Need information about Visual Basic?

Question

How difficult is this to learn? I have applied for a job and it requires a "working knowledge" of VB. It is possible to accuire this knowledge quickly? I have great skills with various Microsoft office programs etc.

Answer 1

It's a language that is not too useful nowadays, but if you can get a job that requires one, then for all intent and purposes, it is one of the most basic and fundamental computer language to learn. If you want to test drive it, download Visual Web Developer from microsoft.com.

For most programmers, this is the first class they are told that they should take. I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Visit the Microsoft website http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/vb/learning/
to watch a "how-to" video series for the Absolute Beginner in programming Visual Basic using Visual Basic Express 2005.

I've downloaded and used VB Express 2005 (it's FREE!) and I love using it. There is a LOT to learn to be REALLY GOOD, but it all depends on what type of applications you need to develop. It's not just about learning the code and understanding what it does, but MOSTLY learning good habits, understanding programming structure and LOGIC. While this cannot be learned overnite, it can be self-taught (thanks to the MSDN and the Internet - if you download VB Express, make sure you install the MSDN as well - it's critical!!) if you have the discipline and patience to read, read, read, and try, try, try. Find out how they will need you to apply your knowledge of VB, that would be the factor that decides whether or not you can handle the job. If they want you to write macros and scripts for Excel, maybe you can handle that with your existing knowledge and experience. On the other hand, if they need you to write (even small) custom programs, you need realize that even small programs can be very cumbersome and tricky to a novice. Even if you don't take the job though, learn it anyway! It's fun and you can always add programming knowledge to your resume!!

Good luck!

Answer 3

VB is a programming language not an office app so its pretty different from office programs. There are tutorials all over the net or you can buy a book. Note that VB and VB.net a 2 very differnet things

Answer 4

With some programming experience VB is kind of simple, but as a first language any programming can be quite tedious to deal with. I had my first dealings with programming in pascal on a MAC, and found VB to be quite the challenge. Today though I can do some programs well.

Answer 5

Skip visual basic. I have never seen a want ad requiring knowledge of visual basic. Try BlueJ. It's a easy downloadable visual Java compiler. Try getting job in the industry without knowing java. Good luck.

Answer 6

It's a very easy language to learn if you have the type of mind that takes to logic well. I use it to automate a lot of things I need to draw on one of the CAD programs at work. I also use it to automate Excel sheets a lot too. It's a fantastic language for someone who doesn't need to do it full time. If they say "working knowledge" in their ad, then I'm sure you could pick it up quickly enough.

Answer 7

Visual Basic is not a Microsoft Office product.
It is a programming language.

The link below is a starting point only. It is not Visual Basic but it will get you programming using a similar language quite quickly.

The next stage would be to download a Visual Basic editor to start real coding.

Answer 8

You need to know programming to use visual basic. It's not an office program. You type in code to make forms do things you want it to do. If you're good with MS Access, and can create scripts, then you should be able to pick it up, otherwise, it's not that easy.

Answer 9

I took a course on VB at ITT, it's a beginner programming course (or at least that's what I got out of it) but it didn't rattle my cage enough to pursue it.

Answer 10

download Visual Web Developer from microsoft.com, it's free and gives good tutorials