Programming in VB

Unit 2
1. Define event? Give two examples of event
in visual basic?

• An event is an action initiated by the user.

• When the user clicks on command button or mouse moving/dragging
& drop or pressing a key on the keyboard.. This action is called an
Event.
• Eg: Mouse up, Mouse Down , Click , Key press etc.
• When an event access, VB searches for the basic code connected to
that event.
• The basic code responding to a specific event is kwon as Event
Procedure.

• The programming code responding to these events is known as Event

Driven Programming
 Event Procedures
• Identify the object in the interface which responds
• Open the code window
• Identify the event to which VB must respond
• Write BASIC CODE to process the event

Objects of a user interface which can respond to events are:

FORMS
OBJECTS (button, option Box, Textbox, checkbox.. Etc)
Pull – Down Menus
Types of Events are:
1)Key Board Event: occur when the user presses a key such as Tab, enter etc.

1) Key Down: occurs when a key is pressed

2) Key up: when the user releases the key

3) Key press: to find out which key is pressed.

it occurs when the user press and releases the key
i.e enter, backspace, characters etc

4)Change: occurs when the contents of textbox, listbox, combobox

picturebox changes
2) Mouse Event: occurs when the user takes
action using a mouse.
1. Click: when the left mouse button is clicked on the object

2. Dblclick: double click the left mouse button on the object

3. Mouse Down: when a mouse button is pressed

4. Mouse Up: occurs when the user releases the mouse button

5. Mouse Move: continuously as the mouse is moved over the object.

3) Focus Event: when data entry via keyboard the focus event can be used to move
the focus from one textbox to another

1) Got Focus: It can be used to validate the data entered by the user.

2) Lost Focus: when focus moves from one object to the another, the
first object which had the focus receives the lost Focus,

3) Set Focus: Focus can also be moved to another object by using the
set focus method in the code.
4) Tab order: Tan key can be used to move focus from one object to
another
 2) What is Variables? How to declare variables in VB
• Variables are used to store values during execution of a program.
• They take different values at different time.
• They can access the value of the variable by using there variable name.

RULES:
1)Variable names must begin with a letter, digits or both
2)No special characters are allowed except underscore ( _ ) eg: tot_marks
3)VB is not case sensitive
4)Appropriate variable name must be chosen to indicate their role in the program
5)Max length should not exceed 255 characters.
 Declaring variables

1) Explicit Declaration 2) Implicit Declarations

• A variable can be declared using the • A variable are used without declaring them,
DIM statement it called as Implicit declaration
• Eg: Dim Num1 As Integer • When VB encounters an undeclared
Dim welcome As strings variable, It immediately creates a new
Num1 = 25
variable type Variant
Welcom = “ welcome to NHCK”

• Multiple variable can be declared as: • Variant : can store all type of data values &
its extremely flexiable
Dim num1 As Integer,Num2 As Integer
Eg: Dim myval

• Myval can be variant

 3) Explain the data types used in VB 6.0?
1) Numeric Data type:
Data Type Description Size

Integer Integer Value 2 bytes

Long Long integer 4 bytes

Single Single precision 4 bytes

Double Double precision floating 8 bytes

point

2) Byte Data Type : None of the numeric data type cant store in a single bytes
Byte datatype stores an integer range of 0 to 255
Eg: Dim n1 As byte
n1 = 25
3) String Variable:- Can store text/string of characters with double quotes “ ”
Eg: “new_Horizon”

Dim stdname As String

Stdname = “shalini”
Stdname = “”

*Fixed length strings:- Dim stdname As string *50

If string more than 50 characters , the extra characters is truncated

When the string has fewer than 50, the extra space is padded with spaces
4) Date Variables: VB stores data and time values internally as double prescision
number.
integer part as Date
fractional part as Time

Eg: Dim paydate As Date

Paydate = “2/11/2019” (dd/mm/yyyy)
Paydate = “12:15:00 PM”
Paydate = “02/1/2019 12 :15:15 PM”

Formate of date is (dd/mm/yyyy) is automatically changes to MM/DD/YYYY

When data is enclosed with #sign
Paydate = #02/1/2019 12 :15:15 PM# (MM/DD/YYYY)
5) Boolean Variables: store only true / false values
1 for true , 0 for false
occupy 2 bytes

