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Editor's picks

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  Sams Teach Yourself Visual Basic 2010 in 24 Hours Complete Starter Kit (Sams Teach Yourself -- Hours)

  Book (Sams)
  

  Rating (27 reviews):

  (3.8/5)

  

  Better than the other book I tried...

  Well, I first started with another book (Mastering VB 2010), but it didn't explain everthing well enough for me to understand. I took C++ 10 years ago in college, but I think it was written for someone with more experience than me.So, I bought this book, and WOW! Much better. Foxall takes the time to explain everything. I am the kind of reader that reads slowly, and makes sure he comprehends every word and sentence. I cannot move on until I'm sure I "get it". So, if you are new to programming, this is the book to buy. I'm planning on finshing this one and the moving on to the other so that I can learn the in-depth stuff a little better.PROs:1) VERY IMPORTANT - Every step is clearly explained. I CAN'T UNDERESTIMATE THIS FOR THE BEGINNER. I had to reread a couple paragraphs to make sure I clearly understood (e.g. Classes/Controls/Methods/Objects and what each word meant in OOP), but that's because it's complicated, not but because he does a poor job... 5/5 John Owens (Fresno, CA USA) - See all my reviews, September 23, 2010

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  Buy this book now!

  I'm reading this book on Kindle for PC. It's really easy to have this open on screen and work in Visual Basic at the same time. I havent tried programming since the mid 90's. Back then it was C+ and I eventually gave up because it took so long to learn and all the lessons seemed so abstract.I am learning so much faster with this book and am excited about programming again. I have already written a useful app (Not Calculator) and I have only owned the book for 2 days.I highly reccommend this book to any begginers like me. 5/5 W. Hansen (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews, September 24, 2010

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  The best VB.Net book written

  I have been programming with VB since 1993 and am a MCSD in Visual Studio 6.0. When .NET came on the scene, all of the VB.NET books were, in my opinion, very poor. I purchased this book on the strength of the Amazon reviews, and I am more than satisfied. I read the book and built all of the sample projects in thirteen days -- roughly two chapters per day (less than two hours each day). The projects are very practical and cover all of the topics that any programmer needs to know in order to build a complete, polished application.At the same time that I purchased this book, I also purchased the Murach VB 2010 book (I already had the Murach VB 2008 book). It is about 800 pages, but each opposite facing page simply restates in a slightly different way what was stated in the left page. It will be a nice reference, but VB 2010 in 24 Hours is the one that I will turn to whenever I begin a VB project.Before I purchased this book, I had already built a VB.NET 2008... 5/5 Joseph Davoli - See all my reviews, January 25, 2011

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  List Price: $34.99
  

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  VB Strings - programming examples of enhanced string processing (Programming by Example - a fun & easy way to learn Visual Basic)

  eBooks (Books To Believe In)
  

  Rating (4 reviews):

  (5.0/5)

  

  Great new way to look at learning Visual Basic

  As a long time programmer who's found John Clark Craig's books to be extremely valuable in past years (see his author page for previous titles published by Micrsoft Press and O'Reilly), I was pleased to see his new, very low priced Kindle book. For $2.99, I had to check it out. Craig's stuff has always been so clear, concise and useful. So, I bought this book on String programming for Visual Basic to see how he was approaching teaching VB these days. I really like it! The content was focused and covered very useful string programming tips and tricks, several I didn't know existed and that have already saved me tons of time and effort.Supposedly, this is the first in a series of similar titles, and I'll be watching to buy more of them when they show up. I'm still quite a fan of John Clark Craig and his style of teaching Visual Basic. 5/5 EJ "Secrets to Creating Passive Income - co-a... (Denver) - See all my reviews This review is from: VB Strings - programming examples of enhanced string processing (Programming by Example - a fun & easy way to learn Visual Basic) (Kindle Edition) As a long time programmer who's found John Clark Craig's books to be extremely valuable in past years (see his author page for previous titles published by Micrsoft Press and O'Reilly), I was pleased to see his new, very low priced Kindle book. For $2.99, I had to check it out. Craig's stuff has always been so clear, concise and useful. So, I bought this book on String programming for Visual Basic to see how he was approaching teaching VB these days. I really like it! The content was focused and covered very useful string programming tips and tricks, several I didn't know existed and that have already saved me tons of time and effort.Supposedly, this is the first in a series of similar titles, and I'll be watching to buy more of them when they show up. I'm still quite a fan of John Clark Craig and his style of teaching Visual Basic. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , May 23, 2011

