Fast Track Vb.Net

by Billy Hollis

• ISBN13: 9781861007124
• ISBN10: 1861007124
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2002-05-01
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag New York Inc

Summary

Now that the .NET Framework and the Visual Studio .NET IDE have been officially released by Microsoft, it is imperative for developers to get up to speed with the new .NET languages quickly and effectively.

The purpose of this book is to act as the tool for this task, helping experienced Visual Basic developers note the key similarities, and differences, between their current language and Visual Basic .NET.

The focus of this book is on the overall capabilities of the new language, delivering a rapid and concise introduction to Visual Basic .NET and includes the most important features required by a Visual Basic developer to begin using Visual Basic .NET. The intent is not to give an encyclopedic coverage of Visual
Basic .NET, but rather, to get Visual Basic developers using Visual Basic .NET efficiently as quickly as possible.

An update to the acclaimed VB.NET Programming with the Public Beta by the same authors, this book has been revised and tested for the final release of the .NET Framework.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(1)
Who Is This Book For?	1	(1)
What is Covered in This Book?	2	(2)
The 80:20 Principle for Coverage of Topics	4	(1)
What You Need to Use This Book	4	(1)
Style Conventions	5	(1)
Customer Support and Feedback	6	(5)
Source Code and Updates	6	(1)
Errata	6	(1)
Technical Support	7	(1)
p2p.wrox.com	7	(4)
Getting Started	11	(18)
The .NET Environment	12	(9)
.NET System Requirements	13	(1)
End User Requirements	14	(1)
Web Server Requirements	14	(1)
Application Sewer Requirements	14	(1)
Developer Requirements	15	(1)
Other Common Concerns	16	(1)
Mapped Network Drives	16	(3)
Optional Services	19	(1)
Installing and Configuring the Samples	19	(1)
Configuring the Samples	20	(1)
Running the Samples from other Machines	20	(1)
Configuring a Remote IIS Server	21	(1)
Getting Started with Hello World	21	(5)
Summary	26	(3)
Introduction to the .NET Framework	29	(32)
What Is .NET?	30	(6)
A Broad and Deep Platform for the Future	30	(1)
The Role of the .NET Enterprise Servers	31	(1)
What's Wrong with DNA and COM?	32	(1)
Difficulty In Integrating Internet Technologies	32	(1)
Deployment Issues	33	(1)
Poor Cross-language Integration	33	(1)
Many Skills Required for Development	33	(1)
Weaknesses in Visual Bask in COM/DNA applications	33	(1)
The Origins of .NET	34	(1)
An Overview of the .NET Framework	35	(1)
A Common Substrate for all Development	35	(1)
The Common Language Runtime	36	(13)
Key Design Goals	37	(1)
Simpler, Faster Development	37	(1)
Automatic Handling of System-Level Tasks	37	(1)
Excellent Tool Support	38	(1)
Simpler, Safer Deployment	38	(1)
Scalability	39	(1)
Metadata	39	(2)
Multiple Language Integration and Support	41	(1)
A Common Type System	41	(1)
Reference Types vs. Value Types	41	(2)
Everything is an Object	43	(1)
Primitive Types in the .NET Framework	43	(1)
Namespaces	44	(1)
The Structure of a .NET Application	45	(1)
Start with an Assembly, Build Up to an Application	45	(1)
Assembly Structure	46	(1)
Deployment and Execution	47	(1)
Execution	47	(1)
Details on .NET Memory Management	47	(1)
Managed vs. Unmanaged Code	48	(1)
The Next Layer - the .NET Class Framework	49	(2)
What is in the .NET Class Framework?	49	(2)
User and Program Interfaces	51	(3)
Windows Forms	51	(1)
Client Applications Versus Browser-Based Applications	51	(1)
Web Forms	52	(1)
Server Controls	52	(1)
Console Applications	53	(1)
Web Services	53	(1)
