UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE
FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT
Mgt 3821 - Visual Programming Applications (using Visual Basic)
Term:
Fall 2005
Instructor:
Brian Dobing, Room E424, 329-2492, brian.dobing@uleth.ca
Class Web Page: http://classes.uleth.ca/200503/mgt3821a
Class Times: Mon, Wed 10:50 – 12:05, E-640 Lab
Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 1:00 - 3:00 PM
Other times may be arranged by appointment
________________________________________________________________________
Overview
Visual Basic 1 was introduced in 1991 and has rapidly become a critical software development
platform. Six years later (ComputerWorld, March 24, 1997) VB was already the dominant choice
for "building multidepartmental, multitiered corporate applications" in a Windows environment.
This remains true today. Equally important for business students, Visual Basic for Applications
is the language of Microsoft Office. VBA is closely related to VB (although more like VB6 than
VB.NET) and, with it, Access and Excel become much more powerful tools. Visual Studio .NET
is also an excellent web development platform (covered in Mgt 3822).
Visual Basic was criticized in the past for not being object-oriented. With the introduction of
Visual Studio .NET in February 2002, this is no longer true. However, this class does not cover
object orientation. (That is also part of 3822). The goal is to introduce event-driven programming
in a visual programming environment or, more specifically, to build Windows software. Building
systems in Visual Basic can be fun! (If you don't believe programming can ever be fun, you
probably don't belong in this course.) By providing a powerful set of tools, VB allows you to
quickly create software that looks very much like commercial Windows programs.
Prerequisites:
This course requires Computer Science 1620 or an equivalent introductory programming course
that has been given CS 1620 transfer credit. Students who register in this class without this
prerequisite can be forced to withdraw from the course at any time during the term. If your
programming skills are weak, this will be a difficult course. Neither the lectures nor the text are
designed to teach fundamental programming.
The course no longer requires Mgt 2060, but you will need an introductory understanding of
databases and Microsoft Access. We will build links from Visual Basic to Access databases. And
you should be familiar with Windows XP and want to write programs for that environment.
1
Grading:
Assignments 1 and 2 - worth 5% each
Assignments 3 and 4 – worth 10% each
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Project
Project Evaluation
10
20
15
25
25
5
The following is an approximate grading curve. Final scores will be rounded, e.g., 77.5 will be a
B. The actual grade distributions for this semester may be adjusted (but only to the advantage of
students) and will not be determined until the end of the semester when all marks are in. The
final grade distribution will be consistent with past classes.
95-100
90-94
86-89
A+
A
A-
82-85
78-81
74-77
B+
B
B-
70-73
66-69
62-65
C+
C
C-
58-61
50-57
<50
D+
D
F
Textbook and other materials:
The text for this course is Visual Basic .NET Programming: Business Applications with a Design
Perspective, 2nd Edition, by Jeffrey J. Tsay, Pearson/Prentice-Hall, 2004. This book will
probably be replaced next year with an updated version (for VB.NET 2005).
You are expected to not only read but work through the material in the text. Do at least a few of
the exercises at the end of each chapter. You will not learn Visual Basic or any other
programming language by listening to lectures or reading books. You will learn by doing. For
assignments and examinations, you are responsible for all assigned material in the text even if it
was not discussed during classes.
The following titles are on reserve at the Library. They are more advanced books and should be
more useful later in the course or in 4841 (if you build a VB front-end).
Francesco Balena, Programming Microsoft Visual Basic.NET (Core Reference),
Microsoft Press, 2002.
John Connell, Coding Techniques for Microsoft Visual Basic.NET, Microsoft Press,
2002.
Rick Dobson, Programming Microsoft Visual Basic .NET For Microsoft Access
Developers, Microsoft Press, 2003.
There are also some good Internet sites. However, many cover both VB6 and VB.NET so you
need to be careful when incorporating their ideas into your programs.
2
Software:
Although the textbook is written for the first version of VB .NET, we will be using VB .NET
2003. The changes were relatively minor, at least in terms of anything we will cover in class, and
mostly consist of bug fixes and some improvements to the interface. Programs written in the
older .NET version will be automatically upgraded by VB .NET 2003. However, programs
written in the 2003 version will not run with the original .NET software. VB .NET 2003 must be
used for all assignments and the project. VB .NET 2005 Beta 2 is now available and the final
release is expected in November. However, all submitted assignments and projects must run in
VB .NET 2003 (lab environment). The University Computer Labs will not provide the Beta or
final version of VB .NET 2005.
Visual Studio .NET 2003 software is available free to students for home use, including the Help
CDs. These will be loaned out in the first few weeks of class.
Assignments:
There are four assignments in this course, worth 30% towards the final grade. Each assignment
will be distributed about two weeks prior to the due date. If there are any serious problems or
omissions with an assignment, I will send out an email message to keep you informed. Any
notices will normally be posted on the web page as well.
The first two assignments are to be done individually. You can discuss ideas about the
assignment, but the final work you hand in should be your own. The submission requirements
will be specified on each assignment. The third and fourth assignment and the project may done
in pairs (but teams of three or larger will not be permitted). You do not have to use the same
partner for all three – you choose your partners.
The computer files required by the assignment should be emailed to me by the specified due date
and time. All submissions will be acknowledged but this can take several hours so don’t expect
an immediate response. Assignments will require multiple files; they should be combined into a
single WinZip file. The zipped file name should contain the assignment number and your
name(s), e.g., A1SmithChris.zip or A3KleinMartin.zip. Any required printed material (usually
printed program listings) is due at the same time at my office. If you are not on campus, an
emailed project is sufficient to avoid a late penalty but a printed version must still be submitted
as soon as possible and it must be identical to the emailed files. Both parts must be submitted
before the assignment will be graded.
