Customer Reviews

Core Visual Basic 5 (Core Series)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have to concur with those disappointed readers. I am an experienced programmer. I have programmed for years with C and GUI tools. I have done object-styled programming in Ada, understand OO concepts and have even done some OOP. I should be the perfect audience, but so far I am at sea with this book.

I have trudged through the first one and a half chapters only, so perhaps my views will be more charitable at the end of the journey, but shouldn't a book like this be accessible and clear right from the start?

I have built a small application -- the walk-through example -- and I have no idea what I did. This is an exaggeration, but I wish to make the point that this exercise seems without much objective. Oh, I have become used to clicking a few buttons, but I have hardly any schema or model in my head of how the objects and properties fit together.

Sorry Gary and Dave -- you clearly have a lot of fans. But I'm not signing up just yet.

I should be keen to receive recommendations from programmers for other books which do the same as this book purports to. (Perhaps something a teensy-bit more analytic?)

Even though I'm now using VB6 & I've bought several of the newer books, I still think this is overall the best general book on VB available.

My main complaint has nothing to do with the book itself, but rather with the marketingspeak on it which states that it's for "experienced programmers." In practice, that statement has probably done more harm then good, since advanced programmers will be disappointed by the more basic areas of the book.

This is the ideal book for anyone who is either an experienced programmer new to VB or an intermediate VB programmer struggling with some of the more advanced topics.

Advanced users will also get much out of the book, but know ahead of time that the first 150-200 pages are made up of a conscise but basic introduction that you'll want to skip over (though you'll probably find it a useful reference from time to time).

I have read somewhere around 15 books on Visual basic and this would have to be within the top 5. It covers many techniques and features that I have not seen anywhere else. I would highly recommend this book for someone that is either experienced or has read a lot of books on VB and has a good grasp of all of the concepts. I would not recommend this book for beginners.

this book has got both breadth and depth. it serves as a good reference full of concise and relevant examples. some advanced concepts and techniques are introduced to the readers with amazing clarity. core visual basic 5 is indeed an excellent second vb book to get. if you are really new to programming and want to get started in visual basic, get Beginning Visual Basic 5 for an easy and comprehensive introduction then get this book for more advanced coverage. have fun in your quest for VB knowledge!

Great book to learn how to create classes and objects, but loses depth when talking about ActiveX EXE's, ActiveX DLL's and ActiveX Controls. It also lacks information on how to use your controls on a web page.

All text goes straight to the point, no useless words, no stupid jokes. Written by brilliant minds, with plenty of teaching talent. I would put them in the same category with Jesse Liberty and Tom Armstrong. If anybody can add a name to this list, send me a word, thank you. Thank God for the sharp minds, without them you sink deeper and deeper.

Dave Jezak really knows his stuff. I can't think of a better programmer than Dave. The book should be #1 on the NYT bestseller list. Go Dave!

I just recently had to start programming in Visual Basic. My previous language for GUIs was Visual C++. I got many books on Visual Basic but I found that this book was the most useful. Its index makes it easy to find out the information you need and its explanations are clear, concise and well exampled. This is the book I most recommend for people who need to have a reference/learning guide book on Visual Basic. It covers both elementary and advanced matters extremely well.

I really liked this book - I even learned some stuff from the quick review of VB but the chapters I liked the best were the two in the middle that gave a short course on object oriented programming. I feel after reading these 100 or so pages that I finally understand how to do object oriented programming in VB. (In fact I am now making progress on the book that I really want to read, but one, I admit, I was having trouble with: "Businesss Objects with VB by Lhocka from Wrox Press.)

Some parts of the book are well written, succinct and to the point. For example, the second chapter takes you into VB by building a simple image control. Everything you need is in the chapter.

However, the rest of the book seems to have been written in a hurry. I think the book could have done with a rewrite. For example, chapter 12 which discusses API calls mentions that API calls are a way to know when a process has terminated. This is given in a list of four other things which are then demonstrated in the chapter, but how to determine if a process has terminated is not explained. In chapter 5 it was promised that this would be explained (see page 219).

These are just two critisms amoungst many. The book is just not laid out in a way which will help you learn VB. I have a problem with it and two colleagues at my work place have used the book and compared it unfavourably with others on the market.