1 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.

4 comments about Murach's Visual Basic 2008.

1. This book is essentially an update of their earlier book for VB 2005, but which now includes additional coverage of several new features such as Anonymous Types, Object Initializers and LINQ.
   
   Murach have developed their own individual style of subject presentation. They use a "facing page" technique. Open the book up at any section and on the left hand page you will find a discussion or explanation of a topic. On the facing page you will see more specific information about this topic, possibly with a diagram or screenshots, or very often demonstration code samples.
   
   The benefit of this approach is that the author has two bites of the teaching cherry. She (in this case, author Anne Boehm) can introduce a topic on the left hand page, cover the essentials and be ready to move on. The value of the right hand facing page though is that it can be used to show additional detail, display sample code and example results and also (this I think being very important) can summarise the key points covered on the first page. The reinforcement of learning points in this way can be a very valuable tool.
   
   Essentially, the reader can decide if he or she has understood enough from the left side page to be ready to move on, or if not then they can opt to read the right hand page for more info, samples or reinforcement and confirmation of their understanding.
   
   Personally I quite like the approach. I tend to dive into books almost at random sometimes, but often just needing to refresh my memory on a particular point. If I'm using a Murach book and need further detail, I can dig into the additional facing page info as much as needed for any one topic, or even specific part of a topic.
   
   If there is a downside to the Murach approach it's probably that because of the facing pages approach they have to limit the number of VB.NET topics they can actually cover in the 800+ pages limit . That said, what they do cover is fairly comprehensive and contains plenty of material to keep a VB.NET beginner engrossed for many a long night. And, most importantly, those topics are covered thoroughly and clearly in plain English.
   
   There is full list of contents on their web site and you can also view two Sample Chapters from there.
   
   This is another clearly written, well laid out offering from the Murach stable. I think this book is particularly suitable for newcomers to VB.NET, whether total developer beginners or those moving to .NET from VB Classic.



2. Another winner from Murach. I've been buying/reading Murach programming books for about 6 or 7 years and have yet to be disappointed. This is an upgrade to the 5 star VB 2005 book. You won't be disappointed.



3. There is a lot of information in this 820 page book. It is broken into five sections starting with basic Visual Basic concepts and finishing with LINQ and deployment. Easy to read, using the "paired pages" format: How-to on the left page and examples on the right.
   
   It is a straight-forward presentation of Visual Basic 2008 information and a book that will stay on my bookshelf.



4. Windows continues to be the dominant platform for personal and professional computers. Now in a fully updated and significantly expanded 2008 edition, "Murach's Visual Basic 2008: Training & Reference" by Anne Boehm continues to hold its place as the premier instructional manual for the novice and an indispensable reference for the seasoned professional. The principal focus remains on those essential skills that Visual Basic developers will find themselves using on a daily basis. Of special note is the four chapter section dedicated to database programming. Visual Basic is an object-oriented computer language and therefore "Murach's Visual Basic 2008" devotes five chapters on those features and aspects. This new edition features LINQ and how VB programmers can use the same language to access a variety of data sources ranging from databases to arrays to XML files. Enhanced with complete Windows forms applications for everyday business functions (which can be downloaded for free from the Murach website [...]) "Murach's Visual Basic 2008 is an essential, invaluable, practical, and thoroughly 'user friendly' instructional reference and strongly recommended for all Visual Basic developers.

4 comments about Microsoft VBScript Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft)).

1. I needed a quick way to ramp up on VBScript for work and have a lot of programming experience so did not want a dummy type book. Great coverage of basics on the language. Only beef is would have liked to see more on how to use ADO and DAO with databases like Oracle and SQL Server.



2. This book (IMHO) is good if you already have programming experience and want to learn VBScript. It is NOT a good book if you're an absolute beginner. Although the first couple of chapters are for 'beginners', it really doesn't explain the basics of programming. I suggest familiarizing yourself with VBScript (or any other language) before you read this book.



3. Great Service Fast Shipping. Book shipped faster than the web site advertised. Great packaging - book came out of the box as if I just pulled it off the shelf. Matter of fact, I reviewed the book at Books-A-Million, determined that I wanted the book, came home, and ordered it on Amazon for almost half price!!!!!!!!



4. I bought this book to get an idea on how to use VBscript in the MS network that I manage. It was great to have found this book because it gets to the point and was not filled with fluff. This book is a good stepping stone for VBscript but, you should consider learning some VB before tackling it. A little VB or even Office VBA knowledge can help you breeze through the book and its examples. Overall the book was great and I recommend it to learn the foundations of VBscript.

No comments about Pro VB 2008 and the .NET 3.5 Platform (Windows.Net).

