4 comments about Pocket PC Database Development with eMbedded Visual Basic.

1. I first heard about this book a few month ago from Rob Tiffany and was very enthuisiastic and happy to hear it was in development since eVB really needs a book dealing with database programming. I received my copy of the book last week (Aug 1st 2001) and was very impressed. The book is concise, with the chapters and content laid out in a succinct and logical manner making for an easy read. Rob discusses the limitations and approach to Pocket SQL from both a data definition and data manipulation perspective. He also discusses the architectural framework required to build Pocket Access based applications from a practical "this is what will work" point of view; for example how to address the infamous ADOCE connection memory leak. The book rounds out with the construction of a graphical eVB application which you can use to manage Pocket Access databases on your Pocket PC. If you are starting out using eVB and Pocket Access this book is a must have in your library!



2. If you are a serious developer, more sooner than later you'll need databases and this book gives you a quick start on how to develop them, with the enclosed examples you get answers on (almost) everything, chapter 7 has a good DB Manager, which is worth the money all by itself. You'll be developing databases, even on the road, quicker than others can prepare instant coffee. Only thing that's missing is a review of Pocket SQL and how to develop networked databases, but for that you can get: Developer's Guide With Microsoft Embedded Visual Basic and you are all set. Both books together cover it all, but this one is the easiest and very comprehensive for all kinds of tasks, don't miss it, it's a two thumbs up.



3. Othe 250 pages of this book there may be 30 pages of actual content about doing database programming with eVB. The rest is padding built with incredibly drawn out tutorials on basic SQL.



4. This is a great book if you want to start programming eVB and ADOCE. The book walks you through a complete "Pocket Access" Database Manager that you will be able to complete at the end of the book. You will learn everything that is required to create and manage databases, menus, SQL, etc. I gave it just 4 stars because it cover the basics, which is good, but doesn't go deeper in detail. The reading is easy and makes you want to read more. Now that eVB is not supported in the new operating systems (Pocket PC 2003, Win CE .NET) you should go for his other book using Microsoft Server CE.

1 comments about How to Program Microsoft Visual Basic: Scripting Edition.

1. This is a basic-level book for beginners without ANY programming experience according to its introduction. However, its section on introducing programming contains examples in Perl and C++. These languages are casually referred to and used as examples, which is unhelpful and confusing to the beginner just starting with VBScript as their first programming language. Also, the actual VBScript code presented does not work -- a major flaw. If you're a beginner, get VBScript for Dummies or Active Server Pages for Dummies and start with something that will actually make sense.

5 comments about Special Edition Using Visual Basic 6.

1. I have used this book as an additional reference for the class that I took on Programing VB, as the original class book was very badly written. This book really starts from the beginning of what we need to know about the vb programing environment to some new aspects of programing used in VB. The book starts with smaller examples of how we can create a calculator, etc. There are many more as such examples in the book (more complex ones of course as we proceed to further chapters). Also each concept of the programing is clearly defined and explained. THere are really many concepts covered such as database programing, General common Pogram components such as Microsoft common controls, ActiveX Controls, Classes, Also there are some more intermediate advance topics such as accesing win. API, Using OLE, then there are also chapters covered on VB in the internet... I have found VB a very easy to use programing langauge after reading this book. It is very easy to read, with many visual representations which makes it much easier to understand.

   The index of the book is quite good, as we actually can find what we are looking for. It doesn't have very many advanced topics but I would recommend it for every beginner and intermediate user. I think it would be of great help.




2. I had been worked with VB a little before, then I got this book and it's....WOOOOAOAOAOAAAH! It gives a great base to the language, and something on its subset (VBScript/VBA/ASP).

   The book does get through a lot of things linked to the language, its components and things like that. However if someone wants to get 'professional' about a detail (eg: WinSock), one has to look elsewhere. This said, the background provided by this book makes understanding these 'extras' an easy thing.

   Having access to M$'s MSDN is an extra help (in this, and any M$ language/sytem), for refering to API's and 'hidden' details.




3. I had to buy this book for school. At the time I knew how to program a little already, and was quite disappointed by this book. For a programmer, the index is almost more important than the content. The index takes up about 4 pages. Also, this book is very heavy and bulky being packed with 860 or so thick weight pages. There are many better books to learn programming from. This was the worst programming book I've owned, and I've owned more than 50 or so.



