Product Description
Think Visual Basic is just to slow to write a decent game? Think again! Microsoft Visual Basic Game Programming with DirectX gives you all of the tricks and techniques that you need to create awesome games using Visual Basic. Offering equal parts theory and hands-on exercises, the chapters in this book begin with a discussion of completing a task using Visual Basic then move on to enhancing the code with the Windows API. When applicable, the chapters conclude by delving into the details of how DirectX fits in. The final section of the book is devoted wholly to developing a variety of complete games: role playing, strategy, scrolling arcade games, and more. Whether you are new to game programming or new to Visual Basic, this book gives you everything you need to create amazing games by combining the hidden power of Visual Basic with DirectX. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Visual Basic Direct X
I am a programming insrructor and I new alot about the basics of Visual Basic but not much on the graphic and Direct X side of the house. This book has shown me alot of tricks and I haven't finished it yet.

Good information, however it's a little dated
This book, came out when the original xbox came out.So the information and code are a little dated.Personally, I think they need to come out with a visual basic@net version of the book.

However, I am giving this book a 3, because it has some good ideas.You'll get an idea of the things you can do.One thing I especially like is the multiplayer game in the example section.

Direct x and Direct Visual Basic
First of all I'd like to say that this book is really good because it is step by step in its foundation.It explains how to set up the programs it discusses.What I had problems with were that I understood the code from a template kind of perspective but did not understand exactly what each line of code was doing without a substantial background in Visual Basic 6.I jumped right into learning the game aspects instead of building a solid understanding of the concepts of the language of visual basic 6.Even though I was lacking certain pieces of the puzzle Mr. Harbour did a pretty decent job of explaining things even a novice like myself could grasp.I recommend this book to anyone who is interested but get the foundation in Visual Basic 6.0 first.This book is alot better than some of the books I've read before which stick code snippets throughout but have no semblance of order as to where they fit in. This is a must read!!!! It covers all aspects of creating a game and even gives multiplayer capability.All n all I give this a three thumbs up!!!

Needs to be updated to VB .Net
This book was written about the time VB .Net was coming out and the author even mentions that he considered writing some of the code in .Net.I bought the book, realizing it was dated, thinking that it would be a good learning experience to convert the examples to VB .Net.Of course, it's proving to be very frustrating.

This is a good book and well written and if you are determined to stick with VB6 and want to learn game programming.However, if you're moving on to .Net I would suggest looking for a different title.(If you find a good one let me know.)

I really wish they would publish a new edition with re-written examples.That would be ideal.

Good Reference, However...
This book is in fact a good reference, but I hit snags trying to run the sample code.I have Visual Studio .NET and I love it, and thought that this book would be a good starting point for game programming.And it was until I hit the first program "ChunkyPixels"I put the code into the VB.NET IDE and it would not compile.The examples are all writen in VB 6.0 and has no compatibility with VB.NET.So, in conclusion, if you want a good reference and do not have VB.NET, buy this book, but if you have VB.NET you are, as am I, out of luck

PSIF anyone knows of any websites that would have updated code samples, I would be happy to hear where! :) ... Read more

Product Description

Created by world-renowned programming instructors Paul and Harvey Deitel, Visual Basic 2008 How to Program, Fourth Edition introduces all facets of the Visual Basic 2008 language hands-on, through hundreds of working programs. This book has been thoroughly updated to reflect the major innovations Microsoft has incorporated in Visual Basic 2008 and .NET 3.5; all discussions and sample code have been carefully audited against the newest Visual Basic language specification. The many new platform features covered in depth in this edition include: LINQ data queries, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), ASP.NET Ajax and the Microsoft Ajax Library, Silverlight-based rich Internet application development, and creating Web services with Windows Communication Foundation (WCF). New language features introduced in this edition: object anonymous types, object initializers, implicitly typed local variables and arrays, delegates, lambda expressions, and extension methods. A series of appendices provide essential programming reference material on topics ranging from number systems to the Visual Studio Debugger, UML 2 to Unicode and ASCII. AUDIENCE: Appropriate for anyone interested in learning programming with Visual Basic 2008.

Customer Reviews (8)

difficult to make sense of it
I actually chose this class of visual basic at school, but this book is (in my opinion) purposefully made as confusing as possible. I guess the author thinks its going to be good for you to "crack the code", no pun intended.
He mixes programming Keywords with the exact same word for variables, objects, and anything he can, so for beginners like me is so confusing. I find myself going back and forth from the text to the program examples all confused.
From page 126 "Although visual basic is not case sensitive, it does allow us to create objects (e.g., gradeBook) with the "same" name as their class (e.g., GradeBook) - we do this throughout the book". How is that helpful to the student??
He doesn't use an organized manner.
I HAVEto use this book for class, so I have no choice, but I bet even a visual basic for dummies kind of book would be easier to understand.
This author seems to purposefully want to confuse you by thowing a mangle of words, and make you work 3 times harder.
I have spent days trying to figure out what he's saying in chapter 4, and its so impossible, I have even considered dropping the class.

A Very Good Job for a Very Difficult Subject
Writing a text book on programming is not an easy job. The writer(s) of this book have done a very good job, but it's not perfect, and there might not even be a perfect book about programming in the market.I would not give most other writers the high marks I give this one, although at the moment it's only four stars.

Clear, detailed, and comprehensive writing are the three pillars for a text book. This is especially difficult since you have to use English grammar with computer language grammar. The two grammars are at odds with each other.

I'm at Chapter 12 at the moment--polymorphism. Up to this point, the book has addressed each pillar very well. And up to this point, my only criticisms are for the names (meaning, the identifiers) used to label variables, methods, objects and such.I know and understand that the names selected for each identifier are used to support the pedagogy, and I appreciate that, but they have made the reading go slow. In addition, the use of compound and complex sentences should be avoided with such identifiers to make reading comprehension easier. This is an area that can be improved for a next edition.

Chapter 12 is where this book begins to fall-apart. The editor really neglected it. It is written as poorly as any of the worst programming books on the market. I hope it's just for this chapter. Here are its problems:

It has errors. It uses pronoun references that that are undefined. The discussion does not differentiate between class code and client code; you have to rely on the example for clarification. Many sentences refer to too many pronoun references that will make your head spin and lose you. For example, one sentence has five subjects...good grief! You'll find yourself drawing images on paper to keep up with the discussion, yet ultimately unsure that you understand what was described.

One last matter before I close, the price is very high, maybe too high.

I'll try to update my criticism after I finish the book.

crappyest fruaded programing book ever
I do alot of programing and I am taking classes in VB just to get credit for what I already do.This book is constantly refering to method that they say "well get to that later" and they don't until much later.it explians stuff in a very very long winded explanation that could have been said in a few sentances.I also do media reviews and wondered how these books could have gotten past the reviewers, well it didn't because I looked up the review who were supose to be ppl at colleges and offical in the programing field that knew VB.Th3e ppl that they list DO NOT EXIST! That mean that the pubilsher it commiting fruad to get his books used by schools.

If you really need this book look it up on google books as well as VB 2005, c++, c#, and java in the how to program series how to program and simply VB.the author just copyied and pasted for the most part for all of these books and if the content is not in google books for one it is in it for another.You can also find the assignment complete if you look at the files for each other book.

Very Poorly Designed Textbook
I agree wholeheartedly with J. Hughes' review.

Throughout this book, the author will be writing about one topic, then diverts onto a tangent to talk about a different topic, and then says "we'll talk about that later", then diverts back to the original topic. Really annoying.

It is very text-heavy, with not enough examples & pictures, and really difficult to read. More examples would be helpful.

This book is smaller (length-width) than most textbooks so the type is pretty small.

It focuses on console applications, which are not "real world" applications. Who uses green screen programs? The book should focus on Windows forms, not console forms.

It fails to explain why things are done. I read Chapter 13 and was thoroughly confused about "why" you would want to catch & rethrow an exception. Yes, I understand HOW to do it, but I don't understand how that is useful or why you would want to do that.

This book is the text for a VB.Net programming course at a local community college. I took the introductory course over the summer and the textbook for that course (Gaddis) was a much better resource. This book is better suited as a doorstop.

Line per line explanation, but...
the author does not explain the concepts behind those lines of code. It got me bored just by staring at those countless repetitive pages that could have been explained in a much shorter paragraph. I returned the book and purchased the VB 2005 for Programmers instead, as it is void of boring exercises and both books have basically the ATM Case Study which I bought the book for.

