5 comments about Expert One-on-One Visual Basic 2005 Database Programming (Expert One-On-One).

1. I bought this book even though I am a C# coder. Roger has such great concepts on how to do design and coding that I almost shouted for joy after searching and reading other books (e.g S. Malik which is of little or no value). This book goes beyond my production code needs and is invaluable in doing it right the first time. Thanks Roger for the section on concurrency exceptions which we all have in the real world. Most folks sweep this under the rug because it takes a real pro to fully and accurately address it.



2. This book does a better job of explaining what happens behind the vs2005 data object wizzards then many of the other books that just show you how to use them.



3. Having this book a month ago would have saved me at least $1000. Which is about how much I had to pay someone to write code that this book clearly points out was already written and available by Microsoft.
   
   That's the bottom line. This book is a time and money saver for anyone writing VB 2005 code that uses a database.



4. Excelente libro, le agregaria algun truquito mas, pero esta todo, sirve como para arrancar y profundizar en los temas. Muy buena guia.



5. I snatched this book up as soon as I saw it. I have three other of Roger Jennings' database books and they are great.
   
   This one was a little disappointing. It has good information in it and it is informative. But, percentage-wise at least, it seems to contain a lot more filler, like unneeded code. The style of writing seems so different from his other books that I wonder how much of the actual writing Mr. Jennings did himself.
   
   It's definitely not a bad book. Overall it was worth the money. Maybe the second edition will add more substance. I would actually rate it at 3 1/2 stars, but that's not an available option.

5 comments about 101 Microsoft® Visual Basic® .NET Applications.

1. Jerry Bucknoff wrote a review where he says skip the book because you can just download the code. I don't get this. I buy a book for more than just the CD stuffed in the back. This book has 500+ pages that taught me how to do in VB.NET, the things I knew how to do in VB6. Maybe if you're a rocket scientist, you can just stare at the code and learn everything, but those 500 pages really got me up to speed on .NET.



2. I bought this book just a few weeks ago, and WOW. Thre is such a range of information here! This book is especially targeted at programmers that aren't particularly familiar with what all VB.NET can offer.
   Granted, this product does not cover any of the topic very extensivly, but that's not what it was written for. 90% of the topics covered in the book are explained in more detail in the MSDN library.
   All in all, this book is one of the best ways to find great ideas to improve functionality in all your VB.NET projects.



3. 101 Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Applications
   It is a good book with a lot examples to learn from.
   But examples require some extra work if you use .NET 2005



4. Good, simple components that can be used as a part of larger applications.
   Good explanations.
   The only negative thing that I can see is that I wish it was available in C#. But then again, it provides a new challenge to translate it without having the C# code right there in front of me.



5. This is a very good book. If you like to learn by example, this book has very good useful examples to get your project "up in the air" very quickly.
   
   This book is an ideal supplement to a reference manual and really accelerates the learning process. I got a very good price on Amazon, but this book is worth full-bang retail price in terms of pure value. I would highly recommend this book, even if someone only found 5 examples out of the 101 examples, but depending on your project, nearly every example could be applied in some way to your project(s).

2 comments about Beginning Access 2007 VBA (Beginning).

1. This book has begun off terribly and really just STUNK up understanding the VBA language. Of course there's useful things here and there, yet this book is done in such a stream-of-consciousness style that it lacks proper communication skills and you really have to read deeply into this book to get what the author is talking about. Only buy this book if you have a good mind, otherwise, pick a different book, or use this one on your hind-side after some super spicy tacos.



2. I bought this book to review VBA and learn how to connect Access to Microsoft SQL Server. The code for connecting Access to SQL is wrong, and there is no trouble shooting guide. I'm ready to throw this book away, and start over.

5 comments about Visual Basic 6 Complete.

1. for its price, and the amount of information provided, this book is an absolute must have for anyone who does any sort of visual basic programming. while it does skim over some of the more advanced topics in some places, it does what most other visual basic books do not - provides the reader with an awareness of the advanced topics so that they can then decide whether they wish to pursue those subjects further. with example programs that can be downloaded from the Sybex website ... and heaps of explanations and exercises within the book, it will take you to a whole new level of visual basic expertise.



2. For my introduction to today's Basic (no longer all caps, I note) and my re-education in programming, I found this to be the best value if you already have the Basic 6 program. If you haven't you might want to try one of the other books, such as Practical Visual Basic 6 by Bob Reselman and Richard Peasley which includes a disk with the Working Model Edition of Microsoft's Visual Basic 6. Professional programmers of course will want to buy the full-blown Visual Basic, but even they might find this manual handy.

