I have done advanced training in the use of MS Excel and MS Access. My work have asked me to choose a course to develop my IT skills futher. I know VBA is a useful skill to have but as I have no knowledge of actual computer programming do I need to do another course first (e.g. principals of programming, which offer an intro to different programming languages).
Thanks for any advice.
You can dive right in and learn VBA without a prerequisite. If you can find a dedicated VBA course you should not find it too difficult if you are an absolute beginner to programming.
However you can reduce the learning curve a little bit by reading about some fundamentals:
Variables
Data Types
Loops ( FOR/NEXT & DO/WHILE)
Branches (Unconditional vs Conditional (IF, Select Case)
Events
Microsoft VBA is based on the early VB6 version and not the DotNet. So if you find a thin book (see link) and glance over it you will give yourself an edge. I would also recommend that you take a look in the public library for a book to look over as well.
Another book that I recommend is "Master Visually Excel 2003 VBA Programming". This book gives short how to’s with lots of screen shots, you can liken it to a cook book with lots of "How to" recipes for VBA.
One final thought:
VBA programming vs Visual Basic (VB) programming does differ enough that you will find a VB programming book of limited use beyond some fundamentals. This is because VB programming concentrates on building a stand alone application with its own user interface. In VBA you already have the Excel worksheet as an interface.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:41 am
Maybe you can look for a course online?
References :
November 30th, 2009 at 1:11 am
You can dive right in and learn VBA without a prerequisite. If you can find a dedicated VBA course you should not find it too difficult if you are an absolute beginner to programming.
However you can reduce the learning curve a little bit by reading about some fundamentals:
Variables
Data Types
Loops ( FOR/NEXT & DO/WHILE)
Branches (Unconditional vs Conditional (IF, Select Case)
Events
Microsoft VBA is based on the early VB6 version and not the DotNet. So if you find a thin book (see link) and glance over it you will give yourself an edge. I would also recommend that you take a look in the public library for a book to look over as well.
Another book that I recommend is "Master Visually Excel 2003 VBA Programming". This book gives short how to’s with lots of screen shots, you can liken it to a cook book with lots of "How to" recipes for VBA.
One final thought:
VBA programming vs Visual Basic (VB) programming does differ enough that you will find a VB programming book of limited use beyond some fundamentals. This is because VB programming concentrates on building a stand alone application with its own user interface. In VBA you already have the Excel worksheet as an interface.
References :
http://www.amazon.com/Visual-Basic-Easy-Steps/dp/1840780290/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257856902&sr=8-2
http://www.amazon.com/Master-Visually-Excel-2003-Programming/dp/0764579738/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257857463&sr=1-1#noop
November 30th, 2009 at 1:40 am
i dont think you need it, im 16 and i started vb half way through the year and it took bout 2 months to pick up form scratch. if you know what a computer is ull be right
References :