Advanced Visual Basic 6

Not too long ago I wrote about another VB book, the one we had for our first VB class at Scottsdale Community College, in Arizona (Programming With Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, by Diane Zak): talk about a bad book! Now, for the VBII class we're using this one. I have to agree that the evolution of the topics is not the best there can be (i.e. there is a jump between somewhat unrelated topics), but saying that it's the worst book or that you should not buy, etc. are not statements that do justice to the book, in my opinion.The one thing I found about the book that I'm very happy with is the step-by-step way in which it presents the topics covered, no assumptions made. Plus the companion CD it comes with contains ALL the samples discussed in the book, which make things easy at the time of figuring out components of a program that are not visible from the code alone, because they are set within the Properties of an Object.All in all I am taking away one star because of the way in which it's organized, as I mentioned before, but each topic covered is done in a very clear way, which leaves the programmer with no doubts about it.

This book gave me current information that other books don't offer, and the exercises and programming projects are excellent. The topics on database, ADO, DRD, the SQL query language, ActiveX Controls, and OOP are right on. I had no problem with this book. Great work!

This book will make you work!Won't spoon feed you the information, more like a graduate level course: concepts are given, but you must apply it. If you are willing to put in some effort it provides a good foundation in advanced topics of VB 6.0.Note:Recommend installing service pack 3 and using oledb 4.0 rather than 3.5.1. Found 1 database problem where the oledb 3.5.1 connection would crash the program, changing to the oledb 4.0 solved the problem. All the example programs thus far have compiled an run without a problem with SP3 loaded. Good: Covers advanced topics like ADO,SQL,Toolbars, Active X, API calls,intro to the internet,trees and many other useful subjects. Assumes you know the basics already- NOT for someone just starting out in VB- so it doesn't waste a lot of time and pages reviewing what one should have learned in an introductory course or book. Has chapter review questions, practical problems which help re-inforce the material in the chapter. Complete example problems on the companion CD. Possibly a problem : A good instructor would be a help. Does use code snippets which some may find inconvenient. Looking at the complete listing on the companion CD compensates for this. At times presentation can be somewhat brief. It really helps to take a concept open a new project, and play with the ideas presented as well as working problems.

I used this book in an Advanced VB class I took at Austin Community College. At first, I got down on the book but the more I keyed in the examples and did the homework projects, the more I learned - even if things didn't go 100 per-cent as advertised. I find VB a very complicated and volatile subject. Some of the examples may not work but for varied reasons. One of the problems I kept running into was fixed by downloading Visual Studio SP3 from Microsoft. Others seemed to be inherent in VB - not the book. Keep reading and doing - it's worth it.

Ms. Littleton's review correctly points out that many of the code examples are "snippets". On the other hand, there are complete code listings, listings of class modules, and so on. If you've ever tried to read a programming book containing code listings that go on ad nauseum, you know how distracting that can be. Authors use code snippets to focus your attention on parts of a program that are essential, and not waste time looking at redundant code. The book's enclosed CD contains the complete source for many programs, including ADO/SQL database applications, ActiveX components, and a dynamic HTML application. I definitely think that it's a good idea to learn advanced Visual Basic with the help of an instructor. There are numerous tricks and traps that are difficult to enumerate even in the most detailed book. --Kip Irvine