1 comments about Mastering Microsoft Visual Basic 2008 (Mastering).

1. 'Mastering Microsoft Visual Basic 2008' by VB expert Evangelos Petroutsos is a fantastic way to get up and running with one of the most popular programming languages in the world. Visual Basic has come so far since it's early days and now the reasons for using VB have gone far beyond just RAD (Rapid Application Development) as you can write world-class applications far beyond the most basic tasks you would have chosen VB for 10 years earlier.
   
   Everything that you would want covered is here in this book, from the basics of how to use VB to condition clauses to array and string access to database connectivity and the newest goodies .NET 3.5 has to offer. Written in a clear, concise manner that calmly takes you from one chapter to the next, I found this book to be an absolute joy to learn from. Sybex has a rich history of publishing easy to use computer books that nearly anyone can learn from and this text is no exception.
   
   Chapter Overview:
   
   01. Getting Started with Visual Basic 2008
   02. Variable and Data Types
   03. Programming Fundamentals
   04. GUI Design and Event-Driven Programming
   05. Vista Interface
   06. Basic Windows Controls
   07. Forms
   08. More Windows Controls
   09. TreeView and ListView Controls
   10. Building Custom Classes
   11. Working with Objects
   12. Building Custom Windows Controls
   13. Handling Strings, Characters, and Dates
   14. Storing Data in Collections
   15. Accessing Folder and Files
   16. Serialization and XML
   17. Querying Collections and XML with LINQ
   18. Drawing and Painting with Visual Basic 2008
   19. Manipulating Images and Bitmaps
   20. Printing with Visual Basic 2008
   21. Basic Concepts of Relational Databases
   22. Programming with ADO.NET
   23. Building Data-Bound Applications
   24. Advanced DataSet Oprations
   25. Building Web Applications
   26. ASP.NET 3.5
   27. ASP.NET Web Services
   
   My only qualm with this magnificent book is that I wish some color could have been introduced, especially in the sections that discuss the new WPF way of creating applications. These new style apps are meant to have a great look for the user and I feel the tried and true black/white/grey look hurts the book a little bit but this in no way lowers my rating of it.
   
   ***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

3 comments about Visual Basic 2008 Programmer's Reference (Programmer to Programmer).

1. Ever since Visual Basic 6 I have purchased Rod Stephens books to stay current with the latest changes in Visual Basic. Again, with "Visual Basic 2008 Programmer's Reference" he has written an excellent reference for the current state of Visual Basic.



2. You might initially think that this is going to be one of those big books with a few examples and a lot of fluff; well, you'd be wrong. This is a big book because it's absolutely packed with really useful examples. Rod takes you through just about every feature of Visual Basic 2008 and he does it with examples. These aren't just the usual academic sort of examples either; you'll be able to use many of them as a source of code for your own applications.
   
   Of course, there are also books on the market that do have good examples, but the explanations stink. Rod takes time to thoroughly explain the examples and the explanations are clear, so you won't have any trouble understanding them. In short, this book has the best of everything.
   
   You probably won't need another book for common business programming needs. That said, some specialty items are missing. You won't find a lot about PInvoke in this book, but then again, most people don't need PInvoke for their business applications. The LINQ coverage is also a tad light, but this technology is only now taking off, so Rod is right in keeping the various coverages in perspective. Overall, this is the book to get if you want to know how to work with Visual Basic!



3. This is a great book. Starting for the simplicity and going strong describing in simple language the complicated topics for the beginner to the advanced programmer in VB 2008(VB 9).
   
   I enjoyed the reading and I am not done yet with the book. And after reading some paragraphs again, have been able to find new details that allow me to improve my routines.
   
   Thank you Rod for the book.

5 comments about Excel 2003 Power Programming with VBA (Excel Power Programming With Vba).

1. This is the first book I read on the subject (I am proficient in other languages/platforms).
   It is a decent introduction, and it gives you a good overview of various areas of Excel/VBA programming. There are plenty of code examples and lots of opportunities to get your hands dirty modifying and debugging them.
   
   I was very disappointed by its poor structure and lack of rigour. Concepts are introduced by example in seemingly unrelated chapters, therefore scattering language features all over the place. This, combined with an utterly useless index, means that unless you get a digital copy of the book you will have a very hard time using this book as a reference.
   
