Visual Basic (VB), originally called Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET), is a
multi-paradigm
Programming languages can be grouped by the number and types of Programming paradigm, paradigms supported.
Paradigm summaries
A concise reference for the programming paradigms listed in this article.
* Concurrent programming language, Concurrent ...
,
object-oriented
Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of '' objects''. Objects can contain data (called fields, attributes or properties) and have actions they can perform (called procedures or methods and impleme ...
programming language
A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs.
Programming languages are described in terms of their Syntax (programming languages), syntax (form) and semantics (computer science), semantics (meaning), usually def ...
developed by
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
and implemented on
.NET
The .NET platform (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a free and open-source, managed code, managed computer software framework for Microsoft Windows, Windows, Linux, and macOS operating systems. The project is mainly developed by Microsoft emplo ...
,
Mono, and the
.NET Framework. 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 to refer to all Visual Basic languages released since 2002, in order to distinguish between them and the
classic Visual Basic
Visual Basic (VB), sometimes referred to as Classic Visual Basic, is a third-generation programming language, third-generation programming language based on BASIC, as well as an associated integrated development environment (IDE). Visual Basic ...
. Along with
C# and
F#, it is one of the three main languages targeting the .NET ecosystem. Microsoft updated its VB language strategy on 6 February 2023, stating that VB is a stable language now and Microsoft will keep maintaining it.
Microsoft's
integrated development environment
An integrated development environment (IDE) is a Application software, software application that provides comprehensive facilities for software development. An IDE normally consists of at least a source-code editor, build automation tools, an ...
(IDE) for developing in Visual Basic is
Visual Studio
Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) developed by 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 ...
. Most Visual Studio editions are
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services
** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money
* a dose of advertising ...
; the only exceptions are
Visual Studio Express and
Visual Studio Community, which are
freeware
Freeware is software, 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 free ...
. In addition, the
.NET Framework SDK includes a freeware
command-line compiler
In computing, a compiler is a computer program that Translator (computing), translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primaril ...
called vbc.exe.
Mono also includes a command-line VB.NET compiler.
Visual Basic is often used in conjunction with the
Windows Forms GUI library
A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...
to make
desktop apps for
Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
. Programming for Windows Forms with Visual Basic involves dragging and dropping controls on a form using a
GUI designer and writing corresponding code for each control.
Use in making GUI programs
The Windows Forms library is most commonly used to create GUI interfaces in Visual Basic. All visual elements in the Windows Forms class library derive from the Control class. This provides the minimal functionality of a user interface element such as location, size, color, font, text, as well as common events like click and drag/drop. The Control class also has docking support to let a control rearrange its position under its parent.
Forms are typically designed in the
Visual Studio
Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) developed by 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 ...
IDE. In Visual Studio, forms are created using
drag-and-drop techniques. A tool is used to place controls (e.g., text boxes, buttons, etc.) on the form (window). Controls have
attributes and
event handler
In computing, an event is a detectable occurrence or change in the system's state, such as user input, hardware interrupts, system notifications, or changes in data or conditions, that the system is designed to monitor. Events trigger responses or ...
s associated with them. Default values are provided when the control is created, but may be changed by the programmer. Many attribute values can be modified during run time based on user actions or changes in the environment, providing a dynamic application. For example, code can be inserted into the form resize event handler to reposition a control so that it remains centered on the form, expands to fill up the form, etc. By inserting code into the event handler for a keypress in a text box, the program can automatically translate the case of the text being entered, or even prevent certain characters from being inserted.
Syntax
Visual Basic uses
statements to specify actions. The most common statement is an expression statement, consisting of an
expression 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 specific disciplined use of the structured control flow constructs of selection ( if/then/else) and repet ...
is supported by several constructs including two conditional execution constructs (
If
...
Then
...
Else
...
End If
and
Select Case
...
Case
...
End Select
) and four iterative execution (loop) constructs (
Do
...
Loop
,
For
...
To
,
For Each
, and
While
...
End While
) . 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. 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) or equal sign (American English), also known as the equality sign, is the mathematical symbol , which is used to indicate equality. In an equation it is placed between two expressions that have the same valu ...
("=") 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 (') or the keyword
REM
, placed at the beginning of a line or after any number of
space
Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...
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.
