B.Sc.

CA&IT – Sem -III Visual Programming NVPAS, CVMU

Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

What is Microsoft .NET?
• Microsoft .NET (pronounced “dot net”) is a software component that runs on the Windows operating
system.
• .NET provides tools and libraries that enable developers to create Windows software much faster and
easier.
• .NET benefits end-users by providing applications of higher capability, quality and security.
• The .NET Framework must be installed on a user’s PC to run .NET applications.
• .NET technology provides the ability to quickly build, deploy, manage, and use connected, security-
enhanced solutions with Web services

What is VB.Net?
• Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET), is an object-oriented computer programming language that can be
viewed as an evolution of the classic Visual Basic (VB), which is implemented on the .NET
Framework.
• It is the next generation of the visual Basic language.
• It supports OOPs concepts such as abstraction, inheritance, polymorphism, and aggregation.

.NET Framework Architecture

• A programming infrastructure created by Microsoft for building, deploying, and running applications
and services that use .NET technologies, such as desktop applications and Web services.
• It is a platform for application developers.
• It is tiered, modular, and hierarchal.
• It is a service or platform for building, deploying and running applications.
• It consists of 2 main parts: Common language runtime and class libraries.
• The common language runtime is the bottom tier, the least abstracted.
• The .NET Framework is partitioned into modules, each with its own distinct responsibility.
• The architectural layout of the .NET Framework is illustrated in following figure:

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

Figure 1 An overview of the .NET architecture.

Here we examine the following key components of the .NET Framework:

1) Common Language Infrastructure (CLI): The purpose of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI)
is to provide a language-neutral platform for application development and execution, including functions
for Exception handling, Garbage Collection, security, and interoperability.

2) Common Language Runtime ( CLR ): The .NET Framework provides a runtime environment called
the Common Language Runtime or CLR (similar to the Java Virtual Machine or JVM in Java), which
handles the execution of code and provides useful services for the implementation of the program.
• The CLR is the execution engine for .NET applications and serves as the interface between .NET
applications and the operating system. The CLR provides many services such as:
1) Loads and executes code
2) Converts intermediate language to native machine code

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3) Manages memory and objects

4) Enforces code and access security

5) Handles exceptions
6) Interfaces between managed code, COM objects, and DLLs
7) Provides type-checking
8) Provides code meta data (Reflection)
9) Provides profiling, debugging, etc.
10) Separates processes and memory

3) Framework Class Library ( FCL ): It is also known as a base class library. The FCL is a collection of
over 7000 reusable classes, interfaces, and value types that enable .NET applications to :
a) read and write files,
b) access databases,
c) process XML,
d) display a graphical user interface,
e) draw graphics,
f) use Web services, etc.
• The .Net Framework class library (FCL) organized in a hierarchical tree structure and it is divided
into Namespaces. Namespaces is a logical grouping of types for the purpose of identification.
Framework class library (FCL) provides the consistent base types that are used across all .NET
enabled languages. The Classes are accessed by namespaces, which reside within Assemblies.
• Other name of FCL is BCL – Base Class Library

4) Common Type System ( CTS )

• The CLS is a common platform that integrates code and components from multiple .NET
programming languages.
• CTS allow programs written in different programming languages to easily share information.
• CLS forms a subset of CTS. This implies that all the rules that apply to CTS also apply to CLS also.
• It defines rules that a programming language must follow to ensure that objects written in different
programming languages can interact with each other.
• CTS provide cross language integration.

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

• The common type system supports two general categories of types:
a) Value Type
b) Reference Type
a) Value Type: Stores directly data on stack. In built data type. For ex. Dim a as integer.
b) Reference Type: Store a reference to the value’s memory address, and are allocated on the heap. For
ex: dim obj as new oledbconnection.
• The Common Language Runtime (CLR) can load and execute the source code written in any .Net
language, only if the type is described in the Common Type System (CTS)

5) Common Language Specification ( CLS )

• CLS includes basic language features needed by almost all applications.
• CLS is a subset of the Common Type System.
• It serves as a guide for library writers and compiler writers.
• The CLS is also important to application developers who are writing code that will be used by other
developers.

6) Microsoft Intermediate Language:

• When you compile your Visual Basic .NET source code, it is changed to an intermediate language
(IL) that the CLR and all other .NET development environments understand.
• All .NET languages compile code to this IL, which is known as Microsoft Intermediate Language,
MSIL, or IL.
• MSIL is a common language in the sense that the same programming tasks written with different
.NET languages produce the same IL code.
• At the IL level, all .NET code is the same regardless of whether it came from C++ or Visual Basic.
• When a compiler produces Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL), it also produces Metadata.
• The Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) and Metadata are contained in a portable executable
(PE) file.
• Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) includes instructions for loading, storing, initializing, and
calling methods on objects, as well as instructions for arithmetic and logical operations, control flow,
direct memory access, exception handling, and other operations

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

Advantages :
➢ It offers cross− language integration, including cross− language inheritance, which allows you to
create a new class by deriving it from a base class written in another language.
➢ It facilitates automatic memory management, known as garbage collection.
➢ compilation is much quicker
➢ It allows you to compile code once and then run it on any CPU and operating system that supports
the runtime.
Disadvantages:
➢ IL is not compiled to machine, so it can more easily be reverse engineered. Defense mechanisms
for handling this are likely to follow shortly after the .NET Framework is officially released.
➢ While IL is further compiled to machine code, a tiny percentage of algorithms will require a direct
unwrapped access to system resources and hardware.
• Figure: 2 shows what happens to your code from its inception in Visual Studio to execution.

