1. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded Second Edition Chapter 10 Creating Classes and Objects

2. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition2 Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to: Define a class Instantiate an object from a class that you define Add Property procedures to a class Include data validation in a class Create default and parameterized constructors

3. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition3 Objectives (continued) Include methods in a class Overload the methods in a class Create a derived class using inheritance

4. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition4 Classes and Objects Object-oriented programs are based on objects that are instantiated (created) from classes Properties: attributes that describe the object Methods: behaviors that allow the object to perform tasks A class encapsulates properties and methods VB.Net has many built-in classes You can define your own classes

5. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition5 Defining a Class Class statement: defines a class Use Pascal casing for the class name Define attributes and behaviors of the class within the class Code editor automatically adds the Class statement

6. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition6 Defining a Class (continued)

7. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition7 Defining a Class (continued)

8. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition8 Defining a Class (continued)

9. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition9 Defining a Class (continued)

10. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition10 Defining a Class (continued)

11. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition11 Example 1 – Using a Class that Contains Public Variables Only

12. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition12 Using a Class that Contains Public Variables Only (continued) Any class variable declared with Public keyword can be accessed by any application that contains an instance of the class Use Pascal case for Public variables in a class

13. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition13 Using a Class that Contains Public Variables Only (continued)

14. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition14 Using a Class that Contains Public Variables Only (continued)

15. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition15 Using a Class that Contains Public Variables Only (continued)

16. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition16 Using a Class that Contains Public Variables Only (continued)

17. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition17 Using a Class that Contains Public Variables Only (continued) Access an object’s attributes using the dot operator: objectVariable.attribute Disadvantages of Public variables in a class: –The class cannot control the values assigned to the variables –Violates the concept of OOP encapsulation

18. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition18 Example 2 – Using a Class that Contains a Private Variable, a Property Procedure, and Two Methods

19. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition19 Using a Class that Contains a Private Variable, a Property Procedure, and Two Methods (continued) Class variables declared with Private keyword: –Can only be used by the class –Are hidden from the rest of the application –Names should start with underscore _ Application can change class variable values only by using the class’s methods

20. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition20 Using a Class that Contains a Private Variable, a Property Procedure, and Two Methods (continued) Property procedure: –A Public method in the class for manipulating a class variable –Exposes a Private class variable as a Property for use by the application

21. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition21 Using a Class that Contains a Private Variable, a Property Procedure, and Two Methods (continued)

22. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition22 Using a Class that Contains a Private Variable, a Property Procedure, and Two Methods (continued) Get block: contains code to allow an application to retrieve the contents of the variable exposed as a Property Set block: allows an application to assign a value to the variable exposed as a Property ReadOnly keyword: makes a property readable but not settable (no Set block) WriteOnly keyword: makes a property settable but not readable (no Get block)

23. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition23 Constructors Constructor: –A method whose instructions are processed automatically when an object is instantiated from a class –Purpose is to initialize the class’s Private variables –Method name must be New –May or may not have parameters Default constructor: a constructor with no parameters

24. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition24 Constructors (continued)

25. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition25 Methods Other than Constructors Methods in a class can be Sub or Function procedures Use Pascal casing for method names

26. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition26 Methods Other than Constructors (continued)

27. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition27 Methods Other than Constructors (continued)

28. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition28 Methods Other than Constructors (continued)

29. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition29 Methods Other than Constructors (continued)

30. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition30 Example 3 – Using a Class that Contains Two Constructors

31. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition31 Using a Class that Contains Two Constructors (continued)

32. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition32 Using a Class that Contains Two Constructors (continued) Parameterized constructor: a constructor method that contains parameters Method signature: method name and parameter list Best practices: –Parameterized constructor should set the values of the class variables using the class’s Property procedures to take advantage of any validation code in the Property procedures

33. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition33 Using a Class that Contains Two Constructors (continued)

34. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition34 Using a Class that Contains Two Constructors (continued)

35. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition35 Using a Class that Contains Two Constructors (continued)

36. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition36 Using a Class that Contains Two Constructors (continued)

37. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition37 Using a Class that Contains Two Constructors (continued)

38. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition38 Example 4 – Using a Class that Contains Overloaded Methods

39. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition39 Using a Class that Contains Overloaded Methods (continued)

40. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition40 Using a Class that Contains Overloaded Methods (continued) Overloaded methods: two or more methods that have the same name but different parameters Constructors can be overloaded To overload a non-constructor method, use the Overloads keyword in the method declaration Many of VB’s built-in methods are overloaded, as shown in the Intellisense feature:

41. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition41 Using a Class that Contains Overloaded Methods (continued)

42. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition42 Using a Class that Contains Overloaded Methods (continued)

43. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition43 Using a Class that Contains Overloaded Methods (continued)

44. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition44 Using a Class that Contains Overloaded Methods (continued)

45. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition45 Using a Class that Contains Overloaded Methods (continued)

46. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition46 Example 5 – Using a Base Class and a Derived Class Inheritance: one class can be created from another class Base class: the original class Derived class: the new class created from the base class Inherits keyword: specifies the base class

47. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition47 Using a Base Class and a Derived Class (continued)

48. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition48 Using a Base Class and a Derived Class (continued)

49. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition49 Using a Base Class and a Derived Class (continued)

50. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition50 Using a Base Class and a Derived Class (continued) Derived class contains all of the attributes and behaviors of the base class Derived class may also contain its own attributes and behaviors Overridable keyword: indicates the base class method can be overridden by the derived class Overrides keyword: indicates that a method in the derived class overrides the method with the same name in the base class

51. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition51 Using a Base Class and a Derived Class (continued) MyBase keyword: refers to the base class MyBase.New : tells the computer to process the code in the base class’s constructor

52. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition52 Using a Base Class and a Derived Class (continued)

53. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition53 Programming Tutorial

54. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition54 Programming Example

55. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition55 Summary Objects are instantiated from classes Classes encapsulate their attributes and behaviors Class Public data members and methods are exposed to any application that creates an object from the class; class Private members are not Class Public properties allow an application to manipulate private class data members ReadOnly keyword allows a property to be retrieved but not changed

56. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition56 Summary (continued) WriteOnly allows a property to be changed but not retrieved Property Get block implements retrieving the property value Property Set block implements changing the property value Constructor: a sub procedure named New that is processed when an object is created from the class Default constructor: has no parameters

57. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition57 Summary (continued) Derived class: a new class created from another class (the base class) Overridable keyword: indicates that a method in the base class can be overridden in the derived class Overrides keyword: indicates that a method in the derived class overrides a method of the same name in the base class Inherits clause: creates a derived class MyBase keyword: refers to the base class