비주얼 베이직: 두 판 사이의 차이

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{{about|the Visual Basic language shipping with Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 or earlier|the Visual Basic language shipping with Microsoft Visual Studio .NET or later|Visual Basic .NET}}
== 특징 ==
{{unreliable sources|date=April 2014}}
프로그래밍 언어 [[베이직]]과 마찬가지로, 비주얼 베이직은 쉽게 배우고 쉽게 사용할 수 있도록 설계되었다. 비주얼 베이직은 간단한 [[GUI]]기반의 응용 프로그램의 개발 뿐만 아니라, 복잡한 프로그램의 개발까지도 가능하게 한다. 비주얼 베이직에서의 프로그래밍은 [[폼]](Form)위에 놓인, 시적으로 정렬된 [[GUI 위젯]](비주얼 베이직에서는 컨트롤이라고 한다)들의 조합이다. 이 컨트롤들은 특별한 속성과 역할을 담당하고 있으며, 기능의 확장을 위해 추가적인 코드를의 입력이 가능하다.
{{Infobox programming language
|name = Visual Basic
|logo = VisualBasicLogo.gif
|logo_size = frameless
|screenshot = Microsoft Visual Studio 6 screenshot.png
|caption = Screenshot of the Visual Basic 6 [[Integrated development environment|IDE]] running on [[Windows Vista]]
|paradigm = [[Object-based]] and [[Event-driven programming|Event-driven]]
|released = {{Start date and age|1991}}
|designer =
|developer = [[Microsoft]]
|latest_release_version = 6.0
|latest_release_date = {{Start date and age|1998}}
|typing = [[Static type|Static]], [[Strongly-typed programming language|strong]]
|implementations = [[Microsoft Visual Studio]]
|dialects =
|influenced_by = [[BASIC]]
|influenced = [[Visual Basic .NET]], [[Gambas]], [[Xojo]] and [[Basic4ppc]]
|current version =
|operating_system = [[Microsoft Windows]] and [[MS-DOS]]
|license =
|website = {{URL|http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/ms788229.aspx}}
}}


'''Visual Basic''' is a [[third-generation programming language|third-generation]] [[event-driven programming|event-driven programming language]] and [[integrated development environment]] (IDE) from [[Microsoft]] for its [[Component Object Model|COM]] programming model first released in 1991. Microsoft intended Visual Basic to be relatively easy to learn and use.<ref>{{Cite book
기본적인 속성과 역할이 이들 컨트롤에 기본값으로 설정되어 있기 때문에, 간단한 프로그램의 경우 프로그래머는 그다지 많은 코딩 없이 만들 수 있다.
|title = A tester's guide to .NET programming
|publisher = [[Apress]]
|year = 2006
|first1 = Randal
|last1 = Root
|first2 = Mary
|last2 = Romero Sweeney
|isbn = 978-1-59059-600-5
|page = 3
|quote = You can choose a language based on how easy it is to learn. For beginners, Visual Basic is a good choice. [~snip] A big advantage of Visual Basic is that it is a popular language because it is easy to learn.
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book
|title = An executive's guide to information technology
|publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
|year = 2007
|isbn = 978-0-521-85336-1
|first1 = Robert T.
|last1 = Plant
|first2 = Stephen
|last2 = Murrell
|page = 343
|quote = Summary of positive issues: Visual Basic is easy to learn and widely available.
}}</ref> Visual Basic was derived from [[BASIC]] and enables the [[rapid application development|rapid application development (RAD)]] of [[graphical user interface|graphical user interface (GUI)]] applications, access to [[database]]s using [[Data Access Object]]s, [[Remote Data Objects]], or [[ActiveX Data Object]]s, and creation of [[ActiveX]] controls and objects.


A programmer can create an application using the [[component-based software engineering|components]] provided by the Visual Basic program itself. Over time the community of programmers have developed new third party components, keeping this programming language to modern standards.<ref name="ISpliter">{{cite web|last=ISpliter|title=Visual Basic 6.0: A giant more powerful than ever|url=http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/710181/Visual-Basic-6-0-A-giant-more-powerful-than-ever|publisher=CodeProject.com|accessdate=3 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=violent|first=ken|title=vkControls : 16 GRAPHICALS usercontrols ! NEVER SEEN before !|url=http://www.planetsourcecode.com/vb/scripts/ShowCode.asp?txtCodeId=68734&lngWId=1|publisher=PSC|accessdate=5 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Krool|title=CommonControls (Replacement of the MS common controls)|url=http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?698563-CommonControls-(Replacement-of-the-MS%20-common-controls)|publisher=VBForums|accessdate=5 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=PSC|title=Visual Basic 6.0 third party components for modern standards (a review)|url=http://www.planetsourcecode.com/vb/scripts/ShowCode.asp?txtCodeId=75311&lngWId=1|publisher=Planet Source Code|accessdate=4 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Jeff|first=Martin|title=Visual Basic 6 Renewed to Run on Windows 8|url=http://www.infoq.com/news/2012/02/vb6_supported_on_win8|publisher=INFOQ|accessdate=5 April 2014}}</ref> Programs written in Visual Basic can also use the [[Windows API]], which requires external function declarations.
성능상의 문제가 이전 버전에서 많이 보고되었지만, 기술의 발전에 따른 컴퓨터 성능 향상과 원시 코드(Native Code) 컴파일을 통해 이 문제는 많이 사라졌다.


The final release was version 6 in 1998 (now known simply as Visual Basic). Though Visual Basic 6.0 [[Integrated development environment|IDE]] is unsupported as of April 8, 2008, the Visual Basic team is committed to “It Just Works” compatibility for Visual Basic 6.0 applications on [[Windows Vista]], [[Windows Server 2008]] including R2, [[Windows 7]], and [[Windows 8]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/ms788708.aspx |title=Support Statement for Visual Basic 6.0 on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows 8 |publisher=Microsoft |date= |accessdate=2014-04-05}}</ref> In 2014 there are tens of thousands of developers who still prefer Visual Basic 6.0 over Visual Basic .NET.<ref name="ISpliter"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Richard|first=Grigonis|title=Where Is the Successor to Visual Basic?|url=http://www.newsmax.com/RichardGrigonis/Visual-Basic-Microsoft-programmers/2014/03/27/id/562161/|work=Thursday, 27 Mar 2014 03:20 PM|publisher=INFOQ|accessdate=8 April 2014}}</ref> Moreover, in recent years some developers lobbied aggressively for a new version of Visual Basic 6.0.<ref>{{cite web|last=classicvb|title=A PETITION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNMANAGED VISUAL BASIC AND VISUAL BASIC FOR APPLICATIONS|url=http://classicvb.org/petition/|publisher=classicvb.org|accessdate=5 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=J|first=Roxe|title=An Open Letter to the Community|url=http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jroxe/archive/2005/03/17/398325.aspx|publisher=MSDN WebLog|accessdate=5 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Dan|first=Mabbutt|title=Should Microsoft be sued for dropping support for VB 6?|url=http://visualbasic.about.com/od/imhoinmyhumbleopinion/a/BradJSueMS.htm|publisher=about.com|accessdate=5 April 2014}}</ref>
비주얼 베이직 5.0부터 원시 코드로 컴파일된 실행 파일 작성이 가능해 졌지만, 비주얼 베이직으로 작성된 실행 파일은 여전히 1메가바이트 정도 크기의 라이브러리 파일을 필요로 한다. 이 파일은 [[윈도 2000]]과 이후 윈도 버전에서 기본적으로 설치되었지만, 그 이전의 [[윈도95]], [[윈도 98]], [[윈도 NT]]에는 포함되어 있지 않았다. 때문에 비주얼 베이직으로 만든 실행 파일을 실행하기 위해서는 이 라이브러리 파일 또한 함께 배포하여야 했다.
<ref>http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240224504/Developers-call-for-Microsoft-to-bring-back-Visual-Basic</ref>
A dialect of Visual Basic, [[Visual Basic for Applications]] (VBA), is used as a macro or scripting language within several Microsoft applications, including [[Microsoft Office]].<ref>{{cite web | title = VBA for Office Developers | publisher = Microsoft | url = http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ff688774.aspx}}</ref>


