420.  Object-Oriented Programming in VB.NET

Rev. 2.0

 

.NET is a revolutionary advance in programming technology that greatly simplifies application development. Microsoft’s popular Visual Basic programming language has been upgraded to take advantage of the new .NET features. Visual Basic .NET, or simply VB.NET, has become a full object-oriented programming language with capabilities comparable to C++, Java, and Microsoft’s new language C#.

 

This course is a practical introduction to programming in VB.NET and the use of services provided by .NET. It emphasizes the VB.NET language and how to build VB.NET applications from an object-oriented perspective. Previous knowledge of Visual Basic is not essential. The course is recommended for programmers using .NET 1.1, providing project files for Visual Studio .NET 2003. It also contains a chapter introducing new features of .NET 2.0, such as generic types.

 

One of the strengths of Visual Basic, and the reason it has enjoyed such widespread use, is the ease with which Windows application can be developed. Microsoft has revamped the way that Windows applications are built under .NET. Windows Forms, used by .NET languages, represents a class library that brings uniformity to the components of a Windows application. The course includes substantial coverage of using Windows Forms in VB.NET.

 

The first part of the course covers the fundamentals of Microsoft’s VB.NET programming language. It starts with a brief chapter, “.NET:  What You Need To Know,” which gets you up and running in the .NET environment with a minimum of fuss. The next five chapters cover the VB.NET language essentials.

 

The second part of the course discusses object-oriented programming in VB.NET. It contains three chapters that focus on developing classes using VB.NET and then extending them via Visual Basic .NET's inheritance capabilities. Interface-based programming is also introduced.

 

The final part of the course introduces the Windows Forms class library. Programmers familiar with previous versions of VB will notice that this significantly changes the programming model, yet also introduces flexibility not previously available. The three chapters in this part evolve from building simple dialog applications, to the use of menus, status bars, and toolbars. It includes an introduction to database-driven GUI applications. The course concludes with an overview of the new VB.NET features provided by .NET 2.0, including example programs to illustrate each important new feature. An appendix explains the fundamentals of working with the Visual Studio .NET development environment.

 

The student will receive a comprehensive set of materials, including course notes and all the programming examples.

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 

·         Gain an understanding of the .NET architecture

·         Gain a working knowledge of the Visual Basic programming language

·         Learn how to build object-oriented applications using Visual Basic .NET

·         Learn how to implement Windows desktop applications using Windows Forms, including programs that interact with databases

·         Gain a working knowledge of generic types and other new features in VB.NET 2.0.

 

Course Duration:  5 days

 

Prerequisites:  The student should have some programming experience.

 

1.      .NET: What You Need To Know

.NET Executables and the CLR

A .NET Testbed for VB.NET Programming

Visual Studio .NET

 

2.      Fundamentals of VB.NET Programming

Program Structure

Namespaces

Data Types

Variables

Conversions

Operators and Expressions

Console I/O

 

3.      Control Structures

If Statement

Select Case Statement

Do/Loop Statement

For/Next Statement

 

4.      Procedures

Subroutines

Functions

Pass-by-value Versus Pass-by-reference

Access modifiers

Overloading

Optional Parameters

 

5.      Advanced Data Types

Arrays

Enumerations

Structures

 

6.      Exception Handling

Error Detection

Exception Handling

 

7.      Object-Oriented Programming

Object Oriented Concepts

Defining Classes

Methods and Properties

Shared Data and Methods

Constructors

 

8.      Inheritance

Inheritance

Controlling Base Class Construction

Access Control

Polymorphism

Events

Abstract and Not Inheritable Classes

Type Conversion in Inheritance

 

9.      Interfaces

Interface Fundamentals

Programming with Interfaces

Using Interfaces at Runtime

Resolving Ambiguities

 

10. Windows Forms

Building a Windows Application

Under the Hood of a Windows Application

Common Controls

 

11. User Interface Features

Dialog Boxes

Menus

Status Bars

Toolbars

 

12. Interacting with Databases Using Windows Forms

ADO.NET

Building Commands and Adapters with Wizards

DataSet

DataGrid

Binding a Control to a DataSet

 

13. New Features in VB.NET 2.0

Visual Studio 2005

Partial Classes

Generic Types

Continue Statement

IsNot Operator

Operator Overloading

Properties with Mixed Access Levels

Built-In My Object

Other New Features

 

Appendix A. Using Visual Studio .NET

 

Overview of Visual Studio .NET

Creating a Console Application

Project Configurations

Debugging

 

System Requirements

 

Course exercises require Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 on Windows 2000 or XP. See the appropriate course Setup Guide for details.

 

A good minimal hardware profile for this course would have a Pentium 500-MHz or equivalent CPU, 512 MB of RAM, and at least 4 GB of free disk space for tools installation and courseware.