2 comments about VBA for the 2007 Microsoft Office System (Business Solutions).

1. I have a nagging feeling that for some readers, this book will be their first ever on programming. Perhaps they are heavy Microsoft Office users, and are frustrated by constantly doing repetitive tasks, and want a way to automate these. That is the main motivation for the text.
   
   If this describes you, then McFedries' narrative is a gentle introduction to the overall field of programming. The VBA borrows from its original Basic the characteristic of being easy to understand and code. As you go through the text, you get introduced to key programming ideas, common to all languages. Like using for loops, where a control element iterates over a collection. Then there is the while command for conditional execution only once. Well, VBA calls it the do while command, but more generally, programmers just think of it as while.
   
   The book also introduces you to elementary graphics programming. There are various form controls which are graphical elements that you can cause to popup when the user does certain actions. These give rise to event handling issues, which are true of most graphics coding. Microsoft has built an extensive framework within its Office suite so that you can easily code these objects.



2. This is a great book for those new to VBA. It covers Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook so it does not go into much depth in any particular product. The writing style is easy to follow and all of the examples work. Not for experienced VBA developers.

5 comments about MCAD/MCSD Self-Paced Training Kit: Implementing Security for Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and Microsoft Visual C# .NET (Pro-Certification).

1. I just passed the exam 70-340, and this was the book I used in the last 2 weeks.
   
   If you know how to program against .NET but don't know much about .NET security, this is really an excellent textbook and/or a reference book for you. It is written by one who knows the stuff and who knows how to explain tough stuff in plain English. It can certainly get you painlessly started on .NET security right away. I dealt with .NET security in the last 2 years the very hard way. I wish I had read such a book 2 years ago. (Well, on other hand, a book is just a book. It can't substitute real-world experience. Take myself for example, my knowledge on most topics other than CAS and WSE has probably already gone well beyond what the book covers, but I still don't think I do know .NET security very well. I'm no expert on security. So don't expect it will make you a security expert if you are not one yet, though a book like this one can make your road to being a security expert shorter and less painful)
   
   As for passing the exam, I don't know for sure if the book alone is enough. I mean, you'll need intimate knowledge about Windows and how to program .NET before you can truly digest many topics covered in the book - remoting is a good example. The book is very easy to read and understand as long as you have the stated prerequisites (unlike in many other books, the prerequisites stated in this book are very accurate). If you understand the book, you should have little trouble passing the exam - anyway, the exam is designed for anyone who is knowledgeable on .NET security to pass. The book comes with 300 mock test questions - pretty hard to me, and I feel they are much harder than the exam questions I answered moments ago. I only had time to go over about 100 such questions. If you understand the book and also do very well with those questions, passing the exam should be guaranteed!
   
   Despite a well-written book, it has some typos. Its definition of "collusion" contradicts what I learned of the word when studying monopoly as a graduate in economics. Due to the quality of the book, however, the typos can be safely ignored.
   
   I rate the book 5-star without the least hesitation.



2. This will be the book that you must have if you are a newcomer in .NET Security. The explanations are clear, supported by the author's own experience in the field. Also, the code is easy to follow and straightforward.
   Overall, a very good book to read on .NET Security.



3. Sorry for any harsh comments. But the book is so confusing explaining even simple concepts. I got frustrated when he tries to beat around the bush to explain STRONG NAMES.
   
   I wish there was a Amit Kalani for 70-340.
   
   For that matter, I am not having good experience with any of the Microsoft Press books on .NET



4. Of about a dozen MS Press training kits I have used, this is the first one to be comprehensive--and better yet, authoritative. For the first time, I used ONLY the training kit when preparing for the exam. For all other exams, I had to additionally reference MSDN, TechNet, etc. Two reasons why this book is great:
   
   1. It is obvious early on in the book that the author, Tony Northrup, knows his stuff. You cannot say that about a majority of exam prep books, where it looks like they just copy and paste exam objectives from Microsoft's site and get diarrhea of the mouth for a few paragraphs per objective.
   
   He was also kind enough to sprinkle throughout the book dozens of surprisingly useful tips for the exam and real world security issues. Another few books like this, and Tony Northrup just might surpass Dino Esposito and Michael Howard as my favorite authors.
   
   2. The accompanying CD is MUCH more useful than the other training kits I have used--it has about 300 questions broken down by objective. It is not just a trial version of a MeasureUp test, and in my opinion, the questions were harder than the actual 70-340 exam.
   
