Creating the User Interface of Your Project

Now that you've written this example's procedures, you need to create the interface for the project. Click the Form1.cs [Design] tab in the IDE to display the form designer for the default form.

You'll need three buttons on this form—one to call each of your methods. Add the first button to the form by double-clicking the Button icon in the toolbox and then set its properties as follows:

Add a second button to the form and set its properties as follows:

Finally, add the third button to the form and set its properties as follows:

The last control you need to add to your form is a text box. When the user clicks the Compute Length button, the button's Click event will call the ComputeLength function, passing it the text entered into the text box. It will then display the length of the text in the Output window (this works only when running in the IDE, not when compiled as an application).

The Output window is a Visual Studio design window to which you can print text. I use the Output window a lot in examples throughout the remaining hours. When you send text to the Output window, Visual Studio ensures that the Output window is visible. You can display it at any time while working in the IDE by choosing Other Windows from the View menu and then selecting Output. Be aware that the Output window is not available to a compiled component.

Add a text box to the form by double-clicking the Textbox icon in the toolbox. Set the new text box's properties as follows:

Your form should now look like the one shown in Figure 11.5. You're now ready to write the C# code to call your methods.