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Visual Basic Tutorial - Where can I get it?

Where can I get it?

If you've got to this stage, and decided Visual Basic is for you, then you will need to know where you can get it from, and how much it will cost. For this, there is a large number of options.

N.B. VB=Visual Basic, VS=Visual Studio

VB Edition Cost Description
Visual Basic for Applications N/A This version is standard with all versions of Microsoft Office 2000, and earlier versions to some extent. It's main use is for creating Macros to automate reptitive tasks, but can also be used for getting to grips with VB. Like the Learning Edition, a number of controls are unavailable, and you won't be able to distribute your application unless your users have Office too.
Learning/Standard Edition ~ £74

The basic functionality of Visual Basic is present, however important controls such as the Common Controls (that let you add Toolbars, Status Bars, Tab controls, List Views and TreeViews), the RichTextBox (which lets create word processing-type applications), Inet Control (which lets you access remote internet servers), and a number of other controls are not available. Occasionally, this edition is available on a cover CD. If this is the case, the option of creating an EXE file, which you can then distribute to users without Visual Basic is usually disabled.

VB (Professional) £390 Visual Basic Professional includes all the features of the Standard edition, plus additional ActiveX controls, integrated Data Tools, and a DHTML editor. This edition includes everything nearly every developer will ever need!
VB (Enterprise) £900

Visual Basic Enterprise Edition is aimed for those in a team setting, usually based around Server work... It includes all the features of the Professional edition, plus Back Office tools such as SQL Server, Microsoft Transaction Server, Internet Information Server, Visual SourceSafe, SNA Server, and more.

VS (Professional) £790 This package includes Visual Basic Professional, but also includes the other Visual Studio products - Visual C++, Visual J++ and Visual InterDev.
VS (Enterprise) £1136 This package includes Visual Basic Enterprise, but also includes the other Visual Studio Enterprise products - Visual C++, Visual J++, Visual InterDev, BackOffice etc.
VS (Professional) - Student Price £76 This is exactly the same as Visual Studio Professional, but available at a massively reduced price for Students (under 16, or working towards a recognised qualification) and Teachers. Please note that when you purchase this copy, you will not receive the software. You then need to fill out a form, get it signed by your school or college, send it off, and then wait for up to 28 days... That is the downside of this edition!

As you can see, there are a wide number of choices. Obviously, if you are a student, I strongly recommend you go for the last option! Otherwise, it is really up to you. In my opinion, you will quickly find the missing controls in the Standard Edition a big blow, and so, if you can afford it, I would recommend the Professional Edition - this will cover most users needs completely. Upgrades from a previous version are available, usually at about half the price of the full version, however note that it is not possible to upgrade from a Standard Edition Version 6 to an Professional Edition Version 7 (as far as I am aware).

The next issue is where you can get Visual Basic from. Almost any software retailer should be able to provide you with a copy. I would suggest that you use whoever you are happy with - if you have a company you have already purchased software off, then you might as well use them. The prices I have given are for a guide only, and may vary... if you have the time, shop around! If you have no idea who to use, you can always try Jungle.com, or Simply.co.uk (for the UK only). You can always go to one of these sites to check the current price.

James first started writing tutorials on Visual Basic in 1999 whilst starting this website (then known as VB Web). Since then, the site has grown rapidly, and James has written numerous tutorials, articles and reviews on VB, PHP, ASP and C#. In October 2003, James formed the company Developer Fusion Ltd, which owns this website, and also offers various development services. In his spare time, he's a 3rd year undergraduate studying Computer Science in the UK. He's also a Visual Basic MVP.

Comments

  • Re: [30] Complete VB Beginners Tutorial

    Posted by pcmenegusso on 06 Jun 2008

    what's "grammer" anyway? and who's needing it here?

  • Re: beginner...

    Posted by HartTechService on 27 May 2008

    No offense, but you might want to brush up on your English grammer skills first.  "We'll gonna"= We will gonna or going too??????  This just makes no sense.  "We are ...

  • beginner...

    Posted by Tessa07 on 13 Jun 2007

    Hi evry1..
    I take IT course, n we'll gonna use VB for nxt semester.1st n 2nd semester we already have C n C++,so  i hope any1 here can help me out..TQVM..

  • New to VB.net

    Posted by asingh9 on 08 Sep 2005

    Hi,
    I have been using Visual Basic for one year. Now, I want to switch to VB.net as it is the latest technology. I am totally confused how should I go about doing this. Could you tell me the name of ...

  • Student edition

    Posted by eric2358 on 10 Aug 2005

    You may not be able to comile your code into an executable that would be portable, but your code can be copied into notepad files and kept for later use/reuse.