5 comments about Visual Basic 6 Client/Server Programming Gold Book: Building Better Enterprises and Departmental Environments.

1. Yikes! You browse through the first few pages on this book, and your interest is built up, because it pretends to be a comprehensive, state of the art review on the status of VB 6 as a development technology. It reads like it. You keep on reading, and the writing style throws you off completely. A topic is usually not developed well enough before the authors jump to the next one, and then the next, and sometimes back to the original one... it is pretty much like watching someone with ADHD browsing the Internet on Visual Basic topics. Code examples in the book are jumped straight into without much intro, and the ones in the CD have bugs in one or two of them.

   They want to cover so much so quickly, they take on so many interesting topics, and yet they mix them up so inconsistently that following this book through is almost impossible. A potentially great book, but terribly edited. reading it gave me a migraine. I'm trying to read it through again, but slowly, as to not get so frustrated, and with my word processor open in outline mode as to make sense of the mess. Too bad.




2. It is a good book for VB6. But the CD that came with my book is Visual Basic 6 Object Oriented Programming!.



3. This is an excellent book for experienced client/server developer. Author identified new concepts of database connectivity in VB6 and future trend. Reader who uses other database tools such as "PowerBuilder" will find this book useful if he or she wants to switch to VB6. It would be better if author gives more "step by step" instructions. This book is not recommended for new c/s developer.



4. The book has the worst explanations of programming concepts I have ever attempted to read and the CD-ROM is nearly worthless. You will be fortunate indeed if the examples work with your installation of VB6. Several of the examples that were to supposed to use a data control actually displayed a picture box and never did work as a data control. The only way that I could get them to work was to delete the picture boxes, add a data control and program it. For that I didn't need this book or the waste of my time trying to make the examples work. As a database programmer, I feel that the money spent on this book was a waste. I might as well have burned the money for warmth.



5. ... and hope it will never see the light of day again. This is one of the worst books on programming that I've ever read. The examples are terrible, and most of them don't work.

   Too bad that there is no zero star catagory.

   This book appears to be some class notes slapped together to cash in on the client/server "dot com" boom of the ninties. If you see it in a used book bin for a dollar, don't waste your money.

5 comments about Professional Visual Basic 6: The 2003 Programmer's Resource.

1. This is a very thorough compendium of essential information for Visual Basic 6 developers. All of the authors are developers themselves and understand their subject matter thoroughly. You'll find a wide range of helpful information including SQL, COM+, XML, SOAP and much more. You'll even find step-by step information on how to deploy your Visual Basic applications using Visual Studio Installer and Wise Installation System. A great reference book that you'll pull off your shelf again and again...



2. Being a fan of the Wrox series, I was not disappointed with the latest Professional Visual Basic 6 book. Even though .NET technologies carry the current industry momentum (for MS-based development), there will always be a place for VB 6 within the Enterprise. In my case, for example, I will always have a need to use VB6 for certain clients who are either unwilling or slow to adapt to the newer technologies (namely, .NET) for any number of business reasons.

   The authors of this book have done a very good job of bringing together some of today's hottest technologies under one cover. Experienced VB developers will find the chapters within a practical reference (if not a valuable introduction) to modern APIs, such as ADO, COM+, MSMQ, XML, and SOAP. In the short time that I've owned this, I have already pulled it off of the shelf to reference the text and examples on several occasions.

   Having said that, though, there is only so much that can fit into any one book, so it does not serve as an absolute reference manual for any single technology.

   The book comes with a CD that contains the usual source code from the book, plus 10 Case Studies and 5 Wrox titles in PDF format. Just a technical note, though: I couldn't open the PDF files using Acrobat Reader 4.05, but a simple upgrade to the latest free version resolved that problem.




3. I saw the title of this book and picked it up - we are trying to build web services via SOAP at my company and we are not migrating to .NET for a while yet. The book proved worthy of it's title. This book covers modern implementations with legacy technology. Thank you to the authors. I suspect that there are quite a few companies out there that, like us, need to see VB6 references for a while yet (Microsoft has seemed to replace their VB6 documentation with VB.NET documentation on their site).

   I recommend this one!




