Includes index.

Introduction to Visual Studio development. Visual Basic 2013 development opportunities and the Windows Store ; The Visual Studio Integrated Development Environment ; Creating your first Windows Store application ; Windows desktop apps : a walkthrough using Windows Forms -- Designing the user interface. Working with Windows Store app controls ; Working with Windows Forms controls ; XAML markup step by step ; Using XAML styles ; Exploring Windows 8.1 design features : Command bar, flyout, tiles, and touch ; Creating console applications -- Visual Basic programming techniques. Mastering data types, operators, and string processing ; Creative decision structures and loops ; Trapping errors by using structured error handling ; Using arrays, collections, and generics to manage data ; Innovative data management with LINQ ; Object-oriented programming techniques -- Database and web programming. Database controls for Windows desktop apps ; Data access for Windows store apps ; Visual Studio web development with ASP.NET -- Microsoft Windows Phone programming. Introduction to Windows Phone 8 development ; Creating your first Windows Phone 8 application. This is a hands-on, step-by-step guide to learning Visual Basic 2012. No matter what your skill level, you'll find the practical guidance and examples you need to start building professional applications for Windows and the Web.