Memory

One disadvantage of visual basic is the lack of control over memory. If you compile an empty project, and then run it, that program will use almost 2MB of memory, without you having written a single line of code! This is due to all VB programs requiring MSVBMV60.dll (or 50 etc depending on the vb version). Unfortunately, there is not much you can do about the memory usage of this DLL. However, there are a number of other ways.

1) Ensure that you are referencing only to files that you need. Click References on the Project menu and see there are any you do not need. You will always need the following items checked:

Visual Basic For Applications
Visual Basic runtime objects and procedures
Visual Basic objects and procedures
OLE Automation

2) Ensure that your program is only using the components it needs. If you are using just one or two items from the Microsoft Common Controls, try to find a seperate control (normally free) from another site. For example, we have a Progress Bar & Hyperlink control, and VB Accelerator has Image Lists, TreeViews, ListViews, Outlook bars and more! This will cut down the size of the controls you have to distribute, as well as the memory usage. Using any control from the Microsoft Common Controls requires at least another 1MB of memory.

3) When your program is running, if a form is not likely to be needed again quickly, use the Unload statement to remove the form from the memory. If you use the Hide statement, it simply hides the form - it is still resident in the memory. If you need the form, use the Load statement. This does take longer than using the Show statement (only after you have shown the form once. The first time the form is shown, using the Show statement, it also loads the form into the memory), however, if your program is very memory hungry, it is one way of cutting down its memory usage.

4) Put infrequently used code into forms or classes, which can be created and destroyed as required. If you put it in a module, it will be loaded when your program is first run, whether it is needed or not.

5) Use the right data type declarations. If you have a variable that is only going to hold numbers 1 to 256, use the Byte data type, rather than Integer or Long. This will use 1 byte of memory instead of 4 bytes. Declaring one variable as a byte instead of Long will not make much difference, but if you have a large number of variables, it can help cut memory usage down. Even if the effects are not noticeable, it is a good habit to get into.

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