Preface

When Beta 1 of Visual Basic .NET hit the programming scene in 2001, the new tool challenged experienced Visual Basic developers to step up to an entirely new programming platform and a whole new way of writing code. Fortunately, four years later, it's clear that the rewards of moving to .NET make up for the steep learning curve developers experience when they try to do so. Developers who have made the jump have a powerful set of tools for building Windows and web applicationsa set that other programming frameworks are hard-pressed to match.

Visual Basic 2005 and the platform it's built on, .NET 2.0, don't represent the same seismic change. Instead, Visual Basic 2005 and .NET 2.0 are the latest releases of what are now a mature language and platform. Microsoft architects have ironed out inconsistencies, corrected flaws, and added dozens of requested features, from VB 6's edit-and-continue debugger to new Windows and web controls for displaying data. Still, even the keenest developer could use a quick tour of Visual Basic 2005 and .NET 2.0 to come to terms with all the changes.

This book provides a series of hands-on labs that take you through the new features you'll find in Visual Basic 2005, the .NET Framework 2.0, and the Visual Studio 2005 development tool. Visual Basic 2005: A Developer's Notebook is perfect for developers who have worked with a previous version of .NET and need to quickly get up to speed with what's new. Best of all, you'll learn everything through concise, focused examples (all of which are just a short download away).