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Visual Studio/VB/.Net Information

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VS.Net Information

make startup quicker by turning off Start Page when first load environment: Tools-->Options-->Environment-->General-->At Startup: Show empty environment
make more performant by turing off active item in Solution Explorer window synced with code working on: Tools-->Options-->Environment-->Projects and Solutions-->uncheck Track Active Item in Solution Explorer
\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\Common7\Tools\vsvars32.bat or \Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET\FrameworkSDK\Bin\corvars.bat - use to set environment and path variables needed for the command-line utilities
aspnet_regiis.exe - use to reassign framework to IIS and configure script maps for sites under IIS
C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.1.4322\aspnet_regiis.exe -i - will reassign framework
ildasm.exe - (in C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET\SDK\v1.1\Bin) intermediate language disassembler, can see manifest with dll versions used (Press Ctrl-M when viewing manifest to see detailed module metdata) - can write contents out to file like ildasm.exe classes.dll /out=classes.il
see contents of the download cache: gacutil /ldl
clear the download cache: gacutil /cdl
download cache is usually in the c:\windows\assembly\download directory (can't add files manually here though)
to register a service app develop:
InstallUtil xyz.exe
to uninstall the Service:
InstallUtil xyz.exe /u
[Ctrl]+[Shift]+[right arrow] - select word to right and space after it
[Alt]+F8 - macro explorer
[Ctrl]+[Shift]+R - start/stop recording macro - must rename 'TemporaryMacro' created to save it
default location for saved keyboard schemes (includes macro shortcuts), e.g. C:\Documents and Settings\kmahoney\Application Data\Microsoft\VisualStudio\7.1\FryScheme.vsk
Macros with parameter:
Sub macroTest(Optional ByVal Arg1 As String = "", Option ByVal Arg2 As String = "")
...
End Sub
invoke via command window:
>Macros.Modules.Test "arg1" "arg2"
change project location under Tools-->Options-->Environment-->Projects and Solutions
reflection - use to find runtime .exe path, i.e.
strSettingsPath = [Assembly].GetEntryAssembly.Location.Replace(".exe", ".xml")
click here for information on .NET Data Types
String is only data type without a default value - to see if initialized user:
If Not s1 Is Nothing AndAlso s1.Trim = "" Then
use bit flags to convert several true/false values into a compact number - skip zero and the values must be powers of 2 (1,2,4,8,16,etc.) - then use appropriate language's bitwise operators (AND and OR in vb.net) to see if a bit is set - example:
Dim x, y, z As Byte
x = 1
y = 2
z = 4
'if greater than 0 then bit is on in number
Console.WriteLine("answer: " & (3 And x).ToString)
Console.WriteLine("answer: " & (3 And y).ToString)
Console.WriteLine("answer: " & (3 And z).ToString)
use #region and #endregion preprocessor directives to define blocks of code to expand and collapse in the Visual Studio editor using it's Outline feature:
#region MenuHandlers
...
#endregion
Important .Net Framework Class Library (FCL) classes - DataSet (has DataTable objects), EventLog, WebClient, Thread, UserControl, FileSystemWatcher, ServicedComponent (COM+), ServiceBase, Queue, Graphics
in config (<application name>.config) file specifiy if require specific CLR:
<?xml version="1.0"?> <configuration> <startup> <supportedRuntime version="v.1.1.5000.0"/> <supportedRuntime version="v.1.1.3300.0"/> </startup> </configuration>
update AssemblyInfo file created by Visual Studio .NET with correct information (versioning info, etc.)
by default build a private assembly when you use Visual Studio .NET to create either a class library or component (this kind of library is used only by your application and resides either in the application folder or within application subfolders) - to create a shared assembly � usable from every application installed in the system � have to deploy component into the GAC (see http://www.codeproject.com/dotnet/demystifygac.asp) - install your assemblies to the GAC if want to share your assemblies with other applications running on that system - if want to use an assembly from the GAC, should drop assemblies to a local folder, and then add a reference to the assembly from this folder may want to set the Copy Local property to False for that assembly if do not want the assembly to be copied locally to project folders. At runtime, the application will use the assemblies from the GAC:
1. create a public/private key pair to sign the assembly with (using the strong name tool): sn -k <key_file>.snk, e.g. sn -k MyKeyPair.snk (to extract the public key from this file use: sn �p MyKeyPair.snk PublicKey.snk)
2. add some information to the configuration file by telling the compiler to use the new generated key file to sign the assembly (C# syntax: [assembly: AssemblyKeyFile(@"..\..\<key_file>.snk")], VB syntax: <assembly:AssemblyKeyFileAttribute("..\..\MyKeyPair.snk")> - line has to be the first line in the class module and relative to obj directory where output written) and then rebuild assembly and verify: sn -v MyClass.dll
3. deploy into the Global Assembly Cache (GAC) repository using the Visual Studio .NET setup project or the gacutil.exe tool: gacutil /i <sharedassembly>.dll (to uninstall use gacutil /u <sharedassembly>.dll) - see C:\WINDOWS\assembly to view contents
4. update projects to reference new shared assembly and delete the dll from within the project's bin/debug directory
5. Can also optionally add digital signature to assembly
  create certifcation file:
  makecert -sk ClassesKey -n "CN=ClassesKey" classes.cer
  transform certificate into SPC format:
  cert2spc classes.cer classes.spc
  sign the assembly:
  signcode /spc classes.spc /k ClassesKey classes.dll
6. add key to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\AssemblyFolders] in registry and make the new key's default value the path to the original location of the assembly in order for view them in VS.Net's Add Reference dialog:
  key name: KGM default value: C:\My_Data\KGM\classes\bin\
7. when reference a COM Interop assembly need to give it a strong name - delete the existing reference to your COM component and then run Tlbimp.exe from a command prompt on your COM DLL to generate an Interop assembly that has a strong name, as follows: tlbimp.exe MyCOMDLL.dll /keyfile:KeyFile.snk /out:MyCOMInterop.dll - then add a reference to the output file from Tlbimp.exe to the .NET project and then rebuild the project.
8. To make reference to assembly location add to web.config configuration section: <compilation>
  <assemblies>
  <add assembly="classes.dll, Version=1.1.1355.18054, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=94129c6c4ce03d8c"/>
  </assemblies>
  </compilation>
to do builds use statement like
nmake /f godivaAdmin.mak all
instead of
devenv c:\my_data\fry\Godiva\godivaNet\admin\godivaAdmin.sln /rebuild Release
since the build will stop on error when the makefile runs (if just use devenv statements in batch file it won't)
to change project related templates:
go to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\VC#\CSharpProjectItems
example: xslt template is xsltfile.xsl - can change to:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<xsl:transform version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">

