Management 3821 - Visual Programming Applications

Page last updated: May 3, 2010

Note: This page is left from the class taught in Spring 2010. Most of the links will not function but it should give you some idea of what the course will be like in Spring 2011. One difference is that we expect to be using Visual Studio 2010 at that time. That will mean a new textbook.

If you have any questions, please email me.

Course Objective: Introduce event-driven programming in a visual programming environment while building Windows software using Visual Basic .NET. 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.

Prerequisite:

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, or a waiver signed by the instructor, can be forced to withdraw from the course at any time during the term. If your programming skills are weak, this could be a difficult course. The lectures are not designed to teach the fundamentals of programming, but the textbook should be helpful. I have given a few waivers in the past for students with programming experience but without formal courses. If that sounds like you and you're interested in VB, come and see me.

The course no longer requires Mgt 2060, but you will need a very basic understanding of databases and Microsoft Access. This has not caused any problems for students without 2060 in the past - what we do is really simple and you can get help with the database stuff if needed. We will build links from Visual Basic to Access databases (but the process is essentially the same for other DBMS products).

Finally, you should be familiar with Windows and want to be able to write programs for that environment.

Grading:

Assignments 1 and 2 - worth 5% each	10
Assignments 3 and 4 - worth 10% each	20
Midterm Exam (if class wants one)	0
Project	30
Project Evaluation	5
Final Exam	35

The class will determine whether we will have a midterm exam or not. In the past, midterm exams have been a problem because students provide correct answers - but in C++! This makes grading difficult for me. If we have a midterm, it will be worth 15% - with both the final exam and project reduced to 25% each.

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.

Software: Visual Basic .NET 2008 will be used and Visual Studio .NET Professional (not Express Edition) will be provided free for installation on your computers. You will need Windows XP (Home or Professional), Vista or Windows 7.

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 work, even with minor modifications and with or without their permission, from storage media, printed copy, or even by observing what they are doing
• providing an electronic version or printout or otherwise allowing someone else to copy your work
• having 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. Cooperation between teams is generally encouraged when it involves technical matters, such as how certain features of Visual Basic work. But close cooperation on content resulting in virtually identical submissions is not acceptable. Milestones that include material that has obviously been copied between two or more teams will ALL receive a mark of ZERO. Thus, it is important that you protect your work against copying. Any significant copying of programs found in other books or on the Internet will be regarded as a serious violation and will also receive a mark of ZERO. Receiving any substantial outside assistance from Access experts is not acceptable. However, applying ideas found in these sources is strongly encouraged. If you do copy anything, make a note of it just as you would reference a quotation in a term paper. If you are unsure about what is or is not acceptable, please see me first. The instructor reserves the right to use turnitin or other services to identify copied material.

You also have some responsibility to ensure that your partner does not violate the policy on Academic Integrity. Should a violation occur, both members are jointly accountable unless the violation can be clearly attributed to a specific individual.

If you have any questions about this class, please contact me.

TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE*
Cn references refer to chapters in the Zak 2008 textbook
The handouts will be made available before class

	Date	Topics	Handouts	Due
1	Jan 6	C1: Introduction to Visual Basic .Net 2008	Introduction Notes Building a Web Browser Course Outline
2	Jan 11	C2: Controls, Properties, Methods and Events	Controls Start File Assignment 1
3	Jan 13	C3: Variables, Constants and Calculations	Variables Start File	Preliminary Assignment Due 3 PM, Wed, Jan 13
4	Jan 18	C4: Decisions, Key Press Event Submitting Assignments	Power Pack Decisions Form Images Getting Started on Assign 1 Submitting Programs Sample Program Code Start File (Pizza) Start File (Images)
5	Jan 20	C5: Message Box and Input Box Random Numbers	Message, Input Box Random Numbers Start File (Message) Start File (Random) Dice Images Assignment 2	Assignment #1 Due 5 PM, Friday Jan 22
6	Jan 25	C6: Loops, List Box	Loops List & Combo Boxes Start File (Loops) Start File (For Each) Start File (List Combo)
7	Jan 27	C8: Sub/Function Procedures, Code Modules Variable Scope and Regions	Procedures and Functions Variable Scope/Regions Start File (Tic Tac Toe) Start File (Wind Chill) Start File (Variable Scope)
8	Feb 1	C7: Strings and Dates	Strings Dates Language Translation Start File (Dates/Times) Start File (Strings) Start File (Concatenation) Start File (Translation)
9	Feb 3	App. G Menus and Toolbars	Menus and Toolbars
10	Feb 8	C9: Arrays	Arrays & Structures Start File (Arrays) Start File (Structures) Assignment 3	Assignment #2 Due: Monday Feb. 8, 2 PM
11	Feb 10	C10: Structures, Sequential Files	Files & Structures Stock Prices Start File (CSV Files) Start File (Stocks)
	Feb 15, 17	READING WEEK	No Classes
12	Feb 22	Open File Dialog, Colors, Fonts, Format Zones	Dialogs Format Zones Start File (Dialogs) Start File (Format Zones)
13	Feb 24	App. J Testing and Debugging	Debugging Start File
14	Mar 1	C12: Introduction to Databases	Database Intro Delivery Database (mdb) Delivery Database (accdb) Start File Assignment 4/Project TShirt Database Shirt Styles Logos	Assignment #3 Due: 2 PM
15	Mar 3	Database Navigation	Database Operations
16	Mar 8	Database - Other Controls	Alternate Approaches Using Other Controls Start File (SQL Code)
17	Mar 10	Database Grid Sorting and Searching	Database Grid Sorting and Searching
18	Mar 15	Database Integrity	Interface Control
19	Mar 17	Database	Grid Validation
20	Mar 22	Validation, Exception Handling	Error Provider Exception Handling Regular Expressions Error Provider Start File Exception Start File Regular Exp Start File	Assignment #4 Due: 2 PM
21	Mar 24	Multiple Form Applications	Multiform Applications Multiple Forms Start Shaped Forms Start
22	Mar 29	Language-Integrated Query (LINQ)	LINQ Start File
23	Mar 31	Sound Graphics	Sound Sound Start File Graphics Graphics Start File Motion Motion Start File
	Apr 5	Easter Monday - No Classes
24	Apr 7	HTML Help Workshop	HTML Help Help Files HTML Tutorial
25	Apr 12	Project Testing	Evaluation	Project Due 1:00 PM
26	Apr 14	Review Projects	No Notes	Evaluation Due: 3:05
	Apr 26	Final Exam - 9-Noon, D630	Final - Spring 2008 Final - Spring 2009 Exam Notes

*Some topics and their orders may need to be changed after the project has been defined.
Chapter 11(Object Orientation) will be covered in Mgt 3822.
 

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