4. I saw the title of this book and picked it up - we are trying to build web services via SOAP at my company and we are not migrating to .NET for a while yet. The book proved worthy of it's title. This book covers modern implementations with legacy technology. Thank you to the authors. I suspect that there are quite a few companies out there that, like us, need to see VB6 references for a while yet (Microsoft has seemed to replace their VB6 documentation with VB.NET documentation on their site).

   I recommend this one!




5. This is a decent Wrox book. Not the jumble of pages stacked together that you get most of the time, but a well rounded compendium of nice to know things for the casual VB Developer. I say "casual", because when it comes to professional programming, you really shouldn't have to read (again) about doing some basic ADO stuff or creating an install package. Three stars for this book because it's good, but not written for a professional developer...

2 comments about Professional Visual Basic Interoperability - COM and VB6 to .NET.

1. Its only a couple of months after the retail release of Visual Studio .Net and we are still coming to terms with the new reality - and it will take months and not weeks to feel cool about it! Once you start to feel comfortable with VB.Net the language - I am still a bit shell-shocked - then you have to start thinking about migration and legacy. This is when all the smiles drop! From a time and cost perspective we know that this is where we have to get it right.

   What is great about this book is that its written by highly skilled and seasoned fellow programmers - these guys know their stuff - they know the issues - they know the reality, and they focus just on interop! Make no mistake interop is not a cake-walk and we need a technical bridge. The discussion on API calls, COM & Marshalling and DCOM-Remoting-Web Services were terrific.




2. I have been pouring through a lot of books on .Net and when I first pulled this book out of the box I thought there may not be much to it because it didn't appear too thick. I couldn't have been more mistaken.
   First, the print is smaller than most Wrox books I've seen. Second, this book packs in a lot of practical, heavy technical advice and samples in communication from .Net to COM, COM to .Net, Custom Marshaling and much more. Its well worth the money you'll spend and sure to become a heavily used technical resource.

2 comments about Visual Basic.NET Programming (2nd Edition).

1. This book is great for a VB beginner or for the more experience programmer. This book will teach you chapter by chapter how to create effective visual interfaces. The book starts by identifying the basic concept of visual basic and then builds on those concepts by teaching more intermediate programming techniques.
   What sets this book apart from its pears is the author's dedication to detail in explaining all concepts, the end of chapter exercises that let you apply what you just learned, and the index which is very good and makes referencing a breeze.
   I highly recommend this book.



2. I signed up for an online class at Rio Salado just this past month. Mind you, I'm just a beginner but am surrounded with programmers at work so I am doing fine. I also have been working out of the Microsoft VB 2005 Step by Step book and am 1/2 way through it with no issues. Well, the class demands this Visual Basic.Net Programming, 2nd Edition Jeffrey Tsay book so I had to get it.
   Let me just say, after the 1st chapter I was already feeling the pain. This author jumps around way too much and he's quite hard to follow. He doesn't say, "now try this code, or " write this code." Instead he mentions "the code should look like this."
   Ohhh I see, after reading ahead and getting lost, that I was suppose to code that! On top of the terrible instructions comes the lack of examples. I was getting so lost I went back and forth from this book to my Microsoft book, what kind of junk is that? Sad to say, after getting frustrated every time I read this book, I said forget it and dropped the damn class. For now I will stick to my Microsoft book and make sure the next Class I sign up for doesn't requires Mr. Tsay's books!

No comments about Introduction to Programming with Visual Basic.NET, An & Microsoft VB. NET & Document VB.NET.

5 comments about Practical Digital Video With Programming Examples in C.

1. The text is a must for all needing fundamental concepts in video hardware and software. The electronics, the color systems, the signal processing algorithms, and the data structures for programming are very well laid in logical order. In addition the diskettes included in the kit contain valuable practical examples in C.



2. The question that needs to be answered about this book is, why would anyone still buy and use a book on computer video that is this old? The answer is that it does a few things better than any other book I know of, and a number of other things well enough that you don't need to look elsewhere.

   What are those things? First, its brief coverage of JPEG and MPEG-1 are the best single-chapter coverages from a programming point of view ("where are the bits?"-type stuff) of anything I have ever seen. It isn't enough to create a working JPEG or MPEG codec by itself, but this is the place to start if you need to get the idea. You will then need to turn to much more elaborate coverage [I use _JPEG: Still Image Data Compression Standard_ by William Pennebaker and Joan Mitchell (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993) for JPEG and _MPEG Video Compression Standard_ by Joan Mitchell, William Pennebaker, Chad Fogg, and Didier LeGall (Chapman & Hall, 1996) for MPEG]. However, this book is a great place to get the big picture from a programming point of view before slogging through the mountain of necessary gritty detail.

