Learning to Program Using Visual Basic 2010, Part 1 of 4

Course description

In this course, you will learn to use Visual Studio 2010 to explore the Visual Basic language. The course starts with a quick overview of the .NET platform, examining assemblies, Microsoft Intermediate Language, Visual Studio profiles, XML comments, IntelliSense, and debugging. From there, you will learn all the language features that you must internalize in order to create full-featured Web or Windows applications that make best use of the .NET platform. You will learn about data types, variables, and operators, along with all the important flow control structures. You will work through several examples demonstrating the power of the .NET Framework, and dig into creating and consuming your own classes and objects. The course moves on to working with data structures, such as arrays and collection classes, before finishing up with discussions of generics, handling exceptions and working with delegates and events. The course concludes by introducing the new LINQ-oriented features including anonymous types, lambda expressions, and more. By the end of this course, you will understand the important basic concepts that will allow you to start creating the applications you need.

Each LearnNowOnline training course is made up of Modules (typically an hour in length). Within each module there are Topics (typically 15-30 minutes each) and Subtopics (typically 2-5 minutes each). There is a Post Exam for each Module that must be passed with a score of 70% or higher to successfully and fully complete the course.

Prerequisites

This course assumes that students have some programming background. No specific experience with Visual Studio 2010 or the .NET Framework is required. As with any such course, the more experience you bring to the course, the more you’ll get out of it. This course moves quickly through a broad range of programming topics, but it does not require any prior .NET skills.

Meet the experts

Ken Getz

Ken Getz is a featured instructor for several of our Visual Studio courses. He is a Visual Basic and Visual C# expert and has been recognized multiple times as a Microsoft MVP. Ken is a seasoned instructor, successful consultant, and the author or co-author of several best-selling books. He is a frequent speaker at technical conferences like Tech-Ed, VSLive, and DevConnections and he has written for several of the industry's most-respected publications including Visual Studio Magazine, CoDe Magazine, and MSDN Magazine.

Robert Green

Robert Green is a Visual Studio expert and a featured instructor for several of our Visual Basic and Visual C# courses. He is currently a Technical Evangelist in the Developer Platform and Evangelism (DPE) group at Microsoft. He has also worked for Microsoft on the Developer Tools marketing team and as Community Lead on the Visual Basic team. Robert has several years of consulting experience focused on developer training and is a frequent speaker at technology conferences including TechEd, VSLive, VSConnections, and Advisor Live.

Video Runtime

254 Minutes

Time to complete

314 Minutes

Course Outline

Module 1

Introduction to .NET (36:33)

• Introduction (02:03)
• Overview of .NET (02:05)
• Why Use .NET (01:04)
• Advantages of .NET (04:44)
• Common Language Runtime (01:14)
• Running Code and the CLR (00:48)
• CLR and Compilers (00:45)
• Just-in-Time Compiler (JIT) (01:56)
• Framework Base Class Library (01:39)
• Common BCL Namespaces (04:17)
• .NET Languages (00:57)
• Overview: Assemblies (00:50)
• Overview: Manifest (00:39)
• Create with .NET (01:18)
• Use Command Line Compiler (01:17)
• First VB App in Notepad (02:05)
• Examine the Code in the App (04:21)
• Manifest of the App (03:29)
• Summary (00:54)

Introduction to Visual Studio (22:57)

• Introduction (00:30)
• Working with Profile Settings (00:52)
• Explore Profile Settings (02:37)
• Set Save Project Location (00:49)
• Create a New Project (00:59)
• Windows in Visual Studio (01:28)
• Pin / Unpin Windows (01:04)
• Reset Window Layout (00:39)
• Work with Files in the Project (01:10)
• Set Project Properties (02:50)
• Add a Reference (00:45)
• View References (00:42)
• View Object Browser (01:17)
• Add Code to the Application (01:56)
• Module Keyword Explained (01:05)
• Adding Comments (00:25)
• Using IntelliSense (02:18)
• Build and Run the Application (00:40)
• Summary (00:42)

Debugging (18:28)

• Introduction (00:52)
• Overview (00:48)
• Create a Sample (05:07)
• Run the Sample (00:26)
• Syntax Error (00:52)
• View Error List Window (01:16)
• Breakpoints (00:25)
• Autos / Immediate Window (00:55)
• Single Step Through Code (02:06)
• Clear All Breakpoints (00:11)
• Runtime Error (00:33)
• Try/Catch Block (01:15)
• Investigating Exceptions (01:33)
• Logic Error (01:07)
• Summary (00:54)

Module 2

Intro to Variables / Data Types (43:48)

• Introduction (00:58)
• Overview: Variables (05:42)
• Create / Use Variables / Scope (04:06)
• Overview: Data Types (01:34)
• DT: Integer (03:58)
• Overview: DT Fields/Methods (01:00)
• DT: Floating-point (00:55)
• DT: Decimal (01:22)
• Floating-point Data Type (01:15)
• Convert to Strings (01:46)
• Decimal Data Type (05:13)
• DT: Char / String (02:37)
• DT: Boolean / Date/Object (03:44)
• Char Data Type (04:09)
• String Data Type (00:32)
• Boolean Data Type (00:46)
• Date Data Type (01:10)
• Object Data Type (02:01)
• Summary (00:52)

Variables / Data Types (48:00)

• Introduction (00:57)
• Converting Data Types (03:29)
• Value vs Reference Types (03:22)
• Converting Data Types (01:49)
• Using Conversion Functions (04:31)
• Using ConvertClass (01:11)
• Using Parse (01:24)
• Value / Reference Types (03:06)
• Const. / Enum. / Struct. (01:37)
• Constants / Enumerations (02:50)
• Structures (01:24)
• Operators (05:13)
• Arithmetic / String Operators (05:17)
• Comparison/Logical Operators (06:55)
• Type Operators (01:00)
• Operator Precedence (03:29)
• Summary (00:17)

Module 3

.NET Framework Classes (38:03)

• Introduction (00:36)
• Base Class Library (BCL) (00:53)
• Some BCL Namespaces (01:32)
• Using Framework Classes (02:26)
• Generating Random Numbers (00:32)
• Retrieving Computer Info (00:52)
• Generate Random Numbers (01:19)
• Retrieve Computer Info Demo (02:48)
• Working with XML (03:29)
• Write XML (04:40)
• Read XML (04:42)
• File Input / Output (00:17)
• Write to / Read from Files (00:22)
• Managing Files (01:26)
• Managing Directories (00:38)
• Retrieve Drive Info (01:04)
• StreamWriter/StreamReader (02:10)
• FileInfo Class (03:25)
• DirectoryInfo Class (02:43)
• DriveInfo Class (01:26)
• Summary (00:30)

Strings and Dates (46:38)

• Introduction (01:12)
• Overview: Strings (00:45)
• Comparing / Searching Strings (02:08)
• Compare / Search Strings (06:03)
• Modifying / Extracting Strings (03:20)
• Modify Strings (05:37)
• Extract Strings (04:37)
• Formatting Strings (02:12)
• Stringbuilder Class (01:20)
• Format Strings / Dates (04:04)
• Stringbuilder Class (03:44)
• DateTime / TimeSpan (03:03)
• DateTime Properties (02:46)
• DateTime Methods (01:44)
• TimeSpan Properties (03:10)
• Summary (00:43)