   The only two things I was not too crazy about were quite trivial: the page numbers were annoyingly chapter-based (i.e. 3-25, 5-24, etc); and the trial version of VS 2003 can only be installed once, so that will hurt resale value if used.
   
   The bottom line is that this book does more than enough to prepare you for exams 70-330 and/or 70-340. I will definitely buy more Tony Northrup titles in the future.



5. Not only all you need for preperation are inside the book but it is a very well organized book comparing to similar ones.

4 comments about Visual Basic Programming for the Absolute Beginner w/CD (For the Absolute Beginner (Series).).

1. I've had the book for a couple of months, but I've only recently been able to wrestle it away from my 15-year old son. This is a great way to learn Visual Basic. Finally, a teaching tool that takes advantage of how fun programming really can be. I can't wait to check out other books in the series. They're already on my kid's Christmas list.



2. I do not think this book is for the "absolute beginner". It has been frustrating trying to build the programs in the book, because, even in the first chapter, the author does not explain how to do things, he just says "do it". I am sorry I bought the book. I am now using "Visual Basic 6 Complete", which I find much better for a beginner like myself.



3. ...I liked its approach of using games and "fun" lessons for teaching Visual Basic. I've already completed SAMS "Teach Yourself Visual Basic in 24 Hours" so I'm not the "Absolute Beginner" that is the target audience of this book. With that in mind:

   1) This book is NOT for the absolute beginner. There is little if any discussion on how to use Visual Basic/Studio at all. No handholding at all. Often, items are mentioned only in passing (like how to do comments in your code) with little explanation. It seems an effort was made to make the book less intimidating by keeping it under 350 pages. The net result is a book with far too little explanation and information.

   2) Throughout the book, when it comes time to add controls to your programs, you're simply given a chart listing all the controls and *some* of the properties you have to set. So what's the problem? The chart doesn't list any of the size or placement properties for the control! So you constantly have to flip back to the screenshot of the program - usually several pages earlier - to give yourself some idea where the item is supposed to go and how big it's supposed to be. In another example, in the animation program from chapter 3, you're supposed to assign a picture to 9 image controls. Problem? You're never told the NAMES of the picture files to assign! The author simply says that the images can be found on the CD with the book. Only they're not there! They're included as one large bitmap file on the CD which won't work for the program being worked on!

   3) Code errors - in chapter 3, the author twice makes mention of using a particular Boolean variable in his program, making sure to allocate it by using "Dim". The problem? It's never used! All he does is allocate it, it never gets put to use!

   4) Also in chapter 3, the author mentions the "Keydown event, which you've already seen earlier". I couldn't remember seeing it earlier, so I looked in the index. Turns out that "Keydown" is discussed only once in the book - IN THE SENTENCE THAT SAYS IT WAS DISCUSSED EARLIER.

   That said, there are some good things to be gained from this book, as the author uses some events and controls that other beginning books don't touch as relate to games, so that's good. But if you're a true beginner, forget it.




4. Allow me to begin by stating that while I am an experienced Basic programer, I am a beginner to Visual Basic.NET. This is the background from which I write this review. My understanding of Basic programing in general gives me some advantages which someone totally NEW to programing will not share.

   The trouble with many books on Visual Basic is that they focus so strongly on fundamentals that you never get to the fun stuff until very late.

   For example, I bought a different book; 'Visual Basic.NET How to Program', by Deitel as my introduction to VB.NET. (Please note: If you have NO experience in Basic, the Deitel book is not for you.) The book is wonderful. It goes into great detail on the topics and is information-dense. But it is a dry read doesn't get to the FUN stuff, like timers and simple graphics until late in the book. After pouring over that book for the better part of a week, I was ready for a break. I wanted to do some FUN stuff!!

   Browsing over the selection at the book store I finally settled on 'Visual Basic .NET Programming for the absolute beginner'. This book has many strong points and a few flaws. The flaws have been spelled out by other reviewers, so let me focus on some of the things I really liked.

   First, if you read many VB book reviews you will see that a common complaint is that a book was written using a beta version of Basic .NET and that the examples do not work, or do not work well with the final release. This book does not seem to suffer from that flaw. That is GOOD!!

   Second, the author has a great writing style which is a refreshing break from the rather dry text of my main instructional book. The author gives some excellent explanations on important core concepts, such as classes, inheritance and OOP. I found the second perspective on these topics very helpful to my understanding of them.

   Third, the author does some Fun Stuff. You will learn, through the example of an arcade game how to use a timer to control events in a program. This knowledge will give you the keys for implementing your own ideas, be it writing a savings calculator which actively shows your hypothetical savings as they grow month after month and year after year, or writing your own graphing-programs which plot in real time.

