Small Basic: How to Create an Extension Using VB.NET

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This article is about how to create a simple extension that you can build on for Small Basic (Microsoft). To get started you will need Small Basic, .NET Framework 3.5 (for Small Basic 1.0) or .Net Framework 4.5 (for Small Basic 1.1), and Visual Basic.NET 10. If you wish to see a tutorial for writing an extension in C#, click here.
 

STEP 1: Create an Extension

  1. Open Visual Basic and click on "Create New Project"

  2. Click on "Class Library" and name it "MyFirstExtension"

  3. After the project has loaded, delete all the code from Class1, and paste in the following code:

  4. Imports System
Imports Microsoft.SmallBasic.Library
Imports System.Threading
Imports System.IO
<SmallBasicType()> _
Public Module  FirstModule
 
    Public Function  ShowMessage(ByVal  MsgTxt As  Primitive) As  Primitive
        MsgBox(MsgTxt.ToString)
    End Function
End Module

  5. Open the Solution Explorer and right-click on "MyFirstExtension" and go down to "Add Reference"

  6. After the dialog opens click on the "Browse" tab and go to your Small Basic folder and click on "SmallBasicLibrary.dll"

  7. That should take away all the errors

STEP 2: Make it Work

To allow the extension to work in Small Basic, we need to change the Target Framework to .NET 3.5 (for Small Basic 1.0) or .Net 4.5 (for Small Basic 1.1).

  1. Click on the Save button at the top of the screen
  2. Go to Projects>MyFirstExtension Properties
  3. Click on the "Compile" tab
  4. Click on "Advanced Compile Options" at the bottom
  5. Click on the drop-down for "Target Framework" and select .NET 3.5 (or .Net 4.5 for Small Basic 1.1)
  6. Click "OK" and when the dialog pops up, click "Yes"
  7. You can reopen the extension by opening the Solution Explorer and double-clicking on "Class1.VB"
  8. Now, build the .dll by going to the top of the screen and clicking on Build>Build MyFirstExtension
  9. This will build the .dll to the "bin>Release" folder in the project
  10. Go to the "bin>Release" file in File Explorer and copy all the files, except all the ones named "SmallBasicLibrary.dll" and "SmallBasicLibrary.xml"
  11. Open Small Basic's folder and create a "lib" folder if there is already not one there
  12. Open the "lib" folder and paste the programs inside YOU MAY NEED ADMIN PRIVILEGES TO DO THIS
  13. Close Small Basic if it is open and re-open it
  14. Now, all you have to do to use the extension is type in FirstModule.ShowMessage("YourMessageBoxTextHere")

STEP 3: Moving On

To create more functions in the FirstModule, all you have to do is add more functions. If you need to get any variables from the user, just separate the ByVal YOURVARIABLE with commas. If you need to return a function, just put return before it like:

Public Function  NetOpen() As  Primitive
     Return My.Computer.Network.IsAvailable
 End Function

If you would like a Small Basic Extension with tons of functions, just visit List of SmallBasic Extensions to get it! Remember, the Small Basic community is active, so feel free to ask questions. Good luck!

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