5 comments about Microsoft Visual Basic 5 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft)).

1. I started learning VB about 4 months ago by following the examples set forth within this book. It is easy to read, however, after reading this book, you are left thirsting for more information. I think more actual commands should have been included with an explanation. I am now writing Active X components as well as an on-line inventory program. I owe alot to this book.



2. If you want to start learning about Visual Basic, this book is for you. No programming experience required but it helps to have programming backgound. Eventually you will need a more advanced book.



3. In a nutshell, the book lives up to it's name. Far from the content,the binding is coming apart for every page read. The author goes into structure and the basics for a good foundation to raise above and move to the next stage.I found no errors in the practice files, this says alot about how it was developed. Even though he doesn't talk about advanced programming techniques, this should come at no surprise since the book is designed for the newcomer in Visual Basic. Worth every penny. I will probably read another one of Michael books on the subject in the future.



4. I had never done anything even remotely related to programming before I read this book, and yet I was able to use it as a springboard to Visual C++ and J++. By the fourth chapter I was able to create marketable applications using purely original code. Covers everything and if you don't want Everything it gives you that option too. I recommend this book to anyone who has No experience but is interested (even a little, it grabs those who aren't sometimes) in learning. Have fun, I did.



5. If you want to learn VB then this is the book. I know VB 5 is getting old but there are little differences between the VB5 and VB6 (Neither is really "WEB FOCUSED"). So pick up this book and learn the language and product and get ready for VB7 which will be web ready. This is a good start into the world of VB. Easy reading and fun.

5 comments about Applied Microsoft .NET Framework Programming in Microsoft Visual Basic .NET.

1. I recently placed an order for the book. The listing for the book says it usually ships in 1 to 2 days. Once I place the order, I could see that the book would not SHIP for 1.5 weeks! Now I would consider canceling the order, but I can't because it has entered the shipping process. There is still a week before it ships.



2. Mr. Richter has an incredible mastery of the elements of the .NET Framework. As others have observed, Microsoft development teams could indeed benefit from reading the book. (In fact, there are several instances in which Mr. Richter critiques the implementation that Microsoft has provided and offers his recommendation on how it could be improved.) Unfortunately, you would have to be a member of a Microsoft development team to have enough grounding in the concepts presented here to benefit from Mr. Richter's expertise. What it comes down to is there's a difference between presenting material and providing the tools that enable a learning experience to occur.



3. This is a great contribution to understanding the .Net framework. I would have liked for Jeff to have included a "Best Practices" or "List of Recommendations" based on his many findings. There's so much content to remember, that it will be hard to use it as a reference if his recommendation isn't in the section/chapter you think.
   The Summary Info could be a download or an appendix. Just a thought.



4. I am a technical person. I have developed using VB for nearly ten years now. This is the first .Net book I picked up. It was a mistake. I found that many of the topics covered in this book were easier to learn using other sources.



5. The title is misleading, but the material is wonderful. (This book was originally published in C#, and the 2.0 edition of this book is titled CLR via C#.) If you already have a working knowledge of VB.Net 1.0/1.1 and want to gain a deeper understanding of the CLR internals and some essential patterns, this is the best place to start. Unless you are a seasoned developer, this should not be your first book on .Net.
   
   This book contains a wealth of information that is not available through MSDN and often difficult to find anywhere else. This version, VB.Net, contains a few items that aren't in the C# version, e.g., the difference between DirectCast and CType, but it's definitely not worth purchasing if you already have the C# edition.
   
   I especially enjoyed Richter's coverage of the following:
   Primitive Types (especially the bit about constants being compiled into IL)
   Events & Delegates (their relationship may surprise some VB developers)
   Exception Patterns & Strategies
   Garbage Collection & IDisposable

5 comments about Visual Basic 6.

1. The real question with a book like this is - is it worth the money?

   The book markets itself as a 'quick reference' book, so you would hope it would provide value over and above what you can find in the help files.

   Unfortunately, I did not find this to be the case. There was little info that the help files wouldn't tell you. Some of the information seemed out-of-date or lacking.

   As examples:

   IIF - The book claims you need to distribute an extra DLL to use this function (which is not the case with VB 6). It also fails to mention the classic pitfalls of IIF (slowness, and the fact that the valueIfTrue and valueIfFalse parameters are evaluated regardless of the value of expression).

