VB stands for Visual Basic, and VBA stands for visual basic for applications. The core difference between the two is that VB can make stand-alone executables, while VBA is a deal with programming in office applications such as Word and Outlook. VB is fully compiled, while VBA is partially compiled. Visual Basic is a third-generation event-driven computer language from Microsoft. Visual Basic was intended for an easy learning curve, and programmers can produce both simple and complex GUI applications. Visual Basic for Applications is an application of Microsoft's virtual Basic. VB is no longer championed or updated by Microsoft, and the VBA programming language was updated ten years ago. This version enables building user-defined functions.