Eg: Dim found As Boolean

Found = true
Its combined with logical operators AND, OR, NOT XOR
They are used in testing conditions
6) Object variable: are stored in 4 bytes
cab access the actual object
eg: Dim b1 As CommandButton, b2 As CommandButton
or
Dim b1 As object, b2 As object
set b1 = command1
set b2 = command2
there properties cab be manipulated as:
b1.caption = “hello”
b2.caption = “world”
b1.fontbold = true
7) Varient variables:

• When VB encounters an undeclared variable, It immediately creates a new

variable type Variant

• Variant : can store all type of data values & its extremely flexiable

• Eg: Dim myval

• Myval can be variant

Operators
Operator Symbol usage
Exponentiation ^ Dim m , n , st
M=10 : n=2
Print m^n
Output is 100
Addition + Print m+n
Output 12
Subtraction - Print m – n
Output 8
Multiplication * Output 20
Division / Output 5
Modulus Mod Print 10 mod 3
Output is 1
String Concatenation & M = “new”
n =“ Horizon”
St = m & n
Print st
Output is new horizon
Relational operators

Operator Symbol Usage

Equal = X=2
Not equal <> X <> 10
Less than < x< 10
Greater than > Y >5
Less than or equal to <= Y<=10
Greater than equal to >= Y >= 5
Logical Operators
Operator Symbol
Logical NOT NOT 1 ---- 0
0----- 1
Logical AND AND 1 1 --- 1
1 0 ----- 0
0 1 ----- 0
0 0 ------ 0
Logical OR OR 1 1 --- 1
1 0 ----- 1
0 1 ----- 1
0 0 ------ 0
 REM statement
• REM is a keyword
• Its used to include remarks explaining the program code
• Any statement with REM at its beginning is ignored by the complier
• Also it can be used at the end of the statement by using :
• Comments in VB using apostrophe ( ‘) symbol
Dim n1, n2 AS Integer ‘ variable n1 and n2
• Syntax: n1 * n2 : product of the number

Rem this is a comment statement

‘ comments can be defined here
 In the Last Class: Selection Structure
• If … Then
• If … Then … Else
• Select … Case
[grade>=60] display
If … Then
"passed"

[grade<60]
If grade >= 60
Then
Textbox1 = “A”
End if
sts1
20
If … Then … Else
If condition 1 Then
Sts block – S1
ElseIf conditions 2 Then
Sts block – S2
EndIf
S3
Dim n As integer
N = val(textnum)
Select Case n
Case 1
Lblname = “Sunday”
Case 2, 3, 4, 5
Lblname = “Working Days”
Case 6,7
Lblname = “week end”
Case else
Lblname = “wrong Entry”
End select
End sub
Select … Case Select Case grade
Case 100

Case 75 To 100
Select Case expression Text10.Text = "A"
Case Val1
Case 60 To 74
S1 Text10.Text = "B"
Case Val2
Case 50 To 69
S2 Text10.Text = "C"
…….
Case Valn Case 40 To 49
Text10.Text = "D"
sn
Case Else Case Else
Text10.Text = "F"
Sd
End Select End Select
Private Sub Command1_Click()
Dim s1, s2, s3, s4, s5, tot_mar As Integer
Dim per As Single
Dim grade As String

s1 = Val(Text3.Text)
s2 = Val(Text4.Text)
s3 = Val(Text5.Text)
s4 = Val(Text6.Text)
s5 = Val(Text7.Text)
tot_mar = s1 + s2 + s3 + s4 + s5
Text8.Text = tot_mar
per = tot_mar / 5
Text9.Text = per
If per >= 75 Then
Text10.Text = "A"
ElseIf per >= 60 And per < 75 Then
Text10.Text = "B"
ElseIf per >= 50 And per < 60 Then
Text10.Text = "C"
ElseIf per >= 40 And per < 50 Then
Text10.Text = "D"
Else
 5. Looping Structures / Control Structures
• Loops are required whenever a set of statements must be executed a number
of times.
• Control structures can be classified into 2 categories:
1. Entry – Controlled Loops
2. Exit – Controlled Loops