   IsEmpty - This function is described as 'Determines if variable is empty' - not very helpful. Then, the examples suggested do not even include a line where IsEmpty evaluates to True. The writer would *appear* to believe IsEmpty("") is True, which is a grievous error.

   IsError - Like IsEmpty, the description is again not very helpful. Plus, again, the example (IsError(13)) evaluates to False. There is no indicaton of what the expression would need to be for IsError to evaluate to True.

   IsMissing - No mention is made that as of VB 6, this should only be used of optional parameters of type Variant.

   With so many errors in the space of 20 pages (of a total of 450), I really can't justify expenditure on this book. Read Books Online instead.




2. I sincerely hope this book is better than Mr. Rahmel's previous works. I had bought Mr. Rahmels' "Sams Teach Yourself Database Programming with Visual Basic 6 in 24 Hours". There were numerous technical errors (code snippets that simply didn't work) and no way to find out how to correctly code the problems. When I attempted to contact Mr. Rahmel I was met with little cooperation in correcting the problems. The publisher did offer to refund the money for the book however. Be forewarned!



3. I've owned this book for over a year (and have 8 or 9 other VB books on the shelf,) and it's literally the first one I grab when I've got a question regarding VB syntax or useage. While it doesn't cover the advanced functionality much (Winsocket / API access, etc.) or at all, it covers the basics very well, indeed. I've got a copy at home, a copy at work, and have ordered two more copies for co-workers. Although I've found a few errors, It's easy enough to pencil in the corrections.



4. I purchased same with the idea of making it a handy, portable syntax reference. Unfortunately, it is fair for that purpose, but the errors simply make it a poor investment. I attempted to contact the author, but was met with rude, rude replies. Unless you are in need of kindling, save your money.



5. I have worn my copy of this book out. I can't imagine not getting this book.
   The examples have saved project after project.
   I will be getting the VB.Net reference as i learn VB.Net.
   If you work with VB.6 as I do, you MUST have this book!!!! Easy to read, easy to search,, and you will learn something as you use it.
   PROGRAMMERS, GET THIS BOOK!!!

5 comments about Microsoft Office 2000/Visual Basic: Programmer's Guide (Microsoft Professional Editions).

1. This is a book designed for people that already know something about office and vba and who want to take custom development to the next level with more advanced techniques



2. The intro materials in this book reveal that the authors were working side-by-side with the office development team as this book was written. Such direct access to the people who know the most about the product is unusual and it shows in this book. A collection of truly "useful" information and sample code. This is not a rehash of online help or a collection of the "basic" programming info found in a lot of reference books. The discussion generally gives you useful information and, the part I like the most, gives you sample code that works just the way it is in my own programs. This is not sample code of the type "MyControl.Backcolor = Red" that I see so much of. It appears that a real effort was made to write code that not only illustrates a concept, but that is usable in other contexts without much, or any, modification.

   Thanks for the resource....check it out - you will not be disappointed.




3. It's very hard to find a book on VBA that isn't based in one application, and doesn't begin at the 'Hello World' level. This book does neither. Instead it provides a good introduction to the object models of the Office applications, and includes well-written code examples. The breadth of content is impressive--from shared Office components to class modules. What a pity it's out of print!



4. I would agree with the review that states the authors were working side-by-side with the office development team as this book was written. However, I would disagree that such close input was entirely helpful. While the information contained in this book is a nice introduction to how things are "supposed" to work, as with so much of Microsoft's software, things never quite work the way they were designed, unless of course, you're doing exactly what the folks at Microsoft assumed you would do. Not only do some examples in this book fail to work, most examples are simple and obvious, the kind of thing a person might generate from looking at Microsoft's help information. Often they illustrate how the designers assumed their software would work. They often fail to demonstrate what the software can do--or much more important--how to get around the artificial limitations set by Microsoft. Some simple examples involve such basic building blocks as dialog boxes and menus (commandbars in Micro-speak). Some built-in dialog boxes have over a dozen arguments, but try finding out what those arguments do from either this book or from Microsoft's help information. As for the commandbars, even the examples from the book fail to work.

   My advice? If you want to know what Microsoft intended, get this book. If you want to use Microsoft Office in a real world situation, keep looking.




