5 comments about Learn to Program with Visual Basic 6.

1. Let me begin by saying that I'm the author, so let's get that out of the way.

   I'm posting here to point out that the book has a tremendous amount of support materials that have never been advertised. Each of my books has a support page containing a current list of errata, downloadable files (completed exercises from the book), extra links to extra materials I have written and my email address in the event you have problems. I also run a series of online classes so that if you would like to learn with me in a more structured setting, you can do that also. You can access those materials via this link

   http://www.johnsmiley.com/books.htm

   I should also say that this book isn't for everyone---and you can read through some of the other reviews posted here to see why and why not.

   I wrote this book for beginner level programmers, and the book is written in a unique style.

   You (and I) can thank the now defunct Wrox Publishing house for the style of the book that some people absolutely love and others (primarily hotshot programmers with lots of experience) hate. The book is written as if you are participating in an actual classroom---many people, particularly those learning on their own or in an Independent study setting find comforting.

   My thanks to the many people who have written to me to tell me how much they've enjoyed my books and how they have helped them achieve their goals of learning to program.

   John Smiley




2. I'm a hobbyist, not an IT professional, and have been programming in BASIC since I bought my first PC in the 70's. When I decided to tackle Visual Basic to write programs for Windows, I purchased five "how-to" books on the subject. Unfortunately for me, John Smiley's book was the last one I bought. If I had ordered "Learn to Program" first, I could have saved more than $100. This is a clear, concise, and sure-fire way for the beginner or experienced BASIC programmer to transition to the powerful yet simple language of Visual Basic. John Smiley's book easily allows the reader to understand the concepts of event driven programming and the differences from procedural driven programming. Consider it a "must have" for the novice with little or no programming experience.



3. If you are a busy person, you work a lot with programmers and you need a general understanding of programming, this is not the book for you.
   If you have time on your hands, and you want to learn VB, this could be the book for you.
   After I bought this book I realised I was fooled by the title. It should be called 'Programming in Visual Basic for beginners'. The point of this book is to teach you to program in VB6, not to teach you the basics of programming using VB as an example language. While I can understand that the verbose classroom approach may appeal to some, I found it patronising and time wasting. I eventually bought 'Sams Teach Yourself Beginning Programming in 24 Hours' by Greg Perry which gives a concise summary of programming basics, an overview of the most common languages, and exercises to drive home the lessons. Exactly what I was after.



4. After programming in various languages, such as C and Perl, and using the Win32 API to write Windows applications, my company bought the rights to a product built on VB and ActiveX. The Visual Basic language, which in my mind was relegated to "script kiddies" and fly-by-night vendors, had found its way into our hallowed halls.
   
   I found this book enlightening and very informative. John's treatment of the SDLC was very brief, yet helpful. Wheras most techical manuals border on mundane, this book was anything but boring. The "classroom" setting was a great medium to keep my attention page after page. It catered to the beginner in me, which was a relief.
   
   Some books will just gloss over functional parts of development tools. Not only does this book come with a working version of Visual Basic 6.0, John goes to great lengths to walk through the menu system, debugging functions, and certain control parameters.
   
   Each section in each chapter contains a discussion (this is the "classroom" converation part) about the exercises. I found that each exercise works as written in the book. At the end of each chapter is a Summary and a Quiz. The Quiz answers can be found at the back of the book, however, I found that some of the Quiz answers were wrong, but was glad I had enough knowledge from John's writing to recognize a wrong answer.
   
   If you have a desire to learn how to program, have some knowledge of windows operating system, and enjoy good stories, then this book is for you. Keep in mind that John only covers the tip of the iceberg. You will truly need another book to actually do anything more than create simple forms and process the "Click" event (read the book to see what I mean).



5. I have worked through the first 7 chapters of "Learn to Program with Visual Basic 6" written by John Smiley and published by Active Path with the latest reprint September 2001. I will finish the remaining 8 chapters in a few days.
   
   This is a good book to work through the uses of the basic VB6 controls.
   
