Visual Basic For Scientific Laboratories

A Volume in the Wiley-Interscience Series on Laboratory Automation.

The complete, step-by-step guide to using Visual Basic(r) in a laboratory setting Visual

Basic(r) is fast becoming the de facto laboratory programming language, yet existing books typically discuss applications that have nothing to do with science and engineering. This primer fills the gap in the field, showing professionals seeking to improve the productivity of their laboratories how to use Visual Basic(r) to automate laboratory processes.

Automating Science and Engineering Laboratories with Visual Basic(r) helps laboratory professionals decide when and if to use Visual Basic(r) and how to combine it with the many computing technologies used in modern laboratories such as RS-232 port communications, TCP/IP networking, and event-driven control, to name a few. With an emphasis on getting readers programming immediately, the book provides clear guidelines to the appropriate programming techniques as well as custom-developed software tools. Readers will learn how to build applications to control laboratory instruments, collect and process experimental data, create interactive graphical applications, and more.

Boasting many working examples with the complete source code and backward compatibility to previous versions of Visual Basic(r), Automating Science and Engineering Laboratories with Visual Basic(r) is an indispensable teaching tool for nonprogrammers and a useful reference for more experienced practitioners.

MARK F. RUSSO is Senior Researcher with Bristol-Myers Squibb's Combinatorial Drug Discovery Group and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems at Drexel University. He is the developer of several laboratory computer applications and robot systems and has published extensively on related topics.

MARTIN M. ECHOLS is Site Manager for Combinatorial Chemistry Automation for Bristol-Myers Squibb. He has authored several software applications for automating laboratory systems.

VISUAL BASIC(r) AND THE INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT.

Background.

IDE Fundamentals.

A Review of the Visual Basic(r) Language.

The Structure of a Visual Basic(r) Application.

Object-Oriented Programming in Visual Basic(r).

DEVICE COMMUNICATIONS.

Introducing the Virtual Instrument.

Dynamic Data Exchange.

Using Dynamic Data Exchange in Visual Basic(r).

RS-232 Communications.

RS-232 Communications in Visual Basic(r).

TCP/IP Networking.

TCP/IP Networking in Visual Basic(r).

File Communications.

DEVICE CONTROL AND DATA HANDLING.

Multithreading.

Multithreading in Visual Basic(r).

Concepts of State.

State Machines-Implementing State Diagrams in Visual Basic(r).

Parsing-Understanding Message Content.

A Visual Basic(r) Parser Class.

Device Monitoring and Control.

Device Controllers in VB.

GRAPHICAL INTERFACES AND DATA PRESENTATION.

Scientific Plotting with MSChart.

Tabular Data Display and Editing.

Visual Basic(r) Graphics Fundamentals.

Active Graphic Displays.

Interactive Graphic Displays.

Appendices.

Index.