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  Excellent resource for VB programmers

  If you learn best by following an example instead of digesting a lot of theory, then this book is for you. Mr. Craig takes us through 5 very practical real-world programs and explains what they do and how they do it. It is informative and actually fun to take his code and make it work on my PC. VB Express is free - so this is a great, easy and fun way to learn how to code or to take your VB code programming to the next level. Examples range from simple date / time to simple methods of encryption. John Clark Craig is a well known author for Microsoft and O'Reilly Media. Google his name and you'll be impressed. 5/5 Books To Believe In "Publisher of great books" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: VB Strings - programming examples of enhanced string processing (Programming by Example - a fun & easy way to learn Visual Basic) (Kindle Edition) If you learn best by following an example instead of digesting a lot of theory, then this book is for you. Mr. Craig takes us through 5 very practical real-world programs and explains what they do and how they do it. It is informative and actually fun to take his code and make it work on my PC. VB Express is free - so this is a great, easy and fun way to learn how to code or to take your VB code programming to the next level. Examples range from simple date / time to simple methods of encryption. John Clark Craig is a well known author for Microsoft and O'Reilly Media. Google his name and you'll be impressed. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , February 5, 2011

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  Great little book

  Sometimes keeping it simple is the easiest way to learn, and this book demonstrates that in strides! By focusing on string programming, this book teaches the basics of VB language programming. 5/5 J. S. Harbour (Arizona) - See all my reviews, January 3, 2012

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  List Price: $2.99
  

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  Microsoft Visual Basic 2010 Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft))

  Book (Microsoft Press)
  

  Rating (11 reviews):

  (4.5/5)

  

  Very good for a complete novice!

  As a complete novice to .NET programming, I found this book to be very good. While it doesn't go into depth into anything, it does provide enough information and experience with features of VB 2010 to make writing simple programs possible. More importantly, it provides the foundation needed to learn from a higher level book on VB 2010 (I used Beginning VB 2010 by Wrox and highly recommend it). The book comes with it's own CD, where datasets and code are provided. Some people will probably not find this book to be as useful as it could be because it doesn't provide the user with enough exercises. It also doesn't provide the reader exposure to a great variety of specific language features. Nevertheless, it is a very useful book for programming novices - just be prepared to purchase a more advanced book on VB 2010 or to learn more some other way.FYI - Just to give a word of advice (from my own experience) - if you want to learn to program, start at the beginning. I've... 4/5 JustMe - See all my reviews This review is from: Microsoft Visual Basic 2010 Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft)) (Paperback) As a complete novice to .NET programming, I found this book to be very good. While it doesn't go into depth into anything, it does provide enough information and experience with features of VB 2010 to make writing simple programs possible. More importantly, it provides the foundation needed to learn from a higher level book on VB 2010 (I used Beginning VB 2010 by Wrox and highly recommend it). The book comes with it's own CD, where datasets and code are provided. Some people will probably not find this book to be as useful as it could be because it doesn't provide the user with enough exercises. It also doesn't provide the reader exposure to a great variety of specific language features. Nevertheless, it is a very useful book for programming novices - just be prepared to purchase a more advanced book on VB 2010 or to learn more some other way.FYI - Just to give a word of advice (from my own experience) - if you want to learn to program, start at the beginning. I've... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , August 10, 2010

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  Very well written, make programming a fun

  It would be crime not to appreciate this book. I started as a complete novice, and this book made programming so simple and a fun for me. My first language is not English, but this book is so well written that I didn't felt any difficulty any where. I was manly interested in using VB with ASP.net. Though most of the things are same, but it would be very helpful if light is thrown on using VB in ASP.net web programming. 5/5 Zeni - See all my reviews This review is from: Microsoft Visual Basic 2010 Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft)) (Paperback) It would be crime not to appreciate this book. I started as a complete novice, and this book made programming so simple and a fun for me. My first language is not English, but this book is so well written that I didn't felt any difficulty any where. I was manly interested in using VB with ASP.net. Though most of the things are same, but it would be very helpful if light is thrown on using VB in ASP.net web programming. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , October 28, 2011