   Also, in my opinion, the author has not gone out much using other more sophisticated languages, and this lack of discipline/hacking attitude is often noticeable. Not only in the occasional sloppiness of his code (whoever proof-read this book did an awful job too by the way), but also in the poor explanation of higher features of VBA, for instance class modules, relegated to a 10-page chapter towards the end, whose examples are anyway missing the whole point of stateful encapsulation through class objects. Similarly poorly explained (many chapters earlier, incidentally) is the use of class objects for Application-level events, with the mysterious "With Events" qualifier which is never really explained anywhere.
   I often found that the material lacked diagrams and more abstract and general explanations that go beyond the "learn by example" cookbook approach.
   Finally, I was annoyed by the frequent, not-so-subliminal adverts to the author's software package, of which a trial is available on the CD.
   
   Overall, it did the job for me - helping me getting to grips with the language and the object model. But if you are already beyond the basics get yourself a good reference, or perhaps Professional Excel Development: The Definitive Guide to Developing Applications Using Microsoft(R) Excel and VBA(R) (The Addison-Wesley Microsoft Technology Series), which I have already started reading with interest and seems to explain much more methodically best practices and more advanced concepts - while still not a VBA reference.



2. It's an excellent an useful book. Personally, It's helped me a lot. I recommend to read it, because it has many simple and difficult examples of macros, codes, programming's techniques and functions. Also it teachs about API of Windows . It'll definitely help to be a successful developer on Excel.



3. Book was helpful in the setup of various 'maintenance' routines. It gave me a fresh look at the use of properties, allowing me to streamline the coding. Unfortunately, company directives have us converting the work to 'active server pages' with a SQL 2005 database server. Since the source data is Oracle, I have been working on DB to DB utilities.



4. Excellent book for anyone looking to quickly get up and programming VBA in Excel. Don't have to be familiar specifically with Visual Basic but a reasonable knowledge of programming a help. Would have given it 5 stars if it had a thorough reference section on VBA.



5. While I had used this for a course in VBA, and noted that it was an extremely concise text, I found it near useless when I was working on my assignments. This book had the information in it, but oftentimes, I simply could not find this information quickly (if at all), and instead Googled much of my information.
   
   On a positive note, this is a well-written book (note: not well-indexed), and therefore useful if you're learning VBA and exploring each chapter one-at-a-time. If you're looking strictly for a reference book for VBA, however, I would strongly advise against getting this particular text.
   
   Also, this text is not written for beginners (a point that the author makes clear), even though some of the material in this book could only be for beginners (for example, the introductory VBA material).

5 comments about Microsoft Visual Basic 2008 Step by Step.

1. I really like the book so far. I've taken VB classes in the past (over 10 years ago) but wanted to get a refresher on the changes in VB, especially with .NET.
   
   I've worked up to page 84, the MyCheckBox exercise. I'm running Visual Studio 2008 with Windows Vista and I'm getting the following error (building for .NET Framework 3.5):
   
   "A first chance exception of type 'System.IO.FileNotFoundException' occurred in System.Drawing.dll"
   
   I'm not sure what I've done wrong to this point. Is my .NET framework hosed or did I save my exercise in the wrong place? Perhaps the author can chime in on this and let me know how to proceed. Is there a website we can go for a bit of support?
   
   Overall it's a great book for beginners.



2. I have found many books from this publisher (Microsoft Press) to be helpfull in learning a programming language. This title, "VB 2008- Step by Step", I've found to be a very good book to learn VB. Easy to read and understand (Better than the "Dummies" books). Would not use as my first book to learn VB from scratch. But if you know the basics. This is the book to get! A very good investment as well as a addition to your collection!



3. Very poor product. Could not get the software to work in two of my computers. I recommend that you move on to some other product and stayaway from books by Michael Halvorson.



4. I am new to Visual Basic.
   I've taken a couple of programming classes, but still have had a hard time grasping all of the little nuances.
   
   I recently started as an intern working with developers in the medical field. I found myself completely overwhelmed and started buying and reading every programming book I could get my hands on, specifically Visual Basic.
   
   This book is great! I'm half way through the book and haven't gotten lost yet! Halvorson walks the reader through each and every process and does it in the correct order. The order in which he presents the materal and the way engages the reader is critical to success! For the first time, I feel like I can jump in and get programming.
   
   This is the best book if you are trying to learn Visual Basic!



5. Michael H. is now an old hand at producing VB Step by Step books, and it shows. His treatment of the subject is thorough and to-the-point, as you can see by looking inside the book at the Table of Contents (above). His style is easy to follow, and your confidence level at the end will be high if you carefully follow his lead through this book. If his "Database and Web Programming" section at the end of the book doesn't pique your interest, nothing will. By inserting this section he shows you where VB 2008 is headed.
   
   My biggest complaints are minor: 1) he wasted too much ink telling us how things were done back in the days of VB 6.0. Programmers have had about four years to get over that, Michael, but thanks for an otherwise very useful book, and 2) a few menu calls were to menu functions that don't exist. (That's inevitable when a book is based on pre-release software. None of the errors were difficult to overcome.)

