5 comments about Ivor Horton's Beginning Visual C++ 2005 (Programmer to Programmer).

1. I learned C from Ivor Horton and i liked his style.But this book is not good in my opinion for a few reasons.First half of the book is talk about standar t and and cli c++ but not in detail.Second half of the book is about MFC and WinForms but again i do not find them enough.It is very hard to follow the examples about MFC and WinForms and i couldnt manage to get to the end of them because of compiling errors and i was very bored.Putting all the things in just a book : ansi c++,c++/cli,databases,mfc,winforms is not useful at all.



2. This book is and has everything you need to learn VC++ and MFC. It takes you through every step to get you on track.



3. I own many programming books and I code in many languages. I need a book that cuts through the idle chatter and lets me get to work. Ivor Horton's book is well organized and follows a format of: topic, example, explanation. The examples are good real-world examples and the explanations are easy to follow.



4. I found this book of little or no use. When a buy a book that is this big (1180 pages) you think, "Wow this thing is so big it must be the one." I am more and more of a mind that programming books that are bloated are just poorly thought out. I would not recommend this book to anyone.



5. This is a great book. However, the chapters are long and can be boring.
   
   Also, if you hate math then you might be a little annoyed at all the simple exercises using basic math. Maybe, if Ivor Horton referenced food instead .. hmmmm.
   
   One other downer about this book ... as you get more advanced you will find yourself working on only one example. The author should have used new examples in each chapter to help the learning experience.
   
   I've found that if you work with one example and someone misses something along the way ... they will have difficulty as they progress.
   
   Other than that ... this is a great book and very well written. You will definitely learn a lot reading this tutorial.
   
   I would definitely recommend this book to anyone!

1 comments about Visual Basic 2008 Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach (Recipes: a Problem-Solution Approach).

1. I was looking for a good summary of threading for a current project and this book provided the code I needed. It is one of the best books I have seen that explains the examples and concepts in well-tested fashion. Too many times I have bought books where the examples don't run on the latest software or they are written by C# programmers who don't know VB. Although some of the samples are trivial, the book is a great reference from anyone doing daily VB 2008 programming. My only complaint is that I wish the source code for the examples was available on a website or CD. You can cut-and-paste the code from the ebook, but it is a bit cumbersome.

3 comments about Microsoft Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition: Build a Program Now! (PRO-Developer).

1. I've tried several MS press books in the past and found them not really very useful. I'm from the Java side and familiar with the concepts and approaches for .NET, but have never used any Visual Studio based products directly.
   
   This book was perfect for my needs. I was able to get the Express C# package up and running quickly and build out the projects in the book in about a week. I thought the level was perfect for me. Just the right mix of hand holding and intro to most of the general concepts. I think MS did a great job with this book and also with the packaging of the Express Edition software.
   
   For a very small investment (dollars and time) one can get a great feel for the MS development environment with this book.



2. I purchased this book on an impulse thinking that it covered Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition only to find out later (on page viii of the Introduction) that the book was written based on the prerelease software. Specifically, it was based on the November 2007 release candidate version of VB 2008 Express. It didn't mention this anywhere on the front or back cover of the book.
   
   I have read the first few chapters and it appears to be an okay book considering that its a MSPress book. Still, I do not care for books written based on beta or release candidate software because something always ends up different when the software is finally released. Burying this information on the 8th page of the book is bad form.



3. It's a very cool book, if you don't know anything about visual basic this is the book you should buy, but if you have some skills in visual basic look for another book

No comments about LINQ Pocket Reference (Pocket Reference (O'Reilly)).

5 comments about Introduction to Programming Using Visual Basic 2005, An (6th Edition).

1. This book is, almost, total garbage. Only reason why I bought the book is becuase my course requires it. In the book, author talks about one thing, then all of a sudden you are faced with a new concept, and 2 lines later, another concept. I was very dissapointed becuase the key terms sometimes,or never, are not clearly explained and leaves you in frustration and deep anger.



2. I really must take issue with the contributor who described this book as garbage.
   Having decided to learn programming on my own,I tried several "beginners" books without much success. I could complete most of the projects offered by these books which were, by and large, well intended and well-written. And yet... somehow I never really got to grips with the language. That is - until I bought David Schneider's book. Sure its old fashioned but, in my opinion, thats one of its major strengths. It lays down a solid programming foundation following a logical well-established pattern. The best way to learn programing is by doing and there is an abundance of graded exercises to complete to ensure the message really sticks.
   I can't understand why Dietel'a book on this subject is so popular. Yes it's good - but not as good as this one!
   .



