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Visual Basic, originally called Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET), is a
multi-paradigm Programming paradigms are a way to classify programming languages based on their features. Languages can be classified into multiple paradigms. Some paradigms are concerned mainly with implications for the execution model of the language, suc ...
,
object-oriented Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of "objects", which can contain data and code. The data is in the form of fields (often known as attributes or ''properties''), and the code is in the form of pro ...
programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming ...
, implemented on .NET,
Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...
, and the
.NET Framework The .NET Framework (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a proprietary software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It was the predominant implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) until bein ...
. Microsoft launched VB.NET in 2002 as the successor to its original Visual Basic language, the last version of which was Visual Basic 6.0. Although the ".NET" portion of the name was dropped in 2005, this article uses "Visual Basic
NET Net or net may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Net (mathematics), a filter-like topological generalization of a sequence * Net, a linear system of divisors of dimension 2 * Net (polyhedron), an arrangement of polygons that can be folded up ...
to refer to all Visual Basic languages released since 2002, in order to distinguish between them and the
classic Visual Basic The original Visual Basic (also referred to as Classic Visual Basic) is a third-generation event-driven programming language from Microsoft known for its Component Object Model (COM) programming model first released in 1991 and declared leg ...
. Along with C# and F#, it is one of the three main languages targeting the .NET ecosystem. As of March 11, 2020, Microsoft announced that evolution of the VB.NET language has concluded. Microsoft's
integrated development environment An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development. An IDE normally consists of at least a source code editor, build automation tools a ...
(IDE) for developing in Visual Basic is
Visual Studio Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft. It is used to develop computer programs including web site, websites, web apps, web services and mobile apps. Visual Studio uses Microsoft software development platfor ...
. Most Visual Studio editions are
commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
; the only exceptions are
Visual Studio Express Microsoft Visual Studio Express is a set of integrated development environments (IDEs) that Microsoft developed and released free of charge. They are function-limited version of the non-free Visual Studio and require mandatory registration. Exp ...
and Visual Studio Community, which are
freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the f ...
. In addition, the
.NET Framework SDK Microsoft Windows SDK, and its predecessors Platform SDK, and .NET Framework SDK, are software development kits (SDKs) from Microsoft that contain documentation, header files, libraries, samples and tools required to develop applications for Mic ...
includes a freeware
command-line A command-line interpreter or command-line processor uses a command-line interface (CLI) to receive commands from a user in the form of lines of text. This provides a means of setting parameters for the environment, invoking executables and pro ...
compiler In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that ...
called vbc.exe.
Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...
also includes a command-line VB.NET compiler. Visual Basic is often used in conjunction with the
Windows Forms Windows Forms (WinForms) is a free and open-source graphical (GUI) class library included as a part of Microsoft .NET, .NET Framework or Mono Framework, providing a platform to write client applications for desktop, laptop, and tablet PCs. While ...
GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...
library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
to make desktop apps for
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. Programming for Windows Forms with Visual Basic involves dragging and dropping controls on a form using a
GUI designer A graphical user interface builder (or GUI builder), also known as GUI designer or sometimes RAD IDE, is a software development tool that simplifies the creation of GUIs by allowing the designer to arrange graphical control elements (often cal ...
and writing corresponding code for each control.


