No comments about The Visual Basic Coach.

5 comments about Sams Teach Yourself Object-Oriented Programming with VB.NET in 21 Days.

1. Sams Teach Yourself Object Oriented Programming with Visual Basic.NET in 21 Days by progamming expert Richard Simon is specifically focused on mastering the basic concepts as well as teaching beginning to intermediate level users how to apply OOP concepts in the new version of Visual Basic. The reader is not expected to have any mastery of a given OOP language. In fact, the stress of having to learn the syntax of an OOP language, without first having a strong conceptual foundation about the OOP paradigm, often prevents the programmer from doing effective Object Oriented Programming at the language level. Still, it should be recognized that a beginner's knowledge of the Visual Basic language undeniably helpful. Highly recommended for anyone needing a basic, practical, "user friendly" introduction. 432 pages.



2. After spending heaps of time sudyinh the UML - finally a book that brings OOP - UML and VB.NET together. I was wrong. After 1 chapter where the code doesn't match the examples in the book and where saving visual basic id actually .vb I am thouroughly lost and confused.



3. this book attempts to teach the reader how to develop VB.net applications using object-oriented methodologies.
   While it tries in meeting this objective, it falls short in a few areas.
   First, the codes in the book seem to be different from what you get, even when you follow the authors' guidelines religiously. Some lines of code just appear almost from nowhere; some of those that are accounted for are mysteriously rearranged in the book.
   The authors' coding styles are neither here nor there. They do not seem to be within easy grasp of the VB.net newby or at the league of the blackbelt category.
   Secondly, there are several omissions and inadequate explanations in the text. The authors obviously know their jobs. But they have difficulty imparting that knowledge to their readers. 21 chapters in a book of 360 pages mean each chapter, including the code snippets and screenshots, occupy less than 18 pages. Not that I am a fan of fluff, but I believe that adequate explanations would require many more pages.
   Thirdly, a few explanations are simply wrong. E.g. you don't save files with .visual basic extension, but with .vb; neither do you write:

   Me.TextBox.AcceptReturn = True
   Me.TextBox.MultiLine = True
   .......

   But you write:

   With Me.TextBox
   .AcceptReturn = True
   .MultiLine = True
   .......
   End With

   I gave it three stars because it gives the reader a bird's eye-view of what OOP looks like in VB.net. But that's how far this book can go. If you really want to learn OOP in better details, you will need to use additional resources--either one that is geared to the newbies, or one that is aimed at the gurus out there. This hermaphrodite of a book defies easy placement.




4. This book is not well written, it looks like the book was based on a Beta Version of Visual Studio .NET, and was never validated against the final release version of VB.NET.

   I like creating the programming examples from the book, I find that helps me to learn the product better and faster, however, I could not get the programs to work correctly when entered from the book.

   I stopped reading the book after the first chapter, because the information is incorrect.




5. Sorry guys but I thought your book was not comprehensive and it confused the heck out of me when I read it couple of years back. (John Sharp- C# step by step is an excellent book to learn OOP).
   
   I took this book as a teach yourself/ intro to OOP and unfortunately the authors didn't do a good job with their intended audience- people trying to learn OOP. Plus there were multiple bugs in their code, which was not helpful.

1 comments about Visual Basic .Net: A Complete Object-Oriented Programming Course Including Unified Modelling Language Uml.

1. This is one of the best textbooks that I have come across for someone trying to understand the intricacies of VB.Net and object-oriented programming. The examples in the text are complete and the code works. I wish I had discovered this text years ago.

No comments about Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 BASICS.

5 comments about Internationalization With Visual Basic (Sams White Book Series).

1. The book is very poorly writen. There is NO consistent organization, NO clear explanations. The author assumes that the reader already knows everything. The code in the book doesn't work. It's just a mixtrure of tables and non-functional code samples without clearly deliniated fundamental structure and explanation of the concepts. It just makes the job of figuring it out so much more difficult. What a disappointment!



2. The title really sums up how I felt about this book. It was really good in terms of content but suffered a lot due to really uneven editing. I have seen Mr. Kaplan's posts in newsgroups and he tends to type too fast and misspell a lot of words, so I am sure they are "his" typos. But isn't that what editors are for?

   The overall style is good, though he does tend to ramble as others have mentioned. I preferred the Symmonds book for writing style, but I prefer flash over substance so the message is more important than how it is delivered. Maybe they could write a book together or something? With a publisher than puts more effort into the editing job?