   I came from the environment of the line numbered GW Basic and even "Shingo" Basic after taking a class in Basic programming at the local junior college in the late eighties. After that I learned QuickBasic on my own. QuickBasic was a programming language developed from Basic that incorporated the structured programming techniques and some of the commands and ideas used in more professional languages like C, and I forget what else. I wrote some moderately complicated programs of eight or nine hundred lines and then I didn't do any programming for years. When I returned a couple of years ago I discovered that what was now the state of the art for the amateur programmer was Visual Basic. I took a look at the program (a stripped down version that came with Word Perfect) and was absolutely flabbergasted. I could not figure out how to even begin writing a program!

   So I went to the bookstore and found several shelves of Basic books. I tried one (I don't recall the title) but found it so lacking in information and guidance (for the price) that I actually took the book back the next day and got a refund. Some other books were entirely too advanced and too specialized for my needs. Then I tried this generic title, and with help from doing the exercises in Reselman's and Peasley's book, it brought me up to speed in Visual Basic enough to write a program to keep track of some stock market data that I was interested in.

   What this book does not do that I wish a Visual Basic book would do is include an equivalence table in which the old commands from the world of QuickBasic are paired off with the new commands, and a one-for-one comparison of the old and new ways of doing things. This would be very handy for those of us who learned our Basic some years ago. I looked around for such a book but without luck.

   Fortunately many things have not changed. The random number generator works the same, for example. The techniques and commands for using sequential files, for another example, are vitually the same. The really startling changes are in the way information is presented on the screen. If you're like me and haven't done any programming lately, you will probably find yourself facing a brand new learning curve here.

   This book begins with an introduction to Visual Basic 6 and the concept of object programming in Part I, followed by practical guidance in Part II, and then in Part III introduces the reader to scripting and using Visual Basic for Internet programming. Part IV is Visual Basic for Applications, which I didn't get to, and Part V is a reference. The various chapters are taken from other Sybex publications such as e.g, Steve Brown's Visual Basic 6 In Record Time.

   In the old days, the "quick and dirty" way to really learn a programming language was to jump right in with a project and get it to work. However, like the "spaghetti code" techniques of old, such an approach will not work well if one wants to write complex programs. So I found that there is no substitute for laboriously learning a significant portion of the commands and techniques before actually trying to write a program. Writing small programs guided by experts is the best way, and that is why I do not recommend any single book for the beginner. I recommend instead that this book be purchased as complement to another book, again Practical Visual Basic 6 mentioned above would be adequate. That way if one explanation or guidance is not entirely clear, you can have the advantage of another writer's approach.

   Bottom line is the Visual Basic program itself, a way to interface and develop programs in concert with Microsoft's Windows that will astonish you with its power. Or at least it astonished this old weekend programmer.




3. The book has written on the cover "1,000 pages ONLY $19.99", and it was able to accomplish this because all of the chapters come from other books but that have been editted to be smaller so that they fit. It feels to me like various information was lost in this editting process and the only way to get this missing information is to download the source code and look at that.
   Unfortunately, the projects do not seem to open in my version of VB6, and this has made repeating the programs they describe very difficult. I am not certain why the projects won't work, but I suspect that it is because I have upgraded to service pack 6 for VB6 and somewhere along the service pack path, the project files have become obsolete. So if you purchase this book, that is something you will want to be aware of.



4. I've been wrestling with trying to review this book, along with two others I purchased as a package recently, and I came to the conclusion that I can't review this book alone, I have to review all three together. I'm reading them all simultaneously, and the similarities and differences, combined together, are making the study of Visual Basic 6.0 an extremely enjoyable experience. The other two are: (1) Visual Basic 6 by Paul Sherrif (2) Step by Step Visual Basic 6.0 by Microsoft Press. Again, I can heartily recommend the combination of all three read at the same time. You will feel as if you are getting Visual Basic training at an accelerated pace, even tho, you will probably lose track of what book covered which topic. So far, at any rate, doing it this way is working out very well for me. Try it.



5. This is a good reference book but if you are looking for details this is not the book.

5 comments about Programming with Microsoft Visual Basic 2005, Third Edition.

1. Excellent book with all the necessary illustrations to make it easy to understand. Just follow the instructions on the book step by step and you will be writing code very quickly.
   
   If you are interested in database management, then you will need another book after you read this one. The author just gives an introduction on how to work with Microsft SQL Server databases.



