Visual Basic: Introduction (In-House)

This Visual Basic in-house training course is designed to cover the following contents:

Getting Started with .NET

• Thinking about .NET
• What is .NET?
• Why .NET?
• Advantages of .NET
• .NET Architecture
• Examining a .NET Application: Introducing Assemblies
• What Kinds of Programs Can You Create?
• Using the Command-Line Compiler to Build a Console Application
• Revisiting Microsoft Intermediate Language
• Using Visual Studio 2008
• Working with Your Visual Studio Profile Settings
• Revisiting the .NET Console Application
• Debugging and Handling Exceptions
• Handling Errors
• Fixing the Logic Error

Data Types and Variables

• Introducing Variables and Data Types
• Variables
• Data Types
• Integer Data Types
• Floating-Point Data Types
• Decimal Data Type
• Char Data Type
• String Data Type
• Boolean Data Type
• Date Data Type
• Object Data Type
• Constants, Enumerations, and Structures
• Working with Variables and Data Types
• Converting from One Data Type to Another
• Operators

Using the .NET Framework

• Using .NET Framework Classes
• Generating Random Numbers
• Getting Information about the Computer
• Working with XML
• File Input/Output
• Working with Strings
• Fields and Properties of the String Class
• Methods of the String Class
• Formatting Strings
• Using the StringBuilder Class
• Working with Dates and Times
• Properties of the DateTime Structure
• Methods of the DateTime Structure
• Using the TimeSpan Structure
• The My Namespace
• My.Application
• My.Computer
• My.User

Branching and Flow Control

• Branching in Code
• Conditional Branching
• Repeating Code Blocks
• Unbounded Looping
• Looping for a Specific Number of Times
• The For Each Loop
• Unconditional Branching
• Exit For/Exit While/Exit Do
• The Goto Statement
• The Continue Statement
• Classes and Objects
• Introducing Objects and Classes
• Revisiting .NET Framework Classes
• Using Class Properties
• Calling Class Methods
• Creating Your Own Classes
• Creating Your First Class
• Adding XML Comments
• Using the Class View Window
• Using the Class Designer
• Investigating the Code
• Adding the Code
• Add another Method and Test the Class
• Working with the Object Test Bench
• Working with Classes
• Value Types vs. Reference Types
• Setting Reference Variables to Nothing and Disposing
• Providing for Deterministic Finalization
• Overriding Object Class Functionality
• Manipulating Object References
• Instance vs. Shared Members
• Thinking More about Shared Members

Properties and Methods

• Overview of Properties and Methods
• Properties
• Calculating Values for Properties
• Validating Values in Properties
• Passing Arguments to Properties
• Methods
• Passing Arguments to Methods
• Methods in Classes
• Class Constructors
• Saving and Retrieving Information
• Returning and Passing Arrays
• Optional Parameters
• Named Parameters
• Instance and Static Members

Object-Oriented Techniques

• Inheritance
• Derived Classes
• Abstract Classes and Members
• Sealed Classes and Members
• Interfaces
• Implementing an Interface
• Interfaces in the .NET Framework
• Organizing Classes
• Partial Classes
• Nested Classes
• Namespaces

Working with Arrays

• Introducing Arrays
• Creating and Filling Arrays
• Initializing Arrays
• Retrieving Data from Arrays
• Arrays and Method Parameters
• Arrays in the .NET Framework
• Manipulating Arrays
• Sorting Arrays
• Allowing for More Flexible Sorting
• Searching in Arrays

Delegates and Events

• Motivating Delegates
• Testing the FileSearch0Class
• FileSearch1: Modifying the FileSearch0 Class
• FileSearch1a: Inheritance is a Possible Solution
• Using an Event Interface Class
• Introducing Delegates
• Digging Deeper into Delegates
• Delegate vs. MulticastDelegate
• Working with Events
• Doing Things the VB6 Way
• Multiple Event Handlers
• Exceptions and Multiple Event Handlers
• Manually Invoking Each Listener
• Using the .NET Event Design Pattern
• Adding and Removing Handlers Dynamically

Generics

• Introducing Generics
• Generic Methods
• Generic Classes
• Advantages of Generics
• Generics and Arrays
• Sorting Arrays
• Sorting with the IComparer Interface
• Sorting with Generic Comparisons
• Searching with Generic Predicates
• Generic Interfaces
• Generic Constraints
• Generics and Lists
• Using an ArrayList to Store a Collection of Items
• Using a Generic List to Store a Collection of Items
• Sorting with the List Class

Handling Exceptions

• Perspectives on Exception Handling
• Exception Handling in .NET
• The Demonstration Code
• Getting Started with Exception handling
• No Error Handling
• Adding a Simple Try/Catch Block
• Unhandled Exceptions
• Using an Exception Object
• Catching Specific Exceptions
• Understanding the Exception Hierarchy
• Raising Errors
• Using the Throw Keyword
• Exception-Handling Options
• Passing Error Information
• Running Code Unconditionally
• The Finally Block
• Cleaning Up: The Using Statement
• Crating Exception Classes

Collection Classes

• Generics, Collections, and Interfaces
• Introducing the Generic Collection Interfaces
• The Generic List
• Working with the List Class
• Working with Predicates
• Working with Dictionaries, Stacks, and Queues
• Storing Key/Value Pairs Using a Dictionary
• Using the SortedDictionary and SortedList Classes
• Using Queues and Stacks
• Creating Your Own Generic Collection Classes
• Creating the Custom Collection Class
• Consuming the Custom Collection