Customer Reviews

Visual Basic Controls in a Nutshell: The Controls of the Professional and Enterprise Editions (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly))

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

To design and implement a large-scale VB project, I bought this book along with 'Pure Visual Basic' by Dan Fox. Nutshell proved to be very valuable for the design stage--determining what controls would be best suited for the demands of our application. It also was useful in the beginning of the implementation stage, as we got used to using those controls. Once coding was in full swing, the book sat on the shelf 90% of the time. We got MUCH more use out of Pure Visual Basic over the long haul.

My conclusion--experienced VBers will not have much use for this book. Inexperienced ones will have a great deal of use of it for learning about standard controls/properties/methods, but they will still need another VB primer to help with coding fundamentals. Mildly experienced VBers or experienced programmers new to VB will find this tool useful as a reference in the beginning stages of a new VB project. In sum--anyone looking to understand the standard VB controls better will find this resource to be quite useful.

This is the perfect companion to the splendid VB & VBA in a Nutshell volume. If you could only have one book on the subject you'd do well to have this or the Microsoft reference volume. If you (like me) value space and weight savings, buy this one (or both).

I purchased this book for its coverage of the winsock control. It satisfied that need...and hasn't been used since. If you are experienced in VB, you can survive without it. I will give Dictor credit for his down-to-earth explanations.

This is one of the best VB reference books that I own. If you are new to VB it's a good resource to see how to use the many controls that VB has to offer. If you're a professional it is an outstanding reference book! This book goes into detail about all of the controls in a very organized manner listing the events, properties and methods in a way that I haven't seen before. A lot of the VB books out there today focus on the programmatic side of VB, leaving the details and design of the controls up to the reader. This is the perfect complement to these books. This book alone cannot teach the VB programming language but it is a perfect companion book to the many books out there that do. My advice, if you're interested in learning the details of the tons of VB controls is to buy this book. Definitely worth a buy!

This is another example of O'Reilly's rule: the value of a computer book is usually inverse to its thickness (though this one is unusually thick, for them); and, it is unrelated to price (theirs are always on the cheap side). This book is relentlessly thorough, readable, and misses the cheap frills (ie. endless screen images) of 90% of other VB books. I own 17 VB books, but this one together with Lomax's book are the ones I actually look at more than all the others put together.

Central to Visual Basic is its interface design capabilities. Therefore, if you are looking to master the controls that come with Visual Basic Professional and Enterprise editions, this book is a must!

I just wish I had had this excellent reference early this year when being involved in implementing treeview controls for an Oracle database programming project. Because of lack of proper treeview documentation I had to do a lot of trial and errors -- very time-consuming.

Thanks a lot for Author Evan's quick response to my e-mail question and thanks to O'Reilly for another great book! Highly recommended for every serious VBers!

Fayu Zhang with best wishes to every would-be VBer

I often grow frustrated with various VB resources; because, either they don't cover the issues you are looking for or they only broach the basic topics. This book provides the information needed for serious programmers in need for an in-depth quick reference to all of the packaged controls within VB. There are a couple of controls that I wish the author would have devoted a little more paper to; but, in all this book is a must have for any VB programmer.

This book is absolutely first rate. Don't bother fooling with VB Help when you want to know something about a control; it's all in Dictor's really exceptional book. Unlike dear old Microsoft, right-to-the-point info on any control is very easy to find. The book is accurate, thorough, and has very few misprints. Its excellent, brief examples illuminate the real-world use of the controls. It's head and shoulders above anything available elsewhere at any price. I own 20 VB books, but this is one of the two or three I use all the time. It's great for learning or for reference...

Finally a good reference that is well organized. For a change, I can actually find what I'm looking for quickly in a reference book!

Anything I want to know about a VB control is here. There are actually some useful tips too. Refreshing.