2. In the summer of 2008, I am scheduled to teach an introductory class in programming with Visual Basic at the college level. Therefore, when I examined this book, it was for possible use as a textbook in the class. Within that context, I found the book deficient.
   The word visual in Visual Basic must be taken seriously when you are considering a textbook. So much of the execution of the operations needed to develop an application is based on navigation, so illustrations are essential. Compared to other books, this one has significantly fewer illustrations. Most of the instruction is textual rather than visual. There are questions and exercises at the end of the chapters, but few (if any) that I would consider worthy of being a programming assignment. Many of them are based on completing partial solutions or altering solutions that have already been coded. Therefore, there is a decided lack of rigor.
   For these reasons, I rejected this book as a usable textbook for my course.



3. I am using this book as a textbook for a course at a community college. Like some of the other reviewers, at first, I was disappointed by lack of CD accompanying this book. However, having gone through about half of the book, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I was force to type in all of the code myself in doing the exercises. This is an excellent book for a beginner who is learning to code. It explains everything and does not take anything for granted.
   
   My only complaint against this book is that it does not provide correct answers to the the questions and exercises at the end of each section of the chapter. However, I have still given this 5 stars.



4. This book is terrible. If you have no background in programming, you will gain a minimal fluency in Visual Basic. However, I think you would be better off to have bought Visual Basic for Dummies and Teach Yourself Visual Basic in X Days/Weeks. They will give you a much better grounding in the language and you might have saved some significant dollars.
   
   Here's one specific example. The section on reading/writing files only gives instruction on moving the content of a text box to/from a disk file. No instruction at all on moving fixed-block records or on doing any sort of file processing. Granted, most file processing has moved on to databases and table processing, it's still a good skill to know.
   
   Though no CD is provided with this book, you can download all of the sample code from their web site. And this brings up another point. The exercises are little more than taking a previous exercise or sample and adding one or two lines of code. Very lightweight. It seems like these are "feel good" exercises that can be done very quickly rather than exercises that will test your grasp of the subject and use what you've previously learned.
   
   This book is a huge waste of time and money, and if you are attending a college that requires this book, I would complain to as many administrative officials as possible. If your employer is paying for your tuition and offers to buy the book back at what you paid for it, then you're in a good place. And if you have courses that require other books by this author, based on the quality of this book I would scrutinize those other books VERY closely before buying them.
   
   I have been programming since the late 70's in a variety of languages and various versions and incarnations of Microsoft Basic, I have been doing relational database development for over 20 years and have been a Microsoft SQL Server database administrator for over a decade, going back to version 4. I've seen good programming books before, and this isn't one of them unless you're looking for very superficial knowledge. If you're going to be earning your living coding VB, this book is a waste of time and money.
   
   If I could give it zero stars, I would.



5. When it comes to programming books I have to say not all are easy to follow, or are the best to get to the point. This book is just like all others to be honest but I needed it for my class. With this book I was able to follow the tutorials very easily and the nice feature is that at the end of the chapters it prints the actual program you where working with and you can compare what you wrote to what it had. This feature also allowed me to go straight to the finished programs on the book and use concepts given in each tutorial for my own programming projects. Sure beats googling the functions and getting bad syntax or bad programming from other users, who can be pros or newbies, you never know what you get when you google it.

5 comments about Programming with Visual Basic 6.0, Enhanced Edition.

1. I can only confirm the opinion of all the other reviewing persons. I purchased this book living in Germany and if anybody would translate it to the german language, I'm sure he could earn himself a lot of money. No german book equals this one.



2. If you dont't have any idea about Visual Basic, this's very good book. You can learn easily.



3. This is a course text book and does not come with the solution files to the exams found at the end of each lesson. After speaking with a rep from Thompson Learning - the book's publisher - I was advised that the solution files were part of the instructor package, and was not available to individuals. In other words, if you are not a certified instructor, or part of an instructor led course that features this book, you will not be able to measure your progress from the exams in the book.
   
   I found speaking to the reps of Thompson Learning to be a particularly frustrating experience as I was treated rudely by both reps I spoke to. They offered absolutely no help whatsoever.
   
   The book, in itself, is very well written and easy to follow. However, if you are not part of an instructor led course that features this book with access to the solution files, you may want to invest your money elsewhere.
   
   As for this buyer, Thompson Learning is a definite two thumbs down.



4. I had bought this book for a class but this book is an excellent one for self study also. It basically starts assuming you know nothing about programming or even computer. After a few chapters you end up writing very good programs for Windows. If you want to learn Visual Basic 6 to program for Windows, this is your book.



5. Yes the book is fairly easy to follow, but the tutorials ask you to perform tasks that are not possible with the supplied software.
   
   Don't waste your time trying to learn from this book unless it is required for a class!
   