</xsl:transform>
to debug stored procedures in vs.net
set up Server Explorer connection to database and grant user execute rights on extended stored procedure sp_sdidebug (USE Master - GRANT EXECUTE ON sp_sdidebug TO username) - then highlight stored procedure and right-click and select 'Step Into Stored Procedure'
.net help file generation
See:
- http://www.gotdotnet.com/team/ide/helpfiles/CustomHelpBuilder.aspx
- http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/htmlhelp/html/hwmscExtendingNETHelp.asp
- http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/csref/html/vclrfTagsForDocumentationComments.asp
- http://ndoc.sourceforge.net
If using VBCommenter VSNet Powertoy then start line with ''' or /// or to generate a comment block

Summary tags:
- <event>events raised by member</event>
- <example>text you want marked as code</example>
- <exception cref="System.Exception">description of exception</exception>
- <overloads>This method has two overloads.</overloads>
- <param name='name of method parameter'>description for the parameter</param>
- <remarks>description of the member</remarks>
- <returns>description of the return value</returns>
- <seealso cref="reference to member/field to be called from the current compilation environment, e.g. GetAttr(string,string)"/>
- <summary>summary of the object</summary>
- <value>description of property</value>
Block tags (used inside <remarks> and <example> sections):
- <code>text you want marked as code</code>
- <list type="bullet">
  <item><description>ConnString</description></item>
  </list>
- <para>paragraph of text</para>