==Language features==
폼은 [[끌어다 놓기]] 방식으로 만들어진다. 커서를 통해 텍스트 상자, 단추 등과 같은 컨트롤들을 폼 위에 놓는다. 컨트롤들은 속성을 가지며, 이벤트 처리자를 통해 서로 연결된다. 기본값들은 컨트롤이 만들어질 때 함께 제공된 것이지만, 프로그래머에 의해 변경될 수 있다. 많은 속성값들은 프로그램이 실행 중일 때, 응용 프로그램의 사용자의 조작이나 외부 환경의 변화에 의해 변경될 수 있으며, 이것은 동적인 응용 프로그램을 가능하게 해 준다. 예를 들면, 창의 'Resize(크기 변경)' 이벤트 처리자에 컨트롤들의 위치를 재조정하는 코드를 삽입할 수 있다. 이러한 방법을 통해서, 특정 컨트롤이 계속해서 창의 중앙에 위치하게 하거나, 창 전체를 다 채우는 등의 제어를 할 수 있게 된다. 텍스트 상자의 'KeyPress(키보드 키 눌러짐)' 이벤트 처리자에 코드를 삽입함으로써, 해당 응용 프로그램은 자동적으로 입력된 문자의 대소문자를 변환하거나, 특정 문자의 삽입을 막을 수도 있다.
Like the [[BASIC]] programming language, Visual Basic was designed to accommodate a steep [[learning curve]]. Programmers can create both simple and complex [[Graphical user interface|GUI]] applications.
Programming in VB is a combination of visually arranging [[GUI widget|component]]s or [[GUI widget|control]]s on a [[Form (programming)|form]], specifying attributes and actions for those components, and writing additional lines of [[Source code|code]] for more functionality. Since VB defines default attributes and actions for the components, a programmer can develop a simple program without writing much code.
Programs built with earlier versions suffered performance problems, but faster computers and native code compilation has made this less of an issue.


Though VB programs can be compiled into native code executables [[#Timeline of Visual Basic (VB1 to VB6)|from version 5 on]], they still require the presence of around 1 MB of runtime libraries. Runtime libraries are included by default in [[Windows 2000]] and later. Earlier versions of [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] (95/98/NT), require that the runtime libraries be distributed with the executable.
비주얼 베이직은 실행 파일, ActiveX 컨트롤, DLL 파일을 만들 수 있다. 하지만 비주얼 베이직의 가장 기본적인 사용 용도는 [[마이크로소프트 윈도]]용 응용 프로그램과 데이터베이스 조작 프로그램의 개발에 있다. 덜 기능적인 대화 상자들은 팝업 능력에 사용된다. 프로그래머가 추가적인 코드를 적당한 이벤트 처리자에 삽입해야 하긴 하지만, 컨트롤들은 응용 프로그램에 기본적인 기능성을 제공한다. 예를 들면, 문자열의 입력이 가능한 드롭 다운 리스트 컨트롤은 자동적으로 자신이 가진 목록을 보여주며, 사용자가 항목을 선택할 수 있게 한다. 사용자에 의해 항목이 선택될 때, 이벤트 처리자가 호출되며, 이 이벤트 처리자는 프로그래머가 추가적으로 코딩한 코드를 처리하는데, 이때 사용자가 선택한 항목의 관련 항목의 출력과 같은, 사용자의 컨트롤에 대한 구체적인 동작에 따른 처리를 할 수 있다.
[[File:Form vide VB.JPG|thumb|left|An empty form in Visual Basic 6.]]
Forms are created using [[drag-and-drop]] techniques. A tool is used to place controls (e.g., text boxes, buttons, etc.) on the form (window). Controls have [[Attribute (computing)|attribute]]s and [[event handler]]s associated with them. Default values are provided when the control is created, but may be changed by the programmer. Many attribute values can be modified during run time based on user actions or changes in the environment, providing a dynamic application. For example, code can be inserted into the form resize event handler to reposition a control so that it remains centered on the form, expands to fill up the form, etc. By inserting code into the event handler for a keypress in a text box, the program can automatically translate the case of the text being entered, or even prevent certain characters from being inserted.


Visual Basic can create executables (EXE files), [[ActiveX|ActiveX controls]], or DLL files, but is primarily used to develop Windows applications and to interface database systems. Dialog boxes with less functionality can be used to provide pop-up capabilities. Controls provide the basic functionality of the application, while programmers can insert additional logic within the appropriate event handlers.
한편, 비주얼 베이직으로 사용자 인터페이스가 존재하지 않는 프로그램이나 추가적으로 제공되는 [[컴포넌트 오브젝트 모델]]을 통한 Active X 개체를 구성할 수도 있다. 이것은 서버 측면에서의 처리나 추가 모듈을 가능하게 해 준다.


For example, a drop-down combination box automatically displays a list. When the user selects an element, an event handler is called that executes code that the programmer created to perform the action for that list item.
비주얼 베이직은 [[레퍼런스 카운팅]]을 통한 [[쓰레기 수집 (컴퓨터 과학)|쓰레기 수집]]을 수행하며, 방대한 규모의 추가적인 라이브러리들과, 기본적인 [[객체 지향 프로그래밍]]을 지원한다. 대다수의 일반적인 위젯들이 초기 프로젝트 구성에 포함되어 있기 때문에, 비주얼 베이직 프로그래머가 추가적인 라이브러리를 사용하는 경우는 드물다. 다른 대다수의 프로그래밍 언어와는 달리, 비주얼 베이직은 일반적으로 대소문자 구분을 하지 않으며, 대신에 키워드를 표준 대소문자 설정으로 변환한 뒤, 강제로 변수명의 대소문자를 기호 테이블의 내용으로 변환시킨다. 문자열 비교에 관해서는 대소문자 구분을 하지만, 프로그래머가 원한다면 대소문자 구분을 하지 않을 수도 있다.


