Learn to Program with Visual Basic 6.0 [With CDROM]

I posted my first review for this book almost a year ago, at which time I gave it a five star rating. I have gone on from there into a deeper study of Visual Basic. The wisdom of hindsight allows me to honestly say that this book has provided the foundation for all my subsequent Visual Basic skills. Prior to discovering this book, I "attempted" to work through the first chapter in several so-called beginning VB programming books only to give up in utter frustration because the author "assumed" his readers to posess far more knowledge than most beginners actually have. John Smiley really does start at the beginning without making the reader feel like an idiot. If you are even thinking about learnig Visual Basic I strongly recommend that you start with this book. Don't waste your time with any other books...You can use the other books later and you'll actually be able to understand them because of the foundation you will acquire from doing the project in this book.Since I have completed this book almost a year ago I have purchased the other 3 books written by John Smiley. I have posted a five star review for each book in the series. As good as this book is, the other John Smiley books are even better. This book however, is the best palce to start!

John Smiley presents a complete learning environment that builds a solid programming foundation. Each book individually and collectively engages and immerses the novice programmer into the richness of the Visual Basic development environment without overwhelming you in its complexity. From Learn to Program with Visual Basic, through Databases and Objects I found learning VB programming fun, and instructive at the same time. John's use of examples to support the development of a "real world" programming task proved important in understanding VB programming, the Integrated Development Environment and it various features or tools. Using the same program, you helped create, through three books dealing with different aspects of VB programming helped solidify the programming experience, and enhance learning. More than anything else, John comes out of those pages as your guide and mentor allowing you to pick up those intangibles that come from a skilled programmer, and educator. He leaves you, and encourages further study, having given you the fundamentals to go on and tackle more advanced VB topics, because you now know how to program with VB. I kid you not. I jumped into learning VB using the MS Visual Basic Programmer's guide, and various MSDN materials. It was like going up hill in snow and ice, I wasn't getting anywhere fast! After going through John's three books, MS VB programmers guide, and other materials just fell into place, because I now had the VB skills and knowledge to appreciate and understand the presented material.