Mastering Visual Basic by Example

Mastering Visual Basic by Example is one title in the "Programming by Example Lecture Hall" series from China Machine Press, written by Chai Xianghua and others, published in April 2009, with 491 pages and one accompanying CD. Aimed at Visual Basic beginners and readers with some VB foundation, the book uses an "examples first, knowledge points second" approach: rather than listing syntax, controls, and functions in isolation as a manual, it links language elements to common application scenarios through small, reproducible examples. Following along, readers understand concepts through hands-on work and accumulate reusable code fragments. The book is divided into six parts. The Basic Knowledge part covers identifiers and data types, constants and variables, operators and expressions, arrays (one- and two-dimensional arrays and control arrays), basic statements (assignment, conditionals, Select Case, various loops, file writing), procedures (optional parameters, variable parameters, array parameters), basic and date functions, and string-processing functions. The Interface Design part centers on form design and the use of common controls. The Image and Multimedia Processing part introduces graphics drawing, image display, and calling multimedia files. The File Processing part covers sequential files, random files, binary files, and folder operations. The Database Processing part introduces SQL statements, the basics of ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), and database design. The Network part covers the Web Browser control, FTP file transfer, and examples related to network transmission. Organized into parts for easy reference as needed, the book can serve both as a hands-on manual for VB programming enthusiasts and as a practical-training supplement or self-study text for related courses in secondary and higher schools.