With the release of the Microsoft .NET platform comes a new version of Visual Basic dramatically unlike its predecessors. So extensive are the changes, in fact, that some VB programmers argue that Visual Basic .NET is an entirely new programming language. In the updated second edition of this popular book, you will find complete documentation for the Visual Basic .NET language. Beginning with a brief overview of the language, VB.NET Language in a Nutshell covers basic programming concepts, and introduces the .NET Framework Class Library and programming with attributes. The bulk of the book consists of an alphabetical reference to Visual Basic .NET statements, procedures, functions, and objects. Each entry has a standardized listing containing the following information:

• Its syntax, using standard coding conventions
• Differences in the operation of the keyword in Visual Basic .NET and in VB 6.0
• A list of arguments accepted by the function or procedure
• A description of the data type returned by a function
• The finer points of a language element's usage that are often omitted from or blurred over by other sources
• Tips and warnings that include undocumented behaviors and practical applications for particular language elements
• An invaluable section for diagnosing or avoiding potential programming problems
• A cross-reference to related keywords

On the CD-ROM (included with print edition of the book) is a plug-in that adds a copy of the book's language reference to the dynamic help within Visual Studio .NET.The plug-in requires any edition of Visual Basic .NET or Visual Studio .NET. No matter how much experience you have programming with VB, you want this book close by, both as a standard reference guide and as a tool for troubleshooting and identifying programming problems.

Contents

• Pt. I The Basics
• Ch. 1 Introduction
• Ch. 2 Program Structure
• Ch. 3 Variables and Data Types
• Ch. 4 Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming
• Ch. 5 The .NET Framework: General Concepts
• Ch. 6 The .NET Framework Class Library
• Ch. 7 Delegates and Events
• Ch. 8 Attributes
• Ch. 9 Error Handling in VB.NET

• Pt. II Reference
• Ch. 10 The Language Reference

• Pt. III Appendixes
• App. A What's New and Different in VB.NET
• App. B Language Elements by Category
• App. C Operators
• App. D Constants and Enumerations
• App. E The VB.NET Command-Line Compiler
• App. F VB 6 Language Elements Not Supported by VB.NET