   The author also covers sequential and random access files, which are an important function for many programs.

   My main lament is that the book does not cover page flipping, sprites, collision detection and buffered screens. For any book supposedly focusing on game programing, this is a serious lapse to my way of thinking.

   Still, the author probably left those topics out because the book was supposed to be aimed at beginners, but this is no book for beginners! You are going to need some VB experience if you hope to get any real benefit from this book, so the absence of those fundamental programming topics is keenly felt.

   That having been said, I am not being fair in faulting this book for failing to be what it was never intended to be so my complaint is neither relevant nor valid.

   The intent of the book was a good one; to be a fun introduction to Basic .Net for the absolute beginner. But the authors good intentions may have been sunk by an aggressive editor and/or other publishing constraints (price or page count). That is too bad. This could have been a 5 star beginners book (or a 10 star gamers book!)

   Conclusion: Here is a good complimentary book to your main VB.NET studies, but definitely not a stand alone text. If you are on a budget and totally new to Visual Basic. NET, this is not the book for you. If you have some Visual Basic experience and are looking for some fun and another perspective on key topics, you could do worse than to buy `Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Programming for the absolute beginner'.

3 comments about Visual Basic .NET Database Programming for Dummies.

1. I am really please with this book :
   In this book you will find clear, efficient examples explained step by step.(you can download the examples from the WEB).
   You will have to read only what is necessary to do your job.
   You don't loose time and you don't have to read from the beginning of the book to understand. You can read directly only the chapter you need.

   You don't have to read useless comment or sentence which bring you no practical skill. This book explain really only what you need .
   And you can adapte the example of the book to your need.
   This book is more clear and efficient than "VB.NET" Professional of the Wrox Team.

   In conclusion, this book is made in a way that you can understand fast and well. This is good and practical book.

   Emmanuel Evrard




2. I'm a beginner and already have hit errors on page 47:
   Start>Programs>MS SQL server>Configure SQL XML support in IIS

   My computer yield the following:
   Start>Programs>MS SQL server>
   >Books online
   >Client network utility
   >Enterprise manager
   >Import and export data
   >Profiler
   >Query analyzer
   >Readme.txt
   >Server netowrk utility
   >Service manager
   >Uninstall SQL server 7.0

   There is no mention of Configure XML support in IIS!

   I'm tired of buying books with sloppy technical editing. Oh, to read just one book on VB .net that didn't have an error in the first 50 pages.




3. This is a total waste of paper. Save the forrest, do not print books like that!
   Most of the stuff from this book can be easily found on the net. And also the book does not cover most of the topics. There is not a single part of the book that describes well any of the .NET concepts

3 comments about Mastering Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition.

1. There is a lot in this book for a novice as I but a little too informational on the basics of web design. I don't think Visual Web Designer is the proper tool for someone who knows nothing about html or scripting. Some references to the VWD program interface are not correct, at least for the verison that I have. Supporting code links on the Sibex website do not work so you will have to type in any code samples in the book. Some other links for downloading info or tools do not work, as in the Microsoft's iveiwers.dll file. All in all I find the book helpful though not supported.



2. I disagree with C.K. Nowicki's review, above.
   
   I bought this book because I downloaded MS's Visual Web Developer Express product and found it hard to learn. This book is really the missing manual.
   
   This book teaches you how to use the product; it's not a book about HTML or the basics of web site design. Most beginers won't have a need to create ASP webpages that authenticate users & interface with SQL Server databases.
   
   It was very easy to find the sample code for this book on the www.sybex.com website. You just do a seach for the book title then click "Resources & Downloads".
   
   The author has done lots of other books, and I think it shows. It's amazing how many technology books are poorly written, and this is not one of them.
   
   I think you get alot for your money: The book is almost 700 pages of material, I think really good value for $26.
   
   HOWEVER-- I was expecting this product to have some features from MS Frontpage, that would appeal more to the amateur user. This product is more industrial that I expected. If MS could combine this product with Front Page, then you would have a really interesting product.



3. This is my second Mastering series book. Also purchased Mastering SQL Serve r Express. Returned SQL and just got back from vacation where I started the Mastering VWD. VWD was better, but still doesn't flow well. Lots of examples and appeared promising, but light in explanation part. Maybe this was the intention of the book.
   
   So not a good book for newbies / intermediates.

5 comments about Murach's ASP.NET Web Programming with VB.NET.

