484.  Application Development Using Visual Basic and .NET

Rev. 1.0

 

Microsoft .NET is an advance in programming technology that greatly simplifies application development, both for traditional, proprietary applications and for the emerging paradigm of Web-based services. .NET is a complete restructuring of Microsoft’s entire system infrastructure and represents a major learning challenge for programmers developing applications on Microsoft platforms. There is substantial change to the Visual Basic language, and VB6 code will not run unmodified in the .NET environment. Also, the new version of the language, Visual Basic .NET, or just VB.NET, is now a fully object-oriented language with features such as interfaces, inheritance, and polymorphism. The result is that there is a definite learning curve for moving to VB.NET.

 

This comprehensive course is designed for the experienced programmer to help you quickly come up to speed on the VB.NET language and to learn important topics in the .NET Framework. It is part of the Object Innovations series of .NET courses, which are based on The Integrated .NET Series of books from Object Innovations and Prentice Hall PTR.

 

The course consists of three modules. The first module starts with a brief “what you need to know” chapter that gets you up and running in the .NET environment with a minimum of fuss. The next two chapters cover VB.NET language essentials and object-oriented programming in VB.NET. The next chapter discusses how VB.NET relates to the .NET Framework. Finally, user interface programming in VB.NET is examined. The .NET Framework introduces a robust, stable windowing platform with a class library (Windows Forms) that is used by multiple languages. Programmers familiar with previous versions of VB will notice that this significantly changes the programming model, yet also introduces flexibility not previously available. An appendix explains the fundamentals of working with the Visual Studio .NET development environment.

 

The second module starts with an introduction to the architecture and key concepts of .NET. It then discusses class libraries, assemblies, versioning, and deployment, which constitute a major advance in the simplicity and robustness of deploying Windows applications, ending the notorious “DLL hell.” The next two chapters discuss important topics in the .NET programming model, including metadata, reflection, I/O, and serialization. The following chapter continues the discussion of the .NET programming model, covering threading, contexts, application domains, marshal by value, marshal by reference, and memory management. .NET Security is introduced in some detail, including both code access security and role-based security. The next chapter covers interoperability of .NET with COM and with Win32 applications. The module concludes with an introduction to database programming using ADO.NET. An appendix outlines a Visual Studio .NET database testbed.

 

In the final module, ASP.NET is introduced as a unified Web development platform that provides the services necessary for developers to build enterprise-class Web applications. The architecture of Web Forms is covered, including the life cycle and event model and the code behind programming model. Web services are introduced.

 

The course is practical, with many examples and a case study. The goal is to equip you to begin building significant applications using the .NET Framework. The student will receive a comprehensive set of materials, including course notes and all the programming examples. The book Application Development Using Visual Basic  and .NET  is recommended as a supplement to the course. This book is part of The Integrated .NET Series from Object Innovations and Prentice  Hall PTR.

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 

·         Gain a thorough understanding of the philosophy and architecture of .NET

·         Acquire a working knowledge of Visual Basic .NET programming

·         Learn how to implement user interface, database, and Web applications using .NET

 

Course Duration:  5 – 6 days

 

Prerequisites:  The student should be an experienced application developer or architect. Some background in object-oriented programming would be helpful. The student should also have basic Internet literacy, including the fundamentals of HTML.

 

Volumes Shipped: This course ships in three volumes, consisting of courses 421, 422 and C4002, which can also be ordered separately.

 

Volume 1: VB.NET Essentials

 

1.      .NET: What You Need To Know

.NET Executables and the CLR

A .NET Testbed for VB.NET Programming

 

2.      VB.NET for the Sophisticated Programmer

First VB.NET Console Application

Namespaces

Data Types

Control Structures

Subroutines and Functions

Conversions

Console I/O

Exception Handling

 

3.      Object-Oriented Programming in VB.NET

Classes

Access Control

Methods and Properties

Shared Data and Methods

Inheritance

Overriding Methods

Polymorphism

 

4.      VB.NET and the .NET Framework

Interfaces

Collections

Copy Semantics

Generic .NET Interfaces

Delegates

Events

 

5.      Introduction to Windows Forms

First VB.NET Windows Application

Windows Forms

Controls

Windows Events

Menus

Dialogs

 

Appendix A. Using Visual Studio .NET

 

Overview of Visual Studio .NET

Creating a Console Application

Project Configurations

Debugging

 

Volume 2: .NET Framework Using VB.NET

 

1.      .NET Fundamentals

What is Microsoft .NET?

Common Language Runtime

Attribute-Based Programming

Interface-Based Programming

Metadata

Common Type System

Framework Class Library

Language Interoperability

Managed Code

Assemblies and Deployment

Web Services

ASP.NET

 

2.      Class Libraries

Components in .NET

Building Class Libraries at the Command Line

Class Libraries Using Visual Studio .NET

Using References

 

3.      Assemblies and Deployment

Assemblies

Private Assembly Deployment

Shared Assembly Deployment

Assembly Configuration

Multi-Course Assemblies

 

4.      Metadata and Reflection

Metadata

Reflection

Late Binding

 

5.      I/O and Serialization

Directories

Files

Serialization

Attributes

 

6.      .NET Programming Model

Threading and Synchronization

Contexts

Application Domains

Marshal by Value

Marshal by Reference

Memory Management and Garbage Collection

 

7.      Security

Authentication and Authorization

Internet Security

Configuring Security

Code Access Security

Permissions

Role-Based Security

Principals and Identities

 

8.      Interoperating with COM and Win32

.NET Client Calling a COM Server

COM Client Calling a .NET Server

PInvoke

 

9.      Database Programming Using ADO.NET

ADO.NET Overview

.NET Data Providers

Using DataReaders

Using DataSets

Interacting with XML Data

 

Appendix A. A Visual Studio .NET Database Testbed

 

Server Explorer

Query Analyzer

OSQL

 

Volume 3: Introduction to ASP.NET Using VB.NET

 

1.      Introduction to ASP.NET

What Is ASP.NET?

Web Forms

Web Services

ASP.NET Features

 

2.      Web Forms Architecture

Page Class

Web Forms Life Cycle

Web Forms Event Model

Code Behind

 

3.      Introduction to Web Services

Web Services and Remoting

XML, SOAP, WSDL

Web Services Architecture

Proxies

Interoperability of Web Services

Developing Web Services Using Visual Studio .NET

 

System Requirements

 

Course exercises require Microsoft .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET on Windows 2000. Internet Information Services should be installed. 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, 256 MB of RAM, and at least 500 MB of free disk space for tools installation and courseware.