I agree with the review of J.Hughes Jr, this might be a beginner book, but it won't retain your interest to finish reading it. After a few pages, I bet you'll easily get bored and use it as a door stopper as it's too heavy, not to mention pricey!

For beginners, I suggest you look for other titles. Matthew MacDonald's or Julia Case Bradley's books fair better than this... ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (7)

The book for easy finding
This is a book who has the information very well exposed and prepared.
The book is good for the experienced programmers as well as the new comers.
The examples are clear and very they work.
This is a book for quick reference, so everything is teeny tiny bad good.

Good reference if you have some VB experience
This book is a really good reference.It has made me much more efficient.It has good information of the new features of VB 2005.It has several chapters on the basics of VB as well as advanced features such as generics and attributes.I would definitely recommend buying it if you are already familiar with VB and want a good reference book for VB 2005.I try not to program without it within arms reach

It says it's for the beginner... that would be incorrect.
Despite the perception that Visual Basic should be something to learn out of a book, despite the perception that this book gives (inasmuch as it states that the book is designed for someone who wants to learn Visual Basic .net as their first language) this hardly deals with the practical applications of the program and deals more with syntax.

If I had to compare it with something, I'd say it was like being handed all of the components of a car-- new, shiny, efficient, and much assembly required. The book was a real let-down in the sense I thought I'd be buying a tutorial and ended up with a paperweight. It gets two stars because it frankly IS a good desk reference if you have the program and several other tutorial books which do what this book had initially promised.

Fantastic Desktop Reference
Visual Basic 2005 In A Nutshell is a wonderful companion reference for any and all VB developers.With the new features in the 2005 version of VB, this guide is a great book to have by your side when you are working on your latest Visual Basic application.

Packed with nearly 750 pages of reference material, this is a great books that is written well, without too much bloat (just the way I like it).The first 150 pages cover the basics of using the VB language, the next 300 is reference for keywords, classes, functions, etc, and the 300 page or so covers the 'My' reference (VERY IMPORTANT) and other odds and ends of the language.

I love the Nutshell books because they cut through the muck and get right to the point.The size of the books make them perfect for keeping by your side, and that familiar brown coloring scheme makes them easy to see on your shelf.

If you program VB, pick this book up, it will truly make your life easier!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Clear and concise with great examples
This is a fantastic reference book for VB prorgrammers. The examples are great. They aren't too long and get right to the point of what they are trying to illustrate. The organization is perfect and the writing is crisp.

It's hard to compete with the convenience of the MSDN. But sometimes the MSDN is tough to navigate and it's just easier to pick up a book and find what you are looking for. And the book you pick up should be this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Assuming no prior computer programming knowledge on the part of the reader, the updated edition of David Schneider's best-selling Visual Basic 6 book now includes an introduction to Visual Basic.NET.This book uses Visual Basic 6.0 to explore the fundamentals of programming in general and to explain how to use Visual Basic as a front end to take control of major applications such as Microsoft Office. A broad range of examples, case studies, exercises, and programming projects gives readers significant hands-on experience.Introducing good programming practices that are in-step with modern programming methodology, this book uses well-chosen examples to illustrate every new concept. It includes carefully designed examples that both reinforce the text and challenge the reader to make original connections. The book also incorporates real, current, and sometimes humorous data throughout to add fun and interest to the overall presentation.The updated edition of Introduction to Programming with Visual Basic 6 includes the addition of "named constants" throughout the book, an update of all the data, and the addition of new programming projects in each chapter. An essential reference for every programming professional. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

I'm Impressed!!
Just like the subject says: "I'm impressed".I was someone who had absolutely NO IDEA of how to begin with VB (I didn't even know what VB was for anyways!).But now I know, and trust me, I'm good at it (I do have to spend time reading it :P).I love the fact that it has practice exercises which leaves you in an analytical environment (very good help for future programmers who are independent enough).

Anyways, if you're into VB, then this is the best selection out there.Hope this helps.

If there had to be only one...
I've always been interrested by the computer world and one day decided to teach myself programming. I picked up this book and started to read. At that moment, I didn't even know what a programming language was. I read it from cover to cover and didn't have the impression to learn something but suddenly I found myself programming small applications. I read other books then and today I'm a MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solution Developer). During my whole journey on the learning of programming, this one was the clearest book I've read. So, if you're a complete beginner in programming, get this book fast ! I would even recommend you to read it BEFORE moving to .NET books. If you already are a programmer coming from another language, it may not be the right choice.

College text used - not happy
I have my VB final due tommorrow.I have to agree with another reviewer.The examples don't explain what you need to know for the projects.My teacher is very smart but she grades hard.Between that and this difficult to learn from book our class has gone from 22 students to get this 4. There are 4 of us left in what should have been a beginner type programming class.
I am going to buy a Thompson Learning VB book instead.I am sure it will be better.
The only guy who did well with this book already had C++ I and II.

Great get-to-the-point book on VB
I had to use this book for a VB programming class. I really like the style. Instead of laboring the point, Schneider briefly presents information on a topic, then uses examples to explain the details. If you are learner by tutorial, then this book is NOT for you because it is not a lot of hand-holding. But if you can read something, see an example, then grasp the concept, then you will enjoy reading this text and find it very beneficial.

My class project was to build a conctacts database, and this book has some great examples of how to build a database application both in the front end (forms and controls) and back end (coding SQL and VB data-handling commands).

Not for raw beginners
Most of the reviewers for this book seem to have had some previous programming experience, and thus, armed with an understanding of programming generally, i.e. the jargon, the logic, and general concepts, this book might well deserve a good wrap. However, it has been my first exposure to programming and I am finding that it is not a great help to a raw beginner.

This is the prescribed text for a uni subject I am doing, and I know of other students who have been very critical of the book also.In fact, the lecturer recommended that those with no prior experience refer to other books for a better explanation of the concepts!

I do not want to be a programmer - and I am not someone who enjoys spending every spare moment experimenting with code - my interests lie in other areas of IT. Having said that, I have put as much effort into this subject as any other that I have done.

Specifically, I have found that the book skips over the basics, and makes a lot of assumptions about the reader's prior knowledge. I often find myself leafing backwards and forwards through the book looking for information that I know I have previously read, but cannot find again without wasting a great deal of time because of its poor layout. There is a dearth of explanation - I know that the best way to learn programming is to do it, but if what you're doing isn't working you need to understand why and be able to fix it without wanting to throw the computer out of the window ;-)

I am searching now for some books that will help me to finish the subject.I don't want to go into the exam on a wing and a prayer, I'd actually like to do well. This book on its own is not going to get me there.

Perhaps, it's different these days, as kids leaving school may have already studied computing subjects before going to uni, but for mature age students new to programming, there is a lot of catching up to do before this book would be helpful. I hope this has been of assistance to anyone else in the same boat. ... Read more

Product Description
Use your understanding of Visual Basic as a foundation for learning Java and object-oriented programming. This unique guide not only relates Java features to what you already know it also highlights the areas in which Java excels over Visual Basic, to build your understanding of its appropriate use.

Covers:
-- Java for the C-challenged -- an overview of Java: an introduction to object-oriented programming; an explanation of Java language syntax; installing and using Java.
-- Basic object-oriented programming in Java employing classes and inheritance for efficiency; adding visual controls such as buttons, drop-down lists, menus, and scrollbars; using layout managers to place components in windows; writing a program with two windows; using threads in Java.
-- Class consciousness and other timesaving topics using classes and binary files in Java; building your own custom controls; using and creating packages; designing efficient menus and dialogs; inputting data with the keyboard and mouse.
-- Developing for the Web -- building and launching HTML pages; incorporating applets into Web pages; using forms and CGI Scripts in Java; creating instant applets with JavaScript; working with sockets and client server applications; building Java clients and servers across the Internet.Amazon.com Review
Programmers who already know C++ may be able to pick up Javaspeedily, since the two languages share many features. But for thoseweaned on other popular languages, particularly BASIC and VisualBasic, the transition to Java can be a lot more difficult. TheVisual Basic Programmer's Guide to Java teaches Java from theperspective of an experienced VB programmer, noting importantdifferences in syntax between the two languages, introducing theprinciples of object-oriented programming, and explaining Java's AWT(abstract windowing toolkit) components. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

One element of migration strategy for VB to Java programmer
As a long time VB and ASP programmer, retraining for Java or C# is a mind-boggler.After taking a class on OO Analysis and Design, I can now make sense out of the paradigm of OO, and appreciate it's benefits. But the paradigm shift is so great, that one probably needs more than the syntax training and introductory level OO concepts presented in this book to be successfull with OO.However this is not the author's fault.If you already grasp OO concepts, this book provides superb examples of how to move from procedural syntax and program structures to use inheritance,polymorphism, and encapsulation as provided by Java.

