Classic Visual Basic (VB6) — A Beginner-Friendly Introduction

What is Classic Visual Basic?

Classic VB, commonly known as Visual Basic 6 (VB6), is a programming language released by Microsoft in 1998. It became extremely popular because it allowed beginners to create Windows applications with drag‑and‑drop tools and simple code.

Although modern Visual Basic .NET replaced it, many legacy business applications still use VB6 today.

Why Was VB6 So Popular?

• Very easy for beginners to learn
• Drag‑and‑drop interface design (forms, buttons, text boxes)
• Readable English‑like code
• Fast for building small Windows apps
• Large community and tutorials (especially in the 1990s and early 2000s)

Your First VB6 Program — "Hello, World"

VB6 applications are usually built using forms. But you can also write a simple message box:

Private Sub Form_Load()
    MsgBox "Hello, world!"
End Sub

This code runs automatically when the form loads and shows a message box.

Basic Syntax Overview

Variables

Dim message As String
message = "Welcome to VB6!"

If Statements

If score > 50 Then
    MsgBox "You passed!"
Else
    MsgBox "Try again."
End If

Loops

For i = 1 To 5
    Print i
Next i

Designing a Simple App

VB6 uses a form designer where you drag controls such as:

• Button
• Label
• TextBox
• Timer

Example: A button that shows a greeting when clicked:

Private Sub Command1_Click()
    MsgBox "Hello from VB6!"
End Sub

What You Need to Get Started

• A copy of the Visual Basic 6 IDE (no longer officially distributed)
• Windows system that supports VB6 (still works on many modern versions)
• Optional: community edition installers found online

Should You Learn VB6 Today?

You might want to learn VB6 if:

• You need to maintain older business software
• You want to understand the history of Windows programming
• You like fast prototyping for small desktop utilities

If you're starting fresh, modern languages like C#, Python, or VB.NET may be better for long‑term development—but VB6 remains simple and fun for beginners.

More Beginner Lessons

1. Variables (Deep Beginner Lesson)

Variables store information. VB6 requires you to declare them using Dim.

Dim age As Integer
Dim name As String
Dim price As Currency

age = 25
name = "Alice"
price = 19.99

2. Forms (Building the UI)

Forms are windows in your application. You can change properties in the Properties panel or in code.

Private Sub Form_Load()
    Me.Caption = "My First VB6 App"
    Me.BackColor = vbYellow
End Sub

3. Events (How Your App Reacts)

Events run automatically when the user interacts with your program.

Private Sub Command1_Click()
    MsgBox "You clicked the button!"
End Sub

Private Sub Text1_Change()
    Label1.Caption = Text1.Text
End Sub

4. Arrays (Storing Lists of Data)

Arrays store multiple values under one name.

Dim nums(4) As Integer ' Holds 5 values: 0-4
nums(0) = 10
nums(1) = 20
nums(2) = 30

5. File I/O (Reading & Writing Files)

VB6 can save and read files very easily.

' Writing to a file
Open "example.txt" For Output As #1
Print #1, "Hello VB6!"
Close #1

' Reading from a file
Open "example.txt" For Input As #1
Line Input #1, textLine
Close #1
MsgBox textLine

6. Modules (Sharing Code Across Forms)

Modules store reusable functions and procedures.

' In Module1.bas
Public Function Add(a As Integer, b As Integer) As Integer
    Add = a + b
End Function

IDE Diagrams

These diagrams show the basic layout of the VB6 Integrated Development Environment.

VB6 IDE Layout (Diagram)

+-----------------------------------------------------------+
|                        Menu Bar                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| Toolbox |                Form Designer                    |
|         |   [ Drag controls here to build your UI ]       |
|         |                                                 |
+---------+-------------------------------------------------+
|                Properties Window (Bottom)                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+

Toolbox Diagram

+--------- Toolbox ---------+
| Pointer                   |
| Label                     |
| TextBox                   |
| CommandButton             |
| PictureBox                |
| Timer                     |
| ListBox                   |
| ComboBox                  |
+---------------------------+

Form Designer Diagram

+------------------- Form Designer -------------------+
|  +-----------------------------------------------+  |
|  |   [ Button ]                                  |  |
|  |                                               |  |
|  |   [ TextBox ]                                 |  |
|  |                                               |  |
|  +-----------------------------------------------+  |
+-------------------------------------------------------+