The Visual Studio .NET and VB .NET Integrated Development Environment IDE

1
The Visual Studio .NET and VB .NET Integrated
Development Environment (IDE)
2
Lesson A

• A Tour of the Integrated Development Environment

3
Objectives

• Identify the three principal categories of Visual
  Basic .NET applications
• Windows Forms applications
• Web Forms applications
• Console applications
• Navigate through the Visual Studio .NET
  Integrated Development Environments (IDE) Main
  menu and toolbars
• Understand the purpose of other major components
  of the IDE
• Code window, Class view
• Task List, Output window
• Server Explorer, and Help screens
• Identify some of the key differences between
  Visual Basic .NET and earlier versions of Visual
  Basic

4
A Tour of the Integrated Development Environment

• Understanding Application Categories
• The FGDT will develop three types of
  applications
• Windows Forms applications
• Web Forms applications
• Console applications
• Understanding Visual Basic .NET Windows Forms
  Applications
• User interface
• Contained within traditional windows and the
  application executes entirely on the local
  machine
• Any application running in a stand-alone
  environment is a good candidate for development
  as a Windows Forms application

5
Start Page, New Project Dialog Box, with Windows
Application Selected
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Understanding Visual Basic .NET Web Forms
Applications

• Visual Basic .NET Web Forms application
• Uses the techniques and protocols of the World
  Wide Web
• Interface is designed as an HTML or XML document
• End users Web browser renders the HTML/XML/ASP
  document on the local machine
• Application executes mostly on a server
• Data access occurs over a network through an XML
  Web service
• Technology can also be applied to applications on
  a stand-alone machine

7
New Project Dialog Box Showing the ASP .NET Web
Application Selected
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Understanding Visual Basic .NET Console
Applications

• Visual Basic .NET Console application
• Text-only application
• Compiled into an executable
• Run from a command prompt
• Console applications
• Support system utility functions
• More useful to systems programmer than
  applications programmer

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New Project Dialog Box with Console Application
Selected Under Templates
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Understanding the Main Menu

• Main menu
• Provides access to all the items you need in the
  IDE
• Using the File Menu
• New
• Opens a new project, file, or blank solution
• Open
• Opens an existing project or file
• Close
• Closes the file currently displayed in the main
  window
• Add New Item
• Opens the Add New Item dialog box

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Add New Item Dialog Box Showing All Local Project
Items
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Using the File Menu (Continued)

• Add Existing Item
• Adds an existing file to the current project
• Add Project
• Adds another project to the current solution
• Open Solution
• Opens a new solution
• Close Solution
• Closes the current solution

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Using the File Menu (Continued)

• Save, Save As, Save All
• Saves currently selected component
• Saves currently selected component under
  different name or in different location
• Saves all components
• Source Control
• Not installed in Visual Studio .NET Professional
  Edition
• Allows organization to control multiple versions
  of software
• Page Setup and Print
• Selects settings for printing source code
• Recent Files and Projects
• Shortcut for opening the most recently opened
  files and projects
• Exit
• Exits Visual Studio .NET

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Using the Edit Menu

• Insert File As Text
• Useful if you have saved a block of code as a
  text file
• Advanced
• Used for formatting code blocks
• Bookmarks
• Where you place your reminders and locators
• Outlining
• Enables you to create an outline for code
• IntelliSense
• Provides automatic statement completion and
  immediate assistance while coding

15
Using the View Menu

• Web Browser Show Browser
• Displays the most recent HTML page
• Other Windows Object Browser
• Displays the objects in the active project or the
  available objects in Visual Studio .NET
• Other Windows Output
• Displays output (error) messages from the most
  recent compilation
• Tab Order
• Toggle for displaying the TabIndex property of
  every control on the currently displayed form
• Show Tasks
• Navigates among the tasks in the project Task
  List
• Toolbars
• Displays a submenu with 24 toolbars

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Viewing the Tab Order of the Village Housing
Application
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Using the View Menu (Continued)

• Full Screen
• Enables you to toggle the main window between
  full screen and Normal view
• Navigate Backward or Navigate Forward
• Changes main window display to previous display
  or returns to current display
• Property Pages
• Opens the Property Pages dialog box
• Application icon property
• Designates an icon to represent the project while
  it is running
• Option Explicit
• Requires that all variables be explicitly
  declared
• Option Strict
• Requires that all narrowing conversions be
  explicitly declared and that late bindings not be
  allowed
• Option Compare
• Allows settings of Binary (the default) or Text

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Property Pages - Common Properties -Build
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Understanding the Main Menu (Continued)

• Exploring the Project Menu
• Under the Project menu, Add New Item and Add
  Existing Item duplicate selections available in
  the File menu
• Exclude From Project removes currently selected
  component from current project
• Understanding the Build Menu
• Menu is useful when you need to compile a
  solution without executing it

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Understanding the Debug Menu

• Breakpoint
• A place in your code where program execution is
  suspended (not terminated)
• Debug selections
• Windows Breakpoints
• Windows Autos
• Windows Immediate
• Start
• Continue
• Stop Debugging
• Step Into
• QuickWatch
• Clear All Breakpoints
• Disable All Breakpoints

21
Exploring the Help Menu

• Dynamic Help
• Displays a short list of topics related to
  whatever you are currently doing in the IDE
• Contents
• Opens the table of contents for the Visual Basic
  .NET Help collection
• Index
• Opens a search frame that enables you to enter a
  keyword and look for that keyword throughout the
  Help Collection Index
• Search
• Opens a search frame that enables the user to
  enter a word and find it anywhere in the Help
  collection

