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tonyp56

Supporting Founder

Last reply Apr 10, 2008 · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Any VB.Net programmers around?

Took an introduction to Visual Basic 2005 course for my Bachelor degree. And after the course was over tried to stay with it, however, the lack of knowing enough about programming and therefore the ability to program real well, caused me to give up on it for now. However, am very interested in programming (my Bachelor is a Computer Information Systems (B.S. in C.I.S) degree) and would like to learn more.

I've still got Programming in Visual Basic, Programming in C/C++, and Programming in Java to take (taking all that is available on programming). I know from reading around that C++ is the hardest and best programming language to learn (and closely related/similar to Java and C#). However, for now, I am interested in Visual Basic because that is what I know the best (not much, but more than I know about C#, Java, and C++).

Anyways, anyone know of a good project to write, so I can learn the most? I tried some open source Solitaire source code written in VB.net, and it looked like Greek to me, LOL... So will have to start even below that...

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mdonnelly

Apr 7, 2008

The MSDN website has a lot of sample VB applications, most are relatively simple, and focused on one aspect of the language.

Visual Basic Sample Applications

jayn_j

Apr 7, 2008

I seem to change languages as often as I change my socks.

The only way to learn the first language is to have an objective. The books are good, but a class is better. I wouldn't worry too much about vb.net vs VB2003 or VB6. They are pretty much the same for what you want to do, and for most programming, actually.

A solitaire program is actually pretty complex. I would use something like that for a final exam on an intermediate course. For a first assignment, I would generally give the students a three part progtram.

Part one: Display "Hello World" in a dialog box. I would give them all the steps (search "Hello World" on the microsoft sites listed above).

Part two: When you click OK on the dialog box, bring up a second dialog box. The second dialog box should have OK and cancel buttons. If you press OK, it goes back to the Hello World dialog. If you press cancel, the program exits.

Part three: Add a counter to display in each dialog box that shows how many times each dialog box has appeared.

The dialog boxes are an important part of VB programming. The counter will let you discover how to place something in the background.

tonyp56

Apr 10, 2008

Interesting, however, I must say I've already had the book and the course... We did simple programs like Copyright screens, math program so that it would randomly give different numbers to add or subtract for kids to learn math... The assignments were sometimes partially completed programs that I had to go in and add/fix, other times I had to create program from scratch, including designing interface to writting code... However, nothing too complex... (financial calculator, program to keep track of inventory, etc...)

One of the final programs that I had to do was a lottery number generator, (generate 5 unique random numbers between 1 and 55) I took that and created a program on my own that allows you to randomly generate numbers for the PowerBall (5 balls 1-55 and 1 ball 1-42) and Hot Lotto (5 Balls 1-39 and 1 ball 1-19). You open my Lotto generator, and via radio button select which game you want to generate numbers for. I also attached an about.box to this, so you can select my "About" button and it display's a copyright... I am very proud of this program, even though it is pretty simple... However, lost interest when I could not go any further (only so many things you can generate random unique numbers for LOL). Here is the main part of code for this program:

Code:

[SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Private[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Sub[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] xdisplayButton_Click([/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]ByVal[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] sender [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]As[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] System.Object, [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]ByVal[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] e [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]As[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] System.EventArgs) [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Handles[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] xdisplayButton.Click
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#008000]' declare array and other variables
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Dim[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] lottoNumbers(4) [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]As[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Integer
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Dim[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] counter [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]As[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Integer[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] = 0
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Dim[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] number [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]As[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Integer
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Dim[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] powerBall [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]As[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Integer
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Dim[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] HotBall [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]As[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Integer
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Dim[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] randomGenerator [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]As[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]New[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] Random
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#008000]' clear labels
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelOne.Text = [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#a31515]""
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelTwo.Text = [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#a31515]""
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelThree.Text = [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#a31515]""
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelFour.Text = [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#a31515]""
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelFive.Text = [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#a31515]""
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelSix.Text = [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#a31515]""
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#008000]' randomly select 5 unique random numbers from array for white balls
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]If[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xPowerBall.Checked [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Then
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Do[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]While[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] counter < 5
number = randomGenerator.Next(1, 56)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]If[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] Array.IndexOf(lottoNumbers, number) = -1 [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Then
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2]lottoNumbers(counter) = number
counter += 1
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]End[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]If
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Loop
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2]powerBall = randomGenerator.Next(1, 43)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]If[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] Array.IndexOf(lottoNumbers, powerBall) = -1 [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Then
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelSix.Text = [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]CStr[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2](powerBall)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Else
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2]powerBall = randomGenerator.Next(1, 43)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelSix.Text = [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]CStr[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2](powerBall)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]End[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]If
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]ElseIf[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xHotLotto.Checked [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Then
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Do[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]While[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] counter < 5
number = randomGenerator.Next(1, 40)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]If[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] Array.IndexOf(lottoNumbers, number) = -1 [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Then
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2]lottoNumbers(counter) = number
counter += 1
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]End[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]If
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Loop
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2]HotBall = randomGenerator.Next(1, 20)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]If[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2] Array.IndexOf(lottoNumbers, HotBall) = -1 [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Then
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelSix.Text = [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]CStr[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2](HotBall)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Else
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2]HotBall = randomGenerator.Next(1, 20)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelSix.Text = [/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]CStr[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2](HotBall)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]End[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]If
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]End[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]If
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#008000]' display lottery numbers in label box
[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelOne.Text &= lottoNumbers(0)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelTwo.Text &= lottoNumbers(1)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelThree.Text &= lottoNumbers(2)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelFour.Text &= lottoNumbers(3)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2].xlabelFive.Text &= lottoNumbers(4)
[/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]End[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]Sub
[/COLOR][/SIZE]