Figure 2 : Following the IL

The Just-In-Time Compiler

• Your code does not stay IL for long, however. It is the PE file, containing the IL that can be distributed
and placed with the CLR running on the .NET Framework on any operating system for which the
.NET Framework exists, because the IL is platform independent. When you run the IL, however, it is
compiled to native code for that platform. Therefore, you are still running native code. The

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

compilation to native code occurs via another tool of the .NET Framework: the Just-In-Time (JIT)
compiler.
• With the code compiled, it can run within the Framework and take advantage of low level features
such as memory management and security. The compiled code is native code for the CPU on which
the .NET Framework is running. A JIT compiler will be available for each platform on which the
.NET Framework runs, so you should always be getting native code on any platform running the
.NET Framework.
• Just-in-time compilation (JIT), also known as dynamic translation, is a method to improve the
runtime performance of computer programs. Historically, computer programs had two modes of
runtime operation, either interpreted or static (ahead-of-time) compilation. Interpreted code is
translated from a high-level language to a machine code continuously during every execution,
whereas statically compiled code is translated into machine code before execution, and only requires
this translation once.
• JIT compilers represent a hybrid approach, with translation occurring continuously, as with
interpreters, but with caching of translated code to minimize performance degradation. It also offers
other advantages over statically compiled code at development time, such as handling of late-bound
data types and the ability to enforce security guarantees.
• The Common Language Runtime (CLR) provides various Just In Time compilers (JIT) and each
works on a different architecture depending on Operating System. That is why the same Microsoft
Intermediate Language (MSIL) can be executed on different Operating Systems without rewrite the
source code.
• Just in Time (JIT) compilation preserves memory and save time during initialization of application.
• Just in Time (JIT) compilation is used to run at high speed, after an initial phase of slow interpretation.
• Just in Time Compiler (JIT) code generally offers far better performance than interpreters.

• There are three types of JIT:

1) Pre JIT
2) Econo JIT
3) Normal JIT
1) Pre JIT: It converts all the code in executable code in a single cycle and it is slow.

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

2) Econo JIT: It will convert the called executable code only. But it will convert code every time when
a code is called again.
3) Normal JIT: It will only convert the called code and will store in cache so that it will not require
converting code again. Normal JIT is fast.

.NET Languages
• .Net languages are CLI computer programming languages that may also optionally use the .NET
Framework Base Class Library and which produce programs that execute within the Microsoft .NET
Framework. Microsoft provides several such languages, including C#, F#, Visual Basic .NET, and
Managed C++.
• Generally .NET languages call into two main categories, TypeSafe Languages (such as C#) and
Dynamic Languages (Such as Python). Type Safe Languages are built on the .NET Common
Language Runtime and Dynamic Languages are built on top of the .NET Dynamic Language
Runtime. The .NET Framework is unique in its ability to provide this flexibility.
• Regardless of which .NET language is used, the output of the language compiler is a representation
of the same logic in an intermediate language named Common Intermediate Language (CIL).
• As the program is being executed by the CLR, the CLI code is compiled and cached, just in time, to
the machine code appropriate for the architecture on which the program is running. This last
compilation step is usually performed by the Common Language Runtime component of the
framework “just in time” (JIT) at the moment the program is first invoked, though it can be manually
performed at an earlier stage.

Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL)

• MSIL or IL(Intermediate Language) is machine independent code generated by .NET framework
after the compilation of program written in any language by user.
• MSIL or IL is now known as CIL(Common Intermediate Language).
• One of the more interesting aspects of .NET is that when you compile your code, you do not compile
to native code. But the compilation process translates your code into something called Microsoft
intermediate language, which is also called MSIL or just IL.
• The compiler also creates the necessary metadata and compiles it into the component. This IL is CPU
independent. After the IL and metadata are in a file, this compiled file is called the PE, which stands

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

for either portable executable or physical executable. Because the PE contains your IL and metadata,
it is therefore self-describing, eliminating the need for a type library or interfaces specified with the
Interface.

.NET Assembly
• Whatever .NET language you create applications with, compilers generate an assembly, which is a
file containing .NET executable code and is composed essentially by two kinds of elements: MSIL
code and metadata.
• The .NET assembly is the standard for components developed with the Microsoft.NET. Dot NET
assemblies may or may not be executable, i.e., they might exist as the executable (.exe) file or
dynamic link library (DLL) file.
• All the .NET assemblies contain the definition of types, versioning information for the type, meta-
data, and manifest. The designers of .NET have worked a lot on the component (assembly)
resolution.

The structure of an assembly: Assemblies contain code that is executed by the Common Language
Runtime.

Figure 3 : A diagram of assembly

• Assemblies are made up of the following parts:

a) The assembly manifest
b) Type metadata
c) Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) code
• The assembly manifest is where the details of the assembly are stored. The assembly is stored
within the DLL or EXE itself. Assemblies can either be single or multiple file assemblies and,
therefore, assembly manifests can either be stored in the assembly or as a separate file. The

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

assembly manifest also stores the version number of the assembly to ensure that the application
always uses the correct version.
• The metadata contains information on the types that are exposed by the assembly such as security
permission information, class and interface information, and other assembly information.
Contents of an Assembly:
a) Assembly Manifest
b) Assembly Name
c) Version Information
d) Types
e) Cryptographic Hash
f) Security Permissions
An assembly does the following functions:
• It contains the code that the runtime executes.
• It forms a security boundary. An assembly is the unit at which permissions are requested and granted.
• It forms a type boundary. Every type’s identity includes the name of the assembly at which it resides.
• It forms a reference scope boundary. The assembly's manifest contains assembly metadata that is used
for resolving types and satisfying resource requests.
• It forms a version boundary. The assembly is the smallest version able unit in the common language
runtime; all types and resources in the same assembly are versioned as a unit.
• It forms a deployment unit. When an application starts, only the assemblies the application initially
calls must be present. Other assemblies, such as localization resources or assemblies containing utility
classes, can be retrieved on demand. This allows applications to be kept simple and thin when first
downloaded.
• It is a unit where side-by-side execution is supported.