5. I would disagree with many people on this book due to the fact that this book is very helpful on using codes and debugging tools although its a definition guide on computer programming in windows 2000 it can teach you a lot of details on programming it is more like a beginners guide using many symbols and differnt codes this book is more of a book for people wanting to learn how to write files store files also deals with rewritting web pages or possibley a guide on how to develop folders spreadsheets graphs and many othe features i would say this book is really great for anyone wanting to learn c programming in windows environment as well as in the assembly language or DOS enviroment; although this book does not teach you assembly language programming it is a way to start learning assembly language programming1

1 comments about Advanced .NET Remoting in VB .NET.

1. although the book is ok, it is just another one of these books that has been converted from an origional c # book. This book is also one of those where all's your going to get is a bunch of console examples. I might be biast against this book because I am sick of buying a book on vb.net just to find it was not origionally written for vb.net and there always seems to be confusing code in these books where whomever converted the code to vb forgot a line or 2. When oh when will publishers start writing vb.net books from scratch? Given the amount of these type of books and the over whelming majority of good example online being in c#, I do not see how vb will survive much longer. Anyways if you do not have a problem reading yet another re-write I guess this book is for you.

5 comments about .NET Compact Framework Programming with Visual Basic .NET (Microsoft .NET Development Series).

1. This is the first book I buy on compact .net. Granted, I can't compare with others.

   Still, there are things I miss. First and foremost, Amazon's description says the book covers "Custom controls with Windows Forms Designer support". This isn't correct. The book just says "in can't be done in VB due to a bug in .NET, so the following examples must be in C#".

   Also, there's no talk on locking your application so it's impossible to get out of it (for example when your app is the only application supposed to be used in a device - imagine the device that the UPS guys use).

   Regarding what IS on the book, it's well explained and (more or less) through... but everything is on MSDN or just google. No special material here.




2. I'm really impressed. I'm not usually much on the big tome books. This one is almost 1400 pages, which weighs in at 5 pounds on my bathroom scale. That being said, the text is really tight, the illustrations are cropped, not overwhelming in number, and are used effectively. And the book on the whole does not pander to the reader. The topics are also covered at a reasonable depth.
   
   The book is essentially three books, one on the compact framework, one on WinForms and one on database access, all in one book, in a well integrated form. And it works. If you need a book that is an end-to-end introduction to .NET on small devices, this is a great book to try.



3. At first glance I thought the book was well written. However after digging deeper I found that each time I wanted a particular question asked I had to result to other books. Throughout the book the examples are fragmented and are not tied together very well.
   
   When I downloaded the examples from the author's web site I found that every single example project I tested to be incomplete with missing files or code.
   
   There are several syntax errors in the VB code and it is obvious that they were just copied over from the C# examples with out testing. This is also probably why the VB projects did not work. It is this reason that I decided to return the book.



4. The right book, at the right time!
   
   I wish I had bought this book 1 week earlier, it would have saved a lot of time and frustration.



5. This book started well, with a good high-level overview of the CF. However, the authors then put the reader in deep water, they don't explain examples hardly at all, use very technical language without explanation and to top it all most examples didn't work, even when downloaded from the author's site. When used as a reference, there are not clear examples of how to do even simple things, instead there are very long and complex examples which confuse and overwhelm. Unless you want to spend hours trying to do simple tasks, stay well away from this book.

5 comments about Security for Microsoft Visual Basic .NET.

1. Security is becoming an essential topic and there is a lot of information available already, but up until now, no reference that brings it together for the VB programmer. I was after a book that gave me the basic knowledge for writing secure apps. This book is great.

   Ed Robinson and Mike Bond have previously written about VB migration. I often find that authors like the rest of us mortals grow in our jobs and this book is very well written. It starts out with the basics, and gets more advanced as the book goes on. I like the fact that the book has loads of example code which is designed to be cut-and-pasted into your applications.

   As a final note, I think this is definitely one of the best MSPress .NET books. Unlike the other security books, which seem to be rushed to be first to market, this books is well thought out, and created by people who know VB.NET as well as knowing about security. This brings security down to earth, and is more relevant to the VB programmer than anything else I've read on security. This book is worthy of five stars.




