7/21/22, 1:31 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide
VB.Net - Quick Guide
VB.Net - Overview
Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET) is an object-oriented computer programming language implemented on
the .NET Framework. Although it is an evolution of classic Visual Basic language, it is not
backwards-compatible with VB6, and any code written in the old version does not compile under
VB.NET.
Like all other .NET languages, VB.NET has complete support for object-oriented concepts.
Everything in VB.NET is an object, including all of the primitive types (Short, Integer, Long, String,
Boolean, etc.) and user-defined types, events, and even assemblies. All objects inherits from the
base class Object.
VB.NET is implemented by Microsoft's .NET framework. Therefore, it has full access to all the
libraries in the .Net Framework. It's also possible to run VB.NET programs on Mono, the open-
source alternative to .NET, not only under Windows, but even Linux or Mac OSX.
The following reasons make VB.Net a widely used professional language −
Modern, general purpose.
Object oriented.
Component oriented.
Easy to learn.
Structured language.
It produces efficient programs.
It can be compiled on a variety of computer platforms.
Part of .Net Framework.
Strong Programming Features VB.Net
VB.Net has numerous strong programming features that make it endearing to multitude of
programmers worldwide. Let us mention some of these features −
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,7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide
Boolean Conditions
Automatic Garbage Collection
Standard Library
Assembly Versioning
Properties and Events
Delegates and Events Management
Easy-to-use Generics
Indexers
Conditional Compilation
Simple Multithreading
VB.Net - Environment Setup
In this chapter, we will discuss the tools available for creating VB.Net applications.
We have already mentioned that VB.Net is part of .Net framework and used for writing .Net
applications. Therefore before discussing the available tools for running a VB.Net program, let us
understand how VB.Net relates to the .Net framework.
The .Net Framework
The .Net framework is a revolutionary platform that helps you to write the following types of
applications −
Windows applications
Web applications
Web services
The .Net framework applications are multi-platform applications. The framework has been designed
in such a way that it can be used from any of the following languages: Visual Basic, C#, C++,
Jscript, and COBOL, etc.
All these languages can access the framework as well as communicate with each other.
The .Net framework consists of an enormous library of codes used by the client languages like
VB.Net. These languages use object-oriented methodology.
Following are some of the components of the .Net framework −
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,7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide
Common Language Runtime (CLR)
The .Net Framework Class Library
Common Language Specification
Common Type System
Metadata and Assemblies
Windows Forms
ASP.Net and ASP.Net AJAX
ADO.Net
Windows Workflow Foundation (WF)
Windows Presentation Foundation
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)
LINQ
For the jobs each of these components perform, please see ASP.Net - Introduction , and for
details of each component, please consult Microsoft's documentation.
Integrated Development Environment (IDE) For VB.Net
Microsoft provides the following development tools for VB.Net programming −
Visual Studio 2010 (VS)
Visual Basic 2010 Express (VBE)
Visual Web Developer
The last two are free. Using these tools, you can write all kinds of VB.Net programs from simple
command-line applications to more complex applications. Visual Basic Express and Visual Web
Developer Express edition are trimmed down versions of Visual Studio and has the same look and
feel. They retain most features of Visual Studio. In this tutorial, we have used Visual Basic 2010
Express and Visual Web Developer (for the web programming chapter).
You can download it from here . It gets automatically installed in your machine. Please note that
you need an active internet connection for installing the express edition.
Writing VB.Net Programs on Linux or Mac OS
Although the.NET Framework runs on the Windows operating system, there are some alternative
versions that work on other operating systems. Mono is an open-source version of the .NET
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, 7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide
Framework which includes a Visual Basic compiler and runs on several operating systems, including
various flavors of Linux and Mac OS. The most recent version is VB 2012.
The stated purpose of Mono is not only to be able to run Microsoft .NET applications cross-platform,
but also to bring better development tools to Linux developers. Mono can be run on many operating
systems including Android, BSD, iOS, Linux, OS X, Windows, Solaris and UNIX.
VB.Net - Program Structure
Before we study basic building blocks of the VB.Net programming language, let us look a bare
minimum VB.Net program structure so that we can take it as a reference in upcoming chapters.
VB.Net Hello World Example
A VB.Net program basically consists of the following parts −
Namespace declaration
A class or module
One or more procedures
Variables
The Main procedure
Statements & Expressions
Comments
Let us look at a simple code that would print the words "Hello World" −
Live Demo
Imports System
Module Module1
'This program will display Hello World
Sub Main()
Console.WriteLine("Hello World")
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −
Hello, World!
