12.1 Introduction: Learning the basics of programming Programming can be an enormously complex and difficult activity. Or it can be quite straightforward. In either case, the basic programming concepts remain the same. This tutorial is an introduction to a handful of programming constructs that apply to any “third generation” language, not only Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Strictly speaking, the language that is included with Access is not Visual Basic—it is a subset of the full, stand-alone Visual Basic language (which Microsoft sells separately). In Access version 2.0, the subset is called “Access Basic”. In version 7.0, it is slightly enlarged subset called “Visual Basic for Appli-cations” (VBA). However, in the context of the