In Visual Basic , application code is compiled into p-code (or psuedo code) . This is a step between  high level instructions used in Visual Basic and the low level code your computer uses.

By default all applications in VB are compiled as native code executables this means you can use several optimization techniques if you wish. You set these options in the Compile panel in the project properties dialog box.

To get this dialog box follow these steps

• click on the Project menu
• click on the Project Properties command
• In the Project Properties dialog box click on the Compile tab

Here is the dialog box you should see

Here is a description of the options available

Optimize for fast code maximizes the speed of the executable by instructing the compiler to favour speed over size.
Optimize for small code minimizes the size of the executable by instructing the compiler to favour size over speed
No optimization disables all optimizations
Favor pentium pro allows certain code to work better on Pentium pro computers but these dont work so well on 386 , 486 or pentium computers
Create symbolic Debug info creates debugging info in the executable , you can then debug the executable with a suitable debugging tool .