Syntax

Visual Basic uses
statements Statement or statements may refer to: Common uses *Statement (computer science), the smallest standalone element of an imperative programming language *Statement (logic), declarative sentence that is either true or false *Statement, a declarative ...
to specify actions. The most common statement is an expression statement, consisting of an
expression Expression may refer to: Linguistics * Expression (linguistics), a word, phrase, or sentence * Fixed expression, a form of words with a specific meaning * Idiom, a type of fixed expression * Metaphorical expression, a particular word, phrase, o ...
to be evaluated, on a single line. As part of that evaluation, functions or subroutines may be called and variables may be assigned new values. To modify the normal sequential execution of statements, Visual Basic provides several control-flow statements identified by reserved keywords.
Structured programming Structured programming is a programming paradigm aimed at improving the clarity, quality, and development time of a computer program by making extensive use of the structured control flow constructs of selection ( if/then/else) and repetition ( ...
is supported by several constructs including two conditional execution constructs (If ... Then ... Else ... End If and Select Case ... Case ... End Select ) and three iterative execution (loop) constructs (Do ... Loop, For ... To, and For Each) . The For ... To statement has separate initialisation and testing sections, both of which must be present. (See examples below.) The For Each statement steps through each value in a list. In addition, in Visual Basic: * There is no unified way of defining blocks of statements. Instead, certain keywords, such as "If … Then" or "Sub" are interpreted as starters of sub-blocks of code and have matching termination keywords such as "End If" or "End Sub". * Statements are terminated either with a colon (":") or with the
end of line End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: **End (category theory) **End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games ** End (gridiron football ...
. Multiple-line statements in Visual Basic are enabled with " _" at the end of each such line. The need for the underscore continuation character was largely removed in version 10 and later versions. * The
equals sign The equals sign (British English, Unicode) or equal sign (American English), also known as the equality sign, is the mathematical symbol , which is used to indicate equality in some well-defined sense. In an equation, it is placed between two ...
("=") is used in both assigning values to variables and in comparison. * Round brackets (parentheses) are used with
arrays An array is a systematic arrangement of similar objects, usually in rows and columns. Things called an array include: {{TOC right Music * In twelve-tone and serial composition, the presentation of simultaneous twelve-tone sets such that the ...
, both to declare them and to get a value at a given index in one of them. Visual Basic uses round brackets to define the parameters of subroutines or functions. * A
single quotation mark Quotation marks (also known as quotes, quote marks, speech marks, inverted commas, or talking marks) are punctuation marks used in pairs in various writing systems to set off direct speech, a quotation, or a phrase. The pair consists of an ...
(') or the keyword REM, placed at the beginning of a line or after any number of
space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
or tab characters at the beginning of a line, or after other code on a line, indicates that the (remainder of the) line is a
comment Comment may refer to: * Comment (linguistics) or rheme, that which is said about the topic (theme) of a sentence * Bernard Comment (born 1960), Swiss writer and publisher Computing * Comment (computer programming), explanatory text or informat ...
.


Simple example

The following is a very simple Visual Basic program, a version of the classic " Hello, World!" example created as a console application: Module Module1 Sub Main() ' The classic "Hello, World!" demonstration program Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!") End Sub End Module It prints "''Hello, World!''" on a command-line window. Each line serves a specific purpose, as follows: Module Module1 This is a module definition. Modules are a division of code, which can contain any kind of object, like constants or variables, functions or methods, or classes, but can't be instantiated as objects like classes and cannot inherit from other modules. Modules serve as containers of code that can be referenced from other parts of a program.
It is common practice for a module and the code file which contains it to have the same name. However, this is not required, as a single code file may contain more than one module and/or class. Sub Main() This line defines a subroutine called "Main". "Main" is the entry point, where the program begins execution. Console.WriteLine("Hello, world!") This line performs the actual task of writing the output. ''Console'' is a system object, representing a command-line interface (also known as a "console") and granting programmatic access to the operating system's
standard streams In computer programming, standard streams are interconnected input and output communication channels between a computer program and its environment when it begins execution. The three input/output (I/O) connections are called standard input (stdin ...
. The program calls the ''Console'' method ''WriteLine,'' which causes the string passed to it to be displayed on the console. Instead of Console.WriteLine, one could use MsgBox, which prints the message in a dialog box instead of a command-line window.


