Customer Reviews

Uml for Visual Basic 6.0 Developers: Using Visual Modeler and Rational Rose 98

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is one of the worst software books I've seen in my life. The title should be "An introduction to the most basic ideas of UML and VB for certified idiots". But the authors have the galls to call this a book for developers, and that is downright dishonest: The book is written in large font and wide margins to fill space (the left margin alone is more than 2 inches -about one third of the page). And that's nothing compared to the amount of code: Out of 450 pages, less than 30 pages contain some, and they are ALL in an appendix. Wait!...it gets worse: the code doesn't have *any* of the new VB6 new features, it's all VB5!!! All database access is done via DAO (that's VB4), there is not even a passing reference to ADO. What? are you still reading? don't waste your time with this book, if you are looking for a serious book on VB6 and UML, check out VB6 UML by Jake Sturm, from WROX Press.

I buy at least 25 technical/computer books a year and I can definitely say this is the worst one I've bought in the last year. I think I'll go and buy the Addison-Wesley one.

This book is vague and littered with manager-speak. Not for developers at all (there is no code, for a start off). If you have ANY understanding of objects and classes you will find the first 4 chapters completely useless.

It did have a reasonably good bibliography, but it's like they're saying, haha we tricked you into buying our book, now go read the good ones...

This book is a good intro to the object features of Visual Basic 6.0 and a good intro to UML Notation as well. The book illustrates various kinds of UML diagrams using Visual Modeler and Rational Rose, which are in many cases quite similar. Gives lots of attention to the structured analysis/design phases of building an app, and some discussion of component-based application development. Book has lots of diagrams and an appendix with a web-enabled sample application which has example of implementing OOP techniques using VB.

I recently purchased Paul Harmon's UML for Visual Basic 6 and found that it wasn't near as awful as some of the reviews I've seen. In fact it was an easy, entertaining read and after some of the more complex "Head Banger" Software books out there, this was a pleasant surprise.

I would not even give it one star! As a practicing OOAD professional for the past 6 years,I reviewed this book for a friend wanted to learn OO and UML as it relates to VB 6. This book is just wrong in some places and assumes you know things in others.

I bought this book because I wanted to learn about Visual Modeler. However, I was quite dissapointed. There is not even a Visual Modeler example. The Visual Basic example from their web site is not working properly either. This book is probably suitable for manager, but it's definitely not for developer.

Just read this book because I thought it may have some useful information regarding UML. I can't find much as other reviewers indicated. On page 296, there are a few statements discussing the difference between OODB and relational database. Not only the authors don't know what they are talking about, they seem even don't have proper English writing skill and logic to form their argument regarding using OODB.

On the positive side, there are some worthwhile areas of the book, particularly describing what the different types of UML diagrams are and what they represent in the development process. It's a helpful intro to UML, but there are better ones.

On the negative side, they have huge amounts of the book dedicated to things like OO vocabulary, developing apps in VB, COM and DCOM, CRC Cards, and Object Model Design Patterns, that have NOTHING to do with the title. And, several of the designs in the book can't be done in Visual Modeler or Rose. What were they using, Visio? Then make it a Visio book! Other diagrams that look like Rose diagrams had features in them that Rose doesn't have. Several valuable UML discussions (extends and includes in Use Cases, how to add class properties and methods -- only 3 pages on this) are very skimpy or just not there.

In short, this book is not at all what the title says. It is a very intro OO/VB/sort of Rose/a little Visual Modeler/UML book that doesn't give enough of what it says it will in the title, and presents a smattering of other topics that really aren't needed (and from which one can learn very little anyway).