If you are having problems with email, diskettes or CDs (labeled with your name please!)
brought to my office by the due date and time are also acceptable. Any extensions due to lab
problems, weather, or other reasons will be posted on the course web page.
There will be a 10% penalty for assignment submissions received late on the due date, 25%
penalty for submissions made the following day, and 50% after that. No assignments will be
accepted after the start of the class following the due date. Late penalties are subtracted from the
3
grade you otherwise would have earned. So work submitted a day late that is worth 80% will
receive a grade of 55%. Late penalties for projects will be specified later.
Exams:
Although the outline specifies both a midterm ad final exam, a class vote will determine whether
there is a midterm and may also affect class scheduling. The final exam will be held during the
exam period.
Project:
Students will choose their own team of two students and build a larger system in the second half
of the class. Past classes have built different games, including Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit,
Yahtzee and Wheel of Fortune. Classes have also built business projects such as a consignment
car dealer, a MIS Post-Diploma student planner a small theatre ticket operation, and a motel
reservation system. More details on the project will be made available later. Assignment 4 is
usually linked to the project.
Project Evaluation:
After projects are submitted, everyone will be given a project (not their own!) to evaluate. The
distributed project will include the source code, not just an executable version. The project
evaluations are due at the start of the final class. The evaluations will be read before final project
grades are assigned, but they do not normally have much impact. Projects will be evaluated for
their usability, functionality, and software quality.
Course Web Page:
Material will be posted on the course web page:
http://classes.uleth.ca/200503/mgt3821a
You should be able to find the course outline, assignments, project notes, and class notes. Any
subsequent corrections, additions, etc. will also be posted on the web page. You are responsible
for checking both your email and relevant web pages regularly. If you find other interesting web
pages that ought to be linked, please let me know. Class notes will usually be posted the day after
classes. They are quite detailed and should eliminate the need to take notes in class.
I will try to respond to email and voice mail messages. However, I cannot provide long and
detailed responses that way. Some questions may be answered on the class web page and/or
brought up in the following class.
4
Academic Integrity:
It is critical to the reputation of the Faculty of Management, and of our degrees, that everyone
associated with our faculty behave with the highest academic integrity. As a Faculty that helps
create business and government leaders, we have a special obligation to ensure that our ethical
standards are beyond reproach. Any dishonesty in our academic transactions violates this trust.
The University of Lethbridge Calendar addresses the issue of academic dishonesty under the
heading “Student Discipline Policy. Of particular concern, but certainly not the only violations,
are:
 copying someone else's program, even with minor modifications and with or without
their permission, from a diskette, printed copy, or even by observing what they are
doing
 providing a disk or printout or otherwise allowing someone else to copy your work
 allowing someone else to do all or part of your assignment
 working jointly with others to create a single solution and then customizing it for each
student
 presenting code taken substantially from books, CD-ROMs, the Internet or other
sources as your own
Students cheating on exams or assisting others to do so will receive an "F" in the course.
Assignments that are obviously copied between two or more students will ALL receive a mark of
ZERO. In particular, your team project must be original work. Any significant copying of
programs found in other books or on the Internet will be regarded as a serious violation. A mark
of zero on the project will result in an "F" regardless of exam and assignment marks. If you are
unsure about what is or is not acceptable, please see me.
Many courses in the Faculty of Management, including this one, require group projects. Group
projects are subject to the same rules regarding academic dishonesty. Team members should
exercise special care to ensure that the group work does not violate the policy on Academic
Integrity. Should a violation occur, team members are jointly accountable unless the violation
can be clearly attributed to a specific individual(s).
5
Tentative Class Schedule (see course web site for updates):
Date
Sep 7
Topics
Introduction to Visual Basic .Net 2003
Readings
C1,2
Sep 12
Controls, Properties, Methods and Events
C3
Sep 14
Variables, Constants and Calculations
C4
Sep 19
List Box, Message Box, Input Box, Date Formatting
C4
Sep 21
File Input, Format Zones
C5,6
Sep 26
Decisions, User Defined Procedures and Functions
C6
Sep 28
Loops and Arrays
C7,8
Oct 3
Code Modules, Variable Scope
C11, p.474
Oct 5
Testing and Debugging (A2 due at 5 PM, Oct. 7)
Oct 10
Thanksgiving – No Classes
Oct 12
Sequential Files
App. A
Oct 17
Menus and Toolbars
C11
Oct 19
Open File Dialog, Colors, Fonts
C6
Oct 24
Midterm Exam
Oct 26
Validation and Exception Handling (A3 due at 5 PM, Oct. 28)
C10
Oct 31
Accessing Databases
C9
Nov 2
Database Connection
C9
Nov 7
Database Navigation
C9
Nov 9
Database Grid Control
C9
Nov 14
Database Validation
Nov 16
Keyboard and Mouse Events
C10
Nov 21
Drag-and-Drop, Control Arrays
App. B
Nov 23
Multiple Form Applications
C11
Nov 28
HTML Help Workshop
Nov 30
Advanced Topics
Dec 5
Project Testing
Project
Dec 7
Review Projects
Eval
A1
A2
Final Exam
Some topics and their orders may need to be changed later once the project has been defined.
Cn readings refer to chapters in the Tsay textbook
6
Due
A3
A4