
  • Adding Active Directory Objects
    Describes how to use the DirectorySearcher component to interact with Active Directory file system structures

Upgrading Walkthrough

  • Upgrading a Visual Basic 6.0 Application to Visual Basic .NET
    Describes how to upgrade the standard calculator sample from Visual Basic 6.0 to Visual Basic.

Internationalization Walkthroughs

  • Localizing Web Forms Pages
    Describes the major steps in creating a global-ready Web Forms application.
  • Localizing Windows Forms
    Describes the major steps in creating a global-ready Windows Forms application.

Accessibility Walkthroughs

  • Creating an Accessible Web Application
    Describes how to create an ASP.NET Web application that is optimized for different accessibility issues.
  • Creating an Accessible Windows Application
    Describes how to create a Windows application that is optimized for different accessibility issues.

Additional Information