.NET Concepts -- Enterprise Techniques -- Integration -- The Book's Illustrative Style, Sample Application, and Web Site -- The Book's Audience -- .NET Concepts -- The Microsoft .NET Architecture -- A New Platform -- What .NET Is and Is Not -- VB's Place in .NET -- Common Language Runtime Architecture -- Goals of the CLR -- Managed Versus Unmanaged Code -- Common Language Specification -- CLR Internals -- Run-time Components -- Class Libraries -- The Development Environment -- A New IDE -- Projects and Solutions -- IDE Windows -- Supported File Types -- Setting Project References -- Macros and Add-Ins -- Using Attributes -- Command-Line Compilation -- VB .NET Language Features -- Keyword Changes -- Functional Changes -- Declarations -- Operators -- Data Types -- Arrays -- Structures -- Conversion -- Strings -- Block Scope -- Procedures -- Upgrading from VB 6.0 -- Using the Upgrade Wizard -- Object-Oriented Features -- OO Terminology -- Encapsulation -- Polymorphism -- Inheritance -- More OO Terms -- Role of Namespaces -- Defining Classes -- Creating Members -- Creating Methods -- Creating Properties -- Creating Fields -- Creating Events and Delegates -- Creating Named Constants -- Using Inheritance -- Using Polymorphism -- Creating and Using Shared Members -- Using Interface Based Programming -- Versioning -- Using Constructors and Destructors -- Parameterized Constructors -- Destructors -- Packaging, Deployment, and Security -- Packaging and Deployment Concepts -- Assemblies Revisited -- PreJITing Your Code -- Packaging and Deployment Options -- Deployment Scenarios -- Installing Server Resources -- Securing Your Code -- Code Access Security -- Role-Based Security -- Error Handling and Debugging -- Handling Exceptions -- Using Unstructured Exception Handling -- Using Structured Exception Handling -- Using the VS.NET Debugger -- Starting Debugging -- Attaching to a Running Process -- Using Diagnostics -- Using the Debug Class -- Using Tracing -- Using Listeners -- Enterprise Techniques -- Accessing Data with ADO.NET -- ADO.NET Defined -- Relation to OLE DB and ADO -- System.Data Architecture -- Managed Providers -- Connection Pooling -- Disconnected Data -- Application Scenario: The Quilogy Education System -- Defining the Data Structure -- Handling Data Access -- Building Components -- Designing Components -- Building Classes Versus Components -- Marshalling Objects -- Building Reusable Components -- Using .NET Remoting -- Hosting Components -- Activating Components -- Using Advanced Remoting -- Calling Unmanaged DLLs -- Wrapping Unmanaged DLLs -- Using Callbacks -- Accessing Component Services -- Migrating from MTS to COM+ -- Administrative Changes -- Architectural Changes -- Implementing COM+ Services -- Automatic Transactions -- Object Activation and Construction -- Object Pooling -- Shared Properties -- COM+ Events -- Queued Components -- COM+ Security -- Registering Serviced Components -- First-Use Registration -- Manual Registration -- Interoperating -- Accessing COM Components from .NET -- Accessing .NET Components from Unmanaged Code -- Building Web Forms -- Understanding ASP.NET -- ASP.NET Architecture -- Programming Models -- Differences from ASP -- Example Application -- Web Forms Architecture -- Page Processing Flow -- Event Model -- ASP.NET Features -- Configuration Files -- Security -- State Management -- Caching -- Tracing -- ASP.NET Server Controls -- HTML Server Controls -- Web Server Controls -- Web Forms User Controls -- Building Web Services -- Web Service Architecture -- Uses for Web Services -- Web Service Technology -- Web Service Implementation -- Creating a Web Service Class -- Web Service Design Issues -- Customizing SOAP -- Consuming a Web Service -- Using the Client Proxy -- Integration -- Accessing System Services -- Understanding I/O Concepts -- Reading and Writing Files -- Creating Multithreaded Applications -- Using Threads -- Using Thread Pools -- Manipulating Windows Processes -- Using Cryptography -- Implementing Services -- Creating Service Applications -- Building a Service -- Installing Services -- Controlling Services -- Scheduling the Service -- Using a Simple Timer -- Using Event Logging -- Writing to the Event Log -- Using a Custom Log -- Receiving Notification -- Monitoring Performance -- Installing Custom Performance Counters -- Using Performance Counters -- Sampling Performance Counters -- Communicating over the .NET -- Using System.Net -- Using FTP -- Integrating with the Enterprise -- Using the XML Classes -- Streaming XML -- Accessing Data With the DOM -- Transforming a Document -- Handling XML Schemas -- Serializating to XML -- Integrating Messaging -- Administering Queues -- Sending and Receiving Messages -- Integrating Active Directory -- Querying the Directory.

"Building Distributed Applications with Visual Basic.NET" provides corporate developers with the .NET Framework techniques necessary to build distributed and reusable business systems in VB.NET. Covered topics include: VB.NET and the .NET Framework architecture and language concepts; building distributed applications with VB.NET using ADO.NET, XML, ASP.NET, SOAP, and COM+; and enterprise integration using the Services Framework.