Entry Controlled Loops checks the control condition before entering the loop.
The body of the loop is executed only when the condition is true.
Otherwise, the control is transferred to next statement outside the loop.
The loop is executed repeatedly until the control condition becomes false.
Exit – Controlled Loops test the control condition at the end of the body of the
loop. The body of the loop is executed at least once, since the condition is
tested only at the end of the loop.
The looping statement will be executed repeatedly until the control condition is
false. Entry Controlled Exit - Controlled
Do While Condition Do
Statements Statements
Loop Loop While Condition
Do Until Condition Do
Statement Statement
Loop Loop Until Condition
While Condition
Statement
Wend
For Index = Start To End
Statements
Next
For Each element in group
Statement
Next
Do While Condition
Statements
Loop
• The condition is checked first
• If true the sts are executed and control is transferred back to the Do-while sts.
• When the condition is False, sts in the body are skipped and control is transferred to the next sts outside the
loop
• Its entry controlled loop

Dim M As Integer, N As Integer

M=12 : N=16

Do while M <> N
if M > N then
M=M–N
Else
N=N–M
End If
Loop
Do
Statements
Loop While Condition
It is exit controlled loop.
The sts are executed first and only then the condition is tested
Therefore the statements are executed at least once.
The loop is executed as long as the condition is fasle.
Dim M As Integer, N As Integer
M=12 : N=16

Do
if M > N then
M=M–N
Else
N=N–M
End If
Loop while M <> N
 Do until Condition
Statement
Loop

• Its entry Controlled loop Dim M As Integer, N As Integer

• Which executes the statement as long as M=12 : N=16

the condition is False. Do until M <> N

if M > N then
• If true the sts are executed and control is M=M–N
transferred back to the Do-while sts. Else
N=N–M
• When the condition is False, sts in the body End If
are skipped and control is transferred to the Loop

next sts outside the loop

Do
Statement
Loop until Condition Dim M As Integer, N As Integer
• Its Exit controlled structure, where M=12 : N=16
the condition is tested at the end of
Do
the loop. if M > N then
• Therefore the statement are executed M=M–N
Else
at least once. N=N–M
End If
• Further the loop is executed as long Loop until M <> N
as the condition is False.
While Condition
Its Entry controlled loop
Statement
Private Sub Command1_Click()
Wend Dim M As Integer, N As Integer, GCD As Integer
M = Val(Text1.Text)
N = Val(Text2.Text)

While M <> N

If M > N Then
M = M–N

Else

N = N–M

End If
Wend
GCD = N
Text3.Text = GCD

End Sub
For Index = Start To end
statement
Next

For – next is an entry controlled loop which executes the

statements for a specified number of times.
* sets the index variable to start
*check whether index is greater then end. If true it exits the
loop
* otherwise executes the sts in the body of the loop
* Increments the index value by the step value by 1 (default)
Eg :
Dim I As Integer
For I = 1 to 10
print 2^I
Next
Output: 2, 4, 8, 16,……………….
For Each element In group
sts
Next
• For Each – Next loop is similar to a for-next loop.
• It executes the set of statements for each elements of a collection of
items.
Private Sub Command4_Click()
Dim ctl As Control
Dim cmdkout, Lblkount As Integer
Dim txtout As Integer
For Each ctl In Me
If TypeOf ctl Is TextBox Then
txtout = txtout + 1
ElseIf TypeOf ctl Is Label Then
Lblkount = Lblkount + 1
ElseIf TypeOf ctl Is CommandButton Then
cmdkout = cmdkout + 1
End If
Next
 MsgBox "number of textbox = " & txtout & vbCrLf & "Number of label
boxes =" & Lblkount & vbCrLf & "Number of command =" & cmdkout &
vbCrLf

End Sub
6. Explain InputBox() and MsgBox() functions in
Visual Basic
INPUT BOX
• Displays a prompt in a dialog box
• Waits for the user to input text or click a button
• and returns a String containing the contents of the text box.

left upper point of

the box

Syntax :
Command Button
 The general Form of InputBox Function
Variable Name = InputBox(prompt [,Title] [,Default] [x pos] [,y pos])

Prompt : It’s a string displaying a message in a label in the

dialog box
Title : Optional, it’s a string displayed in the title bar of the
dialog box
Default : Optional, it’s the default value of input, in case the
user does not give any input. It will be a empty textbox
X pos and Y pos

Both optional. Numeric expressions that specify custom positioning of

the box on screen (by default, the box is displayed in the center of the
screen, which is usually desired). The left upper point of the box is the
(X, Y position) selected by the user
 MSGBOX
• Displays a message in a dialog box and wait for the user to click a
button
• And returns an integer indicating which button the user clicked.
Syntax
• MsgBox ( Prompt [,icons+buttons ] [,title ] )