Alternatively, a Visual Basic component can have no user interface, and instead provide ActiveX objects to other programs via [[Component Object Model]] (COM). This allows for [[server-side]] processing or an add-in module.
비주얼 베이직의 컴파일러는 다른 비주얼 스튜디오 제품군(C, C++)과 호환성이 있지만, IDE상의 제한으로 인해 윈도 모델 DLL이나 스레드의 사용 등은 불가능하다.

The runtime recovers unused memory using [[reference counting]], which depends on variables passing out of scope or being set to ''Nothing'', avoiding the problem of [[memory leak]]s common to other languages. There is a large library of utility objects, and the language provides basic [[Object-oriented programming|object oriented support]]. Unlike many other programming languages, Visual Basic is generally not case sensitive—though it transforms [[keywords]] into a standard case configuration and forces the case of variable names to conform to the case of the entry in the symbol table. String comparisons are case sensitive by default.

The Visual Basic compiler is shared with other Visual Studio languages (C, C++). Nevertheless, by default the restrictions in the IDE do not allow creation of some targets (Windows model DLLs) and threading models, but over the years, developers have bypassed these restrictions.

==Characteristics==
[[File:Visual Basic function.PNG|thumb|The code windows in Visual Basic, showing a Function using the If, Then, Else and Dim statements.]]
The following Visual Basic traits differ from C-derived languages:
* Statements tend to terminate with keywords, such as "End If", instead of using "{}"s to group statements.
* Multiple variable assignment is not possible. A = B = C does not imply that the values of A, B and C are equal. The boolean result of "Is B = C?" is stored in A. The result stored in A would therefore be either false or true.
* [[Boolean datatype|Boolean]] constant <code>True</code> has numeric value −1.<ref>In most languages, <code>True</code> is mapped to a non zero numeric value, often 1 or -1.</ref> This is because the Boolean data type is stored as a 16-bit signed integer. In this construct −1 evaluates to 16 binary 1s (the Boolean value <code>True</code>), and 0 as 16 0s (the Boolean value <code>False</code>). This is apparent when performing a <code>Not</code> operation on a 16 bit signed integer value 0, which returns the integer value −1, in other words <code>True = Not False</code>. This inherent functionality becomes especially useful when performing logical operations on the individual bits of an integer such as <code>And</code>, <code>Or</code>, <code>Xor</code> and <code>Not</code>.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vb.mvps.org/tips/Truth.asp |title=Microsoft Basic Logical Expression Evaluation |publisher=Vb.mvps.org |date= |accessdate=2009-06-16}}</ref> This definition of <code>True</code> is also consistent with BASIC since the early 1970s Microsoft BASIC implementation and is also related to the characteristics of CPU instructions at the time.
* Logical and bitwise operators are unified. This is unlike some C-derived languages (such as [[Perl]]), which have separate logical and bitwise operators. This again is a traditional feature of BASIC.
* Variable [[Array data type|array]] base. Arrays are declared by specifying the upper and lower bounds in a way similar to [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]] and [[Fortran]]. It is also possible to use the Option Base statement to set the default lower bound. Use of the Option Base statement can lead to confusion when reading Visual Basic code and is best avoided by always explicitly specifying the lower bound of the array. This lower bound is not limited to 0 or 1, because it can also be set by declaration. In this way, both the lower and upper bounds are programmable. In more subscript-limited languages, the lower bound of the array is not variable. This uncommon trait does exist in [[Visual Basic .NET]] but not in [[VBScript]].
: <code>OPTION BASE</code> was introduced by ANSI, with the standard for ANSI Minimal BASIC in the late 1970s.
* Relatively strong integration with the [[Microsoft Windows|Windows operating system]] and the [[Component Object Model]]. The native types for strings and arrays are the dedicated COM types, BSTR and SAFEARRAY.
* [[Banker's rounding]] as the default behavior when converting real numbers to integers with the <code>Round</code> function.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/194983 |title=PRB: Round Function different in VBA 6 and Excel Spreadsheet |website=Microsoft Support |accessdate=2014-01-25}}</ref> <code>? Round(2.5, 0)</code> gives 2, <code>? Round(3.5, 0)</code> gives 4.
* Integers are automatically promoted to reals in expressions that involve the normal division operator (<code>/</code>) so that division of one integer by another produces the intuitively correct result. VB provides a specific integer divide operator (<code>\</code>) that does truncate.
* By default, if a variable has not been declared or if no type declaration character is specified, the variable is of type <code>[[Variant type|Variant]]</code>. However this can be changed with Deftype statements such as <code>DefInt</code>, <code>DefBool</code>, <code>DefVar</code>, <code>DefObj</code>, <code>DefStr</code>. There are 12 <code>Deftype</code> statements in total offered by Visual Basic 6.0. The default type may be overridden for a specific declaration by using a special suffix character on the variable name (<code>#</code> for Double, <code>!</code> for Single, <code>&</code> for Long, <code>%</code> for Integer, <code>$</code> for String, and <code>@</code> for Currency) or using the key phrase <code>As (type)</code>. VB can also be set in a mode that only explicitly declared variables can be used with the command <code>Option Explicit</code>.

==History==
[[File:AlanCooper.jpg|thumb|Alan Cooper created the drag and drop design for the user interface of Visual Basic.]]

VB 1.0 was introduced in 1991. The drag and drop design for creating the user interface is derived from a prototype form generator developed by [[Alan Cooper]] and his company called ''Tripod''.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}}{{discuss|promotional edits for Alan Cooper}} Microsoft contracted with Cooper and his associates to develop Tripod into a programmable form system for [[Windows 3.0]], under the code name ''Ruby'' (no relation to the later [[Ruby (programming language)|Ruby programming language]]).

Tripod did not include a programming language at all. Microsoft decided to combine Ruby with the Basic language to create Visual Basic.

The Ruby interface generator provided the "visual" part of Visual Basic and this was combined with the "EB" Embedded BASIC engine designed for Microsoft's abandoned "Omega" database system. Ruby also provided the ability to load [[dynamic-link library|dynamic link libraries]] containing additional controls (then called "gizmos"), which later became the [[Visual Basic Extension|VBX]] interface.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.forestmoon.com/BIRTHofVB/BIRTHofVB.html| title = The Birth of Visual Basic}} Rian " Petot " Danao I <3 19</ref>
{{-}}

===Timeline description===
[[File:Microsoft Visual Basic for MS-DOS (Professional Edition Version1.00).png|thumb|Basic for MS-DOS]]
[[File:VBDOS-icon.PNG|thumb|VB DOS icon]]

* Project 'basic Thunder' was initiated in 1990.<ref>{{cite web|last=George|first=Mack|title=History of Visual Basic|url=http://www.ojodepez-fanzine.net/network/qbdl/history_of_visual_basic.html|work=June 2002|publisher=George Mack, 3rd edition, Copyright June 2002|accessdate=10 April 2014}}</ref>
* Visual Basic 1.0 (May 1991) was released for Windows at the Comdex/Windows World trade show in Atlanta, Georgia.

