5 comments about Programming VB .NET: A Guide for Experienced Programmers.

1. Of all the books I bought to learn VB NET, this is the one I find myself turning to repeatedly for information on object oriented programming. The author' treatment of inheritance and delegates/events are models of clarity. I also found his treatment of mutithreading to be clearer and far easier to understand than the new Wrox book which was supossedly devoted to threading. If you want a book on the VB NET language you can't do any better than this one!



2. This book simply doesn't have enough information to be named "a guide for EXPERIENCED programmer". It is rather a quick overall introductions. So don't get this book if you need to get some serious work done.



3. I bought this book and several others to prepare myself for the transition from VB6 to VB.NET. I wish they would have covered the disconnected datasets, ADO.NET and ASP.NET in more detail. I would have given it 5 stars if it had.

   Other than that, I feel that it is an excellent resource to prepare a programmer from any background for VS.NET. It does a good job of covering the OOP, Inheritance, Overloading, and multithreading subjects in a concise manner.

   The book also has a web site for errata and source code. Gary Cornell is a good author and it shows in this book he co-authored.

   I have a few Wrox Publishing Books, but my library is starting to collect more an more APRESS books because their style and format is what I expect from a book.

   Wrox does publish some good books also:
   I would also recommend .NET Enterprise Development in VB.NET from Design to Deployment, ISBN 1861006179, (Wrox Publishers)




4. This is a pretty-good book if you base it on the Beta. The chapters on OOP (Chapters 4 - Classes and Objects and 5 - Inheritance and Interfaces) are very long. Chapter 4, 5 and 6 (Event Handling and Delegates)form the heart of this book, but I would have broken them down into smaller chapters. The information in those chapters provide a good introduction to OOP. At times, I felt the authors were hard to follow and found myself re-reading several pages especially in Chapters 4 and 5. Overall this book probably is about 3 1/2 stars. I am hoping that in the next release of this book that the authors would follow their own advice and break the chapters down into smaller parts. ...



5. The book is primarily designed for experienced Visual Basic developers making the transition to VB.NET. However, it can also be appreciated by other experienced programmers regardless of their programming background.

   The book begins with an introduction to the differences between VB.NET and VB. The next chapter introduces you to the new Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment (IDE). You will get a tour of the main windows, and learn how to compile and debug your VB.NET applications. Chapter three teaches the VB.NET syntax. You will learn the VB.NET expressions, operators, and program control flow. The next couple of chapters form the core of the book. These chapters cover object oriented programming and inheritance. VB.NET is the first truly object oriented programming version of VB, and a solid understanding of these new features is essential in taking full advantage of VB.NET's new powers.

   The next few chapters go on the cover important topics such as, event handling, error handling, building user interfaces, input/output streams, and multithreading. The final two chapters give a brief introduction to database access with VB.NET using ADO.NET, and a brief overview of ASP.NET.

   The book provides clear and complete coverage of all topics. It includes many real world code examples which help the reader to better understand all the concepts presented.

5 comments about Microsoft Access 97 Visual Basic (Step By Step (Microsoft)).

1. As the title of my review states, this book is ideal if your situation falls into the following category: You have a solid amount of skill with Access (without VBA) such as action queries, subforms/reports, option/combo boxes, relationships, SQL, etc. You understand Access and can already build fairly advanced applications, however you want to goto the next level. The next level is VBA and here is where you go "under the hood". You will find out how to do basic procedures and how they work. You will be shown the light as to why event procedures are so critical to more advanced applications. After reading this book (and implementing what you learned into your own applications) you will be well prepared for intermediate level books. The book is extremely well written and is careful to make sure that the reader does not fall behind. I felt like the author actually cared about the learning process, and didn't just write a book to prove his own expertise (like many others). In summary, if you already know Access (sans VB), and would like to go "under the hood" to be on your way to becoming what I would consider an intermediate developer (i.e companies actually pay you [albeit moderately] for your Access skills, however it is not 100% of your job description) - buy this now.



2. This is one of the finer books for the beginner VB programmer when using Access 97. All examples are geared for Access 97 and have relevance to what the new user of Access would want to know. Little or no experience in VB is necessary as this book will guide you step by step. Well worth the money!!



3. I read this book last year and found it very instructive. It is easy to understand and contains very good explanations of the sample code. Very little or no typos or code errors, which always helps. The cd contains one or two useful applications in addition to the chapter databases. What I like about the book was that it makes use of the wizards up to the point where you you have to write code, which is a good time saver.



4. This book does exactly what it claims to. It's a great book for beginners in access programming and vba. If you are an experienced vb programmer and are crossing over to access, I would say Access 97 Developer's Handbook would be a better buy.