Complex example

This piece of code outputs
Floyd's Triangle Floyd's triangle is a triangular array of natural numbers used in computer science education. It is named after Robert Floyd. It is defined by filling the rows of the triangle with consecutive numbers, starting with a 1 in the top left corner: T ...
to the console: Imports System.Console Module Program Sub Main() Dim rows As Integer ' Input validation. Do Until Integer.TryParse(ReadLine("Enter a value for how many rows to be displayed: " & vbcrlf), rows) AndAlso rows >= 1 WriteLine("Allowed range is 1 and ", Integer.MaxValue) Loop ' Output of Floyd's Triangle Dim current As Integer = 1 Dim row As Integer Dim column As Integer For row = 1 To rows For column = 1 To row Write(" ", current) current += 1 Next WriteLine() Next End Sub Like Console.ReadLine but takes a prompt string. Function ReadLine(Optional prompt As String = Nothing) As String If prompt IsNot Nothing Then Write(prompt) End If Return Console.ReadLine() End Function End Module


Comparison with the classic Visual Basic

Whether Visual Basic .NET should be considered as just another version of Visual Basic or a completely different language is a topic of debate. There are new additions to support new features, such as
structured exception handling The Microsoft Windows family of operating systems employ some specific exception handling mechanisms. Structured Exception Handling Microsoft Structured Exception Handling is the native exception handling mechanism for Windows and a forerunner te ...
and short-circuited expressions. Also, two important data-type changes occurred with the move to VB.NET: compared to Visual Basic 6, the Integer
data type In computer science and computer programming, a data type (or simply type) is a set of possible values and a set of allowed operations on it. A data type tells the compiler or interpreter how the programmer intends to use the data. Most progra ...
has been doubled in length from 16 bits to 32 bits, and the Long
data type In computer science and computer programming, a data type (or simply type) is a set of possible values and a set of allowed operations on it. A data type tells the compiler or interpreter how the programmer intends to use the data. Most progra ...
has been doubled in length from 32 bits to 64 bits. This is true for all versions of VB.NET. A 16-bit integer in all versions of VB.NET is now known as a Short. Similarly, the
Windows Forms Windows Forms (WinForms) is a free and open-source graphical (GUI) class library included as a part of Microsoft .NET, .NET Framework or Mono Framework, providing a platform to write client applications for desktop, laptop, and tablet PCs. While ...
editor is very similar in style and function to the Visual Basic form editor. The things that ''have'' changed significantly are the semantics—from those of an object-based programming language running on a
deterministic Determinism is a philosophical view, where all events are determined completely by previously existing causes. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping motives and consi ...
, reference-counted engine based on
COM Com or COM may refer to: Computing * COM (hardware interface), a serial port interface on IBM PC-compatible computers * COM file, or .com file, short for "command", a file extension for an executable file in MS-DOS * .com, an Internet top-level d ...
to a fully
object-oriented Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of "objects", which can contain data and code. The data is in the form of fields (often known as attributes or ''properties''), and the code is in the form of pro ...
language backed by the
.NET Framework The .NET Framework (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a proprietary software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It was the predominant implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) until bein ...
, which consists of a combination of the
Common Language Runtime The Common Language Runtime (CLR), the virtual machine component of Microsoft .NET Framework, manages the execution of .NET programs. Just-in-time compilation converts the managed code (compiled intermediate language code) into machine instructio ...
(a
virtual machine In computing, a virtual machine (VM) is the virtualization/emulation of a computer system. Virtual machines are based on computer architectures and provide functionality of a physical computer. Their implementations may involve specialized hardw ...
using generational garbage collection and a
just-in-time compilation In computing, just-in-time (JIT) compilation (also dynamic translation or run-time compilations) is a way of executing computer code that involves compilation during execution of a program (at run time) rather than before execution. This may cons ...
engine) and a far larger
class library In computer science, a library is a collection of non-volatile resources used by computer programs, often for software development. These may include configuration data, documentation, help data, message templates, pre-written code and su ...
. The increased breadth of the latter is also a problem that VB developers have to deal with when coming to the language, although this is somewhat addressed by the ''My'' feature in Visual Studio 2005. The changes have altered many underlying assumptions about the "right" thing to do with respect to performance and maintainability. Some functions and libraries no longer exist; others are available, but not as efficient as the "native" .NET alternatives. Even if they compile, most converted Visual Basic 6 applications will require some level of
refactoring In computer programming and software design, code refactoring is the process of restructuring existing computer code—changing the '' factoring''—without changing its external behavior. Refactoring is intended to improve the design, structure ...
to take full advantage of the new language. Documentation is available to cover changes in the syntax, debugging applications, deployment and terminology.


