Sams Teach Yourself Visual Basic 2008 in 24 Hours: Complete Starter Kit (Paperback)

~ James Foxall (Author)
Key Phrases: image list, project properties, object library, Visual Basic, Picture Viewer, Solution Explorer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, you will be up and running with Visual Basic 2008. Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson builds upon a real-world foundation forged in both technology and business matters, allowing you to learn the essentials of Visual Basic 2008 from the ground up. Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common questions, issues, and tasks. The Q&A section, quizzes, and exercises help you build and test your knowledge.

 

By the Way notes present interesting pieces of information. Did You Know? tips offer advice or teach an easier way to do something. Watch Out! cautions advise you about potential problems and help you steer clear of disaster.

 

Learn how to…

• Use the powerful design environment of Visual Studio 2008
• Design feature-rich interfaces 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 2008 Application
• Manipulate the Windows Registry
• Create, read, and write text files
• Use event-driven techniques to build responsive applications

DVD Includes: Microsoft Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition

On the Web: Register your book at informit.com/title/9780672329845 for access to author code, examples, updates and corrections as they become available.

About the Author

James Foxall is vice president of Tigerpaw Software, Inc. (www.tigerpawsoftware.com), a Bellevue, Nebraska, Microsoft Certified Partner specializing in commercial database applications. He manages the development, support, training, and education of Tigerpaw CRM+, an award-winning CRM product designed to automate contact management, marketing, service and repair, proposal generation, inventory control, and purchasing. At the start of 2008, the current release of Tigerpaw CRM+ had more than 16,000 licensed users. Foxall’s experience in creating certified Office-compatible software has made him an authority on application interface and behavior standards of applications for the Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office environments.

 

Foxall has been writing commercial production Visual Basic code for more than 14 years, in both single-programmer and multiple-programmer environments. He’s the author of numerous books, including Practical Standards for Microsoft Visual Basic and MCSD in a Nutshell: The Visual Basic Exams. He also has written articles for Access-Office-VBA Advisor and Visual Basic Programmer’s Journal. Foxall has a bachelor’s degree in management of information systems (MIS). He is a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer and an international speaker on Microsoft Visual Basic. When not programming or writing about programming, he enjoys spending time with his family, playing guitar, listening to amazing bands like Pink Floyd and OSI, and playing computer games. You can reach him at www.jamesfoxall.com/forums.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 1 Pap/Dvdr edition (May 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672329840
• ISBN-13: 978-0672329845
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #36,270 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for beginners, July 14, 2008

By	J. Carlino (Cary, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love this book! The only programming I had had was Basic back in 1984-85 so obviously I am starting from the beginning. I needed basics (like general definitions, logic of how programming works, and specifics for how the Visual Basic works) so I could understand the programmers I work with. After reading and going through the exercises in this book, I can speak the same language and I've even been able to do automation for my quality assurance testing.

BTW - took me about 2 1/2 weeks to get through it all ;-)

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Outstanding, May 12, 2008

By	Robert Molloy "Bob" (Delran, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Clear, concise, understandable and (a little bit) humorous. As a mainframe assembler programmer of almost 40 years and a former VB6 hobbyist, this book allowed me to make the leap to .NET and OOP. I also recommend it for first-time programmers.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for hobby programmers, July 1, 2008

By	Keith Williams "technology tool user" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I would classify myself as a "hobby" programmer. I enjoy programming, but aside from a few courses taken years ago, I have little formal training. I frequently write programs for myself, my clients, and my friends (I'm a computer technician). Although I know a little about OOP (object-oriented programming), I find it to be overkill for many of the programs I like to write. Most of the time good, old-fashioned procedural programming does the trick, and although maybe if I choose to revisit my code twenty years from now, I will regret not having laid out my code using a proper class hierarchy, I sort of doubt it.

If the preceding paragraph somewhat describes you as well, you may enjoy this book. To me, it takes VB2008 and makes it simple and enjoyable like VB6. The author, James Foxall, doesn't try to cover everything, but he covers enough to be able to actually use VB2008 to solve real problems, and along the way he teaches the fundamentals of Visual Basic (even a blessedly short chapter on custom classes).

When done, you can use VB2008 to: develop and use forms (dialog boxes), manipulate the objects that VB and .NET provide, work with the keyboard, manipulate graphics within your own windows, manipulate files and directories, read/write text files, databases, and the registry. You can use automation to manipulate other applications, and even package your creation for distribution using Microsoft's "ClickOnce" technology.

The book is a good size, large enough to cover major areas, but not so large as to intimidate. I only wish there was more coverage of common .NET classes such as the print / print previewing classes. Overall, I would say this is a great book for all us old VB6 types wanting to "modernize."