Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2003 in 24 Hours Complete Starter Kit (Sams Teach Yourself...in 24 Hours) [Paperback]

James Foxall (Author)

Book Description

Series: Sams Teach Yourself...in 24 Hours | Publication Date: June 6, 2003

In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, you will be creating and distributing your own programs using the power and functionality of Visual Basic .NET. Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson builds on the previous ones, enabling you to learn the essentials of Visual Basic .NET from the ground up.

As an added bonus, the book includes a 60-day Trial Version of Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 on DVD-ROM so you will have every tool you need to create the applications demonstrated in the book.

Step-by-step instructions walk you through the most common Visual Basic .NET tasks while questions and answers, quizzes, and exercises at the end of each hour help you test your knowledge. Notes and tips point out shortcuts and solutions and help steer you clear of potential problems.

Learn how to...

• Use the powerful design environment of Visual Studio .NET
• Design a feature-rich interface using components such as tree views and tabs
• Create robust applications using modern error-handling
• Draw fast graphics using GDI+
• Build a database application using ADO.NET
• Distribute a Visual Basic .NET application

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, you will be creating and distributing your own programs using the power and functionality of Visual Basic .NET. Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson builds on the previous ones, enabling you to learn the essentials of Visual Basic .NET from the ground up.

As an added bonus, the book includes a 60-day Trial Version of Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 on DVD-ROM so you will have every tool you need to create the applications demonstrated in the book.

Step-by-step instructions walk you through the most common Visual Basic .NET tasks while questions and answers, quizzes, and exercises at the end of each hour help you test your knowledge. Notes and tips point out shortcuts and solutions and help steer you clear of potential problems.

Learn how to...

* Use the powerful design environment of Visual Studio .NET
* Design a feature-rich interface using components such as tree views and tabs
* Create robust applications using modern error-handling
* Draw fast graphics using GDI+
* Build a database application using ADO.NET
* Distribute a Visual Basic .NET application

About the Author

James Foxall, MCSD, is vice president of Tigerpaw Software, Inc., a Microsoft Certified Partner specializing in commercial database applications. He is responsible for management of all Windows application development, and is an authority on application interface and behavior standards of applications for the Microsoft Windows and Office environments. In addition to being a well-known book author, he contributes to several journals and magazines, speaks internationally, and teaches college-level courses on Visual Basic. He has been featured in news shows, trade publications, and newspaper articles for his technology expertise.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 2 Pap/DVD edition (June 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672325373
• ISBN-13: 978-0672325373
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #947,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Foxall, President of Tigerpaw Software, has been involved in commercial software development for over 20 years and was instrumental in the development and creation of Tigerpaw's award winning product suite, serving over 28,000 users in 28 countries. In the 20+ years since joining his family's company full time, James has helped transform Tigerpaw Software from a small "garage" business to one that employs more than 44 people and produces business automation software servicing the IT/Networking, Telecommunications, and Systems Integrator industries. In his current role, James provides the vision and management to keep Tigerpaw focused on its customers and properly serving its markets.

James has a Masters degree in Business Administration and a BS degree in Management of Information Systems. These two degrees dovetail perfectly as James is devoted to creating better businesses through technology. James has written 14 books on technology which have been published in over a dozen languages around the world. He is considered an authority on application interface and behavior standards of Windows applications and serves the business community as an international speaker on Microsoft technologies and best practices for automating business processes in the SMB environment. Viewed as a business and technology expert, James has been featured on several television news shows, as well as in various trade publications and newspaper articles. James' goal for the future is to grow Tigerpaw by continuing to provide software and services that allow customers to not only meet their challenges, but to excel in a constantly changing market.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly great book for the serious beginner, July 16, 2004

By 

Ainsworth D. Coore "Ainsworth" (Snellville, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2003 in 24 Hours Complete Starter Kit (Sams Teach Yourself...in 24 Hours) (Paperback)

Every once in a long while, a great book comes along that forces even someone like me to post a public opinion. This book unlike a lot of other "great" books takes you step by step and actually show you "HOW it is done" and not just tell you what you are to do.

After trying another VB.NET Beginners book that was highly touted on the internet I almost gave up.

I came accross this book on the shelf of Borders just by chance
and what a pleasure, pure pleasure.

This is a sample of how these kinds of books should be written

THANKS MR. FOXALL !!!!!!!!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If only all technical books were as good as this one., January 7, 2004

By 

"keithfi" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2003 in 24 Hours Complete Starter Kit (Sams Teach Yourself...in 24 Hours) (Paperback)

James Foxall is that very rare author, a person who not only knows his subject matter, but also has the ability to teach it to others.
Right away in Chapter One you get to build an interesting application that makes you want to learn more, but the real magic is in the way he takes you there. You learn a concept not in isolation, but within the context of the other key concepts needed to make it work. James is able to teach you just enough about these other concepts to make sense, without swamping you with detail. At the same time, he is careful to explain that he will provide more detail later on, at a more suitable point.
The result is that you learn quickly in a framework that makes sense at all times, and where you know your questions are going to be answered further on. In effect you almost feel mentored as you move from chapter to chapter.
This is an excellent book for people starting out to learn Visual Basic.NET.
It should also be compulsory reading for all authors of technical books. This is how technical books ought to be.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For Extreme Beginners, January 4, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2003 in 24 Hours Complete Starter Kit (Sams Teach Yourself...in 24 Hours) (Paperback)

This book is for you if you have little experience programming or zero knowledge of Visual Basic .NET (and Visual Studio .NET). The book is basically written in 2 halves. The first deals with the capabilities and features of Visual Studio .NET, the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) which you will definitely need. I found this book did a good job at introducing a total newbie (myself) to the VS interface. The second half of the book introduced Visual Basic programming principles, which I found boring since I had some programming experience. I guess it would be ok if i were a total newbie, but even then I have seen better introductions to programming in "professional" editions that used more code examples and went more in depth into coding...after all you are reading this because you are an aspiring programmer, right? Why sugar coat things that don't need to be? No matter how you slice or dice it, at some point you will have to get your hands dirty with code. My suggestion on improving the book: more code examples! The best book I ever read on programming actually used all examples towards the creation of one program, so that you learned the language, its application, and development style...This book will help you learn the interface to visual studio, but it may leave you wanting for real programming examples. Also it has zero info on designing applications for the web...all info is geared towards windows forms.