Developing Applications Using VB 2008 Part 1 Course

In this course, you will begin with the basics, becoming familiar with Windows Forms and Windows Forms controls as well as Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). You will learn how to access data using ADO.NET, how to take advantage of data binding features, and you will explore the range of controls and components provided by Visual Studio. You will also learn how to build solid applications using structured exception handling, how to use the Visual Studio debugging features, how to use MenuStrip and ToolStrip controls, and how to add unprecedented flexibility to your user interfaces using the container controls.

This course is for Developers who need to create Windows applications using Visual Studio 2008.

The course assumes that students have some knowledge of Visual Studio and a good working knowledge of the .NET Framework.

Topics covered on the 5 day Developing Applications Using VB 2008 Part 1 course

Introducing to Windows Forms

• .NET Does Windows
• Adding Controls to a Form
• Investigating Snap Lines
• Adjusting Control Sizes and Positions
• Controlling Tab Order
• A Peek Behind the Scenes
• Viewing the Code
• Adding Event Handling Code
• Adding a Menu to the Form
• Adding Non-Graphical Components
• The ToolTip Component
• The Timer Component

Taking Advantage of the Form Event Model

• How Visual Basic Handles Events
• Working with Forms
• Peeking under the Event ‘Covers’
• Exploring Form and Control Events
• Form Events
• Keyboard Events
• Mouse Events
• Control Events
• Validating User Input

Common Windows Forms Controls

• Windows Forms Controls
• Label Control
• TextBox Control
• Button Control
• CheckBox Control
• RadioButton Control
• ComboBox Control
• ListBox Control
• CheckedListBox Control
• LinkLable Control
• NumericUpDown Control
• PictureBox Control
• ProgressBar Control

Exception Handling

• Perspectives on Exception Handling
• Exception Handling in .NET
• Getting Started with Exception Handling
• No Error Handling
• Adding a Simple Try/Catch Block
• Unhandled Exceptions
• Using an Exception Object
• Catching Specific Exceptions
• Taking Advantage of the Exception Hierarchy
• Raising Errors
• Using the Throw Keyword
• Exception-Handling Options
• Passing Error Information
• Running Code Unconditionally
• The Finally Block
• Cleaning Up: The Using Statement
• Handling Unhandled Exceptions
• Creating Exception Classes

Working with Strings and Dates

• Basic .NET Data Types
• Working with Text: The String Class
• Investigating the String Class
• Creating Strings
• String Properties
• Static String Methods
• Instance String Methods
• Manipulating Text with the StringBuilder Class
• Working with Dates and Times
• DateTime Constructors
• Shared Members
• Simple Properties
• Conversion Methods
• Calculation Methods
• Shared Methods
• Using the DateTimeType
• Handling Elapsed Times with the TimeSpan Type
• Measuring Elapsed Time

Accessing Data

• Overview of ADO.NET
• The ADO.NET Architecture
• Creating ADO.NET Data Objects
• Connecting to Data
• Setting up Connection Information
• Creating Connection Strings in the Configuration File
• Using the Connection Object
• Executing Commands
• Working with Data Readers
• Using the SQLDataReader
• Working with Data
• Working with Data Using a Data Adapter
• Managing Data with the DatSet Object
• Filling a DataTable withing a DataSet
• Filling a DataTable from SQL Server
• Choosing an ADO.NET Provider
• The SQL Server .NET Data Provider
• The OLE DB .NET Data Provider
• The ODBC Data Provider
• Writing Code for Multiple Providers

Introducing LINQ

• Language Integrated Query
• LINQ Using Visual Basic and C#
• LINQ Syntax
• Basic LINQ Syntax
• Extension Methods
• LINQ and More Complex Objects
• Anonymous types
• LINQ to SQL
• Creating a Data Model
• Calling Stored Procedures
• Using Anonymous Types with SQL
• mOdifying SQL Data
• LINQ to DataSets
• LINQ to Typed DataSets
• LINQ to Untyped Data Sets
• LINQ to XML
• Generating XML
• Querying XML
• Transofmring XML
• Are You Done? Is There More?

Data Binding Techniques

• Data Binding Basics
• Creating a Data Source
• The Data Sources Window
• Creating Data Bound Forms
• Data Binding Components and Controls
• The DataSet
• The Table Adapter
• The TableAdapterManager
• The BindingSource Component
• The BindingNavigator Control
• Displaying Data from Related Tables
• Enforcing Referential Integrity
• Displaying Data from Lookup Tables
• Adding Search Capabilities to a Form
• Filtering by Values from a Lookup Table
• Validating Data
• Determining Whether the User made Changes
• Validating Data at the Form Level
• Validating Data at the Data Level
• Working with Local Data