Enhancements in the .NET Framework 4 and Visual Studio 2010 make Office automation solutions easier than ever to write and deploy. Here's an Excel automation scenario that reflects solutions that I've seen requested by multiple clients.
Readers respond to the May cover story (".NET at the Crossroads") on the direction of C# and Visual Basic.
- By Readers of Visual Studio Magazine
- 06/01/2011
Someone named Robbie had created a posting asking for assistance in resolving a problem with a simple Visual Basic .NET console application. It was used to retrieve and process product registrations and credit card transactions via the Internet for a piece of niche shareware.
The LightSwitch RAD platform generates apps with "no coding required." What's in it for you? .NET apps that are easier to maintain and extensions built on the Managed Extensibility Framework.
Bigger is better. At least, that seems to be the philosophy at the Microsoft Developer Division.
- By Michael Desmond
- 05/01/2011
How the Microsoft co-evolution strategy has shaped the two flagship languages of the .NET Framework, and what it means for developers going forward.
- By Michael Desmond
- 05/01/2011
Here's everything you need to know to simplify your code about how to make classes look alike and then, when you need to, tell them apart.
In part 2 of a series, On VB columnist Joe Kunk provides a Visual Basic program to generate a SQL script that clears all the data from a SQL Server database.
There are times as a developer that you will want to be able to delete all the data from a database as efficiently as possible. Unfortunately, doing so may not be as easy as it seems.
When the big merger was announced, the IT staff of both corporations was a little bit nervous, and with good reason: The day after the announcement, many redundant positions were eliminated.
WebMatrix is an exciting new tool for creating ASP.NET Web applications. Unfortunately, Visual Basic developers face an additional challenge because Microsoft only surfaces C# templates. Here's how to get access to the VB templates.
On VB columnist Joe Kunk says coding errors can lead to trouble, but the vast majority of big mistakes are due to poor or misguided project management.
Tips on Windows Phone 7 development and app design with sample code for a Windows Phone Pivot application.
When "Oops!" becomes "OMG!" On VB columnist Joe Kunk shows how a simple oversight when using SQL Server 2000 Data Transformation Services (DTS) nearly ended in disaster.
On VB columnist Joe Kunk explores the new BigInteger structure in .NET 4 and how it lets you work with astronomically large numbers.
On VB columnist Joe Kunk explores the benefits and drawbacks of commenting source code, and finds that the answer is not as clear cut as many might think.
Nearly all applications need to open or save data files. Use the common file dialog APIs to easily avoid another unneeded dependency and sidestep some system bugs as a bonus. (Part 2 of 2)
- By Karl E. Peterson
- 12/22/2010
Why tempt fate by making your application dependent upon an easily replaced component? Karl Peterson shows how you can begin reducing external dependencies in your VB apps.
- By Karl E. Peterson
- 12/14/2010
Visual Basic .NET possesses naturally expressive syntax that is almost always clear in its intent. Even so, there are still surprises in Visual Basic that can trip up even experienced VB developers.
Find out how to use memory-mapped files to index and search the contents of document collections.