XML as the .NET 'Meta-language'	54	(1)
The Role of COM	54	(1)
No Internal Use of COM	55	(1)
The Role of DNA	55	(1)
Additional Benefits	55	(1)
Some Potential Downsides	56	(1)
The First Step - Visual Studio .NET	56	(1)
.NET Drives Changes in Visual Basic	57	(1)
How does .NET Affect Me?	57	(2)
A Spectrum of Programming Models	58	(1)
Reducing Barriers to Internet Development	58	(1)
Libraries of Pre-Written Functionality	59	(1)
Easier Deployment	59	(1)
Summary	59	(2)
New IDE Features	61	(34)
A Tour of the Hello World Program	62	(10)
Form Declaration, Initialization, and Termination	62	(1)
Forms as Classes	62	(2)
Forms Created by Inheritance	64	(1)
Windows Form Designer-Generated Code	65	(1)
The #Region Directive	66	(1)
The Constructor Method	67	(1)
The Dispose() Method	67	(1)
Variable Declarations	68	(1)
The InitializeComponent() Method	68	(1)
Event Handler Code	69	(1)
Event Parameters	70	(1)
The Handles Clause	71	(1)
Method Sytax	71	(1)
New IDE Features	72	(19)
The Start Page	72	(1)
Docking Windows	73	(2)
Main Windows	75	(1)
Graphical Designers	75	(2)
Solution Explorer	77	(3)
Properties Window	80	(1)
Class view	80	(3)
Dynamic Help	83	(1)
Toolbox	84	(2)
Server Explorer	86	(1)
The Task List	87	(1)
The Output Window	88	(1)
The Command Window	89	(1)
Macro Support	90	(1)
Integrated Debugging	90	(1)
The Call Stack Window	91	(1)
The Breakpoints Window	91	(1)
Watch and Value Display Windows	91	(1)
Summary	91	(4)
Language and Syntax	95	(42)
Namespaces	96	(5)
Using Namespaces	97	(1)
Direct Addressing	97	(1)
The Imports Keyword	98	(1)
Aliasing Namespaces	99	(1)
Creating Namespaces	99	(1)
Setting the Root Namespace	99	(1)
The Namespace Keyword	100	(1)
The Microsoft.VisualBasic Namespace	100	(1)
Language and Syntax Changes	101	(31)
Option Statements	101	(1)
Data Type Changes	102	(1)
Integer Type Changes (Byte, Short, Integer, Long)	103	(1)
Floating-Point Division	103	(1)
Replacing Currency with Decimal	104	(1)
The Char Type	104	(1)
The String Type	104	(2)
Replacing Variant with Object	106	(1)
The CType Statement	107	(1)
Changes in Declaration of Variables	107	(1)
Declaring Multiple Variables	107	(1)
Declaring Initial Values	108	(1)
Declaring Constants	108	(1)
Dim As New	108	(1)
Scoping Changes	109	(1)
Changes to Arrays	109	(1)
Zero-Based Arrays	109	(1)
LBound and UBound	110	(1)
Declaring Arrays	110	(1)
ReDim	110	(1)
ReDim Preserve	111	(1)
Fixed Arrays	111	(1)
Changes to User-Defined Types	112	(1)
Changes to Collections	112	(1)
VB6-Style Collections	113	(1)
The System.Collections Namespace	113	(1)
Creating Custom Collections	114	(2)
New Arithmetic Operators	116	(1)
Short-Circuited If...Then Statements	116	(1)
Using Reserved Words as Procedure Names	117	(1)
No Set Statement	117	(1)
Changes to Property Routines	118	(1)
Consistent Scoping	119	(1)
ReadOnly Properties	119	(1)
WriteOnly Properties	120	(1)
Default Properties	120	(1)
Structured Error Handling	120	(1)
The Try...Catch...Finally Structure	121	(1)
Catch Statement Variations	122	(1)
Exit Try	122	(1)
Exception Objects	123	(1)
Converting from On Error Goto	123	(2)
Converting from On Error Resume Next	125	(1)
Changes to Procedure Syntax	126	(1)
Parentheses Required on Procedure Calls	126	(1)
ByVal Default for all Parameters	126	(1)
Optional Parameters Require a Default Value	127	(1)
The Return Statement	128	(1)
Changes to Event Handling	129	(1)
Raising Events	129	(1)
Handling Events	129	(1)
Handling Multiple Events	130	(1)
Using AddHandler	131	(1)
Depreciated, Obsolete, and Unsupported VB Syntax	131	(1)
Gosub	131	(1)
DefType Statements	132	(1)
Delegates	132	(2)
Attributes	134	(1)
Summary	135	(2)
Windows User Interface Capabilities	137	(50)
The Importance of Windows Forms	138	(1)