5 comments about LINQ in Action.

1. During my attempts to learn LINQ and implement it into my work, I've searched several sites looking for answers related to syntax, deferred execution, LINQ to XML, LINQ to SQL, and LINQ performance statistics. I spent hours going from one site or blog post to the next. This book covers all of these topic and more. If only I had this book sooner...



2. Linq in Action is a clear and deep presentation of a technology that, even in its first incarnation, is increasing the productivity of programmers, and setting an even higher standard for dynamic websites and programs. The authors, who were instrumental in the development of Linq, proceed in an intuitive path from the basics of the technology, all the way to very sophisticated ideas and examples. The authors also participate online to answer questions and add even more material for an even more through presentation. I recommend this book for any developer or aspiring developer.
   
   Paolo



3. I am a newbie both in visual basic and Linq, and I have to say that this book is really great. It provides a LOT of understandable explanations, that are so useful for who's not a guru already.
   
   There are tons of examples, plus quite a lot online resources that can be extremely useful.
   
   Great book, probably one of the best on LINQ subject, and it's definitely worth the price



4. A good book, very complete and full of infos. All topics are well and deeply explained. I give only 4 stars for two main reasons
   1. I don't like the writing style. It is too friendly, I prefer a formal and clean one.
   2. Some explanation is 'obscure' and needs to be rewritten, for example the SelectWith extension method.
   Anyway it really worths to have a copy on your desk.



5. I've read every LINQ book that i"ve come across and on the whole, they are all really good. As a subject area, the coverage is amazingly well done. This book is a natural fit b/c in every important respect, it's excellent.
   
   First off, it's easy to read. Learning the basic mechanics of LINQ isn't all that difficult. Learning advanced LINQ mechanics is still pretty straightforward. However understanding why certain approaches should be used over other ones, understanding potential pitfalls (getting something back you weren't expecting) and ensuring your code performs well after you get back more than a few records, well, that takes some effort. I think this book helps you accomplish each of those in a manner that's very clear and very straightforward. [As a stylistic note, I think really understanding Lamda expressions, which admittedly aren't a linq feature per se, is challenging at first. This book did not shy away from them and went at them head one. B/c learning them isn't a linear process (at least it wasn't for me or anyone i know), you often make no real progress, then have a moment of understanding that gets you to the next level. That type of learning is best facilitated by seeing several examples - seeing several ways to accomplish something and then reverse engineering the differences. The extensive number of examples really makes that process a lot simpler].
   
   Another really strong point is the examples themselves. In the LINQ to XML coverage, there's an example of how to create a RSS feed from a collection with one linq query. It's beauty is its elegance and b/c most developers have given writing RSS a try, it's a great juxtaposition to show how powerful and useful LINQ can be. That example isn't alone though - there are several others that extend beyond the cliche'd Hello World samples that leave people wanting for more.
   
   The coverage of each topic is superb as well. At no point did I finish a chapter with unanswered questions in mind. Often, authors will make an assertion "you should do it this way b/c otherwise you'll open up security vulnerabilities" or whatever without explaining what the downside is that they are talking about. I know it's a seemingly unimportant thing, but I found that they always explained the points they make, even the minor ones. It's a typical example of the attention to detail the authors put into this book.
   
   Having co-authored several books, I know how hard it is to write a book with a unified writing style. The editing for this book is done in such a way though that it looks like one author wrote it. Yes, there are some differences in their individual writing styles, but it's all close enough that it really does feel as though one person wrote it. That is a huge plus and again, it's just one of those small things they do that shows a serious attention to detail.
   
   So it's easy to read, they cover everything really well, they selected great examples and explain them well and they start out with general coverage and move onto very detailed coverage - making it ideal for both a LINQ newcommer or a seasoned vet.
   
   It's a great book and IMHO, the authors are to be commended for putting it together. Although I've found all of the LINQ books I've come across to be very good - this one made an impression and it's excellent from start to finish.

5 comments about Professional ASP.NET 3.5: In C# and VB (Programmer to Programmer).

1. Scott, Bill and Devin do a phenomenal job of covering evrything in 3.5. This massive book can be read cover-to-cover over a couple of weeks or sit on your desk as a reference. The info from these three is rooted in real-world experience. They cover the technical details as well as the how and why of decisions around developing Rich Internet Applications.



2. Bill, Scott and Devin are long-time ASP.NET experts, and the authors of several best selling ASP.NET and .NET books.
   
   This latest book is outstanding and provides an excellent end to end resource for almost all things ASP.NET related (UI, AJAX, Data Access, Security, State Management, Deployment, etc).
   
