Hannes DuPreez

Introduction Save the best for last… Well, this is my fourth article for this month, and it gets quite difficult during a very busy work week to always find new ideas. This was no exception. Suddenly, I realised that I have never written an article about databases in a Windows Store app. I guess my […]

Introduction Debugging is arguably the most important step in software development. Without the use of Debugging tools, and knowledge on how to use them, proper software development would not be possible. This article will introduce you to the world of debugging and debugging tools. The Software Development Process Now, any programmer, whether it be beginner […]

Introduction The Server Explorer in Visual Studio needs little introduction for many a programmer; but for newbie, it might need some proper explanation; hence, this article. Let me start at the beginning. What Is the Server Explorer? The Server Explorer is a shortcut to accessing servers, either installed on the system, or connected to the […]

Introduction Testing applications is the last step in the software development cycle before implementation. Today, I will speak about trace testing and the tools available for Visual Studio. Testing Obviously, testing your applications is a very important, if not the most important, part of the software development process. Debugging goes hand in hand with testing, […]

Introduction A couple of months ago, I wrote an article about a user control, and I touched a little bit on Components. With this article, I will demonstrate how to make your own usable component. What Is a Component? A component will be output as a DLL. If you do not know what a DLL […]

Introduction Well, it seems as if I am staying on the topic of User Controls and Components…today is no exception. Today I will show you how to create a User Control in your ASP.NET Web Application. Let’s jump straight into the project. Open Visual Studio and create a new ASP.NET Web Form application. You may […]

Introduction The MonthCalendar control is actually a little gem hidden away in the deepest closets of many a programmer. Trouble is: How to get the secrets of the inner workings out of them…. As usual, I had to have a look at it myself and try to figure out precisely what can be done with […]

Introduction Localization allows you to customize your application according to a certain culture. Today I will show you how to Localize your application to three different cultures. It is always good to learn by example, so let’s do a project. Our Project Our little project is a Windows Forms project with two controls: a Combobox […]

Introduction The very foundation of any .NET program is a Class. Knowing how to create your own classes and derived objects from that class is an essential skill to learn, especially if you are new to Object Orientation. Today I will  show you how to create your own class and create objects representing that class. […]

Introduction I love user controls! User Controls are very versatile and quite easy to develop. Today I will show you how to create a User Control with VB. User Controls As its name implies, a User Control is a user specific control. OK, so what does that mean? It means that sometimes there are circumstances […]

Introduction Hello and welcome to today’s article. Today I will talk about Exceptions and how to handle them properly in Visual Basic. Exceptions, What are They? Simply put: an Exception is an error – something that wrongfully happens in your program. If used properly, exceptions can become close friends. There are mainly three types of […]

Introduction Topics regarding XML prove increasingly popular. It may be because XML is one of the latest “hot terms“; or it may be due to the complexity revolving around XML technologies. With this article I will show you three different ways to read and use XML documents productively in your VB.NET applications. XML Parsing There […]