What kind of a scam are they running here?
As a proficient VB/COM developer, I thought this might be a good book to begin learning Java with. Be warned: It is not! It was written over 4 years ago and it completely out of date. The text makes constant references tothe accompanying CD, which does not exist. The book honestly looks like apoor quality photocopy. It is clear that this was writen in 1996 andrepublished in January 1999 with nary a change in content. The book onlygoes to VB4, which is long gone. Want to learn Java? Buy Beginning Java 2by Ivor Horton. I am sending this book back.

Awesome book
This book is unlike any other Java book on the market.For a VB programmer, the comparisons really clear even the most abstracts aspects of Java programming.I highly recommend this book.

Thorough guide to jump from VB to Java.
Recommendation
VB pros - Strong Buy.
Delphi pros - Buy.
C++ pros - Don't Buy.

Pros
Author makes language approachable by writing VB code next to Java code. Learning by example snippets makes Java seem easier than it is. This teaching method gives the reader the bonus of a boatload of code samples to play with, all on a CD. These CDs are nice, but I remain unconvinced that a CD justifies the skyscraper prices computer publishers demand.

Cons
Biggest letdown was absence of database material. JDBC came on the scene about the time the book did so perhaps that explains the omission. JDBC or not, the author should have said something about databases. Also, the Internet received too little attention. I was surprised since the Internet was touted by Sun as the language's primary justification (read cross-platform compatibility) after marketing the benefits of a language for toasters and refrigerators warmed programmers hearts like watching a flawless sprinkler system hose your workstation during a supposed fire drill.

Review Abstract
The chapters are organized well and short (<20 pages each). This isn't Moby Dick so biting off small bites and taking time to digest is part of good geek mores. You actually learn to think of VB in an abstract manner - more mores.

Chapter Review Details
1. "What is Java?" A quick and dirty overview of Java. Could have used a fun in the Sun anecdote or three.
2. "Installing & Using Java" Missing any mention of Visual Cafe or Microsoft J++. Perhaps I'm a bit tough here, but author burst out of the gate without even checking on Symantec and Microsoft.
3. "Syntax of the Java Language" Didn't hurt much.
4. "Object-Oriented Programming" Best lesson for Vbers who like pick-it-up-during-lunch training methods.
5. "Using Classes in Java Programming" Whoever gave them the name "class" must enjoy the bewildering look on people. It makes more sense to stick ! with the term "object." It confuses me. I think schedule every time I see "class" instead of methods to accomplish something like returning the number of characters in a string using int len = abc.length();.
6. "Inheritance" Actually a good moniker. Properties and methods are passed on to your version when you base it on a previous object. It's the same as placing a textbox on a form. You have access to the height property even though you didn't write the code for it. Java folk say you inherited the height property.
7. "Java Visual Controls" Just what the chapter title means. About the only chapter that needed more material and examples.
8. "Writing a Simple Visual Application in Java" This is where the book would start to change if the author does another version. This chapter simply needs to include a real tool like Visual Cafe or Microsoft J++.
9. "Layout Managers" Too much said here. VB does it better and, amazingly, Microsoft marketing machine doesn't even demand credit for it.
10. "Using Graphics Methods" I don't know how to draw on paper much less on screen so no opinion here.
11. "Writing a Program With Two Windows" Excellent chapter with a misleading title. Should have gone with Communication between Windows.
12. "Files & Exceptions" Another strong chapter that would have been a good transition into databases.
13. "Using Threads in Java" Best theoretical chapter in the book. I didn't get it all so I'll have to reread it a few times.
14. "Images in Java Applets & Applications" Necessary evil for artistically challenged like myself.
15. "Menus & Dialogs" Nuff said.
16. "Classes & Binary Files in Java" Should have come after chapter 12.
17. "Keyboard Input in Java" Makes me appreciate VB.
18. "Using the Mouse in Java" Makes me like VB even more.
19. "Building Custom Contro! ls" Somewhat tough. I would usually surf far and wide for one someone else's hack before taking the time to do anything complicated.
20. "Using Packages" A way of grouping classes. I never heard of it before.
21. "Building Web Pages" No Java, just plain HTML.
22. "Applets & Web Pages" Late, but finally!
23. "Interacting With Web Page Forms" Really fun section.
24. "What is JavaScript?" Author gets points for due diligence.
25. "Using Sockets in Java" Most powerful chapter. You can get dangerous here.
26. "Math Classes & Matrices" A small chapter that was still appreciated. It would have been easy to add some statistic examples on CD like standard deviation and average of arrays.

Excellent, carefully written and easy to comprehend.
Of the many Java books I have purchased, this has been the most helpful.I recommend this to anyone learning Java, especially Visual Basic users. Can't wait for an update to cover JDK 1.1.x andBeans. ... Read more

Product Description
Get ready to create your first complete 2D-based role-playing game using Visual Basic 6.0. If you have experience using Visual Basic, you already have the essential skills that you need. You will learn, step by step, how to construct each part of an RPG game using DirectX components such as Direct3D. As you work your way through the book, you will write short programs that demonstrate the major topics in each chapter. Dive into the exciting world of game programming, learn how to write your own code, and take complete creative control over how your game operates. Let your imagination loose as you create amazing new adventures! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Tough book to learn from
I have tried to wade through this book twice and haven't been able to get far. The explanations are either missing or opaque. The author has you typing commands that you don't understand, then he tells you not to worry if you don't understand what you are doing. Not very helpful! There really is no reason he can't explain what some of the commands mean. In short, this book is a frustrating waste of time and one learns little about game programming. I am now looking for a replacement.

Agree with the last review
Ok, yes, 2005?VB6???Are you aware that Microsoft has discontinued selling and supporting this software??This software was first published in 1999!!!Find a book that is using a little bit more of state of the art technology. This one is a waste of time and money.

I have been looking for a book like this, a VB.Net perspective
Overall I find this book good at what it advertises to be, a tour through the process of making a DirectX game in VB that would be very interesting and appealing to a novice programmer (teen).The game is a simplified 2d rpg/adventure game, called `Celtic Crusader'.While functional, in the interest of simplicity and time by the author's own words it isn't a fully featured game, it lacks features such as character inventory or network play.

If you are looking for detailed information on DirectX, this is not the book.This book does not explain the DirectX methods used, or even display their signatures, it just tells you what the routine you are coding does as a whole, and gives you the code.

I currently work in VB.Net, but I am experienced in the last few incarnations of VB, so the conversion of the provided code examples into VB.Net is not much of a problem.I would say someone familiar with VB.Net but without experience in VB6 will not have much problem; in fact the DirectX method calls in VB.Net are more logical than in VB6.

For example
d3ddev.Present(ByVal 0, ByVal 0, 0, ByVal 0)
becomes
d3ddev.Present(Handle.zero,Handle.zero, 0, Handle.zero)

If you pay attention to the intellisense balloons then the DirectX method calls are fairly easy to figure out.

The author doesn't fully qualify all his references, so be aware and supply the appropriate qualifacation for the constants.Be sure to Imports DxVBLibA

For example
d3dpp.SwapEffect = D3DSWAPEFFECT_DISCARD
becomes
d3dpp.SwapEffect = CONST_D3DSWAPEFFECT.D3DSWAPEFFECT_DISCARD

The VB side of the code is the same (an If-Then is still If-Then) except that you will need to recognize form events as such by their names instead of their handles keyword.

The DirectX8 for Visual Basic type library reference is still available with DirectX9.0c in VB.Net (just look under the Com tab when adding the reference) and seems to work fine in XP (I have tried it on 3 different machines.)I have not worked through the entire book yet, but so far I have not had any problems with compatibility.

This book is thinner than the typical programming book (tome) you normally find.It leads the reader directly through the creation of this adventure game, cutting out many side details as mentioned earlier.However, I find it delivers enough to create a decent working game, and a nice resource for a programmer looking for straightforward code examples.