* Visual Basic 1.0 for [[DOS]] was released in September 1992. The language itself was not quite compatible with Visual Basic for Windows, as it was actually the next version of Microsoft's DOS-based BASIC compilers, [[QuickBASIC]] and BASIC Professional Development System. The interface used a [[Text user interface]], using [[extended ASCII]] characters to simulate the appearance of a [[Graphical user interface|GUI]].

* Visual Basic 2.0 was released in November 1992. The programming environment was easier to use, and its speed was improved. Notably, forms became instantiable objects, thus laying the foundational concepts of class modules as were later offered in VB4.
* Visual Basic 3.0 was released in the summer of 1993 and came in Standard and Professional versions. VB3 included version 1.1 of the [[Microsoft Jet Database Engine]] that could read and write Jet (or Access) 1.x databases.
* Visual Basic 4.0 (August 1995) was the first version that could create [[32-bit]] as well as [[16-bit]] Windows programs. It has three editions; Standard, Professional, and Enterprise. It also introduced the ability to write non-GUI classes in Visual Basic. Incompatibilities between different releases of VB4 caused installation and operation problems. While previous versions of Visual Basic had used VBX controls, Visual Basic now used OLE controls (with files names ending in .OCX) instead. These were later to be named ActiveX controls.
* With version 5.0 (February 1997), Microsoft released Visual Basic exclusively for [[32-bit]] versions of Windows. Programmers who preferred to write 16-bit programs were able to import programs written in Visual Basic 4.0 to Visual Basic 5.0, and Visual Basic 5.0 programs can easily be converted with Visual Basic 4.0. Visual Basic 5.0 also introduced the ability to create custom user controls, as well as the ability to compile to native Windows executable code, speeding up calculation-intensive code execution. A free, downloadable Control Creation Edition was also released for creation of [[ActiveX|ActiveX control]]s. It was also used as an introductory form of Visual Basic: a regular .exe project could be created and run in the IDE, but not compiled.
* Visual Basic 6.0 (Mid-1998) improved in a number of areas<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.insteptech.com/techLibrary/vbClassic/vb6_news.htm| title = What's new in VB6? | publisher = www.insteptech.com | author = www.insteptech.com | date = 2005-07-22}}</ref> including the ability to create web-based applications. Visual Basic 6.0 has entered Microsoft's "non-supported phase" as of March 2008. Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7, no longer support the Visual Basic 6.0 development environment, but still support the runtime.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vbrun/ms788708.aspx |title=Support Statement for Visual Basic 6.0 on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 |publisher=Msdn.microsoft.com |date=2008-04-08 |accessdate=2009-06-16}}</ref> Microsoft announced in February 2012 that they support the runtime in Windows 8.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/nb-no/vbrun/ms788708%28en-us%29.aspx | title=Support Statement for Visual Basic 6.0 on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows 8 | publisher=Msdn.microsoft.com | date=2012-11-01 | accessdate=2013-07-21}}</ref>
* Mainstream Support for Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 ended on March 31, 2005. Extended support ended in March 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vbrun/ms788707.aspx |title=Product Family Life Cycle Guidelines for Visual Basic 6.0 |publisher=Msdn2.microsoft.com |date=2005-03-31 |accessdate=2009-06-16}}</ref> In response, the Visual Basic user community expressed its grave concern and lobbied users to sign a petition to keep the product alive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classicvb.org/petition/ |title=Petition to Microsoft |publisher=Classicvb.org |date=2005-03-08 |accessdate=2009-06-16}}</ref> Microsoft has so far refused to change their position on the matter.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.infoq.com/news/2009/03/vb6_on_win7 |title = Visual Basic 6.0 to be Supported on Windows 7| accessdate = 2009-03-05| publisher = The Register| author = Al Tenhundfeld | date = 2009-03-04}}</ref> Ironically, around this time (2005), it was exposed that Microsoft's new anti-spyware offering, [[Windows Defender|Microsoft AntiSpyware]] (part of the [[GIANT Company Software]] purchase), was coded in Visual Basic 6.0.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/22/microsoft_spyware_vb6/| title = MS Anti-Spyware built on MS Abandonware | accessdate = 2006-10-04| publisher = The Register| author = Andrew Orlowski and Carey Bishop | date = 2005-07-22}}</ref> Its replacement, Windows Defender, was rewritten in [[C++]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/windefender_beta2.asp |title=Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Windows Defender Beta 2 Review |publisher=Winsupersite.com |date=2006-02-14 |accessdate=2009-06-16}}</ref>

==Derivative languages==
[[Microsoft]] has developed derivatives of Visual Basic for use in [[Scripting language|scripting]]. Visual Basic itself is derived heavily from [[BASIC]], and subsequently has been replaced with a [[.NET Framework|.NET]] platform version.

Some of the derived languages are:
* [[Visual Basic for Applications]] (VBA) is included in many Microsoft applications ([[Microsoft Office]]), and also in many third-party products like [[SolidWorks]], [[AutoCAD]], [[WordPerfect Office|WordPerfect Office 2002]], [[ArcGIS]], [[Sage 300 ERP]], and Business Objects Desktop Intelligence. There are small inconsistencies in the way VBA is implemented in different applications, but it is largely the same language as Visual Basic 6.0 and uses the same runtime library. Visual Basic development ended with 6.0, but in 2010 Microsoft introduced VBA 7 to provide extended features and add 64-bit support.<ref name="VBA 7">{{cite web|title=Compatibility Between the 32-bit and 64-bit Versions of Office 2010|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee691831.aspx|publisher=Microsoft Corporation|accessdate=16 July 2012}}</ref>
* [[VBScript]] is the default language for [[Active Server Pages]]. It can be used in [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] scripting and client-side [[web page]] scripting. It resembles VB in [[Syntax (programming languages)|syntax]], but is a separate language—executed by vbscript.dll instead of the VB runtime. ASP and VBScript should not be confused with [[ASP.NET]], which uses the [[.NET Framework]] for compiled web pages.
* [[Visual Basic .NET]] is Microsoft's designated successor to Visual Basic 6.0, and is part of Microsoft's [[.NET Framework|.NET]] platform. Visual Basic .NET compiles and runs using the .NET Framework. It is not [[backward compatibility|backwards compatible]] with Visual Basic 6.0. An automated conversion tool exists, but fully automated conversion for most projects is impossible.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.devx.com/vb/article/16822
|title = Abandoning the Fantasy of VB Migration Wizardry
|accessdate = 2007-05-17
|last = Piquet
|first = Lori
|date = 2002-02-20
|work = DevX.com
|publisher = Jupitermedia
}}</ref>
* [[OpenOffice Basic]] is a Visual Basic compatible interpreter that originated in [[StarOffice]] office suite.
* [[Gambas]] is a Visual Basic inspired [[free software]] programming language for the Linux operating system. It is not a clone of Visual Basic, but it does have the ability to convert Visual Basic programs to Gambas.
* [[WinWrap Basic]] is a third-party VBA variant used with various software, and available for programmers to use to build a macro facility into their programmes.
* [[LotusScript]] is a VBA variant available in [[Lotus SmartSuite]] and [[Lotus Notes]].
* Later versions of [[Corel WordPerfect Office]] implement access to VBA as one of the macro/scripting languages, the other major ones being [[CorelScript]] and [[PerfectScript]]
* Earlier versions of [[Microsoft Word]] use a variant of Visual Basic called [[WordBasic]]

==Performance and other issues==
Earlier versions of Visual Basic (prior to version 5) compiled the code to [[Microsoft P-Code|P-Code]] only. The P-Code is interpreted by the language runtime. The benefits of P-Code include portability and smaller binary file sizes, but it usually slows down the execution, since having a runtime adds an additional layer of interpretation.