There are two kinds of assemblies in .NET

a) Private
b) Shared

a) Private assemblies – It is the assembly which is used by application only, normally it resides in your
application folder directory.

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

b) Shared assemblies - It resides in GAC, so that anyone can use this assembly. Public assemblies are
always shared the common functionalities with other applications.

• An assembly can be a single file or it may consist of the multiple files. In case of multi-file, there is
one master module containing the manifest while other assemblies exist as non-manifest modules. A
module in .NET is a sub part of a multi-file .NET assembly.

The .NET Framework Namespaces

• . Net framework class library is a collection of namespaces.

• Namespace is a logical naming scheme for types that have related functionality.
• Namespace means nothing but a logical container or partition.
• It’s like Drives of the computer.
• For example: My computer contains C:, D:, E: and F: Each drive contains 1.txt file. The file 1.txt is
available in all the drive so it is require to specify the drive name to locate the actual required file.
• At the top of the hierarchy is the System namespace.
• A namespace is just a grouping of related classes. It's a method of putting classes inside a container
so that they can be clearly distinguished from other classes with the same name.
• A namespace is a logical grouping rather than a physical grouping. The physical grouping is
accomplished by an assembly.
• The .NET CLR consists of multiple namespaces, which are spread across many assemblies. For
example, ADO.NET is the set of classes located in the System.Data namespace, and ASP.NET is
the set of classes located in the System.Web namespace.
In the CLR, the classes and structures contained in each of the namespaces represent a common
theme of development responsibility.
• .NET Framework class library is collection of namespaces.
• Following table shows Common Namespaces supported by .NET
System Contains fundamental classes and base classes.
System.IO Contains classes for reading and writing data in file.
System.XML Contains classes work with XML.
System.Windows.Forms Contains classes for windows-based applications.

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

System.Data Contains classes for the database connection.

Figure 4: .Net namespaces

VB.NET - Introduction
• Microsoft .NET is a software component that runs on the Windows operating system.
• .NET provides tools and libraries that enable developers to create Windows software much faster and
easier. .NET benefits end-users by providing applications of higher capability, quality and security.
• This is how Microsoft describes it: “.NET is the Microsoft Web services strategy to connect
information, people, systems, and devices through software. Integrated across the Microsoft platform,
.NET technology provides the ability to quickly build, deploy, manage, and use connected, security-
enhanced solutions with Web services.
• VB .NET is an object-oriented computer programming language that can be viewed as an evolution
of the classic Visual Basic (VB), which is implemented on the .NET Framework.
• Visual Basic 2008 version 9.0 was released together with the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5

Why .NET?
• Interoperability between language and execution environment.
• Uniformity in schema or formats for Data exchange using XML, XSL (Extensible Style Sheet
Language)
• Extend or use existing code that is valid.
• Programming complexity of environment is reduced

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

• Multiplatform applications, automatic resource management simplification of application
deployment.
• It provides security like – code authenticity check, resources access authorizations, declarative and
imperative security and cryptographic security methods for embedding into user’s application.
• The .Net platform is an integral component a new and simplified model for programming and
deploying application on the windows platform.

Compilation and Execution

Figure 5: Compilation and Execution Process

Solutions and Projects

• In VB.Net project groups are known as solutions.
• By default, when you create a new project in VB.Net, then visual basic creates a new solution first
and then adds a project to that solution.

File Extensions used in VB.Net

• When you save a solution, the file extension is “.sln” and all projects in the solution are saved with
extension “.vbproj”.
• Most popular file extension is “.vb”

Types of projects:
The following list provides a comparison of Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual Basic .NET project types.
Visual Basic 6.0 Visual Basic .NET

Standard EXE Windows Application

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

ActiveX DLL Class Library

ActiveX EXE Class Library

ActiveX Control Windows Control Library

No equivalent. Visual Basic .NET can interoperate with ActiveX

ActiveX Document
Documents.

DHTML Application No equivalent. Use ASP.NET Web Application.

IIS Application (Web

No equivalent. Use ASP.NET Web Application.
Class)

The Visual Basic projects you can create are as follows:

• Windows Application Windows standard thick client applications based on forms (EXE)
• Class Library For individual classes or collections of classes (DLL)
• Windows Control Library Controls and components for Windows Forms (classic)
• . ASP.NET Web Application ASP.NET−based application composed of static or dynamic HTML
pages
• ASP.NET Web Service For Web services to be used by clients communicating over the HTTP
protocol
• Web Control Library Web−based controls for ASP.NET applications
• Console Application Your standard Console application
• Windows Service Create Windows services
• Empty Project Empty Windows application project
• Empty Web Project Empty Web server−based application

Visual Basic Integrated Development Environment:

Start Page
• User can use the start page to select from recent projects
• By default ‘Get Started’ item is selected in the start page.
• User can create new project or open existing project from recent project item.
Toolbars
• This feature is another handy aspect of the IDE.

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

• These appear near the top of the IDE.
• IDE displays tool tips, it becomes easy to know which button performs which operation.
• Toolbars provides a quick way to select menu item.
Graphical Designer
• VB.Net can display those elements which will look like at run time.
• Different types of graphical designers including.
a) windows form designers
b) web form designers
c) compact designers
d) XML designers
• From tools menu → select options → options dialog box will open from that select “Window Form
Designer” folder display possible options.