1. I have never been so irritated and frustrated by a book in terms of its presentation and format. If any newcomer is able to follow along with the tutorial application and actually build it, I'd be very, very surprised.
   
   I just do not see the point of having the book's text on even pages and a bulleted review of that same text (along with code) on odd pages. There's no mention of how to code the HTML portions, you have to already know how by looking at some screen shots. There's just no follow-through from chapter to chapter as the author grows the application.
   
   I'm still searching for a book on ASP.NET that walks the reader through the construction of an actual, useful application from A to Z.



2. Simply said: One of the best books I have ever bought!
   
   I needed to dive into ASP.NET pretty fast because I had a project running to its deadline. I was a programmer who knew Visual Basic and Delphi pretty well. I did know the theory of ASP.NET but had no practical experience. This book teached me in a record time how to build and get my first web application up and running.
   
   The best starter's book you can imagine. The second book I bought on the subject was ASP.NET Unleashed, which is a marvellous book if you have some ASP.NET experience.
   
   For a beginner Murach's book is simply a dream, and although I have written a couple of web applications now, I still use it as a quick reference. WORTH EVERY PENNY IN GOLD.



3. I bought this book in hopes that the author would clearly explain building the halloween shop sample application from the ground up, but after chapter 1, the author totally loses you as far as next steps are concerned.
   The first chapter has actual "excercises" which get you started in building the sample application. After that, most chapters don't contain these exercises, therefore you have to build the rest of the application based on the screen shots/code snippet's in the chapter.



4. I recently got hold of a copy of this book (full title: "Murach's ASP.Net Web Programming with VB.Net") and it is terrific. In particular, it includes the best walkthrough and problem solver of using IIS I've yet seen - and I know from the Forums that this very early step causes a lot of people a heap of problems. (Me included at one time! )
   
   The book uses a technique of having the main narrative on the left hand page, backed up by important summaries and/or diagrams on the right hand page. This can be quite useful for reinforcing those particularly tricky areas and is handy for flipping back to when you need to recheck something. Overall, I think it works great.



5. Before purchasing this book, you should know that the author expects you to have been exposed to the skills taught in Murach's Beginning Visual Basic.Net.
   
   Having said that, this book is written in an easy-to-follow format that led me step-by-step toward the skills needed to become the most knowledgeable ASP.Net developer on my team. It hits every subject I've been exposed to at work, making it an excellent reference as well. This book also helped me to strengthen my object-oriented development knowledge.
   
   One of the biggest advantages of this book over others is that it taught me how to develop using Microsoft Visual Studio ("VS"). Unfortunately, learning ASP.Net using Notepad instead of VS is like learning to drive using a go-cart instead of a car. Almost all employers expect their .Net developers to know their way around VS. With this book, you're covered.

5 comments about Introduction to Programming with Visual Basic.NET, An (5th Edition).

1. The way this book is written the author throws you a scrap of information and does not reinforce this scrap whatsoever and thus leaves you confused, stressed, and upset !
   
   This may sound harsh, but please do not purchase this book unless required to do so by your university (like me). I am an MIS major, and must admit my serious weakness is in programming. This book has done nothing to help me ! If you are a programming person, pickup this book and you'll enjoy. If you are more of a systems administrator type and you know programming knowledge is necessary, but are not the programming type then run far, far away from this book !



2. I bought this book for a class at my university, im currently majoring in IT. I found this book to be very easy to read and to understand. The code Samples are very simple and the books provides a reasonable ammount of exercise to work on. One Downside to this book is that the autor explanation to some topics in tha latter chapters of the book tends to be incomplete but is a pretty good book up to chapter 8. One important thing though is that if you want to master VB.NET this is not the book for you its main purpose is just to give you a brief introduction to the language.



3. Excellent book. Very pedagogical. Perfect learning tool. Any body who wants to spend serious efforts to learn VB.Net should
   try this book.



4. I am giving the book one star because of the number of exercises in it and no stars is not an option.
   I have read a fair number of books on programming before this book and I must say this is the worst one yet.
   I can't believe my school used this book.
   The exercises in the book are fine; even good.
   The rest of the book is almost useless.
   The writing is cryptic at best.
   I can look at the exercises and read the programs fine.
   The instruction on the other hand I can't make heads or tails out of most of the time.
   It is like one person wrote the chapters and another wrote the exercises.
   I finally gave up on reading the chapters and just started doing the exercises.
   I can't discourage this book enough.