• Prompt : String expressions displayed as the message in the dialog

box.
• Icons + Buttons : Numeric expression that is the sum of values
specifying the number and type of buttons and icon to display.
• Title : String expression displayed in the title bar of the dialog box. If
you omit title, the application name is placed in the title bar.
Eg:
MsgBox "Hello World", vbOKOnly , "hi"
 Button
Constant Value Description
vbOkOnly 0 Display OK button only
vbOkCancel 1 Display OK and Cancel buttons
Display Abort, Retry and Ignore
vbAbortRetryIgnore 2
buttons
Display Yes, No and Cancel
vbYesNoCancel 3
buttons
vbYesNo 4 Display Yes and No buttons
vbRetryCancel 5 Display Retr
 Valu
Constant Description
ICON e
vbCritica Display Critical
16
l message icon
Display
vbQuesti
32 Warning Query
on
icon
Display
vbExcla
48 Warning
mation
message icon
Display
vbInform
64 information
ation
icon
Functions
• A function is to return a specific item or information to the calling
function.
• General Form:
Function functionName(arg1 As type, arg2 As type,…..)As type
Statements
End Function
• FunctionName ---- is the name of the function
• Arg1 As type --- defines the arguments with their datatypes
• As type at the end of the sts --- defines the type of value that the
function will return.

• A function procedure can be created using Add Procedure

dialogue

• Go to Tools Add procedure select type Function  select

Scope  name the function
Eg:
Dim sqft

Private Function hi(x1 As Integer, x2 As Integer) As Single

hi = x1 * x2
End Function

Private Sub Command5_Click()

Sqft = hi(3, 3)
Label1 = Sqft
End Sub
General Procedures
• A large program is divided into smaller program called
Procedures.
• Procedures are written to define tasks that may have to be
used at many points in a program.
Advantages:
1) It makes program development easier.
2) Software reusability
3) Avoids repeating the same code in a program
4) Easy to debug a program with procedure
5) Using a procedure is a good programming practice
• General procedures can be divided into:
1) sub procedures
2) function Procedures

To create a general Procedure in a form file the steps are:

Go to Tools Add procedure select type Function  select Scope 

name the function
Eg: Dim N1 As long, N2 As long, N3 As long
Private sub Big (x As Long, y As Long, z As Long)
-------------
End sub

Call Big(N1, N2, N3) ‘ Calls the procedure Big passing the value of
N1, N2, N3 as argument

General procedure can be invoked in one of the three ways:

ProcedureName (Argument list)

ProcedureName Argument list
Call ProcedureName (Argument list)
General Procedure can be created and saved in two types of files:
* frm ( form) files
* Bas (Module) files
• When its saved as Bas file, it can be used by any event or general
procedure .
• To create a general procedure in a new Bas file the steps are:
1) select project  add Module.
2) click on the module icon and click on open
3) choose Tools Add procedure select type Function  select
Scope  name the function
Forms, Controls and Events
Forms

• A form is a container for controls

• A form is used to design a GUI-based window in a Windows
application
• A form displays information and receives input from the user.
• Always orient a form at a task as defined by the user
Form Properties

•Properties are the attributes of an object

•Methods are its responses of the object
•A property of an object can be set at design
time in the properties window or at run
time through coding
Setting Properties

• Design Time  Set in Properties

Window

• Run Time  Set / Change in Code

Form Properties
• Name: defined name of an object
• Appearance: the value is 0 – Flat and 1- 3D appearance
• BackColor: sets the background color of the object
• Caption: sets the message display in the title bar
• Enables : Set value to true or false
• Font : sets the font style, size etc.
• Visible: sets the value true or false depending on whether the objects
must be visible or hidden
• Width, Height : sets the dimensions of the object
Border style

Different styles are available for a form border.

0 – none VbBSNone
1- fixedsingle vbFixedSingle (form has a border, but cannot
be resized. Its fixed
2 – sizable vbsizable consists of a border and title bar

3- fixed Dialog vbFixedDialog consists of a fixed dialog box

4 – Fixed ToolWindow vbFixedToolWindow. Consists of only a close
button and therefore cannot be re-sized

