Programming Microsoft® Visual Basic® .NET Version 2003 (Pro Developer) [Hardcover]

Francesco Balena (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0735620598 | ISBN-13: 978-0735620599 | Publication Date: February 4, 2004 | Edition: Hardcover/CD-ROM combo

Get the expert insights, practical code samples, and best practices you need to advance your expertise with Visual Basic .NET 2003. Now updated for Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1, Visual Studio .NET 2003, and Windows Server 2003, this popular reference delves even deeper into Visual Basic .NET capabilities—and accelerates your productivity with new features and techniques—for faster, more reliable code. From fully exploiting the language’s advanced object-oriented capabilities to reusing legacy Visual Basic code, this exhaustive reference delivers the professional, pragmatic guidance you need to produce rich solutions for Microsoft Windows and the Web.

Discover how to:

• Manipulate .NET Framework classes using serialization, threading, and reflection * Create components to better manage large programs and solve versioning issues
• Work with GDI+, custom Windows Forms controls, and Windows services
• Develop database applications using Microsoft ADO.NET and XML data
• Use Web Forms data binding to create sophisticated Internet application interfaces * Utilize Microsoft ASP.NET features such as user and custom controls, caching, security services, and Web services
• NEW—Know how and when to use .NET Remoting and Component Services
• NEW—Call unmanaged code with PInvoke and COM Interop
• NEW—Employ code access security and other techniques to build trustworthy applications
• NEW—Write, debug, and create security settings for Windows Forms applications you deploy over HTTP

Get code, bonus content, and eBooks on CD

CD features:

• All the Visual Basic .NET 2003 samples featured in the book
• Bonus material on the .NET Framework class hierarchy and tools
• Searchable eBook of the entire text
• Searchable eBook of Programming Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0

A Note Regarding the CD or DVD

The print version of this book ships with a CD or DVD. For those customers purchasing one of the digital formats in which this book is available, we are pleased to offer the CD/DVD content as a free download via O'Reilly Media's Digital Distribution services. To download this content, please visit O'Reilly's web site, search for the title of this book to find its catalog page, and click on the link below the cover image (Examples, Companion Content, or Practice Files). Note that while we provide as much of the media content as we are able via free download, we are sometimes limited by licensing restrictions. Please direct any questions or concerns to [e-mail].

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1403 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press; Hardcover/CD-ROM combo edition (February 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735620598
• ISBN-13: 978-0735620599
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 2.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #777,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A note for prospective buyers, April 15, 2005

By 

Netloss (The Hinterlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Microsoft® Visual Basic® .NET Version 2003 (Pro Developer) (Hardcover)

I suspect most people who have reviewed this book are experienced developers, and I imagine this book is great for them. However, I found that the book was not very useful for a less-than-experienced reader (specifically, me).

The main thing that bugged me was that the cover makes it sound like a complete reference for everyone, but if you dig deep enough into the introduction, you're told that the book is written specifically for VB6 developers - and the rest of the book very much bears that out. If you are not a VB6 developer you may feel like this book was not written for you, and that's correct - it was not.

This VB6 slant is so pronounced that I believe the front or back cover should have stated - very clearly - that this book is wirtten with the VB6 developer in mind. Better yet, the title should have "for VB6 developers" in it somewhere. In either case I would have (correctly) avoided wasting money on a book that is not written for my needs.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, November 4, 2004

By 

Randy Given (Manchester, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Programming Microsoft® Visual Basic® .NET Version 2003 (Pro Developer) (Hardcover)

If I had to have only one VB.NET book, this would be it. Certainly, it is not the only one on my shelf, but it would do well on a deserted island (where a social life doesn't matter). It covers a wide range of topic areas and covers them well. It is not terse, but it still can be easy to gloss over important items. Big and heavy, but opens flat so that it is easy to place in front of your monitor as you read along and try out the topics. Excellent.

Edit: now that I have gone through another dozen or so VB.NET books, this is the ONE book that I would keep on a deserted island.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Visual Basic .NET book so far ..., May 13, 2004

By 

Allan Lee - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Programming Microsoft® Visual Basic® .NET Version 2003 (Pro Developer) (Hardcover)

Let me just say that I have tons of Visual Basic .NET books which include my previous beloved Applied Microsoft .NET Framework Programming in Microsoft Visual Basic .NET (what a mouth full) that also author by Mr. Francesco Balena together with Jeffrey Richter.

Well, I don't know why I waited so long before getting Programming Microsoft Visual Basic .NET by Francesco Balena. It has something to do with the fact that I already have a copy of the Framework programming book, or so I thought.

Let's just say after reading countless books on the framework and the .NET idioms etc I still find the concepts somewhat elusive, until one day I accidentally flipped throught this book and it instantly made all the concepts clear to me. I put this book in the same category as Mr. Ted Pattison's outstanding Programming Distributed Applications with COM+ and Visual Basic 6.0 book.

I got to go study now, but will write some more after I'm through with it.

Thanks Mr Balena, and keep playing that Jazz saxophone. By the way, I am a Jazz guitarist as well.