Customer Reviews

MCSD: Visual Basic 5 Study Guide

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is for the VB6 Version of the book:

The style of writing made the material easy to digest, and more simplistic items were easily skipped without losing key concepts. However, the Review Exams at the end of each chapter were fraught with errors in the answers. It could be quite confusing for someone who isn't already familiar with VB and SQL. The text generally explains things correctly though.

Based on looking at a few of the VB5 version complaints, it looks like Sybex hasn't figured it out yet.

Mistakes, mistakes everywhere! When following instructions to create a practice application, the code was wrong, it didn't work! Even the CD-ROM stuff was incorrect. Studying for these cert tests is tough enough without the added frustration of textbooks proclaiming to be "Study Guides" that are riddled with gross errors. I ended up using Microsoft's VB Programmers Guide and the Visual Basic 5.0 online documentation. I passed the certification test (hurrah) but certainly NOT due to any help from this book! Don't people read/edit or review this stuff? Doesn't the author check to be sure his code produces the desired results?

I debated giving this one 2 stars, because I think you will fail the exam if you only use this as your study guide. I covered this book several times cover-to-cover. I agree with many of the other reviewers that there were an inordinate amount of typos and mistakes. The worst part, however, was that the material was not deep enough and the questions not difficult enough to adequately prep you for the exam.

After reading each chapter several times and consistently scoring 90-100% on each of the practice exams (the end-of-chapter tests - the promised practice exam on CD-ROM did not work, nor did the supposed correction), I was full of bravado. Fortunately, I got access to a Transcender exam the day before the test. What an eye-opener that was. I took all 3 of the Transcenders and they blew me away. I was scoring in the low 60's. I pulled an allnighter with the Transcenders and the MSDN CD's and snatched victory from the jaws of sure defeat.

I noted several of the other reviewers noted that they used this material in conjunction with the Transcenders. On its own, I think it is insufficient to prepare you.END

this book is very easy to understand. good price

This is a very good book to start preparing for Exam 70-165. All the exam topics are covered and the topics are well explained. However, the book lacks details on some important topics like the Setup wizard (Bootstrap files, ini files, primary and secondary cab files) and ActiveX controls (Ambient and Extender properties). However, its very good for its price. I used this book, VB Books online and the transcenders and passed exam 70-165 with a good score on my first attempt.

This book, despite its acceptable editing and writing standards, just does not contain a large amount of material needed to pass the exam. Either buy one of the 1300-pagers or Exam Cram, or both. This book is the worst of both worlds unfortunately.

This is an excellent study guide for passing the VB exam. I would have given it 5 stars if not for the mistakes in the review questions at the end of each chapter. If a school text book had errors like these it would never get by an editor. There is nothing more aggravating than answering a question correctly only to find the answer given in the book is wrong. I wasted several hours making sure that I had selected the right answer while the book was wrong! This is truly a shame because it makes a well written book look shoddy, and shows great disrespect for the reader. It is a testament to how good the overall book is to still receive a high mark despite the grievous errors.

Mistakes, mistakes everywhere!! When following instructions to create a practice application, the code was wrong, it didn't work! Even the CD-ROM stuff was incorrect. Studying for these cert tests is tough enough without the added frustration of textbooks proclaiming to be "Study Guides" that are riddled with gross errors. I ended up using Microsoft's VB Programmers Guide and the Visual Basic 5.0 online documentation. I passed the certification test (hurrah) but certainly NOT due to any help from this book! don't people read/edit or review this stuff? Doesn't the author check to be sure his code produces the desired results??

This book is really easy to read and not as big as New Riders, so it feels easier.The text is worth 5 stars but because you cant use the prep-test with vb5 installed - 1 star.You can use the software on the cd if you dont have vb5 installed. Not a good soloution but if you have dual boot or two pc it's one way to use it.

This is a good book that completes a well-rounded strategy. I personally used the Transcender exams and at the same time I took a full-time VB 6.0 class, where we applied a lot of the principals covered in the book. Lastly I used Evangelous' book "Mastering VB 6.0" on the side (Also from Sybex).

A word of warning though, you can skip the questions in the book and do not even bother with the CD since the question/answers aren't accurate and the program on the CD that Sybex is promoting does not run after installation, it would start up and then freeze. I was disappointed as the two books that I purchased from Sybex were of good quality (Mastering 6.0 and this guide). I hope that in the future Sybex does not disappoint its users by rushing out a book with faulty answers and a non-functioning CD.