Visual Basic(R) 2005 for Programmers (2nd Edition) (Deitel Developer)

PRE-PUBLICATION REVIEWER TESTIMONIALS `The discussion of object-oriented programming is one of the best available.` --Gavin Osborne, Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science & Technology`The explanation of UML, intelligently integrated into the book, conveys the heart and soul of true object oriented architecture and engineering.` --Jeff Jones, Route Match Software`The optional ATM OOD/UML case study is excellent! The implementation of the design gives the reader a fantastic model of a real world problem. You hit a home run with this one.` --Catherine Wyman, Devry-Phoenix`A superb job of clearly integrating the theory of relational databases and SQL with the application of ADO.NET.` --Harlan Brewer, SES Consulting`Really nails most everything you need to know about handling exceptions in VB.` --Eric Gruber, Microsoft`Excellent coverage of the most important features and techniques of developing ASP.NET 2.0 applications, with plenty of sample code.` --Peter Bromberg, Senior Enterprise Architect, VOIP, Inc.`A very impressive introduction to XML.` --John Z. Chen, Microsoft`An excellent chapter on Web services with great examples.` --Chadi Boudiab, Georgia Perimeter College`The best description of generics I've seen!` --James Huddleston, Independent ConsultantThe practicing programmer's DEITEL(R) guide to Visual Basic and the powerful Microsoft .NET Framework Written for C#, C++, Java or other-high level language programmers, this book applies the Deitel signature live-code approach to teaching programming and explores Microsoft's Visual Basic language and the new .NET 2.0 in depth. The book is updated for Visual Studio(R) 2005 and presents Visual Basic concepts in fully tested programs, complete with syntax shading, line-by-line code descriptions, and program outputs. The book features 200+ applications with 16,000+ lines of proven Visual Basic code, and hundreds of programming tips that help you build robust applications. Start with a concise introduction to Visual Basic fundamentals using an early classes and objects approach, then rapidly move on to more advanced topics, including multithreading, XML, ADO.NET 2.0, ASP.NET 2.0, Web services, network programming, .NET remoting, generics and collections. Along the way you'll enjoy the Deitels' classic treatment of object-oriented programming and a new, OOD/UML ATM case study, including a complete Visual Basic implementation. When you are finished, you'll be well on your way to building next generation Windows applications, Web applications, and Web services. Paul J. Deitel and Harvey M. Deitel are the founders of Deitel & Associates, Inc., the internationally recognized programming languages content-creation and corporate training organization. Together with their colleagues at Deitel & Associates, Inc., they have written many international best-selling programming languages textbooks and professional books that millions of people worldwide have used to master C, C++, Java , C#, XML, Visual Basic(R), Perl, Python, and Internet and Web programming. The DEITEL(R) Developer Series presents focused treatments of leading-edge technologies, including .NET development, Java development, Web services, and more. Practical, Example-Rich Coverage Of:*Visual Basic 2005, .NET 2.0, FCL *ASP.NET 2.0, Web Forms and Controls *Database, SQL, and ADO.NET 2.0 *Networking and .N ET Remoting *XML, Web Services *Generics, Collections *GUI/Windows(R) Forms *OOP: Classes, Inheritance, and Polymorphism *OOD/UML ATM Case Study *Graphics and Multimedia *Multithreading *Exception Handling *And more,,.VISIT WWW.DEITEL.COM*Download code examples *Check out the extensive Visual Basic Resource Center *Check out the growing list of programming, Web 2.0, and software-related Resource Centers *To receive updates on this book, subscribe to the free DEITEL(R) BUZZ ONLINE e-mail newsletter at www.deitel.com/newsletter/subscribe.html *Read archived issues of the DEITEL(R) BUZZ ONLINE *Contact deitel@deitel.com for information on corporate training courses delivered on-site worldwideCD contains Microsoft's Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition

User review
Too bulky, but topics are well explained,,.
I like this Deitel book over VB 2008 How to Program because it does not do too much spoon feeding, and the reason I purchased this is because of the ATM Case Study, nothing more. I'm trying to find books that deals with projects, not code-snippets only, so this book is just right, together with Dan Clark's book, and Julia Case Bradley's.

I gave it 4 stars only because of it's bulkiness, could have do away with a lot of space-consuming topics that the author tried to cover but with little success in my opinion, like ASP, etc, which a lot of books are centered on. Also, these books are too pricey, so better to just wait for a year or two after publication when prices have already dropped.

User review
The Best you can get !
Well it took me more than an hour in a bookshop to put all the available books in front of me and compare them. Finally, I picked this one. At the time the main reason was the comprehensive coverage of the book on different aspect of the VB programming.
Now, I am reading chapter 22. So I guess I have a fairly solid understanding of the book. So , here it is:
- As I mentioned the coverage of different subjects is great.
- Great book to learn OOP in VB.
- You will find the pace a bit slow and it takes time to get somewhere to write serious programs. The reason could be the explanatory attitude of the author. For me that was exactly what I needed. A slow pace which explains things in details.
- The examples are well explained and you wont find any error in them.
- When you reach the more advanced chapters like Filing,XML,ADO, ASP , although it gives you a very good brief of the subject, you feel that it was incomplete. Which is fair enough. Each of those subjects may need a separate book for themselves.

In conclusion, this is a highly recommended book for someone who wants to properly start learning VB.



User review
Excellent book
This is an excellent book on VB. If you are already a programmer or want to learn programming, this is the right book. It will give you an overview on programming concepts and deep details on programming with VB.

User review
Another excellent book
I am an engineer that has been learning c# and VB to build some applications to help our department automate our processes and turned to the Deitel books for instruction. The Deitel series books are excellent. If you had to get only one reference book, I would suggest getting one of theirs. The `How To` books are textbooks and the `for programmers` books basically leave out the self tests and chapter questions. I have both the C# How to and the VB.net Programmers books along with a couple more brand X books. If you are looking for an excellent reference, get the Deitel `for programmers` book. It's a lot cheaper and will still have the information you are looking for.

User review
Excellent coverage - except for one thing
As a seasoned Access developer, I was really excited at the launch of .NET in 2001 as I wanted to make the jump to developing VB/SQL applications. But alas, every time I made an attempt to develop a VB.NET application using Visual Studio 2002/2003, I would end up with a ton of errors that I couldn't fix, and I would always go back to Access because it was so much easier. The books around at the time were also difficult to understand.

Then I went to a developer conference in 2005 and saw the latest versions of VB.NET, Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005, and I thought Finally!! - Microsoft have made developing VB/SQL applications as simple as Access Database applications. So I wanted to find a book that covered all the cool features of VB.NET 2.0, as well as a discussion of OOP and UML. And just recently I discovered this awesome book by the Deitels.

This book is the perfect introduction to VB.NET 2.0 - for someone who has programmed, but not necessarily VB6. It doesn't discuss differences between VB6/VB.NET 1.1 and VB.NET 2.0, as most other books seem to waste space doing. Rather than have separate chapters for OOP/UML, it combines discussion of OOP/UML within the context of VB.NET concepts such as classes and inheritance, which by the way are exquisitely explained in a simple, readable format with relevant examples.

While the ATM case study, that is gradually built up throughout the book, is excellent, I just wish they had taken it one step further and discussed the design of the `Bank Database`, and the relationship between the database design and the classes. Since nearly every business application built these days involves a database backend, this would have been worthwhile discussion.