Instrumentation options in .NET:
see http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/04/04/InstrumentationinNET/default.aspx

Feature	Positive Attributes	Negative Attributes
Event log	High-level application events (for example start and stop)	Limited in number of events
Performance counters	Use when you have rollup summary information (number of active users) or absolute (simple) values you want to measure (total requests)	Not suitable for complex data
Debug output	Single user code pathing and debugging	Overwhelming if used everywhere
SEH	Good for unexpected exceptions	Can bend your design
System.Diagnostics.Trace	Easy to use	Limited to Web apps
ASP.NET trace	Great for debugging	Fixed functionality
WMI	Widely supported, complementary to other schemes (for example, your event log code can be surfaced through WMI)	More complex to use and install applications with
EIF	Easier to program than WMI	Doesn't expose all of WMI's power
LAB	Common requirements provided: MSMQ logging, DBMS logging	A lot to learn

C# Information

Configuration file options:
<configuration>
<appSettings>
<add key="name" value="Joe Doe" />
</appSettings>
</configuration>
Dim settings As NameValueCollection = ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings
Dim name As String = settings("name")

<configuration>
<configSections>
<section name="cache" type="System.Configuration.SingleTagSectionHandler, System, Version=1.0.5000.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089"/>
</configSections>
<cache duration="60" size="100" />
</configuration>
Dim values As Hashtable = DirectCast(ConfigurationSettings.GetConfig("cache"), Hashtable)
duration = CInt(values("duration"))

<configuration>
<configSections>
<section name="comments" type="System.Configuration.IgnoreSectionHandler, ..."/>
</configSections>
<comments>
Add your comments here...
</comments>
</configuration>
Use StringBuilder class instead of string classes when building strings (better memory usage and avoids fragmentation - also pre-allocate with large buffer to avoid expensive memory allocations):
string Month = "May";
int DayOfMonth = 1;
int Year = 1969;

use:
StringBuilder buffer = new StringBuilder;
buffer.Append(Month);
buffer.Append(" ");
buffer.Append(DayOfMonth.ToString());
buffer.Append(" ");
buffer.Append(Year.ToString());

instead of:
FullDate = Month + " " + DayOfMonth.ToString() + " " + Year.ToString();
use is and as keywords instead of exception-handling (try, catch, finally) since the code is more readable
To add custom performance counter for instrumentation purposes:
using System.Diagnostics;
PerformanceCounterCategory pccCat1;
PerformanceCounter pcCounter1;
pccCat1 = PerformanceCounterCategory.Create("MyApp", "MyApp help", "counter 1", "counter 1 help");
pcCounter1 = new PerformanceCounter("MyApp", "counter 1", false)
pcCounter1.Increment()
use System.WinForms.MessageBox.Show (msg.ToString()); to show a message box

Use for enumerations that can be combined with a bitwise OR operation:

		[FlagsAttribute]
		public enum Days
		{
			None        = 0,
			Monday      = 1,
			Tuesday     = 2,
			Wednesday   = 4,
			Thursday    = 8,
			Friday      = 16,
			All         = Monday| Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday
		}

VB.Net Information

for version info in VB (4 components - major version, minor version, build number,and revision number, e.g. 1.0.0.0 - default is 1.0.* which sets the build number to the # of days since January 1, 2000 and the revision number as the # of seconds since midnight local time) use AssemblyInfo
<Assembly: AssemblyVersion ("1.0.*")>
best practices - use enumerator instead of referencing collection items by index if looping through all items; also inherit from the Collection class instead of using ArrayList so items can be strongly typed
Custom event handling/listening:
<System.ComponentModel.RunInstaller(True)> _
Public Class MyEvent Inherits BaseEvent
Public EventProp As String
End Class

Dim objEvent as MyEvent
objEvent = new MyEvent()
objEvent.EventProp = "Hello world!"
Instrumentation.Fire(objEvent)