3. I'm not a rich man and my need for this information was not pressing, so I waited to purchase this book until the price dropped a little. I managed to get it used, but as far as I'm concerned [money] was still too much to pay given the potential of the subject. I agree with some of the user reviews I've read about editing. Kaplan suffers from Stephen-King-itis, i.e., made a name for himself as a guru and apparently believes he's above editing and each word is golden. I agree with another review about it being a good visual title on the shelf, it's just too bad it lacks specific detail and workable code samples so you can be sure he actually knows what he's talking about. (Yes, he does often know what he's talking about, but if you weren't familiar with his reputation, it wouldn't be proven by this book.)



4. My company is going to get some customers in Asia. We are (2 ASP, VB 10-year experience programmers) going to make our products to be able to support Asian language. What we read this book and we found totally nothing help us. Even I would like simply message box a Chinese word instead of ??? in VB application. We also searched many websites and newsgroups that talk about it. Michael and People sometimes introduce this book in the newsgroup. But why people still keep asking such kind of questions, like ???.



5. Like idiots, we gave this guy the benefit of the doubt and tried his book. WHAT A MISTAKE! After seeing most of the code not work and the direction of the topics going offtrack, my collegues and I would just not feel good about not warning others first. We've seen his temper get out of control in the MS newsgroups and I guess that should have been our warning to stay away from his work. There HAS to be a book out there better than this one because the developers here are now using this one for nothing more than a foot rest. Save your money!

5 comments about Teach Yourself Visual Basic 5 in 21 Days (Sams Teach Yourself...in 21 Days).

1. This book has received a lot of good reviews. Everyone has an opinion. My opinion is that it is a horrible book. The presentation is terrible and it really doesn't catch your attention or give you any desire to continue learning. There are many other books that are much better.



2. I found this book extremely helpful in teaching vb5. I knew absolutely nothing about vb5 when I started, but the book moves at just the right pace and assumes no previous knowledge. It is very complete, although it can get quite boring at times, hey this is a computer book it's supposed to be. Provides no info on troubleshooting but it's generally not necessary. You may feel discouraged, but don't worry, as the book progresses you will get it.



3. Well, I liked this book. I was a stay-at-home Mom, had to give up my pottery hobby when the baby was born because it was too dusty. I took up programming instead, started with an earlier version of this book. It was fun. The exercises were motivating. Fun enough to still be at them at 3am after the middle-of-the night feeding. Sure, maybe not everything was documented perfectly, but that's the norm you're going to have to get used to become a developer. Anyhow, this book started me on being a programmer - after a few years of contracting I now work as a developer at one of the largest software development companies in the Pacific Northwest. So here's to a great book that changed my life.



4. Working in the customers service end of a software company in central CA, I wanted to understand more of what we were doing. So I borrowed this book and went through chapter by chapter. Sure there were a few typos but when I got to day 16 I was in heaven. My mind was popping with all of the "cool things" I now felt empowered to do with databases. I felt that it was a a great starting point for the programming novice. The one Coveat is to not rely on this text for Direct X. By the time I saw the website everything had changed and was unable to download the programs they instructed me to download. And the example programs were not any help. To understand the concepts they are talking about just play Half-Life and you will see what they are talking about.



5. I would recommend this book to anybody who is interested in learning Visual Basic. The book enables one to write sophisticated professional programs for windows in a very short time. It teachs new topic with a project. Going through by the book one is able to prepare a specific project in no time.

5 comments about Mastering VBA 6 (Mastering).

1. It is a good book, but there are a lot of things you won't see here.



2. This book will give you information and knowledge that you need before learning to be a programmer.



3. I expected much more from this book, specially if its title says "Mastering." Although the author claims he will be hands-on and practical, in fact he elaborates on only few examples preceeded by interminable explanations. For example, the first 100 pages contain only 4 very simple and concrete cases using macros and the rest is an agonizing explanation on each and all of the components of several menus. No concrete examples that would enable the reader to cement his knowledge on solid ground.
   On ocassions the author explains VBA for an specific application, say Word, but then he changes to give general explanations for all applications at once, disorderly mentioning exceptions for Excel, Word, Project or PowerPoint, what makes the reading difficult.
   No, this book is not for me. I need principles and theory handsomely applied in concrete cases.



4. This book should be called "Programming 101 with VBA". The author spends pages discussing inefficient sorts and searches that can be found in any other book.

   If you don't know anything about programming, and what to know how to get the most of your applications - this may be for you.
   Don't buy this if you already know VB and want to learn some of the andvanced features of VBA.