Comparative examples

The following simple examples compare VB and VB.NET syntax. They assume that the developer has created a form, placed a button on it and has associated the subroutines demonstrated in each example with the click
event handler In programming and software design, an event is an action or occurrence recognized by software, often originating asynchronously from the external environment, that may be handled by the software. Computer events can be generated or triggered ...
of the mentioned button. Each example creates a "Hello, World" message box after the button on the form is clicked. Visual Basic 6: Private Sub Command1_Click() MsgBox "Hello, World" End Sub VB.NET (MsgBox or MessageBox class can be used): Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click MsgBox("Hello, World") End Sub * Both Visual Basic 6 and Visual Basic .NET automatically generate the Sub and End Sub statements when the corresponding button is double-clicked in design view. Visual Basic .NET will also generate the necessary Class and End Class statements. The developer need only add the statement to display the "Hello, World" message box. * All procedure calls must be made with parentheses in VB.NET, whereas in Visual Basic 6 there were different conventions for functions (parentheses required) and subs (no parentheses allowed, unless called using the keyword Call). * The names Command1 and Button1 are not obligatory. However, these are default names for a command button in Visual Basic 6 and VB.NET respectively. * In VB.NET, the Handles keyword is used to make the sub Button1_Click a handler for the Click event of the object Button1. In Visual Basic 6, event handler subs must have a specific name consisting of the object's name ("Command1"), an underscore ("_"), and the event's name ("Click", hence "Command1_Click"). * There is a function called MessageBox.Show in the Microsoft.VisualBasic namespace which can be used (instead of MsgBox) similarly to the corresponding function in Visual Basic 6. There is a controversy about which function to use as a best practice (not only restricted to showing message boxes but also regarding other features of the Microsoft.VisualBasic namespace). Some programmers prefer to do things "the .NET way", since the Framework classes have more features and are less language-specific. Others argue that using language-specific features makes code more readable (for example, using int (C#) or Integer (VB.NET) instead of System.Int32). * In Visual Basic 2008, the inclusion of ByVal sender as Object, ByVal e as EventArgs has become optional. The following example demonstrates a difference between Visual Basic 6 and VB.NET. Both examples close the
active window A window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment. They work in conjunction ...
. Visual Basic 6: Sub cmdClose_Click() Unload Me End Sub VB.NET: Sub btnClose_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnClose.Click Close() End Sub The 'cmd' prefix is replaced by the 'btn' prefix, conforming to the new convention previously mentioned. Visual Basic 6 did not provide common operator shortcuts. The following are equivalent: Visual Basic 6: Sub Timer1_Timer() 'Reduces Form Height by one pixel per tick Me.Height = Me.Height - 1 End Sub VB.NET: Sub Timer1_Tick(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Timer1.Tick Me.Height -= 1 End Sub


Comparison with C#

C# and Visual Basic are Microsoft's first languages made to program on the .NET Framework (later adding F# and more; others have also added languages). Though C# and Visual Basic are syntactically different, that is where the differences mostly end. Microsoft developed both of these languages to be part of the same .NET Framework development platform. They are both developed, managed, and supported by the same language development team at Microsoft. They compile to the same intermediate language (IL), which runs against the same .NET Framework runtime libraries. Although there are some differences in the programming constructs, their differences are primarily syntactic and, assuming one avoids the Visual Basic "Compatibility" libraries provided by Microsoft to aid conversion from Visual Basic 6, almost every feature in VB has an equivalent feature in C# and vice versa. Lastly, both languages reference the same Base Classes of the .NET Framework to extend their functionality. As a result, with few exceptions, a program written in either language can be run through a simple syntax converter to translate to the other. There are many open source and commercially available products for this task.


Examples


Hello World!