VB6 is alive and well!
Don't believe those that tell you VB is dead, vb is still alive and well! Just look at Microsoft Access 2003(A database program)when you build advance coding in it you are using vb language,even in the latest Access edition, VB is still there. Just visit your local book store, you will still see VB books out there.Another proof that VB is still alive, look at many E-commerce shopping carts, many of them are build in VB, and they are functioning with great precision.
The book is intended for the teenager that wants to explore programming in a fun, and easy method, and Vb can deliver that without advance codes that will make a teenage kid left in the dark.It will give them the opportunity to learn to write simple executable codes, once they do that, then they can move on to Vb.net or C++.And with that, the author would accomplish his/her mission, and that is teaching a young mind.
Go ahead buy the book, play with the codes, and have fun!

Good Book
Just started programming and VB seems like a good place.
Johnathan rambles on a bit to much about maps but I learned alot. Rich D ... Read more

Product Description
This book/CD-ROM package teaches Visual Basic.net programming by showing the user how to create practical applications. Instead of reading chapter after chapter on individual topics, youíll focus on developing complete, self-contained projectsbeginning with an explanation of the concepts and followed by the complete source code. The applications from each chapter can be used immediately, so the rewards of learning are quick and extensive.

KEY FEATURES

* Learn to program in Visual Basic.net while creating projects, including an MP3 player, encryption, DIRECTX 8.1 graphics, sending E-mail, a Microsoft Agent Active X Control and many others

* Includes material on migrating to Visual Basic.net and basics of the .NET framework, especially as it compares to previous versions of VB

* Extensive material on mathematics and random number functions, object-oriented programming in Visual Basic.net, Strings, GDI+, and Error handling

* CD-ROM is loaded with source code, graphics, and project files ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

One of the best tutorials
I've bought about 20 books on Visual Studio .NET, and many of them are on Visual Basic. This is one of the best tutorials I've come across. Since I was familiar with a lot of the true beginner's stuff I skipped over most everything at the beginning and went immediately to chapter 13.

The chapters are short, the code is minimal, but you get applications that are really useful and you get to build those projects that always stump you, like how to I get to print something, or how do I program an OpenDialog box to display files? (Many of the current Help examples in Visual Studio 2003 don't work and are useless.)

There is also fun stuff: The chapters on Agents are worth the price of the book alone. This opened a whole new world to me and my 16 year old son.

The book is already in need of an update since I am now using VS2003, and a couple of the chapters don't quite work with the old code, and there are a number of IDE differences as well. But most all of the applications work and you can get to modify them to suit your own applications.

I would suggest an updated book with all the first 12 chapters removed, and with examples for Mobile devices added. Hint, hint, Mr. Crooks.

If you are a novice VB .NET programmer, this is one of the first books you should get. The other first books you should get have been rated in these reviews. Just find one with high marks and that explains how to use the IDE, and how to display "Hello, world".

Unfortunately, there are hardly any books on the new Visual Studio 2003, so you'll have slim pickings for those or just stuggle with the old books.

Great book & great examples
While there are a few small errors, this is a great book.I bought this book, and liked it so much that I decided to buy the authors REALbasic book.It was great as well.Keep up the good work.

Not perfect but close -
I read earlier reviews about some of the editing issues, but purchased the book anyway.I am glad I did.Mistakes are there, but if you are going to be a programmer, you can deal with them.I am a professional programmer studying .Net.Learning through the examples that are laid out within this book makes it extrordinairly easy.I have purchased many many books on programming and find that this is the best of the lot.It is not fancy, but it delivers the goods.To the author.Keep Writing.

Needs proofreading badly
This book could have been so much better. The premise is very promising - build real world applications while learning VB.NET at the same time. The execution, however, falls flat.

There are several problems with this book. First, as in any technical book, there are errors, both typographical and omissions. One chapter deals with accessing system information and printing it to a window. It leaves out the key detail of adding a reference to the system library needed to accomplish this task. In the same chapter there are several typographical errors, some within the code. No one is perfect, and these things happen. However, overall, the book has more typos than I have ever seen in any other computer book. The publisher's website has no way, other than a generic info@ email, to notify them of typos or code errors. There are no errata listings on the site or any way to submit them, as with WROX or O'Reilly.

The actual content of the book isn't bad, and the code works (for the most part); however there a much larger focus on just providing code than actually explaining step by step what you are doing. The provided CD contains all the code in the book; beyond the first chapters that deal with the basics of programming both in general and also specifically in VB.NET, the CD essentially contains the contents of the book. While those first few chapters are generally well-written, the explanations are not very deep and drop off sharply once you reach the application-building chapters.

Overall, I would rate it 2 stars. A second edition, one that has been proofread, would knock it up to 4.

MP3 players, encryption programs, DirectX 8.1 & more
Learning Visual Basic.NET Through Applicationsby Clayton E. Crooks II (a partner in Advanced Information Systems, a consulting company specializing in custom hardware and software solutions) is a straightforward companion reference and instructive guide to learning how to program in Visual Basic.NET while developing applications such as MP3 players, encryption programs, DirectX 8.1, word processors and much more. Easy-to-follow chapters cover an introduction to the VB.NET language, math and random functions, strings, error handling, and progress to more complex topics like Windows form applications drawing with VB.NET, and Microsoft Agent. Screenshots, sample code, and step-by-step instructions make Learning Visual Basic.NET Through Applications a superb supplement to any course in VB.NET, or even an excellent self-taught course. An accompanying CD-ROM offers numerous tools, figures, and source code for every project in the book - almost everything except for VB.NET itself is on it. Learning Visual Basic.NET Through Applications is very highly recommended to anyone needing to quickly and efficiently learn or deepen their understanding and utilization of VB.NET. ... Read more

Product Description

Starting with simple examples, you¿ll see how the multi-user, local area network applications that Visual FoxPro developers are used to building are constructed in Visual Basic .NET. You¿ll learn how to use Crystal Reports to build reports like the ones you build in FoxPro. You¿ll discover how to use DataAdapters and datasets instead of DBFs. You¿ll see examples of the paradigm shift that client-server programming imposes, and why .NET solves that problem (even when you wouldn¿t need to solve it in FoxPro.) And you¿ll learn how to give your FoxPro and Visual Basic applications smart client remote data access.

You¿ll understand how to begin the construction of a database project in Visual Basic with a container form and a MainMenu instead of using _Screen and MSYSMENU. You¿ll learn how variables are declared and used; how menus are controlled; how to use events, and why you have to use events in VB when they¿re unnecessary in FoxPro. You¿ll learn how to build inheritable forms, Visual Basic¿s answer to FoxPro¿s form class templates, to reduce programming to a minimum. You¿ll learn why properties are like variables in FoxPro, but more like functions in VB. And you¿ll learn where Visual Basic adds features that you didn¿t have in FoxPro and didn¿t know that you needed. You¿ll learn where to look for all of those FoxPro commands and functions that you need. And in case you haven¿t yet used SQL Server with FoxPro, the examples will demonstrate how it¿s done first in FoxPro, then in VB .NET.

• Shows how to build a typical application in Visual FoxPro, including DBF, SQL Server and Internet access; then demonstrates how to build the same type of application in VB .NET
• Highlights the main differences in specific issues, including printing, events, data access, creation and use of properties
• Contains an appendix listing the principal FoxPro commands and functions and their Visual Basic equivalents
• Includes a table showing where to find the settings in the FoxPro¿s Tools, Options menu pages in VB .NET
• Shows how to access data remotely from your FoxPro and VB .NET applications
• Explains how project DLLs are created and used in other projects within a solution
• Shows how to use middle tier business objects to simplify ongoing development
• Source code downloadable from www.samspublishing.com

Customer Reviews (5)

Great Book - Wrong Version
Les Pinter did a great job of writing this book, but with the advent of VS2005 and SQL2005, all of the examples and screen shots have changed.Some are minor, but many are not.

If you have VS2003 or older and SQL2003 or older, the book can be really hard to follow.

Nothing against Mr. Pinter.His book is just a victim of the rapidly changing pace of technology.

Visual FoxPro to Visual Basic .NET
A must for VFP programmers migrating to .NET technologies.
Easy to understand, comprehensive.