The Object Explorer

• This tool lets you look at all the members of an object at once
• The Object Explorer helps open up any mysterious objects that Visual Basic has added to your code
so you can see what's going on inside.
• To open the Object Explorer, select View →Other Windows →Object Explorer
• The Object Explorer shows all the objects in your program and gives you access to what's going on
in all of them.

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

Figure 6: VB .NET IDE

The Menu
• Visual Studio .NET's menu is dynamic, meaning that items will be added or removed depending on
what you are trying to do. The menu bar consist of the following options:

File: With this menu you can create a new project, open existing one, save the current project ,exit form the
vb.net etc

Edit: The Edit menu provides access to the items you would expect: Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste, and
Delete.

View: The View menu provides quick access to the windows that make up the IDE, such as the Solution
Explorer, Properties window, Output window, Toolbox, etc.

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

Project: The Project menu allows you to add various extra files to your application.

Build: The Build menu becomes important when you have completed your application and want to be able
to run it without the use of the Visual Basic .NET environment.

Debug: The Debug menu allows you to start and stop running your application within the Visual Basic .NET
IDE. It also gives you access to the Visual Studio .NET debugger.

Data: The Data menu helps you use information that comes from a database. It only appears when you are
working with the visual part of your application ,not when you are writing code.

Format: The Format menu also only appears when you are working with the visual part of your application.
Items on the Format menu allow you to manipulate how the windows you create will appear to the users of
your application.

Tools : The Tools menu has commands to configure the Visual Studio .NET IDE, as well as links to other
external tools that may have been installed.

Window: The commands on this menu allow you to change the physical layout of the windows in the IDE.

Help: The Help menu provides access to the Visual Studio .NET documentation.

Code Designers
• You can use the tabs at the top center of the IDE to switch between graphical designer and code
designer
• From view menu, you can also switch between by using code (F7) and Designer (Shift+F7) items.
• From solution Explorer, from the left side you can use top two buttons.
• At the top of code designer two drop down list boxes are available. The two drop-down list boxes at
the top of the code designer; the one on the left lets you select what object's code you're working with,

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Unit-1: Introduction to .NET Framework and VB.NET

and the one on the right lets you select the part of the code that you want to work on, letting you select
between the declarations area, functions, Sub procedures, and methods.

Figure 7: Code Designer Window

IntelliSense
• One useful feature of VB .NET code designers is Microsoft's IntelliSense. IntelliSense are those boxes
that open as you write your code, listing all the possible options and even completing your typing for
user.
• IntelliSense is made up of a number of options, including:
• List Members-Lists the members of an object.
• Parameter Info-Lists the arguments of procedure calls.
• Quick Info-Displays information in tool tips as the mouse rests on elements in your code.
• Complete Word-Completes typed words.
• Automatic Brace Matching-Adds parentheses or braces as needed.
• you can turn various parts of IntelliSense off if you want; just select the Tools → Options menu
item, then select the Text Editor folder, then the Basic subfolder, and finally the General item in the
Basic subfolder.

Figure 8 : Intellisense

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The Toolbox
• It is available on left side of IDE.
• It uses tabs to divide its contents into categories like marked Data, Components, Windows Forms,
and General.
• The Data, Components, Windows Forms, and General tabs appear when you're working with a
Windows form in a Windows form designer, but when you switch to a code designer in the same
project, all you'll see are General and Clipboard Ring in the toolbox. When you're working on a Web
form, you'll see Data, Web Forms, Components, Components, HTML, Clipboard Ring, and General,
and so on.
• The Data tab displays tools for creating datasets and making data connections.
• The Windows Forms tab displays tools for adding controls to Windows forms and so on.
• The General tab is empty by default, and is a place to store general components, controls, and
fragments of code in.

The Solution Explorer

• It is available on right top corner of IDE
• This tool displays a hierarchy-with the solution at the top of the hierarchy, the projects one step down
in the hierarchy, and the items in each project as the next step down.
• You can set the properties of various items in a project by selecting them in the Solution Explorer and
then setting their properties in the properties window. And you can set properties of solutions and
projects by right-clicking them and selecting the Properties item in the menu that appears, or you can
select an item and click the properties button, which is the right-most button at the top of the Solutions
Explorer.
• User can switch between graphical and code designers by using the buttons that appear at top left in
the Solution Explorer
• You can right-click a solution and add a new project to it by selecting the Add→New Project menu
item in the popup menu that appears. And you can specify which of multiple projects runs first-that
is, is the startup project or projects-by right-clicking the project and selecting the Set As Startup
Object item, or by right-clicking the solution and selecting the Set Startup Projects item.
• With this tool user can also add new item
• By clicking on see all button, solution explorer will shows all files available with current project.

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• Refresh button is also available.

The Class View Window

• If you click the Class View tab under the Solution Explorer, you'll see the Class View window, This
view presents solutions and projects in terms of the classes they contain, and the members of these
classes.
• Using the Class View window gives you an easy way of jumping to a member of class that you want
to access quickly-just find it in the Class View window, and double-click it to bring it up in a code
designer.

The Properties Window

• The Properties window is divided into two columns of text, with the properties on the left, and their
settings on the right.
• From drop-down list box at top of properties window, user can select any object which is available in
current form.
• When you select a property, Visual Basic will give you an explanation of the property in the panel at
the bottom of the Properties window. And you can display the properties alphabetically by clicking
the second button from the left at the top of the Properties window, or in categories by clicking the
left-most button.