5-Sizable ToolWindow vbSizableToolWindow. Consists of a close

button but can also be resized.
 Intrinsic Control
• The default controls which are automatically displayed in a Tool Box
when a form is loaded are known as Intrinsic Controls.
• Some common Intrinsic Controls are:
1) Label
8) Image Box
2) CommandButton
9) Timer
3) TextBox 10) Combo Box
4) Frame 11) List Box
5)Option Button 12) Horizontal & Vertical Scroll bars
6) Check Box 13) Shape and line
7) Picture Box 14) OLE
Label :
Label control allows the user to display text on a from. Text
printed on label cannot be edited during runtime.
Ex: Label1.Caption = “Name”

Label Properties:
Autosize : Can be set to true or false. When true it allows the label to
automatically resize itself to display its entire contents.
BackStyle: Can be set to
0 – Transparent or 1 – opaque
backStyle of labels set transparent, so that the text appears
to be placed directly on the Form.
 Command Button
its frequently used control.
Its used to invoke response from the user.

Command Button Properties:

1) Name – Name of the command Button is used to identify it in the VB code
no two command Button in the same form can have the same name.
2) Style – it indicates the types of display of the command button.
0 – standard it’s a default value
1 – Graphical Displays the command button with graphics
3) BackColor : Command button color can be changed by using Backcolor, this will
be effected only when the style property is set to graphical.

4) Picture: a picture can be add in the Command button and it will be displayed
only when the style property is set to graphical.

5)Enable : Command button can be enable or disabled , true or false . When

False the command button is disabled and cant be used until set to true

6)Caption : it places the text entered on the command Button.

7) TabIndex : Tab Index value starting from 0 sets the order in which focus is
received by the control on a form. When one of the values of Tab Index is altered
the rest of the value are automatically re-ordered.
Most frequently used Event procedure for command
Button are:
• Click
• KeyDown
• Keypress
• keyUp
• MouseDown
• MouseMove
• MouseUp
• GotFocus
• LostFocus
 TextBox Control
• Its used to enter the text in a windows user interface

Basic Text Properties are:

1) Enable: indicates whether the user can interact with the control or not

2) Locked: indicates whether the user can type in the textbox or not

3) MaxLength: indicates the max number of characters input in the

textbox.

4) MultiLine: specifies whether the TextBox will hold a single line or

Multiple lines.by default it allows single line of text
5) PasswordChar: specifies the masking character for text display in the textbox.
Passwordchar is set to “*”

6)ScrollBars: Indicates either Horizontal Scrollbars or both for the textbox, this
property is used with multiline property.

7) Text: specifies the text in the textbox

8) Alignment: Alignment of the text in a textbox can be left-justified, centered,

or right-justified
TextBox Events are:

• SetFocus
• Change
• Click
• Gotfocus
• Lostfocus
• Keypress
Option Button
control allows the user to select only one option from a group of options on a form.

If the user wants to select 2 options within a form, the option must be grouped together
within a frame control
• Option Button Properties
1) Name: set the name of the
option button
2) Caption: determines the
purpose of the option button
3) Value: true or false.
set true at design time –
pre selection at run time.
CheckBox Control:
A check box control is commonly used to express optional features.
If checked, the feature is used.
If unchecked, the feature is not used
• Multiple optional can be selected

• Checkbox have 3 possible value property:

0 – Unchecked
1 – Checked
2 – Grayed
A Grayed checkbox is neither on or off, but the setting can be changed
by the user.
 Checked Box Optional Button

A single control is valid Always in groups; single control is of no use

Value property has 3 settings Value property has 2 setting

0 – Unchecked 1- on
1 – Checked 0 - off
2 – Grayed

More than one option can be checked In a group only one option can be selected
Private Sub Command1_Click() If Option4.Value = True Then
If Option1.Value = True Then Label1.Caption = Label1.Caption + "
and ice cream"
Label1.Caption = "apple"
ElseIf Option5.Value = True Then
ElseIf Option2.Value = True Then Label1.Caption = Label1.Caption + "
Label1.Caption = "orange" and sweets"

ElseIf Option6.Value = True Then

ElseIf Option3.Value = True Then
Label1.Caption = Label1.Caption + "
Label1.Caption = "lemon" and coffee"
End If
End If

End Sub
Private Sub Command2_Click()
If Check1.Value = vbChecked Then If Check1 = 0 And Check2 = 0 And
Label2.Caption = Label2.Caption + "happy" Check3 = 0 Then
End If Label2.Caption = Label2.Caption
+ " None is selected"
If Check2.Value = vbChecked Then End If
Label2.Caption = Label2.Caption + "sad"
End Sub
End If

If Check3.Value = vbChecked Then

Label2.Caption = Label2.Caption + "happy" + "sad"

