VBX

VBX stands for "Visual Basic eXtension" and is the file extension for "custom controls" used primarily in Microsoft Visual Basic versions 1.0 through 4.0 though versions of Borland's Delphi have supported VBX as well as other programming environments.

Visual Basic version 3.0 was the most popular version that used VBX controls because:

• It was on the market for over three years providing time for developers to really learn it,
• It was the first to provide database functionality needed for most custom business applications,
• The next version (4.0) also supported the newer OCX format thereby implicitly depreciating VBX controls.

Each version of Visual Basic has included many "controls" in the box. (VBX in version 1.0 to 4.0, and OCX in versions 4.0 to 6.0.)

Beyond the controls included in the box, 3rd parties created a large market of custom controls for resale. Rumor has it Bill Gates reviewed the first version of Visual Basic before release and told the development team it must have an extensibility mechanism. Hence the VBX was born. By incorporating VBX controls into Visual Basic, Microsoft spawned the first commercially viable market for reusable software components.

Visual Basic eXtensions were called "controls" instead of "components" because the Microsoft development team originally viewed them as something that would be visually "controlled" like a toggle switch or a button. Enterprising 3rd party developers saw opportunities to use the VBX specification for non-visual components, such as components for creating ZIP files and communicating with TCP/IP making the term "control" a misnomer, though it is still in frequently used even by VB.NET developers occasionally.

See Also:

• OCX / ActiveX Controls
• Visual Basic
• Reusable software components