   But the book is nearly useless for providing a quick way to understand VB6 code syntax. The VB6 program provided with the book has the HELP disabled. So, one is always "googling" to get syntax and examples. Plus, the program will not produce executable runtime VB applications.
   
   The cover states about the software "...including a fully working version of Microsoft Visual Basic..." I consider runtime and HELP to be an integral part of a *fully* working version.
   
   As to the title of this review, one should be be careful with which Smiley "Learn to Program..." book one is buying.
   
   But, I would buy again. Just wanted to let you know what you were getting.

5 comments about Serious ADO: Universal Data Access with Visual Basic.

1. This is a good book that explains the intimate details of ADO but the format of book leaves a little to be desired. On most pages the 3/4 of the page has the text and the left 1/4 of each page is blank or contains subheadings. There is no clear-cut separation between 1 subject and the next. While reading this book, if you do not pay close attention, the subject will change. The author clearly knows ADO and how to apply it to Visual Basic 6.0 but it appears that he repeats the text in several parts of the book especially in chapter 3 - RecordSets with SQL Data Sources. Maybe it was my imagination but several times I had a sense of Deju-Vu. Didn't I read about this earlier in the book? Chapter 4, 5, and 7 (Explicit Connections, Explicit Commands, and Disconnected RecordSets) are very good and you will want to read these chapters religously. Installation of the files on the CD caused some problems on my PC, which has Windows XP Home Edition. If you like Shakespeare, you'll like the examples in this book. Beware the Index is not in synchronization with the actual page numbers.



2. "Serious ADO" is written by Rob Macdonald, an independent software expert specializing in enterprise system design using Windows, COM(+), ADO, and MTS. The book is based on the authors real world database development experience. It is designed for intermediate to advanced Visual Basic developers. The book teaches how to use ADO to build component-based systems and web applications as well as traditional client server systems.

   The first part of the book is titled "ADO In Depth". It provides detailed coverage of ADO's components and how they work. Real world code examples are provided for better understanding of all concepts. Oracle and SQL Server are covered, including the major non-traditional data sources. Key concepts such as locking, transactions, connection pooling, and marshalling are covered.

   Part two is titled "ADO at Large". It explains how ADO is used in real world scenarios. Topics include advanced user interface creation, binding processes, Data Environment, and Microsoft Transaction Server. It shows how to use ADO to build components that benefit from MTS and COM+.

   If you are an intermediate to experienced Visual Basic database developer, then this book is a must.




3. I attribute this book with solidifying my ADO skills.
   
   It covers the standard topics I have found in other ADO texts as well as an introduction to more advanced concepts with a functional level of depth. So the information is not too cursory, nor too detailed.
   
   There is a good introduction to connecting to and using data warehouses. The coverage of hierarchical recordsets was also good. The coverage of the basics (connection, recordset, command, et. al.) pivoted around the 'devil is in the details' type of information, which, with ADO, is appropriate.
   
   Of all the ADO books I have read, I most highly recommend this one. It is not well suited for the absolute beginner (i.e., you don't know what a recordset is) or high-level expert, but it should be suited for anyone in between. It took me a while to get into this book, but I feel it paid off.



4. I have gone through this book time after time and there is no better ADO book. It covers it all.



5. with one flaw - the index is consistently off by a page or three. (a corrected index is available at apress.com)
   
   And, there is one caveat - this is NOT a book for the VB/database beginner. If you're just starting VB6 database programming, I would recommend Freeze's "Visual Basic 6 Database Programming Bible," instead.
   
   If you can live with the fact that you need to subtract a couple of pages from the page number in the index, then this book provides outstanding technical coverage of ADO. Now, it appears that Rob used ADO v2.5 for the code used in the book, and there have been some improvements to ADO (it is now at v2.8) which make a few of the timing comparisons, within ado now a bit obsolete. (some recordset operations are now more efficient than they were with v2.5, for instance,) but it this book is still my first, and usually only reference that I need to pull off the bookshelf.

1 comments about Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2003 Unleashed.