Windows Forms Application

Requires a button called Button1. Public Class Form1 Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click MsgBox("Hello world!", MsgBoxStyle.Information, "Hello world!") ' Show a message that says "Hello world!". End Sub End Class


Console Application


Speaking


Windows Forms Application

Requires a TextBox titled 'TextBox1' and a button called Button1. Public Class Form1 Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click CreateObject("Sapi.Spvoice").Speak(TextBox1.Text) End Sub End Class


Console Application

Module Module1 Private Voice = CreateObject("Sapi.Spvoice") Private Text As String Sub Main() Console.Write("Enter the text to speak: ") ' Say "Enter the text to speak: " Text = Console.ReadLine() ' The user must enter the text to speak. Voice.Speak(Text) ' Speak the text the user has entered. End Sub End Module


Version history

Succeeding the classic Visual Basic version 6.0, the first version of Visual Basic .NET debuted in 2002. , ten versions of Visual Basic .NET are released.


2002 (VB 7.0)

The first version, Visual Basic .NET, relies on
.NET Framework 1.0 Microsoft started development on the .NET Framework in the late 1990s originally under the name of Next Generation Windows Services (NGWS). By late 2001 the first beta versions of .NET 1.0 were released. The first version of .NET Framework was r ...
. The most important feature is
managed code Managed code is computer program code that requires and will execute only under the management of a Common Language Infrastructure (CLI); Virtual Execution System (VES); virtual machine, e.g. .NET, CoreFX, or .NET Framework; Common Language Runti ...
, which contrasts with the classic Visual Basic.


2003 (VB 7.1)

Visual Basic .NET 2003 was released with
.NET Framework 1.1 Microsoft started development on the .NET Framework in the late 1990s originally under the name of Next Generation Windows Services (NGWS). By late 2001 the first beta versions of .NET 1.0 were released. The first version of .NET Framework was r ...
. New features included support for the
.NET Compact Framework The Microsoft .NET Compact Framework (.NET CF) is a version of the .NET Framework that is designed to run on resource constrained mobile/embedded devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, factory controllers, set-top box ...
and a better VB upgrade wizard. Improvements were also made to the performance and reliability of .NET IDE (particularly th
background compiler
and runtime. In addition, Visual Basic .NET 2003 was available in the Visual Studio.NET Academic Edition, distributed to a certain number of scholars from each country without cost.


2005 (VB 8.0)

After Visual Basic .NET 2003, Microsoft dropped ".NET" from the name of the product, calling the next version Visual Basic 2005. For this release, Microsoft added many features intended to reinforce Visual Basic .NET's focus as a
rapid application development Rapid application development (RAD), also called rapid application building (RAB), is both a general term for adaptive software development approaches, and the name for James Martin's method of rapid development. In general, RAD approaches to ...
platform and further differentiate it from C#., including: * ''Edit and Continue'' feature * Design-time expression evaluation * A pseudo-
namespace In computing, a namespace is a set of signs (''names'') that are used to identify and refer to objects of various kinds. A namespace ensures that all of a given set of objects have unique names so that they can be easily identified. Namespaces ...
called "My", which provides: ** Easy access to certain areas of the .NET Framework that otherwise require significant code to access like using My.Form2.Text = " MainForm " rather than System.WindowsApplication1.Forms.Form2.text = " MainForm " ** Dynamically generated classes (e.g. ''My.Forms'') * Improved VB-to-VB.NET converter * A "using" keyword, simplifying the use of objects that require the Dispose
pattern A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...
to free resources * ''Just My Code'' feature, which hides (steps over)
boilerplate code In computer programming, boilerplate code, or simply boilerplate, are sections of code that are repeated in multiple places with little to no variation. When using languages that are considered ''verbose'', the programmer must write a lot of boile ...
written by the Visual Studio .NET IDE and system library code during debugging * Data Source binding, easing
database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...
client/server development To bridge the gaps between itself and other .NET languages, this version added: *
Generics Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...
* Partial classes, a method of defining some parts of a class in one file and then adding more definitions later; particularly useful for integrating user code with auto-generated code *
Operator overloading In computer programming, operator overloading, sometimes termed ''operator ad hoc polymorphism'', is a specific case of polymorphism, where different operators have different implementations depending on their arguments. Operator overloading is ...
and
nullable type Nullable types are a feature of some programming languages which allow a value to be set to the special value NULL instead of the usual possible values of the data type. In statically typed languages, a nullable type is an option type, while in d ...
s * Support for
unsigned integer In computer science, an integer is a datum of integral data type, a data type that represents some range of mathematical integers. Integral data types may be of different sizes and may or may not be allowed to contain negative values. Integers are ...
data types commonly used in other languages Visual Basic 2005 introduced the IsNot operator that makes 'If X IsNot Y' equivalent to 'If Not X Is Y'. It gained notoriety when it was found to be the subject of a Microsoft patent application.