Visual Basic applications require Microsoft Visual Basic runtime MSVBVMxx.DLL, where xx is the relevant version number, either 50 or 60. MSVBVM60.dll comes as standard with Windows in all editions after Windows 98 while MSVBVM50.dll comes with all editions after Windows 95. A Windows 95 machine would however require inclusion with the installer of whichever dll was needed by the program.

Visual Basic 5 and 6 can compile code to either native or P-Code but in either case the runtime is still required for built in functions and forms management.

Criticisms levelled at Visual Basic editions prior to VB.NET include:<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=AsqK_AtFf1sC|title=Professional ASP.NET 1.1|author=Alex Homer, Dave Sussman, Rob Howard, Brian Francis, Karli Watson, Richard Anderson|year=2004|isbn=0-7645-5890-0|publisher=Wiley|accessdate=2008-10-08|page=71}}</ref>

*Versioning problems associated with various runtime DLLs, known as [[DLL hell]]
*Poor support for [[object-oriented programming]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa227881(VS.60).aspx|title=Avoid Writing Tedious, Boring Code|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|date=December 2000|author=Marc D'Aoust|accessdate=2008-11-10}}</ref>
*Inability to create multi-[[Thread (computer science)|threaded]] applications, without resorting to Windows API calls
*[[Variant type]]s have a greater performance and storage overhead than [[strongly typed programming language]]s
*Dependency on complex and fragile [[Component Object Model|COM]] Registry entries<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com.au/books?id=y0uURUiVhgwC|title=Pro VB 2008 and the .NET 3.5 Platform: The expert's voice in .NET|publisher=Apress|year=2008|author=Andrew Troelsen|isbn=1-59059-822-9|page=5}}</ref>
*The development environment is no longer supported by Microsoft.

==Legacy development and support==

All versions of the Visual Basic development environment from 1.0 to 6.0 are now retired and unsupported by Microsoft. The associated runtime environments are also unsupported, except for the Visual Basic 6 core runtime environment, which Microsoft officially supports for the lifetime of [[Windows 8]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/jj133828.aspx |title=Don't Get Me Started – The Silent Majority: Why Visual Basic 6 Still Thrives |author=Platt, David |publisher=MSDN Magazine |date=2012-06-01|accessdate=2012-06-09}}</ref> Third party components that shipped with Visual Studio 6.0 are not included in this support statement. Some legacy Visual Basic components may still work on newer platforms, despite being unsupported by Microsoft and other vendors.

Development and maintenance development for Visual Basic 6 is possible on legacy Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 2003 using [[Visual Studio 6.0]] platforms, but is unsupported. Documentation for Visual Basic 6.0, its application programming interface and tools is best covered in the last [[MSDN]] release before Visual Studio.NET 2002. Later releases of MSDN focused on .NET development and had significant parts of the Visual Basic 6.0 programming documentation removed. The Visual Basic IDE can be installed and used on Windows Vista, 7 and 8, where it exhibits some minor incompatibilities that do not hinder normal software development and maintenance. As of August 2008, both Visual Studio 6.0 and the MSDN documentation mentioned above are available for download by MSDN subscribers.

==Example code==
<!-- Please don't add any sample code before discussing it on the talk page -->
The following code snippet displays a message box saying "Hello, World!" as the window loads:
<syntaxhighlight lang="vb" highlight="3">
Private Sub Form_Load()
' Execute a simple message box that says "Hello, World!"
MsgBox "Hello, World!"
End Sub
</syntaxhighlight>
This snippet makes a counter that moves up 1 every second (a label and a timer control need to be added to the form for this to work):
<syntaxhighlight lang="vb" >
Option Explicit
Dim Count As Integer
Private Sub Form_Load()
Count = 0
Timer1.Interval = 1000 ' units of milliseconds
End Sub
Private Sub Timer1_Timer()
Count = Count + 1
Label1.Caption = Count
End Sub
</syntaxhighlight>

==See also==
{{Portal|Computer programming}}

* {{mono|[[IIf]]}} – a function in several editions of Visual Basic roughly equivalent to the [[?:]] conditional operator of C and related languages.

Related programming languages:
* [[Comparison of programming languages]]
* [[DarkBASIC]] – harness DirectX from BASIC applications
* [[FreeBASIC]] – a programming language rooting from [[QuickBASIC|QBasic]].
* [[Gambas]] - Open source competitor to Visual Basic
* [[Microsoft Small Basic]] - educational tool for learning BASIC language concepts.
* [[PowerBasic]] – A language based on the BASIC- dialect
* [[PureBasic]] – A language based on the BASIC- dialect
* [[Xojo]] – Competitor to Visual Basic

{{Clear}}

==References==

{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Wikiversity}}
{{wikibooks|Programming:Visual Basic Classic}}
{{commons category}}
{{Prone to spam|date=August 2014}}
{{Z148}}<!-- {{No more links}}

Please be cautious adding more external links.

Wikipedia is not a collection of links and should not be used for advertising.

Excessive or inappropriate links will be removed.

See [[Wikipedia:External links]] and [[Wikipedia:Spam]] for details.

If there are already suitable links, propose additions or replacements on
the article's talk page, or submit your link to the relevant category at
DMOZ (dmoz.org) and link there using {{Dmoz}}.

-->
*[http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbrun/default.aspx Visual Basic 6.0 Resource Center]
*[http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/dd408373.aspx Secure your Visual Basic 6.0 investment with Microsoft .NET]: Migrating from Visual Basic 6.0 to Visual Basic 2008 <!-- dead link http://msdn.microsoft.com/dd408373.aspx -->
*[http://www.infoq.com/news/2012/02/vb6_supported_on_win8 Visual Basic 6 Renewed to Run on Windows 8]
* [http://www.change.org/petitions/microsoft-bring-back-classic-visual-basic-and-allow-64-bits-compilation New Change.org petition for a 64-bit version of VB6]

{{BASIC|state=open}}
{{MS DevTools|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Articles with example BASIC code]]
[[Category:BASIC compilers]] <!-- 5 and above -->
[[Category:BASIC interpreters]] <!-- all P-code runtimes -->
[[Category:Procedural programming languages]]
[[Category:Microsoft BASIC]]
[[Category:Microsoft Visual Studio|Basic]]
[[Category:Microsoft development tools]]
[[Category:Object-based programming languages]]
[[Category:Object-oriented programming languages]]
[[Category:Programming languages created in 1991]]
[[Category:Integrated development environments]]

2015년 3월 9일 (월) 20:13 판

틀:Unreliable sources

Visual Basic
파일:VisualBasicLogo.gif
파일:Microsoft Visual Studio 6 screenshot.png
패러다임Object-based and Event-driven
개발자Microsoft
발표일1991년(33년 전)(1991)
최근 버전6.0
최근 버전 출시일1998년(26년 전)(1998)
자료형 체계Static, strong
운영 체제Microsoft Windows and MS-DOS
웹사이트msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/ms788229.aspx
주요 구현체
Microsoft Visual Studio
영향을 받은 언어
BASIC
영향을 준 언어
Visual Basic .NET, Gambas, Xojo and Basic4ppc

Visual Basic is a third-generation event-driven programming language and integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft for its COM programming model first released in 1991. Microsoft intended Visual Basic to be relatively easy to learn and use.[1][2] Visual Basic was derived from BASIC and enables the rapid application development (RAD) of graphical user interface (GUI) applications, access to databases using Data Access Objects, Remote Data Objects, or ActiveX Data Objects, and creation of ActiveX controls and objects.

