Customer Reviews

Murach's Visual Basic 6

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It took me 6 chapters to decide whether or not I would keep this book. I decided to keep it! Since the exercises in this book are geared toward developing real world applications, I have found them to be quite challenging. In spite of my difficulties I am learning many new skills. I have submitted numerous e-mail help requests. Each response was answered promptly by one of the authors who have consistently provided the information I need to complete a project.

I am writing this review from the perspective of an almost absolute beginning programmer. (I have completed John Smiley's Learn To Program with Visual Basic for Absolute Beginners. If I would not have already completed the exercises in Professor Smiley's book I would have been completely lost with this book.) Although this book states on the cover that it is "A True Beginning Book", I disagree with that statement. In my opinion, it is directed toward a Visual Basic Beginner who already has programming experience in another language. If you are an absolute beginning programmer, work through the Smiley book first, THEN work through this one. If this book is your introduction to programming, you will probably be lost and frustrated.

I am giving this book a 4 star rating rather than 5. Although the material coverd in this book is first class all the way, I have difficulty with the teaching style. The authors take a mostly aduitory approach by telling you what to do (through the written word of course), frequently omitting a visual reference of what the completed code should look like. As a visual learner (those of us who learn by being SHOWN rather than being TOLD), I find this quite frustrtating. With more visual references of the completed code, in the book, on a CD, or on a website, this book would be a more beginner friendly experience.

If you are serious about becomming a professional Visual Basic Programmer you owe it to yourself to get this book and DO the exercises. It may not be easy, but you will learn alot. For $45 you can't go wrong!

I bought this book based on the high rates given by most of the readers, however I kind of feel disapointed with its content. The first part (which I like the best) guides you very quickly through the use of the Visual Basic IDE and language syntax, and I believe it is just what someone already proficient in another programming language needs. However someone new to programming will miss the lack of source code samples. My deepest regret here is that the explorer-type interface (how to create an application in a single window in two or more panes -- as the Windows Explorer application types) was not developed ("This type of interface, however, isn't presented in this book": just too bad, most developpers who want to develop a commercial application will need it!).
The second part of the book, related to database programming, starts with an introduction (too many pages to my taste) to the concept of relational databases. However, if the first part of the book was easy to understand, this one will confuse any beginner and annoy confirmed programmers. Note that all samples are given for a user who can connect to a company client-server style database as MS SQL Server or Oracle, i.e. not really everybody! Developpers for stand-alone commercial applications for PC's won't find anything interesting because the code samples are so simple you'll only be able to develop some "scripts" whose old-looking user interfaces will only serve as personal purpose.
Here we are reaching the page 435 and there are only 130 pages left, which I haven't read but don't seem really exciting.
I am returning the book, however I must say that I really liked the layout of the book: on the left page you'll find the "course" and the screens shots and outlines on the right page. I wish all books were so neatly presented!

Compared to most VB6 books in the market, this one stands out quite well, in terms of thickness and price (I got the lower priced Asian edition). Somehow, I did get to download the source codes from the website and in fact got an update on one the database examples because it used an older DB format. Quite up-to-date don't you think?

I'm not sure if I agree with the others, but for me it was good at going straight into real world projects rather than starting off with hundreds of pages just on explaining the IDE, which to me is an absolute time waster. It just really depends on what you really want to get out of the book.

If you want to start with the absolute basics, then you might prefer another book which probably is much thicker but turn you off halfway through. John Smiley's books are pretty good at starting you off and doesn't choke you with too much code, just to let u know.

Otherwise, this book is pretty good at teaching what you need to know when building real applications and that's the whole aim of the book. The others think its too difficult, but it depends. I have an intermediate programming background in other languages not VB6, but it didn't really bother me that much.

In conclusion, just have a skim thru to see if you like it. It'll definitely help you if you're enrolled in a VB6 topic and doing database programming.

I bought this book based on the reviews ahead of me. 7 of 8 reviewers gave it a 4 or 5 star rating and only one person rated it poorly. I figured I couldn't go wrong. Well, I am diasppointed. I should've listened to the reviewer who rated it poorly. I rather doubt that the reviewers who rated it so highly actually worked through all of the exercises.

The book is hard to follow, with frequently missing examples of source code, and there is nowhere to get it. I was unable to find the source code at the Murach web site, and the book does not provide a CD. I think it is reasonable to expect that type of support from a book in this price range.

The strong point of this book is definitely its content. Another reviewer mentioned that it highlights all of the bells and whistles of Visual Basic 6, and I must agree. In a perfect world these subjects would be covered by authors such as John Connell or John Smiley who seem to have a knack for teaching beginners.

All in all, this is not a bad book. It's just not easy to use, and definitely not for beginners. (I think the publisher is misleading people by stating that it is a beginners book.) If you like figuring things out on your own and paging through the book to look for information previously covered, you'll like this book. That's what we have to do in the real world!

I have been programming with access for over 10 years and found the transition to Visual Basic a difficult one. I purchased several books to try to teach myself VB to no avail. When I discovered this book (having been away without my reference book), I thought it was very easy to understand. When I got back home, I literally read 13 of 15 chapters in 4 days and accomplished all of the exercises. The following day I began programming a professional database for one of my clients. I am confident and attribute my success to this book.

I also agree with the review that states if you are a total beginner with no experience at all, it probably isn't the book for you. I would recommend this book to anyone who is trying to understand the world of VB.

Ignore Dan Burton from New York,USA review. Gee Dan if it does not have a Cd, how about going up to the website? What a concept. This book gives a fair treatment to ADO and some basic concepts of how to program. After reading the user should be able to create basic business oriented programs in VB. This book was laid out well as it was written for training purposes so you can teach out of it or use it for a training course. If you want something practical that gives REAL WORLD business examples buy this book

I read the reviews and bought this book, hoping for something at least usable. I was very impressed. The layout of the book is easy to follow, and builds upon its self. Examples are numerous and well thought out. They represent real life problems you are likely to encounter. The examples also show enhanced versions of the projects, which even futher enhance their use.

Murach's Visual Basic 6' is by far the best VB 6 book I have purchased yet! The way the material is presented is great. For once someone had the right idea on how to make up a book. Having the examples on the odd numbered pages saves me time when I know a little about the topic. By looking at the example, I can quickly figure out where my mistakes are without having to read the whole chapter. Doing each step on the even numbered pages with full examples on the facing pages - not just "Hello World" - helps when I miss that one little thing that keeps the whole project from working (it also has saved me a tech support call when I was in a bind). The book is great! I recommend it to everyone from beginner to advanced.

There are few computer books that can really capture the interest of the reader as Murach's VB 6. The way that the author(s) take you by the hand and explains why your typing the code is easy to understand. There have been a few minor typos, but if you know a little about the VB interface you can get past them. Some reviews have stressed the need for downloadable source code, but this book stresses the need for the reader to type in the code.... This is one of the few books that I have owned that really does a good job building your knowledge on the subject. The source code that you type in throughout the chapters actually produces workable & useful applications (unlike a lot of other books that show only snippets of code with no explanation)! This book gives you the confidence to take on VB6! Another strong feature is that when they initially reference code or figures in the book it is strategically placed on the next page, so you don't have to turn the page to see what the author(s) are talking about. I look forward to buying other Murach publications!

The reviews made this book sound easy to read and would explain things clearly. I found it choppy and completely disconnected. Only the newest of newbies will get useful information from this book. Anyone with any experience will find it an over simplified review. That is so discontinuous as to remove any chance of a unified learning experience. Look elsewhere for a good beginning book