1. "Visual Basic .NET 2003" is a wonderfully organized, concise (despite its more than 1000 pages) book that acts both as a reference and an introduction to this fascinating area of programming. Through clear writing and thoughtful organization and layout, the authors clarify the foundations of the .NET framework and provide numerous illuminating code examples offering practical ways to use it.
   
   I investigated this book because I enjoyed other books in the "Unleashed" series. I found the reviewed volume helpful from its discussion of basic Windows forms, controls and events to its examination of COM interoperability, remoting and threads.
   
   If you are getting started in Visual Basic .NET and want to gain an overview of it and proficiency in it, this is the book to get.

1 comments about Learn Microsoft Visual Basic .NET In a Weekend (In a Weekend (Indianapolis, Ind.).).

1. I must say... THIS IS A GREAT BOOK! i am a vb6/asp developer and had some contact with vb.net before but couldnt quite understand some parts of it until i read this book. It set me on the right track to begin working with both asp.net and vb.net a must have for anyone who wishes to learn vb.net the right and quick way.

5 comments about Wrox's Visual C# 2005 Express Edition Starter Kit (Programmer to Programmer).

1. This book is written at a level appropriate for someone with a little previous experience programming in other languages. Although it is positioned as useful for a complete novice, it makes too many assumptions about the reader's understanding of programming concepts and vocabulary to really serve as a starting point for a first time programmer. Also, the many innaccurate figure references, typos, grammatical errors, mismatches between figures and the text describing them, etc., fail to inspire the confidence that someone new to programming would hope for when purchaing a book of this type. This is a shame, because the concept is a good one. A little more attention to editing would have gone a long way to making this a very good book.



2. Seems like a good book so far. But I'm only on page 5 and I have encountered syntax error after syntax error after syntax error, and typo after typo after typo. Don't these publishers bother to read their manuscripts before they send them to press? There are so many goofs I'm beginning to wonder if I can continue reading it since I am constantly tripping over the editing blunders.
   
   Psssst, Wrox (Wiley) ... programmers are brilliant people but they can't write English. They need help; that's where YOU come in. Get it?



3. This is a good starting point if you're new to C#. I have to agree with Glenn's review (above) as this book is very poorly edited and contains numerous errors. It's not hard to figure out what they are trying to say, but it's annoying nonetheless. I'll think twice before I buy another Wrox book.



4. The times for programming are so much more friendly to new comers. This book is wonderfully easy to ready, and beginner friendly. You don't feel like you're reading a textbook.
   
   I like that this book is so thin. It really didn't take long to get through this (perhaps because i've programmed already). it also covers using the tools to connect to SQL Server Express. But what's even cooler is that it demonstrates how to connect to web services.
   
   You also get the basics of the C# language. Which for C++ folks will be like sailing on a sunny day. But for new comers, will be straight forward.
   
   It's so easy. If students completely new to programming want a place to start (and want to program on Windows), get this book, it comes with Visual C# Express 2005 and SQL Server Express 2005 (so no high speed internet connection needed).
   
   Plus the author looks like a cool biker dude. :)



5. It's a very good book for beginners, with very interesting things to discover

5 comments about ADO.NET and ADO Examples and Best Practices for VB Programmers (Second Edition).

1. I did not read the first half of the book, which covers ADO, but the second half, on ADO.NET is great! The style is easy to follow, the examples make sense and there are almost zero proofreading errors (which makes the book a standout among programming books by itself). The code examples in the text, are minimal, but the CD has the complete code and more. The examples on the CD work (another standout feature). This book is not for a beginning programmer, but it very good for an experienced progammer trying to make the move to ADO>NET, it was the 6th book that I read on the subject and after reading it, I was able to go back to my other books and understand things that had not made sense the first time I read them.



2. Bill's work on data access is well known and has been for some time. But this work really shines - it's useful, practical, even enjoyable reading! Most importantly, it speaks to developers like me with an understanding of what we need to get things done.

   This is hands down the best of a considerable number of books on ADO .net.