The Dynamic Help Window

• The window that shares the Properties window's space, however, is quite new-the Dynamic Help
window. Visual Basic .NET includes the usual Help menu with Contents, Index, and Search items,
of course, but it also now supports dynamic help, which looks things up for you automatically. You
can see the Dynamic Help window by clicking the Dynamic Help tab under the Properties window.
• VB .NET looks up all kinds of help topics on the element you've selected automatically; for example,
I've selected a button on a Windows form, and dynamic help has responded by displaying all kinds
of helpful links to information on buttons.

Component Trays

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• When you add components that are invisible at run time, they all are appeared in Component Tray
which will automatically appear in the designer. e.g. Timer Control.

The Server Explorer

• It is used to explore what’s going on in a server
• Using this tool, you can drag and drop whole items onto windows forms from server explorer. Ex.
Database.

The Output Window

• At the bottom of the IDE, two tabs are available one is Output and other is Breakpoints windows.
• From View menu → Other Window → Select Output Window.
• This window displays results of building and running programs.
• Using system Diagnostic.Debug.Write method user can send output to output window.
• Ex. System.Diagnostics.Debug.Write(“Hello”)
The Task List
• It is display from View → Show Tasks → All
• The Task List displays tasks that VB .NET assumes you still have to take care of, and when you click
a task, the corresponding location in a code designer appears.
The Command Window
• It is display from View → Other Windows → Command Window
• It opens the Command window
• This window is a little like the Immediate window in VB6, because you can enter commands like
File.AddNewProject here and VB .NET will display the Add New Project dialog box. However, this
window is not exactly like the Immediate window, because you can't enter Visual Basic code and
have it executed.
Object Explorer Window
• The object explorer window allows us to view all the members of an object at once. It lists all the
objects in our code and gives us access to them. The image below displays an object explorer window.
You can view the object explorer window by selecting View->Other Windows-> Object Browser
from the main menu.

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Data Types:
• The following are the data type supported by VB.Net .
• Numeric Data Type(Short, Integer, Long, Single, Double, Decimal)
• Character Data Type (Char, String)
• Miscellaneous Data Type( Boolean , Byte, Date, Object)

Following table shows storage size in memory for the data type.
Type Storage Size
String 2 bytes
Char 2 bytes
Integer 4 bytes
Long 8 bytes
Boolean 2 bytes
Byte 1 byte
Short 2 bytes
Single 4 bytes
Double 8 bytes
Decimal 16 bytes
Date 8 bytes
Object 4 bytes

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Variables:
• A variable is something that is used in a program to store data in memory.
• A variable has a name and a data type which determine the kind of data the variable can store.

Variable declaration: Dim statement is used to declare a variable.

Syntax: Dim variablename [ ( [ subscript ] ) ] [ As [ New ] datatype]

Variablename : It is required. It specifies the name of variable which user wants to create.
Subscript : It is optional. Subscript is used to specify the size of array when user declares an array.
New: New keyboard enables creation of new object. If you use new when declaring the object variable, a
new instance of the object is created.
Type : The type specify the data type of the variables.
Ex: Dim a as integer, s1 as string

Variable name should follow the following rules:

➢ Begin with a letter or _.
➢ Must contain atleast one numeric digit or alphabetic character.
➢ Maximun 1023 characters are allowed.
➢ It must be unique in its scope.

• In VB.NET each variable contains default value depends on its data type.
• Default value for Numeric and Byte data type is 0(zero).
• Default value for Char data type is Binary 0(zero).
• Default value for all reference types like object, string, and arrays is Nothing.
• Default value for Boolean data type is False.
• Default value for Date data type is 12:00 AM of 1,1,0001.

Constant Declaration:
Declares and defines one or more constants.

Syntax: Const constantlist

Each constant has the following syntax and parts:

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constantname[ As datatype ] = initializer

constantlist : Required. List of constants being declared in this statement. Constant [ , constant ... ]
Constantname: It is required. It specifies the name of the constant.

Datatype: It specifies the type of constant.

Initialize: it is required. The value which is assigned to the constant. Once you initialize the constant
variable with a value it can never change.

Ex: Const pi as double = 3.24

Operators

• Visual Basic comes with many built-in operators that allow us to manipulate data. An operator
performs a function on one or more operands.
• For example, we add two variables with the "+" addition operator and store the result in a third
variable with the "=" assignment operator like this: int x + int y = int z. The two variables (x ,y) are
called operands. There are different types of operators in Visual Basic and they are described below
in the order of their precedence.
• Operators may me Unary or Binary
• Unary used with a single operand for example Ans= -10
• Binary used with two operands for example Ans= 10 / 5
• Operators also categorized in following categories:

Arithmetic Operators: Arithmetic operators are used to perform arithmetic operations that involve
calculation of numeric values. The table below summarizes them:

Operator Use
+ Addition
- Subtraction
* Multiplication
/ Division
\ Integer Division

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^ Exponentiation
Mod Modulus

Assignment Operators: An assignment operator is used to assign a value to an operands. The table below
summarizes them:

Operator Use
= Assignment
+= Addition followed by assignment
-= Subtraction followed by assignment
*= Multiplication followed by assignment
/= Division followed by assignment
\= Integer Division followed by assignment
^= Exponentiation followed by assignment
&= Concatenation followed by assignment

Comparison Operators : A comparison operator compares operands and returns a logical value based on
whether the comparison is true or not. The table below summarizes them:

Operator Use
< Less than
<= Less than or Equal to
> Greater than
>= Greater than or Equal to
= Equal to
<> Not Equal to
Is True if two object references refer to the same object
Like Performs string pattern matching

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Logical / Bitwise Operators : The logical operators compare Boolean expressions and return a Boolean
result. In short, logical operators are expressions which return a true or false result over a conditional
expression. The table below summarizes them:

Operator Use

And Conjunction

Or Disjunction

Not Negation

Xor Exclusive - Or Operation

(True if either operand, but not both, is True and False.