   Second, this book is the last thing I know of that is in print and addresses the Video for Windows API. This API continues to be the most widely supported API for computer video under Windows, but Microsoft expunged all documentation of it a few years ago -- long before Active Movie was ready to roll. And the current generation of Direct-X based video under Windows is still heavily based on Video for Windows -- it is very helpful to understand that API. The book only has a couple dozen pages on the topic, but it's the only game in town on VfW.

   Third, its coverage of color space conversions between RGB and CCIR 601, NTSC, SECAM, and PAL is clear and correct.

   Finally, its "your friend the video signal" chapters are as much as a programmer needs to know about such things, and geared to those of us who aren't gearheads.

   I have never found Mr. Mattison's code particularly useful. I find his quick discussion of image processing of no value. I have never encountered anyone who needed to know anything about the H.261 video compression standard. And I would not bother to read what he had to say about storage media back in 1994. But there is still enough meat on these bones to make this book one that I turn to with enough regularity that I would buy a replacement copy even now if I ever lost mine.




3. It is an interesting book for programmers who want to understand how digital video is processed, starting with simple and comprehensive introduction on different storage media types like magnetic disks, tapes and optical storage. Another interesting part is how video camera work and how computer displays work. These introductions would help in understanding the following sections that cover data compression and image and video processing standards like jpeg, mpeg, and h261. The source code is useful but it needs more explanation for non-highly skilled programmers in C. Overall it is one of the best books that I've read.



4. I was disappointed. I chose the book hoping to learn how to deal with some of the basic issues in the programming of video.
   It would have been nice to get a subpixel motion example as well as how to deal with fields when you are scaling an image
   instead I get overviews on compression, VFW and colorspace.
   What I am trying to say is that there wasnt much in the way of practical video programming. The other iratation was there was no CD included. So you have transfer every example by hand.



5. On page 390, Figure 11.15 shows the order of blocks within an MPEG macroblock as Y Cr Cb. This is wrong; the correct order is Y Cb Cr. That error cost me five hours on a very time-critical project.

   That's not to say the book is completely useless. But that's a pretty serious error in a book that's supposed to help programmers.

5 comments about Visual Basic .NET Power Tools.

1. This is a must have book for Visual Basic programmers. It has a lot of practical tools to give your programs the edge.



2. I have purchased several vb.net books over the past couple of years, somewhere around 6-7 books. None were as informative and precise as this book. The authors provide many details that all the other books do not cover. They give many inside details that otherwise many programmers like myself would probably never know. Chapter 1 alone gives a lot of insight into the .net framework that all of my other books did not provide. Without going into every aspect of this book that makes it stand out above the rest, I'll just say this...I've completed more of my project with this book than all of the other books combined. Also, check out books by the Murach publishers; they come in at a somewhat distant second, but these books have been of great help also.



3. First of all, we all know that .NET harnesses way more power that VB6. However, we also know what a pain it was when we had to make that leap to adjust our thinking to the new platform, and quite frankly it was a hard one for most of us. Things that seemed rather easy before were made unnessarily difficult. (Or so it seemed to us VB6 programmers).
   
   Well this book starts right off the bat explaining the "Why's" of that and is not shy to be honest. I appreciate that, especially after reading about 7 books on my book-shelf which highly extols .NET
   
   Make no mistake about it, dotnet IS better, but the honesty these authors exhibit while explaining features (that no other dotnet book has that I have seen) is most refreshing.
   
   Great book, but is somewhat advanced. The first chapter is worth its weight in gold. If you know VB6 very well and know VB.NET somewhat, this book will help you.
   
   This will help the adjustment and transition to .NET more smoorther for advanced VB6 programmers.



4. It is very sad that this book is as bad as it is. I would recommend almost any other book for .NET if you actually want to know what you are doing. There are a FEW good examples, but it ends there.
   
   This person actually says english and art people are better programmers than math and science people because most ALL apps today use little or no math. What an idiot. If anyone has written code for ANYTHING you will find that you use math a lot!
   