2. My only criticism of this book is that it wasn't released sooner. Security for VB.NET covers what should already have been part of the VS.NET help or MSDN online library. I *love* the chapters on role-based and code-access security, which actually explains how you would use this stuff in real life. But my favorite chapter is the one on locking down Windows, IIS and .NET - this is exactly what I was looking for, a simple, unambiguous checklist for how to secure the platform.



3. I was a little bit skeptical to buy this book since Amazon hasn�t put up a description yet, so I went to my local bookstore to check it out. I got to readin it and couldn�t put it down. I was never really sure if my VB code was secure or not.. I�ve read other books that are heavy on security options, but light on recommendations. This book gave me both the options and recommendations. It told me exactly what I needed to do to use encryption in my program. Something I was never able to figure out from the documentation. Plus it gave me plenty of other ideas on how to make my VB code better and more secure. Now I feel like I�m in control of my VB code again. It was well worth the trip!



4. When I first saw this book, I thought "How can they write a whole book on security?" So out of intellectual curiosity, I started flipping through the pages. It was like getting kicked in the stomach, not because it was wrong, but because it was right. It made me fundamentally re-think how I write my code and really shifted my whole mental image. Too many times developers think that if an app does what users want and runs fast and is reliable, that's all there is to it. Not anymore. The most killer app written wouldn't impress anyone if it got hacked and cost them a lot of money. There days, too many people are trying to hack your stuff, and having your app busted is no less 'bad' than having a logic flaw miscalculate tons of money. Moreoever, security breaches often make the headlines so it's a lose/lose for everyone if your security is breached.

   The good news... buy this book, follow their guidelines religously, keep up to date with security issues, and sleep easy at night.




5. I purchased the book in order to get some depth on the inner workings of code access security and version management as it pertains to strongly named assemblies. In neither case did the book offer anything more than a rehash of the documentation -- and not in a particularly well thought out or organized manor.

5 comments about Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Developer's Workshop.

1. This book is obviously not for beginners - it already said in the introduction . And it's not written in any order. It's a good idea to just jump around the book and read the sections you 're intersted in - Most chapters discuss a new area and not related to the previous one.

   This book is well explained - I personally like the User Assisstance , most book doesn't cover on this . Overall , this book will not teach you basic concepts but to enhanced your skills.




2. This book has MANY provocative examples of things that can be done with VB6. The examples are non-trival and not necessarily to be comprehended in one sitting (by me at least). This is definitely a book to work with while learnng to use VB6 and its many features (like the Microsoft msscript.ocx control (p. 506) which has really grabbed my attention). I give the authors high marks for producing this book.



3. I can't say it's a bad book but it wasn't for me. If you are relatively new to Visual Basic or you want to know what version 6 can do, take a look to this book.

   Beside that, look for more specific books like those from Wrox on VB6




4. Although the book wasn't all I was looking for, it gave me more than I originally expected. I bought this book because I was tired of skimming through 10 different VB web sites looking for a quick and dirty answer to a question - and SAMPLE CODE. :)

   This book met my expectations very well, it answered more than half of the questions I had...and had answers to some questions I hadn't yet thought of asking. Although it doesn't hit many of the real advanced topics I was really hoping for (i.e., calling/using C DLLs...besides just knowing you can do it), I am more than happy with it -- and recommend it to other non-VB gurus. :)




5. I got this book about 2 years a go when I was starting on VB. It helped a lot on my learning. This is a cook book or "How to..." book that teaches you how to do many usual things so it's very useful when you are a beginner so you don't have to figure out how to do this things and It save you many time. Once you get in practice probably you won't need it any more.

5 comments about Visual Basic 6 for Dummies Deluxe Compiler Kit.

1. This product is learner's manual for VB6 combined with a cd-rom allegedly containing a learner's version of the software. Good idea, problematic execution. After a few chapters into the book, I am less than impressed. The accompanying cd-rom of Visual Basic is a scaled down version that does not have all the bells and whistles that are talked about in the book itself. For example, an early exercise directs the reader to put certain icons in a program. According to the book, these icons come loaded with Visual Basic 6. Maybe, but they don't come loaded on the scaled-down, companion CD version. Additionally, the book identifies a particular basic portion of the VB 6 interface called the Immediate Window, characterized as a debugging tool. This tool also does not come with the scaled down version. I am considering returning the product, purchasing the book alone for approx. half the price, and then getting a copy of the software.



