The Computer Programming Course is comprised of 16 comprehensive lessons. They are easy to follow, yet challenging and stimulating at the same time. Each lesson begins with a subject matter preview and objectives, an introductory note from your instructor and a vocabulary builder of new words and terms.
Next comes the reading assignment. Practice on your home computer using the working model of Visual Basic on CD-ROM that we supply. At the end of the lesson is an open-book exam, which you may take online.
Lesson 1: Starting with Visual Basic
A history of programming languages; OOP terminology; starting and exiting Visual Basic; setting an object's properties; the display; how to create, save, run, and stop an application.
Lesson 2: Using Controls; Writing Code
Getting help; adding, moving, sizing, and deleting a control; adding label and image controls, a command button, and a frame control; how to set and change label control properties; saving files under a different name; the code writing process; the BorderStyle property; hiding and displaying controls; the Options dialog box; the ActiveX control; how to change the Code window display; printing your results; how to make executable files.
Lesson 3: Planning Applications; Building the User Interface
Planning an OOED application; the Task, Object, Event chart; creating a layout; labeling; graphics; using color and fonts; creating the user interface; adding a text box control; the Tabindex property; locking the controls; assigning the proper access keys.
Lesson 4: Coding, Debugging & Creating Variables & Constants
The Print, Calculate Order, and Clear Screen buttons; writing equations; the VAL and Format functions; the MiniButton, MaxButton, ControlBox, and BorderStyle properties; testing and debugging; documentation; using variables to store information; declaring a variable; the Option Explicit statement; creating local, form-level, and global variable; removing and adding a file; symbolic constants.
Lesson 5: Modifying & Improving the Skateaway Sales Application
Using local land form-level variables; understanding concatenate strings; the InputBox function; using the Object Browser; the vnNewLine constant; using the default button; how to add an existing form; the dialog box; loading and displaying a form; adding a code module and a copyright form.
Lesson 6: If, Then, Else & Select Case Statements; More Controls
The selection structure; how to write pseudocode; flowcharts; logical operators; the UCase function; nested selection structures; the case form; the Select Case and Call statements; using To and Is in an Expressionlist; the math application; using icons; the option button and check box controls; coding Level 1, Level 2, addition, subtraction, and default option buttons; understanding the user-defined sub procedure.
Lesson 7: Static Variable, Looping & The Gotfocus Event
Static variables; the Verify Answer button; the GotFocus function; coding the Display summary information check box; creating the For Next, Do While, and Do Until repetition structures; how to move a control across the screen; using counters and accumulators.
Lesson 8: Using Control Arrays; Coding the Change Event; The MSGBOX
How to create a control array and set the Enabled property; how to code a control array's Click and GotFocus events and the Change event; aligning label control contents; the MsgBox function; the Unload event.
Lesson 9: Sequential Access Data Files & Menus
Adding a list box control; adding items to a list box; setting the Sorted and the Listindex properties; creating, opening, and closing a sequential access data file; how to write records to and read records from a sequential access data file; alignment; using the printer spacing chart; using the MultiLine, ScrollBars, ScaleHeight, ScaleWidth, and SelText properties; the Resize event; accessing the Clipboard object using Clear, GetText(), and SetText.
Lesson 10: String Manipulation & Dialog Boxes
How to manipulate strings using the Left, Right, and Mid functions; the Instr function; the Common Dialog control; the Filter, Filename, and Flags properties.
Lesson 11: Coding & Completing the Text Editor Application
The Save As dialog box; the Print # statement; the CancelError property; error handling routines; the File menu's New, Save, Print, and Open commands; the Input and LOF functions; the Unload event.
Lesson 12: Using Random Access Files & the Cole's Playhouse Application
How to create a user-defined data type; opening, closing, initializing, writing data to, and reading data from a random access file; utilizing a control array and a random access file in an application; color constants in a code; how to pass information on to a sub-procedure.
Lesson 13: Coding a Control Array; Using Visual Data Manager
How to refer to a control in another form; clearing a record from a random access file; understanding the Trip function; database concept and terms; creating the Cole database and index; data validation rules in a table.
Lesson 14: The ADO Data Control & Code to Add, Delete & Update Records
UDA, OLE DB, and ADO; how to display database records using the ADO data control; the SQL Select command; the Recordset and Field objects and the Fields collection; understanding AddNew; Delete, and MoveNext; CancelUpdate; Update; the EOF property; Refresh.
Lesson 15: Variable Arrays, the Datagrid Control & Object Variables
Variable arrays; creating and searching one-dimensional variable arrays; computing and updating an array's contents; two-dimensional arrays; the DataGrid control; updating database contents; creating object variables; rounding numbers.
Lesson 16: Passing Arrays & Objects to a Function
How to create a function; passing arrays and objects to a function; the Flags application; the DragMode and DragIcon properties; the DragDrop event; coding the New button.
Supplement: Your Career Search
The effective career search; creating your résumé; interview and other tips.