   They also don't understand why and when you use the New keyword aka the difference between shared (static) and Instance Methods.
   There are many errors in this book, and the author(s) have a vague understanding at best of programming in general.
   
   I could go on and on, but hopefully this will give you enough knowledge to avoid this book and get a book you can learn something from.



5. Note: There is something odd about Amazon's processing of technical reviews. People goofing off, or what? I submitted this a couple of days ago and it never appeared - perhaps this will be the lucky time. The only other time this happened was also with a computer-related review. Anyway, here goes....
   
   I haven't read every page of this 560-page book, but I've seen enough to make me want to give a really strong recommendation. If you are working with VB.Net at all, you probably need this book.
   
   I say it's much better than its title, because to me, and I suspect to others, "Power Tools" suggests a bunch of handy add-ons - neat tricks, perhaps some useful utilities. That's not what this book is. It is a really thorough and well-written explanation of a host of absolutely key, fundamental topics in VB.Net.
   
   For instance, it's got the best, most concise description of public and private key security, and RSA encryption, with clear, straightfoward "how-to's," that I've ever seen. Also, the best and clearest description of middle-tier technology options, with comparisons betwen Web Services and .Net remoting, plus a good summary of COM+ and how to use existing COM+ components in .Net.
   
   Other chapters cover a wide range of topics - queuing, XML, regular expressions, ADO.Net, Reflection, deployment, and more...Whatever the topic that is currently interesting or challenging you, you'll probably find it here.
   
   In the Introduction, the reflections on Microsoft's clarity, or lack thereof, in documentation are often right to the point! And the whole issue of having a productivity language rewritten by exponents of a low-level, nitty-gritty approach is well covered. The two approaches to programming are very different, and in adding VB to the .Net family, much was gained but also quite a lot was lost that could have been kept - at the price, admittedly, of making VB able to do things that C# couldn't do! Don't tell me they couldn't have found a way to make things like user-defined types of arbitrary size, with fixed-length strings, and control arrays, translate into IL - they just didn't want to. The Power Tools authors don't use the term "language snobbery" but it comes inescapably to mind.
   
   The new VB9 tries to make a few gestures in the direction of ease of use, such as inferred type definition, but they miss the point and in fact may just open the door to errors. Old VB6 hands aren't looking for the ability to write loose or sloppy code - they just want a more flexible tool, one where the compiler does more work to save the programmer's time, so we can get a working product out the door more quickly, That's always what VB was about, and Microsoft somewhat lost sight of that. Oh well...

5 comments about Desktop Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 MCSD Training Kit.

1. I suspect that those who are whining about this training kit are missing the main point of the Microsoft Certification program - DEMONSTRATE YOUR EXPERTISE. You can't become an expert by studying a book and working through a few exercises. This book is essentially a very good guide book that points you in the right direction. I used this book and then followed up on each topic by digging into the on Programmer's reference for VB6 that comes with the product. I passed the test yesterday on the first attempt after 2 weeks of evening study. You want to pass this exam? Use the book, follow up in the online manuals, and work through a small VB6 client server project, including deployment. You will pass.

   You do not need a bunch of fancy, expensive sample testing products. I did not take a single practice test other than the one that came with the book.




2. I want to recommend that this book provide not enough information you need to read 70-175 by the same publisher (this will help you ) and still get 60%. A lots of questions in the real exam not in this book and please prepare to select 2 answers at the same time i.e. in some case this book provide you only 1 answers for solutions but in the real exam they need 2 answers : In some quetions you need to answer as Create Symbolic debug info but they will ask you to check 2 answers. What you will answer? All the books just tell you about 1 answers, please be prepared.



3. The book covers about 70% of the exam. Its coverage of VSS, VCM and Package and Deployment Wizard are very superficial. These topics are very important in the exams (PDW has 10 to 15 questions) and can make the difference between pass the exam or not. The coverage of COM is good but incompleted. If you use only this book you need good experience in Client/Server applications. I used this book for some basic material and, the best of all, MCSD in a Nutshell by James Foxall (good coverage of PDW, VSS, VCM and COM). This last was my main guide to pass the exam. I agree with other reviewers: this exam isn't for beginners, you need at least two intensive years of experience building real applications to catch some questions. Without it, this book -any book- can help.