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Understanding Other IDE Components

• Understanding the Main Window
• Tabs at the top of the screen space identify open
  windows
• Initial choices include the Start Page, the Code
  window, the Designer window, and the current Help
  screen
• Understanding Toolbars
• Toolbars provide a one-click shortcut to menu
  selections
• Standard toolbar always visible
• Understanding the Class View
• Class view enables you to examine all the symbols
  used in your application, or available to your
  application

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Understanding Other IDE Components (Continued)

• Understanding the Properties window
• Read-only properties are disabled
• Expansion button appears to the left of
  group-level properties
• Complex properties can be set by clicking an
  ellipsis
• When you can select from a list of property
  setting choices, the Settings box is a combo box
  with a down arrow that lists the choices
• Property window has its own toolbar
• Understanding the Output window
• Output window displays messages to you from the
  IDE

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Understanding Other IDE Components (Continued)

• Understanding the Toolbox
• Toolbox is subdivided by tabs, and the particular
  tabs available depend on the contents of the main
  window
• Data tab
• Components tab
• Windows Forms tab
• Understanding Server Explorer
• Server Explorer opens and manages data
  connections to both internal and external
  databases and related services

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Lesson B

• A First Windows Forms Application

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Objectives

• Make practical use of the View menu and the Debug
  menu
• Create controls on a Windows form using the
  Toolbox
• Develop and implement a splash screen, both as a
  Windows Forms application and as a Web Forms
  application

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Experimenting with the Debug Menu

• To experience the Debug menu within the Visual
  Studio IDE
• Open the VisualTour project (if necessary). In
  Solution Explorer, click frmTour.vb, and click
  the View Code button to open the Code window
• At the end of the Private Sub btnClickMe_MouseEnte
  r event procedure, click anywhere on the last
  line (End Sub), and press F9
• Click Debug on the Main menu, and note the menu
  items available at design time. Click Windows on
  the Debug menu, and note the menu items available
• In Form Designer, click Timer1 in the tray
  underneath the form. Then click the Enabled
  property in the Properties window, and set it to
  False
• Select Start from the Debug menu, or click the
  Start button to initiate execution of the Visual
  Tour application
• Again, select Debug on the Main menu, and note
  the many different menu items available at
  runtime. Click Windows on the Debug menu, and
  note the menu items available
• From the Windows taskbar, click the Visual Tour
  running application. Move the cursor over the
  Touch Here button

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Completed frmTour at Design Time
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Completed frmWelcome
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Lesson C

• A First Console Application

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Objectives

• Build a Visual Basic .NET Console application
• Use the Visual Basic .NET random number generator

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Building Random Numbers a Console Application

• Console application
• A way of experimenting with snippets of code,
  without having to design an entire GUI
• Output can be sent to the console object or to
  the Debug object
• Write ( ) function writes to the specified
  device, but leaves the print cursor positioned
  immediately after the last character written
• WriteLine ( ) function writes to the specified
  device, and then writes a carriage
  return/linefeed sequence

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Building Random Numbers a Console Application
(Continued)

• Rnd( )
• A pseudorandom number generator
• Produces a random real number n such that 0 lt n
  lt 1
• Works by performing a calculation on the previous
  number that it produced
• Random seed
• Used with the first Rnd( ) function call
• By default the seed is the same whenever a
  program begins execution
• Randomize( )
• Seeds the random number generator based on the
  setting of the system clock

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Building Random Numbers a Console Application
(Continued)

• Formula for converting the Rnd( ) return value to
  an integer within a specified range
• Int(Rnd() (UpperBound LowerBound 1)
  LowerBound)
• Valuable feature in certain applications
• Generating the same sequence of random numbers
  each time a program runs, as Rnd( ) does

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Code to Produce 100 Random Index Values
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Console Results - 100 randomly Selected Index
Values
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Other Notes Concerning Console Applications

• Console applications
• Often compiled and subsequently executed from the
  command prompt
• Output sent to the Console object appears in the
  command window
• Output sent to the Debug object is ignored and
  does not raise an exception
• If keyboard input is required
• ReadLine( ) function is employed

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Code to Read and Display Variables
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Summary

• Visual Basic .NET Windows Forms application
• Application involving a traditional Windows-style
  user interface
• Implemented entirely on a local computer
• Visual Basic .NET Web Forms application
• Application involving a Web-style interface
• Visual Basic .NET Console application
• Local, text-only application that runs from a
  command prompt
• Visual Basic .NET Integrated Development
  Environment
• Includes multiple views and windows
• Provides extensive debugging facilities
• Provides an extensive Help system

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Summary (Continued)

• Conventional prefixes
• frm Windows form
• web Web form
• btn Button
• lbl Label
• Windows form properties
• Name, BackColor, BackgroundImage, ControlBox
• FormBorderStyle, Icon, Size, StartPosition, and
  Text
• In the Code Editor
• Class Name combo box identifies the objects in
  the form
• Method Name combo box lists the events and
  methods available to the currently selected
  object
• Web form properties
• Background, bgcolor, and pagelayout

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Summary (Continued)

• Console applications
• Most useful for experimenting with program code
• Rnd ( ) and Randomize ( ) functions
• Provide the capability to generate and manage
  random numbers
• Output from Console application
• Normally sent to the Console object or to the
  Debug object
• Input in a Console application
• Obtained from the Console.ReadLine ( ) function