 Welcome!
Hard to believe it's been over three years since I put up
this new design. I'm afraid the proverbial "dust" still hasn't fully
settled. Wish I had more time to put into this. Hard to get as enthusiastic
as once was possible, I'm afraid, given the horrible destruction done.
Seems that the general consensus is starting to swing, though, back towards
"maybe Classic VB wasn't so bad after all."
VSM has decided
there's enough interest still that, for the time being at any rate, they're
going to revive my old column! There are links to all of them over on the
Articles page, but here's the jumping off point to
them on the VSM site:
Classic VB Corner <<== new Classic VB column!
The code sample offerings have gone under the most redesign
of all. Whereas they used to be listed on a single page for all, you will
now find a descriptive page for each! Unfortunately, it's going to take a bit
more time to get the descriptions updated for all those projects, so I've
copied the old page over for your
reference.
This site is totally devoted to Classic Visual Basic, as millions once knew
and loved it. This is a certifiably .NET-Free zone.
What's New
- July 29, 2010
- Added the KeyStuff
code sample. Shows how to stuff the keyboard buffer from a console
application. Includes the full source code for a command line utility (CDW)
that you can use in place of CD to change directories using a browse for
folder dialog.
- June 28, 2010
- Updated the Uptime
code sample. Added the capability to call OpenProcess against system
processes in Vista and Windows 7, by elevating to debug privileges in
the current process. Also renames the CProcessInfo class to
CProcessTimes, as that seemed more accurate..
- April 26, 2010
- Added the StartupInfo
code sample. Provides a drop-in ready class module of various startup
parameters requested by either the user or the calling process.
- Updated the StopWatch
code sample. Added an actual test app that shows how to time a
hypothetical comparison between exponentiation and multiplication. Plus,
another little demonstration of the (what I consider) the unreliabilty
of QueryPerformanceCounter as an alternative to timeGetTime for
benchmarks.
- April 2, 2010
- Updated the SendInput
code sample (again). Found the need to add support for the AltGr key,
which is supported natively by the operating system when it's using
certain (non-US) keyboard layouts.
- March 10, 2010
- Added the MemStatus
code sample. Shows how to determine the total and available amounts of
installed physical memory, application virtual address space, and page
file swap space. Also demonstrates how to go beyond the standard 2gb
Win32 virtual address space limit in properly configured systems.
- February 17, 2010
- Updated the Console
code sample. The method used to determine LaunchMode, by looking for
known or suspected parent processes, was failing on x64 systems. Fixed
that.
- December 21, 2009
- Updated the SendInput
code sample (again). Turns out CAPSLOCK did bad things to the input
string, so we had to compensate for that with a quick test and
correction as needed.
- December 16, 2009
- Updated the SendInput
code sample. Fixed a problem with high-order ASCII characters that
didn't have a direct translation to specific keystrokes. Added support
for a couple of weird exceptions, such as "~" and "{}}".
- November 17, 2009
- Added the SysInfo
code sample. This one hooks the hidden top-level window that's present
in every Classic VB app, to sink notifications whenever devices are
added or removed from the system, when system settings change, and
system power notifications.
- November 3, 2009
- Added the Streams
code sample. Here's a drop-in ready class module that will enumerate
Alternate Data Streams within any NTFS file or folder. It also offers a
Kill method, since VB's native one croaks on ADS.
- September 24, 2009
- Added the Assoc
code sample. Shows how to use AssocQueryString to return all sorts of
useful information about any given file type. This API is far and above
more useful than FindExectuable..
- Updated the Which
code sample. Added a "backup" method for finding the application
associated with any given document filetype, due to a bug with the
FindExecutable API and certain 5-letter file extensions.
- August 26, 2009
- Added the Which
code sample. This is a simple console utility that finds any or all
matching executable files on the search path, so you can sort out what's
running if you have multiple copies installed. Will also find the
executable associated with any existing document file.
- August 7, 2009
- Updated the Monitors
code sample. Added numerous routines that will help restoring a window
to a persisted position, including checks on whether that position is
still onscreen (visible) and so on.
