Programming Visual Basic 2008

Chapter 26. Project Complete

You’ve done it! You’ve completed the Library Project and met with acclaim from users and fellow programmers alike. And you’ve also accomplished something that few thought was possible: you slogged through all 26 chapters of this book. You’re probably anxious to get on with your life as a highly paid software consultant, working just six months per year as the programmer who other programmers call when systems fail. Well, I won’t keep you too long. But there are a few more issues to discuss concerning the Library Project and programming in general.

The Library Project

The Library Project is filled with features that target small library-style organizations. But it may not meet everyone’s needs. And that’s OK. The users know your address and phone number; you’ll hear from them. When they call, you can tell them that the software wasn’t designed for everyone; no software can be. All software, even general-purpose applications such as Visual Studio, can never meet the needs of every person or organization. What is important is that the features included in the project meet the needs of the intended audience. That audience may be the card-catalog-using public, or it may just be a small library with one part-time staff member.

Still, there is always room for improvement. Because the Library Project’s real target audience was you—the student of Visual Basic and .NET—it did not have all the features that most libraries would require. Looking ...