PROG8240 Lecture notes – week #01

Structured Programming

Today’s Highlights
• An introduction to Computing and Visual Basic
• Visual Studio Integrated Development
Environment (IDE)

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Computer Organization
• Hardware – the physical components of the
computer
• Input units:
• keyboard, touch screen, mouse, etc.
• Output units:
• monitor, printer, speaker, etc.
• Memory units:
• RAM, ROM, etc.
• Central processing unit (CPU):
• multi-core processors, such as dual-core, quad-core, etc.
• Storage units:
• hard drive, flash drive, cloud drive, etc.
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PROG8240 Lecture notes – week #01
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Computer Organization (cont’d)

• Software – the instructions that tell the
computer what to do
• A software (or program) is a sequence of
instructions.
• Programs can consist of only a few instructions or
millions of lines of instructions.

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Computer Programming
• Programs (or software) can be written in many
different languages:
• Machine Language:
• (1) directly understood by computer; (2) consists of 0’s and 1’s; (3)
hard for humans to understand.

• Assembly Language:
• (1) use English-like abbreviations to represent basic operations; (2)
low-level language; (3) assembler is needed to convert assembly
language programs to machine language.

• High-Level Languages:
• (1) easily understood by humans; (2) consists of instructions such as
Click, If, and Do; (3) compiler is needed to convert high-level
language programs to machine language.
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PROG8240 Lecture notes – week #01
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History of Visual Basic

• Visual Basic, as a high-level programming language,
evolved from BASIC (Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic
Instruction Code), that was developed in the mid-1960s.
• With the creation of the Windows GUI (Graphical User
Interface), the natural evolution of BASIC was to Visual
Basic, introduced by Microsoft in 1991 to make
programming Windows apps easier.
• Visual Basic 6 was introduced in 1998, and was designed
to make programming fast and easy.
• In 2002, Microsoft released Visual Basic .NET, a more
robust language that is good for most demanding app
development tasks.
• Then, Visual Basic 2008/2010/2012, and 2015/2017/2019,
to meet app development tasks under Windows.
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Key Features of Visual Basic

• Visual Basic is an Object-Oriented Programming
(OOP) language.
• Access to the powerful .NET framework class library, a vast
collection of prebuilt components that enable you to develop
apps quickly.
• Visual Basic is event driven.
• Programs are to respond to user-initiated events, such as
mouse clicks, keystrokes, finger swipes, etc.
• Visual Basic is a visual programming language.
• In addition to writing program statements, programmers also
use Visual Studio’s GUI to conveniently drag and drop
predefined objects like buttons, textboxes, etc.

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PROG8240 Lecture notes – week #01
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Visual Basic 2019 Startup

• Opening screen

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Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Start a new project: Windows Forms App (.NET Framework)

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PROG8240 Lecture notes – week #01
Structured Programming

Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Configure your new project:

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Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Windows Forms App

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PROG8240 Lecture notes – week #01
Structured Programming

Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Forms and Controls
• The rectangle in the Design area titled
Form1 (called a Form) represents the
main window of the Windows Forms
App that you’re creating.
• Visual Basic apps can have multiple
Forms (windows).
• Form1 can be customized by adding
GUI controls, such as a Label, a Button,
etc.
• Visual Basic has many pre-created
controls for you to build and customize
your apps.
• Collectively, the Form and controls
make up the app’s GUI.
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Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Windows Forms App (cont’d)

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PROG8240 Lecture notes – week #01
Structured Programming

Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Menu Bar and Toolbar
• Menu Bar contains groups of related commands for
managing the IDE and for developing, maintaining, and
executing apps.
• Toolbar lists many common menu commands, which
appear as icons.
• Tool tips help you become familiar with the IDE’s features and serve
as useful reminders for each toolbar icon’s functionality.

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Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Windows Forms App (cont’d)

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PROG8240 Lecture notes – week #01
Structured Programming

Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Solution Explorer
• It provides access to all of the solution’s files.
• By default, the IDE displays only files that you may need to
edit; and other files that the IDE generates are hidden.
• The Solution Explorer window includes a toolbar that
contains several icons.
• Show All Files icon
• The start-up project appears in bold, while “Form1.vb” is
highlighted.

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Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Windows Forms App (cont’d)

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PROG8240 Lecture notes – week #01
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Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Toolbox (Ctrl+Alt+X)
• It groups the prebuilt Group Pushpin
names
controls into categories,
such as All Windows
Forms, Common
Controls, etc.
• Each Control can be
“dragged and dropped”
onto the Form.
• The Toolbox can be
float, or be pinned down.
• Four common Controls:
Button, Label, ListBox,
and Textbox.

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Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Windows Forms App (cont’d)

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PROG8240 Lecture notes – week #01
Structured Programming

Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Properties Window
• It displays the properties
for the currently selected
Form, Control, or File in
the Design view.
• Each Form or Control
has its own set of
properties.
• A property’s description
is displayed at the
bottom of the Properties
window whenever that
property is selected.

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Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Properties Window (cont’d)
• Sort the properties either
alphabetically or
categorically.
• Scroll through the list via
either scrollbox or scrollbar
• A Control’s properties can be
visually modified, without
writing code.
• It is crucial to Visual App
Development.

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PROG8240 Lecture notes – week #01
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Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Summary of the 5 Key Areas

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Visual Basic 2019 Startup (cont’d)

• Using Help
• Microsoft provides extensive help documentation
via the Help menu.
• Visual Studio provides context-sensitive help.
• To use it, highlight the item you need help.
• Then, press the F1 key.

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