Microsoft Visual Basic

Microsoft has designed Visual Basic as a scalable development tool for a range of applications, including Internet and Enterprise applications. Visual Basic can be used to create active HTML documents, customise productivity products, and build client/server business applications.

This lightweight subset of the Microsoft Visual Basic programming language will be licensed to corporations free of charge. Microsoft will provide VBScript on Windows and Macintosh platforms, and is working with third parties to provide Unix® versions for Sun®, HP®, Digital, and IBM® platforms. VBScript is packaged as a compiler and associated run-time libraries. Microsoft does not currently provide integrated development support tools (such as editing, layout, and debugging tools) for VBScript. Microsoft anticipates that VBScript will be available to licensees and other interested parties in early 1996.

Visual Basic for Applications is Microsoft's strategic application scripting language. This highly extensible language uses Automation (formerly OLE Automation) to use and program objects. Visual Basic for Applications provides a complete development environment, including integrated editor and debugging support. Visual Basic for Applications is currently available only with the Microsoft Office family of products for Windows and the Macintosh.

The Visual Basic development tool is available in three editions: the Standard Edition for students and hobbyists, the Professional Edition for individual developers, and the Enterprise Edition for developer teams or corporate development. Visual Basic version 4.0 provides a superset of the language and tool functionality found in Visual Basic for Applications. The key Enterprise product features include client/server data access, distributed computing (for example, three-tier) support, and team source code control support. Visual Basic version 4.0 is currently available only for the Windows platform.