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VB.Net - Quick Guide
VB.Net - Overview
Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET) is an object-oriented computer programming language implemented on
the .NET Framework. Although it is an evolution of classic Visual Basic language, it is not
backwards-compatible with VB6, and any code written in the old version does not compile under
VB.NET.
Like all other .NET languages, VB.NET has complete support for object-oriented concepts.
Everything in VB.NET is an object, including all of the primitive types (Short, Integer, Long, String,
Boolean, etc.) and user-defined types, events, and even assemblies. All objects inherits from the
base class Object.
VB.NET is implemented by Microsoft's .NET framework. Therefore, it has full access to all the
libraries in the .Net Framework. It's also possible to run VB.NET programs on Mono, the open-
source alternative to .NET, not only under Windows, but even Linux or Mac OSX.
The following reasons make VB.Net a widely used professional language −
Modern, general purpose.
Object oriented.
Component oriented.
Easy to learn.
Structured language.
It produces efficient programs.
It can be compiled on a variety of computer platforms.
Part of .Net Framework.
Strong Programming Features VB.Net
VB.Net has numerous strong programming features that make it endearing to multitude of
programmers worldwide. Let us mention some of these features −
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 1/188
,7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide
Boolean Conditions
Automatic Garbage Collection
Standard Library
Assembly Versioning
Properties and Events
Delegates and Events Management
Easy-to-use Generics
Indexers
Conditional Compilation
Simple Multithreading
VB.Net - Environment Setup
In this chapter, we will discuss the tools available for creating VB.Net applications.
We have already mentioned that VB.Net is part of .Net framework and used for writing .Net
applications. Therefore before discussing the available tools for running a VB.Net program, let us
understand how VB.Net relates to the .Net framework.
The .Net Framework
The .Net framework is a revolutionary platform that helps you to write the following types of
applications −
Windows applications
Web applications
Web services
The .Net framework applications are multi-platform applications. The framework has been designed
in such a way that it can be used from any of the following languages: Visual Basic, C#, C++,
Jscript, and COBOL, etc.
All these languages can access the framework as well as communicate with each other.
The .Net framework consists of an enormous library of codes used by the client languages like
VB.Net. These languages use object-oriented methodology.
Following are some of the components of the .Net framework −
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 2/188
,7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide
Common Language Runtime (CLR)
The .Net Framework Class Library
Common Language Specification
Common Type System
Metadata and Assemblies
Windows Forms
ASP.Net and ASP.Net AJAX
ADO.Net
Windows Workflow Foundation (WF)
Windows Presentation Foundation
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)
LINQ
For the jobs each of these components perform, please see ASP.Net - Introduction , and for
details of each component, please consult Microsoft's documentation.
Integrated Development Environment (IDE) For VB.Net
Microsoft provides the following development tools for VB.Net programming −
Visual Studio 2010 (VS)
Visual Basic 2010 Express (VBE)
Visual Web Developer
The last two are free. Using these tools, you can write all kinds of VB.Net programs from simple
command-line applications to more complex applications. Visual Basic Express and Visual Web
Developer Express edition are trimmed down versions of Visual Studio and has the same look and
feel. They retain most features of Visual Studio. In this tutorial, we have used Visual Basic 2010
Express and Visual Web Developer (for the web programming chapter).
You can download it from here . It gets automatically installed in your machine. Please note that
you need an active internet connection for installing the express edition.
Writing VB.Net Programs on Linux or Mac OS
Although the.NET Framework runs on the Windows operating system, there are some alternative
versions that work on other operating systems. Mono is an open-source version of the .NET
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 3/188
, 7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide
Framework which includes a Visual Basic compiler and runs on several operating systems, including
various flavors of Linux and Mac OS. The most recent version is VB 2012.
The stated purpose of Mono is not only to be able to run Microsoft .NET applications cross-platform,
but also to bring better development tools to Linux developers. Mono can be run on many operating
systems including Android, BSD, iOS, Linux, OS X, Windows, Solaris and UNIX.
VB.Net - Program Structure
Before we study basic building blocks of the VB.Net programming language, let us look a bare
minimum VB.Net program structure so that we can take it as a reference in upcoming chapters.
VB.Net Hello World Example
A VB.Net program basically consists of the following parts −
Namespace declaration
A class or module
One or more procedures
Variables
The Main procedure
Statements & Expressions
Comments
Let us look at a simple code that would print the words "Hello World" −
Live Demo
Imports System
Module Module1
'This program will display Hello World
Sub Main()
Console.WriteLine("Hello World")
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −
Hello, World!
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 4/188
