From LQWiki

Visual Basic is a programming language published by Microsoft. It has an internal syntax similar to the BASIC language, and heavily integrates with existing Microsoft technology, such as COM and ActiveX.

Visual Basic has the distinction of being one of the few languages that is exclusively tied into its development environment. Although it is theoretically possible to edit any source file, including form files, in any text editor, Visual Basic programmers always use an Integrated Development Environment, or IDE to edit the project. This integration with an IDE and an improved focus on ease of visual program design has made Visual Basic a very popular language, especially in the business software sector.