Great Achievement
Mr. Pinter is definitively a great person, but most important, he is a great Programmer. He doesn't like to be called as a "consultant" or "another complicated word", sometimes used in this industry. Written for a programmer, targeted to programmers, this book is certainly a huge success in terms of conceptual clarity.

In his very personal style, the book guides to every former FoxPro developer to cross the technical bridge, aiding them to arrive the .NET coast, from the data point of view - after all, Visual FoxPro is a strong datacentric development tool, and .NET is a general purpose one - he could put both worlds together in his chapters.
Mr. Pinter is a living legend, not only in the FoxPro arena, but in the IT one as well. A wise witness of the computing evolution,many years as a successful programmer gave him the insight to get the essence of every problem, to get the shortest answer to a problem, to achieve a practical result in record time. He is certainly a pragmatic programmer, and in spite he still love FoxPro, this book covers the entire array of themes and issues a programmer will face when moving from VFP to .NET. An advocate of VB.NET, he consider VB as the .NET dialect of choice when migrating from Fox, because of their similarities. You can find almost no reference to C# in this book. This makes sense for a VFP developer, he or she will feel more comfortable dealing with VB code than with C sharp.

One of the most deceiving aspects of .NET -for the novice- is ADO.NET data access, due to its disconnected nature, and tiered architecture, in general this technology prevents the normal VFP programmer to master .NET data access in an acceptable time. Mr. Pinter covers this technological gap with the exact concept in the exact moment, and this can only be achieved for a person who exhibits excellent knowledge in both technologies.

In a word, "highly recommended".

Getting up to speed in the .NET world
If you are a FoxPro programmer and are required to start programming in Visual Studio .NET, or just need to learn some of the basics of .NET, because you see this in your future, than this book is for you.

Pinter is one of those programming geniuses who understands the workings of a language and can present it in an understandable way. He makes clear those things you just stare at and can't make out.

I like walkthroughs, it's the best way for me to understand what is going on in the creation of an application, and this book is one of those that took me through both a FoxPro and a VB .NET application that can access both a FoxPro database and a SQL Server database, from the same application.

The book came out in May of 2004, but was written before that, and uses VFP 7, VFP 8, VB .NET 2002, and SQL Server 2000, but you can still go through the code in VFP 9, VB .NET 2003, and SQL Server 2005. It still works, but there are newer ways to do things that should make it easier in both VFP 9 and the newly released VB .NET 2005, but don't let this stop you, it's still a great book.

The book covers .ASP and Database access over the Internet which is the future, no matter what anybody says, and we have to learn about this in great detail, and Pinter explains it all in a manner which even my old brain can understand. However, building .ASP .NET applications in Visual Studio 2005 will make all previous .ASP .NET books obsolete in my opinion. You still need the basics, though.

I'm the type that reads manuals, and I read every sentence of the book, so I found most of the glaring errors. Some were due to differences between the downloadable code and the code in the book, others were oversites, like making a phone number field 10 characters, but I was able to get around the differences, and a bunch of other problem errors that I promptly made a list of and sent off to the publisher, hoping that a new version of the book will be forthcoming in the future using the current development environments.

The ability to access two different databases (FoxPro and SQL Server) with just a few lines of code in the same FoxPro or VB .NET program, the ability to finally figure out how to make a standard form that can be used in all my applications, and Pinter's straight shooting make this one of the better books in getting up to speed with .NET.

For those who enjory database application development.
Two Microsoft products that are very well suited for database application development, Visual FoxPro and VB.NET are shown side by side.This book offers many insights into database development for anyone interested in a fast start up in either camp.The book is also of value just to get a better understanding of working with databases in either language. Time went into clarify the process of creating classes / objects in both languages. I found the examples very particle and useful.Les Pinter has been known for his down to earth practicle viewpoints and contributions for many years; both in the Visual Foxpro and Visual Basic world ... Read more

Product Description
With the release of Visual Basic 6, database development in Visual Basic moves to a new level of sophistication. With Visual Basic 6 Database How-To, readers can keep abreast of the new developments. It contains more than 120 step-by-step s-Visual Basic How-To has sold over 50,000 copies to date and won the Visual Basic Programmers Journal Readers Choice Award in 1995-Written in the Waite Groups proven question and answer format-Expanded coverage of Visual Basic 98, including Internet topics and lots of all new How-Tos ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

This book is ALL you will need
I usually don't write reviews, but this book has helped me so much that I felt a social responsibility to say it.

I got a job that involved database and reporting work that evolved into being primarily VB with databases three weeks after I started the job.(Isn't it amazing how job descriptions can change after the hiring is complete?)

Anyway, I had to learn fast and accurately to keep the job, and this book provided all I needed to save my job!

It was also a great desk reference to troubleshoot when I got stuck down the line.I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND it to anyone who wants to learn and wants to buy only one book that they can continue to use after they're more comfortable.

Changed my life
This book changed my life in a number of fundamental ways.I bought one for my wife, my pastor, my parents and even my dog.I am now definitely a VB6 super-geek.

My Bible
I have read other reviews here and I disagree.I find this book incredibly helpful.It will not write your application for you, but it will tell you how to do the details.It has helped me write a major application.I use it as a resource not a learning manual.Once you know DB programming, this book cannot be beat for VB-Access combination

I need some "Why To" or "When To" with my "How To"
I was looking for a book that explained the differences between and the advantages of the various data access methods available in Visual BASIC 6, and which would guide me through implementing my chosen solution.Afterworking through the first few sections, I'm more confused than ever. Instead of helping you decide which path to follow and then guiding youdown it, this book takes the route of saying "Here's somethingneat" - "Oh - and this is neat too" - "And *this*method is pretty cool" without making it clear (at least to me)whether you're supposed to use them in conjuction with each other or pickone and use it exclusively in a given program.In fact, I moved from the"Bound Controls" to "Data Access Objects" sectionswithout realizing through several examples that these were probably notmeant to be mixed together.The examples often seem to say "Do this,then do that" without making clear _why_ you're doing it.I don'tknow about you, but I can't learn by rote nearly as effectively as I do ifI _understand_ why something works the way it does.I keep thinking"Well, maybe it's designed for someone more experienced at VB databaseprogramming than I am," but in working through the examples, I get thefeeling that someone with much VB database experience would already knowmost of this stuff.I'll put the book on the shelf and maybe it will be auseful reference once I've got a clearer understanding of the subject, butit hasn't been much help as a beginner's guide.

Don't make the same mistake I made.
I don't usually buy a computer book before checking out the customer review on the books.This time, I was in the hurry and had no time to check the review, so I wasted $.

On the cover, the publisher claims the book is "THE DEFENITIVE PROBLEM SOLVER".Shame on thepublisher and the authors. The code in the book doesn't compile.ActiveXcomponents are missing from the CD.In other words, nothing works.

TheWaite Group, you owe me $+ tax. ... Read more

Product Description
The incredible expansion of the Microsoft Access market share combined with the growing number of users who want to customize and automate tasks has led to strong demand for this new book. Because Access is a relatively young product, many users haven't had the chance to get beyond the intermediate level-they're using Access but haven't tapped into its real power. This book is perfect for users who want to get to the heart of Access to help them build personalized and customized Access solutions. Fifteen lessons methodically teach readers, in the highly successful Step-by-Step format, how to use this built-in graphical programming language to customize Access to work the way they do. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Old book, but still useful
Best Access VBA book I have ever bought, and I have bought several.

Callahan is a great author, knows his application, and is great at explaining something that looks complicated, making it very simple to start programming your access forms and objects, jumping right into the nitty gritty.

Useful even if you use Access 2003.I have not bought Access Vista, but it's as good and still functional for Access 2003.

My favorite thus far
I have worked with Access97 for several years now, but the person designing the databases worked strictly in macros.I had read enough of the developer's books to realize that isn't the proper way to go, but those books were over my head since I had never had any programming experience.This book fit the bill because it assumed I knew nothing else.I think if I master this book and the Access Macro & VBA handbook by Susann Novalis that I will then be ready for the developer's books. Novalis described it as: intro books - walking; intro VBA programming - running; developer books - flying.I really want my databases to fly, but I have to learn to run first.

All the information you need to customized your Access DB
Great tutorial with specific examples that walk you though customizing Access DBs with a business purpose in mind. Really great book, I highly reccommend it to anyone who is planning to learn how to build customizedaccess applications. Worth every cent you spent on it.