AndAlso ( if first operand is False, the second is not tested)

OrAlso ( if first operand is True, the second is not tested)

AddressOf Gets the address of a procedure

GetType Gets information about a type

Concatenation Operators: Concatenation operators join multiple strings into a single string. There are two
concatenation operators, + and & as summarized below:

Operator Use
+ String Concatenation
& String Concatenation

Type Conversion functions

• Type conversion is used for convert one data type to another
• There are two type of conversion : Implicit and Explicit.
• An Implicit Conversion does not require any special syntax in the source code.
• An Explicit Conversion requires function.
• For Example : Implicit Conversion
Dim a As Integer
Dim b As Double

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a = 4499
b=a
• An explicit conversion requires function.
Function Name Convert Into
CBool Boolean
CByte Byte
CChar Char
CDate Date
CDbl or Val Double
CDec Decimal
CInt Integer
CLng Long
CObj Object
CShort Short
CSng Single
CStr String

• Following is common syntax for each type conversion function:

Syntax : Function_Name(argument)
For Example: Dim str As String
Dim no As Integer
str = “5”
no = Cint(str)
CTYPE function
• It uses to convert one type to another type.
• Instead of remember all conversion functions , we can use CTYPE function
• Execution is faster .
Syntax : Ctype(expression,Type name)
For Example : Dim no1 As Integer
Dim no2 As Double
no2 = 66.77

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no1 = Ctype(no2,Integer)

Boxing and Unboxing:

• Boxing and unboxing act like bridges between value type and reference types. When we convert
value type to a reference type it’s termed as boxing. Unboxing is just vice-versa.
• Boxing: The conversion of a value type instance to an object.
• Unboxing : The conversion of an object instance to a value type.
• Example: Dim no As Integer= 10
Dim obj As Object = no ---- Boxing
Dim ans As Integer = CInt(obj) ---- Unboxing

Option Explicit: This statement ensures whether the compiler requires all variables to be explicitly
declared or not before it use in the program.

Syntax: Option Explicit [On Off]

The Option Explicit has two modes. On and Off mode. If Option Explicit mode in ON, you have to
declare all variables before you use it in the program. If not, it will generate a compile-time error whenever
a variable that has not been declared is encountered. If the Option Explicit mode is OFF, Vb.Net
automatically create a variable whenever it sees a variable without proper declaration.

By default the Option Explicit is On.

With the Option Explicit On, you can reduce the possible errors that result from misspelled variable names.
Because, in Option Explicit On mode you have to declare each variable in the program for storing data.

Option Strict: Option Strict is prevents program from automatic variable conversions, that is implicit data
type conversions.

Syntax: Option Strict [On Off]

By default Option Strict is Off . We can set both options by Tools→ Options→projects and solutions

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Array:
• An ordered collection of same type of data having single variable name is known as array. Each
element of the array can be referenced by a numerical subscript.
• In VB.Net two types of arrays are:
a) Standard Array
b) Dynamic Array
Declaration of Standard Array:
Syntax : Dim varname [(subscripts)] [As type ]

VarName : The Varname specify the name of variable which you want to create.
Subscript : Subscript is used when you declare an array.
Type : The type specify the data type of the array variables. User can also include “To” keyword in array
declaration.
Ex : Dim n(5) As Integer.
Dim s(3) As String.
Dim n(0 to 4) As Integer.

LBound Function: It returns a Long containing the smallest subscript of an array.

Syntax: LBound(arrayname[, rank])

Arrayname: The name of array variable.

Rank: It is optional. Use 1 for the first dimension, 2 for the second, and so on. If rank is omitted, 1 is
assumed.

Example:
Dim A(0 To 100, 0 To 3, -3 To 4)
Statement Return Value
LBound(A, 1) 1
LBound(A, 2) 0
LBound(A, 3) -3

The default lower bound for any dimension is either 0.

Ubound Function : It returns a Long containing the largest available subscript for the indicated dimension
of an array.

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Syntax: UBound(arrayname[, rank])

Arrayname: The name of array variable.

Rank: It is optional. Use 1 for the first dimension, 2 for the second, and so on. If rank is omitted, 1 is
assumed.

Examples: Dim A(1 To 100, 0 To 3, -3 To 4)

Statement Return Value

UBound(A, 100
1)
UBound(A, 3
2)
UBound(A, 4
3)

Dynamic Array:
• In any C or C++ programming language user can not modify the size of the array. Once we declared
the size of array then it becomes fixed.
• In VB .NET we can increase the size of array.
• In some cases we may not know exactly the size of array at declaration time. We may need to
change the size of the array at runtime. So we can resize the array at any time by using Redim
statement.
• But with dynamic array we cannot change the dimension of the array.

Redim Statement: It reallocates storage space for array variables.

Syntax: ReDim [Preserve] name(boundlist) [, name(boundlist) …]

Preserve: It is optional. It is used to preserve the data in an existing array when user changes the size of the
last dimension.

Name: The name of the array variable.

Boundlist: It is required. It is dimensions of an array variable.

