vb glossary
use this glossary of key programming terminology as your starting point as you learn visual basic. if a term is not listed here, or you need a more detailed explanation, try consulting the online help that comes with visual basic: using a computer terminology dictionary, such as microsoft press computer dictionary, third edition (microsoft press); or looking at one of these computer glossaries on the web:cmpnet's techencyclopedia cnet's glossary msdn online library's glossary
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abs function: returns the absolute value of a number. the absolute value of a number is its unsigned magnitude. for example, abs(3) and abs(-3) both return 3.
abstraction: according to this object-oriented principle, an operation's complex details should be hidden from the user, and only an object's functionality is exposed to other objects. in database access, the client-side programmer never has direct access to the database. instead, data is accessed by the front end through objects, which then communicate with the database.
activate event: associated with a form and is fired when that form becomes the active window.
active server pages (asp): web pages containing scripting code, developed by microsoft starting with version 3.0 of internet information server (iis). the server-side execution environment executes the scripts or components on a server.
activex: technologies based on com and dcom, which enable software components written in different languages to work together over a network. see also: activex control, component object model, distributed component object model.
activex control: a software module based on com. activex controls add user interface functions, and work by calling components that blend in with the program. you can embed them in web pages or use them to create client/server applications that run over a network. see also: component object model.
activex data objects (ado): microsoft's data access programming interface. ado is an object-based interface that works at the application level to provide data access to visual basic applications or any applications that support com. applications use this interface to retrieve and update data from a database or other data store. see also: component object model, ole database.
ansi (american national standards institute): ansi-standard programming languages conform to ansi recommendations. these standards are designed to eliminate variations that could cause problems in transporting programs from one type of computer system to another.
application programming interface (api): an interface consisting of functions, messages, data structures, data types, and statements used by a programming language to access another programming language or program. for example, the win32 api allows visual basic programmers to access functions in the windows operating system.
argument: a value that is passed to a subroutine, function, or method that affects the way a task is performed. also called a parameter.
array: a group of data elements with the same name and data type. arrays can be multidimensional—for example, containing rows and columns. each element in an array is distinguished by its unique location, also called an index. in visual basic, you can have a control array that consists of a group of form controls of the same type with the same name.
asc function: returns a numeric value that is the ascii code for the first character in a string expression.
ascii (american standard code for information interchange): a coding scheme that assigns numeric values to letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and certain other characters on a keyboard.
asynchronous: refers to events that are not coordinated in a linear manner, such as storing and forwarding messages, or starting a new operation before completing the current one. a program sends an asynchronous query to the database and continues processing. see also: synchronous.
atn function: returns the arctangent, in radians, of n.
back end: the database or data store that provides data to the frontend application.
binary large object (blob): a database field holding digitized information such as text and images.
bof property: returns a value that
