In Visual Basic, What are some of the similarities and differences between check buttons and option buttons?

Answer 1

Checkboxes and option buttons both allow you to select items. You can have a SINGLE checkbox, or MULTIPLE checkboxes. In option buttons (also called "radio buttons") you MUST have MULTIPLE buttons. If one OPTION button is checked, the other one(s) in the same container (FRAME) can't be. To separate groups of option buttons, you MUST use FRAMES as a CONTAINER CONTROL. This is not necessary for check boxes; you must simply give each check box a different name. Option buttons return a BOOLEAN value for checked state, CHECKBOXES return an INTEGER value to show checked state. There are THREE states for a checkbox - 0 - unchecked, 1 - checked, and 2 - GRAYED. The GRAYED value is used when you want to supply a default value, and want to recommend that the user not change the default value, but still want them to be able to ignore your suggestion. The GRAYED value looks like the DISABLED checkbox, except that the CAPTION of the checkbox's built-in label is not greyed out.

For more info on the Grayed property of a checkbox, check out the following book: "Learn to Program with Visual BASIC: Examples", by John Smiley. ISBN: 1-929-68515-7

link: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ISBN=1929685157&pdf=y

The discussion of the Grayed property of the checkbox starts on page 217.

Answer 2

Both have boolean states, checked or unchecked. Check buttons can each have their own state. Option buttons can be grouped so that only one can have the checked state.