A well-organized tutorial on developing Access applications
Mr. Callahan provides a well-organized, easy-to-follow tutorial onapplication development in Microsoft Access 95, emphasizing Visual Basicfor Applications (VBA). This book is an excellent introduction to Accessprogramming. Hands-on training is provided on the accompanying diskette.

If you like to "learn by doing", this is the book for you.
I love this book.I learned more in 3 hours with this book than I did in a month of wading through various Access and VBA tomes. It is a perfect fit for the fairly technical Access user who is new to Visual Basic.Is your database dying under the weight of its macros?You need VBA and this is the book to teach it to you. ... Read more

Product Description
This comprehensive guide contains 1,000 pages of everything Visual Basic 6, from programming with radio buttons and checkboxes to XOR drawings, OLE automation, DHTML page design, graphics, and Internet Explorer support. Over 800 projects are included covering Visual Basic from the Internet to the Windows Registry. The book includes a Quick Reference at the end of each chapter, making it fast and easy to look up the most common, and uncommon, Visual Basic problems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (50)

Great service!
Product was in perfect condition and service was great. I'll purchase again from this vender.

Excellent book
This is a GREAT book that goes into detail on how to use all the major controls and components. It does NOT go into detail about the fundamentals of the language, like functions, routines etc. If you're brand new to the language, this book will show you everything you want to know about controls, but you won't be able to write a program with it. Excellent as a supplemental book.

Comprehensive
If you are new to VB6, don't let the size and wide coverage of topics scare you.Between this and google, you can tackle most problems and understand most VB6 code that you read.(Except maybe, very object oriented or API-laden code).

If you are just learning, get this and read it cover to cover even if you don't understand everything.You'll remember that there was an example to do just want you wanted.His examples, while usually VERY simple, usually give you enough to get a good start.

Mine is so worn out the pages are coming out.It is never more than an arms length from my desk.

THE BOOK YOU SHOULD'NT BUY FOR VB 6.0by Steven Holzner
When buying this book I had assumed it to a pure form of Visual Basic, I have found other "Black Book" titles to be a great reference and also a great starting point.However this book, well how can I say, lacked a point.I found myself half way through the cut, copied, and edited version of msdn's reference manual, that Steven Holzner happened to call a "Black Book" around chapter 7 I found that he was just starting to mention a simple checkbox.I don't believe that anyone needs a book this dull or a book this slow.If your in the mood to search through endless pages in the form of any second rate edited extensive reference manual, then you can have fun blowing your pay check.

THE BOOK YOU SHOULD'NT BUY FOR VB 6.0by Steven Holzner
When buying this book I had assumed it to a pure form of Visual Basic, I have found other "Black Book" titles to be a great reference and also a great starting point.However this book, well how can I say, lacked a point.I found myself half way through the cut, copied, and edited version of msdn's reference manual, that Steven Holzner happened to call a "Black Book" around chapter 7 I found that he was just starting to mention a simple checkbox.I don't believe that anyone needs a book this dull or a book this slow.If your in the mood to search through endless pages in the form of any second rate edited extensive reference manual, then you can have fun blowing your pay check. ... Read more

Product Description
Starting Out with Visual Basic.NET, 2E is for people who are new to the field of computer programming. An introductory book designed to teach the most computer illiterate user the features of Visual Basic.With its clear and easy-to-understand language, this book provides users with concise and practical program examples that are geared toward real world situations.This approach allows readers to learn how to use various controls, constructs, and features of Visual Basic during appropriate circumstances. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Wonderful!!
This book is filled with great information... with all the programming tutorials you go through, you learn VB really well. It's a super thick book, complete with two CD's ... this is all you need to learn VB!

Interesting book
This is a very interesting book.The instructions are at time confusing but overall a good book.Could be a challgenge for beginners.

Horse Crap
I would not recommend this book to anyone. If i'm lucky, I can only get 1/4 of the examples to work in this book. I copy the code for line to line, and still come up with errors.Yes, I'm using Visual Basic 2005. The cd that comes with the book is horrible! I can't get the damn examples to execute. So, how is anyone suppose to learn anything, when they don't know how to write the correct code?Thanks alot Tony Gaddis and Kip Irvine for ripping people off!

did not recieve as described!
This item would have been great if the book would have come with it! that was the whole reason I bought this item.There was supposed to be 2 cds and a Textbook, well the cds were in perfect condition but there was no text.This item was sent back for the above reason, a replacement was issued and yet again, no book. was not happy with this item purchase! ... Read more

Product Description
Recipient of the Reader's Choice Award from Visual Basic Programmer's Journal. Gary Cornell is one of the highest-profile authors--key Microsoft insider who's gained industry respect. Support of Visual Studio 6 team with technical review of book. Enables readers to produce commercial-quality programs for practical application. Section devoted to programming concepts for true novice, as well as content aimed towards more advanced programming tasks. Goes beyond competition with extensive coverage on building your own objects, custom controls, recursion, distributing commercial programs. Covers features built into both the Professional and Enterprise editions of Visual Basic. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (61)

Good Reference Book
This was a good reference book. Especially for the money. I find it helpful to have 2-3 ref. books per language for review in case I need them. Amazon does an awesome job supplying thses type of books at a low price.

Absolutely the best book for VB6
I bought this book in Year 11 (2000), after reading reviews of it. I was a beginner to programming - not only did this book introduce me to programming, it goes into VB6 in detail. The examples are all useful - not just toy examples. I have created many useful VB6 projects - this is the ONLY VB6 book you need.

Lots of information, serious lack of explanation and samples
Perhaps this book would prove useful to an experienced programmer, but for a novice it is not a good choice.Cornell "assumes no previous programming experience", then goes on to write in huge, sweeping generalities without adequate explanations.Also, the code in the book is often written so the reader cannot fathom the type of event the code is associated with, and no explanations are forthcoming in the body of the text.
There really is a lot covered in this book, but unless you do indeed have "previous programming experience", not worth the cash.

Disappointed so far.
Two cents from a rank amateur/beginning programmer. At the moment, I'm on page 179 of this book and the main problem I have so far is with the way the information is communicated. Personally, I now know that I should have picked up a book that taught VB concepts via small projects and tasks. A "in chapter 1 we'll build a simple tool to get familiar w/ the IDE. In chapter 2 we'll improve our skillset by building a slightly advanced tool to learn about declaring variables, etc." approach would work better for me. Unfortunately, this book doesn'treally do that. The concepts here are explained mostly with bits of standalone code. Hopefully, perhaps by page 200, we'll commence with some "learning by doing." Yes, hopefully. In the meantime, I'll grit my teeth and continue with the book, but right now it simply isn't working for me.

Very Good
I should like to point out that the comment above regarding typos is not correct. True the example is missing a parenthesis (which the reviewer misspelled), however the move method DOES NOT require 4 arguments when anyone of the optional 3 are there. The arguments are left, top, width and height. You must specify all arguments that appear in the syntax before the argument you want to specify. For example, you can't specify width without specifying left and top. Any trailing arguments that are unspecified remain unchanged. ... Read more

Product Description

• This valuable and inexpensive resource is ideal for anyone who is new to programming and wants to learn the basics of Visual Basic without being overwhelmed by the complicated Visual Studio integrated development environment
• This back-to-basics book covers getting started with the featured "Starter Kits," learning practical programming , and developing applications
• Also shows how to use VB Express Edition with database and Web Programming

Customer Reviews (14)

Whiney Gibberish
The most incoherent, slapped together, piece of garbage ever to be called a book.This guy sholdn't be allowed to write anything anymore, including his name.

Battle Lines Are Drawn On This One!
You know when you find a book with only very high and very low reviews that you are likely to love it or hate it. Most programming books are very detail/left brain oriented. Not surprising as the majority of programmers are as well. A few are right brain/big picture based. Either can be written at an introductory or advanced level. The problem is that if a left brain person reads a right brain type book they will hate it and vice versa. This book is one of the big picture/just what you need at the moment right brain books. This had also been the orientation and market positioning of VB since it's inception until .net and had made it the most used programming language going. Along the way the author does take many pot shots at Microsoft moving VB so far away from it's roots with .net. This move has indeed caused VB to lose ground in the market. Programmer thinking would appear to be "If the new VB is this hard to learn, I might as well work in another language that pays more." If shots at Microsoft bother you, you will have a problem with this book. The author feels that Microsoft has moved VB back towards it's roots with the Express edition. This would appear to be true.
One major slam this book has gotten is the lack of full blown line by line projects. Given the orientation of the book, this is probably a valid complaint. A right brainer might be oriented towards "Just give me the main building blocks, let me put them together the way I want, and discover the others later when I need them." This approach would likely leave everyone else stuck.
As someone who taught programming for over 10 years and now works in industry building data mining tools (primarily using MS products), I am very impressed with the content that WAS included in this book.
I believe that the addition of a couple more short end to end examples early on and a bit of moderation of the MS bashing (though justified) would have greatly expanded the position of this book as a mainstream "one stop shopping" introductory text. As it is, it is a great suppliment to one of the more dry "cookbook" type offerings that are out there everywhere.