5. Don't hesitate to buy this book. I bought this book as part of course being taught on VBA. Don't be scared that it is for Access 97 because the visual basic portion of Access has not been developed any further. This is the book to have. I am now a full time database programmer for a state agency and this is my desktop reference. BUY THIS BOOK!!!

5 comments about Visual Basic 6 Database Programming for Dummies.

1. I've been programming for several years. Did most of my work in MS Access, and Quick Basic before that. Access had spoiled me as far as writing small client/server programs. I was looking for something to introduce me into the world of Database Programming in VB. This book, surprisingly, does a pretty good job.

   I was looking for something to get me started with ADO as well as some of the newer VB technologies, such as WebClasses - a subject I knew nothing about. The book did a fairly good job. It doesn't go in depth into any of the subjects, but gives you enough to wet your appetite, which is what I hoped out of it.

   If you're looking for something to introduce you to the world of database programming using VB, this may be the one you want. Let's face it - compared to other programming books, you can't beat the price.




2. I found this book very useful on my VB projects for school but It could be better. So, if you are new to Database programming this is a good starting point.



3. There was a lot of theory, but not all that much instruction that could be applied outside this book's carefully designed examples. With the increasing popularity, I spend quite a bit of time flipping through it, trying to give it a chance. As a computer instructor, I wouldn't suggest it.



4. Seriously if you want to start building a database in minutes, a good one, this is the book.Got it 2 days ago and am really covering a lot in the book.Very easy to understand and am building my own database right now.Whoever wrote this book I say thanks.



5. The book is great for starting out in DB handling in VB6! It is a bit lacking in an in-depth coverage of relational databases

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

5 comments about ADO.NET Cookbook.

1. This is the indepth example book I have seen for using ADO.NET for getting connected to databases. The examples in the book are just great and will give you a complete view of what goes on with database applications. Starting with the fundamentals of ADO.NET, walks through the basic principals of the new object model, and what you can do with the object model.
   I would recommend this book to everyone - ADO.NET is such a fundamentally different approach to data access from Microsoft, that we will have to learn again from scratch, and this is the book to get the foundations right. I have found this to be invaluable in getting up and running with ADO.NET.



2. I have read this book completely. If you are looking to develop your skills in ADO.Net or not feeling confident about your noesis you must have read this book. Once you finished it gives a huges amount of confidence in you. It doesn't cover each and every aspect of ADO.Net but it explains the various essential concepts behind ADO.Net in a clear way by dividing it into topics and more importantly it doesn't miss anything and it is a must have book for reference.



3. The book explains the ADO.Net concept completely, with examples and also explains the advanced features that would other wise have been difficult to be brought in practice. While designing and developming an ASP.Net application, ADO.net plays vital role.
   
   This book is THE MUST for applications that need large database interactions. This book acts as the bible to the ADO.Net techniques. Great work.
   
   [...]



4. It seems that some Authors don't take the time to run their code...
   
   This book is riddled with code examples that leave out key components.
   
   Example: Ch.7.7 - "Displaying Images from a Database in a Web Forms Control"
   
   The code behind references Web Form objects that were never discussed. (Surprise!)
   
   If you're looking for an abbreviated book on ADO.NET "Concepts", and don't really care about actually seeing working code, then this book is ok. If you need a concise guide, then don't bother. This book requires the reader to take a lot for granted.



5. First let me say pretty much everything in here is written in C# ... I almost think they shouldn't advertise that they have VB in here. I write all of my apps in C# personally, but write both languages. ((and was at one time even an old school asp classic guy)) All of my sites run from asp.net/c# dlls now.
   
   The description says it ... it is a book designed for developers. This isn't designed for people trying to learn ASO.NET. Make this your second book, after you have a firm grasp on it, and have programmed a handful of examples.
   
   OH, AND THIS IS A ADO.NET USING C# BOOK ... there must be a few lines of VB in here somewhere for them to be able to say there is. Can't believe someone else's review hasn't mentioned this.
   
   ANYWAY ... for all of you that are wanting to get better with ADO.NET that are using it already ... but not well. This book is PERFECT. It is a great book to hone in the skills, and have sitting on your desk during development.
   
   =====
   
   NOW .. anyone learning ADO.NET for ASP.NET ... that wants a great book to pickup both. Grab the book ...
   
   Build Your Own ASP.NET 2.0 Web Site Using C# & VB
   
   That book is available here on Amazon ... and it will give you nice lead in on ASP.NET using BOTH VB.NET and C# ... and it will get you started using ADO.NET.
   
   =====
   
   On a side note, if you are just trying to learn sql statements, and are really at the beginning at all of this ... Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes
   
   Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes
   
   Is a great book to get you started writing sql statements, joins, and all that in a flash ... I buy that book for all my friends that are just starting with databases.
   
   Take care all ... hope this helps.
   
   ****
   4 stars because it says it has VB, when it is clearly C# samples.

5 comments about Mastering Database Programming with Visual Basic 6.

1. I am using this book as the selected text for a second course in Visual Basic. I am about half way through the text. The main objections I have to the book are that the author jumps around between SQL server and Access, often without telling you which one ( or even which of several example databases) he is using. As a result, the code often does not work with the DB you are using. Also, most often,the author only gives code for Access or SQL server, not both, so you spend A LOT of time trying to convert code to get things to work. Lots of times, the author leaves code lines out expecting you to have learned it earlier. If you don't have SQL server, you are going to have a hard time with this book (eval copy is supplied on CD but I couldn't get it to install on win 2000 pro - fortunately I have SQL 7 on another NT 4 machine). Despite these complaints, I am learning a fair amount by persevering and the book does cover quite a bit of material...you just have to spend a lot of time figuring out what he is really doing. Finally, you have to plan to use the complete code supplied on the CD to decipher the text. The text leaves out things that only become clear by extensive examination (and, many times, modification) of the code on the CD. In conclusion, I am finding the book useful and I am learning how to use ADO (author skips DAO etc. as being outdated) but it is more painful than I would like.



2. I would recommend this book to those who want to understand the db development environment without being bogged down in too much detail.
   However, once you need to get to lower level work for real development this book cannot substitute for more specialised volumes.

   Overall recommended.

   dan




3. I am an experienced programmer, and needed a book to enable me to understand ADO database programming in VB. I bought this book, and have regretted it. The examples are incomplete and miss important stages out. Its approach is confused and confusing. Having now done what I set out to do in VB/ADO, I can honestly say that very little of the contents of this book can be applied without extensive tinkering.

   Oh, and by the way, the examples on the CD are fiddly to get running as well.




4. This book was not written with teaching in mind. It is a great reference book but if you are not familiar with coding in VB then you definitely need to buy another book! This book gives you great reference to what objects do but doesn't clarify at all on how to do them. It will tell you what you need to do to update a database's records but not how to code them.

   I've seen better books written for teaching. THis is not a teaching book.




5. Don't expect you'll become the master of VB6 database programming by buying this book!!

1 comments about Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0: Games Programming.

1. I teach high school Computer Science and use Visual Basic 6.0 to teach it.

   I really like this book. My students, who have no programming experience, are able to understand the directions after 1 semester (unlike other books). They find this type of project fun, while learning more about programming.

   I highly recommend it, but for classroom situations and independent learning.

4 comments about Enterprise Application Development with Visual C++ 2005 (Programming Series).

1. For programming enterprise level applications the Microsoft .NET framework has grown to some 30% marketshare (J2EE has about 40%). While originally .NET was developed to compete with the Java Runtime libraries as part of the breakup of Microsoft that was ordered by Judge Jackson, it has become a major thrust within Microsoft to help maintain their dominant position in the marketplace.
   
   For developing applications Microsoft has developed the Visual Studio integrated development environment which supports the programming of applications in four languages: Visual Basic, C#, J# and of course C++. While Microsoft would prefer that you use their propriatary languages they still support C++ which is arguably somewhat more powerful than the other languages.
   
   This book is a complete and detailed text on programming in C++ using Visual Studio 2005. It is highly oriented to the .NET Framework 2.0. The book is more in reference format than tutorial which makes it easier to find what you are lookin for when you go back to confirm what you've read. It is intended for both experienced and novice C++ programmers, but I don't think that it is suitable for the total beginner to programming. Some work beforehand on a beginning C++ book would be desirable, a lot of the minor details like language structure are not explained at the absolute beginner level.



2. Max Fomitchev's Enterprise Application Development With Visual C++ 2005 comes from a Moscow Ph.D. and covers the best practices for coding and C++ development. Plenty of practical real-life examples pepper instruction on how to use compilers, enhance and change database applications, and more. The fundamentals of successful coding and application development practices are imparted along with coverage of the latest Visual C++ 2005 features, making this a top reference for applications developers.



3. I bought this book because I'm a long-time C++ developer (mostly Gnu) and wanted to come up to speed fast on VC++ 2005. This book was good for that, although I'd not recommend it as a way to learn C++ from the ground up.
   
   The book has two rough edges: (a) occasional proofreading mistakes (sometimes amounting to fairly serious errors of fact, more often just typos), and (b) continuous "moose and squirrel" grammar that omits definite article. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_(grammar) ) With those caveats, I'd recommend it for the same purpose I used it.



4. I cannot find this book useful. It's a heap of shallow text, harmful for beginners and unuseful for any other. It lacks of substance and it's full of errors and imperfections. Who want it?!

5 comments about Visual Basic 6 from the Ground Up.

1. This isn't a bad beginners book. Anyone who needs more 'basic' information than this book probably shouldn't be in the IT industry in the first place.

   The book has alot of typos, i.e. missing parantheses in code examples, missing function arguments etc. I've found it to be somewhat troublesome, but you should be able to go to msdn online to figure out the typo. For example on page 487 the move method requires 4 arguments when anyone of the optional 3 are there but he only includes 2. There is also a missing parantheses there as well.

   This book does not go into ADO in any kind of depth that is needed. The Murach book, 'VB6 beginner to database pro' does ADO much better. There does seem to be a complete lack of ADO books for VB6. I imagine there are alot for VB.net. If you want this book, you will need another book to learn ADO programming in VB6. Database manipulation is what many people use VB for. However this lack of ADO depth may be because the book went to press before MS finalized ADO (just a guess there).

   Don't get me wrong, I thought this book was very informative and helpful, the fact that ADO is not covered in depth is a definite drawback. Also the code examples don't include every example from the book, just the complete programs. There were many code snippets that you could put in blank vb6 project to illustrate something that were not in the downloadable code from osborne. I would have preferred a CD to downloading as well.

   8/20/2003 - I hadn't realized this before becuse the book does not cover it at all, but there is a complete lack of coverage of interface classes. I had to go to a new riders book MCSD TRAINING GUIDE: VISUAL BASIC 6 EXAMS for a good discussion of this. Even the mspress book is somewhat confusing on this topic. If you can get this book used than do that. Don't pay full price though, especially since the binding seems to come apart after alot of use.




2. I should like to point out that the comment above regarding typos is not correct. True the example is missing a parenthesis (which the reviewer misspelled), however the move method DOES NOT require 4 arguments when anyone of the optional 3 are there. The arguments are left, top, width and height. You must specify all arguments that appear in the syntax before the argument you want to specify. For example, you can't specify width without specifying left and top. Any trailing arguments that are unspecified remain unchanged.



3. Two cents from a rank amateur/beginning programmer. At the moment, I'm on page 179 of this book and the main problem I have so far is with the way the information is communicated. Personally, I now know that I should have picked up a book that taught VB concepts via small projects and tasks. A "in chapter 1 we'll build a simple tool to get familiar w/ the IDE. In chapter 2 we'll improve our skillset by building a slightly advanced tool to learn about declaring variables, etc." approach would work better for me. Unfortunately, this book doesn't really do that. The concepts here are explained mostly with bits of standalone code. Hopefully, perhaps by page 200, we'll commence with some "learning by doing." Yes, hopefully. In the meantime, I'll grit my teeth and continue with the book, but right now it simply isn't working for me.



4. Perhaps this book would prove useful to an experienced programmer, but for a novice it is not a good choice. Cornell "assumes no previous programming experience", then goes on to write in huge, sweeping generalities without adequate explanations. Also, the code in the book is often written so the reader cannot fathom the type of event the code is associated with, and no explanations are forthcoming in the body of the text.
   There really is a lot covered in this book, but unless you do indeed have "previous programming experience", not worth the cash.



5. I bought this book in Year 11 (2000), after reading reviews of it. I was a beginner to programming - not only did this book introduce me to programming, it goes into VB6 in detail. The examples are all useful - not just toy examples. I have created many useful VB6 projects - this is the ONLY VB6 book you need.

5 comments about Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2003 in 24 Hours Complete Starter Kit (Sams Teach Yourself).

1. Great beginner book - incorporates a bit a humor throughout to keep things interesting. Nice book to transition from VBA to VB .NET.
   Errata is posted on authors page as well as user forum.
   
   The book also acclimates you to the Visual Studio IDE very well.



2. This is an excellent book and Yes, you can learn to program in Visual Basic.Net in 24 hours. This book gives you the details the other books leave out. The book flows well and builds a solid foundation. This is better then the college text I am using for VB.Net. Buy it, you won't be sorry!



3. The title could rather be given as sams teach yourself VB.NET "for" 8 hours....All what has been presented here can be mastered in just 8 hours. This book lacks essence in conveying the concepts. It does not also cover all parts of VB.NET. The author could have dedicated some more topics on ADO.NET and database programming.
   This book sounds good to novices in VB.NET but a money waste for experienced programmers.



4. I have had many years in IT. I wanted to understand what .net was about and VB (.net) to get through the brochure speak and be able to manage developments in the .net environment effectively.
   
   This book was excellent.
   
   Taking each lesson in turn, the pace and instruction was clear and exact. At the end of the 24 hours I more than satsified my aims. I now have a good grounding in vb.net and understand the .net environment much better.
   
   Well done to James Foxall



5. This book is so well written, if you are just starting out with VB, then this book is a must. Where my tutor does not make sense, James Foxall does. James you are a genius, Thank you.
   
   So this book is a must, you don't need to think about it, just buy it.