Murach's Visual Basic 2008 (Paperback)

by Anne Boehm (Author)
Key Phrases: product maintenance, monthly investment, data source configuration wizard, Visual Basic, Visual Studio, Solution Explorer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Whether you're new to Visual Basic or you're upgrading to VB 2008 from an earlier version, this new edition of Murach's core VB book shows you how to develop the kind of bullet-proof Windows Forms applications that businesses rely on. Along the way, you'll learn how to build database applications faster than ever by using RAD features like data sources and the DataGridView control. You'll learn how to use object-oriented features like inheritance and interfaces as well as features like code snippets, generics, partial classes, and ClickOnce deployment. And you'll learn how to use the 2008 LINQ feature to query data. When you're done, you'll be able to develop Windows Forms applications the way the best professionals develop them. That's why we say: No other book teaches you so much, so fast, or so thoroughly.

Product Details

• Paperback: 838 pages
• Publisher: Mike Murach & Associates (February 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890774456
• ISBN-13: 978-1890774455
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,843 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for VB6 Upgraders and Newcomers to .NET, March 31, 2008

By	G. Mead "gedmead99" (Scotland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is essentially an update of their earlier book for VB 2005, but which now includes additional coverage of several new features such as Anonymous Types, Object Initializers and LINQ.

Murach have developed their own individual style of subject presentation. They use a "facing page" technique. Open the book up at any section and on the left hand page you will find a discussion or explanation of a topic. On the facing page you will see more specific information about this topic, possibly with a diagram or screenshots, or very often demonstration code samples.

The benefit of this approach is that the author has two bites of the teaching cherry. She (in this case, author Anne Boehm) can introduce a topic on the left hand page, cover the essentials and be ready to move on. The value of the right hand facing page though is that it can be used to show additional detail, display sample code and example results and also (this I think being very important) can summarise the key points covered on the first page. The reinforcement of learning points in this way can be a very valuable tool.

Essentially, the reader can decide if he or she has understood enough from the left side page to be ready to move on, or if not then they can opt to read the right hand page for more info, samples or reinforcement and confirmation of their understanding.

Personally I quite like the approach. I tend to dive into books almost at random sometimes, but often just needing to refresh my memory on a particular point. If I'm using a Murach book and need further detail, I can dig into the additional facing page info as much as needed for any one topic, or even specific part of a topic.

If there is a downside to the Murach approach it's probably that because of the facing pages approach they have to limit the number of VB.NET topics they can actually cover in the 800+ pages limit . That said, what they do cover is fairly comprehensive and contains plenty of material to keep a VB.NET beginner engrossed for many a long night. And, most importantly, those topics are covered thoroughly and clearly in plain English.

There is full list of contents on their web site and you can also view two Sample Chapters from there.

This is another clearly written, well laid out offering from the Murach stable. I think this book is particularly suitable for newcomers to VB.NET, whether total developer beginners or those moving to .NET from VB Classic.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for the computer professional...., May 13, 2008

By	Marvin Schneider (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been using the Murach books for a number of years, and have
never been disappointed. I also read many other computer programming
books, but Murach books constantly prove superior.

The one best thing that sets the Murach books apart is the complete
application given at the end of the chapter. It's difficult to learn
a new language by just working with snippets of code. Murach puts
together an entire business application to demonstrate the concepts of
the chapter, and this more than anything else will help the programmer
on the job.

Another good thing about the Murach approach is that the applications
are business-related, which is what most programming is all about
today. Other books have silly applications with animals and games. I have nothing against animals and games, but do not want to see this in a
computer application.

Finally, I have found with other computer books that their code is
often not tested properly. When I try to use their code, the
programs often don't work correctly and are riddled with errors.
These books have many errata on their web sites. But why couldn't
they get it right in the first place. To me this is just sloppy,
sloppy work. On the other hand, with Murach, the code works properly
the first time. Murach took the time to do it the right way.

I completed reading and working with the programs of nearly all the
25 chapters in this book.

My Rating: 5 stars out of five.

Thank you Mike Murach and Anne Boehm for getting it right!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Beginners to Intermediate, June 19, 2008

By	Owen J. Mortensen "ojm37" (TUCSON, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is easy to read and follow and doesn't induce sleep even after lunch. One way this is possible is the unique layout of the book: facing pages contain narrative on the left and examples on the right. This makes it easy to glance back and forth between the text explaining some subject on the left page and the example illustrating it on the right. I was a bit suspect of this layout at first, but before the 1st chapter was out I found myself liking it a lot. Another layout difference that I appreciated is the physical size of the book. At 8 inches wide by 10 inches tall, it's a bit bigger than most technical books. This helps get the examples on the page without squeezing the font down to unreadable sizes.

Beginning programmers will find the first two sections (the first 12 chapters) ready for immediate consumption. These chapters begin with an overview of the IDE, move on to basic Windows Forms concepts and then cover VB language basics. More advanced programmers can either skip or skim these chapters: the engaging writing-style (almost tutorial without talking down to the reader) and unique layout (the facing-pages) will hold your attention. You might even learn something you didn't already know.

Later chapters cover Database programming (including bound controls, data sources and datat sets, and ADO.Net), Object Oriented Programming (with copious examples of VB syntax), File IO, XML, and a brief explanation of LINQ.

Note that this book DOES NOT cover asp.net web programming using VB.Net. That topic is covered in other books by Murach books (Murach's ASP.NET 2.0 Web Programming with VB 2005 for one). This is probably a good thing, since - at 797 pages - this book is long (and heavy) enough.

Overall, I really liked this book. It was easy to read, easy to understand and held my attention through its explanations and examples.