Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Programming for the Absolute Beginner (Paperback)

by Jonathan S. Harbour (Author) "Welcome to Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Programming for the Absolute Beginner!..." (more)
Key Phrases: trivia program, accessor property, looping command, Visual Basic, End Sub, Private Sub (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Start at square one with Visual Basic .net Programming. Visual Basic is a widely accepted programming language and is used for creating both stand-alone and Web-based applications. VB.net supports multi-threading that enables you to write applications that execute using separate threads and supports both structured and unstructured exception handling. This Absolute Beginner book is a fun approach to this difficult topic. You'll create games using VB.net as you learn the fundamentals of the language. The CD contains games and trial versions of Paint Shop Pro, Cool Edit 2000, DarkBASIC, BlitzsD, and more

About the Author
Jonathan S. Harbour has been an avid gamer and programmer for 16 years, having started with a Ti-99, Commodore PET, and a Tandy 1000. In 1994, he earned a B.S. in computer science. He has since earned the position of senior programmer with 7 years of formal programming experience. He has professional-level experience in graphical user interface design and 2D and 3D graphics programming, as well as TCP/IP socket programming and Internet protocols. Jonathan is a part of the "Starflight III" team, working with the original designers on a sequel to the first two games originally published by EA in the '80s. In addition, he has released the retail Pocket PC games "Pocket Trivia" and "Perfect Match". Harbour has also authored "Pocket PC Game Programming" (0761530576), "Visual Basic Game Programming with DirectX" (193184125X), "Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Programming for the Absolute Beginner" (1592000029), and "Beginner's Guide to DarkBASIC Game Programming" (1592000096) all from Premier Press.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1st edition (September 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592000029
• ISBN-13: 978-1592000029
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #522,331 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This item is part of The Course PTR Absolute Beginners Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll have experience writting VB.NET apps when finished!, March 24, 2004

By	Rip Munsterman "ripmunsterman1" (Palm Beach, FL) - See all my reviews

The fact that you are reading the details of a book titled "Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Programming for the Absolute Beginner" means that this is the book you are looking for! The review saying this book is not for a beginner must have a Visual Basic .NET book of their own on Amazon!

IMPORTANT: Not all books claiming to be for "BEGINNERS" are what you think! Because VB.NET is a NEW language and not a new version of Visual Basic, even advanced VB programmers are "Beginners" to VB.NET. However, all the terminology and concepts are still the same, there are just new ways to write the code. If you are a true beginner and buy the wrong book, you'll be back on Amazon looking for a book on Visual Basic 6.0 so you can understand your book on Visual Basic.NET!

This book is for TRUE beginners with NO past experience with Visual Basic!

That said...

If you are like me and learn from "hands on" experience, this book is for you. I was on a mission to learn VB.NET and I had absolutely no experience with Visual Basic or Visual Studio. I spent $1000 for an ElementK subscription because they offered two separate eLearning courses on VB.NET that were created by Microsoft. After a full day of taking a course, all I had to show for it was 30 pages of notes that contained nothing but definitions and snippets of code. I never saw a single example of code that made up a complete application.

Frustrated, I decided to see if I could find a good ebook from Books24X7. Since there were over 50 of them on VB.NET, I had to play "Eenie-Meenie-Minie-Mo" on several occasions. Luckily I didn't have to pay each time I chose a book because all the ebooks seemed great until I realized after a couple chapters that I was supposed to have experience with Visual Basic or Visual Studio version 6.

Then I came across this ebook in the ElementK Resource section. I learned more about VB.NET in one hour than I did using Microsoft's training!

Each chapter ends by having you create a program using what you've learned. After a few chapters, you've subconsciously learned the same information and more through repetition rather than trying to memorize your way to VB.NET.

(So you don't get the wrong opinion about ElementK, only the VB.NET courses are made by Microsoft. All the others they offer are excellent)

Trust me! You can't go wrong with this book if you are a beginner. And if you have a background in VB, you an jump to Chapter 5 and start learning new information right away.

You won't just learn how to program with VB.NET, you'll have EXPERIENCE programming VB.NET applications.

I have never taken the time to write a review on ANYTHING! (And seeing how much effort it took to write this one, it will be the last! ha ha!) But, I know what it feels like to have a sea of books to choose from. It's like putting your all your money on "Hope This Is Useful" to win in the fifth! Not to mention that you don't won't know what they meant by "Beginner" until you open the book.

I wish someone pointed me to this book from the start, so I figure I might as well be a pointer for someone else.

Thanks for reading my lengthy review...

55 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for beginners, nor entirely for .NET programmers..., January 19, 2003

By	ewomack "ewomack" (MN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

The "Absolute Beginners" series is typically great for learning a language if you are a complete newcomer to programming. The title "absolute beginner" suggests this. It's also great because the programming samples are in the form of games.

This book, unfortunately, would probably completely confuse or scare off a new programmer. It is likely to confuse even those who are not new to programming. I have a fair amount of experience with VB6 (medium sized database applications with SQL Server backends) and some with VB.NET (I bought the book mostly for the games, but also as a refresher course), and I found this experience necessary for understanding the first few parts of this book.

The book consistently uses concepts before they're introduced, and in one place even suggests skipping ahead to the next chapter if what you're reading doesn't make sense.

The author makes numerous references to C++ and there are way too many comparisons between VB.NET and VB6. The first few chapters of the book would be way over the head of any brand new programmer. Assembly and machine language are brought up, as well as client/server networks. Why? The author also uses some VB6 in his .NET programs. For example, the "MsgBox" function is not officially a .NET function (it's part of a library .NET keeps to maintain backward compatibility). Sure you can use it, but it may or may not be compatible with other .NET classes down the road (e.g., if you wanted to use it in conjunction with a C# program). It would be best to stick with the more .Nettish "Messagebox.show" command which is entirely compatible with the .NET libraries.

Also used are the VB6 "Len(String)" (instead of "String.Length"), "Instr", "Left" and "Right" functions from the VB6 library. After 5 or 6 chapters I wondered if I was really learning VB.NET or a hybrid of VB.NET and VB6. This wonder turned into a fear: would I have to unlearn anything I picked up in this book? This fear burgeoned to the point that I couldn't continue with the book. I stopped a little more than half way through and returned it to the store.

On the bright side, it was really fun programming the games included in this book. And to be entirely fair, I did learn a lot from this book regardless. His description of variables in VB.NET actually being objects was insightful and well thought out. Nonetheless, the fear that I was absorbing wrong information about .NET eventually overpowered me. It's unfortunate, it could have been a great book. Hopefully there will be a second edition that is more in line with VB.NET and does not mention VB6 or C++ once.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Visual Basic.NET made easier!, August 25, 2004

By	A Reviewer "from California" (Los Angeles County, CA) - See all my reviews

It starts out with some really basic stuff, and than walks you through to the Intermediate Level. I had looked over about 30 other books before settling on this one. Those other books just don't give you enough beginning information. I think this book is probably one of the best ones out there. Learning Visual Basic.NET is not easy, but this book really helps.