Bruce Kirkpatrick
MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA, OCP, ...

No Examples?!?!
The book is great a explaining the items, but there are no examples to practice what you learn.I have always liked for dummies books, but this one lost my respect.

Don't buy this book
The author is mainly interested in slamming Microsoft and object-oriented programming. Unfortunately, he never gets off this soapbox and gets around to teaching anyone how to write a complete program using VB Express. A complete and disappointing waste of time and money. I will most certainly avoid works by this author in the future.

This book is for VB6 users
Buy this book
If you are
1) VB6 users
2) VB enthusiasts
3) old age VB fanatics
4) never care for C/C++ or Java and want to stick to Visual Basic only

Else
not recommended....

If you simply want to learn the new user interface of VB8 (Visual Studio 2005 version) and see what you can do with the upgraded ToolBox items, I recommend Visual Basic 2005 Express: Now Playing (Book and CD edition) Wallace Wang explains much better about what VB2005 version can do without unnecessary information. ... Read more

Product Description
While most developers can think of dozens of ways to work moreproductively by extending the Visual Basic IDE, they don't have timeto sift through documentation to find out how. A tutorial and referenceguide in one, this book brings together all the information and showshow to create useful VB add-ins to extend the IDE. The book is divided into two main parts:

• Add-in Basics: discusses the mechanics of add-in creation, including retrieving a reference to the VB IDE; registering, activating, and debuggingan add-in; and making an add-in's functionality accessible through a menuoption or toolbar button
• The Extensibility Model focuses on the creative side of add-indevelopment, covering specific categories of objects, such as user interface,project-related, and form and control objects.

Customer Reviews (9)

dPhilc's Review
A highly lucid text indeed on a topic area that not many writers have even attempt to get to grips with. After writing this text, I began to create add-in from memory. It's a shame there aren't more books like it.

Decent, but . . .
I was originally going to give this book 3 stars, but after reading the author's retaliatory comments, the best I could offer is a 2 (and I will never buy one of his books again - crybaby).

Mr. Roman's earlier book, Learn Word Programming, was excellent. Naturally, this lead me to believe that this book would be just as good. It wasn't.

I try to suggest other books in my reviews, but there aren't many that cover this exact topic. You might want to check "Learn Word 2000 VBA Document Automation", it has a few projects in there, but they are mainly concerned with Word. Other than that, I guess we will just have to wait for awhile.

Clear, concise and to the point
Like others, I purchased this book because I was tired of screwing up my face at the pathetic Microsoft documentation.

Dr. Roman's explanations and sample code got right to the heart of the matter.Major kudos...

Very clear and well-written
This book is very clear and well-written. I like Steven Roman's books because they cut through the fog and get down to the essential CONCEPTS. Some of the other reviewers seem to think the book should take them by thehand and do everything in the world for them. I, for one, and tired ofbloated 1,000-page plus tomes where you can't see the forest for the trees.What I like about this book is the focus on the ideas.

Good Intro, waiting for Part 2 ..... I guess.
With great excitement I purchased this book, when thumbing through it in the store it looked really promising.It truly does give alot more information than MS does, but it still leaves you confused a bit.The object models are shrugged off to very little commentary and figuring outthe complexities of manipulating objects within a large program is not eventouched.I had hoped that this topic had finally gotten seriousconsideration, it appears that this was only meant to be an intro book.Iwould highly recommend it if you only want to know what an add-in is, butif you want to do some serious programming with addins, you'll need alotmore than this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Roger Jennings' Database Developer's Guide with Visual Basic 6, Third Edition, provides in-depth coverage of all new database-related features of Visual Basic 6.0. Topics includes OLE DB 1.0, Active Data Objects (ADO) 2.0, Remote Data Services (RDS) 2.0,and DataEnvironment and DataReport objects. Client/server chapters describe how to create high-performance decision-support and OLTP applications with SQL Server 6.5 and 7.0. Advanced topics include executing parameterized stored procedures with ADO Command objects, designing and deploying Microsoft Transaction Server 2.0 components, and writing Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) to extract summarized data from PivotTable and SQL Server OLAP Services (formerly Plato) DataCubes with ADOMD, ADO 2.0's implementation of MDX.Amazon.com Review
Roger Jennings's Database Developer's Guide with VisualBasic 6 offers a full tour of programming ActiveX Data Objects(ADO) with Visual Basic 6 for building today's corporateapplications.

The first part of the book does an excellent job ofrelating older Microsoft database APIs, such as open databaseconnectivity (ODBC), Remote Data Objects (RDO), and Data AccessObjects (DAO), to the new ADO and object linking and embeddingdatabase OLE-DB standards. The author reviews database basics(including normalized tables) and provides a solid introduction to SQL(including joins and grouping).

Generally, this book highlights thebuilt-in tools and capabilities of Visual Basic 6, such as boundcontrols, charts, graphs, and reporting features. To illustrate ADO,the author provides a sample application that works with Microsoft'sWebTV database (with over 5,000 lines of sample code on theaccompanying CD-ROM).

Next come the basics of corporate networkingand then running Access in a networked environment. Coverage of SQLServer 6.5/7.0 follows, including transactions. The author's how-toguide to moving client-side SQL code to stored procedures on databaseservers is a standout here.

Later sections look at Visual Basic 6Internet programming, including its support for ActiveX Documents,WebClasses, and the Remote Data Service (RDS) in InternetExplorer. (Overall, though, this is a book written for seriousintranet corporate development rather than the public Internet.) Finalchapters look at middle-tier transaction management in MicrosoftTransaction Server (MTS) and even the basics of data warehousing.

Best for its explanation of new Microsoft database technologies andhow to bring older code up to speed, this book can serve as a valuablechoice for any serious corporate Visual Basic databaseprogrammer. --Richard Dragan ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Everything just went over my head
I had high hopes for this book from its title. I thought, Whao! at last a book that will teach me about database programming like a developer. My joy evaporated faster than you can spell VB.

The book reads like a discussion between the writers and his/her knowledgeable peers with no room for us wannabee developers. I have reasonable proramming background including VB, but this book was all greek to me. Scattered code snippets here and there with no "real" explanations, buzz words like MTS,CORBA, NED ED or whatever without their functions or scope in reference of this book are just tip of this iceberg of problems.

I will keep this book. Someday when I learn to program serious vb database, I will come back to this book and check how many chapters I really understand. I am just sad that this book and my money did little to help me towards that goal.

Great ideas for experienced VB Database programmers
This book is not for the beginning VB database programmer.It rushes into some advanced topics that a newbie could get lost in.

It has some EXCELLENT presentations and ideas on Decisions Support Systems, and coversMTS very well for a book that does not specialize in it. I think that themost valuable portion of this book were the (brief) examples and ideas onusing VB with OLAP and Data Warehousing.It is difficult to find usefulinformation on these topics that you can apply in the real world withVB.

I will be using this book as a reference in some of my future works.

Needs another round of editing before publishing
Why don't authors test their code before they print it? All throughout the book author does this. For example, client side cursors can only be static type and in chap 3 the author codes .CusorLocation=adUseClient, .CusorType=adOpenKeyset (p.143). Geez. Other samples have adOpenDynamic.You can set the cursor type property to these enums but if you check theproperty via debug.print or in the locals window you will see the property= static. Something that simple makes me a bit unsure what is wrong withthe more complex material in the latter part of the book. Other things thatbothered me were the code on CD needed to be hacked to run. They should runright out of the box. Too much emphasis on the data controls. And what wasall that about VCR drivers and video picons? what a waste of time andspace. If I was married to this book I'd get a divorce!

