Understanding Classes

Classes are important in object-oriented programming because they allow you to group related items as a unit, as well as control their visibility and accessibility to other procedures. Classes can also inherit and reuse code defined in other classes.

In This Section

• Classes: Blueprints for Objects
  Provides an overview of encapsulation, inheritance, and shared members.

• Walkthrough: Defining Classes
  Provides a step-by-step description of how to create a class.

• Classes vs. Modules
  Explains the differences between classes and standard modules.

• Object Lifetime: How Objects Are Created and Destroyed
  Discusses creating and disposing of class instances.

• How to: Implement the Dispose Finalize Pattern (Visual Basic)
  Explains how to ensure that an object's resources are released when they are no longer needed.

• Using Constructors and Destructors
  Discusses how to initialize new instances of classes and dispose of resources when they are no longer needed.

• Class Properties, Fields, and Methods
  Explains the fields, properties, and methods that make up a class.

Related Sections

• Creating and Using Objects
  Demonstrates how to create and use instances of classes.

• Interfaces in Visual Basic
  Describes what interfaces are and how to use them in your applications.

• Inheritance in Visual Basic
  Describes how to define classes that serve as the basis for other classes.