Windows Forms Basics	139	(1)
Architecture of Windows Forms	140	(2)
Consistency with Web Forms	142	(1)
Comparing Windows Forms to VB6 Forms	142	(8)
Using the Visual Designer for Windows Forms	143	(1)
Invisible Controls go In the Component Tray	143	(1)
Not All Controls Have to be Locked	144	(1)
Form Properties for Cancel and Default Buttons	144	(1)
Positioning and Layout	145	(1)
Location Property	145	(1)
Size Property	145	(1)
BringToFront() and SendToBack() Methods	145	(1)
New Layout Properties for Forms	145	(1)
Resizing Multiple Controls	146	(1)
Differences in Dialog Boxes	146	(2)
ShowDialog Instead of Show vbModal	148	(1)
DialogResult	148	(2)
New Capabilities of Windows Forms	150	(3)
Changing the Shape of the Form	150	(1)
New Properties to Change a Form's Appearance	151	(1)
The Opacity Property	151	(1)
The TransparencyKey Property	152	(1)
Owned Forms	152	(1)
AddOwnedForm() Method	152	(1)
Owner Property	152	(1)
OwnedForms Collection	153	(1)
TopMost Property of Forms	153	(1)
Controls in Windows Forms	153	(4)
New Properties of Controls	154	(1)
Anchor and Dock	154	(2)
Accessibility Properties of Controls	156	(1)
The Modifiers Property	156	(1)
Adding New Controls at Run-Time	156	(1)
Summary of Important Controls	157	(13)
New Controls	158	(1)
Menu Controls	158	(4)
LinkLabel	162	(1)
UpDown Controls - DomainUpDown and NumericUpDown	162	(1)
CheckedListBox	163	(1)
DateTimePicker	163	(1)
MonthCalendar	164	(1)
Panel and GroupBox Container Controls	164	(1)
NotifyIcon	165	(1)
Extender Provider Controls	166	(1)
Working with Provider Controls in Code	167	(1)
PrintDocument	168	(1)
DataGrid	168	(1)
Changes to Existing Controls	168	(1)
Renamed Properties of Controls	169	(1)
Different Default Names	169	(1)
Image Control no Longer Exists	169	(1)
New Capabilities for Existing Controls	169	(1)
No Control Arrays	169	(1)
Multiple Document Interface (MDI) Forms	170	(3)
Creating an MDI Parent Form	170	(1)
Differences in MDI Parent Forms	170	(1)
Differences in MDI Child Forms	171	(1)
Arranging Child Windows in the MDI Parent	171	(1)
An MDI Example in Visual Basic .NET	171	(2)
Inheritance in Windows Forms	173	(3)
The Inheritance Picker	174	(2)
GDI+	176	(6)
System.Drawing Namespace	177	(1)
System.Drawing.Graphics Class	177	(1)
Using GDI+ Capabilities in a Windows Form	178	(3)
System.Drawing.Drawing2D	181	(1)
System.Drawing.Imaging	181	(1)
System.Drawing.Text Namespace	181	(1)
Changes from VB6 and Earlier	182	(1)
Creating Custom Windows Forms Controls	182	(3)
Inheriting from an Existing Control	183	(1)
Step-by-Step Process to Create the Control	183	(1)
Composite Controls	184	(1)
Basing a New Control on the Control Class	185	(1)
Summary	185	(2)
New Object-Oriented Capabilities	187	(54)
What is Object Orientation?	188	(1)
The Relationship of Objects to Components	188	(1)
Visual Basic .NET 00 Implementation	189	(47)
Creating Classes	190	(1)
The Class Keyword	191	(1)
Classes and Namespaces	191	(1)
Nested Classes	192	(1)
Creating Methods	193	(2)
Creating Properties	195	(2)
Creating Events	197	(1)
Object Lifecycle	197	(1)
Object Construction	198	(4)
Object Destruction	202	(2)
Interacting with Objects	204	(1)
Object Declaration and Instantiation	204	(2)
Dereferencing Objects	206	(1)
Early vs. Late Binding	207	(2)
Shared Class Members	209	(1)
Shared Methods	209	(1)
Shared Variables	210	(2)
Shared Events	212	(1)
Inheritance	212	(2)
Creating Subclasses	214	(2)
Preventing Inheritance	216	(1)
Inheritance and Scoping	217	(1)
Overloading Base Class Methods in Subclasses	218	(1)
Overriding Base Class Methods	219	(7)
Overriding the Constructor Method	226	(1)
Shadowing Methods	226	(3)
Abstract Base Classes and Methods	229	(2)
The Effect of Inheritance on Events	231	(2)
Interfaces	233	(1)
Interface Declaration	233	(1)
Implementing an Interface	234	(1)
Implementing Multiple Interfaces	235	(1)
Cross-Language Inheritance	236	(3)
Creating the Visual Basic .NET Base Class	236	(1)
Creating the C# Subclass	237	(1)
Creating a Client Application	238	(1)
Visual Inheritance	239	(1)
Summary	239	(2)
Web Capabilities	241	(40)
Why Replace Active Server Pages?	242	(1)
Overview of Web Forms	243	(12)
A Web Form in Action	244	(4)
Behind the Scenes	248	(1)
ASP.NET as the Runtime Engine	248	(1)
System.Web.UI Namespace	248	(1)
Anatomy of a Web Form	249	(1)
The Template for Presentation	249	(1)
The CodeBehind Module	250	(1)
A Subclassed Instance of the Page Class	250	(1)
Web Forms Event Model	251	(1)
Postback vs. Non-Postback Events	252	(1)
Order of Events	252	(1)
Built-in Events are Limited	252	(1)
Application and Session Events	253	(1)
State Management and the Life Cycle of a Web Forms Page	253	(1)
Disabling State Management	254	(1)
Layout of Web Forms	255	(1)
Server Controls	256	(7)
Why Are Server Controls Needed?	256	(1)
ASP.NET Server Controls	257	(1)
Validation Controls	258	(1)
How to Use Validation Controls	259	(1)
Summary of Available Validation Controls	259	(1)
Regular Expressions	259	(1)
Laying Out Error Messages on the Page	260	(1)
Disabling Validation	260	(1)
Custom Web Form Server Controls	260	(3)
Differences for Extending an Existing Web Control	263	(1)
Data Binding in Web Forms	263	(1)
A Final Example - A Small Application Using Web Forms	264	(4)
Configuring Your Application with Web.config	268	(3)
Securing an ASP.NET Web Site	269	(1)
State Management Options	270	(1)
Overview of Web Services	271	(7)
What are Web Services Used For?	271	(1)
Understanding the SOAP Protocol	272	(1)
Creating a Web Service in Visual Basic .NET	273	(2)
Consuming a Web Service in Visual Basic .NET	275	(1)
Creating and Consuming a Web Service	276	(1)
Security in Web Services	277	(1)
Summary	278	(3)
Data Access	281	(52)
ADO.NET vs. ADO	282	(1)
ADO.NET Demands New Architectures	283	(1)
ADO.NET - Important Concepts	283	(4)
Location of the ADO.NET classes	284	(1)
Replacing Recordsets	284	(1)
What is a DataSet?	284	(1)
Data Flow Overview for a DataSet	285	(2)
Data Providers for Connected Operations	287	(10)
Providers Included with .NET	287	(1)
The OLE DB Data Provider	288	(1)
The SQL Server Data Provider	288	(1)
Classes Implemented by Data Providers	288	(1)
Working With Data Provider Classes Using Wizards	289	(1)
Combining Classes From Different Data Providers	289	(1)
Working With Data Providers in Code	290	(1)
Connection Classes	290
Command Classes	211	(82)
The DataReader Class	293	(2)
The DataAdapter Class	295	(2)
How the ADO.NET Classes Work Together	297	(1)
Structure of a DataSet	298	(8)
DataTable	299	(1)
DataColumn	300	(1)
DataRow	301	(1)
Changing Data in a Row	301	(1)
Examining Different Versions of Data in a Row	302	(1)
Constraints	303	(1)
DataRelation	304	(1)
Using DataRelations for Master-Detail Data	305	(1)
Working with a DataSet	306	(11)
Adding Rows to a DataTable	306	(1)
Finding a Particular Row in a DataTable	307	(1)
Deleting Rows from a DataTable	307	(1)
Creating a DataSet Manually	308	(1)
Creating a DataSet Using the DataAdapter Wizard	309	(1)
Windows Form Example	310	(5)
Web Forms Example	315	(2)
Using DataViews	317	(2)
Getting a Subset of Data into a DataView	317	(1)
Sorting a DataView	318	(1)
Typed DataSets	319	(2)
Using Stored Procedures in ADO.NET	321	(2)
Stored Procedures with Command Classes	321	(1)
Using Stored Procedures With DataAdapters	322	(1)
Exception Classes for ADO.NET	323	(1)
Data Binding	324	(2)
