Providing a foundation of Visual Basic concepts on which students may build more advanced skills, this text emphasizes planning stages of design to encourage positive habits from the beginning. There are new examples and tutorials, including a step-by-step tutorial on debugging and one on how to create and use new folders in Windows 95. Additionally, there is an appendix with tips and shortcuts for mastering the Visual Basic environment, designed to save the programmer time. Two running case studies conclude each chapter.