Example:

Dim a() As Integer

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Private Sub cmdInput_Click()

ReDim a(5) As Integer

For i = LBound(a) To UBound(a)

a(i) = InputBox("Enter elements:")

Next

End Sub

Private Sub cmdPrint_Click()

ReDim Preserve a(3) As Integer

'MsgBox LBound(a) & UBound(a)

For i = LBound(a) To UBound(a)

msgbox a(i)

Next

End Sub

String Functions:

1) Len: This function returns an integer containing the number of characters in a given string.

Syntax : Len(string)

String: Any valid string expression. If string contains Null, Null is returned.

Example:
S1=”hello”
Msgbox len(s1)

2) Mid: It returns a Variant (String) containing a specified number of characters from a string.

Syntax: Mid(string, start[, length])

The Mid function syntax has these named arguments:

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Part Description
String Required. String expression from which characters are returned. If string contains Null, Null
is returned.
Start Required; Long. Character position in string at which the part to be taken begins. If start is
greater than the number of characters in string, Mid returns a zero-length string ("").
Length Optional; Variant (Long). Number of characters to return. If omitted or if there are fewer
than length characters in the text (including the character at start), all characters from the
start position to the end of the string are returned.

Examples:
Dim MyString, FirstWord, LastWord, MidWords
MyString = "Mid Function Demo" ' Create text string.
FirstWord = Mid(MyString, 1, 3) ' Returns "Mid".
LastWord = Mid(MyString, 14, 4) ' Returns "Demo".
MidWords = Mid(MyString, 5) ' Returns "Function Demo".

3) Trim , Rtrim, Ltrim: It Returns a string that contains a copy of a specified string without leading
spaces (LTrim), without trailing spaces (RTrim), or without leading or trailing spaces (Trim).
Syntax: Trim / Rtrim / Ltrim (string)
String: It is requires any valid String expression. If string equals Nothing, the function returns an empty
string.

Example:
S1= “ This is test “
Msgbox Trim(s1)
Msgbox Rtrim(s1)
Msgbox Ltrim(s1)

4) Instr: It returns a Variant (Long) specifying the position of the first occurrence of one string within
another.

Syntax: InStr([start, ]string1, string2[, compare])

The InStr function syntax has these arguments:

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Part Description
Start Optional. Numeric expression that sets the starting position for each search. If omitted,
search begins at the first character position. If start contains Null, an error occurs. The
start argument is required if compare is specified.
string1 Required. String expression being searched.
string2 Required. String expression sought.
Compare Optional. Specifies the type of string comparison. If compare is Null, an error occurs. If
compare is omitted, the Option Compare setting determines the type of comparison.

Settings: The Compare argument settings are:

Constant Value Description

Binary 0 Performs a binary comparison

Text 1 Performs a text comparison

Return Value

If InStr returns

String1 is zero length or Nothing 0

String2 is zero length or Nothing start

String2 is not found 0

String2 is found within String1 Position where match begins

Examples:
Dim SearchString, SearchChar, MyPos
SearchString ="XXpXXpXXPXXP" ' String to search in.
SearchChar = "P" ' Search for "P".
' A textual comparison starting at position 4. Returns 6.
MyPos = Instr(4, SearchString, SearchChar, 1)
' A binary comparison starting at position 1. Returns 9.
MyPos = Instr(1, SearchString, SearchChar, 0)
' Comparison is binary by default (last argument is omitted).

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MyPos = Instr(SearchString, SearchChar) ' Returns 9.

5) Lcase: It returns a String that has been converted to lowercase.

Syntax: LCase(string)

The required string argument is any valid string expression. If string contains Null, Null is returned. Only
uppercase letters are converted to lowercase; all lowercase letters and nonletter characters remain unchanged.

Example:
Dim UpperCase, LowerCase
Uppercase = "Hello World 1234" ' String to convert.
Msgbox Lcase(UpperCase) ' Returns "hello world 1234"

6) Ucase: It returns a Variant (String) containing the specified string, converted to uppercase.

Syntax: UCase(string)

The required string argument is any valid string expression. If string contains Null, Null is returned.

Only lowercase letters are converted to uppercase; all uppercase letters and nonletter characters remain
unchanged.

Example:
Dim LowerCase, UpperCase
LowerCase = "Hello World 1234" ' String to convert.
Msgbox UCase(LowerCase) ' Returns "HELLO WORLD 1234".

7) Asc: It returns an Integer representing the character code corresponding to the first letter in a string.

Syntax: Asc(string)

The required string argument is any valid string expression. If String is a String expression, only the first
character of the string is used for input. If String is Nothing or contains no characters, an error occurs.

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Example: msgbox Asc("A")

8) Chr: It returns a String containing the character associated with the specified character code.

Syntax: Chr(charcode)

An Integer expression representing the code point, or character code, for the character. If CharCode is
outside the valid range, an error occur. The valid range for Chr is 0 through 255.

Examples:
Dim MyChar
MyChar = Chr(65) ' Returns A.

9) Space: It returns a string consisting of the specified number of spaces.

Syntax: Space(number)

Number : It is required Integer expression. The number of spaces you want in the string.
Example: Msgbox “ Hi” & space(5) & “ How r u?”

10) Format: This function returns a string formatted according to instructions contained in a format
String expression.

Syntax: Format (Expression, style)

Expression : it is any valid expression.

Style: it is applied on specified expression
Example:
D1= #02/14/1989#
Msgbox format(d1,”DD-MM-YY”)

11) Strcomp: It returns -1, 0, or 1, based on the result of a string comparison.

Syntax: Strcomp(string1,string2[,compare])
String1 :Required. Any valid String expression.
String2 :Required. Any valid String expression.
Compare :Optional. Specifies the type of string comparison. If Compare is omitted, the Option Compare
setting determines the type of comparison.

