5 comments about Dan Appleman's Win32 API Puzzle Book and Tutorial for Visual Basic Programmers.

1. There's something fundamentally wrong with the concept of a puzzle book for an application programming interface. A book about an API should yield clarity, not puzzles.



2. When I was researching how to access HID-class USB peripherals from VB applications, I learned from the Windows 98 docs that I needed to call a series of API functions to locate the device and learn about its capabilities. Many of the calls involved passing and returning complex structures. I could find no documentation on the calls for Visual-Basic programmers. Although I had some experience with API calls, my initial attempts at calling these functions didn't get far.

   Then I bought this book. First I read it straight through (though I do admit to reading each solution after the puzzle, rather than waiting til the end). Then I went back to my code with the book at hand and eventually got it all working. Plus, I understood exactly why the code had to be the way it was in order to work.

   This isn't a cookbook. Thinking is required. One sentence I took particular comfort in when things weren't quite working yet was, "It is ultimately possible to handle any structure, no matter what type of data it contains." (p. 363)

   This is an excellent and useful book that will enable you to do any API call that Windows might throw your way.




3. You cann't programming a good VB without it



4. As a VB programmer you should have at least 2 books on yourshelf: Dan Appleman's Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the Win32 APIand this one. The former teaches by showing - serving as a reference book when you are trying enhance the functionality of your VB application. The latter teaches by doing - allowing your mind to actively grasp the concepts behind API calls, structures, and pointers, instead of mindlessly hacking through APIs, tossing in variables, hoping for success. The puzzles in this book allow you to learn from your mistakes. Mr. Appleman explains his own logic as he works through the problem. For me, this is more valuable than just being told the answer as many books in this genre do.

   This book is vital to help train a VB programmer to become a designer, rather than a developer. It helps you understand the importance of visualizing the solution to the problem before writing a single line of code. In sports they say that you need to visualize the goal before you actually play the game. I think the same goes for coding. This book is the ideal companion for that exercise. If you are a technical team lead, go ahead and assign these puzzles to your developers so that they can not only hone their skills, but also sharpen their minds.

   In addition, Mr. Appleman's writing style of light bantering and humor is a nice relief from the dry technical-journalistic writing of other Visual Basic authors.

   ...this book is not a cookbook...it can be better thought of as Ingredient Book. By understanding the fundamental ingredients towards cooking up a VB/WinAPI program, it helps you become a better chef. You need to understand what goes into a creation before you can anticipate what comes out.

   ...this book is not meant to serve as a comprehensive reference guide to the API. For that try Mr. Appleman's API book or Bock's Visual Basic 6 Win32 API Tutorial.. END




5. If you use API's, or want to use API's, then I suggest getting this book. There are so many API calls out there, that no book contains them all.

   This book helps you solve the API so you can use them in your applications. Definately a "must have" for any programmer out there worth his salt.

4 comments about Visual Basic Telephony.

1. In general, it is well writen: easy to read. However, as I worried, it was a little bit outdated. And, there were not surficent explanation on codes for visual voice. I wouldn't recommend this book if someone wants to learn how to write a program using visual voice in visual basic environment.



2. This book was an excellent introduction to visual basic telephony...If you are interested in a beginning book on Telephony and how a telephony application would work in a point and click environment, this book is a solid choice.



3. Don't buy this book. It is way out dated.



4. This book belongs on the "out of print" list. A promising title, but lousy content. Instead of providing useful materials on developing telephony applications in Visual Basic, the authors, in essence, used this book as promotional material for their own Visual Voice software component which works with Visual Basic 1.0, long outdated considering VB 6.0 is about to be replaced with VB.Net . The rest of the book is an overview of Visual Basic, telephony terminology, and even talks of Windows 3.1. This book is overdue for the recycling bins.

4 comments about Vbscript Unleashed.