4. thats all you will get from this book. I was forced to purchase this book for a programming class and found that this book by far, has to be the worst book ever! If you are looking for sample code, you wont find it here. The industry standard for programming books normally follows: 1) concept is introduced, then 2) the code is given to show the implementation of the concept.

   HOWEVER: this book will go into detail for about 3 or 4 paragraphs on a concept, then show you three lines of code. A similar scenario: Hey, let me describe my girlfriend to you - she is beautiful, long hair, etc, etc, then i draw a stick figure on a sheet of paper ... and you are supposed to completely understand how she looks and is as a person. Cant be done! (That was ME being SARCASTIC!) Just dont waste your time with this book. Period.




5. I am a very VB 6 programmer and this was my first book on VB.
   I have found the book extremely helpful as it is written in such a way that it completely fits the visual basic concept of abstraction. All unnecessary details are omitted with only relevant and most useful information summarized in each lesson. This is one of my favourite books as it provides guidelines for use of almost all important concepts for VB product development.

5 comments about Build Your Own PC Game in Seven Easy Steps: Using Visual Basic.

1. "Build Your Own PC GAme in Seven Easy Steps Using Visual BASIC" is an impressive title and worthy of many a purchase. Though it requires use of the as-of-present somewhat dated VB3 or VB4, it nonetheless provides a helpful perspective on game development in Visual BASIC. If one owns a copy of VB, it is undoubtedly a enjoyable title and even if one doesn't carry a strong interest in game programming it provides for a refreshing event. Though it lacks in some areas, such as consistent mispelling\errors, and can produce some overly-simplistic samples, it nonetheless is a good sprint that will allow one to develop quality text-based programs, graphic arcade style fighteres, or graphic RPG style adventures. Highly recommended!



2. I bought this book hoping to find some information on how to build a game engine that would allow me to move sprites on a tile based backround, which is done by a function called BitBlt, although this book did have some info on Bitblt it was not alot, and most of the book only showed you how to write text based games with minor graphics. If you want to program games dont use Visual Basic, use a better laungage like VC++, and surely dont use this book! Try to find a copy of the Black Art of VB Game Programming, I did buy that book and with it I could make some ok games with VB, But DONT USE THIS BOOK



3. I'm part way thru the book, and so far its good for beginners. Even tho it is dated (1996), most of the concepts are valid. As a programming teacher, one thing does irritate me: the persistent misuse of the word "programming" when the author means coding. Programming is creating the logic, coding is translating that logic into code. Many students come into class able to code, but almost none come in able to program -- that is, create the logic. They think sitting down and making spaghetti code is programming. The author, as many authors and teachers do, promotes this confusion with his misuse of terms. This lapse makes it so much harder for novices to learn to program. But I was glad to see him emphasize "plan", even with the terms confused. Otherwise, good book for basic game concepts.



4. If you can see the cover of the book at the top of this page, It includes a picture of a 3-Dimentional castle. Immediately, you'd think you can jump into the fine arts of "NEXT GEN" gaming. Not so. With this book, you will jump into the fine arts of "TEXT ADVENTUREs", which is mostly the main topic of this book. Although Text Adventures have their element of fun, these days you'd probably want graphics, right? Oh, sure this book gives some info on graphics, you can find the same info on the web. I'd recommend this book for people who are familiar with VB, and want to "Get Started" with game programming. Otherwise, keep looking.



5. I picked up this book thinking I'd be able to make the simplist of games. I was wrong. This book dumps alot of code at you in big klumps and mainly teaches stuff how to organize the game, instead of game-specific stuff. The BitBlt and MCI stuff is nice, but most of it can be found on the web.

No comments about Advanced Visual Basic.Net (3rd Edition).

No comments about Advanced Programming in Microsoft Basic.

5 comments about Microsoft Visual Basic Design Patterns (Microsoft Professional Series).

1. it's a good book, the author tries to explain how you can implement in VB 6.0 the patterns exposed in "Design Patterns" bible. He also explain the limits of VB, how a "workaround" can be done, the book has many examples, good explained code. I recommend this book to everybody that might need a design pattern solution with VB 6.0. What i wonder, will be there a 2nd edition of this book, updated with the new features of new coming VB 7.0 which (as Microsoft says) will be 100% obect oriented?



