internet package 1

[russellmunday]

I have had a program running on local computers for about three months now and have been asked if we could put it on the website for our customers to use.
I am very new to Visual basic and don't know if it’s possible and if it is how to start. Are there any guides to this?
The program is a simple order system using Excel to create an order then is e-mailed with attached files.
Any help appreciated

 

[boggg1]

Once you move to running things on the Internet you have two options - run it server side or client side. In case this is unfamiliar to you, client side means the languages runs on your computer whereas server side means it runs on the other end of the web, where the web page comes from (the server).

Server side languages (such as php and Python) run on the server and can be very effective but it would mean completely changing your program into a new language. The php code is buried in the HTML of the web page that you call but the server digs it out and runs it. So you call the web page and the server finds the page and runs the php on that page, sending the results to your browser.

Client side languages (like VBScript or JavaScript) run inside your browser on your computer but the code is again buried in the HTML of the web page. So you call the web page and the server sends the page to your browser which runs the code on that page. Here is the beginning of a VBScript book which offers a slightly fuller description...

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/vbscript/excerpt/ch01.html

I am not recommending this book, I have never read it.

VBScript will be familiar to any user of Visual Basic but it is not at all identical. It might be worth investigating the differences between VB and VBScript before you decide to start because VBScript is generally inferior (less commands) to VB. Also there are fundamental differences between handling stuff on a web page and handling it locally which may or may not be relevant in your case. The two that come to mind are how to maintain system state and how to save variables on the user's system. These differences are fundamental to client side operation via the web (they are not unique to VBScript). I am sure you can handle these differences but it will take investment in time to convert your program if your program needs it. Incidentally you can also run VBScript without a web page being involved at all (just as you currently program in VB) using the Microsoft SCRIPT control so ypou could experiment with it.

Few people like taking on a totally new language and this suggests that VBScript would be better for you and the fact that you currently work via Excel supports this. But I would do a few test HTML/code pages first to see if you get on with it before you jump. Whatever you do you will also have to work with HTML (either hand coding or using a web page creation program), burying your code in the right format for server side or client side operation.

Hope this starts you off on the road.

Boggg1