The Compiler as it Pertains to the Visual Basic Programming Language - Essay Example

The visual basic programming language is a product from Microsoft that apart from including a number of utilities and features consists of a core component, which is the Visual Basic compiler. Any visual basic-based project is a collection of a number of files that contain the source code of the project. The process of compilation involves a number of steps wherein all the source files are combined together into a single unit and transformed into a standalone executable file.

A limitation of the VB6 compiler is that the executable created by it does not support DLLs (Dynamically linked libraries) and other files that are a popular part of the .NET technology that is in extensive use today. However, it is this .exe file that runs as the final application. The compilation for VB6 can be achieved in two ways. The first and the most popular way involve the use of the ‘Build’ option from within the VB6 IDE. Otherwise, users can also invoke the Visual basic compiler from the command line.

The latter case is utilized usually when one does not need to use all features provided by the VB6 IDE such as in cases where we need to examine the status of the variables and objects. The Visual Basic compiler is a very versatile compiler in that it allows users to build a project as a set of numerous sub-projects and provides the feature wherein the executable can be configured to include all the projects at compile time to bring them into a single final product. This not only increases the versatility of development but additionally allows the developer to develop components on an individual note by relying on the compiler to create the connecting hooks that are invoked by the executable files at run time.

However, VB6 is considered to be an outdated technology today and present programmers rely more on the .NET platform (which has an implementation of VB and is known as VB.NET). in its era of popularity, VB6 became popular because it was supported the extensive creation of interactive graphical user interfaces that enhanced the user interaction with the application.