Programming Visual Basic .NET

I've only read the first 100 pages but I've seen a number of important examples where the author distills key concepts in a few pages or even paragraphs that would take other authors an entire chapter("Delegates" as one example) and yet the author's explanantion is still clearer. This book is not for programming beginners, its for intermediate or higher programmers making the transistion to .NET. This book is still useful in 2006 to explain some key concepts in VB .NET although there have been minor changes in the language since it was written.

Programming Visual Basic .NET does an excellent job of covering all of the language elements and associated .NET framework topics that a developer will need to become an effective VB.NET programmer. This book is successful by getting straight to the point and tackling the issues that programmers need to understand the new language, how it fits in with the .NET framework, and how it differs from Microsoft's previous incarnations of Visual Basic. In the early chapters Dave covers all of the important VB.NET language constructs and the .NET framework with a clear tone and effective examples. The chapters on Windows Form development are particularly helpful in understanding GUI programming in the language, and how to take advantage of the many new features in .NET including control docking and anchoring, and menu programming. He covers both using the tools in Visual Studio.NET, as well as exploring the creation of Windows Forms through code. This type of in depth information is very helpful for any developer who really wishes to know and understand what's going on behind the scenes of Windows Forms. The later chapters are similarly well presented and explain the important aspects of additional technologies of the .NET Platform that are central to successful application development. The chapter on ASP.NET does a great job of explaining user controls, form validation, and security in ASP.NET. I've found this information critical in designing solutions that target the web. While the chapter on ADO.NET is perhaps not as comprehensive as the rest, I found the information to be quite helpful and informative enough to implement complete data access solutions. Similarly, the chapter on programming web services in VB.NET has been a great help in understanding how web services function, and their importance in communications across the internet.Overall I find this book to be a great introduction to the Visual Basic .NET language itself, as well as a great tool for understanding how to use Visual Basic .NET to harness many of the exciting features of the .NET platform.

Excellent book with a comprehensive view of using VB.NET to develop Windows-based and Web-based solutions, including Web services.The second chapter in the book, "The Visual Basic .NET Language" was particularly helpful with an in-depth view of the VB.NET language constructs and keywords. The third chapter explains the .NET CLR, assemblies, garbage collection and other concepts new to .NET very clearly.This book is excellent for programmers moving from classic VB to VB.NET, people new to the VB.NET language, and as a language reference for more advanced users.

This book does a great job helping existing programmers move into .NET quickly. The book's organization of topics and sample applications are also great. I'd recommend it highly.