3. same as the person said "this book is a garbage" he is right, this book is really a garbage.
   it's explanation is so terrible you can not believe.
   it says thing that it doesn't even mention on the previous pages.
   for example text alignment.
   one practice this book as you do do some text alignment, i was going crazy about that. i say "WHAT"
   i try to search thought the entire chapter about text alignments, there is nothing there.
   i just gave up on it.
   THERE ARE MANY MANY PARTS THAT AUTHOR DIDN'T REALLY EXPLAIN IT WELL.
   practice is awful, there is no help at all, he tell you to do something that he didn't even mentioned in the book.
   so i STRONGLY BE CONSIDER DON'T BUY THIS BOOK, UNLESS YOU HAVE A GOOD TEACHER TO TEACH YOU HOW TO PROGRAM IN VISUAL BASIC. MY TEACHER HE DIDN'T TEACH MUCH EITHER, HE ONLY SHOW YOU THE TEXT, WITHOUT EXPLAIN HOW U DO IT. "I WLL DROP THIS COURSE AND TRY TO TAKE ON ANOTHER TIME"



4. the book was brand new and i got it at almort 1/3 the price at the bookstore at school! It was a great investment!



5. You can buy this book learn a lot of useful VB.NET stuff especially if you are a newbie.
   Or like me you can buy all the other newbie books on VB.NET and when you get stuck with concepts like events, and advanced stuff in OOP, buy this book and learn it thoroughly. Quite contrary to some of the poor reviews you wont need a second instructor to learn VB.NET from this book. After reading this book, I was looking on amazon for other computer books by the same author. I found this book so much useful...

1 comments about Sams Teach Yourself Visual Basic 2008 in 24 Hours: Complete Starter Kit (Sams Teach Yourself -- Hours).

1. I would classify myself as a "hobby" programmer. I enjoy programming, but aside from a few courses taken years ago, I have little formal training. I frequently write programs for myself, my clients, and my friends (I'm a computer technician). Although I know a little about OOP (object-oriented programming), I find it to be overkill for many of the programs I like to write. Most of the time good, old-fashioned procedural programming does the trick, and although maybe if I choose to revisit my code twenty years from now, I will regret not having laid out my code using a proper class hierarchy, I sort of doubt it.
   
   If the preceding paragraph somewhat describes you as well, you may enjoy this book. To me, it takes VB2008 and makes it simple and enjoyable like VB6. The author, James Foxall, doesn't try to cover everything, but he covers enough to be able to actually use VB2008 to solve real problems, and along the way he teaches the fundamentals of Visual Basic (even a blessedly short chapter on custom classes).
   
   When done, you can use VB2008 to: develop and use forms (dialog boxes), manipulate the objects that VB and .NET provide, work with the keyboard, manipulate graphics within your own windows, manipulate files and directories, read/write text files, databases, and the registry. You can use automation to manipulate other applications, and even package your creation for distribution using Microsoft's "ClickOnce" technology.
   
   The book is a good size, large enough to cover major areas, but not so large as to intimidate. I only wish there was more coverage of common .NET classes such as the print / print previewing classes. Overall, I would say this is a great book for all us old VB6 types wanting to "modernize."

4 comments about ADO.NET 3.5 Cookbook (Cookbooks (O'Reilly)).

1. (Full Disclosure: I was a tech reviewer for this book and received a free copy)
   
   I've been using the various incarnations of Microsoft data access technologies for quite some time and have been using ADO.NET for a few years, so I wondered whether I was going to learn anything new from this book. It covers all of the territory to get started (connection strings, basic usage of ADO.NET classes, etc.), but what I really appreciated was that it topics that advanced ADO.NET users would find useful and I certainly learned a few new tricks.
   
   The topic on writing provider and database independent code (Section 10.22) which covers how to do it right if you are targeting .NET 1.1 (which we do) was particularly useful to me. Chapter 10 (Optimizing .NET Data Access) is just generally a good chapter no matter what your level and covers asynchronous SQL calls (executing and cancelling), ASP.NET data caching, paging queries, SQL Server stored procedure debugging and more.
   
   Since my job was to actually run every code snippet, I can vouch for their quality. Most are built off the AdventureWorks sample database that comes with SQL Server Express, so they are ready to run. The rest come with full DDL to create what you need (databases, stored procedures, etc), and the code and SQL is available online so you don't have to type it in.



2. I received a copy of this book from the publisher for a review by a "technical expert". I really liked how the book was laid out with a problem-solution-reasoning approach (known as a recipe). Each one was generally useful for those unaware of how to do things in ADO.NET. The examples were short and too the point. The topics were quite varied so just about everyone will find something in this book. In particular the recipes on getting schema information programmatically will really benefit a lot of people because it is neither common nor easy.
   