A programmer can create an application using the components provided by the Visual Basic program itself. Over time the community of programmers have developed new third party components, keeping this programming language to modern standards.[3][4][5][6][7] Programs written in Visual Basic can also use the Windows API, which requires external function declarations.

The final release was version 6 in 1998 (now known simply as Visual Basic). Though Visual Basic 6.0 IDE is unsupported as of April 8, 2008, the Visual Basic team is committed to “It Just Works” compatibility for Visual Basic 6.0 applications on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 including R2, Windows 7, and Windows 8.[8] In 2014 there are tens of thousands of developers who still prefer Visual Basic 6.0 over Visual Basic .NET.[3][9] Moreover, in recent years some developers lobbied aggressively for a new version of Visual Basic 6.0.[10][11][12] [13] A dialect of Visual Basic, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), is used as a macro or scripting language within several Microsoft applications, including Microsoft Office.[14]

Language features

Like the BASIC programming language, Visual Basic was designed to accommodate a steep learning curve. Programmers can create both simple and complex GUI applications. Programming in VB is a combination of visually arranging components or controls on a form, specifying attributes and actions for those components, and writing additional lines of code for more functionality. Since VB defines default attributes and actions for the components, a programmer can develop a simple program without writing much code. Programs built with earlier versions suffered performance problems, but faster computers and native code compilation has made this less of an issue.

Though VB programs can be compiled into native code executables from version 5 on, they still require the presence of around 1 MB of runtime libraries. Runtime libraries are included by default in Windows 2000 and later. Earlier versions of Windows (95/98/NT), require that the runtime libraries be distributed with the executable.

An empty form in Visual Basic 6.

Forms are created using drag-and-drop techniques. A tool is used to place controls (e.g., text boxes, buttons, etc.) on the form (window). Controls have attributes and event handlers associated with them. Default values are provided when the control is created, but may be changed by the programmer. Many attribute values can be modified during run time based on user actions or changes in the environment, providing a dynamic application. For example, code can be inserted into the form resize event handler to reposition a control so that it remains centered on the form, expands to fill up the form, etc. By inserting code into the event handler for a keypress in a text box, the program can automatically translate the case of the text being entered, or even prevent certain characters from being inserted.

Visual Basic can create executables (EXE files), ActiveX controls, or DLL files, but is primarily used to develop Windows applications and to interface database systems. Dialog boxes with less functionality can be used to provide pop-up capabilities. Controls provide the basic functionality of the application, while programmers can insert additional logic within the appropriate event handlers.

For example, a drop-down combination box automatically displays a list. When the user selects an element, an event handler is called that executes code that the programmer created to perform the action for that list item.

Alternatively, a Visual Basic component can have no user interface, and instead provide ActiveX objects to other programs via Component Object Model (COM). This allows for server-side processing or an add-in module.

The runtime recovers unused memory using reference counting, which depends on variables passing out of scope or being set to Nothing, avoiding the problem of memory leaks common to other languages. There is a large library of utility objects, and the language provides basic object oriented support. Unlike many other programming languages, Visual Basic is generally not case sensitive—though it transforms keywords into a standard case configuration and forces the case of variable names to conform to the case of the entry in the symbol table. String comparisons are case sensitive by default.

The Visual Basic compiler is shared with other Visual Studio languages (C, C++). Nevertheless, by default the restrictions in the IDE do not allow creation of some targets (Windows model DLLs) and threading models, but over the years, developers have bypassed these restrictions.

Characteristics

The code windows in Visual Basic, showing a Function using the If, Then, Else and Dim statements.

The following Visual Basic traits differ from C-derived languages:

  • Statements tend to terminate with keywords, such as "End If", instead of using "{}"s to group statements.
  • Multiple variable assignment is not possible. A = B = C does not imply that the values of A, B and C are equal. The boolean result of "Is B = C?" is stored in A. The result stored in A would therefore be either false or true.
  • Boolean constant True has numeric value −1.[15] This is because the Boolean data type is stored as a 16-bit signed integer. In this construct −1 evaluates to 16 binary 1s (the Boolean value True), and 0 as 16 0s (the Boolean value False). This is apparent when performing a Not operation on a 16 bit signed integer value 0, which returns the integer value −1, in other words True = Not False. This inherent functionality becomes especially useful when performing logical operations on the individual bits of an integer such as And, Or, Xor and Not.[16] This definition of True is also consistent with BASIC since the early 1970s Microsoft BASIC implementation and is also related to the characteristics of CPU instructions at the time.
  • Logical and bitwise operators are unified. This is unlike some C-derived languages (such as Perl), which have separate logical and bitwise operators. This again is a traditional feature of BASIC.
  • Variable array base. Arrays are declared by specifying the upper and lower bounds in a way similar to Pascal and Fortran. It is also possible to use the Option Base statement to set the default lower bound. Use of the Option Base statement can lead to confusion when reading Visual Basic code and is best avoided by always explicitly specifying the lower bound of the array. This lower bound is not limited to 0 or 1, because it can also be set by declaration. In this way, both the lower and upper bounds are programmable. In more subscript-limited languages, the lower bound of the array is not variable. This uncommon trait does exist in Visual Basic .NET but not in VBScript.
OPTION BASE was introduced by ANSI, with the standard for ANSI Minimal BASIC in the late 1970s.
  • Relatively strong integration with the Windows operating system and the Component Object Model. The native types for strings and arrays are the dedicated COM types, BSTR and SAFEARRAY.
  • Banker's rounding as the default behavior when converting real numbers to integers with the Round function.[17] ? Round(2.5, 0) gives 2, ? Round(3.5, 0) gives 4.
  • Integers are automatically promoted to reals in expressions that involve the normal division operator (/) so that division of one integer by another produces the intuitively correct result. VB provides a specific integer divide operator (\) that does truncate.
  • By default, if a variable has not been declared or if no type declaration character is specified, the variable is of type Variant. However this can be changed with Deftype statements such as DefInt, DefBool, DefVar, DefObj, DefStr. There are 12 Deftype statements in total offered by Visual Basic 6.0. The default type may be overridden for a specific declaration by using a special suffix character on the variable name (# for Double, ! for Single, & for Long, % for Integer, $ for String, and @ for Currency) or using the key phrase As (type). VB can also be set in a mode that only explicitly declared variables can be used with the command Option Explicit.

