Very good and popular programming language (Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Enterprise Edition)

Member Name: SimonCook

Product:	Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Enterprise Edition
Date:	25/06/01 (1447 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple and intuitive to use, Quite powerful

Disadvantages: Not a true object oriented language (yet!!)

Introduction

From the early days of computers a simple computer language existed that allowed novices to program computers. This language was called BASIC – or Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Set. It was a fairly simple language that bought computer programming to the masses; early computers (such as the ZX80, ZX81, BBC Micro) had BASIC pre-installed on a ROM and became the stepping-stone for many budding computer programmers.

As computers became more sophisticated and the users began to demand more and more from the computers, the BASIC language evolved. Finally, as newer object oriented languages began appearing, and the Windows GUI became an important part of computing life, Microsoft updated BASIC, to Q-BASIC, Turbo BASIC and finally ended up with Visual BASIC. After several years, this has produced the latest version Visual BASIC 6.0, or VB6. (NB VB.NET is currently in beta 2, and will be out within 6-12 months; this moves VB even more in to the mainstream with a major overhaul that makes VB into a true Object Oriented language).

Object Oriented Languages

The idea of Object Oriented Languages is to enable the programmer to build objects (such as a form) that are filled with controls (such as a button) which contain the relevant code actually attached to the Object. VB6 is not a true Object Oriented Language lacking some of the major features that C++ has, however for the beginner to intermediate user it is more than adequate.

As Object Oriented Languages have evolved over the years they have become more and more powerful; with cross-platform classes now becoming the norm we are seeing a transformation into a seamless environment where programs in different languages can communicate with each other, sharing data and improving the development possibilities for millions of progreammers.

The interface

VB6 divides the screen into several areas, allowing you to open a main window to
do all your design in, while keeping other windows open with tools and other important information. The interface is intuitive to use, and is well designed. It is very customizable, allowing you to view as many information screens as you want.

Although initially it takes a while to get the most out of the interface (there are so many different windows that can be open simultaneously) you will soon find which windows to have open at different times.

The program

So what is VB6? VB6 is a programming tool that allows you to design applications and system that can be stand alone, or multi-user. With the enterprise edition you can produce systems that are Web-Enabled. (It should be noted that VB.NET totally changes the way VB works with the web; the web classes are gone, replaced by ASP+).

VB6 is an excellent programming tool featuring many great wizards that will allow you to do much of the design work without actually writing any code.

The key to VB6 is the use of controls. Controls range from text boxes, and buttons, to data grids that combine with your database to produce some excellent forms and screens. Like many of the modern day languages, VB6 allows you to install ‘3rd-party’ controls thus expanding the capabilities of VB6. These controls can be written in other languages, thus if you have a great C+ control, you will be able to use it quickly and easily in VB.

If you are familiar with BASIC, then VB6 will not be too foreign. The key to programming in VB6 is to remember that the main program will only contain a few lines; this main program being used to open forms, call procedures and functions etc. Much of the code is attached to the objects that are called from the main program. Where possible, common functions or routines will be separated from the controls allowing for multiple controls to use these routines.

VB6 is a very structured language that uses much of the modern technol
ogies, such as Classes, COM, ODBC, ASP, etc.

VB6 is one of the easiest languages to become proficient in, being logical and straight forward. However, to get the best out of VB6 you will need to know more about ASP+, COM+ and the new .NET technologies. (Especially as we see the transformation to VB.NET)

The future

Potential buyers should be aware that the next version of VB, VB.NET will totally change VB. As the world of computing moves to wards an Internet world, VB has been updated to allow programming for the Web easier. In addition to this VB grows up and becomes a true Object Oriented Program. VB6 users will find many changes but should be able to convert to the new version quickly and easily.

Early signs show that most programs written in VB6 will not port easily into VB.NET, but the old adage sticks ‘If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it’. I.e. don’t change your VB6 applications, keep a copy of VB6 available and support these apps through vb6.

Reference

Here are some great books that will help you discover more about VB6:-

Microsoft Press: Visual Basic 6.0 Programmer’s Guide
Microsoft Press: Visual Basic 6.0 Reference Library
Microsoft Press: Programming Distributed Applications with COM+ and VB6.0 (advanced Users)


NB It is important that you install the VB6 support packs. These solve many errors in the original version. You may need to refer to Microsoft.com many times to ensure the program is installed correctly.

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