1. The book only actually has a few chapters on VBScript, of which most are simple reference guides to the language. There is not enough detail on how to actually use the language. My problems with the book: Only a fraction of the language is covered, and what is mentioned has many errors. The chapter on the scripting object model incorrectly describes how to work with frames. I try to write code using the examples and get nothing but errors. The sample scripts provided work but have bad programming style. The book proceeds to explain ActiveX in great detail, but I bought the book for VBSCript, and was very disappointed that there was only a couple chapters of use to me.



2. This book has so many errors and inaccurate statements that it would definitely place a newcomer to VBScript (which it was obviously written for and by) on the WRONG track. I purchased this book as an aide to prepare for a class I was teaching, and I wasted my money. Do not buy this book!



3. I wanted a good primer and reference guide to VBScript - this book was both. There are a few typos here and there, but I think it's a great book and have gotten a lot of use out of it. This was the second book I have bought from the "Unleashed" series and I just bought a third!



4. With all the other reviews I was apprehensive in buying the book. I bought the book anyway, just like any other computer programming references you would get ideas and techniques here that other books do not offer. A definite must have if you want to improve your skill in SCRIPTING!

5 comments about Sams Teach Yourself Visual Basic .NET in 24 Hours.

1. This is a pleasant book (but now the wrong edition) for the beginner with no prior VB experience. Teaching is done via many VERY SIMPLE projects, and these cannot be done without Visual Studio. You want to buy the latest version "Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2003 (VB .NET) in 24 Hours Complete Starter Kit" which includes a DVD with a trial version of the latest Visual Studio.

   Projects are all for Windows Forms projects including one session on automating Excel (from a Windows form). Visual Basic.NET's most exciting use for many is for the code behind ASP.NET Web Forms when developing applications with a web browser user interface. The author does mention such use very briefly but offers no examples. There are many fine introductory books at this same beginner level on VB.NET and ASP.NET; so if web applications are where you are headed, this book will not be the best choice.

   This book might be nice easy step up for someone moving from the Excel macro (VB for Applications, VBA) world into more general applications. If you are a professional but new to VB, the book can be completed in a week end; and you can then pass it on to a kid just getting into programming. As noted by another reader, the description of the language is too brief to give this book value as a reference.

   Author James Foxall has many books to his credit and writes nicely. For the most part he eschews the silliness of many professionals writing "down" for beginners. There are a surprising number of editing mistakes, but nearly all of the code runs as presented.




2. Those looking to start programming in VB will find this book very useful. The chapters are arranged in a logical manner so that the user will build upon knowledge from previous chapters. The author explains things in easy to understand terms, anyone could learn to start using VB with this book.



3. This book (unlike many others on the same subject) does NOT assume any previous knowledge of Visual Basic and helps the reader on the journey to learning vb.net with ease.It is well written in easy to understand terms and has me wanting to move on to the next stage already.The many examples in this book also provide a very good reference library for future use.



4. I hadn't programmed in years so I bought four books in an attempt to get a handle on VB.net. Of the four, this is the book I used to learn the basics. Lessons are easy to follow and understand. Sample programs are simple but I am already using knowledge from them to write my own code. Highly recommend.



5. This book is great. The author has a way of explaining VB in a very understanding way. I got this book for under $3.00 new! It was the best $3.00 I spent this year!

No comments about Access Xp Respuestas Avanzadas (Users Express, 18).

5 comments about Visual C# .NET: A Guide for VB6 Developers.

1. This book provides an excellent introduction to C# and .NET for Visual Basic 6 developers. Having programmed in VC++ rather than VB for the past few years, I still rate the book highly for anyone interested in getting a grounding in .NET...

   Chapter 14 provides a fitting conclusion to the book by showing us how to deploy our applications. You may be able to deploy your application with a simple XCOPY, but Visual Studio.NET provides powerful tools to create a Setup program. The authors provide a through disscussion of the Setup tools, and remind us that we must insure that the .NET runtime is installed on the target computer. ---Reviewed by Jack D.




2. An adequate introductory on C# for Visual Basic Programmers who are new to C# and the .NET framework, it is organized around several practical applications. The book frequently comparies features between VB6 and C# which make the transition easier.