Data Binding with Listboxes and Combo Boxes	324	(1)
Data Binding to a Collection of Objects	325	(1)
Data Binding to any Property	326	(1)
Accessing XML through ADO.NET	326	(2)
Saving Changes to the Data	327	(1)
Persisting a DataSet in XML	328	(1)
Accessing XML through the DOM	328	(1)
The System.XML Namespace	326	(3)
Some General Guidelines for Using ADO.NET	329	(1)
When to Use DataReaders	329	(1)
When to use DataSets	329	(1)
Changes to the Business Tier with ADO.NET	330	(1)
When Is Classic ADO Still Needed?	330	(1)
Pessimistic Concurrency	330	(1)
Applications that Need Server-Side Cursors	331	(1)
Summary	331	(2)
Advanced Topics	333	(65)
Middle Tier Components	334	(23)
.NET Remoting	334	(2)
Rules for Remote Access to Objects	336	(3)
Implementing Remoting	339	(10)
Enterprise Services	349	(1)
Transactional Processing	349	(4)
Us Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ)	353	(1)
The System.Messaging Namespace	353	(4)
.NET Threading	357	(15)
Working with Threads	357	(5)
Thread Lifetimes	362	(1)
Interacting with the Current Thread	362	(2)
Passing Data to a Thread	364	(1)
Asynchronous Processing	365	(7)
Console Applications	372	(3)
Use of the System.Console Namespace	373	(2)
New Printing Model	375	(7)
PrintDocument and Related Objects	375	(1)
Implementing Printing	376	(1)
Basic Code Structure	376	(1)
Creating an Example	377	(1)
Rendering the Output	377	(3)
Invoking the Print Dialog	380	(1)
Involving the Page Dialog	381	(1)
Creating a Windows NT/2K Service with VB	382	(6)
Creating a Windows Service	382	(1)
The Windows Service Project	382	(1)
Writing to the Application Log	383	(1)
Creating Worker Threads	384	(1)
Installing the Service	385	(3)
Monitoring the File System	388	(2)
Command Line Options	390	(7)
vbc Command Line Parameters	390	(1)
Description of Tools in the bin Directory	391	(1)
Configuration and Deployment Tools and Utilities	392	(1)
Windows Forms Design Tools and Utilities	393	(1)
Security Tools and Utilities	393	(1)
General Tools and Utilities	394	(3)
Installation and Deployment	397	(1)
Build Configurations	398	(31)
The .NET Framework Redistributable	399	(1)
XCOPY Deployment	400	(1)
Windows Applications	400	(5)
Web Applications	401	(2)
Formal Installers	403	(2)
Windows Applications	405	(9)
Creating a Test Application	405	(1)
Running the Setup Wizard	406	(4)
Running the Setup Program	410	(1)
Web Applications	411	(1)
Creating a Test Application	411	(1)
Running the Setup Wizard	412	(1)
Running the Setup Program	413	(1)
Automatic Deployment	414	(12)
Launching a .NET Program from a URL	415	(1)
Creating the NetRun Application	416	(1)
Deploying an Application	417	(1)
Adding NetRun to the Path	418	(1)
Creating a Windows Shortcut	418	(1)
Using a Shell Program	419	(1)
Creating the Shell Application	419	(3)
Creating a Child Form	422	(1)
Security Considerations	423	(3)
Summary	426	(3)
Interoperability and Migration	429	(28)
COM/DCOM Interoperability	430	(16)
Invoking COM Components From .NET	430	(1)
Designing COM Components for .NET	430	(4)
Calling a COM Component	434	(5)
Using ADO from Visual Basic .NET	439	(1)
DCOM	440	(1)
Using ActiveX Controls from Windows Forms	441	(2)
Invoking .NET Components from COM	443	(1)
Creating a .NET Assembly for COM	444	(1)
Creating a COM Client	445	(1)
Calling Windows APIs	446	(6)
Using the Platform Invocation Services	446	(1)
Calling a Simple API Function	447	(1)
Aliasing a Function	448	(1)
Hiding an API Interface	449	(1)
Using Automatic ANSI/Unicode Location	449	(1)
Passing Structures as Parameters	450	(2)
Using the Migration Wizard	452	(2)
The Migration Process	452	(1)
Running the Wizard	452	(2)
General Wizard Activities	454	(1)
Summary	454	(3)
Index	457