3. The first half of the book is old technology (VB6), I was nervous when I ripped it open and began reading the first couple chapters... then I saw the second half is about ADO .NET or database programming for VB .NET (phew!). So, depending on what you're using 1/2 of the book will be useless for you. I happen to be going from VB6 to VB .NET. He explains through great detail and with surgical precision what things are, how to connect to stored procedures, all sorts but it's all based on datasets. For example, like most people my program has multiple forms. This book was useless on helping me re-use a connection. I began programming each form needing to open a connection when necessary each and every time. I figured out myself (after about 18 hours) how to use a connection from another form and had to scoff at how easy... but it's one of those things that takes forever until you get it. Another is binding controls in VB .NET. If in code I create the connections and dataset and I want a textbox to display the customer name, you won't find the answer in this book and I think that's basic stuff. The thought of having an example where you select a customer from a grid and display the info of that customer on labels or textboxes bound to the record is no where to be found in this book. I'd like to know how to update/delete them as well from those textboxes but as said previously the only control used in the entire VB .NET section is a datagrid, you'll know more about datagrids than you'll know what to do with and I think he should've branched it a little to other controls. Now, I'm searching on my own again on how to bind a dataset to a textbox.



4. First off, the first half of this book talks about working with ADO in VB6, scared me at first but the second half talks about ADO for VB .NET. So, right off the bat 1/2 of this book is most likely useless to you depending on what you use or want. Goes into great detail about gotcha's, speed, interesting methods like using stored procedures and how the dataset is handled and what to watch out for. My problems, he does not mention how to bind a control through code. For example, have a form that has a grid/listbox and when the user clicks on an element have it display more detailed info about that record in labels & textboxes which are bound to the record... won't find it here and that's like basic 101 stuff. Maybe you want a parent child record, with the parent in text boxes and labels, and the child to be a grid (sort of like the tutorial but a little more advanced since it too does not show textboxes/labels). No help here. Also, all his examples appear to be just single-form based. I wanted to know more about how to program connecting to a database across multiple forms. Why, I even wanted to create a single connection object and use it across multiple forms... or have a database application on multiple forms... another basic database example. No help found in the book, after 18 hours I finally crawled my way and found how to do it myself and how darn simple! But, if you don't know where to begin (this book was no help) it's difficult and tedious. Now that I know I'm kicking myself.

   In the end this book fulfilled me half way. I wanted to know how to program an application across multiple forms that connect to a database, how best to use the same connection object across those forms, and how to bind textboxes/labels through code and how to update, delete, and insert records that way. This book has left me in near utter darkness on how to do that. I wanted to know about parent/child relations and this book had very little to offer as far as I'm concerned in respect to examples (there's one). However I have a complete understanding of how to connect to a datasource, access columns, set up parameters, access stored procedures, and some knowledge of parent/child relations, some gotcha's of using the fill method, how to set filters, and sorts on the returned recordsets, and a good understanding of updating/deleting/inserting and how to intervene with those operations... also foreign constraints so that's why I give it an average rating.




5. Like all of Bill's work, this book kicks butt. If you do anything more than lightweigth ADO.NET programming, make sure you add this to your library

1 comments about FORTRAN 90 for Engineers and Scientists.

1. This book is a fairly easy and simple introduction to Fortran 90. It is well directed towards the beginner and the beginner will most definitely profit from buying this book. The example codes are well chosen and the exercises provide ample practice in learning the basics of the language. The book covers much of the Fortran 90 syntax and the language reference in the appendix is handy. Presentation wise it is well constructed with a bi-colour approach which is good and makes the concepts easy to grasp, especially for a textbook, as compared to a one colour layout like a book with black print all over.

5 comments about Developing Microsoft .NET Controls with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET (Pro Developer).

1. Goes very deep into building .Net controls including some licensing models and some encryption. However, it doesn't talk much about the why of coding. John Connell just tells you how to do it. He does not explain why you would use certain methods or components.

   So, if you wanted to know the "whys" of coding, this book is not for you.




2. If you think you know the framework, I suggest you take a look at Mr. Connell's book. He covers many undercovered areas in great detail. Isolated storage and encryption come to mind. In short, if you are looking for new material, I highly recommend this book. Its on a par with Mr. Connell's .Net Coding Techniques.