4. I am a software programer for this reason it is necessary to reads some book at v.b.6.I also want to pass mcsd tract.So I want to reads some book v.b.6



5. This book had great labs to help you get some hands-on experience, but is lacking GREATLY in test sensitive material. I got MCSD In A Nutshell from Oreilly Press. I passed the test with an 857. This book did very little to help me achieve that goal. MCSD In A Nutshell + Transender Exams = You Pass

No comments about Excel 2007 VBA (Visual Training series).

5 comments about Visual Basic .NET Programming.

1. I bought Harold Davis's "Visual Basic 6: Visual QuickStart Guide" because I've always wanted to learn to program. And I did! Now that VB .NET is here, I've been at a loss as to how to proceed. Thank goodness, Mr. Davis has written a book about this latest (and greatest!) version of VB. This book has everything I've been needing to get going with tips on migrating my programs and what's new or just changed from the previous version. I really don't understand the one star review from "The Geek" down below. He's comparing this book which is for novices and intermediate programmers with books for experts. Sounds like apples and oranges to me. If you're looking for a great book to get you started with VB .NET, then buy this book!



2. This book is both a waste of time and a waste of money. Why?

   1. The book tries to be too many things to too many people, and fails miserably on all accounts. If you're new to programming, "nondeterministic finalizers" are introduced on page 6. If you're an experienced object-oriented programmer, OOP isn't introduced until Chapter 15. If you're a VB6 programmer, I couldn't find a clear attempt by the author to demonstrate the differences between 6 and .NET.

   2. In my understanding, the most important update to VB.NET is its uptake of object-oriented programming principles. The back cover of the book says that the author also wrote "Visual Basic 6 Visual Quickstart." I have not read that book, but would not be surprised if its contents were similar to this new book. The author has basically ignored all of the important updates to VB.NET, and has provided a tutorial for VB6. If you're a new programmer, this book will teach you the wrong things right from the start. If you're an experienced programmer, you'll be frustrated by the mickey-mouse approach which doesn't make use of your prior knowledge.

   3. Chapters 16-20 (the last 5 in the book), which "introduce" ADO.NET and working with XML, among other things, are pretty obvious page-fillers. If you're looking for pages 90% filled with screenshots, this is your place to find them. Appendices A - E are also page-fillers. Appendix A tells you how to use the VB Help System. If you need help using help, what are you doing programming?

   4. The author expressly states that his favorite update in VB.NET is the ability to use windows of any shape. That about sums this book up.

   Let me restate - this book misses just about every target audience I can think of.




3. First and foremost, let me say that this is a **GREAT** book! I don't know who that guy (or gal) is that blasted this book on November 24th, but I'd bet that s/he hasn't even read it and obviously doesn't understand the target audience--people like me who want to learn how to program using VB.Net. This book is one of the clearest books about VB.Net that I have found. I own 3 other VB.Net books and I wish I had found this one first.



4. I have been programming since IBM produced the 7090/7094, with the first symbolic assembler/compiler. I have not completely adapted to object oriented programming yet (but am commited to modular, well-documented code that avoids arbitrary assumptions that prevent smooth future growth).

   The first time I got one of Harold Davis' books, I was impressed: "Finally, a book for programmers that is really accessible!" I was tired of voluminous books of "how to"s that did not provide a good conceptual structure. (Some of us need that to help the memory, and sense of mastery.)

   He writes in an easy-to understand style in which the basic concepts are included along with the clear and straightforward "how to"s. It is clearly a book suitable for beginners and for experienced, moderately advanced, programmers at the same time. (Something I formerly did not believe was possible.) As one reads and occassionally rereads the material, it becomes evident that the content is really quite dense. One can read simply, follow the instructions - that are clear and easy to follow - and, if a deeper understanding is desired, then go back and re-read the material, more slowly. It is all there.

   In this latest book, he has brought this style to a very fine level. I was intending to "retire" with Visual Studio 6. After, reading the first few chapters of this book, I am eager to take his "journey" into VB .net.




5. I have finished reading this book for a long time, but I still use it with the task at my office. Now I design my database application using VB.NET as the interface. Whether this book guide in overall concept but the explaination style is very good and easy to uderstand. I recommend this book for the other people who want to learn VB.NET from the beginner should try to use this book.