Why is Visual Basic the most widely used programming language for creating Windows applications? Because it's easier to learn and faster to use than most other programming languages.

If you're a Visual Basic programmer who wants to go beyond the introductory level to create the sophisticated and powerful programs business users need, this course is for you. You'll learn the in-demand programming skills you need to get new work in the business world, with a specific emphasis on database applications.

You'll begin your studies by discovering how to enrich the graphical user interface with custom menus and toolbars. You'll then explore multiple form applications, starting with built-in dialog controls, and then turning to helper forms and Multiple Document Interface applications.

After that, you'll gain a better understanding of databases. You'll find out how to access and modify data with data-bound controls, ADO .NET, and Structured Query Language (SQL). And we'll finish up with a survey of other areas you might be interested in studying, including information on additional SQL functionality, Web applications, and XML.

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Syllabus:

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week One

Wednesday - Lesson 01

Most Visual Basic programs exist to collect and store data about our daily lives—including information about the books we buy, the stores where we shop, the restaurants where we eat, and so on. This data is stored in a file on the computer's hard drive. Visual Basic programs enable their users to locate and save changes to that data. By the time you finish this first lesson, you’ll learn how use the OpenFileDialog and SaveFileDialog classes to give your programs this functionality.

Friday - Lesson 02

The term menu may bring to mind choices of delicious food (and high prices) at an elegant restaurant. Or it may make you think of what you see in the drive-through lane at the local fast food joint. Either way, menus inform you of your choices. They perform a similar purpose in programs, giving you choices depending on what you want to do, such as to open, print, or save a document. In today's lesson, you’ll discover how to use menus in your programs.

Week Two

Wednesday - Lesson 03

This lesson is all about bars, but not the kind that serves drinks. Instead, we’ll explore a different kind of bar, the kind that will allow you to enhance your application both visually and functionally—the toolbar, which is also called the toolstrip. When you finish this lesson, you’ll know how to use toolbars in your applications and to coordinate them with menus.

Friday - Lesson 04

In a movie, the leading actor or actress may be the star of the show. But rarely will one actor or actress perform all of the roles in that show. Similarly, the main form in your program may be the star, but as your applications become more sophisticated, you’ll need other, helper forms. In this lesson, you’ll discover an important type of helper form—the dialog form.

Week Three

Wednesday - Lesson 05

In today's lesson, you’ll learn about another important helper form: The modeless, or owned form, and how to use it in your application.

Friday - Lesson 06

I take for granted that, while I’m typing this in Microsoft Word, I can also have other documents open. This function allows me to go back and forth between documents without having to close any first. This ability is called Multiple Document Interface, and when you finish this lesson, you’ll know how to give your programs that ability.

Week Four

Wednesday - Lesson 07

In today's lesson, we'll begin our journey into the world of databases. Back in Lesson 1, we talked about how our whole lives are on computers—the books we buy, the stores where we shop, the restaurants where we eat. This information is stored in databases, and you'll learn all about them in this lesson.

Friday - Lesson 08

Now that you’ve learned about databases, you need to speak their language. That language is called Structured Query Language, better known by the abbreviation SQL. When you’re finished with today’s lesson, you’ll not only know how to pronounce SQL, but more important, you’ll understand how to use SQL to talk to your database. Of course, you won’t literally talk to your database—your friends may start worrying about you if you do—but instead, you’ll use SQL in your Visual Basic applications to communicate with your database.

Week Five

Wednesday - Lesson 09

While you’ve already learned a lot about databases in the previous two lessons, programming is about writing code. In today's lesson, you’ll learn how to write code to access a database.

Friday - Lesson 10

Unlike people, databases don’t scheme—though there’s this one database I’m suspicious of (but never mind about that!). Databases may not scheme, but they do have a schema. This is the database’s structure. It’s very useful to know how to access this structure by code. I’ll show you how in this lesson.

Week Six

Wednesday - Lesson 11

The business world—the very people who pay us programmers to write programs—has great demand for programs that help them easily find the data they need to make decisions. This is called drilling down into data. This isn’t like oil drilling, but it is important to your applications. When you finish this lesson, you’ll know how to create master-detail tables that enable users to quickly find the data they need.

Friday - Lesson 12

This may be the final lesson, but it certainly isn't the end of your programming journey. Where do you go from here? In today's lesson, we'll go over all the options that are now available to you!

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Jeffrey Kent.

Jeffrey A. Kent is a Professor of Computer Science, teaching both traditional and online classes. He has taught a number of computer programming languages, including C, C++, Java, and Assembly, but his favorite is Visual Basic. He has authored several computer programming books on Visual Basic, the most recent being Visual Basic 2005 Demystified. He's also an attorney, and has combined both careers by writing applications for law firms.

Requirements:

Completion of Introduction to Visual Basic 2005 (or equivalent experience); Microsoft Windows Vista, 2003, XP or 2000; An installed copy of Visual Basic 2005 (the free Express Edition is acceptable for this course); Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader).

Student Reviews:

Reviews coming soon! Please check back next month.