Pro .NET 2.0 Windows Forms and Custom Controls in VB 2005 [Paperback]

Matthew MacDonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 24, 2006

Pro .NET 2.0 Windows Forms and Custom Controls in VB 2005 is the VB 2005 version of the authors best-selling and highly-reviewed Pro .NET 2.0 Windows Forms and Custom Controls in C#. Renowned author Matthew MacDonald shows Visual Basic 2005 programmers how to design flexible, user-friendly Windows interfaces. And, you’ll learn the best practices and design tips for coding these user interfaces.

Although this book is not a reference manual, it contains detailed discussions about user interface elements that you will use on a regular basis. You will learn to use .NET controls as well as to extend those .NET controls with your own custom controls.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Matthew MacDonald is an author, educator, and MCSD developer who has a passion for emerging technologies. He is a regular writer for developer journals such as Inside Visual Basic, ASPToday, and Hardcore Visual Studio .NET, and he's the author of several books about programming with .NET, including User Interfaces in VB .NET: Windows Forms and Custom Controls, The Book of VB .NET, and .NET Distributed Applications. In a dimly- remembered past life, he studied English literature and theoretical physics. Send e-mail with praise, condemnation, and everything in between, to [e-mail].

Product Details

• Paperback: 1080 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (August 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590596943
• ISBN-13: 978-1590596944
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,047,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Matthew MacDonald is an author, educator, and MCSD developer who has a passion for emerging technologies. He is a regular writer for developer journals such as Inside Visual Basic, ASPToday, and Hardcore Visual Studio .NET, and he's the author of several books about programming with .NET. In a dimly remembered past life, he studied English literature and theoretical physics. Send e-mail to him with praise, condemnation, and everything in between, to [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Far far better than I could have written in a lifetime!, November 27, 2007

By 

C. L. Baker "CotBySloths" (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pro .NET 2.0 Windows Forms and Custom Controls in VB 2005 (Paperback)

This book really hits the nail on the head. I've been struggling with custom controls for weeks searching every article on the web and all over Microsoft and MSDN. No place has demonstrated the depth of understanding anywhere near as well as Matthew MacDonald has done. Not only are there clear and to the point examples without getting bogged-down in some lengthy, arcane and mythical tasks, but the accompanying text describes the underlying 'why' that is almost more useful than the code. Every page has some exceedingly useful information. My project has been in C# but the translation from VB from the book to C# is a no-brainer (assuming you've written in both over the last few years).
I pride myself as a descriptive writer but this book is far better than I could have written myself. It is to the point and thorough. If were any better it would wake you gently in the morning and make your coffee.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource!, November 9, 2006

By 

Joseph R. Sweeney "jsblume" (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pro .NET 2.0 Windows Forms and Custom Controls in VB 2005 (Paperback)

This book is full of simple tidbits for binding controls to data objects and custom objects. The examples are short and easy to follow so you don't get lost in the code. Matthew does not spend a lot of time explaining background code (specifically, using ADO) because this is not the forum for those topics. What you get is 1000+ pages of explanations and examples focused on the task at hand: binding data. He does spend a few chapters introducing you to the various objects, covering many not-so-common functions. I found myself thinking "Wow!! That's cool!" several times. I highly recommend this book!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the time to read it., March 12, 2009

By 

Stew (Ames, IA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pro .NET 2.0 Windows Forms and Custom Controls in VB 2005 (Paperback)

If you really need the information to make your applications just that next step better, this is a great book. It is not a quick and easy read, but it is well worth the time that it takes to thoroughly read through it. I'm an intermediate level programmer (at best) and this book has helped take my work to the next level of professionalism.
After you've read through it, and know what it contains, the excellent index will help you easily go back and find that little tidbit of information that you need.
I will be buying his book on WPF also. Nice job Mr. MacDonald.