Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Basic and SQL Server(TM), Sixth Edition (Microsoft Programming Series) [Paperback]

William R. Vaughn (Author)

Book Description

Series: Microsoft Programming Series | Publication Date: October 1, 1998

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Basic and SQL Server, Sixth Edition", is for hands-on developers, development managers in medium-sized to large MIS development shops, and everyone else who wants to use Visual Basic to tap the power of SQL Server. Readers need a working knowledge of VB, an understanding of how SQL Server is administered, and the ability to create Transact SQL commands and batches. The enclosed CD-ROM contains sample code from the book, a sample database, code building blocks for users' own applications, white papers, and more.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Focusing on Visual Basic 6's new data-access resources, Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Basic and SQL Server is the definitive guide to Microsoft's database development tools. If you're concerned with creating a way for a Visual Basic application or control to talk to an SQL Server back end, this book most likely has the answers you need.

Microsoft has six major SQL interface solutions: Visual Basic SQL (VBSQL), Open Database Connectivity (ODBC), Data Access Objects (DAO)/Jet, DAO/ODBCDirect, Remote Data Objects (RDO), and ActiveX Data Objects (ADO). William Vaughn covers all of them in this book, plus the low-level SQL Server interfaces. He includes quite a lot of sample code (in the text and on the companion CD-ROM) that shows how different access mechanisms open connections, perform queries, and return values. Sidebars and other supplementary nuggets of text use the first person to great effect--they enable Vaughn to share his considerable experience in a straightforward way.

ADO, the apparent replacement for most of Microsoft's other database-access technologies, receives especially lavish treatment. The author details each part of an ADO-facilitated transaction, and goes into depth on how to build custom ADO objects and how (and whether) to convert from RDO to ADO.

If yours is a Microsoft shop, this book will prove invaluable in connecting people to the data they need. --David Wall

Product Details

• Paperback: 750 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press; 6th edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572318481
• ISBN-13: 978-1572318489
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,791,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Vaughn (1947-) was born to a military family and spent the first forty years of his life moving from base-to-base and city-to-city. He learned German in Wiesbaden, Spanish in El Paso and Thai in Bangkok. After travelling the world on business trips and speaking tours, he finally settled in Redmond, Washington in 1986. More recently, Bill has turned his talents to fantasy fiction. "The Owl Wrangler" is his newest creation. An early manuscript was characterized as "...another Watership Down" by his college writing professor. He enjoys writing, photography and sharing his experiences with anyone who'll listen. Bill is the father of two wonderful daughters and has two granddaughters who gave him inspiration for more than one of his books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have book for VB developers doing data access., July 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Basic and SQL Server(TM), Sixth Edition (Microsoft Programming Series) (Paperback)

The terrible thing about on-line reviews is that often times very happy readers don't write them. So I thought, it was about time I did.

I've purchased that last three editions of Bill's book. Why? Because simply put, 'It is the best book on Microsoft data access technologies available for VB developers'. It focuses on one back-end, SQL Server, and the multitude of API's available.

The irreverent tone which some people find 'offensive', IMHO, simply adds character to an industry which at times really needs it. The code samples which I retrieved from the CD, always make getting up to speed quick and easy. Having heard Bill speak at VBITS and spoken to him, he is always trying to provide VB developers with the best information.

The seven detailed chapters on ADO are well worth your money even if you have the previous editions; not to mention the details on the T-SQL debugger in its own chapter. Also, even if this is your first purchase, the previous edition's chapters on VBSQL and ODBC are still included on the CD! For many of us, ODBC still has a place in our development lives.

The code Bill gives you is designed to focus on data access. If you need help with VB skills or UI design look elsewhere. But if you want down and dirty code focused on how to get to SQL Server, buy this book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Badly In Need of an Update, June 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Basic and SQL Server(TM), Sixth Edition (Microsoft Programming Series) (Paperback)

This is not a bad book, but it is long out of date. If you're getting it to learn how to use ADO to connect to SQL Server 2000, like me while not totally useless I found most of the book dated. I would say I found only a few chapters that were relevant and then again even those were dated. If you want Vaughn go with his "ADO Examples and Best Practices" which is more up to date and is beautifully written and organised. But this book will do the trick, particularly if you have other supplemental books. I probably wouldn't buy it though if I had to do it again.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't get to the point, September 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Basic and SQL Server(TM), Sixth Edition (Microsoft Programming Series) (Paperback)

With project deadlines, a stack of 1000-page books, and other interests, I just do not have time to wade through irrelevant information to find what I want. I will try to be objective. If you want a thorough reference, the author does a comprehensive survey. The work is thorough, but the information is hard to get at (see below). The author was one of the brains behind RDO (one of the six technologies covered in the book), so he is somewhat of an expert, and somewhat biased (toward RDO). Many of the readers apparently like a lot of jokes and sarcasm and historical information that can go on for paragraphs. If you have the time or patience for a lot of humorous or tangential reading while you are trying to find something out, then you might give this book five stars, but I wish it was reduced to a quarter of the present size so I could get what I want four times as fast. Because of the author's humor and sarcasm, many of the technical aspects do not come through clearly in explanation.