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 not 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 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 preconnected 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 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 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 collection or grouping of data values, usually specified by a set of possible values, a set of allowed operations on these values, and/or a representation of these ...
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 collection or grouping of data values, usually specified by a set of possible values, a set of allowed operations on these values, and/or a representation of these ...
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 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 the metaphysical view that all events within the universe (or multiverse) can occur only in one possible way. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping mo ...
,
reference-counted engine based on
COM to a fully
object-oriented
Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of '' objects''. Objects can contain data (called fields, attributes or properties) and have actions they can perform (called procedures or methods and impleme ...
language backed by the
.NET Framework, 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 instr ...
(a
virtual machine
In computing, a virtual machine (VM) is the virtualization or emulator, emulation of a computer system. Virtual machines are based on computer architectures and provide the functionality of a physical computer. Their implementations may involve ...
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 compilation (of computer code) during execution of a program (at run time) rather than before execution. This may consist of source code transl ...
engine) and a far larger
class library. The increased breadth of the latter was also a problem that VB developers had to deal with when coming to the language, although this was somewhat addressed by the ''My'' feature in Visual Studio 2005.
The changes altered many underlying assumptions about the "right" thing to do with respect to the performance and maintainability of applications. Some functions and libraries no longer exist; others are available, but not as efficient as the "native" .NET alternatives. Even if they compiled, most converted Visual Basic 6 applications required some level of
refactoring to take full advantage of the .NET language. Microsoft provided documentation to cover changes in language syntax, debugging applications, deployment, and terminology. A popular trade book designed to ease the transition was
Michael Halvorson's ''Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Professional Step by Step'', published in 2002 by
Microsoft Press
Microsoft Press is the publishing arm of Microsoft, usually releasing books dealing with various current Microsoft technologies. Microsoft Press' introduced books were ''The Apple Macintosh Book'' by Cary Lu and ''Exploring the IBM PCjr Home Comp ...
.
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 computing, an event is a detectable occurrence or change in the system's state, such as user input, hardware interrupts, system notifications, or changes in data or conditions, that the system is designed to monitor. Events trigger responses or ...
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 (), an underscore (), and the event's name (, hence ).
* 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 , has become optional.
The following example demonstrates a difference between Visual Basic 6 and VB.NET. Both examples close the
active window.
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. 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 R ...
, which contrasts with the classic Visual Basic.
2003 (VB 7.1)
Visual Basic .NET 2003 was released with .NET Framework 1.1. New features included support for the .NET Compact Framework 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 or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...
client/server development
To bridge the gaps between itself and other .NET languages, this version added:
* Generics
* 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 ...
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 i ...
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 on November 19, 2007.
For this release, Microsoft added many features, including:
* A true conditional operator, "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
* Lambda expressions
* XML Literals
* Type Inference
Type inference, sometimes called type reconstruction, 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 bran ...
* 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-o ...
s
2010 (VB 10.0)
In April 2010, Microsoft released Visual Basic 2010. Microsoft had planned to use Dynamic Language Runtime (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 and IronRuby. 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. Major features introduced in this version include:
* Asynchronous programming 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.
A minor update was later released as Visual Basic 16.9 which only added the ability to consume init-only properties. This was done to maintain compatibility with C# 9.0 per the current development strategy of the language.
2022
Visual Basic received no updates with the release of Visual Studio 2022.[
]
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. The creation of open-source tools for Visual Basic development has been slow compared to C#, although the Mono 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 Translator (computing), translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primaril ...
written in Visual Basic, as well as standard framework libraries such as Windows Forms GUI library.
MonoDevelop was an open-source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...
alternative IDE. The Gambas environment is also similar but distinct from Visual Basic, as is the Visual FB Editor for FreeBasic
FreeBASIC is a FOSS, free and open source multiplatform compiler and programming language based on BASIC licensed under the GNU General Public License, GNU GPL for Microsoft Windows, protected-mode MS-DOS (DOS extender), Linux, FreeBSD and Xbox ...
.
See also
* Microsoft Visual Studio Express
* List of .NET libraries and frameworks
* 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, Visual Basic 6.0 built into most desktop Microsoft Office applications. Although based on pre-.NET Visual Basic, which is no ...
* 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 programmin ...
* Comparison of programming languages
References
*
Further reading
#
#
#
External links
*
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