Table of Contents

(NOTE: Each chapter concluds with a Summary.)

Introduction to Visual Basic.


Who Should Read This Book. What You Will Need to Get Started.



1. The .NET Framework.


Assemblies. The Common Language Runtime. Namespaces. The .NET Framework Class Library. Deployment.



2. Visual Studio.NET>


Preview of Visual Studio.NET. The Visual Studio.NET IDE. The Visual Studio.NET Editor. Other Editors. VB and the .NET Framework.



3. Object-Oriented Programming Concepts.


Abstraction in Visual Basic.NET. Encapsulation in VB.NET. Polymorphism in VB.NET. Inheritance in VB.NET. Interface-Based Programming.



4. Methods, Properties and Events.


Methods. Function Overloading. Properties. Events. Attributes.



5. Creating and Destroying Objects.


Constructors. Destructors. Accessibility Modifiers.



6. Creating VB>NET Projects.


Unsupported Project Types. Class Libraries. Web Form Applications. Web Form Controls. Web Service Projects. Windows Applications. Windows Controls. Windows Services. Console Applications.



7. Data and Object Types.


Types in the .NET Framework. String Handling. Intrinsic Data Types in VB.NET. Classes. Structures.



8.Controlling the Flow of Logic.


Short-Circuited Expressions. Selection. Iteration. Statements Removed.



9. Error Handling.


The System. Exception Class. Try...Catch...Finally Statement. Throw Statement. Implementing Structured Exception Handling. Global Exception Handlers. Using Structured Exception Handling Effectively. Sample Windows Form Application Using Exception Handling.



10. ADO>NET.


From DAO to ADO.NET. The ADO.NET Object Model. ADO.NET Support in Visual Studio.NET.



11. .NET Application Development Design, Architecture, and Implementation.


Security. Garbage Collection and Resource Management. Performance Considerations. Architectural Considerations. XML Integration.



12. Interoperability.


Calling the Windows API. Using .NET Framework Components in COM Applications. COM+ Services.



13. Migrating from VB 6.


What in VB6 Has Been Removed in VB.NET. Language Constructs. Language Changes. Migrating from VB 6 to VB.NET. Building New VB 6 Applications.



14. Future .NET Developments.


Cross Platform .NET. Additional Base WebServices. Greater Integration of .NET with .NET Enterprise Servers.



Appendix A. Windows Form Application.


Sports Statistics Data Entry. Summary.



Appendix B. ASP.NET Web Service and Web Forms Applications.


Sports Statistics Web Service. Super Stats Live Entry. Bob's Fantasy Baseball. Summary.



Index.

Promotional Information

This book will smooth the transition to Visual Basic.NET and help developers understand the paradigm shift presented by the .NET Framework. Key differences between VB 6 and VB.NET will be highlighted in the code samples.

About the Author

Keith Franklin is the president and senior architect of Empowered Software Solutions (ESS) based in Naperville, IL. He is the author of VB.NET For Developers from Sams Publishing, a regular contributor to Visual Basic Programmers Journal and Visual Studio Magazine, and a speaker at VBITS. Keith is the director of the Chicago.NET Users Group and one of the featured architects of www.dot-netrocks.com, which he created with Rocky Lhotka. As an architect for ESS, Keith consults, teaches, and architects solutions for clients building highly scalable Internet, e-Commerce, and Distributed Client/Server applications. Keith and ESS have been building applications for clients with the .NET Framework, ASP.NET, and VB.NET since Beta 1 was released. You can contact Keith via ESS (www.empowered.com) or via e-mail at ka_franklin@empowered.com.

Rebecca M. Riordan has almost 20 years of experience in software design and has earned an international reputation as a consultant, systems analyst, and designer of database and work-support systems. Her experience includes leading development projects in the United States, Australia, and Europe, managing the professional services department of one of Australia's largest computer retailers, and serving as a senior technical engineer for Microsoft. Currently living in New Mexico, she is the author of Designing Relational Database Systems, SQL Server 2000 Programming Step by Step, and the upcoming ADO.NET Step by Step.