Programming Microsoft Windows with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET (Core Reference) (Pro-Developer) [Paperback]

Charles Petzold (Author)

Book Description

Series: Pro-Developer | Publication Date: August 31, 2002

25-Word Description

The top-selling author shows developers how to use Visual Basic .NET to get the most out of Windows Forms -- the next-generation Windows programming class library.

75-Word Description

"Look it up in Petzold" remains the last word on Windows development. In this Microsoft .NET-ready guide to the state-of-the-art programming features in Visual Basic .NET, the best-selling author shows developers how to get the most out of Windows Forms -- the next-generation Windows programming class library. Developers will discover how to use Visual Basic .NET to create dynamic user interfaces and graphical outputs for Windows applications. With dozens of examples of client applications to illustrate common techniques and plenty of no-nonsense advice on best programming practices, the average developer can advance far beyond the basics with Visual Basic .NET right away.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Charles Petzold wrote the classic Programming Windows®, which is currently in its fifth edition and one of the best-known and widely used programming books of all time. He was honored in 1994 with the Windows Pioneer Award, presented by Microsoft® founder Bill Gates and Windows Magazine. He has been programming with Windows since first obtaining a beta Windows 1.0 SDK in the spring of 1985, and he wrote the very first magazine article on Windows programming in 1986. Charles is an MVP for Client Application Development and the author of several other books including Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1300 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (August 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735617996
• ISBN-13: 978-0735617995
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #641,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warning--Same book as Petzold's C# Book!, August 16, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Programming Microsoft Windows with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET (Core Reference) (Pro-Developer) (Paperback)

Not really a review, just a caveat to potential buyers. This is the SAME book as Petzold's Programming Microsoft Windows with C#. Only the sample code is changed (and that's available for free online).

Buy either one, but don't buy both!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It pays to read the title, December 12, 2002

By 

Simon Kelly (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Microsoft Windows with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET (Core Reference) (Pro-Developer) (Paperback)

People browsing reviews of this book may be puzzled by the variation in star ratings. Firstly, this book is about programming Windows applications. It starts from the ground up talking about, in great detail, drawing text, handling mouse and keyboard events etc. It is not about enterprise programming, ASP.Net, multiple tier applications etc. Mr Petzold wants the reader to understand what is going on underneath the hood, behind all of the code that VB.Net generates automatically. The graphical aspects of the IDE are hardly mentioned in the book. In a way, this defeats the purpose of VB.Net - rapid forms development - and indeed this book is more or less a translation of Mr Petzold's book on C#. Mr Petzold tells his story well however, and introduces aspects of object oriented programming along the way in a very readable style, despite the high level of detail. I certainly have a much better understanding of Windows programming after reading this even a few chapters of this book. It is not a definitive guide to VB.Net but it doesn't pretend to be. It is called `Programming Microsoft Windows with VB.Net'. Mr Belana's more wide ranging book is titled `Programming Microsoft VB.Net', but does not go into as much detail about Windows programming. I hope this clarifies the situation.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive reference (VB version) and very readable too, September 21, 2002

By 

"asquare_from_flatland" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Microsoft Windows with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET (Core Reference) (Pro-Developer) (Paperback)

I have two books on user interfaces in .NET. This one and "User Interfaces in VB .NET: Windows Forms and Custom Controls" by
Mathew Macdonald's from Apress. Both are great books and I recommend both highly.

Comparing this book to the one by Macdonald: Macdonald's book is much more manageable than Petzold but still seemed to contain everything I wanted to know about Windows forms. It however skipped over lots of wonderful "side roads" that I found very enjoyable (as I did Petzold's great style-he's one of the best writers in the business).

Still, Petzold is more than twice as long as Macdonald and thus not likely to be a book you will read from cover to cover as I think you might with Macdonald.

If you can afford it by all means get both books, if you only want one, then for a more condensed "what you need to know" book get Macdonald, if you want just one book that will then serve also as a reference, get Petzold...