2. The author acknowledges Gamma et al for their brilliant `Design Patterns' book and recommends that we read it (there are 23 patterns described there). I could not agree more, as the introduction to patterns found there is far superior to the one in this book.

   To take advantage of most design patters in VB, one has to tweak them a bit so as to cater for the lack of some OO features in the language. It is exactly that that this book aims to fulfil. Chapter 2 (30 pages) provides an excellent description of VB's OO limitations and how to overcome them. The main points are further reiterated as necessary while describing the patterns in chapters 4-14.

   10 patterns are described, 7 taken/based on the Gamma (Adapter, Bridge, Proxy, Factory Method, Prototype, Singleton and State). The other 3 are: Object By Value (a serialisation pattern), Repository (persisting object state to a data store) and Event Service (alternative to the Event mechanism that is based on connectable objects). Although each pattern is described in detail, Stamatakis uses a derivative of OMT for class diagrams and his own notation for sequence diagrams; personally, I found his diagrams hard to follow and also inaccurate. In addition, his writing style proves his claim that he is a developer first and a writer second. On the upside, for each pattern he provides a mini application with code on CD, which is a great idea and very useful.

   Finally, a good job was done at describing further insights on the effects of each pattern to COM components. There is good stuff in this book...if only the writing style and notation were friendlier...




3. This book is a rare find, especially by Microsoft Press. This is VB coding taken to the next level. Perhaps very useful for the .NET strategies coming up (we'll see what the final 'OO' implementation is like). This way of coding, shown by wonderful examples, is almost the exact opposite of every other way you've been taught to code in VB but it will make you think and understand why JAVA gets all the press these days.

   It's a great source for inspiration to pull you out of normal 'down & dirty' VB coding.




4. If you want to learn about design patters, read "Design Patterns Explained: A New Perspective on Object-Oriented Design by Alan Shalloway & James R. Trott" (ISBN: 0201715945 ).

   This book does very little to explain anything to a level useful for neophytes; instead, it's got a few examples of how to use VB to implement a few of the more common design patterns. The best thing I can say about this book is that it's an easy (although light) read.

   Also, I had hoped that the CD would contain the text of the book itself (like the great Balena book, which I read more from CD than from paper because it's so useful), but the CD simply contains some sample apps that are marginally useful at best. (yawn)




5. Well, the title of my review pretty much says it all. I read the whole thing in one sitting, and haven't looked at it again. I didn't really learn anything about visual basic that I didn't know before. Perhaps later, after I read a book that actually teachs you visual basic - I may go back to it for some pointers.

   This book can easily be overlooked with no ill-effect...

No comments about Basic Applied to Circuit Analysis (Merrill's international series in electrical and electronics technology).

5 comments about Introduction to Programming Using Visual Basic 5.0, An.

1. I have 4 books , Visual Basic in 24 hours Visual Basic in 21 days,Beginning Visual Basic, Visual Basic night school, non of them teach you at all about programming fundamentals. Thanks to the author David I. Schneider . his book have first 4 chapters about programming fundamentals.And i find its very good for students at any level.



2. I have used this book to teach a Visual Basic class. This book seems to remember that programming with Visual Basic involves more than the graphics. It gives a number of exercises at the end of each chapter which is very useful for an instructor.



3. Contains many good examples while covering moderately complex concepts. Great for the beginner who wants to learn VB easily on their own. I used the book throughout college and now it makes a great reference in the job place.



4. This book is an excellent book for starters, who do not know anything about programming. I learnt a lot from this book. David is an excellent author. The book is very well written in simple english and has plenty and plenty of examples to learn from. I always look for books written by David I. Schneider, unfortunatley he wrote only two or three books so far.



5. This is a great book. It has everything you need to know about VB 5. Currently, I am using it as a reference for the MCP when I get to a term I do not remember or know.

1 comments about Programming Fundamentals Using Microsoft Visual Basic .NET.

1. I took a course in my local university but the price of the copies was 7 times more expensive than the original one I found here fully colored and almost brand new, I enjoyed much more that the other and was a very good deal what I got.