Customer Reviews

Visual Basic 2008 Programmer's Reference (Programmer to Programmer)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You might initially think that this is going to be one of those big books with a few examples and a lot of fluff; well, you'd be wrong. This is a big book because it's absolutely packed with really useful examples. Rod takes you through just about every feature of Visual Basic 2008 and he does it with examples. These aren't just the usual academic sort of examples either; you'll be able to use many of them as a source of code for your own applications.

Of course, there are also books on the market that do have good examples, but the explanations stink. Rod takes time to thoroughly explain the examples and the explanations are clear, so you won't have any trouble understanding them. In short, this book has the best of everything.

You probably won't need another book for common business programming needs. That said, some specialty items are missing. You won't find a lot about PInvoke in this book, but then again, most people don't need PInvoke for their business applications. The LINQ coverage is also a tad light, but this technology is only now taking off, so Rod is right in keeping the various coverages in perspective. Overall, this is the book to get if you want to know how to work with Visual Basic!

I'm experienced with VB.Net but needed a quick reference book for the new features (esp. LINQ) and that would also provide an overview for features I might not otherwise discover.

My first project with VB 2008 sent me right to the book. I was able to easily adapt code lifted right off the page on the first task. However, different code from the book for a second task was less successful (LINQing on a data set table). The syntax (in the book) for the ORDER BY clause was erroneous and raised a perplexing error. (Perhaps the Wrox web site corrects this; I haven't checked.) Googling brought me to a Microsoft web site with an example with the correct syntax.

I guess you should expect such issues when applying 15th century technology (i.e., printed paper) to a bleeding edge tool.

All in all, however, the book was worth the modest investment. Make use of Amazon's excerpts to evaluate it for your own needs (I did).

By the way, the (first) one I received was damaged (crumpled pages, torn backcover) in packaging, but Amazon redeemed themselves by promptly sending an intact replacement.

For the novice user this book will take you by the hand, and guide you through VB.NET from the IDE, to basic principles and concepts of OO programing, and into concrete examples, covering a vast amount of information. There is an incredible 200+ page appendix.

Like most other books on the subject, the sections that cover parts of VB that I work with daily (and thus understand well) offered few new insights. The other 75% of the book has proved to be extremely helpful!

If you truly "know" VB.NET '08 inside and out, then you don't need this book (or any others for that matter!), for the rest of us the useful information abounds.

For those beginners who want to learn how to program in VB.net or VB 2008, this book is not for you. Note that the book cover says "Programmer Reference". If you are already a programmer in VB, then this is your reference. I know how to program in VBA (Visual basic for application) yet I found it hard to follow the book beyond chapter 8. The first 7 chapters were spent explaining some very simple stuff, like how to color a button and how to rearrange the control menu, etc. and when the "Getting Started" part started, I got lost.
Don't expect simple examples that teach you how to create your first VB program. In other words: No "Hello World" program. Maybe I will find this book useful next year when I'm more knowledgeable in VB.

I have taught programming for about 20 years in a local college. I have several other Rod Stephens books so when I needed a book to help me with the new features in Visual Basic 2008, this book was my first choice. I was not disappointed. At over 1000 pages it covers just about everything you might need, whether you are a beginner or an expert. The good explanations are backed up by good examples. I highly recommend it.

This is a good reference for people who, like myself, have some experience with VB and almost none with .NET. I can skim thru the book without reading ever word and still find lots of useful info. An advanced .NET programmer would probably not find much here but it works really well for me.

Your VB2008 book is terrific. I'm now using it all the time.
It's a great reference library. It has been very helpful in making my applications user friendly and accomplishing my objectives. Great Job.

Ever since Visual Basic 6 I have purchased Rod Stephens books to stay current with the latest changes in Visual Basic. Again, with "Visual Basic 2008 Programmer's Reference" he has written an excellent reference for the current state of Visual Basic.

This is a great book. Starting for the simplicity and going strong describing in simple language the complicated topics for the beginner to the advanced programmer in VB 2008(VB 9).

I enjoyed the reading and I am not done yet with the book. And after reading some paragraphs again, have been able to find new details that allow me to improve my routines.

Thank you Rod for the book.

This reference is very good
Because it contains the overall concepts of the language of Visual Studio 2008 in all applications