2008 (VB 9.0)

Visual Basic 9.0 was released along with
.NET Framework 3.5 Microsoft started development on the .NET Framework in the late 1990s originally under the name of Next Generation Windows Services (NGWS). By late 2001 the first beta versions of .NET 1.0 were released. The first version of .NET Framework was r ...
on November 19, 2007. For this release, Microsoft added many features, including: * A true
conditional operator The conditional operator is supported in many programming languages. This term usually refers to ?: as in C, C++, C#, and JavaScript. However, in Java, this term can also refer to && and , , . && and , , In some programming languages, e.g. Jav ...
, "If(condition as boolean, truepart, falsepart)", to replace the "IIf" function. *
Anonymous type Anonymous types are a feature of C# 3.0, Visual Basic .NET 9.0, Oxygene, Scala and Go that allows data types to encapsulate a set of properties into a single object without having to first explicitly define a type. This is an important feature ...
s * Support for
LINQ Language Integrated Query (LINQ, pronounced "link") is a Microsoft .NET Framework component that adds native data querying capabilities to .NET languages, originally released as a major part of .NET Framework 3.5 in 2007. LINQ extends the langua ...
*
Lambda expressions Lambda expression may refer to: *Lambda expression in computer programming, also called an anonymous function In computer programming, an anonymous function (function literal, lambda abstraction, lambda function, lambda expression or block) is a f ...
*
XML Literals In the Microsoft .NET Framework, XML Literal allows a computer program to include XML directly in the code. It is currently only supported in VB.NET 9.0 and VB.NET 10.0. When a Visual Basic expression is embedded in an XML literal, the applicatio ...
*
Type Inference Type inference refers to the automatic detection of the type of an expression in a formal language. These include programming languages and mathematical type systems, but also natural languages in some branches of computer science and linguistics ...
*
Extension method In object-oriented computer programming, an extension method is a method added to an object after the original object was compiled. The modified object is often a class, a prototype or a type. Extension methods are features of some object-orie ...
s


2010 (VB 10.0)

In April 2010, Microsoft released Visual Basic 2010. Microsoft had planned to use
Dynamic Language Runtime The Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR) from Microsoft runs on top of the Common Language Runtime (CLR) and provides computer language services for dynamic languages. These services include: * A dynamic type system, to be shared by all languages using ...
(DLR) for that release but shifted to a co-evolution strategy between Visual Basic and sister language C# to bring both languages into closer parity with one another. Visual Basic's innate ability to interact dynamically with CLR and COM objects has been enhanced to work with dynamic languages built on the DLR such as
IronPython IronPython is an implementation of the Python programming language targeting the .NET Framework and Mono. Jim Hugunin created the project and actively contributed to it up until Version 1.0 which was released on September 5, 2006. IronPython 2.0 ...
and
IronRuby IronRuby is an implementation of the Ruby programming language targeting Microsoft .NET Framework. It is implemented on top of the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR), a library running on top of the Common Language Infrastructure that provides dynamic ...
. The Visual Basic compiler was improved to infer line continuation in a set of common contexts, in many cases removing the need for the " _" line continuation characters. Also, existing support of inline Functions was complemented with support for inline Subs as well as multi-line versions of both Sub and Function lambdas.


