VB Project - small desktop application. I am a beginner and need guidance throughout.

VB Project

Hi everyone,

I am a beginner in programming but have learned the basics over the past few weeks. I want to make a small desktop application for personal use in which I will be using a text-file database. I have been told this is as basic as it gets.

Overview

So the basic idea of this project is to create a digital version of my record collection (music vinyl). I aim to have a form in which I can essentially 'Add New Record' which has the following details:

- Title
- Artist
- Type
- Year
- Image

Once the details have been uploaded and the image retrieved from My Documents, I will click 'Add New' and this will save the details in the database. I also want this 'Add New' button to store the image in a variety of different forms depending on what 'Type' was selected. For example:

There are 4 types:

- 12" LP/EP
- 10" LP/EP
- 7" Single
- 12" Single

Each of the above will have its own section in the application where each record will be stored. In this section will be the image used when filling in the details in the 'Add New Record' page.

Then, I will be able to click on the picture of a record and will lead me to the final screen which shows me all the details of that particular record and the enlarged image.

The whole idea is to get all my record collection on, I have a lot of records and forget what I have. By having this application I will be able to see the front covers of each record and view the details of that record.

It would be a huge help if someone gave me guidance with this project. I don't think it is too challenging for someone who has experience with VB.

I already have the layout created on VB, just need help with the coding.

Thanks in advance for anyone who shows an interest.

Cheers!

Conor.

I am new to VB also, from what I understand first you have to decide which database to use, for your needs i think SQlite would serve you best since its truly portable, once you have that, build a windows form with some buttons, like insert, delete, update, once you have successfully done that you should be already on the way to creating this application, you will find plenty of examples on the net for database connectivity and database operations.

Hi mate, thanks for your reply!

Well i've seeked some help from a friend who knows a touch about it, and he believes a simple text file as a Database would work for now. I already have the layout and all the forms created in VB. All I need is the code behind it. The main code is in the 'Add New Record' form. I will take a look at that SQlite which you recommend, thanks for your interest and help!

For the 'Add New Record' page, i've copied a piece of code from online and tried to adapt it for my needs, here is what i've done:

'BeginAddNewVB

Public Sub Main()
On Error GoTo ErrorHandler

Dim FILE_NAME As String = "H:\Placement\University\mrc.txt"

If System.IO.File.Exists(H:\Placement\University\mrc.txt) = True Then

Dim objWriter As New System.IO.StreamWriter(H:\Placement\University\mrc.txt)

objWriter.Write(titletextbox.Text)
objWriter.Write(artisttextbox.Text)
objWriter.Write(type.dropdownlist.SelectedItem.Value)
objWriter.Write(yeartextbox.Text)
objWriter.Write(catnotextbox.Text)
objWriter.Close()
MsgBox("Text written to file")

Else

MsgBox("Please enter all information")

End If

Dim strTitle As String
Dim strArtist As String
Dim strYear As String
Dim strType As String
Dim strCatNo As String
Dim blnRecordAdded As Boolean

strTitle = Trim(InputBox("Enter Title:"))
strArtist = Trim(InputBox("Enter Artist:"))
strYear = Trim(InputBox("Enter Year:"))
strType = Trim(InputBox("Enter Type:"))
strCatNo = Trim(InputBox("Enter Category Number:"))

If strTitle <> "" And strArtist <> "" And <> "" strYear And strType <> "" And strCatNo <> "" Then

rstRecords.AddNew
rstRecords!title = strTitle
rstRecords!artist = strArtist
rstRecords!artist = strYear
rstRecords!artist = strType
rstRecords!artist = strCatNo
rstRecords.Update
blnRecordAdded = True

MsgBox "New record: " & rstRecords!RecordId & " " & _
rstRecords!Title & " " & rstEmployees!Artist & " " & rstRecords!Year & " " & rstRecords!Type & " " & rstRecords!CatNo

Else
MsgBox "Please enter all information."
End If

rstRecords.Close
Cnxn.Close
Set rstRecords = Nothing
Set Cnxn = Nothing
Exit Sub

ErrorHandler:
' clean up
If Not rstRecords Is Nothing Then
If rstRecords.State = adStateOpen Then rstRecords.Close
End If
Set rstRecords = Nothing

If Not Cnxn Is Nothing Then
If Cnxn.State = adStateOpen Then Cnxn.Close
End If
Set Cnxn = Nothing

If Err <> 0 Then
MsgBox Err.Source & "-->" & Err.Description, , "Error"
End If
End Sub
'EndAddNewVB

The above code was used for adding a new record of an employee. This is similar as my vinyl records can be treated as a person. Where the choice of Male and Female usually is, mine will be the choice between:

- 12" LP/EP
- 10" LP/EP
- 7" Single
- 12" Single

Is this code heading in the right direction? Thanks in advance!