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| platform = [[.NET Framework]], [[Mono (software)|Mono]], [[.NET]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/vbteam/2018/11/12/visual-basic-in-net-core-3-0/|title=Visual Basic in .NET Core 3.0|first=Kathleen|last=Dollard|website=blogs.msdn.microsoft.com|date=November 13, 2018|access-date=November 21, 2018|archive-date=November 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119070011/https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/vbteam/2018/11/12/visual-basic-in-net-core-3-0/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="devblogs-2020-03-11">{{cite web |url=https://devblogs.microsoft.com/vbteam/visual-basic-support-planned-for-net-5-0/ |title=Visual Basic support planned for .NET 5.0 | Visual Basic Blog |publisher=Blogs.msdn.microsoft.com |date=2020-03-11 |access-date=2020-08-26 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105022953/https://devblogs.microsoft.com/vbteam/visual-basic-support-planned-for-net-5-0/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| operating_system = Chiefly [[Windows]]<br/>Also on [[Android (operating system)|Android]], [[BSD]], [[iOS (Apple)|iOS]], [[Linux]], [[macOS]], [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]], and [[Unix]] <!-- Mono implementations, remember? -->
| license = [[Roslyn (compiler)|Roslyn]] compiler: [[MIT License]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://github.com/dotnet/roslyn/blob/0d04884c243978cdd609e219fdb63cb58ebec69d/License.txt|title=Dotnet/Roslyn|website=[[GitHub]]|date=November 26, 2024}}</ref
| website = {{URL|https://docs.microsoft.com/dotnet/visual-basic/}}
| file_ext = <code>.vb</code>
}}
'''Visual Basic''' ('''VB'''), originally called '''Visual Basic .NET''' ('''VB.NET'''), is a [[Multi-paradigm programming language|multi-paradigm]], [[Object-oriented programming|object-oriented]] [[programming language]]
Microsoft's [[integrated development environment]] (IDE) for developing in Visual Basic is [[Visual Studio]]. Most Visual Studio editions are [[commercial software|commercial]]; the only exceptions are [[Visual Studio Express]] and [[Microsoft Visual Studio#Community|Visual Studio Community]], which are [[freeware]]. In addition, the [[.NET Framework SDK]] includes a freeware [[command-line]] [[compiler]] called vbc.exe. [[Mono (software)|Mono]] also includes a command-line VB.NET compiler.
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In addition, in Visual Basic:
* There is no unified way of defining blocks of statements. Instead, certain keywords, such as "If
* Statements are terminated either with a [[Colon (punctuation)|colon]] (":") or with the [[end of line]]. Multiple-line statements in Visual Basic are enabled with " _" at the end of each such line. The need for the underscore continuation character was largely removed in version 10 and later versions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff637436.aspx |title=New Features in Visual Basic 10 |date=June 3, 2010 |access-date=September 5, 2015 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304231731/https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff637436.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The [[equals sign]] ("=") is used in both assigning values to variables and in comparison.
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Whether Visual Basic .NET should be considered as just another version of Visual Basic or a completely different language is a topic of debate. There are new additions to support new features, such as [[exception handling|structured exception handling]] and short-circuited expressions. Also, two important data-type changes occurred with the move to VB.NET: compared to Visual Basic 6, the <code>Integer</code> [[data type]] has been doubled in length from 16 bits to 32 bits, and the <code>Long</code> [[data type]] has been doubled in length from 32 bits to 64 bits. This is true for all versions of VB.NET. A 16-bit integer in all versions of VB.NET is now known as a <code>Short</code>. Similarly, the [[Windows Forms]] editor is very similar in style and function to the Visual Basic form editor.