I also downloaded VS 2008 (C#, C++, and Visual Basic 2008 Express editions) the book that I had used the 2005 version of Visual Basic only...

snathanb

Apr 10, 2008

I have a BS and an MS in Computer Science. They made us take assembly language as our first programming language. It was their way of weeding out the weaker students. You'd be surprised how much code it takes to write a text-based interactive scientific calculator in assembly.

Then we got to move up to fortran, then C, then C++. I think there was a little pascal and cobol in there too, just for kicks. Oh, and we had to learn ADA.

We didn't do any visual anything or windows programming of any type. The earth was still cooling back then.

I still 90% of my coding in C. The rest in assembly. But then again, I mostly write device drivers for embedded controllers.

VinceT3

Apr 10, 2008

I remember doing some assembly way back when.. I just printed my name from dos..

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply 27 minutes ago · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Song Name Game Part 3!

Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne

Get it?

An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....

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sdfntx

Today at 10:19 AM

I Care About Detroit - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

dishstaller

Today at 10:32 AM

I Wanna Talk About Me - Toby Keith

Bobby

Today at 10:51 AM

98.6 - Keith

harshness

43 minutes ago

I'm Easy - Keith Carridine

gms49ers

27 minutes ago

It's Easy - Boston

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reubenray

Last reply Today at 10:36 AM · posted in Computers and Gadgets

Laptop Shutting Off When On Battery?

Lately my eight year old Dell laptop has been shutting off even when I have a full battery. I have had to keep it plugged up all the time to keep this from happening. Any idea what is causing this? I replaced the battery about three years ago.

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arlo

Today at 10:09 AM

A recalibration might be needed. Even if it shows full, the individual cells may have become unbalaced. And the BMS chip in the battery reports false information to the pc.
Try this. Start it up in the bios/uefi and leave it there until the battery dies and it shuts off.
It might just keep running longer than in Windows. Or run for a short while and shut off.
If it's the first case. Probably just needs a balancing. If the latter, the pack might just be dead.
Not throwing stones but perhaps just a cheaply constructed battery with substandard cells. Could be.

Patience. Keep restarting it in bios/uefi until it won't fire up anymore.
Then plug the charger in and let it complete a full charge. And see what happens. If it's better.
Do the same thing one more time. Run it until it dies dead-dead. Then just let it charge, pc shut off.
When charged, it might be better. It might not be.

There are bench jigs that read the actual BMS and override it to let a tech manually monitor and charge the separate packs. They can also reset any "time bombs" in it that cause an otherwise good pack to show bad.
Maybe Santa will be good to me some year.

You might just need a new battery. Maybe the PC power management chip is going. A Dell common thing.
Leaving a laptop plugged in with a full battery is known to reduce the life. Asus for one recommends that you don't leave the charger plugged in all of the time even when shut down. And setting Windows to charge the battery to 85% instead of 100% increases life.
That's all I got.

dishstaller

Today at 10:36 AM

arlo said:
That's all I got.

That was quite enough....I definitely learned something from your post. Thanks

TRG

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply Today at 10:27 AM · posted in Computers and Gadgets

Starlink Router question

I set up a music server for my brother a few years ago. It's basically a small headless computer but it needs to have a DHCP IP address reserved for it in the router settings. This was easy to do in his DSL router. He's switching to Starlink now and I was wondering if these setting are easily accessible in the Starlink router. I'm pretty sure he will be getting the latest V5 router.

