Making Your First Active X Control in Visual Basic
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Visual Basic is, essentially, a way for programmers to save themselves a lot of time when creating applications for computers that run on Windows. Using Visual Basic makes a lot of sense when you want to build a no fuss, no muss application. This article will introduce you to using it.
If you are sitting here, reading this piece right now and staring at your screen, then you probably want to know how to add Active X controls to a Visual Basic program. After all, that is the title of this tutorial, and you are in the right place.
For those of you who don't know what Visual Basic is, Visual Basic is a way for the developers of programs to save time and energy when they are creating programs. Visual Basic, of course, is only for programs that are meant to run on versions of the Windows operating system (Vista, XP, ME, etc...), so you can not use it if you want to make a program that runs on the Apple or Linux operating systems.
Visual Basic helps to save time and repetition by creating the framework of the program for developers when they open the Visual Basic program. Visual Basic features what is known as object-oriented programming. In the case of Visual Basic this means that you, as the developer, will have access to a list of different items like text boxes, buttons, scroll bars, labels, etc. that you can place onto the main window of the program.
Now that you have a handle on Visual Basic, let's talk about Active X. If you have even seen some Active X code, then you probably know that developers can not make a whole program in Active X. This may raise some questions in your mind while you are reading this. Well, why not? Is there something wrong with Active X? Because if there is, why should you waste your time on a seriously flawed language?
No worries, there is nothing wrong with Active X. Active X does what it sets out to do very well; it is simply not designed to be the primary language for a program. Active X is more of a set of rules that act as a bridge between a program (for example a program written in Visual Basic) and a web browser (like Internet Explorer or Firefox). It acts as a kind of a bridge.
If Visual Basic was an island Active X would be the suspension bridge that lets the commuter data get across. Active X is one of those fancy multi-tiered bridges that reroutes the traffic to less crowded decks during rush hour. Sorry, the bridge analogy ran away with itself there; what I meant to say is that Active X can work with more than just Visual Basic, as those who know Active X can create bridges in programs like C++ and Java as well.
Now that we have gotten past the basics, it is time to dive in head first and make your first Active X control in a Visual Basic program. Don't worry, since I know that you are a first timer, we will take this nice and slow. Just one final note, this tutorial assumes that you have a least a basic working knowledge of Visual Basic as a program. If you don't, you may find yourself having a hard time with this tutorial.
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