2012 (VB 11.0)

Visual Basic 2012 was released alongside
.NET Framework 4.5 Microsoft started development on the .NET Framework in the late 1990s originally under the name of Next Generation Windows Services (NGWS). By late 2001 the first beta versions of .NET 1.0 were released. The first version of .NET Framework was ...
. Major features introduced in this version include: *
Asynchronous programming Asynchrony, in computer programming, refers to the occurrence of events independent of the main control flow, program flow and ways to deal with such events. These may be "outside" events such as the arrival of Unix signal, signals, or actions ins ...
with "async" and "await" statements * Iterators * Call hierarchy * Caller information * "Global" keyword in "namespace" statements


2013 (VB 12.0)

Visual Basic 2013 was released alongside .NET Framework 4.5.1 with Visual Studio 2013. Can also build .NET Framework 4.5.2 applications by installing Developer Pack.


2015 (VB 14.0)

Visual Basic 2015 (code named VB "14.0") was released with Visual Studio 2015. Language features include a new "?." operator to perform inline null checks, and a new string interpolation feature is included to format strings inline.


2017 (VB 15.x)

Visual Basic 2017 (code named VB "15.0") was released with Visual Studio 2017. Extends support for new Visual Basic 15 language features with revision 2017, 15.3, 15.5, 15.8. Introduces new refactorings that allow organizing source code with one action.


2019 (VB 16.0)

Visual Basic 2019 (code named VB "16.0") was released with Visual Studio 2019. It is the first version of Visual Basic focused on .NET Core.


Cross-platform and open-source development

The official Visual Basic compiler is written in Visual Basic and is available on GitHub as a part of the
.NET Compiler Platform .NET Compiler Platform, also known by its codename Roslyn, is a set of open-source compilers and code analysis APIs for C# and Visual Basic (VB.NET) languages from Microsoft.
. The creation of open-source tools for Visual Basic development has been slow compared to C#, although the
Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...
development platform provides an implementation of Visual Basic-specific libraries and a Visual Basic 2005 compatible
compiler In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that ...
written in Visual Basic, as well as standard framework libraries such as
Windows Forms Windows Forms (WinForms) is a free and open-source graphical (GUI) class library included as a part of Microsoft .NET, .NET Framework or Mono Framework, providing a platform to write client applications for desktop, laptop, and tablet PCs. While ...
GUI library.
MonoDevelop MonoDevelop (also known as Xamarin Studio) is an open-source integrated development environment for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Its primary focus is development of projects that use Mono and .NET Framework. MonoDevelop integrates features similar t ...
is an
open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
alternative IDE. The
Gambas Gambas is the name of an object-oriented dialect of the BASIC programming language, as well as the integrated development environment that accompanies it. Designed to run on Linux and other Unix-like computer operating systems, its name is a re ...
environment is also similar but distinct from Visual Basic.


See also

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Microsoft Visual Studio Express Microsoft Visual Studio Express is a set of integrated development environments (IDEs) that Microsoft developed and released free of charge. They are function-limited version of the non-free Visual Studio and require mandatory registration. Exp ...
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List of .NET libraries and frameworks This article contains a list of libraries that can be used in .NET languages. These languages require .NET Framework, Mono, or .NET, which provide a basis for software development, platform independence, language interoperability and extensive f ...
* Comparison of C# and Visual Basic .NET *
Visual Basic for Applications Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is an implementation of Microsoft's event-driven programming language Visual Basic 6.0 built into most desktop Microsoft Office applications. Although based on pre-.NET Visual Basic, which is no longer supported ...
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Microsoft Small Basic Microsoft Small Basic is a programming language, interpreter and associated IDE. Microsoft's simplified variant of BASIC, it is designed to help students who have learnt visual programming languages such as Scratch learn text-based programming ...
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Comparison of programming languages Programming languages are used for controlling the behavior of a machine (often a computer). Like natural languages, programming languages follow the rules for syntax and semantics. There are thousands of programming languages and new ones are c ...


References


Further reading

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External links

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The Visual Basic Team Blog
{{Programming languages .NET programming languages 2001 software Articles with example BASIC code BASIC programming language family Microsoft BASIC Microsoft programming languages Basic .NET Object-oriented programming languages