Programming Visual Basic 2005

The Integrated Development Environment (IDE )

The Visual Studio 2005 integrated development environment (IDE) consists of windows for visual design of forms, code-editing windows, menus and toolbars providing access to commands and features, Toolboxes containing controls for use on the forms, and windows providing properties and information about forms, controls, projects, and the solution.

Layout

Visual Studio 2005 is a multiple document interface (MDI ) application. It consists of a single parent window, which contains multiple windows. All the menus, toolbars, design and editing windows, and miscellaneous other windows are associated with the single parent window.

Creating a Web Application

A typical layout of the IDE for a web application is shown in Figure 15-5. Basically, it consists of a menu and toolbar arrangement across the top and a work surface below, flanked by other toolbars and windows.

Figure 15-5. Typical IDE layout

Tip

Users of previous versions of Visual Studio will notice that the IDE now opens by default in Source view rather than Design view. Also, new web pages start out in Flow Layout mode (like a word processor) rather than Grid Layout mode (absolute positioning).

Visual Studio 2005 has a title bar across the top with menus below. Under the menus are toolbars with buttons that duplicate many of the common menu commands. Nearly everything that can be done through ...