5. Have read the other reviews, and feel the need to counter a few points. This is a great book for nonprogrammers who are proficient with an application such as Word or Excel and want to take the next step to getting their application to "jump through hoops." (Or who just want to get a taste for programming.)

   Background: I'm a tech writer with no programming education or experience other than some minor html and scripting I've picked up on the job. This book enabled me to self-educate myself to a fairly proficient level with VBA in a matter of two months. Out of all the "learn this skill quick" books that I've bought, this one has delivered the most value by far.

   A few counterpoints: The reader from Naskayuna says the author spends pages discussing techniques that can be found in any other book. Those pages of discussion are what make this book invaluable to a beginner. Every code example the author gives (I didn't count, but I'd say there are scores) is followed by a thorough, step-by-step explanation of what each line of code means.

   For the experienced programmer (apparently this reviewer is one), this probably gets old. But for the inexperienced user it does several things. Your confidence goes up each time you can look at a coded procedure and understand everything that is happening from the first step to the last. Your VBA lessons get driven in by repetition. And you don't spend as much time flipping back trying to locate previous concepts, because the code you are looking at is explained right there. I own another VBA book and have checked out two others from my employer's training library. There is no comparison! This author's approach to explaining sample code is by far the best for VBA novices without a programming background.

   The reader from Walnut CA complained that there weren't enough examples and that the first 100 pages offer only an agonizing explanation of all the menu components in the VBA editor. The reviewer is basically right about the first 100 pages, but missed a very important point. My experience differed in that I read some of the introductory stuff up front, then skipped right over most of those 100 pages to dive into the practical, hands-on stuff. Then I just used the first 100 pages or so as a resource when I needed to know more about how something worked. In fact, I think the author actually recommends this strategy early in the book! It worked like a charm for me. Maybe the reviewer didn't get past the first 100 pages, because if there's one thing this book definitely does NOT lack, it is hands-on examples.

   Last counterpoint: The first reviewer (March 2000) says there's a lot of stuff you won't see here. I don't think it's possible in a single book to cover all the concepts of a huge topic like VBA and still give plenty of hands-on practice. I liked the balance of conceptual explanations and hands-on practice. I also liked the fact that the author spends a lot of time telling you how to get help beyond the book. He spends pages explaining how best to use the online help. He may not cover everything, but he points you toward plenty of other tools that will fill the gaps.

   Some caveats: Learning VBA on your own from a book is somewhat akin to learning a foreign language using only audiotapes and a textbook. It might not be for everybody. I give this book five stars, but it ain't a magic bullet!! This book worked for me because I was already proficient with a particular tool (MS Word) and had some specific goals in mind for what I wanted to accomplish with VBA, and was willing and able to put in a lot of time at the computer to meet those goals. If you don't have a tool and some goals of your own in mind, or don't have the time to devote to learning this stuff, your mileage may vary. But if you've got all that going for you, I don't think you'll find a better starting point than this.

1 comments about Introduction to Programming Using Visual Basic 6.

1. A popular professor I know chose this book for his Visual Basic class after reviewing several possible texts. Both I and my son have used this book -- he to learn his first programming language, and I to learn a modern programming language after having studied and largely forgotten regular BASIC and Pascal twenty years ago.
   
   We also have Visual Basic for Dummies, but both of us greatly prefer the Bronson text. Yes the "for Dummies" series books have some juicy phrases here and there, but after awhile that becomes an irritating distraction. Much better to go with a book like Bronson's, which though it has no 'tude, is a paragon of clarity and stepwise organization.
   
   The book also avoids the the other extreme -- the bog of geekspeak in which many programming books mire themselves. In its structure, examples, text, and exercises, Bronson is straightforward, simple, and effective. I highly recommend this text.

1 comments about Teach Yourself Excel Programming With Visual Basic for Applications in 21 Days (Teach Yourself).

1. Truthfully, I am not yet through the entire book yet. But this is a very well written book for someone that has a desire to learn VBA programming with Excel, or to eventually move into VB. Examples build on prior chapters to drive the message home. Every concept is explained two or three times making it slow to read, but thorough. Each chapter includes a summary, questions and exercises. Do your homework and you'll be getting that raise you deserve! And don't be discouraged that this book doesn't come with a CD. You'll need the practice typing code. However, if you already know what VB is and can make your way around the Editor, I suggest Reed Jacobson's Excel 2000 VBA Fundamentals. I bought that book at the same time and it is on the shelf waiting for me to catch up. I think it will be a great reference for real world examples later on.

No comments about Visual Basic 2005 (Guias Practicas Para Usuarios / Practical Guides for Users).