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Visual Basic Language Features 

The following topics introduce and discuss the essential components of Visual Basic, an object-oriented programming language. After creating the user interface for your application using forms and controls, you need to write the code that defines the application's behavior. As with any modern programming language, Visual Basic supports a number of common programming constructs and language elements.

If you have programmed in other languages, much of the material covered in this section might seem familiar. While most of the constructs are similar to those in other languages, the event-driven nature of Visual Basic introduces some subtle differences.

If you are new to programming, the material in this section serves as an introduction to the basic building blocks for writing code. Once you understand the basics, you can create powerful applications using Visual Basic.

In This Section

  • Arrays in Visual Basic
    Discusses making your code more compact and powerful by declaring and using arrays, which hold multiple related values.
  • Objects in Visual Basic
    Provides an overview of objects and classes, how they are used, their relationships to each other, and the properties, methods, and events they expose.
  • Statements in Visual Basic
    Provides an overview of the two basic units of instruction in Visual Basic: declaration statements and executable statements.
  • Procedures in Visual Basic
    Describes Sub, Function, Property, and Operator procedures, as well as advanced topics such as recursive and overloaded procedures.