[mitchman]

Hey, im using Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 express, and i want to make a cool program. But im kinda confused. I understand basic commands, like
IF _
THEN _
type stuff, but what i really cant get is the code to make it happen.

i want to make a program that actually does something, i dont mean like changing the background of the application, or just resizing, i mean using other stuff on the computer.

If you want to command your program to open Notepad, how would you know what code equals openning notepad, or other basic commands that someone would want, is there a site or something that can list commands.

[Babbage]

Hi mitchman,

The best thing you can do to find out how to code what you want is to pretty much scour the internet and see if you can find a function or snippet of code that matches (or comes close) to what you need.

As far as reference for commands and everything, the best place would be the people who created the language -- in this case, Microsoft. Check out the following location for Visual Basic .NET reference information:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/25kad608.aspx

I would also recommend checking out this page for code samples, and tutorials:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/downloads/default.aspx

And, to launch an outside process from your application, check out this site:

http://www.devx.com/dotnet/Article/7914

Enjoy!

[mitchman]

thank you very much i will be saving this post to come back to in the future, i bet you figured i wasnt still watching this post.

-Mitch

[Ken11235]

Also, I believe that if you register Visual Basic 2005, you can download a free version of Microsoft's book "Visual Basic 2005: Create a Program Now".

[The Future]

I think the expression for what you're trying to do is the proverbial "trying to run before you learn to walk" situation. I recommend sitting down for an hour or two a day with an introductory book to Visual Basic, and from there learn the fundamentals. After that, you will have a much broader view of what the language can do, as well as how it can generally be accomplished (whether it is a language feature, API call, or algorithm altogether).

[ganelon]

mitchman, I recommend you to start with realy simple stuff like knowing control objects from basic toolbox. Because they are visual elements, you will see the result of your work immmediately and it will be much more fun that way. Find out how to manipulate them using properties and methods so you will know what can you do by simple change of a property and what you have to code yourself. Right after that you will have to learn about data types and ways to manipulate with them. Get to idea which of them to use in which situation, how to convert them etc. Everything else (API functions for example) should take a part after that. Don't rush. VB is easy to learn and you will get to know it quickly.
Regards.