Customer Reviews

Visual Basic 5 Unleashed: Professional Reference Edition

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

 

 

A lot of topics are coevered, some are even quite interesting. The code is buggy and some of the explainations don't match the code. Unless you're experienced enough and missing some basic knowledge on some specific issues, don't bother with this one.

I actually got this book from my younger brother, and I'm glad because I would have been disapointed at paying the $100 (Aus) it was at the time. It does go into detail concerning a lot of controls which I found most useful as a VB begginer , however the book does tend to jump all over the place and cover issues which I would have preffered in a specialist book dedicated to them such as VBA . The chapters on object programming are near usless if you are trying to begin this method of programming for the fist time. I do hope that the high price of the books dont include a charge for Microsoft Control Creation VB cause now I have 3 copies of the programme , all still in the back page unopened as I have the professional edition! I dont see what the title UNLEASHED has to do with the content.

Thayer has nicely covered the complexities of OOP in VB5. Ironically, despite getting the complex issues across, he fails miserably in those Little Things Which Really Count. The book is littered with source code errors and conflict, particularly in the sections which Thayer admits are solid review points. [An array declared as Private strMyArray(25) As String does NOT contain 25 elements in Base 0 as Thayer proclaims....] If you're going to do a "review", ensure the information is correct, and have a technical editor conduct an exhaustive review. Run the source code listings to ensure they really do return what is in the book. This said, the seasoned VB Professional will easily identify the errors and can proceed without major difficulty aside from the annoyances of error in a "professional reference edition".

This is not the best starting point for the typical VB3/VB4 programmer who has never been exposed to OOP methods. However, if you desire to take VB5 beyond "intermediate" capability, Thayer provides a good launching point to becoming the VB Guru in your shop....

Some of the examples in the book are useful but for a book in the Unleashed series it's just not up there with the quality I have come to expect. For example the first two chapters working with arrays and controlling program flow I would expect to find in a beginners book If..Then..Else just isn't material for an advanced level book. The chapters on OOP left me cold in fact possibly more confused than when I started reading them. However the stuff on Programming with controls wasnt too bad. I haven't braved the last couple of sections yet. I do like the reference section in that I find it easier to scan for function names than the online help provided with VB5. However even this is flawed in that the entire list of properties is provided even though you can just right click the control to get them.

Finally, a book on VB5 that is geared towards people who already know what they are doing. After going through so many books that are cryptic and vague, Thayer has put out a gem. Everything I wanted to know, and more, is in this 1100+ page reference. This one was worth the wait.