History

Alan Cooper created the drag and drop design for the user interface of Visual Basic.

VB 1.0 was introduced in 1991. The drag and drop design for creating the user interface is derived from a prototype form generator developed by Alan Cooper and his company called Tripod.[출처 필요]틀:Discuss Microsoft contracted with Cooper and his associates to develop Tripod into a programmable form system for Windows 3.0, under the code name Ruby (no relation to the later Ruby programming language).

Tripod did not include a programming language at all. Microsoft decided to combine Ruby with the Basic language to create Visual Basic.

The Ruby interface generator provided the "visual" part of Visual Basic and this was combined with the "EB" Embedded BASIC engine designed for Microsoft's abandoned "Omega" database system. Ruby also provided the ability to load dynamic link libraries containing additional controls (then called "gizmos"), which later became the VBX interface.[18]

Timeline description

파일:Microsoft Visual Basic for MS-DOS (Professional Edition Version1.00).png
Basic for MS-DOS
파일:VBDOS-icon.PNG
VB DOS icon
  • Project 'basic Thunder' was initiated in 1990.[19]
  • Visual Basic 1.0 (May 1991) was released for Windows at the Comdex/Windows World trade show in Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Visual Basic 1.0 for DOS was released in September 1992. The language itself was not quite compatible with Visual Basic for Windows, as it was actually the next version of Microsoft's DOS-based BASIC compilers, QuickBASIC and BASIC Professional Development System. The interface used a Text user interface, using extended ASCII characters to simulate the appearance of a GUI.
  • Visual Basic 2.0 was released in November 1992. The programming environment was easier to use, and its speed was improved. Notably, forms became instantiable objects, thus laying the foundational concepts of class modules as were later offered in VB4.
  • Visual Basic 3.0 was released in the summer of 1993 and came in Standard and Professional versions. VB3 included version 1.1 of the Microsoft Jet Database Engine that could read and write Jet (or Access) 1.x databases.
  • Visual Basic 4.0 (August 1995) was the first version that could create 32-bit as well as 16-bit Windows programs. It has three editions; Standard, Professional, and Enterprise. It also introduced the ability to write non-GUI classes in Visual Basic. Incompatibilities between different releases of VB4 caused installation and operation problems. While previous versions of Visual Basic had used VBX controls, Visual Basic now used OLE controls (with files names ending in .OCX) instead. These were later to be named ActiveX controls.
  • With version 5.0 (February 1997), Microsoft released Visual Basic exclusively for 32-bit versions of Windows. Programmers who preferred to write 16-bit programs were able to import programs written in Visual Basic 4.0 to Visual Basic 5.0, and Visual Basic 5.0 programs can easily be converted with Visual Basic 4.0. Visual Basic 5.0 also introduced the ability to create custom user controls, as well as the ability to compile to native Windows executable code, speeding up calculation-intensive code execution. A free, downloadable Control Creation Edition was also released for creation of ActiveX controls. It was also used as an introductory form of Visual Basic: a regular .exe project could be created and run in the IDE, but not compiled.
  • Visual Basic 6.0 (Mid-1998) improved in a number of areas[20] including the ability to create web-based applications. Visual Basic 6.0 has entered Microsoft's "non-supported phase" as of March 2008. Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7, no longer support the Visual Basic 6.0 development environment, but still support the runtime.[21] Microsoft announced in February 2012 that they support the runtime in Windows 8.[22]
  • Mainstream Support for Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 ended on March 31, 2005. Extended support ended in March 2008.[23] In response, the Visual Basic user community expressed its grave concern and lobbied users to sign a petition to keep the product alive.[24] Microsoft has so far refused to change their position on the matter.[25] Ironically, around this time (2005), it was exposed that Microsoft's new anti-spyware offering, Microsoft AntiSpyware (part of the GIANT Company Software purchase), was coded in Visual Basic 6.0.[26] Its replacement, Windows Defender, was rewritten in C++.[27]

Derivative languages

Microsoft has developed derivatives of Visual Basic for use in scripting. Visual Basic itself is derived heavily from BASIC, and subsequently has been replaced with a .NET platform version.

Some of the derived languages are:

  • Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is included in many Microsoft applications (Microsoft Office), and also in many third-party products like SolidWorks, AutoCAD, WordPerfect Office 2002, ArcGIS, Sage 300 ERP, and Business Objects Desktop Intelligence. There are small inconsistencies in the way VBA is implemented in different applications, but it is largely the same language as Visual Basic 6.0 and uses the same runtime library. Visual Basic development ended with 6.0, but in 2010 Microsoft introduced VBA 7 to provide extended features and add 64-bit support.[28]
  • VBScript is the default language for Active Server Pages. It can be used in Windows scripting and client-side web page scripting. It resembles VB in syntax, but is a separate language—executed by vbscript.dll instead of the VB runtime. ASP and VBScript should not be confused with ASP.NET, which uses the .NET Framework for compiled web pages.
  • Visual Basic .NET is Microsoft's designated successor to Visual Basic 6.0, and is part of Microsoft's .NET platform. Visual Basic .NET compiles and runs using the .NET Framework. It is not backwards compatible with Visual Basic 6.0. An automated conversion tool exists, but fully automated conversion for most projects is impossible.[29]
  • OpenOffice Basic is a Visual Basic compatible interpreter that originated in StarOffice office suite.
  • Gambas is a Visual Basic inspired free software programming language for the Linux operating system. It is not a clone of Visual Basic, but it does have the ability to convert Visual Basic programs to Gambas.
  • WinWrap Basic is a third-party VBA variant used with various software, and available for programmers to use to build a macro facility into their programmes.
  • LotusScript is a VBA variant available in Lotus SmartSuite and Lotus Notes.
  • Later versions of Corel WordPerfect Office implement access to VBA as one of the macro/scripting languages, the other major ones being CorelScript and PerfectScript
  • Earlier versions of Microsoft Word use a variant of Visual Basic called WordBasic

Performance and other issues

Earlier versions of Visual Basic (prior to version 5) compiled the code to P-Code only. The P-Code is interpreted by the language runtime. The benefits of P-Code include portability and smaller binary file sizes, but it usually slows down the execution, since having a runtime adds an additional layer of interpretation.

Visual Basic applications require Microsoft Visual Basic runtime MSVBVMxx.DLL, where xx is the relevant version number, either 50 or 60. MSVBVM60.dll comes as standard with Windows in all editions after Windows 98 while MSVBVM50.dll comes with all editions after Windows 95. A Windows 95 machine would however require inclusion with the installer of whichever dll was needed by the program.

Visual Basic 5 and 6 can compile code to either native or P-Code but in either case the runtime is still required for built in functions and forms management.