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b4pjoe

Saturday at 2:12 PM

TRG said:
I set up a music server for my brother a few years ago. It's basically a small headless computer but it needs to have a DHCP IP address reserved for it in the router settings. This was easy to do in his DSL router. He's switching to Starlink now and I was wondering if these setting are easily accessible in the Starlink router. I'm pretty sure he will be getting the latest V5 router.

If you can't get into the router to reserve an IP address just don't use DHCP on the device that needs connected and assign it to a specific IP address in the network settings.

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HipKat

Saturday at 11:07 PM

TRG said:
I set up a music server for my brother a few years ago. It's basically a small headless computer but it needs to have a DHCP IP address reserved for it in the router settings. This was easy to do in his DSL router. He's switching to Starlink now and I was wondering if these setting are easily accessible in the Starlink router. I'm pretty sure he will be getting the latest V5 router.

They are not. Your best bet is to set up a third-party router, attached to the Starlink for your server, that you can get into, like a Linksys, etc

Reactions: Foxbat

Foxbat

Sunday at 12:44 AM

TRG said:
…it needs to have a DHCP IP address reserved for it in the router settings. This was easy to do in his DSL router. He's switching to Starlink now and I was wondering if these setting are easily accessible in the Starlink router. I'm pretty sure he will be getting the latest V5 router.

The Starlink V5 Install Kit I just got comes with the Mini Router. It is pretty limited in what it can do. For example, it can provide only one IP subnet at a time, no Guest Network, but it does support the pass-thru to a third-party Router. You can also split the Wi-Fi into separate 5 GHz & 2.4 GHz SSIDs to help some IoT devices that don't support 5 GHz bands to work.

The larger Starlink Router that still comes with the V4 Kit does support a Guest Network with separate IPv4 Subnet, but it's $120 from Starlink. And it still won't do DHCP Reservations.

harshness

Sunday at 11:46 AM

If you can restrict the DHCP address space to assign addresses to one end of the subnet (i.e. x.x.x.50+), you can manually assign the IP address on pretty much any operating system. This is a default behavior on several popular routers. As the Router Mini only supports 235 devices, I expect that's already done.

Another option is to use a router that supports PoE to power the antenna. This article discusses that option (under PoE Power heading):

Starlink V5 Is Here: What RVers Need to Know

Overview of the new Starlink V5 model along with comparison to the previous V4 model along with a recommended setup for mobile internet users.

mobilemusthave.com

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Foxbat

Today at 10:27 AM

Now that I've had the v5 kit with the Mini Router, it's not as bad as I first thought. Yes, no DHCP reservations, but you can set up multiple SSIDs that have separate IPv4 subnets, and like the big brother, you can select from 192.168.x.0/24 or 10.x.0.0/16 (where "x" is 1-4).

You can also split a subnet and have different SSIDs for the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz channels to handle some IoT devices. I haven't discovered what subnet the 2nd NIC on the router assigns, I'm guessing it's the first subnet.

dishstaller

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Today at 10:27 AM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

I think we could all use a laugh - Rodney Dangerfield on Carson

Good...simple humor. Enjoy

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E92AtfTLge4

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJy0WnejlF4

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Jimbo

Today at 12:37 AM

Not Rodney, but a laugh ...

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WHEcmortfK0?feature=share

dishstaller

Today at 10:27 AM

Sorry for posting the wrong link. Just corrected it.

dishstaller

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Today at 10:17 AM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

At least 64 dead in Spanish passenger train collision

Terrible tragedy. You would think that they would have safe guards in place that would prevent something like this from happening. I guess if you are going to ride in a passenger train it might be best to get a car near the rear.

At Least 64 Dead After Two High-Speed Trains Collide In Spain | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

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Jimbo

Yesterday at 11:24 AM

dishstaller said:
Terrible tragedy. You would think that they would have safe guards in place that would prevent something like this from happening. I guess if you are going to ride in a passenger train it might be best to get a car near the rear.

At Least 64 Dead After Two High-Speed Trains Collide In Spain | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

They will have to look at the switching sections to determine WHY 2 trains were on the same track ... at the same time.

dishstaller

Today at 10:17 AM

Thought this article might be of interest to some of you who might travel via train.

The safest seat to sit on in a train

Safety experts have shared top tips on train safety after a fatal railway crash in Spain killed 69 people, including where the safest place is in an emergency.

www.dailymail.com