# Part 2.4Basic output methods

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There are several very simple ways of outputting information to the user or to the debugger. Some forms are obtrusive outputs and some are unobtrusive.

An obtrusive output means that the program stops running the main sequence whilst the output is displayed whereas an unobtrusive output does not stop the main execution.

## Console outputs

The console is a form of collecting multiple outputs for reference. Output here is unobtrusive.

### Console.Write

The Console.Write method is used to output any information of any of 17 types (for instance, boolean, integer, single) on to a line without taking a new line.

Below is a sample write command:

VB.NET
Console.Write("Hello world")
Console.Write("This is a test")


### Console.WriteLine

The Console.WriteLine method is used to output some text and take a line break after it. This way multiple outputs do not get mixed up as easily as shown above.

VB.NET
Console.WriteLine("Hello world")
Console.WriteLine("This is a test")


## Dialog based output

Dialog based output such as message boxes tends to be obtrusive output - it breaks execution of the program.

### MsgBox

One of the simple forms of output is to use MsgBox which simply takes up to three arguements as follows:

MsgBox(prompt As String, [Buttons As MsgBoxStyle] [title As String])

The prompt parameter is used to contain a message as a string and title is an parameter. Below is a sample:

VB.NET
MsgBox("Hello world")


The other option that was given was the Buttons option. This option is used to specify how the message box looks. Below is a table showing all types of message box. All samples are from Windows 7.

ParameterSample
MsgBoxStyle.AbortRetryIgnore
MsgBoxStyle.ApplicationModal
MsgBoxStyle.Critical
MsgBoxStyle.DefaultButton1
MsgBoxStyle.DefaultButton2
MsgBoxStyle.DefaultButton3
MsgBoxStyle.Exclamation
MsgBoxStyle.Information
MsgBoxStyle.MsgBoxHelp
MsgBoxStyle.MsgBoxRight
MsgBoxStyle.MsgBoxRtlReading
MsgBoxStyle.MsgBoxSetForeground
MsgBoxStyle.OkCancel
MsgBoxStyle.OkOnly
MsgBoxStyle.Question
MsgBoxStyle.RetryCancel
MsgBoxStyle.SystemModal
MsgBoxStyle.YesNo
MsgBoxStyle.YesNoCancel

### MessageBox

The MsgBox method is quite limited, whereas the MessageBox class is more feature rich and customisable. One of the lacking features of the MsgBox method is that it does not support both an icon and special buttons.

As MessageBox is a more powerful class rather than a simple predefined shorthand function it does not work the same way and provides much more features. The following sample illustates this.

VB.NET
MessageBox.Show("Hello world!", "Sample program", MessageBoxButtons.YesNoCancel, MessageBoxIcon.Warning, MessageBoxDefaultButton.Button1)


Both of these dialog outputs return a DialogResult as a result, which means using an if statement, the result can be used to determine what events happen on each button.

## Other output styles

There are other ways of outputting information such as directly putting the information on to the user interface through the use of a control such as a Label or ListBox.

• Create a program that displays the same sentence on both the console and on a dialog.
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