Special Edition Using Visual Basic.Net

Easy to follow and lots of stuff. More examples and step by step approach compared to visual basic 6 by the same authors. Would be quite difficult for a fresh beginner. I was able to launch my web program using webforms quite fast. Much better than visual basic.net deitel developer series. A very good buy.

I found this book very informative and here are my comments:The positive points:* Good coverage of VB.Net features* There are 'good basic examples' on advanced topics like .Net Remoting, Printing, File Handling, creating your own controls, Crystal Reports etc.* The source code can be downloaded from the publisher site. So you can always have the author's code for reference (so I did not bother much about typos)* Database section was well covered in 3 chapters (from a beginner perspective)Negative Points:* The section on ASP.Net web programming is ok.* I wish they had covered in more detail the advanced topics like Remoting.* Multithreading is not touched in the book.* Network Programming too is not coveredOverall a decent book to read the first time and to understand the concepts, considering that advanced topics require books of their own :)

Special Edition Using... books are usually good, if not dense, reference materials for the computer programmer. As we try to get up to speed with the .NET platform, there are two kinds of books to look at - the step by step instructional books, and then the topical reference books. This book falls into the latter category - it is an excellent informative guide book to grab and refer to when trying to accomplish a task. You're not going to most likely try to read it cover to cover, but you will find yourself immersed in a chapter here and there to help clarify what you are trying to do. The authors take the time to spell out what is new in VB.NET as opposed to VB6 - and there is enough subtle changes to make your head spin. This book is indispensable in the job of moving to a new technology. This deserves a space on most programmer's shelves.

I purchased Visual Basic.NET for my job - they want a databaseinterface for our intranet. After I bought the software, I went to a local bookstore and spent several hours looking for books on VB.NET. The only book that was worth the money was "Special Edition - Using Microsoft Visual Basic .NET". Brian Siler and Jeff Spotts have put together a clear and informative book that will save me more time than I can imagine. I can't tell you how much I learned in the first week. I have no experience in Visual Basic. I started from scratch and this book has given me confidence and enthusiasm for the projects ahead. Thank you for making this easier.

For someone like me with a VB and ASP background, this book has been perfect. Each subject is first briefly introduced with some basic information and then the author moves forward quickly covering intermediate to advanced stuff, all of the time focusing on practical everyday programming tasks. The author knows what is important and of interest to a programmer, and time and time again, questions that arise in your mind while reading a sentence are answered clearly and straight to the point in the next few sentences. The book is wery well written in a relaxed, friendly style. 5 stars for sure.