Imports System.Management
Private Sub MyEventArrivedHandler(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal evt As EventArrivedEventArgs)
Console.WriteLine("Event received with the following properties:")
For Each eventProperty In evt.NewEvent.Properties
Console.WriteLine("Property {0}: {1}", eventProperty.Name, eventProperty.Value)
Next eventProperty
End Sub
use string literals to simplify paths
instead of string strNetworkPath = "\\\\machinename\\directory\\file.txt";
use string strNetworkPath = @"\\machinename\directory\file.txt";
registry access:
Dim regKey as RegistryKey
regSubkey = regHKLM.OpenSubKey("name")
strValue = regSubkey.getValue("ref",ControlChars.NullChar)
Debug and Trace classes share properties and methods, however trace code compiles into release builds by default, while debug code compiles into debug builds by default. To tell comiler specifically:

vbc /r:System.dll /d:TRACE=FALSE /d:DEBUG=TRUE MyApplication.vb

Sample configuration file settings:
<configuration>
<system.diagnostics>
<switches>

<add name="dataMessagesSwitch" value="0" />

<add name="appTraceSwitch" value="3" />
</switches>
<trace autoflush="false" indentsize="2">
<listeners>
<add name="appListener" type="System.Diagnostics.TextWriterTraceListener, System" initializeData="c:\temp\log.txt" />
</listeners>
</trace>
</system.diagnostics>
</configuration>

Sample Trace Code:
Dim bs as New BooleanSwitch("dataMessagesSwitch", "Data Messages Boolean Switch")
Dim ts as New TraceSwitch("appTraceSwitch", "Tracing Switch")
Trace.Indent()
Trace.WriteLineIf(bs.Enabled, "Starting connection procedure")
Trace.WriteLineIf(ts.TraceInfo, "Executing code at: " & DateTime.Now.ToString()
Trace.Unindent()
Trace.Flush()

Sample code to create text file-based listener:
Dim streamLog as System.IO.Stream
streamLog = System.IO.File.Create("c:\temp\log.txt")
Dim myListener as New TextWriteTraceListener(streamLog)
Trace.Listeners.RemoveAt(0) 'removes default Output window from the target listener
Trace.Listeners.Add(myListener)

* if using a XMLTraceListener need to make sure XML is closed by doing adding at top of class:
Private WithEvents appDomain As System.AppDomain = Threading.Thread.GetDomain
the in code:
Private Sub CloseUp(ByVal sender as object, ByVal e as EventArgs) Handles appDomain.ProcessExit
mxmlTW.WriteEndDocument()
mxmlTW.Close()
End Sub
instead of debug.print use (change Console's application type to Windows Application so it will get redirected to the IDE's output window so can view it later also)
Console.WriteLine("Press Enter to close this window")
Console.Read()
run in immediate window when breakpoint: utils.debug.displayFormVars(Me.Controls)
Create dataset from scratch example: Dim dcID As New DataColumn("AUTHID", Type.GetType("System.Int32"))
dcID.AutoIncrement = True
dcID.AutoIncrementSeed = 1
dcID.ReadOnly = True

Dim dcName As New DataColumn("NAME", Type.GetType("System.String"))
dcName.MaxLength = 255

Dim dtAuthors As New DataTable("Authors")
dtAuthors.Columns.Add(dcID)
dtAuthors.Columns.Add(dcName)

Dim ds As New DataSet("TestDB")
ds.Tables.Add(dtAuthors)

Dim r As DataRow
r = ds.Tables("Authors").NewRow()
r("NAME") = "Jodi Mahoney"
ds.Tables("Authors").Rows.Add(r)

Console.Write(ds.GetXmlSchema())
FileSystemWatcher example:
Imports System.IO

Module TestApp
Sub Main()
Dim fsw As New FileSystemWatcher("G:\")
AddHandler fsw.Created, AddressOf OnCreated

fsw.EnableRaisingEvents = True
fsw.Filter = "*.xml"
fsw.IncludeSubdirectories = True
fsw.WaitForChanged(WatcherChangeTypes.Created)
End Sub

Sub OnCreated(ByVal o As Object, ByVal e As FileSystemEventArgs)
Dim db As New DBCore.Import
db.Start(e.FullPath)
End Sub
End Module