   Started with a brief introduction of the .NET framework, C# language features and Visual Studio NET common tools, the book leads you directly into building a Windows applications - the SuperMind and the SweepCSharp games. It's fun to be able to code functional games early on.

   Through the BookReview Manager project, the book effectively introduces the use of some common Windows Forms controls (such as TreeView control, ComboBox , Context Menu, DateTimePicker), existing ActiveX controls (e.g. Web Browser, MAPI controls), the creation of custom controls and data-binding at design time.

   For VB programmers who write mainly 2-tier Client-Server applications which consist of forms that collect user data and also connect to SQL Server databases, the book will guide them into designing 3-tier applications through the KnnwledgeBase project, in which database access via ADO.NET is well covered.

   The book sticks to its hands-on approach to the end by creating a setup program for the SweepCSharp game.

   The book does not cover debugging tools and debugging related windows which I think are very important in .NET development.

   Due to it's introductory nature, the book leaves out some advanced topics such graphics, multi-threading, object serialization, reflection. ---Reviewed by Timothy D.




3. I am very pleased with this book. It answers all the necessary questions I have about C# and the .NET framework.

   From OOP issues, to integrating C# with VB6 and visa-versa, plus a whole lot more.

   It also builds on your learning by having great example games to develop as you build on your knowledge and work through the book.

   I recommend it to any VB6 programmers wanting to migrate to C#.NET.

   I am even more impressed because after contacting Wrox support and even one of the authors directly, they responding to my questions in less than an hour (via email); and was happy to give more information about .NET in general rather than just answering questions about their book - very helpful. Thank you guys.

   Although there is a bug in one of their example games and some text refers to code we have not written yet, the book still does a good job of teaching you C#.




4. Newbies to C# will very much appreciate the first 5 chapters, as they cover both C# essentials plus a very nice review of OOP. Some other reviewer jokingly compared this book to the writing of Immanual Kant. If he was referring to this first section, I heartily agree.
   However, prospective buyers should read the scathing treatment of another reviewer here of the subsequent chapters on GUI/Windows application programming. These middle chapters really fall short, with missing or misleading steps in writing the test application, what to do if one does not have the MSMAPI ocx component loaded on his computer (necessary for completing one of the chapters). Twice I could not finish the chapter.
   The first 5 chapters deserve 6 stars. Now I have to find another book on C# to help me through the rough patches in this one.



5. If you come from a background of com+, interface implementation, n-tier and so on, and want to get into c# then this is the book for you. It assumes a general level of OO knowledge but goes over it again as a refresher. It covers both web and win(cli/svr) forms,ado.net and more. The book gave me the confidence to keep going with it, and I often use it as a quick reference to some of the concepts. e.g. I used to do X in vb6, I can't quite remember how to do it in C#. I have other .net books but this is the one I use the most. (other books: wrox prof. vb.net; sams asp.net unleashed;ms.net(developmentor) essential asp.net with c# examples)

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.

No comments about Object Oriented Programming in VB.Net.

No comments about ALS Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Programming Essentials Package (Microsoft Official Academic Course Series).

3 comments about Pocket PC Development in the Enterprise: Mobile Solutions with Visual Basic and .NET.

1. When I picked this book up I was pleased to find useful tools and tips included in both the book and on the CD. The code for the datetimepicker alone pretty much justifies the cost of the book in my opinion. Having the embedded Visual Tools, SQLCE, and the other tools all on one CD is also a good thing.



2. This book is extremely broad yet contains more sample code than most other books! Really enjoyed the Pocket Service sample!



3. In my opinion this is a book built arround a very good example of an application, but not a book to start with nor a book for the experts.

   The introduction goes fast jumping from subject to subject without showing a clear direction to teach you either logic, approach, language, conventions or how to better understand the environment (developing environment)

   The fact of talking about visual basic makes me think instantly that there will be a smooth transition till you are up to speed and then jump to more complex examples, in this book it is a collection of picks and tricks in a messy way in order to prepare you without too much explanation so they can explain "real" application written in VB.

   Funnily the application itself is very informative and useful but by the time you arrive there there are too many questions running wild on your head and is quite fustrating.