2. They say it takes an honorable person to admit an error. I'm not necessarily honorable, but I was wrong about some facts in my previous review, and I'd like to correct the situation now. 1) I found the Icons folder I couldn't find earlier. It doesn't install automatically, but if you put the installation CD back in and search, you'll find it. 2) I found the portion of VB6 I couldn't find earlier -- it was just hidden from view. So the product isn't problematic, just the user. I'm still reading the book and using the application, and I am actually, in a truly basic sense, programming. And now, because I have not yet finshed the book, and becuase I don't want to have to apologize again, I resolve to say nothing more.



3. The title of this package is outright wrong. I've been programming for over ten years and when something says "COMPILER" I expect a compiler. The working model included in this package lets you build programs that run in the IDE but does not compile to EXE's. As for the book, no great shakes. It spends a great deal of time on the RAD but if you want to learn useful VB code, better look elsewhere.



4. While the book will get you started, alot is asummed. Previous programming experience is helpful.



5. If you are serious about learning V.B. 6.0, this book is not for you. The software that comes with the book contains no online help and does NOT compile. Spend a few extra dollars and buy "Visual Basic 6.0 Deluxe Learning Edition". It has the complete online MSDN library for all the help you need, and you can compile your projects into actual executable files.

5 comments about Programming Distributed Applications With Com & Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 (Programming/Visual Basic).

1. This is a direct, no-nonsense book on the inner-workings of COM. Ted Pattison diagrams a convincing argument for programming by way of interface based component designs and outlines several strategies for sending data over the wire in a distributed network environment. Pattison has written thorough low-level explanations on the mechanics of apartment threading and remote procedure calls and instructively examined how Microsoft Transaction Server works. I am convinced that understanding this (relatively small) book can't help but make you a better VB programmer.



2. I read this book after trying lots of other VB COM books. This is the one which you need if you want an in-depth but easy to read book on COM and DCOM. For a introductory VB COM book get Microsoft Mastering : Enterprise Development Using Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 (ISBN:0735609012 ). Thats also a GREAT book. Stay away from VB COM by Thomas Lewis. It's a mess



3. I had no idea about COM and this book helped me a lot to get me started. You should be familiar with object-oriented programming no matter C++, JAVA or Visual Basic. It explains how COM works and describes its threading model. This book also contains few chapters on MTS environment showing how life could be easier with MTS instead of writing complex code to deal with issues such as connection management, thread pooling, and transaction monitoring.

   I don't know why Ted Pattison named this book "Programming Distributed Apps with COM and Microsoft VB 6", of course the author provided few sample code in VB but don't count on that to start developing COM components. Get the "Fitch & Mather" sample code from Microsoft site and study it, that would help be sure of that.

   Even if you are a COM programmer you will still find a lot of tips to optimize your code. I've read this book many times and each time I find few things that helps me. IT'S A MUST for all COM programmers.

   I would also recommend:

   "Creating Lightweight Components with ATL". With these two books and some coding you will master COM and ATL.

   "Inside COM+ Base Services" should be your next book if you want to continue, it will take you to the next stage of evolution of the COM programming model.

   Enjoy it




4. I thought this book was great. I've working with VB for 5 years and developing COM components in VB for 2 years. Did you ever wonder what really goes on when you build COM components in VB? Do you want a clear understanding about how COM really works? If not, this book is not for you.

   The author explains COM programming in a very clear way. I found the book very easy to read and I rarely feel that way about computer books. I don't think this book is for total VB novices that have never created a COM component in VB. This book does not have many examples either. If you are looking for a strictly "how to" book, this is not for you. But, if Visual Basic is you're bread and butter this book is a must read. A little familiarity with C++ would also be helpful to get the most out of this book.




5. I didn't have a very good undersdtanding about internal of COM. This book gave me lot of information regarding COM servers and threading and is a great book i suggest for any VB programmer who wants to know more about how COM works. The presentation of this book is excellent!. Thanks Ted, for your wonderful work.

   Eventhough i tried to read "inside COM" i found it hard for me because i am not a C++ programmer. I don't suggest "inside com" for a VB programmer.