Файл VBP

.vbp files belong to the category of developer project files. They are plain-text, INI-style project manifests created and used by Microsoft Visual Basic 5 and Visual Basic 6 - the classic "VB6" environment.

What do .vbp files contain?

A .vbp file does not contain source code itself; instead it acts as a manifest that lists every file and dependency belonging to the project. Its first line declares the project type - for example Type=Exe, Type=OleDll, or Type=Control - followed by keyword=value pairs for each member file and external reference. Typical entries include:

• Form= lines pointing to .frm form files
• Module= lines pointing to .bas standard modules
• Class= lines for .cls class modules and UserControl= lines for .ctl user controls
• Reference= and Object= lines identifying ActiveX/COM components by GUID and version
• Compiler settings, the Startup object name, and the project Name

What are .vbp files used for?

Storing project configuration in .vbp files allows programmers to manage the resources used by an application. In the case of extensive applications there can often be even several hundred referenced files and components. The .vbp mechanism provides a convenient way to reverse changes made, update access paths to used resources, and add or remove member files from the project.

Use with newer editions of Visual Basic

Newer editions of Microsoft's Visual Basic - VB.NET and later - use .vbproj XML project files instead. These versions do not open .vbp files directly, but the Visual Studio upgrade wizard can convert a .vbp project to .vbproj format. Related .vbg group files can collect several .vbp projects into a multi-project workspace. The VB6 runtime is still distributed with current Windows versions for backward compatibility, so legacy .vbp-based codebases remain in active maintenance use.