Customer Reviews

Visual Basic.net: How to Program

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

This is simply a great book (and the best I have found for learning VB.net from scratch).

Unfortunately for me, I paid too much attention to the negative reviews on this book, as well as the higher (relative to other VB.net books) price. You get what you pay for, and this book is worth it, even though it is more expensive. I don't know the authors from adam, and I am not their friend. I simply want to help others who are learning VB.net from scratch, like me, and do not have the flexibility in their schedule to take a college course. (I already have an engineeing degree, I don't want more classroom time!)

I ended up buying this book almost last, after buying Visual Basic.net by Petroutsos, the Microsoft press books (VB.net Step by Step is a JOKE), VB.net bible, and Karl Moore's Tutorials. Dietel's books simply blow all of the above away. Also, Dietel's books are used in serious VB.net college courses, while none of the above are. Makes you think.

By the way, I ended up reselling many of the other books I mentioned on Amazon, and bought more books by Deitel.

I noticed that there are some Microsoft employees giving Deitel's books bad reviews. Can you say "COnflict of Interest" ??!!

This book has a very distinctive layout seemingly intended to make it easier to read their extremely dense content. It is packed with useful introductory and moderate level VB.NET information, presented in a systematic teaching format more than a reference format, although it seems to be a compromise of both.

I recommend considering this book as a combination introduction and one-volume reference to VB.NET for those who are going to be primarily using that language for their work on the Dot Net framework, and especially for those who already have some programming experience. It covers programming basics well, but very concisely. The basics of Web Services, Web Forms, and various kinds of applications are covered in a solid fundamental way with useful but simple examples.

I also recommend peeking inside first to be sure that you don't find the distinctive layout too distracting. Their visually dramatic use of different colors and fonts (for example, they often use a larger font in addition to bolding, making the key terms jump out at you visually) makes it easier to find useful things quickly, but I think many people will find it tiresome when reading large portions of the book at once.

For those who find the layout too distracting but are impressed by the content and organization, another book in the same series, "Visual Basic .NET for Experienced Programmers" has much of the same content presented in a more subdued style more similar to most reference guides.

The book is a mixture of "how to" and textbook and contains a CD with code, and so will particularly appeal to those who want a strong formal background in the concepts but also want to get started immediately with programming. This book builds on working code samples in an effective way so that you can apply the concepts as you learn about them. This approach is obviously most fruitful if you already have the Visual Studio Dot Net installed and are ready to begin learning VB Dot Net.

This book is expensive but people who are reasonably comfortable with the way textbooks are organized will find this mixture of formal teaching and practical examples a very effective way to get involved in VB Dot Net programming and will refer back to this book frequently as a reference as well. I do not recommend this book for people already moderately experienced with VB Dot Net, as they will probably not find enough useful content to justify the price, even though it would help them solidify their basic understanding of the language.

I am an experienced programmer from way back trying to figure out the .NET world. My list of competency includes over 30 applications including Excel VBA's and Authorware. I am in my 32nd year of teaching engineering. I purchase and read a considerable number of computer books including at least six VB.Net books. Each person has his own style. I find Deitel's book very useful and am grateful for their effort. I am intrigued by the either very positive or very negative reviews on their book. I think it speaks to the different ways people are wired to think.

The book is a very example oriented learning resource that explains step-by-step every facet of well-sequenced programs. I found it most useful even though I already had a simple .NET application running on the web. The book explained very nicely the intricacies of object oriented programming that is somewhat troublesome for me. I am a very verb oriented programmer whereas .NET is a noun oriented language. That orientation may well divide the reviewers of this book.

The visual layout of the book is very appealing and most likely the reason for the somewhat higher cost. However, it is well worth it.

For the record, I do not know nor have I any connection with the authors other than a reader of their wonderful book.

Having worked through the Deitels' C++ book two years back, I was delighted to find their VB.NET book. Training programmers is the business of the Deitel family. This book, like the others, is finely detailed. The book uses color to enhance the text and full-color on every screen shot. It's up-to-date with Beta 2 of VB.NET and the .NET IDE.

The 1517 pages cover each topic from the ground up, but it is so well written (and beautifully printed) that it makes a great text for learning VB.NET even for programmers who are already expert in another language. Remember it's for learning, not for reference, and for those learning VB.NET from the ground up. Those with a good foundation in VB6 will want to look elsewhere unless they have the patience and desire to review fundamentals.

The book is loaded with code samples, which are on an enclosed CD, and chapters are followed with long problem sets. Solutions to some of the problems can be found on the web site. ASP.NET, SQL Server, ADO.NET, and Web Services - the other fundamental technologies in the huge Microsoft .NET initiative - are all covered in enough detail to permit completing simple real business applications.

Spend the extra $30 if you are serious about programming. The Deitel books are used on many college campuses for programming courses. If you are moving into programming from another technical area, you will be well grounded and ready to apply for entry-level jobs in the exciting world of .NET after you complete this book.

