Introduction

This course will teach Microsoft® Visual Basic® programmers how to create database applications using components.
 

At Course Completion

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Write a Microsoft Visual Basic-based application that accesses data from a database.
• Write a Visual Basic-based application that uses component object model (COM) components.
• Create an ActiveX® control.
• Create a COM component.
• List the opportunities that Visual Basic developers have to incorporate Internet technologies into their applications.

Microsoft Certified Professional Exams

This course will help the student prepare for the following Microsoft Certified Professional exam(s):

• 70-175

Prerequisites

This course assumes the student has a good working knowledge of the Microsoft Visual Basic programming system. Potential students should be able to accomplish the following tasks before taking this training:

• Create an application with multiple forms and add functionality for multiple events to the controls on those forms
• Write a Function procedure and a Sub procedure, and invoke them from Event procedures
• Declare variables and use conditional statements
• Describe the purpose and use of each of the controls in the Toolbox
• Add a simple menu interface to an application
• Retrieve and validate information from a user
• Add a custom control to a project
• Describe the relationship between properties, methods, and objects
• Add run-time error handling to an application
• Run the application and use debug mode within the Visual Basic environment
• Create an EXE file from the project files
• Design and use a relational database
• Use SQL syntax to create database queries

The course materials, lectures, and lab exercises are in English. To benefit fully from our instruction, students need an understanding of the English language and completion of the prerequisites.
Course Outline

Chapter 1: Essentials of Microsoft Visual Basic

Topics:

Understanding Microsoft Visual Basic-based development
Creating an application
Debugging and error handling
Compiling an EXE file
Overview of the State University Bookstore application

Lab:

Essentials

Skills:

Students will be able to:

• Use Visual Basic to create a simple application and an executable file for users.
• List the files that comprise a Visual Basic-based application.
• Use the Visual Basic debugging tools.
• Add run-time error handling to a procedure.

Chapter 2: Using Visual Data Access Tools

Topics:

Universal data access
Connecting to a data source
Getting data from a connection
Organizing data
Presenting data

Lab:

Using visual data access tools

Skills:

Students will be able to:

• Describe the visual data access tools that come with Visual Basic.
• Use the visual data access tools to create a connection to a data source and access data from the connection in an application.
• View the structure of a database using the Data Environment designer and the Data View window.
• Create database queries using Query Builder.
• Create data-bound forms using the Data Environment designer, Data Form Wizard, and the ADO Data control.
• Create a report using the Data Report designer.

Chapter 3: Using Class Modules

Topics:

Designing an application
Creating class modules
Adding properties, methods, and events
Using a class module
Creating data-bound class modules

Lab:

Using class modules

Skills:

Students will be able to:

• Explain the benefits of using class modules in an application.
• Use a class module to create a COM component within a Visual Basic project.
• Create a COM component that exposes properties, methods, and events.
• Create and use data-bound class modules.

Chapter 4: Building ActiveX Controls

Topics:

Creating an ActiveX control
Exposing properties, methods, and events
Testing a control
Creating property pages
Creating a data-bound control
Creating a data source control

Labs:

Building an ActiveX control
Data-binding an ActiveX control

Skills:

Students will be able to:

• Describe the benefits of using ActiveX controls.
• Create an ActiveX control that exposes properties, methods, and events.
• Use control events to save and load persistent properties.
• Test and debug an ActiveX control.
• Create and enable property pages for an ActiveX control.
• Enable the data-binding capabilities of an ActiveX control.
• Create an ActiveX control that is a data source.

Chapter 5: Using ActiveX Data Objects

Topics:

Overview of ActiveX Data Objects (ADO)
Handling data access errors
Connecting to a data source
Retrieving data from a data source
Sorting and searching data
Updating data
Using disconnected data
Creating dynamic record sets
Understanding performance considerations

Lab:

Using ADO

Skills:

Students will be able to:

• List the major components of the ADO object model.
• Explain how to handle errors using ADO.
• Connect to a data source using ADO.
• Use an ADO record-set object to retrieve and manipulate data.
• Describe and use a disconnected record set.
• Use an ADO record-set object to store nondatabase data.

Chapter 6: Advanced Data Access Issues

Topics:

Overview of Microsoft SQL Server™ security
Using cursors
Enforcing data integrity
Executing statements on a database

Lab:

Advanced data access issues

Skills:

Students will be able to:

• Discuss SQL Server security implementations.
• Describe different cursor locations and when to use a specific cursor type.
• Use a stored procedure to execute a statement on a database.
• Handle referential integrity errors.
• Describe ways to enforce data integrity.

Chapter 7: Using COM Components

Topics:

Introduction to using COM components
Creating a client application
Using Microsoft Internet Explorer

Lab:

Using COM components

Skills:

Students will be able to:

• List the main steps required to use an external COM component in a Visual Basic-based application.
• Create a Visual Basic-based client application that uses a COM component.
• Create a Visual Basic-based application that handles events from a COM component.
• Create a Visual Basic-based applica-tion that automates Internet Explorer.

Chapter 8: Building COM Components

Topics:

Introduction to COM components
Creating COM components
Creating an object model
Adding error handling

Lab:

Building COM components

Skills:

Students will be able to:

• Compile a project with class modules into a COM component.
• Create an object model in a COM component.
• Debug and test a COM component.

Chapter 9: Optimizing and Deploying an Application

Topics:

Optimizing an application
Deploying an application
Deploying an ActiveX control

Lab:

Deploying the StateUBookstore solution

Skills:

Students will be able to:

• Describe a variety of techniques for optimizing the performance of an application.
• Use the GetSetting and SaveSetting statements to save application-specific information to the registry.
• Use resource files.
• Create a Setup program using Package and Deployment Wizard.
• Package an ActiveX control for use on a Web site.

Chapter 10: Building Internet Applications

Topics:

Using the WebBrowser control
Creating Active Documents
Creating dynamic hypertext markup language (DHTML) applications
Creating Microsoft Internet Information Server applications

Skills:

Students will be able to:

• List the ways Visual Basic can enhance a Web site.
• Create applications that use the WebBrowser control.
• Explain what Active Documents are.
• Create an Active Document.
• Use the DHTML Page designer to create client-side code components.
• Use the Webclass designer to create server-side code components.