VB	VB.Net
CStr	CStr for local-aware string / .ToString method for local-neutral which is also usually quicker
MkDir	Directory.CreateDirectory

String methods:
Dim strTest As String
strTest = "ABC"
strTest = strTest.Concat(strTest, "DEF") '= "ABCDEF"
strTest = strTest.Insert(3, "XYZ") '= "ABCXYZDEF"
strTest = strTest.Replace("Z"c, ","c) '= "ABCXY,DEF"
Dim charArr() As Char = {",", ";", "~"}
strTest = "~a,b c;d,e~"
strTest = strTest.Trim(charArr) '= "ab cde"
strTest = strTest.Length() '=6
VB.Net Optimization Tips
from Visual Studio Magazine August 2002 article
1. Concatenate Strings With StringBuilder:
  - outperforms String by a factor of 100 to 1000 when doing concatenation, get slighlty better results if create a StringBuilder with initial capacity as large or larger than # of characters will create, e.g. New StringBuilder(1000), also don't resuse StringBuilder object after extract it's contents with ToString method since would cause added memory allocation to preserve the immutability of the returned string
  sample methods:
  Dim sbBuffer As New StringBuilder()
  sbBuffer.Append("ABC") '= "ABC"
  sbBuffer.Append("DEF").ToString '="ABCDEF"
  sbBuffer.AppendFormat("v{0:#0}.{1:00}" & ".{2:00}", 2, 31, 7) '= "v2.31.07"
  sbVsbBufferer.Insert(1, "ersion ") '= "version 2.31.07"
  sbBuffer.Remove(3, 4) '= "ver 2.31.07"
  sbBuffer.Replace("ver", "build").Replace("."c, ","c, 7, 4) '= "build 2,31,07"
  If sbBuffer.Equals(sbVal) Then
2. Don't Throw Unnecessary Exceptions:
  - each exception takes approximately 30 microseconds (27,000 CPU cycles) - instead use another mechanism to return a failure notification to the user
  
  instead of:
  If rand.NextDouble <= prob Then
  Throw New System.Exception()
  End If
  
  use:
  If rand.NextDouble <= prob Then
  Return False
  Else
  Return True
  End If
3. Seal Methods:
  - calls to overridable methods run about 35% slower than calls to nonoverridable (sealed) ones
  
  'overridable function
  Overridable Function DoubleIt(ByVal n As Integer) As Integer
  Return n * 2
  End Function
  
  'non-overridable function
  Function DoubleIt(ByVal n As Integer) As Integer
  Return n * 2
  End Function
4. Avoid Calls to Interface Methods:
  - don't call method through secondary interface, instead call through main class interface (4 to 5 times faster)
  
  'call through main interface
  o.testMethod()
  
  'call through secondary interface
  Dim iTest As iTestInterface = DirectCast(o, iTestInterface)
  iTest.testMethod()
Use Value Types, But Beware of Boxing:
- use value types like numbers, dates, and Structure and Enum types (which are allocated on the current thread's stack, don't undergo garbage collection, and its variables contain the data), instead of reference types like strings, arrays, and Class types (which take memory on the managed heap, and its variables point to area on the heap where the data is held so requires an additional pointer dereference to read/write values)
- if assign value type to an object variable (which is a reference type) it causes boxing operation which slows down code by a factor of 4 - instead of CInt(o.getObject(i)) use o.GetInteger(i) - in class offer overloaded versions of most critical methods
Avoid String Duplicates:
- since all string constants with same value are stored only once in string intern pool and shrinks app's memory footprint and reduces number of garbage collections

'to prove it:
Dim s1 As String = "ABCDEF"
Dim s2 As String = "ABCDEF"
Cosole.Write(s1 Is s2) 'displays true

- if value read at initialization time, instead of compiler time then compiler doesn't put it in string intern pool automatically so use String.Intern method to search for it:

