Visual Basic Concepts

More About Programming

This chapter goes beyond the fundamentals of Visual Basic programming and introduces a variety of features that make it easier for you to create powerful, flexible applications.

For example, you can load multiple projects into a single session of the programming environment, work with Windows registry settings, or selectively compile certain parts of your program.

Beyond the fundamentals of writing code, Visual Basic provides a variety of language elements that enhance your code. The last four topics in this chapter discuss four of these language elements: user-defined types, enumerated constants, arrays, and collections.

Topics

	Working with Multiple Projects An introduction to working with multiple projects in the same session of the programming environment.
	Managing Application Settings An introduction to working with Windows registry settings.
	Using Conditional Compilation An introduction to selectively compiling certain parts of your program to create platform-specific or language-specific versions.
	Working with Resource Files An introduction to using resource files to store version-specific text and bitmaps.
	Working with Templates An introduction to using templates to make it easier to build applications and objects.
	Working with Command Line Switches An introduction to using command line switches to control how Visual Basic executes.
	Compiling Your Project to Native Code A discussion of how you can use the Professional or Enterprise edition of Visual Basic to compile your code in native code format.
	Creating Your Own Data Types An introduction to creating and working with user-defined types.
	Using Enumerations to Work with Sets of Constants An introduction to using enumerated constants to work with groups of related constants.
	Advanced Features of Arrays A discussion of assigning the contents of one array to another, creating functions that return arrays, and creating properties that return arrays.
	Using Collections as an Alternative to Arrays A discussion of when you might use collections instead of arrays to work with sets of items.