Chapter 2 -- Programming Objects

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Chapter 2

Using Microsoft COM and Microsoft ActiveX as its underlying technology, Microsoft Visual Basic has made the leap from a procedural language to an object-oriented programming language. Understanding how COM and ActiveX contribute to Visual Basic to make this leap possible will provide you with further insight and appreciation for why objects behave the way they do. Don't despair if you don't fully comprehend the implications of COM and ActiveX—most experts on the subject agree that it takes about six months of continuous effort before this information starts to sink in. Regardless of how well you understand COM and ActiveX, Visual Basic does an excellent job of concealing this layer.

While it's intriguing to understand the "why" of object-oriented programming, it's imperative to understand the "how." Given that premise, I will explain how Visual Basic supports principles of object-oriented programming using the current language feature set. Next I will cover some aspects of object construction and destruction that you must understand in order to produce well-refined object-oriented systems. Finally, I will attempt to demystify the use of object variables by providing some insight into how objects behave and how they are manipulated in Visual Basic.