Now that we have got a good hold over the background on Visual Basic, we start with the actual art of programming in Visual Basic. So why the last 3-4 articles when we are starting the actual process with today's article? That's a perfectly valid question. But it's got a valid answer too. As I have already mentioned in my first article, the biggest question for a programmer is the choice of programming language. This was not a major problem about 30 years ago. There was only one standard language and that was the assembly language. Though it remains one of the most difficult language till date, the programmers then had no choice. This was the only language widely supported and implemented. The onset of BASIC, FORTRAN, PASCAL and C changed the scenario. Application developers now had a choice. But these programming languages differed vastly in structure and implementation. And each had its own way of doing things. Today this problem is gratified by the fact that there are several more programming languages available today. So the last articles were for you to decide whether you want to switch over to to VB or not.
Well, now that you have decided that you want to go with me in this exciting world of VB, let us start with the types of VB environments available in the market. Visual Basic 6 is available in three flavors- Standard, Professional and Enterprise. The major difference in these three distributions is the level of advanced functionality available. The standard edition is targeted at small-time programmers or students trying their hand at VB (like you). Naturally, its the least expensive version. The professional edition should suffice most programmers and majority of software ported in VB have been developed using the professional version. The Enterprise edition is for large organisation who have to develop large network applications in an integrated environment.
Visual Basic is not cheap, let me warn you in advance. Buying any edition just for trying it is not at all worth your money. So a piece of advice. Try your hand on VB at someone's place who's got it. See if you are comfortable with it and can it is worth every bit of money you spend on it. Pirated versions are also available in the grey market, but refrain from falling to temptation. Software piracy is punishable crime.
So try finding a friend who has got VB installed on his system. Next time, we shall start with the basics of VB programming.
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