3. This was an excellent book for VB.NET Windows Applications (all examples were for windows, but the principals and some of the code would work for the web) in using Editors, Type Converters, Designers; a lot of the advanced topics.
   
   Talking directly about ASP.NET and mobile applications was lacking a lot, in my opinion, but overall still I thought it was a great book to teach more advanced topics useful at design time.



4. This book is unusual in that, in addition to providing you with the information you actually bought the book for, you get lots of information about some pretty obscure .Net topics. Even better (assuming you're an experienced VB Developer), he doesn't waste so darn much space taking up topics you're already sick of reading about (controlling program flow, what is a class, and the like). He also mentioned in passing a couple of little gems in the SDK that I was unaware of. Of course, if you're not an experienced developer, why are you buying a book on controls? (save your money!) So John Connell gets a dozen stars for content.
   
   The ugly: the book is poorly edited. There are a number of typographical errors, grammatical word omissions, etc. There are innumerable bugs in the book's code. There are also a number of omissions in the instructions, of a type such as instructing you to add a class without mentioning which component to add the class to, things like that. You'll want to get the download code from MSPress, so you can look at his code to see where he added a module, or whatever. Because I am an experienced developer, I found that the debugging required actually improved my learning (by keeping me awake), but I'm pretty sure an inexperienced programmer would get pretty frustrated. So: no stars to MSPress for the editing and testing of code! Bad job here, you guys, and considerably worse than the job you usually do.
   
   If you already know how to program, buy this book!



5. The book had no real vaulable informaiton for an ASP.NET programmer. The book similar to this, written in C#, is so much better even if you have to translate the C#. I do not recommend this book if you're working in the ASP.NET environment. I can not speak to WinForms and this book, but the C# book will work fine for both environments.

2 comments about .NET 2.0 for Delphi Programmers.

1. As someone who used to use Delphi almost all the time, I hate to admit that in order to stay employable today, I'm having to know and use .NET. If you find yourself in the same situation, and you want a fast-track to .NET 2.0, then this book is at the top of the list.
   
   It's the single most used book in my collection today when it comes to .NET.
   
   At first, I read it cover to cover. It's not hard reading like some books can be, and it made sense to me since I know Delphi.
   But with Jon's writing style, it's organized in a way that I reach for it when I need a quick reference as well.
   
   It comes with special tidbits about the inner workings of the CLR, which I always find fascinating.
   
   I keep it at the front of my bookshelf. I've had other programmers that C++ guys come by and ask to use it. So you don't need to know Delphi to make good use of it. Borland C++ Builder users will find it an easy read as well since Builder is built on Delphi.
   
   Five thumbs up for this one. Well done Jon!



2. The best way to go from Delphi to Net Framework. Use the Delphi skill to learn Net.

5 comments about Outlook 2000 VBA Programmers Reference.

1. This is the best book I've seen on the subject. Very well organized and clear. If you're programming Outlook you need this book.

   Here's a tip. Use VBA whenever possible, rather than the VB Script available on the Outlook forms. The book shows you how to program for events such as the addition of a new item or changing an item. You can avoid VB Script programming on the forms this way.




2. Before this book was available, I used the Outlook Help files as a reference for objects, methods, properties and events. Anyone who has used the Outlook Help files knows how prone they are to errors, so this book was a welcome edition to my collection. I use it so regularly, that the spine on my copy has already has a crease.



3. Very Informative. I highly recommend this book. I was able to get the information I needed very easily.



4. This book was awesome! I used it to help me write VBA code to connect our SQL 7 database to the Outlook Calendar. As staff members update the SQL database, the information will show in individual calendars as soon as Outlook is started up!!! I also plan to use it generate Task Lists from the database. There aren't many books written on Outlook VBA so if you are looking for some answers start here first!!!



5. Since there doesn't seem to be any plan to update this book for XP, 2003 or 2007, this is still the definitive tome on programming with Outlook VBA. An excellent desktop reference, although it reads more like a dictionary than a true book, but for a straight up list of Outlook constants, it cannot be beat. If you program in Office VBA you must own this book.