Moving to VB .NET: Strategies, Concepts, and Code [Paperback]

Daniel Appleman (Author), Dan Appleman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1893115976 | ISBN-13: 978-1893115972 | Publication Date: July 2001 | Edition: 1

Visual Basic guru Dan Appleman exposes the reality behind the VB .NET hype, and shows you how to evaluate this technology in the context of your specific problems. The book is divided into three parts: Strategies, Concepts, and Code. In Strategies, you'll learn how VB .NET is perfect for new development of web and other server side applications. In Concepts, you'll learn key concepts such as inheritance and multithreading, and why they are over-hyped. And in Code, you'll learn the VB .NET language and many of its features—all based on your current knowledge of VB6.

Appleman explains the technology features of VB .NET, as well as the reasons and controversies around some of those choices. You'll learn to write high quality VB .NET code in well-designed applications. Above all, Appleman conveys his solid understanding of technology and the needs of real developers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Daniel Appleman is the president of Desaware Inc., a developer of add-on products and components for Microsoft Visual Studio, including SpyWorks, StateCoder, and the NT Service Toolkit for .NET languages and VB6. He is a cofounder of Apress, a publishing company specializing in high-quality professional level books for computer programmers and IT professionals. He is the author of numerous books, including Moving to VB .NET: Strategies, Concepts and Code, How Computer Programming Works, and Dan Appleman's Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the Win32 API, and he is the author of a series of eBooks on .NET-related topics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (July 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893115976
• ISBN-13: 978-1893115972
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,359,537 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Going from VB to VB.NET? This book is for you!, July 3, 2001

By 

Roy Ogborn "Software Systems Architect" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moving to VB .NET: Strategies, Concepts, and Code (Paperback)

Dan Appleman is one who hates books that are a rehash of the supplied documentation. Not only does he express this opinion, he's done something about it. This book is less about VB.NET syntax and more about how and why things work the way they do in .NET. Much, much more. He provides advice on when to use certain features that are now available to the programmer, and more importantly, when *not* to use them and why (such as inheritance, and multi-threading to name a couple in-depth topics presented).

VB.NET is not simply an upgrade to Visual Basic 6, but is a new language. The COM/COM+ worlds are left behind, the .NET world is a new and exciting place that opens up a myriad of new possibilities for the VB developer. Dan does an excellent job in pointing out the differences, bringing the reader into the new .NET world. And he has the rare talent of taking very technical topics and explaining them so that we can easily grasp the concepts.

This is not an introductory book, and is not for the beginner. This book is written by a very experienced VB developer for experienced VB developers.

Don't take the plunge into the .NET world without first reading this book! The book is worth its weight in platinum.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He still has the guru status in my 'book'!, July 12, 2001

By 

Troy B. Stauffer (Dublin, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moving to VB .NET: Strategies, Concepts, and Code (Paperback)

I found this book, along with most other Dan Appleman books, to be an excellent choice for learning. As he tells you, this is not for the beginner, in fact that is one of the main reasons I bought the book. Dan has a way with words and examples that explain things every step of the way. I am forever amazed at some of the findings he comes up with and the best part about them is that he shares why and how with you including examples that you can run. Another nice part about this book is that even though the title is that of VB.NET he does cover framework issues as well. It is not just another regurgitation of language syntax changes and that makes it stand out above the rest. If you really want to learn about new issues and methodologies, when to and when not to, how to and why, then this book is definitively for you. I gave this a 5-star rating because I truly felt enlightened when I was done with it. Sure, there are times when it might overwhelm you a little (given some of the IL language and assembler instructions) but when you go back and re-read them, you understand why he had to go there. It now becomes clear why he told you what he did.

Thanks Dan for another great book. You are, in my mind, still *the* guru!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't let Appleman write off your Inheritance, July 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Moving to VB .NET: Strategies, Concepts, and Code (Paperback)

Don't get me wrong: this book is excellent. My main complaint is that the author severely downplays the significance and usefulness of inheritance. I respectfully, but wholeheartedly, disagree with his squeamishness. Finally, VB can take advantage of the power of object-oriented programming. It no longer has to function merely as the Elmer's Glue for Microsoft's hodge-podge of technologies. Now, VBer's can experience the power of creating class hierarchies that are reusable and simplify programming and design. VBer's can now turn to the wealth of Design Pattern and Unified Modeling Language (UML) literature and take advantage of the work of hundreds of other designers who've been using OO technology for over a decade. And because VB.NET is very similar to Java in capabilities, all the OO thinking that has been applied to Java can be gleaned for use with VB.NET.

For ideas about what inheritance and patterns can mean to you, take a look at books such as Object-Oriented Software Construction (the gospel of object-oriented technology), Design Patterns (the gospel of OO design), Object-Oriented Analysis and Design, Thinking in Patterns with Java, UML Distilled, Pattern Hatching, and so on. Don't let anyone write off your inheritance.