Clocks and Countdowns
(Page 1 of 4 )
As a beginning coder in the world of Visual Basic.Net, you may feel that your programs have reached a plateau. If you want to take your programming to a new level, then you may want to consider the addition of a more advanced feature for the programs you design. One of the ways to do that is with the addition of a clock or a countdown in your program.
Sure, they may not be right for all applications, but in the correct context, adding a clock or a countdown to your program can truly enhance your development. If you are considering adding a clock or a countdown to your next program, then this piece can help you to get it right, and make all of the decisions you need to make. Read on if you want to take it to the next level.
Why a clock or countdown?
You may wonder why, from a developer's point of view, putting in a clock or a countdown is a step up from your usual "find the object on the list, place the object into your program and give the object functionality" routine. Well, there are a few good reasons.
1. You can tie it to other objects. One of the stops on the way to becoming a great developer is learning to tie two objects together in order to create a function the two could not achieve separately. For example, it could work well with a trivia game with a time limit on answering questions.
2. You can give a sense of organization to a distraction-free program. Distraction-free programs are a great way to help end users focus on only on task. (That's a harder and harder thing to do in the age of multitasking). The only problem is if you have to close a distraction-free program to get basic information, like the time, then your program really isn’t that distraction-free.
3. Because sometimes it just makes sense. Let’s say that you are creating a new planner program. In that case, clocks (for setting an event to a specific time in the day) and countdowns (for reminder notices) can be an important part of the program. At least they can be if you want to make a planner with those functions. Any program with reminders or deadlines will probably involve at least one clock or countdown. It may even involve at least one of each of those elements.
Now that we have looked at three good reasons why you, as a developer, might want to learn about clocks and countdowns, let’s move on to the definitions.
Next: Defining clocks and countdowns >>
More Visual Basic.NET Articles
More By Katie Gatto
/ 4 