End If
VB provides 2 ways of displaying pictures on the
screen are:
• Picture Box
• Image Box
Picture box control

• Are used to display graphics pictures during the design time from the
property window picture.
• Picture box occupies more space.
Properties are:
• Name : identifies the name of the picture box
• Picture: load the picture during the design time.. Location of the
image
• Autosize: when its true, the picturebox is automatically resized to
display the entire content else
when false, only the part of the entire picture will be displayed.
• Picture box uses PaintPicture
• Paint Picture: used to draw the content of a picturebox control into
another picturebox

• Syntax :
Picturebox.paintpicture picturename,x1,y1,w1,h1,x2,y2,w2,h2
Image Box Control

• The image box control is similar to picture box control

and is used to display picture
• This control takes less memory in comparison to
picture box
Properties:
• Name
• Stretch : when set to true the picture is the image box
is enlarged or shrunk according to the current
coordinates. else its in original size
Type file extension description
GIF image .gif Graphic Interchange
format image type
Bitmap image .bmp Device dependent bitmap

Icon image .ico icon

Cursor image .cur Cursor. A special bit map
type used to represent the
mouse pointer
Windows meta file .wmf Graphical images
JPGE .jpg or jpeg Joint photographic experts
group
 Image Box Picture Box
Occupies less memory Occupies more memory
Cannot use paint picture Paint picture method can be
method used
Cannot act as a container for Can act as a container for
other objects other controls
When stretch is set to false, When auto size to false oly
the image control gets part of the picture fitting
resized to the picture into the current coordinate
of the picture box is display
 Image Box Picture Box
When stretch is set to true, When auto size to true the
the image fits into the picture box itself gets
original size enlarged or compressed
depending of the size
Resizing the image control, Resizing picture box does not
resizes the picture it contains resize its picture even when
auto size is set to true
Does not display border Display a border around its
around its image picture.
 Multiple Document Interface (MDI)

• The Multiple Document Interface (MDI) was designed to simplify the

exchange of information among documents, all under the same roof.

• With the main application, you can maintain multiple open windows,
but not multiple copies of the application. Data exchange is easier
when you can view and compare many documents simultaneously.
MDI Applications
• You can use three different types of forms in an MDI application
• An MDI parent form acts as the container for the MDI child forms in the solution
• An MDI child form always appears inside the visible region of its MDI parent
form
• A project may have one or more MDI child forms
• Standard forms can be displayed anywhere on the screen and are not contained
by the MDI parent form (SDI Single document interface)
• Standard forms are typically displayed as dialog boxes
• An MDI application must have at least two Form, the parent Form and
one or more child Forms. Each of these Forms has certain properties.
There can be many child forms contained within the parent Form, but
there can be only one parent Form.

• The parent Form may not contain any controls. While the parent
Form is open in design mode, the icons on the ToolBox are not
displayed, but you can't place any controls on the Form. The parent
Form can, and usually has its own menu.
To create an MDI application, follow these steps:

• Start a new project and then choose Project  Add MDI Form to add
the parent Form.
• Set the Form's caption to MDI Window
• Choose Project  Add Form to add a SDI Form.
• Make this Form as child of MDI Form by setting the MDI Child
property of the SDI Form to True. Set the caption property to MDI
Child window.
 MDI Form cannot contain objects other
than child Forms, but MDI Forms can
have their own menus

The child Form can have any number of

commands in its menu, according to the
application

At design time double click on MDI Open and add the following
code in the click event of the open menu.

Form1.Show

And so double click on MDI Exit and add the following code in the
click event

End
Combo Box control
• Combo box control which is a combination of a textbox with a short dropt-
down list

Creating a Combo BoxDraw a combo box on your form

• Select its style from the property window
• Add items to the List property at design or run
time

• There are three types of combo box are:

1) Drop-down combo box – style 0
2) Simple Combo Box – style 1
3) Drop – down box – style 2
0 - The drop-down combo box Presents the users with
a text box combined with a dropdown list. The
users can either select an item from the list
portion or type an item in the text box portion.

1- The simple combo box Displays a text box and a

list that doesnt drop down. the users can either
select an item from the list portion or type an
item in the text box portion.

2 -The drop-down list Displays a drop-down list box

from which the users can make a choice. The users
cannot enter items that are not in the list
 Combo Box features

•Use the AddItem, RemoveItem, and Clear methods to

modify the contents of the list.

