Datasheet

and Microsoft Offi ce 2010 to extend these offi ce productivity tools with application - like features. Many
organizations use Microsoft Offi ce for tasks that border on custom applications. This is especially true for
Microsoft Excel. VSTO provides project templates based on these Microsoft Offi ce products that enable, for
example, a spreadsheet to retrieve its contents from an SQL Server database instead of the local fi le system.
These tools provide the capability not only to manipulate data retrieval and saving, but also to customize the
user interface, including direct access to the task pane and custom toolbar options within Microsoft Offi ce
products; they are covered in more detail in Chapter 25.
Visual Studio 2010 Premium and Ultimate focus on extending a developer ’ s reach beyond just writing
code. These tools are used to examine code for fl aws, manage the deployment environment, and defi ne
relationships between applications. The high - end versions are focused on tools that support repeatable
software processes and best practices. They are geared toward examining source code for hidden fl aws that
might not cause the code to fail, but might hide a hidden security fl aw or make it diffi cult to maintain or
deploy the application. More important, the suite includes tools for creating unit test tools that attempt to
cause the code to fail, whether through bad input data or heavy load.
Complete coverage of all of Visual Studio Ultimate ’ s features warrants a book of its own, especially when
you take into account all of the collaborative features introduced by Team Foundation Server and its tight
integration with both Team Build and SharePoint Server. Team Foundation Server goes beyond just being a
replacement for Visual Source Safe. It is the basis for true process - driven development, and it even includes
documentation to help train your organization on two process models supported by Microsoft.
VISUAL BASIC KEYWORDS AND SYNTAX
Those with previous experience with Visual Basic are already familiar with many of the language keywords
and syntax. However, not all readers will fall into this category so this introductory section is for those new
to Visual Basic. A glossary of keywords is provided after which this section will use many of these keywords
in context.
Although they ’ re not the focus of the chapter, with so many keywords, a glossary follows. Table 1 - 2 briefl y
summarizes most of the keywords discussed in the preceding section, and provides a short description of
their meaning in Visual Basic. Keep in mind there are two commonly used terms that aren ’ t Visual Basic
keywords that you will read repeatedly including in the glossary:
Method — A generic name for a named set of commands. In Visual Basic, both subs and functions
are types of methods.
Instance — When a class is created, the resulting object is an instance of the class ’ s defi nition.
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K EYWO RD DES CRI PT ION
Namespace A collection of classes that provide related capabilities. For example, the
System.Drawing namespace contains classes associated with graphics.
Class A defi nition of an object. Includes properties (variables) and methods, which can be Subs
or Functions .
Sub A method that contains a set of commands, allows data to be transferred as parameters,
and provides scope around local variables and commands, but does not return a value
Function A method that contains a set of commands, returns a value, allows data to be transferred as
parameters, and provides scope around local variables and commands
Return Ends the currently executing Sub or Function . Combined with a return value for functions.
Dim Declares and defi nes a new variable
New Creates an instance of an object
continues
TABLE 1-2: Commonly Used Keywords in Visual Basic
Visual Basic Keywords and Syntax
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