Dim m_strConn As String
Property connectionString() As String
Get
Return m_strConn
End Get
Set (ByVal strVal As String)
m_strConn = String.Intern(strVal) 'returns reference to element already in pool or creates new one
End Set
End Property
Implement Dispose/Finalize Pattern:
- instead of relying on garbage collector to call Finalize method (in classes that expose one) sometime after object is unreachable (which also requires at least 2 garbage collections before vacate managed heap completely) use Dispose method call which executes much faster:

'class code
Class testObject
Implements IDisposable
Public Sub Dispose() Implements IDisposable.Dispose
CloseClipboard()
'other cleanup here
GC.SuppressFinalize(Me) 'no need to finalize now
End Sub
End Class

'calling code
o.Dispose()
o = Nothing
Beware of WithEvents Variables:
- WithEvents variables run appreciably slower than regular variables (reading is 2.5 times slower and assigning is 6 times slower) so use Addhandler mechanism instead:

'instead of:
Dim WithEvents obj As New testObject
Sub myHandler() handles obj.testEvent
'code here
End Sub

'use:
Dim o As New testObject
Sub useDynamicEvents
Addhandler o.testEvent, AddressOf myHandler
'use object here
RemoveHandler o.testEvent, AddressOf myHandler
End Sub
Casting - CType succeeds as long as there is a valid conversion defined between the expression and the type, whereas DirectCast requires the run-time type of an object variable to be the same as the specified type. If the specified type and the run-time type of the expression are the same, however, the run-time performance of DirectCast is better than that of CType. DirectCast throws an InvalidCastException error if the argument types do not match. Use "If TypeOf obj Is TextBox Then" or in C# "if (obj is TextBox) {...}" to check the type of an object.

General Information

use immediate window to generate code like:
for each x in rs.fields : ? "=rs.Fields(""" & x.name & """)" : next
to always open a project clean with no windows open - delete all lines from VB Workspace file (.vbw) and then make read-only
In the properties window hold down [Ctrl]+[Shift] while pressing the letter you're looking for. The properties window will then scroll to the next property (if any) that begins with the letter
use vbCRLF instead of Chr(13) & Chr(10)
keyboard actions go with the Auto List Members feature:
- [Tab] or [Ctrl]+[Enter] - Enters the selected item
- [Enter] = Enters the selected item and positions the cursor on the next line
- [Spacebar] - Enters the selected item and a space character
- [Esc] - Closes the list
keyboard shortcuts:
- [Ctrl]+[Spacebar] - make IntelliSense prompt for variables, methods, properties, or events when typing in code window
- [F7] - Jump to the Code window
- [F4] - Jump to the Properties window
- [Ctrl]+[R] - Jump to the Project window
- [Ctrl]+[G] - Jump to the Immediate window
keyboard shortcuts while debugging:
- [F8] - Step Into
- [Shift]+[F8] - Step Over
- [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[F8] - Step Out
- [Ctrl]+[F8] - Run to Cursor
- [F5] - Run
- [Ctrl]+[Break] - Break
- [Shift]+[F9] - Quick Watch
- [F9] - Toggle Breakpoint
- [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[F9] - Clear All Breakpoints
VBA keyboard shortcuts:
- Project Explorer - Press [Ctrl]+[R]
- Properties window - Press [F4]
- Immediate window - Press [Ctrl]+[G]
- List Properties/Methods - Press [Ctrl]+[J]
- List Constants - [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[J]
- Parameter Info - [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[I]
- Word Completion - [Ctrl]+[Spacebar]
to use 1 instead of 0 as starting point in array do either:
- Option Base 1 'in general section
- Dim iMyArray(1 To 3) As Integer
use VarType(variant) where variant represents your Variant variable to identify the type of data stored in the variant. The different possibilities are:
- 0 - Empty (unitialized)
- 1 - Null
- 2 - Integer
- 3 - Long Integer
- 4 - Single
- 5 - Double
- 6 - Currency
- 7 - Date
- 8 - String
- 9 - Object
- 10 - Error value
- 11 - Boolean
- 12 - Variant (arrays)
- 13 - Data access object
- 14 - Decimal value
- 17 - Byte
- 36 - User Defined Type
- 8192 - Array
enumeration is a special type of constant that automatically assigns values to its members - to see how it works, open a module and type vbDayOfWeek followed by a period