5. Yes this may noot have all you need , but if you are teaching a course in VB this is an exceelent book to use. I also like it for people who want to teach themself vb programming. I have worked as a programmer/instructor for over 10 years and have used this authors books in previous editions, it is great for beginners. There are tons of hands on exercises you can have your studnets try

5 comments about Programming MapPoint in .NET (Programming).

1. This is an excellent book on MapPoint that covers everything from architecture through advanced usage. The examples are solid, and the problems that the author chooses to solve are right on target. Not only does it give useful technical examples, it also provides inspiration for how you can use MapPoint throughout your product.
   
   This is a solid piece of work.



2. MapPoint by Microsoft (who else) is an outstanding tool to be able to use all types of geographic/demographic data in a myriad of different ways. Before the book 'Programming MapPoint in .NET' there weren't any good resources out there on the market for learning how to use this amazing bit of code, but now that has all changed. With this text you will quickly learn the ins and outs of MapPoint, from being able to generate maps in your own application to talking to MapPoint web services to be able to output driving directions, demographic data... whatever you can think of!!!
   
   It's quite clear that MapPoint is a tool that will be growing every day, and with the importance of up to date geographic data, it's a niche that Microsoft was smart to get into. My only "complaint" about this book is that it seems a little light in the source material (API calls, examples and such), but I don't think this is any fault of the author or the programmers. Simply MapPoint is still a fairly new tool and it will take time to document and create examples for all the cool stuff that this application can do. If you use MapPoint, you would be wise to pick up this book and read it cover to cover.
   
   **** RECOMMENDED



3. As a mapppoint developer , I spend most time to programming the function of the application. The book does give some samplese , but most of them are over complexed, and the if you read the source code , you will found that the Author , Cthota, didn't put all the dataset in the download zip file , which is a major regret.



4. OK, that's relatively easy to say since there aren't a whole lot of them. So why did I give Chandu Thota's book five stars?
   
   Because of both what is included and what isn't:
   
   - Breadth of coverage. The author manages to cover every single Microsoft mapping technology (of interest to the programmer), including the CD-based MapPoint 2004, the Location Server, the Web Service, and the new Virtual Earth control, and do so well.
   
   - Concise code snippets. They are plentiful, well explained, and never longer than a page or so. All of those I tried _did_ work.
   
   - No marketing fluff. Although Chandu Thota works for Microsoft, we don't see any of the "product brochure" type of language that maybe convinces execs but fails to impress developers.
   
   - Focus. The author assumes that we can program, know C#, and have at least a basic grasp of maps and such things as lat/lon, and spares us lengthy introductions on these subjects.



5. Do you want to develop a location-based application? If you do, then this book is for you! Author Chandu Thota, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that provides an integrated set of products, servers, and services that helps enterprises improve their customers' experience by applying mapping and location.
   
   Thota, begins by introducing the MapPoint suite of products and technologies, setting the stage by discussing the basics of each technology and usage scenarios. Then, the author covers programming with the MapPoint 2004 ActiveX control and MapPoint 2004 object model for rendering maps, finding places and addresses, and calculating routes. Next, he covers dealing with business data, rendering data maps, and adding thematic shapes using geographic data. The author then covers integration with GPS for obtaining real-time location and extending MapPoint capabilities by writing add-ins. He continues by introducing the basics of programming with MapPoint Web Service. Then, the author shows you how to create applications using the Find APIs of the MapPoint Web Service, including techniques for finding places, addresses, and nearby points of interest. Next, he covers programming with the Route APIs, such as calculating routes and getting driving directions. The author then covers programming with the Render APIs available with MapPoint Web Service, including rendering maps, routes, LineDrive maps, and polygons. He continues by covering the basics of programming with Microsoft Location Server and deployment scenarios. Finally, he covers programming with the Location Server Web Service to get real-time location using mobile phones.
   
   This most excellent book provides a jump-start for working with the preceding technologies, with in-depth discussions about the core concepts and sample code provided in C#. More importantly, this book covers the most common application development scenarios with the MapPoint platform.

No comments about Introduction to Programming Using Visual Basic 2008 (w/VS2008 DVD), An (7th Edition).

1 comments about Introduction to Programming with Visual Basic 6.0, Update Edition, An (4th Edition).

1. Just like the subject says: "I'm impressed". I was someone who had absolutely NO IDEA of how to begin with VB (I didn't even know what VB was for anyways!). But now I know, and trust me, I'm good at it (I do have to spend time reading it :P). I love the fact that it has practice exercises which leaves you in an analytical environment (very good help for future programmers who are independent enough).
   
   Anyways, if you're into VB, then this is the best selection out there. Hope this helps.