Hate to criticize....
But this is a terrible book. Very disorganized, limited samples, poorly explained source code. Don't waste your money. There are much better books out there.

Did an intern at SAMs write this?
Too many typos and problems with sample code! I can't believe Roger Jennings wrote this. Simple SQL code is flawed ie: author's use of "=>" (p.256, 261) rather than ">="; references tothe sample code on the CD are incorrect -EVERYTIME! - the installation putsthem folders identified as \ch03, etc. but in the book (and sometimeshardcoded in the .frm files) the path is \Ddg_vb6\Chaptr##. All of the .mdbfiles that have linked tables must be opened and relinked! If you don'tknow to do this (that is, if you are a newbie which why you are readingthis book) you get an error message that is cryptic at best. I haven'topened a project file and executed it without some problem. For $60 Iexpected more. SAMS publishing should take a lesson in customer service andvisit WROX publishing. No errata is available for this book! Why? Anyonewho has written a positive thing about this book must not have opened anyof the sample apps on the CD. Too bad, RJ is an excellent author but hissupport staff needs to learn VB because most of the samples are flawed. ... Read more

Product Description
Software tools are a great aid to process engineers, but too much dependence on such tools can often lead to inappropriate and suboptimal designs. Reliance on software is also a hindrance without a firm understanding of the principles underlying its operation, since users are still responsible for devising the design.

In Process Engineering and Design Using Visual Basic, Arun K. Datta provides a unique and versatile suite of programs along with simultaneous development of the underlying concepts, principles, and mathematics. Each chapter details the theory and techniques that provide the basis for design and engineering software and then showcases the development and utility of programs developed using the material outlined in the chapter. This all-inclusive guide works systematically from basic mathematics to fluid mechanics, separators, overpressure protection, and glycol dehydration, providing basic design guidelines based on international codes. Worked examples demonstrate the utility of each program, while the author also explains problems and limitations associated with the simulations.

After reading this book you will be able to immediately put these programs into action and have total confidence in the result, regardless of your level of experience. All nine programs are available on the companion CD-ROM, including a useful unit conversion tool. ... Read more

Product Description

With Visual Basic.NET, Microsoft transforms Visual Basic into a supercharged tool for developing next-generation Web services and Windows applications. Now, learn Visual Basic.NET hands-on, through thousands of lines of live code in hundreds of complete working programs -- explained with exceptional clarity by the renowned programming trainers of Deitel & Associates! Visual Basic.NET How to Program starts by introducing the Visual Studio.NET development environment; then covers all key VB.NET programming fundamentals, from control structures to methods, arrays, and object-oriented programming. It delivers in-depth coverage of VB.NET GUI development; multithreading; graphics and multimedia; XML programming; database development with SQL and ADO.NET; building Web Forms and Web Services with ASP.NET; network programming; data structures; accessibility; and more. The book contains hundreds of real-world tips and techniques for writing high-quality code, improving performance and reliability, and efficient debugging. For all beginning programmers -- and developers experienced with traditional languages -- who want to master Visual Basic.NET quickly.

Customer Reviews (9)

VB 2005
I used this text in combination with Simply Visual Basic for my class. This book has more information, but less fun than SVB. Generally I found this text able to accomplish it's goal in introducing student to VB.

Some negative things: I think it somewhat redundant to start every Deitel book with descriptions and overview od input, output, CPU etc. Usually, people who take this class already know these things. Another thing, is Deitel's font selection and organization. It is truly would benefit to rethink it. I can't say what exactly not appealing, but it takes time to get used to their font designations and tips, often in the middle of the text. (tips are better always on the sides). And, yes those bug pictures can get annoying. Sometimes it looks like page is somewhat broken because of those tips, and look disorganized. But this is general comment on the series.

Deitel
This is the 3rd Deitel book that I've used for school.They are very easy to understand and the assignments in the text are challenging.Deitel has a way of blending humor, real world experience and concepts together to make an interesting read out of what normally is challenging.I'm not much of a book reviewer, but I would recommend this book to someone wishing to get a start with programming in VB.

Not impressed
I'm taking a VB 2005 class in college and we are using this book.I am not a programmer, I am a Systems & Network Analyst and I read lots and lots of computer books and I have to say that his book reads horribly.I find myself confused at times and its very fast paced.Also, our instructor assigns us the exercises at the end of the chapters and the exercises are truly hard.The exercises want you to create something that was "supposedly" covered in the chapter.Not that it wasnt covered, its just that it did not go into depth as much as it should to do the exercise.Everytime I have to work an exercise I have to look else where to find a solution or sample code.I would not recommend this book to anyone unless you have taken and Intro VB class or read an Intro VB book.

Good Book For Beginners
I have been used this book for my teachings to my students. It is a very good book to teach them the concept of procedural and object-oriented programming. The book is well-organized and impressively, my students understood the OOP very well. TQ.

Veronica Sanders
As a former IT Instructor, I give the thumbs up on this book. Its great, informative and very detailed. It takes a novice programmer to the intermediate level of programming. ... Read more

Product Description
An accessible and step-by-step approach to using VB.NET and XML enterprise application development
XML is a tool for interacting with, describing, and transporting data between machines across networks and across the Internet-perfectly suited for Microsoft's .NET plan to fully integrate the Internet into distributed computing. By using real-world and fully-functional examples, this book quickly brings Visual Basic programmers and developers up to speed on XML for enterprise application development. The authors include an overview of XML and how it works with VB.NET, then explain how to use it to manipulate data in distributed environments.Microsoft Technologies
.NET Platform: The next big overhaul to Microsoft's technologies that will bring enterprise distributed computing to the next level by fully integrating the Internet into the development platform. This will allow interaction between any machine, on any platform, and on any device.
Visual Basic.NET: The update to this popular visual programming language will offer greater Web functionality, more sophisticated object-oriented language features, links to Microsoft's new common runtime, and a new interface.
ASP.NET: A programming framework (formerly known as Active Server Pages) for building powerful Web-based enterprise applications; can be programmed using VB.NET or C#.
C#: Microsoft's new truly object-oriented programming language that builds on the strengths of C++ and the ease of Visual Basic; promises to give Sun's Java a run for its money. ... Read more

Product Description
INCLUDES .NET!Also includes VB5, VB6,and eVB for Windows CE.Add serial communications to your Visual Basic applications using Custom Controls and the Windows API. Includes VB5 and VB6! Here is the information you that you need to use modems and direct serial connections (including RS-232, RS-422 and RS-485) for almost any purpose. Richard Grier uses his many years of experience to guide you through the process, while providing the insight that you will need to extend and adapt the ideas that he presents to your own projects. Make your serial communications programs reliable. Learn how to debug communications problems. Resources galore! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Hard to follow
I purchased this book in order to add serial IO to my .NET programs.I have been very sussessfull using VB6 in the past but could not get a single code example from the CD ROM to work with Visual studio 2003.

The Compact framework .Net examples did work however.

On top of all the problems the text is very hard to match up with the CDRom and does not follow.For instance it is stated that the .Net routines do not implement oncomm events yet it is programed in the code on the CDrom.

The most complete reference for VB serial-port programmers
This book covers serial-port programming in Visual Basic from VB's early editions through Visual Basic .NET, including programming for Windows CE. It's the most complete reference you'll find on the topic. Richard Grier has done a great job of keeping the book up to date through multiple editions. If you do serial-port programming in VB, this book will save you time and trouble.

Wow! Great Book
This is an excellent, excellent reference for using serial ports with VB. I can't say enough for this book. The author knows his material and communicates his knowledge very well. I am using it to write a communications program to interface with field devices using the modbus protocol. The book doesn't specifically cover modbus, but I still found this book to be very helpful. Again, excellent!

Serial Port Gold
For Visual Basic programmers working with serial ports, if you are not an expert at them, then you need this book. Since I already had a great deal of experience with serial ports, most of this was not new to me. However, instead of having to train some colleagues on all the details, I recommended they buy this book. They did and it made them very proficient with serial ports. They kept the books.

Looking for a Serial Comm Tutorial Type
One thing that i like in this book is the author's recommendation on how to optimize the serial communication program in terms of program execution speed. However, i do not like the way source codes are pointed out. Some codes are shaded gray and it took me time to find which code is being explained. Each line of code should have been numbered. Additionally, the book may need to add some more pages that will walk the reader through a small most common serial comm project from "scratch to finish". Overall, this book is a good reference. ... Read more