Programming- art and science of creating programs A problem solving activity that involves planning and designing solutions
for a particular problem and then writing the solution in code using a programming language.
Computer program- set of instructions that telss the computer exactly what to do. Computer programmer- individuals who write and debug the programs. Why we write program? A computer does nothing more than blindly follow instructions supplied by a programmer and cannot think for itself. Classification of Programming Languages 1. Declarative language- highest level of language compared to its counterparts and focuses more on Object-oriented programming. Ex. (Visual Basic, Delphi, Visual C++, PROLOG, Small talk). 2. High Level Language- this is the most widely used level of programming language because it is easier to understand because it uses English commands to carry out instructions. Ex. (BASIC, COBOL, Pascal, FORTRAN) 3. Assembly language- a low-level language that allows the programmer to interact directly with the hardware 4. Machine Language- the only language that a computer can understand. Ex.(PASCAL or C). The Program Development Process 1. Planning- have an idea for a program. You must determine the problems that need to be addressed, plan for solutions and analyze how these solutions can solve the problem. 2. Coding- stage of writing the source code. It is the most tedious part of programming stage. Source code- is the actual programming instructions that the computer follows. 3. Testing and debugging- Error or bugs often appear in programs because of the details and syntax needed for even the simples program Debugging- process of fixing errors. Bugs- errors 4. Documentation- includes the necessary information about the profile and requirments of the program, the hardware requirements and operating system needed to run the program. It contains technical information such as where and who created the program, who to contact, and instructions in the use and maintenance of the program. 5. Maintenance- final stage of programming. It is where the programmer is tasked to keep the program running smoothly and updated with the development and changes in the field where it is used. Classification of program Bugs: 1. Syntax error- refers to the error in spelling and grammar of the particular language. 2. Logical error- syntactically correct but still produces incorrect resuls. Introducing Visual Basic Visual Basic was developed from the old QuickBasic or QBASIC language. QBASIC is the same language as BASIC. BASIC stands for Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instructions Code. It is the product name of Microsoft. Visual Basic is the brainchild of Allan Cooper. He developed and sold it to Microsoft. Microsoft took the undeveloped product and code named it Thunder. They proceed to create a programming language that would soon become one of the premiere development tools in the Windows environment. Textual Programming- text-based programs and are also called procedural programs. Object Oriented programing- is a programming paradigm using "objects" data structures consisting of data
fields and methods together with their interactions to design applications and computer programs. Properties of OOP a. Event-driven program- program that constantly tests for and responds to a set of events, such as a key-press or
mouse action. b. Event- can be a mouse click, a key press, a menu selection, or an internal Windows activity. c. Graphical User Interface (GUI)- type of program interface that uses buttons, menus, and other objects which respond to an event such as a mouse click or a key press.
VISUAL BASIC 2008 Express Edition One distinct advantage of writing a Visual Basic program is its graphic programming approach.. You can place text, buttons, and lines onto the environment using visual tools supplied with Visual Basic so your program will look like what you want in the screen output. Menu bar- It has menus that drop down to reveal a list of commands. These commands will perform operations such as opening or saving a project or assist you in displaying the different windows needed in your environment. Toolbar- has icons located horizontally across the top of Visual Basic development environment window serve as shortcuts to the different menu items. Toolbox- vertical grouping of controls found in the left side of the visual design screen. Form- main object used o create the user interface for your application. Solution Explorer Window- displays a hierarchical list of all the different components that makes up your applicaton. Properties window- displays a list of all the properties available to the object that is in focus.
Icon
Tool Name
What This Tool Does
Pointer
Selects objects
Picture box
Draws a box to display graphics
Label
Draws a box to display text
Text box
Draws a box that can display text and let the user type in text
Frame
Groups two or more objects together
Command button
Draws a command button
Check box
Draws a check box
Option (or radio) button
Draws a radio button
Combo box
Draws a combo box
List box
Draws a list box
Horizontal scroll bar
Draws a horizontal scroll bar
Vertical scroll bar
Draws a vertical scroll bar
Timer
Places a timer on a form
Drive list box
Draws a drive list box that displays all the disk drives available
Directory list box
Draws a directory list box that displays a directory on a particular disk drive
File list box
Draws a file list box that displays files in a specific directory
Shape
Draws a geometric shape such as a circle or a square
Line
Draws a line
Image box
Draws a box to display graphics
Data control
Draws a control to link a program to a database file
OLE
Draws a box to insert an OLE object