The things that ''have'' changed significantly are the semantics—from those of an object-based programming language running on a [[deterministic]], [[reference counting|reference-counted]] engine based on [[Component Object Model|COM]] to a fully [[Object-oriented programming|object-oriented]] language backed by the [[.NET Framework]], which consists of a combination of the [[Common Language Runtime]] (a [[virtual machine]] using [[Garbage collection (computer science)#Generational GC (aka Ephemeral GC)|generational garbage collection]] and a [[just-in-time compilation]] engine) and a far larger [[class library]]. The increased breadth of the latter
The changes
==== Comparative examples ====
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{{Main|Comparison of C Sharp and Visual Basic .NET}}
C# and Visual Basic are Microsoft's first languages made to program on the .NET Framework (later adding [[F Sharp (programming language)|F#]] and more; others have also added languages). Though C# and Visual Basic are syntactically different, that is where the differences mostly end. Microsoft developed both of these languages to be part of the same .NET Framework development platform. They are both developed, managed, and supported by the same language development team at Microsoft.<ref>{{cite web |last=Krill |first=Paul |url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/09/02/27/Microsoft_converging_programming_languages_1.html?R=printThis&A=/article/09/02/27/Microsoft_converging_programming_languages_1.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130126074556/http://www.infoworld.com/article/09/02/27/Microsoft_converging_programming_languages_1.html?R=printThis&A=/article/09/02/27/Microsoft_converging_programming_languages_1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 26, 2013 |title=Microsoft converging programming languages | Developer World |publisher=InfoWorld |date=February 27, 2009 |access-date=August 18, 2013 }}</ref> They compile to the same intermediate language (IL), which runs against the same .NET Framework runtime libraries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dotnet-guide.com/msintermediate.html |title=Microsoft Intermediate Language |publisher=Dotnet-guide.com |access-date=August 18, 2013 |archive-date=June 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602151947/http://www.dotnet-guide.com/msintermediate.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Although there are some differences in the programming constructs, their differences are primarily syntactic and, assuming one avoids the Visual Basic "Compatibility" libraries provided by Microsoft to aid conversion from Visual Basic 6, almost every feature in VB has an equivalent feature in C# and vice versa.
== Examples ==
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CreateObject("Sapi.Spvoice").Speak(TextBox1.Text)
End Sub
End Class
</syntaxhighlight>
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== Version history ==
Succeeding [[Visual Basic (classic)|the classic Visual Basic]] version 6.0, the first version of Visual Basic .NET debuted in 2002. {{as of|2020|3 = }}, ten versions of Visual Basic .NET are released.
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=== 2003 (VB 7.1) ===
Visual Basic .NET 2003 was released with [[.NET Framework 1.1]]. New features included support for the [[.NET Compact Framework]] and a better VB upgrade [[wizard (software)|wizard]]. Improvements were also made to the performance and reliability of .NET IDE (particularly the [http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/05/06/AdvancedBasics/default.aspx background compiler]) and runtime. In addition, Visual Basic .NET 2003 was available in the Visual Studio.NET Academic Edition, distributed to a certain number of scholars
=== 2005 (VB 8.0) ===
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=== 2019 (VB 16.0) ===
Visual Basic 2019 (code named VB "16.0") was released with Visual Studio 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/releases/2019/release-notes|title=Visual Studio 2019 Release Notes|last=
A minor update was later released as Visual Basic 16.9 which only added the ability to consume init-only properties.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/whats-new/#visual-basic-169|title=What's new for Visual Basic|website=learn.microsoft.com|date=February 21, 2023 |access-date=February 18, 2025}}</ref> This was done to maintain compatibility with C# 9.0<ref>{{cite web|url=https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/c-9-0-on-the-record/?source=post_page-----1a66d7f94a54---------------------------------------&hide_banner=true#init-accessors-and-readonly-fields|title=C# 9.0 on the record|first=Mads|last=Torgersen|website=devblogs.microsoft.com|date=November 10, 2020 |access-date=February 18, 2025}}</ref> per the current development strategy of the language.<ref name="vbstrategy">{{cite web|url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/getting-started/strategy|title=Annotated Visual Basic Language Strategy|website=learn.microsoft.com|date=May 29, 2024 |access-date=February 18, 2025}}</ref>
=== 2022 ===
Visual Basic received no updates with the release of Visual Studio 2022.<ref name="vbstrategy"/>
== Cross-platform and open-source development ==
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<ref name="option strict explicit">{{cite web|title=Option Explicit and Option Strict in Visual Basic .NET and in Visual Basic|url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/311329|work=Support|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|access-date=August 22, 2013|date=March 19, 2008|archive-date=April 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404001840/http://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/311329|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
* {{Cite web |title=License.txt in the Roslyn repo at 0d04884 |url=https://github.com/dotnet/roslyn/blob/0d04884c243978cdd609e219fdb63cb58ebec69d/License.txt
== Further reading ==
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