Details of this page refer to the Fall section; there will be changes for spring 2010 posted when enrollment starts

Textbook: Starting Out with Visual Basic 2008 Fourth Edition, Gaddis and Irvine, Addison Wesley. ISBN-10: 0321531353. This is the book I recommend for beginning students; if you have previous programming experience you may wish to explore other books.

Email address: Verify that the email address you have with CCSF is one that you read regularly. This is how you will be contacted for info re this class.

Software: You should install Visual Basic 2008 Pro on your local computer. You can borrow the software from the Rosenberg library. It would be a good idea to install the software before the semester starts. You can use VB in the ACRC if you wish. You can also use the express version of Visual Basic 2008.

Class Policy Class Policy statement

Info on the option of taking this course as a Pass/Fail (Cr/NoCr) class

Tech Enhanced Class This class has an associated online component; this is available to enrolled students after the class starts. We are using the CMS Insight. We will discuss using this site during the first class session. Please click on this Link for info on Insight, the Orientation session, and issues for the first weeks of class.

General Preparation for Classes

Students who need academic accommodations should request them from the Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSPS) located in the Rosenberg Library,Room 323 on the Ocean Campus. Telephone: 415-452-5481 (V) 415-452-5451 (TDD). DSPS is the campus office responsible for verifying disability-related need for academic accommodations, assessing that need, and planning accommodations in cooperation with students and instructors as needed and consistent with course requirements.

General Information for CS 112A

This is an introductory course in the use of the programming language Visual Basic 2008/NET. It covers beginning programming concepts and also the creation of windows forms and event-driven programming.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why Visual Basic 2008/NET ?
A: It's fun! With VB you can quickly create forms that include menus, list, pictures, check boxes- all of the widgets that users are familiar with. And VB makes this relatively easy, since it writes a lot of the more tedious code for you. That leaves you to think about the more interesting parts of the program.

Q: Isn't Basic really old?
A: Well, Basic is pretty old; it was developed in 1963. But Visual Basic 2008/NET is not your father's (grandfather's?) Basic. In fact, it isn't even Visual Basic 6.0. Visual Basic 2008 (and its previous versions) is a new language- it probably should have been given a new name.

Q: What background do I need for this class?
A: I assume that you have used some Windows programs such as Word or Excel- so you understand about menus and using a mouse. I assume you have used the Internet to fill out forms- so you have seen drop-down boxes and buttons. No previous programming experience is required. But many students who take this class do have experience using other programming languages and they still find lots to learn with Visual Basic.

Q: How does this course fit into the other VB classes CS offers?
A: See CS 112A-B-D.

Links to External Sources of Info This is a series of videos for new users of VB 2005. Lessons 1-5 and 11 seem relevant for this class. These videos are much better than most I have seen and although you cannot ask questions, you can rewind. There also a few lessons in a second series of various windows controls- these include controls we do not discuss in class. Click here