   I had only a few complaints about the book. The first complaint is with the title. It says ADO.NET v3.5 but in reality almost all the recipes cover any version of ADO.NET from v2 on. This might cause some people to shy away from the book. This book is really for anybody using ADO.NET.
   
   This leads me to the second complaint. There really was no 3.5 content mentioned. LINQ and SQL 2008 were mentioned a few times but they aren't specific to ADO.NET v3.5. LINQ itself seemed out of place for the topic.
   
   The final complaint I had was that the recipes are mostly designed to be copy and pasted into working code. The code samples don't really follow what I would consider an appropriate pattern for professional code. Therefore simply copy/paste will cause more problems than not. It really would have required no additional lines of code and would not have complicated things to have "done it right". Still this seems to be standard practice for most technical books so I can't harp too much.
   
   Overall I recommend this book for anyone who works with (or will) ADO.NET of any version.



3. The 'ADO.NET 3.5 Cookbook' is a great resource for every .NET database developer out in the world. With 950+ pages of content you will not be reading thin, as this goodies book comes with 222 tidbits of information that will help you in your everyday work.
   
   Subjects covered include:
   
   - connecting to a variety of data sources
   - working with disconnected data objects (datasets)
   - querying data
   - executing functions and stored procedures
   - using LINQ
   - searching and filtering data
   - adding and updating data
   - copying/transferring data
   - database integrity
   - binding data to web forms
   - XML data
   - optimizing .NET data access
   - debugging stored procedures
   - doing batch updates
   - enumerating SQL servers
   - SQL Server CLR integration
   
   I feel that is an outstanding companion book for .NET database developers that are looking for a resource that specifically outlines tasks into a neat, organized manner. Instead of thumbing through a book to figure out a particular way to do something, these common tasks and questions are broken up for ease of use and efficiency. If you are a .NET DB developer you definitely owe it to yourself to add this great book to your collection of technical books immediately.
   
   ***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED



4. [Also posted on my blog: http://msmvps.com/blogs/luisabreu/archive/2008/06/11/book-review-ado-net-3-5-cookbook.aspx]
   After several days, I've finally finished reading this book. This is really a very complete book wit lots and lots (and lots!) of examples. It's fair to say that it covers most (if not all) ADO.NET related scenarios (I'm an SQL Server user but if you're into Oracle then it also has several examples that show how to use ADO.NET and Oracle).
   
   I do have one complaint though: chapter 8. Currently, I'll personally "hurt" anyone that is working on the same project as me and that uses ADO.NET objects on window forms or ASP.NET front ents! Ok, I'm not violent, so I wouldn't really hurt anyone :) serioulsy, don't use ADO.NET objects on your UI.
   
   Having said this, I still recommend it (specially if you're working with ADO.NET).

5 comments about Getting to Know ArcObjects (With CD-ROM).

1. When you outgrow this one, or if you already have some VB programming background, go for Programming ArcObjects with VBA: A Task-Oriented Approach, Second Edition, it is an excellent complement to this volume. Far more to learn there.



2. The best way to learn computer programming is by actually doing it, which makes this book great. Each chapter starts with an explanation of a new concept, such as looping or subroutines, then there are 2 or 3 exercises that demonstrate the concept and use what you have learned. One minor problem is the lack of large chunks of code. Most of the code in the book is just small snippets of code, and that makes it difficult to learn about the overall structure of the whole program, because all you see is 5 or 6 lines of code at a time. But this is only a minor problem. I don't like VBA, but I have to learn it for a GIS class, and this is a great book to learn from.



3. This book is easy to follow and understand even having little computer programming experience. The "Cookbook" style exercises make it easy to create your own modifications to ArcGIS. Great book!



4. My Major is GIS. But it is my first time to learn arcObject. I think it is good for my starting with its example and theories.



5. This book is a great overview of not only ArcObjects but component programming as well. The text is to the point. The tutorial examples are short and put together well to illustrate the topic. The amount of material and exercises for each topic are just right. The writing style is very approachable. I really enjoyed going through the book and tutorials.
   
   This book may not be for someone who does not know Visual Basic very well. I would not consider this an intro to VB or programming. It is as the title says - getting to know ArcObjects. Examples revolve around customization of ArcMap and ArcCatalog. Does not cover ArcGIS server or ArcGIS Engine.

1 comments about VBA and Macros for Microsoft Office Excel 2007 (Business Solutions).

1. This book was very helpful for some projects that I needed to accomplish with Excel & VBA. Some of the chapters were extremely enlightening in seeing the big picture of using VBA with Excel and other MS Office applications. Other chapters are excellent resources that I will refer to many times in the future. I would recommend this book for both the beginner (in using VBA) as well as the experienced VBA user.