Criticisms levelled at Visual Basic editions prior to VB.NET include:[30]

Legacy development and support

All versions of the Visual Basic development environment from 1.0 to 6.0 are now retired and unsupported by Microsoft. The associated runtime environments are also unsupported, except for the Visual Basic 6 core runtime environment, which Microsoft officially supports for the lifetime of Windows 8.[33] Third party components that shipped with Visual Studio 6.0 are not included in this support statement. Some legacy Visual Basic components may still work on newer platforms, despite being unsupported by Microsoft and other vendors.

Development and maintenance development for Visual Basic 6 is possible on legacy Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 2003 using Visual Studio 6.0 platforms, but is unsupported. Documentation for Visual Basic 6.0, its application programming interface and tools is best covered in the last MSDN release before Visual Studio.NET 2002. Later releases of MSDN focused on .NET development and had significant parts of the Visual Basic 6.0 programming documentation removed. The Visual Basic IDE can be installed and used on Windows Vista, 7 and 8, where it exhibits some minor incompatibilities that do not hinder normal software development and maintenance. As of August 2008, both Visual Studio 6.0 and the MSDN documentation mentioned above are available for download by MSDN subscribers.

Example code

The following code snippet displays a message box saying "Hello, World!" as the window loads:

Private Sub Form_Load()
    ' Execute a simple message box that says "Hello, World!"
    MsgBox "Hello, World!"
End Sub

This snippet makes a counter that moves up 1 every second (a label and a timer control need to be added to the form for this to work):

Option Explicit
Dim Count As Integer
Private Sub Form_Load()
    Count = 0
    Timer1.Interval = 1000 ' units of milliseconds
End Sub
Private Sub Timer1_Timer()
    Count = Count + 1
    Label1.Caption = Count
End Sub

See also

  • IIf – a function in several editions of Visual Basic roughly equivalent to the ?: conditional operator of C and related languages.

Related programming languages:

References

  1. Root, Randal; Romero Sweeney, Mary (2006). 《A tester's guide to .NET programming》. Apress. 3쪽. ISBN 978-1-59059-600-5. You can choose a language based on how easy it is to learn. For beginners, Visual Basic is a good choice. [~snip] A big advantage of Visual Basic is that it is a popular language because it is easy to learn. 
  2. Plant, Robert T.; Murrell, Stephen (2007). 《An executive's guide to information technology》. Cambridge University Press. 343쪽. ISBN 978-0-521-85336-1. Summary of positive issues: Visual Basic is easy to learn and widely available. 
  3. ISpliter. “Visual Basic 6.0: A giant more powerful than ever”. CodeProject.com. 2014년 4월 3일에 확인함. 
  4. violent, ken. “vkControls : 16 GRAPHICALS usercontrols ! NEVER SEEN before !”. PSC. 2014년 4월 5일에 확인함. 
  5. Krool. “CommonControls (Replacement of the MS common controls)”. VBForums. 2014년 4월 5일에 확인함. 
  6. PSC. “Visual Basic 6.0 third party components for modern standards (a review)”. Planet Source Code. 2014년 4월 4일에 확인함. 
  7. Jeff, Martin. “Visual Basic 6 Renewed to Run on Windows 8”. INFOQ. 2014년 4월 5일에 확인함. 
  8. “Support Statement for Visual Basic 6.0 on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows 8”. Microsoft. 2014년 4월 5일에 확인함. 
  9. Richard, Grigonis. “Where Is the Successor to Visual Basic?”. 《Thursday, 27 Mar 2014 03:20 PM》. INFOQ. 2014년 4월 8일에 확인함. 
  10. classicvb. “A PETITION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNMANAGED VISUAL BASIC AND VISUAL BASIC FOR APPLICATIONS”. classicvb.org. 2014년 4월 5일에 확인함. 
  11. J, Roxe. “An Open Letter to the Community”. MSDN WebLog. 2014년 4월 5일에 확인함. 
  12. Dan, Mabbutt. “Should Microsoft be sued for dropping support for VB 6?”. about.com. 2014년 4월 5일에 확인함. 
  13. http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240224504/Developers-call-for-Microsoft-to-bring-back-Visual-Basic
  14. “VBA for Office Developers”. Microsoft. 
  15. In most languages, True is mapped to a non zero numeric value, often 1 or -1.
  16. “Microsoft Basic Logical Expression Evaluation”. Vb.mvps.org. 2009년 6월 16일에 확인함. 
  17. “PRB: Round Function different in VBA 6 and Excel Spreadsheet”. 《Microsoft Support》. 2014년 1월 25일에 확인함. 
  18. “The Birth of Visual Basic”.  Rian " Petot " Danao I <3 19
  19. George, Mack. “History of Visual Basic”. 《June 2002》. George Mack, 3rd edition, Copyright June 2002. 2014년 4월 10일에 확인함. 
  20. www.insteptech.com (2005년 7월 22일). “What's new in VB6?”. www.insteptech.com. 
  21. “Support Statement for Visual Basic 6.0 on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7”. Msdn.microsoft.com. 2008년 4월 8일. 2009년 6월 16일에 확인함. 
  22. “Support Statement for Visual Basic 6.0 on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows 8”. Msdn.microsoft.com. 2012년 11월 1일. 2013년 7월 21일에 확인함. 
  23. “Product Family Life Cycle Guidelines for Visual Basic 6.0”. Msdn2.microsoft.com. 2005년 3월 31일. 2009년 6월 16일에 확인함. 
  24. “Petition to Microsoft”. Classicvb.org. 2005년 3월 8일. 2009년 6월 16일에 확인함. 
  25. Al Tenhundfeld (2009년 3월 4일). “Visual Basic 6.0 to be Supported on Windows 7”. The Register. 2009년 3월 5일에 확인함. 
  26. Andrew Orlowski and Carey Bishop (2005년 7월 22일). “MS Anti-Spyware built on MS Abandonware”. The Register. 2006년 10월 4일에 확인함. 
  27. “Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Windows Defender Beta 2 Review”. Winsupersite.com. 2006년 2월 14일. 2009년 6월 16일에 확인함. 
  28. “Compatibility Between the 32-bit and 64-bit Versions of Office 2010”. Microsoft Corporation. 2012년 7월 16일에 확인함. 
  29. Piquet, Lori (2002년 2월 20일). “Abandoning the Fantasy of VB Migration Wizardry”. 《DevX.com》. Jupitermedia. 2007년 5월 17일에 확인함. 
  30. Alex Homer, Dave Sussman, Rob Howard, Brian Francis, Karli Watson, Richard Anderson (2004). 《Professional ASP.NET 1.1》. Wiley. 71쪽. ISBN 0-7645-5890-0. 2008년 10월 8일에 확인함. 
  31. Marc D'Aoust (December 2000). “Avoid Writing Tedious, Boring Code”. Microsoft. 2008년 11월 10일에 확인함. 
  32. Andrew Troelsen (2008). 《Pro VB 2008 and the .NET 3.5 Platform: The expert's voice in .NET》. Apress. 5쪽. ISBN 1-59059-822-9. 
  33. Platt, David (2012년 6월 1일). “Don't Get Me Started – The Silent Majority: Why Visual Basic 6 Still Thrives”. MSDN Magazine. 2012년 6월 9일에 확인함. 

External links

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