Visual Basic is arguably the most popular computer programming language for application development in the United States and around the world today. Visual Basic is also an excellent language to teach as a "first" computer language because of its easy-to-learn syntax and flexibility. This book treats Visual Basic as a serious programming language and not as just another Windows application. One concern that is frequently voiced when discussing the differences between Visual Basic and C++ is the level of object-oriented programming supported by Visual Basic. With the release of VB. NET, the language will support all the major features of object-oriented programming–encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism.