5 comments about Word 2000 Developer's Handbook.

1. Would you like to use VBA to copy and paste? This book won't help.



2. I bought this book from a Word MVP recommendation.

   I had previously learned Word VBA from the book "Word 97 Annoyances" (good start for people interested in Word VBA) and from many on line tutorials.

   Guy Hart-Davis provides a complete guide to Word 2000 VBA language. It helped me to structure my work and gave me more ways to analyze my code. It helped to find out more possibilities of Word VBA. The author goes deeper into explaining all the tools available.

   Plus there is a central idea.

   Although VBA is a computer language programming, we should not forget that we are dealing with a Word Processor and that Word VBA is a tool for automation of repetitive tasks and getting your work faster. The author provides a view that does not forget this central point.

   With a little of experience users will understand that a few times you will gain time if you record a macro and edit it rather than just trying to write the code from the beginning. Word VBA is not C or C++. This flexibility is clearly shown along the book. Yet, it also goes deeper into the complexities of Word VBA. So people interested in a more complete approach (like me) will be satisfied with the plethora of technical information

   As the author mentions in one of the Introductory texts, this book does not force the reader to read it from cover to cover to start coding. It is well written and (not excessively) good-humored, what, truth to be told, makes it easier to read a 1200 pages book.




3. The code of all programs, forms and templates are now available from the Sybex web site.



4. I bought this book after doing some serious VBA programming for Excel and having been in and out of software development for many years. It's tough to write a book for all users, novice and experienced. This book falls in between those two extremes.

   If you've never done any programming, you'll likely be frustrated by the slow start into actual programming. Some readers will need a "Hello world" routine up front. On the other hand, if you're an experienced programmer, you'll find that 60 to 70 percent of the book is way below your level and needs. But wait a minute, we're talking about a 1200+ page book! If just 10 percent is on target for you and you can find what you need, it's a steal.

   The content of the book is far, far, far beyond what Microsoft provides with built-in menus and help. Anyone who claims otherwise simply hasn't done any serious VBA programming. A large percentage of the commands and structures covered here absolutely cannot be generated by automated recording. For example, I wrote a code that scans a document, finds all the acronyms, determines whether the acronym definitions are provided, and builds and/or updates an acronym table at the end. It flags all undefined acronyms and it color-codes duplicate definitions and out-of-order definitions. It includes a toolbar for helping navigate the document. It also includes a capability for combining acronym tables from multiple sources. You have to really get immersed to code a task even as conceptually simple as this one, and this book is what you need to get through it.

   The most challenging thing about being productive with VBA is the horrendously large object model. Some of the best programmers I know -- and I'm talking guided-missile engineers and the like - have turned away from VBA because the object model required too much of a learning curve. This book does a good job of laying most of the object model out in logical order. (If you're unfamiliar with the term "object model," don't be intimidated - it's not that it's all that hard to master in small steps; it's just big; and you may be able to find what you want and apply it quickly.)

   The book isn't perfect: I've found two errors, but that's not bad, considering its size. Overall, it's very authoritative.

   While using this book, I occasionally needed to turn elsewhere for additional information. My favorite companion book is Sams Teach Yourself Visual Basic for Applications 5, which has a strong orientation towards Excel. The bad news about both of these books is that they're getting old. I wouldn't yet call them "dated," but the authors/publishers will need to produce updated editions in the next few years. I, for one, really hope they do. That's the (selfish) reason for writing this review. I have to wonder, though, how many Word users will ever need a book this advanced.

   I'm giving the book five stars, because it is, by far, the best ever written on its subject. I wouldn't want to do without it.




5. This book is listed on Amazon twice! Once as "Handbook" and once as "Paperback". I have bothered to duplicate my post on both listings because I thought the book was so good.
   
   I cannot give this book enough stars. It is really excellent for someone who is relatively new to programming (and or Word) but who is motivated to make VBA work for them in Word. The first time through the book (like all software books that I use) was an attempt to try to understand how VBA works and what it can do for you. I got lost in his explanations many times and my first impression was like the reviewer above (Ovma) who gave it only 3 stars. I could understand what the Author was saying, all of the paragraphs were easy to understand but I often got lost in the differences between "strings", "Variables" "Variants" "Objects", "Methods", "Arguments" "Constants" and the different types of variables. Guy Hart-Davis seemed to explain each term quickly and then assume the reader now understood each term as he moved on and referred back to the term. It wasn't until I started back through the book the second time that I realized that because the subject is so large, he often didn't address these terms in enough detail until later chapters where he explained them in more detail.
   
   The second complaint I had (and the negative reviewer above had) was that the Author seemed to use very few examples of macros, often only having one example per chapter. Often he would explain one element of a process or command and then show a table and say: "Here are the other 500 commands that go with this one process" I thought that this would not be enough to address the millions of commands each function in VBA used. I did notice, however, that the examples he did present in the book were types of macros that I would find extremely useful. This book is already 1200 pages and I understood his need to be brief. The trick to learning VBA for Word was not to read the examples in the book presented, but to actually type them and run them. (Math is like that too. You can't watch the teacher work a problem on the board and expect to understand it. You HAVE to work the problems!) After I did that, I realized the examples were sufficient for me to master the process and make it work for me under any particular circumstance that I needed. As it turned out, the seemingly scarcity of macro examples that I thought existed was a strength. Just about any macro a reader might need could be subsequently created merely by using Word's macro recorder and adapting the commands proferred in the example.
   
   This book did not have a CD. The codes in the examples were not available on the Author's web site. As it turned out, I did not miss any provided code in the slightest. The examples were just plain too easy to duplicate just by typing and recording and, really, learning to become proficient at recording macros was a skill that a reader/student MUST master right off the bat if they have any expectation of becoming skilled.
   
   This book is for Word 2000 but I have Office 2007 and the interface is different. Many times I had to use help in 2007 to see the differences with Word 2000 but I was able to overcome the confusion and this book is not outdated in that respect.
   
   About the last 1/3rd of this book covers things that are way too advanced for me. That part is still useful because occasionally you need something obscure for code and you can find it there.
   
   This book is written for "WORD". Largely, variables that involve integers or decimals or functions that involve complex logical code are not addressed here as it would be in a book about Excel. The idea behind VBA for word is to create input boxes or autotext type macros that make typing automatic and easy. This book will allow you to master it and it makes the subject about as easy as it could be made. It takes an extremely large confusing topic and makes it (relatively) easy for someone new both to Word (as I am) or to programming.
   
   After I had read this book but before I had worked through any of the example macros, I decided to order "VBA Developer's Handbook, 2nd Addition" by Ken Getz and Mike Gilbert. That book claimed to have a disk with Reusable Code for "more than 300 Programming Goals" There wasn't a single usable line of code in that entire book. It covered the most obscure and worthless processes I could possibly imagine. While I'm not fond of bashing someone's 1000 page work product, I have to say, that after trying to skim that book, I realized just what an excellent book "Word 2000 Developer's Handbook" was. After that, I was more inclined to look at the text harder and realized all of the things that I thought were lacking in the text were actually there for me to master with just a slower and more detailed effort.
   
   It took me several full days reading the book and playing with macros to get the hang of VBA as it was intended to be used. I did already have some experience with WordPerfect for DOS macro language and I already knew what IF statements and GOTO statements were and how to manipulate the 50 commands that came with that crude code to make elegant and complex autotext type macros and documents. (Before that, in the late 70's I had used Fortran in College with card readers. You talk about useless!) I still think that anyone without that type of programming experience, someone with no experience can get the hang of VBA for word with this book. In fact, this book is probably the easiest way (if not most novices only option) to get the hang of it. Probably the hardest thing about it is that the subject is so dull. You really have to have a need for it. It is much more interesting when you do and that is what would give someone who has never had any experience at all with computer code the motivation to get through the text.

5 comments about Advanced Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 (Mps).

1. This book is written by people who generally know what they are talking about and there is a lot of good stuff in there. However, like all books with multiple authors, some chapters are better than others and some just plain irrelevant.

   The error handling chapter is probably the best. The "Programming with Variants" chapter is the most interesting but, if followed through, is a sledge-hammer to crack a nut. The "Minutae" chapter is also interesting but of no practical use. The chapter on Business Objects was the most dissapointing. It appears to have a lot of good stuff in it but falls dreadfully short on how to implement its theories. "How to recruit" was cetainly the most irrelevant chapter in a how to write code book. I guess it was there because it's a subject close to the author's (Mr Mandelbrot's) heart.

   The book's biggest strength is its 'different viewpoint' to most other VB books. It's biggest weakness is that VB is rapidly heading for the history books. Despite its many shortcomings Java is now where it's at. Sorry.




2. There are unrelated and unorganized chapters written by different authors. The book is actually about "software development". The authors express their experience. Also titles are so funny some examples :"Here Be Dragons","Dancing in Step","Using Smoke and mirors" etc.I am sorry that I bought this book.



3. One of the few books I've bought that I'll probably not refer back to again. This book needed a strong editor to turn competent programmers into good writers. The book rambled aimlessly, not really giving a hint as to where they were going or why one piece of info related to another. I know we all need our 15 minutes of fame, but each chapter's autobiographical data was a little over the top.



4. More of a 'Special Topics' book. Don't expect to run through an introductory book and right into this one. Though the first chapter has some useful suggestions for handling bugs.



5. The title of this book should be "How TMS implements VB"

   If you're an Intermediate VB programmer who's looking to expand his/her skills, don't buy this book. I learnt this lesson the hard way.

   This book is not really an Advanced book. Its really a super-advanced book with many special and arcane topics. There is good technical info at times but it is few and far in between. The book rambles along aimlessly. There is little explanation as to how one topic relates to another.

   The authors are knowledgable in their fields but extremely conceited. They also try to be witty all the time. Gets tedious after a while. There are too few examples and too much prose.

1 comments about Learn Microsoft Visual Basic .NET In a Weekend (In a Weekend (Indianapolis, Ind.).).

1. I must say... THIS IS A GREAT BOOK! i am a vb6/asp developer and had some contact with vb.net before but couldnt quite understand some parts of it until i read this book. It set me on the right track to begin working with both asp.net and vb.net a must have for anyone who wishes to learn vb.net the right and quick way.

No comments about Exploring: Getting Started with VBA (The Exploring).

2 comments about Visual Basic: An Object-Oriented Approach.

1. I have searched through numerious books on Visual Basic, many targeting the object oriented aspects of the language. I found many that showed the general theory behind OOP and gave numerious examples, but none truely taught how to approach writting a program in Visual Basic from an object oriented mindset. This book does just that.

   This book introduces the reader to building programs in class modules first and not the traditional approach of writing programs centered around form/code mudules. This later approach was used in all the other Visual Basic books I have read. The reader is not even intoduced to forms/controls till much later in the book.

   Two of the biggest complaints that the programming community has for Visual Basic is that it is not a true object oriented language and it leads to sloppy programming. First, the author states that Visual Basic is not a C++/JAVA OOP language, it is a Visual Basic OOP language. That means it lacks many things that C++ has but offers others in return. Second, the approach of this book forces the reader to learn code first, then fancy controls second. This leads to writting better structured code.

   In conclusion, I have wasted alot of time and money finding this book. It is [spendy], but as many of you know, so is buying 3 or 4 books in search of the right one. In addition, once you gained that obect oriented mindset and want to add the fancy controls that Visual Basic offers, I strongly recommend Programming MS Visual Basic 6.0 by Francesco Balena. Any library containing these two books is pretty much covered.




2. As a former student of the author, I can only say that I really benefitted from his ability to focus on the idea of Object Oriented Programming and to work within that context with Visual Basic.
   This book takes the reader full circle through Objects in Visual Basic with unparalled clarity and understanding.
   This is a great book for starters and for Visual Basic Programmers who need a higher grasp of OOP.

1 comments about .NET Framework Programmer's Reference.

1. Unfortunately, this book isn't near as good as Dan's previous VB6 Reference. A truly useful .NET framework reference can't be squeezed into 400 pages, that's a fatal flaw. A reference book DOES NOT have to mean small, it has to mean easy to find information. This book should have had more example code, yes, which would have added more pages, perhaps 100 or so. SO WHAT! Again, reference means easy to find, not concise to the point of barely helpful. On the other hand, the book does discuss a few topics well, so I gave it three stars.

1 comments about VBScript & ActiveX Wizardry: Master the Art of Creating Interactive Web Pages with Visual Basic Script and ActiveX.

1. This book is for beginner, even new-comer to the programming field. Although I have five years experience in VB programming, I still have fun in reading this book.

   For example, it teaches you:

   1. the defference in playing a .wav file in VBScript and HTML a. in VBScript-- document.write " src=sound1.wav"; b. in HTML-- a href="sound1.wav" Click this to hear something interesting. /a (this source code may not be displayed properly in this web browser, so a omit < and > here.)

   2. the defference in the click event sub for a push buton for an AxtiveX command button and for an HTML form button. a. for ActiveX command button, name the sub Click; b. for HTML form button, name the sub OnClick;

   --Funny? I skimed this book very fast and finished it just in one day, because it's very eary to read.

5 comments about Sams Teach Yourself Visual Basic 2005 in 24 Hours, Complete Starter Kit (Sams Teach Yourself).

1. To begin by being fair this author is somewhat humorous at times and takes a somewhat "surfer dude" approach to the art of programming.
   
   However...
   
   In all honesty I would not recommend this book to you unless you want something to throw out of pure frustration. I say this because the author takes a slack tone and gives vague examples in his chapters and then has examples at the end of each chapter as with most "Sam's" books. His however ask you to complete tasks that you have not learned about in the chapters. It's a feeling like being asked to do brain surgery at your first day of college. You can stumble through the first few examples with perserverance, but the later on you get the more frustrating the examples. As well there are no solutions provided for the examples leaving you dangling and forced to move on even if you were unable to complete the task. This makes learning irritating and counter-productive.
   
   Overall - Go elsewhere to gain your knowledge.



2. Let me start off by saying I'm not a total idiot when it comes to computers, but I've never done any programming before. I use a program called ArcGIS at work, which uses VBA to customize the software. I decided to investigate programming a bit further and purchased this book. WOW! What a great way to learn. The step by step instructions are fantastic. Mr. Foxall challenges the reader to do some activities at the end of each chapter, requiring you to use what you learned. Yes, some of the information was hard to understand, but isn't that how we learn? I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning Visual Basic 2005.



3. I agree with GenomeSpinner, that this book could have been alot better. I ended up not even finishing the book because I was getting frustrated at not being able to do any exercise after the first couple chapters(which I was able to do with time and perseverance). But even when I stopped being able to complete the exercises I read on hoping that it would click and I'd be able to go back and finish the earlier exercises but I was wrong, I read up to chapter 18 and then I just gave up because not being able to complete the exercises made me think that I wasn't smart enough to do it which I know is not true because visual basic is one of the easiest programming languages to learn. I have not attempted to learn visual basic after that but now I am learning C from a great book called: C Primer Plus that I recommend you must buy if you want to learn C. In short I have to say that I wouldn't recommend Teach Yourself Visual Basic 2005 in 24 Hours to anyone unless maybe they actually had a download online for the answers to the exercises in the book like C Primer Plus does.



4. Sam's "Teach yourself" books are always great! This book shows what it takes to get started and progress in the world of Visual Basic .Net 2005.
   Always recommended!



5. I don't understand all the "negative reviews" I've seen so far...I am VERY PLEASED with the book and the method of learning. So far, I have not run across anything in the book that didn't work, or better still, make sense!! I have spent a lot of money on the "RED" books, and also the "BLACK books with 'tools' on the front"...to no avail. All of those books speak as if I already knew what an "object" and a "property" and a "class" was...
   
   This book put everything into perspective for me...The answers I needed were found in it. Whereas in all the other books it seems the authors only want to show how big their vocabulary is, this one brings it down to an open level that needs no "initiation in the modern programmer's vernacular"...at some points this author comes close to "crossing that line", but for the most part, he does quite well.
   
   I recommend this book to any beginner, and also to those like me with a background in "structured" programming (as opposed to OOP) who wants to LEARN Object Oriented Programming. I will soon be purchasing a book on OOP as recommended by the author of this text, to enhance my OOP skills.
   
   Again, I am QUITE pleased with this text, and will possibly build a library of similar titles, since Visual Studio 2005 supports 3 other "platforms"...I want to MAXIMIZE the product, and this book, while using Visual Basic Epress, has opened the door to permit me to do that...I use Visual Basic 2005 Express on my Laptop, and Visual Studio 2005 on my Desktop. In time, I hope to be fluent in all the languages (platforms? Terminology is EVERYTHING!!) Visual Studio supports. I hope all those negative writers have come to terms with whatever prevented them from enjoying and growing thru this book!...
   
   JecroyezJohn316
   Escondido, CA.

3 comments about Visual Basic .NET Developer's Handbook.

1. This is a tough book; "Learn VB .NET in 10 Minutes" it ain't. But if you're willing to put the effort into it, this is a book that contains real meat instead of the fluff you get with so many computer books.

   There are a few things you should realize before you begin:

   1) This is not an introduction to VB .NET; use some other book for that. This book comes after you've done "Hello World" and a few other minor programs and are wondering how to get from tinkerer to guru.

   2) There's a LOT of SQL Server stuff in this book, so if you haven't worked with SQL Server or another OLTP database (Oracle, DB2, Informix, etc.), you won't understand it. You don't have to be a SQL Server guru but you do have to know how to create tables, stored procedures, etc. Knowledge of Access is not enough.

   3) Many examples use the built-in SQL Server integration in Server Explorer in the Visual Studio .NET IDE; this requires VS .NET Enterprise. If you have a different version of VS .NET (I have Academic), then get SQL Server Developer Edition (it's reasonably inexpensive) and use the Enterprise Manager to do these parts. Trust me, while you can use Access to do some (not all) of the work, the information in the book is intense enough that you're better off not making things even more complex by trying to use a different database from the examples.

   4) It's slow going. That's normal in a nearly 1000-page book which is, unlike most computer books, packed full of information. Don't get discouraged. Realize that you may come to subjects you know nothing about (say, XML) and may have to set the book down, go do some reading, and come back to it. Realize also that if you're used to skimming content-lite books, you'll have to resist the temptation here, or you'll miss a lot.

   With all that in mind, if you're a so-so VB .NET programmer looking to make a career of it, or a VB5/6 programmer wanting to learn what's new about .NET, this book is _the_ book you need.

   However...I do have to take away a star because of typos in the code. There aren't many, but they seem to occur especially in sections where very similar code is repeated. Think of them as code-reading practice!




2. This is a good book. The authors know a great deal about the subject. The only draw back is you need to have some VB.NET coding and store procedures writing before attempting to read this book: some of the codes do not work and will require your knowledge to correct them first !
   
   Still worth it, it keeps you mentally alert.



3. The publisher has not seen fit to publish an errata for this book. It certainly needs one.
   
   In chapter 9 the ExplorerStyle sample program demonstrates how to implement custom sorting via a ListView's ListViewItemSorter property and a class implemented using the ICompare interface. Their claim, that the ListView.Sorting property can be used once a ListView.ListViewItemSorter has been assigned, is incorrect. It's impossible to sort the list in descending order by setting the ListView.Sorting property.
   
   Later in that chapter they demonstrate a technique to persist and to reload data using the serialization tools of the .NET Framework. Their sample code is able to persist the data but their code to read and to rebuild the TreeView from the saved data is incorrect. The resulting structure is wrong and the content of the final node is wrong. In addition the data they store in the TreeView.Tag property is not reloaded and assigned to the proper nodes.
   
   In chapter 12 they attempt to demonstrate the use of the Inherits keyword by creaing a child class and supplying a unique Method (CheckDigit) in that class. Unfortunately they didn't think through their example. Later they can't use the child class in their sample code. In order to demonstrate their Method they have to create a dummy instance of the child class so that they can invoke that Method on an instance of the parent class.
   
   Now you might say that my review reflects only two chapters of the book. I reply that I've only read three chapters (chapters 8, 9, and 12) and so far I am mightly unimpressed. The topics of chapters 9 and 12 are not that advanced. The fact that the authors can't get the basics right doesn't give me much confidence in their knowledge of more advanced topics.

5 comments about Visual Basic and COM+ Programming by Example (By Example).

1. One of the best computer books that I have ever read. Comprehensive yet clear with lots of useful examples.



2. It is a fantastic read. It is thorough, well written and presents COM from a perspective that a CS guy would appreciate. Most COM books are written for IS guys and are inundated with "it is beyond the scope of this book" or "you don't need to worry about this." It is refreshing to read a book that accomodates the non-technical reader but does not insult the intelligence of the more sophisticated reader. It is truly a seminal work.



3. I have so far read chapter 6, and to be very frank, I am not impressed. Note that my review is very technical, requring good understanding of SQL Server, Microsoft DNA and MTS. Unless you already understand these topics well, you may not find my review useful.

   I have listed a few problems with the author's code (just in Chapter 6).

   (1) In its Order_Place stored proc, the code calls exec Orders_Add, and then exec OrderDetails_Add procs. After calling both procs, the author tests @@error=0 to decide whether to commit or roll back transactions.

   If there is an error in Order_Add, but not in OrderDetails_Add, then @@error would still be 0 (noting that @@error would be set by the last statement), and thus the code could commit despite inconsistencies.

   (2) Still in the Order_Place proc, the author called begin tran/commit tran/rollback tran SQL statement. This proc is meant to be used by MTS/COM+, and thus should leave transaction handling to MTS.

   (3) In Products_UpdStock proc, author raises an error if @UnitsInStock < @Quantity, without exiting the proc. Now if it weren't for the fact that Northwind database has a constraint requiring UnitsInStock>=0, this proc would have continued on to update UnitInStock despite Quantiy required > UnitsInStock. The author doesn't seem realize RaisError does not exit proc.

   (4) The author uses Northwind_Order.Order class to place an order. This is a business logic layer module. It in turn calls Data.Access module, which is in the Data Access Layer. As the author pointed himself, the idea of having separate data access layer and business logic layer is so that if ever, the underlying database changes, only data access layer has to be recoded, thus improving maintainability. This is the one of the tenors of Microsoft DNA. However, in author's Northwind_Order.Order class, it actually constructs a SQL string that is in turn passed to Data.Access. If the underlying database is changed from SQL Server to Oracle, the author would have to rewrite both his Northwind_Order.Order class and Data.Access because Oracle has a totally different convention of writing stored proc.

   These problems are just from cursory glances that I have taken at Chapter 6. I can't be sure how the rest of the book stacks up.




4. Although I have extensive experience with Visual Basic, I was a novice when it came to COM+. When I started this book, I felt that I did not know anything about COM+. When I finished this book, my skill set was at an intermediate level. This book is well written and I read this book from cover-to-cover. VB developers coming from a n-tier environment that used MTS may find this book a little too basic but for developer with little or no experience with MTS will find this book useful in learning COM+.



5. I've tried some many COM books and this is the best I've read so far. The book provided simple, yet useful examples and also has advanced and real-world projects. I've benefited a lot from reading it. I've read this book twice, and each time I learnt something more... I highly recommend this book to all who wants to have a in depth understanding of COM.