to create your own enumeration:
Private Enum WorkDays 'assigned the values 0 through 4
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
End Enum

to use the enumeration:
Dim DayOff As WorkDays 'VB treats all constant values in an enumeration as Long integers
DayOff = Monday
to unset a variable use: Set var = Nothing
to create EXE after exiting VB from the command line use:
vb /make d:\app\app.vbp
to move files use:
Name "C:\August.doc" As "C:\Complete\September.doc"
to display hourglass during processing use:
Screen.Mousepointer = vbHourglass (then Screen.Mousepointer = vbDefault when complete)
use API to get last error:
Declare Function GetLastError Lib "kernel32" () As Long
Function GLE()
MsgBox "The last error was " & GetLastError
End Function
to execute GLE() in the Immediate window enter:
?GLE
to update multiple controls with the same prefix (i.e. txt1, txt2, txt3) use:
Dim flds As Integer
flds = rst.Fields.Count
For i = 0 to flds
Me("txt" & i) = rst(i)
Next i
to show or use print/print setup dialogs:
Dialogs(wdDialogFilePrint).Show (executes actions)
Dialogs(wdDialogFilePrint).Display (returns values)
or use wdDialogFilePageSetup
use the following code to clear all the text boxes on your form:
Dim vControl
For Each vControl In Me.Controls 'where Me is the form
If TypeOf vControl Is TextBox Then
vControl.Text = ""
End If
Next
hide the mouse pointer using an API call:
Declare Function ShowCursor Lib "user32" (ByVal bShow As Long) As Long
to hide the mpuse pointer use: booleanVar = ShowCursor(False)
to unhide the mouse pointer use: booleanVar = ShowCursor(True)

Tips

Use Option Strict On - this implies Option Explicit and also disallows any data type conversions in which data loss would occur and any conversion between numeric types and strings
when creating an ActiveX DLL to be used in a web application - need to compile with 'Retain in Memory' and 'Unattended Execution' options (not on by default) under Project-->Project Properties
in VB6 on use InStrRev instead of Instr if searching backwards
in VB6 use FormatDateTime, FormatCurrency, FormatPercent, and FormatNumber instead of Format$ b/c they are much faster
use CDbl() instead of Val()
use Move method instead of changing Left and Top properties
put BeginTrans before dynaset update code and CommitTrans just after it - it will speed things up
use suggested prefixes for form controls, i.e.
- txt--text fields
- cbo--drop-down select lists
- lst--select lists
- chk--check boxes
- opt--radio (OptionButtons) buttons
- cmd--action buttons, like Reset or Submit
use shortcut method when declaring variables, i.e.
- String--$
- Integer--%
- Long--&
- Single--!
- Double--#
- Currency--@
a few things you can do to speed things up a bit if you're working with databases:
- Avoid opening recordsets as a table type - there are other options, such as snapshot.
- If you're searching in SQL tables, use indexes.
- Avoid including functions in SQL statements.
- Rely on stored procedures as often as possible.
for nice pointers use Martlett font and a label caption value of:
3 (Left pointer), 4 (Right pointer), 5 (Up pointer), 6 (Down pointer)

Object Info

Class Inheritance Example:
Class Person
Public FirstName As String
Public LastName As String

Overridable Function CompleteName() As String
CompleteName = FirstName & " " & LastName
End Function
End Class

Class Employee
Inherits Person

Public BirthDate() As Date

ReadOnly Property Age() As Integer
Get
Age = DateDiff("yyyy", BirthDate, Now)
End Get
End Property

Overrides Function CompleteName() As String
CompleteName = LastName & ", " & FirstName
End Function
End Class

NotInheritable Class Employee
...
End Class

MustInherit Class Animal
...
MustOverride Property Name() As String
End Class

Sample Routines

close all forms before exitiing program:
Private Sub Form_Unload (Cancel As Integer)
Dim I As Integer
For I = Forms.Count - 1 to 0 Step - 1
Unload Forms(i)
Next
End Sub