Visual Basic Download
Harriet Wehrenberg
Visual Basic (VB) is an event-driven programming language and environment from Microsoft that provides a graphical user interface (GUI) which allows programmers to modify code by simply dragging and dropping objects and defining their behavior and appearance. VB is derived from the BASIC programming language and is considered to be event-driven and object-oriented.
VB is intended to be easy to learn and fast to write code with; as a result, it is sometimes called a rapid application development (RAD) system and is used to prototype an application that will later be written in a more difficult but efficient language.
The last version of VB, Visual Basic 6, was released in 1998, but has since been replaced by VB .NET, Visual Basic for applications (VBA) and Visual Stuido .NET. VBA and Visual Studio are the two frameworks most commonly used today.
VB is a GUI-based development tool that offers a faster RAD than most other programming languages. VB also features syntax that is more straightforward than other languages, a visual environment that is easy to understand and high database connectivity.
Visual Basic was designed to be a complete programming language that contained ordinary features, such as string processing and computation. The visual environment is characterized by a drag-and-drop feature which allows programmers to build a user interface that is easy to use, even for developers with minimum experience.
While these features of VB are advantageous, there are others that can have a negative effect. The VB programming environment requires a large amount of memory, both for the initial installation and to run efficiently afterwards. The graphical features of the programming tool take up a large amount of space and require a significant amount of memory.
Finally, with C languages, programmers can feasibly locate and use the defined values for variable data in a computer program at declaration time. This initialization practice is something that isn't easily done with VB.
The structure of VB is designed to allow programmers to use the environment to write executable files (exe files). Also, using VB, developers can create programs that can be utilized as a front end to databases. VB tools can help programmers develop applications or complete software while still allowing them to modify and revise their work accordingly.
The most popular type of Visual Basic in use today is VBA. VBA is a version of Visual Basic that can be used to program Microsoft Office apps, such as Excel and PowerPoint. However, it can only be used to modify existing apps; VBA cannot be used to create new apps.
Typical users engage VBA to make repeated, everyday tasks less monotonous through the use of macros. Macros automate almost any activity -- such as performing word and data processing or generating custom charts and tables. For example, a typical user might write a macro that allows them to create and fill a spreadsheet with a single click. Computer professionals use VBA and macros in more complicated ways. Programmers will often write macros that can replicate large portions of code or define specific languages.
Businesses and organizations can use VBA to customize Excel for their unique purposes, such as pulling certain statistics or information from a spreadsheet. Businesses and organizations can also use VBA externally, or in non-Microsoft applications, by applying a technology called a component object model (COM) interface that enables commands to communicate across computer boundaries. This allows VBA to be used on an enterprise-specific application.
However, VB becomes extremely beneficial when used with Microsoft's COM interface. The COM components can be written in various languages and then integrated using VB. Additionally, VB provides not only a programming language, but an integrated development environment (IDE) that has been written and optimized to best support RAD. This allows programmers to easily build GUIs and connect them to functions within the application.
Overall, VB enables the rapid development of Windows based applications while also assisting in the access of databases by using ActiveX data objects (ADO) while allowing programmers to use ActiveX control and various objects.
VB continued to evolve throughout the 1990s until Visual Basic 6 was released in 1998, which was replaced by VB .NET. However, Visual Basic for Applications, which is most commonly used today to automate Microsoft Office tasks, is highly compatible with the classic VB 6.
VB is considered an event-driven language that is easy to learn and write code. It is designed to foster rapid application development (RAD), where the application prototype can be developed first with less focus on writing complex codes in the initial stages of the development cycle.
RAD employs adaptive software development where the developers prioritize building prototypes rather than software planning. As a result, professionals can quickly make multiple iterations and introduce software updates in quick time without writing difficult codes from scratch.
Unlike other programming languages, BASIC language incorporated several common English words into its syntax. This made the language more user-friendly as end-users found it easier to learn and remember. This was one of the fundamental reasons Microsoft wanted to derive another programming language rooted in BASIC.
Because of its ease of use, simple syntax, and visual tools, VB is still ranked among the top 25 popular programming languages worldwide. According to March 2023 statistics from PYPL (PopularitY of Programming Language), VB is ranked 21st in the popularity index with 0.53% of the market share.
The VB application is ready for use when all the UI elements, subroutines, and other software codes are put together in the project. Thus, the programmer can run the application using one of the following ways:
While the above steps define the working of the initial version of VB, its workflow varies depending on the version you use. For instance, if you use Visual Basic .Net, its implementation in Visual Studio is similar to BASIC language, with added syntax elements and features stemming from Object Pascal and C language. The VB code is compiled into the object code and then coupled to parts of your application to create a .exe file. This file can run independently without needing a Visual Studio environment, just like any other app on your machine.
If you use the VBA version of VB, the code is typically written in the IDEs built into Microsoft Office programs such as MS Access, MS Excel, MS Word, etc. In VBA, the code is tokenized, compiled, and executed in a virtual machine in the Microsoft Office application. VBA code cannot be executed outside the Office environment. Thus, VBA cannot generate .exe files on its own.
The initial installation of VB requires a substantially large amount of memory. As the language provides a GUI-based development kit, it inevitably demands much space. Moreover, with VB, it is not feasible to initialize structures at declaration time, which is possible in C language. Also, the development environment suits programs requiring less processing time.
The object-oriented framework of VB allows programmers to easily manage the functions of large, complex, and actively updated programs. As a result, VB supports code reusability and scalability, thereby improving the overall efficiency of the developed software.
The runtime program can be installed in the Windows directory so that it can be used by every other VB application written in the same development version. Pre-loaded runtime programs may not work for programs written on different VB versions. For instance, the runtime of VB version 5 is incompatible with the runtime of VB version 6. The runtime feature makes VB applications small, as a large part of application code lies within the runtime shared between applications.
COM feature supports inter-process communication between different programming languages. Thus, the COM element written in any programming language can be integrated with the VB development environment.
Owing to the flexibility of VB, front-end and full-stack developers use it to design customized applications that show cross-platform support. It is also a go-to choice for developing applications that rely on forms, selections, and user inputs. Moreover, VB is also used to develop console applications that run through the command line instead of GUI.
Today, several medium and large companies such as Microsoft, Broadcom, CrowdStrike, and doubleSlash use Visual Basic in their tech stacks. VB is relied upon for inventory management, accessing databases, data collection, and communications.
Developers generally use VB to design systems that are often required to manage large databases. Once a project is developed using GUI tools, users can easily incorporate a variety of database functionalities into it without writing difficult codes. VB also allows users to access and manage databases created using different programs like MS Access, Oracle, MySQL, and more.
VB is not known for developing elegant codes. However, users can use the development environment to write gaming codes using GUI tools. Moreover, with RAD, it becomes easier to create a prototype of a game without getting into its coding intricacies. VB has limitations when it comes to 3D animations. It requires an external DLL to provide 3D functionality. However, VB is still a preferred option for 2D games.
Today, web applications and services have gained popularity due to the growing IoT and smart devices that have easy access to the internet. In modern-day web development, VB is employed to create server-side scripting programs executed on a web server rather than a browser.
VB is also used by web developers to create web forms and applications. If you have interacted with a chatbot on any website, there is a non-zero probability that you have interacted with a Visual Basic-based back-end program.
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