5 comments about Visual Basic 6.0: Environment, Programming and Applications.

1. Although I don't think this book is for the total beginner, it's a good start for the person who already knows another programming language. I have written Java, JavaScript, and LISP for a couple of years and wanted to get into VB. I started on this book a month ago and have gotten good results. This book is used at my college as a text book and the students hate it. But they hate all their programming textbooks! It's not fair to listen to a student, who has to learn a language from a demanding class, judge his textbook.



2. This book is for someone who already knows another programming language e.g Java, if you don't look for a beginners book. Its Ok for Quick results but remember the first four chapters are missing on the CD, but overall its a good buy.



3. I have read many different programing books and most are just too wordy. I find this one to be to the point and direct. Great for all levels.



4. This book is not for beginners. Worse ever for beginner not enough to support all the examples. Don't buy this book is your a beginner.



5. If you are trying to learn from this book - don't! I am sure that there are others that are better.

   I'm using this book as a text for Visual Basic 6 class. The further you get into the book, the more mistakes (especially in the code for the exercises!). One Exercise (Chapter 11) was so riddled with mistakes that it was a guessing game.
   I don't expect everything to be spelled out.
   I do expect the example code to be complete, consistent and correct. Fortunately, I have a great teacher.

   Also, most good books/publisher have a website where you can download errata/corrections to the mistakes and typos in the book. Prentical Hall has purchased the book. If there is a correction page, I couldn't find it. I usually can find such pages since I have worked in the publishing business.

No comments about Visual Basic 4 Para Window 95.

2 comments about The Visual Basic 5 Programmer's Reference: The Ultimate Resource for VB 5 Professionals.

1. I tried to find help in this book on 3 occasions and spent more time trying to find what I wanted than it was worth. When you finally find the subject matter, it turns out that it tells you less than VB's online help. The included CD is just a reprint of the confusing book. Not worth the money.



2. This book is not intended as a "How To" or a tutorial. And yes, it is in some respects a repeat of the VB 5 Help. Those of you who can remember back to a time when a mouse was simply an unwelcome visitor in your attic or basement, and the term CRT brings to mind little white characters in a green fog will appreciate this book. Those of us who do it for a living simply need to peel our eyes away from those beautiful 21 inch displays with all their color and glory and look at the coolness and conciseness of the printed page. Relish moving your wrists in more than one plane as you flip the pages. As I previously stated, out of 8 VB books in my collection this is the most worn and dog eared. The facts speak for themselves. Watch out for some minor typos and errors, nobody is perfect. I emailed the author with feedback on these and he seemed very receptive to input. However, I dare say at the rate our friends in Redmond, WA are releasing new versions of VB most authors will probably have little time to get out more than thier first edition on any one version of VB.

5 comments about Excel For Windows® 95 Power Programming with VBA.

1. This is THE Book. The examples were clear enough that I was able to customize them for my own needs and get the job done.

   I'm dying for the 97 version!!!!




2. There are far too many errors in the examples. I spent so much time fixing the errors that I easily lost track of the principle I was trying to learn.

   The book also makes frequent reference to on line help. I spent $31.99 to have convient paper access to the information that I needed.




3. I did not buy this book for a month because of some of the review comments, but then did go ahead and buy the book. I disagree with the negatives - this is an excellent book for anybody who has to write VB code for Excel. And there aren't THAT many bugs in the code, and those that are there are very minor. The comment about the "help" is unwarranted - I've been living in the "help" for two months now. Of the 3 books I have on this topic, this is the best one.



4. Let me put this in clear, concise and 'hands-on' language. Before reading this book, I knew little about VBA. Right after reading it (and actually working through 80% of its examples), I was able to build a custom mortgage analysis application using MS Excel as the user interface and MS Access as the data source. I was able to set up and manipulate dropdowns (comboboxes) within spreadsheet cells to present parameter choices, and to programmatically create and manipulate graphs and pivot tables to display results in more meaningful formats. I also made extensive use of arrays and functions to cope with the many iterative calculations required. To add to all this, I was able to use DAO to query and update the Access database. Since then, I have been working on VBA for Access etc., only to find out that the foundation laid by John Walkenbach carries over excellently to all MS Office applications.