This book provides exhaustive coverage of everything you need to know in order to master the latest .NET version of Visual Basic. The book is designed for readers of all levels from experienced programmers to those with little or no programming experience. It does so by providing beginners with basic underlying good programming skills, while at the same time offering experinced developers detailed and exhaustive coverage of the Visual Basic .NET language.

By simply flipping through the pages of this book, it becomes evident that an enormous amount of time and effort went into it. It offers the same high quality and detailed coverage that you would find in most college level academic books. The book's 1500 plus pages include over 2100 lines of carefully commented code, hundreds of programs with screens shots, and over 400 programming tips. All of the code is presented in full color as it would appear on a color monitor. Each chapter provides extensive self-review exercises which are designed to build confidence with the new material.

More experienced Visual Basic developers can use the book to quickly master the new powerful features of .NET, such as, Web Services and ASP.NET, Web Forms, Object-Oriented Programming, XML, Multithreading, and ADO.NET.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to master this latest version of Visual Basic.

The versatility of this book did not just advertise its over 1,500 pages; it covered everything. "Visual Basic .NET: How to Program" is one comprehensive introductory text, which should serve as a good reference manual. It covered topics that ranged from the more traditional Visual Basic Windows programming to the relatively new Object-Oriented, Component-based world of .NET Frame-work programming.
This book brims with excellent chapters, accompanied by practical examples. It embraced every aspect of the Visual Basic .NET, and included issues like: web services, general networking, multi-threading tasks, and client server utilities.
Other components include: Data Abstraction, ASP .NET, XSLT, HTML, XHTML, and XML. There are as well, comprehensive discussions on both Session Tracking and Cookie-related issues. Also, the use-flexibility qualities of its attached CD-ROM is worth mentioning.
This is a well-featured, well-versed introductory textbook, but I must add that non-advanced learners may be overwhelmed by its overflowing information. Again, I noted that its listed price is high: well-above what most intending users may be willing to pay. There are lots of cheaper alternatives out there in the market.

This book is an exhaustive reference for anyone wanting to learn Microsoft's latest incarnation of VB. Whether you're just beginning to learn programming or you're experienced, this book will get you wherever you want to go. Deitel, et al have done a marvelous job creating a book that gives you what you need. If you've never programmed, don't know a thing about Visual Studio.NET this book does a great job bringing you up to speed. If you're experienced in VB this book is a great reference and a genuine "How to.." book that will show you what you need to know about VB.NET. Everything from the new GUI features, ASP.NET, Web Services, XML, ADO.NET, MulitThreading, COM integration, and even has 3 great chapters on Object-Oriented Programming with VB.NET. All this with line-by-line analysis of code too! Well I can go on and on, but I won't, try it for yourself, it may be pricey compared to others but it is well worth it.

-MC

I like examples, but I feel this book goes a little overboard. I find the layout of the pages hard a little on the difficult side as well. I'm not quite sure what it is, but the combination of SO many examples and the layout just made me have to put this book down and look elsewhere initially.
Sometimes I'm just looking for a textual summary of a topic, and not have to plough through the example to figure out what could have been said as text on the page (in addition to the example).

That being said I keep coming back to this book as a reference because it contains SO much information...it's just not that easy to read from cover to cover like osme others.
Still, it does contain ALOT of information...if you can handle the format and like LOTS of example code then you'll probably be in heaven.

For me "Coding techniques for MS Visual Basic .NET" was alot more concise and easier to read, albeit not hitting quite the ammount of detail that this book goes into in topics such as threading etc.

So in summary, not a BAD book, The layout is not brilliant but it is very information rich.

I am a professional web designer and VB programmer. With the release of VB.Net and Visual Studio.Net, I was anxious to jump feet first into the new IDE and language. Having read the Deitel C++ book, I was very pleased to see the similarity in layout and ease of reading.
I would easily rate this book, and the Deitel series, as the best programming text books on the market. I have read many others and I am almost always disappointed in the monetary expenditure. These are easily as good, and better in some areas, as the Black Books from Coriolis.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book to beginning VB programmers, as well as seasoned VB programmers looking to learn VB.Net.

This is a book for people who want to master VB.NET at a professional level and are willing to spend the time and energy that it takes. It is hard to find a VB.NET topic that isn't covered well, but for my purposes, the chapters on XML, Web forms, ASP.NET and Web services are very valuable so far. The excellent code and the walkthroughs are well done, although the listings are sometimes longer than they might need to be and sometimes force you to flip back and forth several pages.

Even though this seems (and weighs!) like a textbook, Visual Basic .NET How To Program is nicely illustrated with colourful screenshots and attractive graphics so it isn't *too* stuffy. It will take a while to thoroughly digest this big book but from what I've seen so far, it is going to help me a lot.