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The Compare argument settings are:

Constant Description

Binary Performs a binary comparison, based on a sort order derived from the internal binary
representations of the characters.

Text Performs a text comparison, based on a case-insensitive text sort order determined by your
application's current culture information.

Return Value:The StrComp function has the following return values.

If StrComp returns

String1 sorts ahead of String2 -1

String1 is equal to String2 0

String1 sorts after String2 1

Example:
Dim TestStr1 As String = "ABCD"
Dim TestStr2 As String = "abcd"
Dim TestComp As Integer
' The two strings sort equally. Returns 0.
TestComp = StrComp(TestStr1, TestStr2, CompareMethod.Text)
' TestStr1 sorts after TestStr2. Returns -1.
TestComp = StrComp(TestStr1, TestStr2, CompareMethod.Binary)
' TestStr2 sorts before TestStr1. Returns 1.
TestComp = StrComp(TestStr2, TestStr1)

12) Left: It returns a Variant (String) containing a specified number of characters from the left side of a
string.

Syntax: Left(str, length)

str :it is required String expression from which the rightmost characters are returned.

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Length: It is required Numeric expression indicating how many characters to return. If 0, a zero-length
string ("") is returned. If greater than or equal to the number of characters in str, the entire string is
returned.

Examples:
Dim AnyString, MyStr
AnyString = "Hello World" ' Define string.
MyStr = Microsoft.VisualBasic.Left(AnyString, 1)
Msgbox Mystr ' Returns "H".

13) Right: It returns a string containing a specified number of characters from the right side of a string.

Syntax: Right(str,length)

str :it is required String expression from which the rightmost characters are returned.
Length: It is required Numeric expression indicating how many characters to return. If 0, a zero-length
string ("") is returned. If greater than or equal to the number of characters in str, the entire string is
returned.

Example:
S1=”this is test”
Msgbox Micosoft.VisualBasic.Right(s1,3)

14) Replace: It returns a string in which a specified substring has been replaced with another substring a
specified number of times.

Syntax: Replace (Expression, Find, Replacement)

Expression :Required. String expression containing substring to replace.

Find :Required. Substring being searched for.
Replacement :Required. Replacement substring.

Example: S1= “Shopping List”

Msgbox Replace( s1, “o”,”I”)

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Tostring with its Methods:

1) ToString.Concat: This method is used Concatenates two specified instances of String.

Syntax : System.String.Concat(str1,str2)

str1 : Parameter String

str2 : Parameter String

Example:
Public Class Form1
Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click

Dim str1 As String

Dim str2 As String

str1 = "Concat() "

str2 = "Test"
MsgBox(String.Concat(str1, str2))

End Sub
End Class
2) String.copy : This method creates a new instance of String with the same value as a specified String.

Syntax: System.String.Copy(str)

str : The argument String for Copy method

Example:

Public Class Form1

Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim str1 As String
Dim str2 As String

str1 = "VB.NET Copy() test"

str2 = String.Copy(str1)

MsgBox(str2)
End Sub
End Class

3) String.Indexof: It returns the index of the first occurrence of the specified substring.

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Syntax: str.IndexOf(str1)

Str1 - The parameter string to check its occurrences

If the parameter String occurred as a substring in the specified String then it returns position of the first
character of the substring. If it does not occur as a substring, -1 is returned.

Example:

Public Class Form1

Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim str As String
str = "VB.NET TOP 10 BOOKS"
MsgBox(str.IndexOf("BOOKS"))
End Sub
End Class

4) String.substring: It returns a new string that is a substring of this string. The substring begins at the
specified given index and extended up to the given length.

Syntax: Substring(startIndex,length)

startIndex: The index of the start of the substring.

length: The number of characters in the substring.

Example:
Public Class Form1
Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click

Dim str As String

Dim retString As String
str = "This is substring test"
retString = str.Substring(8, 9)
MsgBox(retString)

End Sub
End Class

5) String.format: VB.NET String Format method replace the argument Object into a text equivalent
System.Striing.

Syntax: System.Format(format, arg0)

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String format : The format String

The format String Syntax is like {indexNumber:formatCharacter}

Object arg0 : The object to be formatted.

Examples:

Currency : String.Format("{0:c}", 10) will return $10.00

The currency symbol ($) displayed depends on the global locale settings.

Date : String.Format("Today's date is {0:D}", DateTime.Now)

You will get Today's date like : 01 January 2005

Time : String.Format("The current time is {0:T}", DateTime.Now)

You will get Current Time Like : 10:10:12

Public Class Form1

Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim dNum As Double
dNum = 32.123456789
MsgBox("Formated String " & String.Format("{0:n4}", dNum))
End Sub
End Class

6) String.ToUpper: This method uses the casing rules of the current culture to convert each character in
the current instance to its uppercase equivalent. If a character does not have an uppercase equivalent, it
is included unchanged in the returned string.

The ToUpper method is often used to convert a string to uppercase so that it can be used in a case-
insensitive comparison.

Syntax: string.ToUpper()

Example:
S1= “This is Test”
Msgbox s1.Toupper()

7) String.ToLower: This method does not modify the value of the current instance. Instead, it returns a
new string in which all characters in the current instance are converted to lowercase.

Syntax: string.tolower()

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Example:
S1= “This is Test”
Msgbox s1.tolower()
8) String.Remove: Deletes all the characters from this string beginning at a specified position and
continuing through the last position.

Syntax: String.Remove(startIndex)
startIndex : The position to begin deleting characters.

Example:
S1=”abc---def”
Msgbox s1.remove(3)

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