- July 24, 2009
- Updated the HookXP
code sample. Added two new class modules that provide MouseWheel events
and MouseEnter-MouseHover-MouseLeave events.
- Updated the SendInput
code sample. Added a few conditional constants that were undefined in
VBA.
- July 15, 2009
- Updated the HookXP
code sample. Changed the auto-unhook trigger from WM_DESTROY to
WM_NCDESTROY. Stupid typo oversight.
- July 2, 2009
- Added the HookXP
code sample. This shows how to subclass any window in your process,
using a method built into Windows! Very slick, safe, and incredibly
flexible. Will be featured in upcoming VSM Online column, and will
definitely be enhanced as time goes on. One you'll want to be familiar
with.
- June 24, 2009
- Updated the Console
code sample, adding another demonstration program which modifies system
environment variables. Also, generally re-organized the entire download,
renaming the included projects and modules to make it easier to identify
which was which, and recompiled all samples using VB6.
- June 23, 2009
- Updated the Uptime
code sample, patching a critical error in the MRegCalls.bas file.
If you downloaded this file before this date, please discard and
redownload. The RegDeleteValue function calls the wrong API, as a result
of a hasty cut/paste error, and instead recursively deletes an entire
key. I cannot urge caution here strongly enough, which may be best
illustrated by the fact that this is the first time in the nearly 12
years this site has existed that I've published such a routine. <sigh>
- June 22, 2009
- Updated the DualList
code sample, adding another custom control to the project. The new
ReorderList control contains a standard ListBox and two Command buttons,
offering your user the opportunity to reorder the elements within the
list by moving them up and down.
- May 19, 2009
- Added the StockFont
code sample. Demonstrates a very simple way to use the old-fashioned
block drawing characters by selecting a stock font (one that ships as
part of Windows) into any control.
- May 5, 2009
-
- April 9, 2009
- Added the Uptime
code sample. This shows how to determine when the computer its running
on was last rebooted. Actually two methods. One retrieves the last
proper shutdown time, and the other retrieves the startup time.
- March 31, 2009
- Peter Young has granted permission for me to
host vbAdvance, which is
now freeware. Folks, this is the only add-in that I always
have loaded in my IDE. You really shouldn't be with out it. It's
officially "unsupported," but if you can read the help file and follow
along with the packaged examples, you should get along just fine.
Comprehensive Updates List
Odds and Ends
Here are a few offerings you won't find linked to in the main menus on this
site, but that I'd like to make sure you were aware of regardless.
- Hardcore Visual Basic, by Bruce McKinney
- When Microsoft decided to drop Bruce's classic tome from MSDN, I quickly offered to host it here at
MVPs.org and, against what I considered all odds, they agreed. I'm glad we
could save this one, and make it available to everyone from here onward.
More recently, this site assumed the honor of hosting The
End of
Hardcore Visual Basic, a fond farewell to
what was.
-
- Visual Basic 4 How-To
- Several of us put together this little tome in 1994-95, during the
world's longest beta. I don't believe there ever was a fully electronic
copy suitable for online publishing, at least I never encountered one.
While much of the text is now somewhat obsolete, the code may still
contain a few tricks.
-
- Site Statistics
- Call it vain, or whatever. In case you care, here are a few stats taken
over the years. I hope to provide a more up-to-date selection of frequent
downloads once this new site stabilizes.
-
- Those Awful Midis
- Okay, it took three (or more?) years, but I finally rolled out a
new site that isn't a throwback to the 90s. If you actually miss those old
Pink Floyd midi tunes, don't fret! They're still here.
-
Donations
After great agonizing, I have decided to plop a PayPal
Donations button down on the bottom of every page here. The simple truth
is, Visual
Basic Programmer's Journal used to (unwittingly?) finance this site by
commissioning my articles on Classic VB. Sadly, that publication is no longer
with us, and the one that's taken its place isn't much interested in the
programming language you and I still use. So, long story-short, if I've saved
you (or your boss!) a bundle of money with the code you've downloaded from
here, and you're feeling generous (or you have access to the company credit
card!), well, I'm not too proud to let you help me defray the time I spend
building the samples offered here. Thanks!
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