Ted Brockwood is the Information Services Manager for a real estate listing service in Oregon. His experience covers Java, Linux, UNIX, NT, Win95/98, Win3.x, and DOS.
Computer programming has never been all that fun or easy. Many a company has promised new, fast methods of designing applications through the use of their programming languages, but few have ever delivered. Thankfully, for those of us who need to develop applications quickly and without a supreme knowledge of code, Microsoft developed the Visual Basic programming system.
April 19, 1997
For those of you readers who have never dealt with Visual Basic (or VB for short) it is Microsoft's attempt at using drag-and-drop tactics to develop programs with a minimum of actual hand-coding. This is done through the use of "custom controls" or "OCX's" (formerly known as VBX's, and recently Microsoft began calling them ActiveX components).
Creating a program in Visual Basic, while not as simple as using a word processor, is still much easier than using conventional programming languages. Your program is developed on "forms" which correspond to various program windows and control panels in a Microsoft Windows application. On these forms you actually drag your custom controls to design the interface. Most of the programming for the control is contained within the control itself, all you end up writing is the code to glue the controls together, that is, to make everything integrate into one fluid program. Since Visual Basic uses the BASIC programming language as its core, you don't have to know an intricate and mind-numbing language such as C++.
I've been using Visual Basic 4.0 for several months now and have personally found it to be fast, friendly, and effective...if you're developing Windows and Windows 95 applications. If you are hoping to program for the Mac or other operating system, there are no versions available for those platforms yet. (Though there are rumors and gossip hinting at a Mac version in the next release, which would be a dream come true for many would-be Mac programmers).
If after reading all this, you're getting jumpy to get your feet wet in the world of Visual Basic programming, allow me to make a few suggestions. Firstly, buy a good book on Visual Basic and try to obtain the demo edition of VB. Some of the more recent VB books out there actually come with a CD containing a sample version of VB. While far from complete, this demo version (which can also be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com) will let you get an idea of how the programming system works. It's much better to spend the money on a beginner's book and the demo disk than to spend a few hundred dollars on the VB 4.0 Professional edition (or the $100 on the VB 4.0 Standard kit) and find you just aren't the software developer type. In case you're wondering what the differences are between the VB kits here's a brief summary.
The Demo kit: Very simple, it is designed to give you an idea how the system works. You won't really design too many powerful applications with it. And it's only good in a 32-bit (read: Windows 95 or NT) environment.
The Standard edition: Much more powerful than the demo edition with many more controls. For $99, it's a good place to start. As with the Demo, it's only operable in a true 32-bit environment. You cannot code 16-bit applications with this edition.
The Professional Edition: The power user package. This is for those who really plan to use VB in a professional setting. It lets you develop both 16 and 32-bit applications, and has dozens of controls. Once you get into heavy coding, you'll find the need to move up to the Professional Edition.
The Enterprise Edition: Business users only please. If you're developing at a corporate level, this is the package for you, now you just have to convince accounting that you need this.
Now that you've purchased Visual Basic and are ready to get to work, please allow me to make a few simple suggestions on purchases and required reading.
Firstly, read the VB manual. Yes it's boring and dry, but the time you spend reading it is time well spent since you'll get a good overview of the system. Also, run the on-line tutorial to generate your own simple applications (which, through judicious recycling, you can use components of to create larger applications).
Next, purchase copies of IDG Books "Visual Basic for Dummies" and "More Visual Basic for Dummies". Sure, most of us don't like being thought of as dummies, but you've got to start learning somewhere, and the witty, intuitive teaching style used in these books really does quite a bit to further your Visual Basic education. Plus, the sample apps (and the cartoons) are fun and funny. So, just swallow your pride and head to your nearest bookseller for a copy of these books.
Once you've tired of the VB for Dummies series, pick up one of the power users guides. My personal preference is "The Visual Basic 4 for Windows 95 Sourcebook" (Publisher: Osborne McGraw-Hill, 1996, SRP: $34.95). It's huge, it's somewhat dry, but it's a great reference, and the sample applications are very reusable in your own applications. The author, Gary Cornell, has years of experience in VB, and has done the reader the service of filling the appendix with commonly asked VB questions. A great buy and a resource you'll keep jumping back to.
Finally, you're going to need a first class installation program. If you plan on distributing your finished projects, don't skimp on a good installer. Sure, you can get away with using that shareware copy of pksfx (the self-extractor from pkware, makers of pkzip) you've got laying around. But if you want to make your application look truly professional, you'll need something flashy but also rock solid. It may cost you a bit to start with, but if you're going to sell those VB applications, you don't want some poorly developed installation routine trashing your end users systems. Which, by the way, I've seen happen with some of the shareware installers that are out there. Some of them (I'll be kind and leave them unnamed) leave debris all over the Windows and Windows/system directories that only someone with a good knowledge of computers could hope to dig out and delete. So, allow me to suggest picking up a copy of InstallShield Express Professional from InstallShield Corporation. To some the SRP $195 price tag may be a bit daunting, but if you want to become the next Microsoft, you won't risk ruining your reputation on a sloppy installer. By the way, Microsoft worked closely with InstallShield, so it has quite a solid user base to begin with (you'll note many Microsoft apps use InstallShield to install themselves, and that's quite a testimonial!)
InstallShield Express Professional, as the name implies, is quite a professional package. Some of the major features that make it worth purchasing include:
The ability to specify installation screen appearance (very important in this age when how something looks sometimes wins over against how it runs)
Specification of what files to include in the installation and the ability to direct exactly where each and every one is installed.
Common dialog choices. These allow you to set up user dialogs ("click to cancel" and the like) without having to manually enter them. A great time saver.
The ability to make changes to system files, and more importantly , the ability to reverse these changes through a clean uninstaller.
Registry changes are performed during install, and can be reversed if necessary. With the Windows 95 registry being about the most important component of the system, any changes made to it must be made carefully, and they must be readily reversible. InstallShield Express Professional excels in this area, quickly and cleaning removing changes made to the registry and adding new entries to the registry without killing your users systems.
Installation testing, which is obviously very important, is done with point and click ease. So to is the designation of icons and program folders to be created during the installation. It just doesn't get any easier.
Creation of distribution media (usually floppy disks for those of us unable to purchase a CD ROM writer) is again point and click easy. InstallShield Express takes the chore of dividing up what files go on what disk out of your hands and ensures a clean install from the media every time.
Creating an installation routine is done through an easy step by step process than anyone can follow.
Again, allow me to say that if you want to look professional, InstallShield Express Professional is the way to go when it comes to creating an install routine!
That's all for this month, stay tuned for next month when I hope to cover the new OCX's that are coming out and give a brief overview of Visual Scipt (VB for the Internet) and the Internet Control toolkit from Microsoft.