•Sorted or an unsorted list.

•Support the ItemData array and NewIndex property.

•No multiple choices

•Combo boxes Allows the users to enter choices

that are not on the list.

•Drop-down list is useful for presenting several

choices in a small amount of space.
Basics of Database Programming
with VB6
 What is a database?
Database – a collection of related data or information, that is
stored, modified and transmitted.

Personal Info

Payments
Student Database

Grades
Structure of a Database
• Tables – collection of related information
• Records –single piece of information
• Fields – smallest unit of information that is useful
to users.
Structure of a Database
Record

Student Information Sheet

Name:
Address:
Contact No.:

Fields
Table
Primary Key

each record has a unique identifier that indicates the record

and relates it to other records in the other tables. This unique
identifier is known as the Primary Key Eg: student_regnum

Foreign key

it’s a field in a table that relates its value to the value of a

primary key in another table.

Eg: cust_no in Invoice Table is the foreign key. The same value of
the cust_no in the customer table is the primary key
Visual Basic and Database

• Front End – the user interface, which the program

uses to interact with the user.
• Back End – the database, where all data coming
from the user are saved, to be retrieved later.
 Visual Basic and Database

Database Driver ADO Object

The user interacts with

the program by user
interface or screens.
(Database Application)
(Visual Basic)
What are database drivers?

• It allows different programming languages to

communicate or get information from different
data sources.
 Using the ADODC Object

• ADODC (ActiveX Data Object) – an object used to

connect a Visual Basic program to a database.

ADODC Object on the ADODC Object when

toolbox placed on the form
 ActiveX Data Objects (ADO)
• The ActiveX data Objects is a set of high level automation interface via
the OLE DB (Object linking and Embedding)

• ADO data control allows the user to create a connection to database

quickly by using activeX dataobjects
 Advantages of ADO are:
• Ease of use
• Can be used with languages such as VB, Java, C++,VBScript and
javascript
• Creates less number of objects
• Low memory overhead
• High speed performance
• Supports stored procedures
• ADO allows C++ programmers to access OLE DB interface
• Can access data from any OLE DB sources.
Inserting the ADODC Object

1. Go to Project menu, then choose Components.

(or right click on the toolbox)
2. When the components dialog appears, choose
Microsoft ADO Data Control 6.0.
Inserting the ADODC Object

Components Dialog Window

Connecting the ADODC to a
database
• Straight Connection
• Setting of the Database Provider and directly specifying
the path of the database (location).
• Using ODBC (Open Database Connectivity)
• Creating a Data Source Name (DSN) using the ODBC
Administrator of Windows
Steps in Connecting ADODC

• Right Click on the ADO Object

• Connect the ADO by using the Connection String or
ODBC Data Sources
Steps in Connecting ADODC

Choose the correct

database
provider.
Steps in Connecting ADODC

Specify the correct path of

the database

Test the connection if the ADODC

where able to communicate with
the data source.
Steps in Connecting ADODC

Specify how the ADODC will

connect to the table.
 The ADO Object Model
• The ADO object model is made up of 7 objects.

1) Connection
2) Command
3) Record Set
The other dependent objects are:
4)Parameter
5)Field
6)Error and
7)Property
 Connection
• The connection object is the top-level object which represents a
unique connection with a data source.
• The connection of the object to access the required records from
database or to update the database.
PROPERTIES:
1) ConnectionString : Contains information used to establish a
connection to a data source. It sets or returns a string value
2) Mode: specifies the available permissions for modifying data in a
connection
• adModeRead : Indicates read only permission.
• adModewrite : Indicates write only permission.
• adModeReadWrite : Indicates both read and write permissions.

3) ConnectionTimeout: specifies the time in seconds, the server will

wait before disconnecting an inactive connection

4) Provider: specifies the name of the provider for a connection object.