   Besides VB6.0 has reached the end of the support life cycle, and it doesnt run on xp 64bit.

No comments about Introduction to Programming Using Microsoft Visual Basic.Net.

5 comments about Advanced .NET Remoting, Second Edition.

1. I hate it when I pay good money for a poorly written book. So when I buy a book like this and it turns out so well, I am thrilled!
   
   I have been in ".NET land" since 2001 when .NET beta 2 came out. I have written ASP.NET and Winform applications. During that time I just have not had the need to use .NET remoting, until now. The first 2 or 3 chapters are a great introduction for experienced .NET developers. I like the fact that I did not have to wade through a lot of stuff for beginners. From there the topics get advanced, with plenty of good example code to highlight the topics. Even though I had never really touched .NET remoting (except SOAP Web Services), the explanations and examples work well for me. The author keeps the examples simple, and on-topic. In my opinion, this helps to highlight the topics at hand. The content is geared towards real programmers who will be using the technology.
   
   I also have really enjoyed the authors' candor concerning the weaknesses of .NET remoting. They have already highlighted a bad approach that I was considering.
   
   I am more than happy to give this book a 5 star review!



2. This book almost contain every detail of .NET Remoting.I am sure you can well understanding the .NET Remoting with the help of this book.It gives many good tips and useful cases ,also have some additional experiences of the author.However, I am sory that this book don't have any real and integrated distributed business solutions based on .NET Remoting(I think so ,at least ), although it contains many good cases. but I still strongly recommend you to buy this book, if you want to know .NET Remoting deeply.



3. This is actually a good book, however, it approaches the subject with an extremely hypothetical view. Lack of real world examples has made reading this book a real bore.
   
   The book on the other hand offers in-depth information regarding the "behind the scenes" work of .NET remoting.
   
   Final verdict: Good value for money, but do not expect any code to work.



4. I'm never one to buy books one technology, mainly because they change frequently and you can always find tutorials online. This book however, is well written, descriptive and a must for anyone working with .NET remoting. Excellent!



5. Excellent book. Exactly what I was looking for. With it you can gain a very well understanding of the subject. simple examples that you can easyly adapt to your specific needs.

5 comments about Programming in Visual Basic.NET 2005 Edition w/ Std CD.

1. This book is one of the best tools any beginning .NET or Visual Basic programmer can have. It teaches a very wide scope of material.
   
   I did every single problem in the book. Most of it out of my own desire to learn. I think this is the reason many people who are required to read this book for a class fail.
   
   The key is to do everything step by step. It is not a book for someone looking to skim over content. It is very in depth and if used properly it will teach you a great deal.



2. This book is filled with errors, incorrect information, and simply improper use of the VB.NET language. If you learn from this book and practice it's teachings at a real job, you would most likely either be fired or warned to learn the proper way. Why would any college ever think about using this book? It's just wrong. I mean the book is not how you use VB.NET it's just not.



3. This book isn't bad, but it would be confusing for people (like me) who had never been exposed to basic programming terminology before.
   
   If you know what an "argument" is (in a programming context), what it means to "call" a process, and are familiar with other similar jargon, this book may be just what you need. Otherwise, this book does not explain terms like this clearly, and you'd be better off with another one.



4. Without the fact that you have to re-write code over the authors to even get some of the "example" projects to work, ("example" projects meaning that they write all of the code and you basically copy it to gain a better understanding of how it all fits together) after chapter one you are expected to be a wizard programmer that needs only hints as to the hows and whys of the functions discussed in the later chapters. The hows and whys are described but in a disjointed fashion and badly explained throughout the book. The chapter on Arrays is horrible and made more sad by the fact that nearly every program a professional programmer will write will have complex Arrays inside of it. My college will no longer be using this book as of next semester thanks to students like me and an overall poor GPA for the programming class. Bottom line....Buy this book at your own risk. There are much better ones out there.



5. How long does it take for me to get refund? I havent received any refund yet from the time i returned it.
   -Gempanix-

1 comments about Microsoft SharePoint: Building Office 2007 Solutions in VB 2005 (Expert's Voice in Sharepoint).

1. This is as close to being a PERFECT computer book as I have ever read. I'm a SharePoint architect/developer with 30+ years of IT experience, and I own every SharePoint title that has been published since SharePoint started shipping 8 years ago. This book is the best. It throughly covers almost every aspect of SharePoint 2007 in layman's (and technical) terms with solid, complete, well-thought examples of every aspect of SharePoint implementation. There is simply page after page where you pause and think "Wow! That's interesting!"
   If you only plan to buy one SharePoint 2007 book make sure its this one.