5 comments about Programming Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: The Language (Pro Developer).

1. I based my purchase of this book on the reviews on it, and I must say that they were accurate. This book is an exceptionally good means for an experienced programmer to learn how to program in Visual Basic 2005. Assuming one already is familiar with typical program mechanisms and mindsets, this book allows you to immediately become effective without wasting time discussing elementary concepts.
   
   I should also add that the writing of the book is pleasant, the proofing very well done, and the overall appearance is quite nice. There aren't many books that get 5 stars but this is one.



2. Visual Basic appeared more than 15 years ago as a tool to define quick prototypes and develop GUI applications with ease. Its development environment, which the language was literally blended in, was remarkably easy to use. I remember those good old days when a fellow colleague of mine showed me how to draw VB forms and in less than an hour after I was already developing a new GUI application.
   
   Visual Basic has gone through a long way since then. The language is nowadays a powerful, complex, potent medium to develop sophisticated applications. In fact, Visual Basic.NET is virtually on par with C#.
   
   "Visual Basic 2005: The Language" by Francesco Balena tries to show - in a gentle yet dense manner - the long way that VB has pursued over the years and well as the current state of affairs. It succeeds on both counts.
   
   The book is divided in four bigs parts:
   1) The Basics - which introduces the reader to what Visual Basic.NET is all about, with explicit references to the differences between VB6 and VB.NET (very useful for VB6 programmers).
   2) Object Oriented Programming - which presents the OOP support in VB.NET. This section is important because VB.NET departs from the old OOP support and gets more in line with the .NET paradigm.
   3) Working with the .NET Framework - which may be seen as a natural continuation of the previous part in the context of the .NET framework.
   4) Advanced Topics - which tackles how advanced .NET elements (like attributes) get handled in VB.NET as well as what VB.NET is still better than, say, C# (namely the interop with COM and Automation).
   
   The book is truly monumental in form and dense in content. The style is slightly verbose but this adds value: you cannot skip pages without losing valuable information and in such conditions reading a book of this size is quite a task.
   
   As an added bonus, the author presents several mini-projects that are in fact mini how-to tutorials: how to build a plug-in for WinForms, how to develop a n-tier application. Without the generosity of Mr. Balena you'd have to buy an extra book for an introduction in such useful stuff.
   
   "Visual Basic 2005" has several minor drawbacks, though:
   1) The remarks showing the differences between VB6 and VB.NET are scattered throughout the text. For a VB6 programmer this is difficult to follow and for a non-VB6 programmer this is slightly annoying. Perhaps Mr. Balena should have dedicated a special chapter to those differences and then forget about them.
   2) The book does not say much about all the other .NET languages, as if VB.NET is the only .NET language under the sun. In fact, .NET diminishes the differences between languages without making them identical. This is not apparent from this book.
   3) The book does not say enough about what is specific to Visual Basic, besides syntax. Why would anyone want to program in Visual Basic.NET when you have C#? In my opinion, Visual Basic.NET is not going to go away any time soon especially because it retains those qualities of VB6 - a verbose and intuitive syntax, a loose typing system (perfect fit for Automation interop) as well as a slightly better exception catching mechanism. In my opinion, "Visual Basic 2005" does not elaborate enough on such necessary topics.
   
   Overall, the book is a must if you want to come up to speed with the Visual Basic language after years of programming in other languages. However, if you want to learn Visual Basic from scratch or if you want to use Visual Basic.NET for more "mundane" tasks - such as building WinForm applications - then this book is not for you.



3. The things I like about this book are that the topics it covers are very well done. It covers some of the trickier aspects like threading and regular expressions. Being an experienced programmer I like the fact that you can jump around in the book to just the aspects of the language that you are interested. I will warn the novice programmer that this is probably not a good starter book, but if you are ready for the material you will find that it has a good balance of code examples, and explanation.
   
   There are just a few spots in the code example where I can see a slightly better implementation, but if you are an experienced programmer this will not be difficult at all to see yourself.
   
   Last but not least, the appendix is one of the beefiest one's I have seen in ANY programming book. If there is anything I hate about tech books is a lousy appendix and this one is top notch.



4. I made an international request for this book and in the ship info they told me that the delivery of this item would be delayed... but it didn't. i got this book sooner than expected.
   
   it was a geat thing that i got this book before the estimated delivery date!!
   
   thanks
   amazon



5. I had a case dealing with Version Tolerant Serialization, after searching the web; they all came up short. I double checked the book later, and found the answer I needed. That 1 time more than paid for this book.