 Command
• The command object defines a specific command such as an SQL sts
that can be processed by a data source.
• Its used to query a database and return records in a RecordSet object.
• To setup a command object:
1) The EXECUTE method its used to execute the SQL sts.
2) RecordSet – associate a command object with it and retrieve the
required RecordSet.
3) Specify the command eg: CommandText property
Indicate the type of the command with the command Type property before
execution:

adcomdtext : Evaluates source as a textual definition. Its value 1

adCmdTable: Evaluates source as a Table name and its value is 2
adCmdUnknown: Indicates that source property is unknown. Its value is 8
3) Record Set
• A Record Set object holds the results i.e, the set of records, returned
of an executed command.
• Its generally used to select and modify data in a row

This objects are:

specify the rows available for selection
Modify, add or delete records
update data source
Manage the state of the Recordset
Specify the order in which records may be traversed
• RecordSet Properties are:

• RecordCount – returns the number of records on the table

• EOF – End of File, returns True if the record pointer reaches the end of the
table.
• BOF – Beginning of File, returns True if the record pointer reaches the
beginning of the table
• Sort - Specify the order in which records may be traversed
RS. Sort = “TotalMark DESC”
• Source – Returns the source(table name ) for data in a RecordSet
• Filter – Specifies the row which are accessible for traversing
RS. Filter = “Age > 16”
• EditMode: indicate the editing status of the current record.
EDITMODE can have one of the following values.

adEditNone: no operations in progress

adEditInProcess: the current record is modified but not saved as yet
adEditAdd: adding new record but not yet saved
adEditDelete: the current record has been deleted
Methods:
• AddNew
• Update
• CancelUpdate
• Delete
• Close
• Find
• Move First
• Move Last
• Move Previous
• MoveNext
Error
• When an errors are generated during operations with ADO objects.
Each error as it occurs, its placed in the ERRORS collection of the
Connection Object.

• Each error object represents a specific provider Error, not an ADO

error.
Synatx
Private Sub CmdAdd_click()
On Error go to Err_handle
……….
……….
Exit Sub
Err_handle:
……….
……….
End Sub
Private Sub Command1_Click()
On Error GoTo errmsg
Adodc1.Recordset.AddNew
MsgBox "successfull added"
Exit Sub

errmsg:
MsgBox "Error in saving Data"
End Sub
Parameter
• Data retrieval command can be used repeatedly by varying the
parameter values each time, to retrieve specific information.

• Some common properties of a parameter objects are:

1) Name: specifies the name of a parameter

2) Value: Indicates the value of a parameter
Field
• A row of a RecordSet object contains one or more fields.
• Each field corresponds to a column in the RecordSet.
• Each column has attributes such as name, a DataType and a value
The Open Method (ADO Connection)
• Syntax:
Connection.open ConnectionString, UserID, Password, OpenOptions

A string
The user Optional
containing The
name at the If the value is set
information Password
time of the to
at the time
required to connection adConnectAsync,
of the
establish a is this connection
connection
connection to a establishing will be opened
is
datasource establishing asynchronously
Property
• Every ADO object has a set of unique properties that describes the
behaviour of the object
• ADO objects consist of two type of properties:
1) built-in : Properties are part of the ADO object and are always
available.
2) Dynamic: properties are normally added to the objects properties
collection by the provider and exit only while that provider is being
used.
Eg: MyObject.Properties (0)
Using the SQL Statements

• SQL (Structured Query Language) – is composed of

series of statements and clauses, which, when
combined, perform different actions.
• Select Queries – returns a specific set of records,
based on criteria
• Action Queries – performs actions such as deleting,
adding or updating records.
Basic Structure of Select

• SELECT <fields> FROM <tablename> [<where>

<condition> <order by>]
e.g.
Select * from StudInfo
 Structure of an ADODC
commands

<adodc name>.RECORDSET.<method>

The Name of the adodc object Refers to the table Methods that can
object be done to a table
Types of ADODC methods

• Record Operations
• Addnew – used to add records to the table.
• Delete – used to delete records from the table.
• Update – used to save records to the table.
• CancelUpdate – cancels any record-related operations.
Types of ADODC commands

• Record Navigation
• Find <parameters> - used to find or search records,
based on key fields.
• Movefirst – go to the first record.
• Movelast – go to the last record.
• Movenext – go to the next record.
• Moveprevious – go to the previous record.
• Move(record no.) – go to a specified record no.
Types of ADODC commands

• Record Counters
• RecordCount – returns the number of records on the
table
• EOF – End of File, returns True if the record pointer
reaches the end of the table.
• BOF – Beginning of File, returns True if the record
pointer reaches the beginning of the table
Finding Records

• FIND “[key field] like ‘comparing value’

e.g.

adoSTUD.RECORDSET.FIND “[LName] like ‘Locsin’”

In finding records, always REFRESH the table first. to complete

the code:

adoSTUD.REFRESH
adoSTUD.RECORDSET.FIND “[LName] like ‘Locsin’”