   The book is very well organized, with a nice balance of text, code samples, and screen-shots. All code samples are provided in both C# and VB - making it applicable to developers of all language backgrounds.
   
   The book does a good job of covering new .NET 3.5 material - with good content on LINQ, LINQ to XML, and LINQ to SQL, as well as the new ASP.NET 3.5 data controls - including the ListView control. It has chapters on ASP.NET AJAX and the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit. It also has some great IIS7 material.
   
   One of the things that is particularly useful is that the samples and chapters are written with Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Web Developer Express 2008. The book does a great job of explaining both the core ASP.NET programming concepts, as well as showing off how to use the tools to easily take advantage of them.
   
   All in all a great book and a fantastic addition to any ASP.NET developer's library.



3. If there's one book to own on ASP.NET 3.5 this is it! Unlike some other books that have simply added a couple of additional chapters at the end and a new cover, in Professional ASP.Net 3.5 sections that matter have been accurately updated to reflect the new changes and new chapters have been added where appropriate.
   
   This book is very well written, and is full of code examples. At 1674 pages it's a monster, but it's all solid content.



4. I've got the ASP.NET 2.0 version of this book (both the original and special edition versions) and all of the strengths still hold: It still walks you through all of the common (and some of the uncommon) usage for ASP.NET and provides great examples and code snippets to illustrate points. I'm not an ASP.NET newbie and I still find myself referring to the book from time to time - even in the age of Google - to find a nice, easy-to-understand example of this or that.
   
   That said, not much has changed from ASP.NET 2.0 to ASP.NET 3.5, so the important bits are the differences between this book and the previous version. So what is different?
   
   ADDED:
   * Lots about LINQ. Anywhere they discuss data - from databinding to working with XML - they've added info on how LINQ works into the picture. Thre is even a new chapter on "Querying with LINQ."
   * A chapter on IIS7 with a high-level intro to what it means for ASP.NET.
   * A chapter on basic HTML and CSS usage.
   * ASP.NET AJAX has been made a first class citizen with chapters on both the ASP.NET AJAX framework as well as the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit. (It was an appendix in the ASP.NET 2.0 book.)
   * A section on WCF services has been added to the "Building and Consuming Services" chapter.
   * An ASP.NET-oriented subset of the indispensable Scott Hanselman Ultimate Tools List has been added as an appendix with screen shots and larger discussion of each tool.
   * An appendix has been added on basic Silverlight.
   
   REMOVED:
   * The introduction to Visual Studio. You won't get an overview of the IDE in the new book.
   * Basic .NET concept review like the chapter on "Collections and Lists" have been removed.
   * The chapter on developing for mobile devices using the contents of the System.Web.Mobile assembly.
   * The appendix on VB 8.0 and C# 2.0 language enhancements (generics, partial classes, etc.).
   
   COMBINED:
   * The ASP.NET 2.0 book separated out the discussions of "ASP.NET Web Server Controls" and "ASP.NET 2.0 Web Server Controls." This is now one chapter that doesn't differentiate by version.
   
   For the chapters that the two versions of the book have in common, really the only differences I could find were that the first few "intro" paragraphs for the chapter and the screenshots have been updated. A few sentences here and there have been updated to remove version-specific wording, but the copy is basically the same. I did a page-for-page comparison of one of chapters and almost everywhere it was exactly the same as the previous version, verbatim.
   
   That commonality is not a bad thing. It means the new version still has the great content found in the previous version, so if you didn't get the ASP.NET 2.0 book, the 3.5 book will cover you. If you did get the ASP.NET 2.0 book, Wrox also has a Professional ASP.NET 3.5 Upgrade book that just contains the new stuff so you don't have to re-purchase content you already have.
   
   Again, the typesetting irked me. The font really needs to be a point or two larger. Also, in the Professional ASP.NET 2.0 Special Edition, they used a light gray background to highlight code snippets so it was easy to make the distinction between prose and code. They lost that light gray background in the 3.5 book so the prose and the snippets run together a bit. (They use the light gray now as a "highlighter" for particular lines of code.) Of course, at 1600-odd pages, they might have to start shipping this bad boy on microfiche.
   
   In all, still highly recommended.



5. Being a Microsoft fanatic I always want to stay on top of things with Microsoft Technologies.I have been reading a couple of books on ASP.NET 3.5. I bought this book from Amazon. And having seen this book physically and went over the contents of the book and read couple of chapters of my interest, I can definitely say that, this is the ONLY book that any ASP.NET developer would want to have on his desk. Complete. Comprehensive. Cost effective. Definite BUY.