5. I am constantly using this book for reference and rarely do I not find an answer I am looking for.

No comments about Using Visual Basic (BP).

5 comments about Using Visual Basic 6 (Using).

1. If you are use to the "USING" series by QUE, you will find this issue a bit disappointing. This book while great for those new to VB, will be lacking the usual technical depth that made the other QUE books great references.



2. This book is tailored for ordinary users of VB only, not developers of VB. This book does not provide the necessary details of programming, and other advanced features. If you need to work on VB, probably this book is not for you. For novice users, this book can give you a smell of what VB is. The examples used in this book is rather small scaled.



3. I used this book as a beginner to VB6 with high hopes of getting a firm grasp on the language. However, I was a little disappointed. There is not a whole lot of sample code to look at. The information on ActiveX was skimpy as well. Some of the Microsoft Common Controls (MSFlexGrid for example) were not explained or illustrated adequately. This book will take your programming skills farther, but not as far as I thought it would.



4. Most probably because it written by a number of people, the book lacks consistency. The first part is quite good and there is a no-nonsense approach. Important things are taught, and without much fuss.

   However, the downfall starts from the "Advanced" section of the book. The chapter on API is takes just a cursory glance at VB and API, to say the least. This trend starts here and continues where OOP in VB is introduced. I have no clue why these important chapters were given so little space.

   The problem with this book is, it tries to cover too much, with too little detail. In the end, you are left with a very much incomplete book. Example: Important concepts like early binding and late binding were nowhere discussed, at least not with the names.

   I think Wrox's "Beginning VB 6" may be a better choice, but the problem with Wrox "Beginner" series is that, they just talk on and on and on till you are completely insane.




5. I went to the url listed in the book to download the calendar needed in the first chapter and the web site mcp.com doesnt even have the book mentioned??? even a search returned no results.
   How are you supposed to "work along with the book" if you can't even get the source material??
   I went to QUE's website and still no mention of this book, i know it exists because i have a debit in my checking accout to prove it.
   Disgusted...If i could give NO stars i would

No comments about Selected Chapters from Programming in Visual Basics 5.0.

No comments about Visual Basic 2005 for Beginners (Book/CD-Rom).

4 comments about Teach Yourself Activex Control Programming With Visual Basic 5 in 21 Days (Teach Yourself).

1. In chapter 5 the author writes: What are User-Defined Properties? First of all, you need to understand the difference between predefined and user-defined properties. User-defined properties are those properties that already exist in the UserControl Object ... Hey, wait a minute. Isn't that a definition of predefined properties. Of course. The author got them mixed up, didn't he. How much further will you have to read before you realize his mistake. This is only one of hundreds such inaccuracies in the book. Still, if you can correct the author's sloppiness, you will learn a lot about ActiveX Control design.



2. Every person has ideal explanation / hands-on ratio for maximal learning of a new programming topic. Of four "VB5 & ActiveX" books I bought, this was the one from which I learned ActiveX progamming. (It has quite a few errors. Perhaps parts of the book were written with a Beta version of VB5...) My copies of Kurata & Appleman are now more useful than this book, but they didn't make sense to me until I worked through this book.



3. I was preparing for the VB5 MCSD exam. A friend suggested one exam cram book, but I found the ActiveX part on it really compact and difficult to make sense of. Studying the basics of ActiveX programming from this book and combining it with the tips from the Exam Cram, I was able to know just enough to succesfully attempt ALL ActiveX questions on the exam.



4. Of the various ActiveX control books I have, this one is really for beginners. I am preparing MCSD exams and find ActiveX part in Hawhee's book too condensed. Without much prior knowledge about it, piling information in Hawhee's book is just too much to understand/remember. I also read Dan Appleman's book which is quite good theoretically, but it doesn't teach you the much about the actual steps. So Appleman's book is harder to follow than this book. I'd say combining the three books makes a lot of sense. While this book provides hands-on guidance, it doesn't teach you the things behind the scene, where Appleman's book does great on. The hawhee's book, on the other hand, provides a good review which lets you find the holes in your knowledge.

   The first comment is right on that the book has many errors. Also the writing sometimes is wordy.

No comments about Web Graphics With Visual Basic.