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  This is great starting place

  This was the perfect starting place for anyone using Visual Studio 2010 and new to Visual Basic. The content flow was perfect, the programming experience was perfect, thus the learning experience was perfect for me. The author provided both happy path results to not so happy path experiences. In other words, I was guided through various expectations on results I may experience. This was very important to me as I was acclimating myself to Visual Basic, Visual Studio 2010, and general best practice programming. 5/5 Timer - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Microsoft® Visual Basic® 2010 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft)) (Kindle Edition) This was the perfect starting place for anyone using Visual Studio 2010 and new to Visual Basic. The content flow was perfect, the programming experience was perfect, thus the learning experience was perfect for me. The author provided both happy path results to not so happy path experiences. In other words, I was guided through various expectations on results I may experience. This was very important to me as I was acclimating myself to Visual Basic, Visual Studio 2010, and general best practice programming. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , December 17, 2011

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  List Price: $44.99
  

  Condition: New

  Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

  ISBN13: 9780735626690

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  Murach's Visual Basic 2010

  Book (Mike Murach & Associates)
  

  Rating (48 reviews):

  (4.4/5)

  

  Great book for the computer professional....

  I have been using the Murach books for a number of years, and havenever been disappointed. I also read many other computer programmingbooks, but Murach books constantly prove superior.The one best thing that sets the Murach books apart is the completeapplication given at the end of the chapter. It's difficult to learna new language by just working with snippets of code. Murach putstogether an entire business application to demonstrate the concepts ofthe chapter, and this more than anything else will help the programmeron the job.Another good thing about the Murach approach is that the applicationsare business-related, which is what most programming is all abouttoday. Other books have silly applications with animals and games. I have nothing against animals and games, but do not want to see this in acomputer application.Finally, I have found with other computer books that their code... 5/5 Marvin Schneider (New York, NY) - See all my reviews, May 13, 2008

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  Solid intro to VB, but more oriented towards VB2005/2008 than VB2010

  I like Murach's books more than the programming series of most other publishers, because of their hands-on style. Other books contain verbose texts, many of which have an uncanny similarity to Microsoft help texts, which tend to be written in a rather lawyerly style, followed by clunky examples, which bury a selected language feature within 50 or 100 lines of other code. Murach's books provide a healthy proportion of down-to-earth explanations combined with simple, short examples showing the correct syntax. Text on the left page, code examples on the right page.But Murach's Visual Basic 2010 is a disappointment. I have not read earlier editions like "Murach's Visual Basic 2008" or 2005, but to me, it looks as if most of the book has not been updated to include many of the new features that have been introduced with VS/VB2008, to say nothing of VS/VB2010.2010 features that are not touched by the author:parallel programming (in my opinion, THE new feature for an IT... 4/5 Madonna's abs double (The jungle camp (or so it seems at times)) - See all my reviews This review is from: Murach's Visual Basic 2010 (Paperback) I like Murach's books more than the programming series of most other publishers, because of their hands-on style. Other books contain verbose texts, many of which have an uncanny similarity to Microsoft help texts, which tend to be written in a rather lawyerly style, followed by clunky examples, which bury a selected language feature within 50 or 100 lines of other code. Murach's books provide a healthy proportion of down-to-earth explanations combined with simple, short examples showing the correct syntax. Text on the left page, code examples on the right page.But Murach's Visual Basic 2010 is a disappointment. I have not read earlier editions like "Murach's Visual Basic 2008" or 2005, but to me, it looks as if most of the book has not been updated to include many of the new features that have been introduced with VS/VB2008, to say nothing of VS/VB2010.2010 features that are not touched by the author:parallel programming (in my opinion, THE new feature for an IT... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , January 30, 2011

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  Great for Beginners to Intermediate

  This book is easy to read and follow and doesn't induce sleep even after lunch. One way this is possible is the unique layout of the book: facing pages contain narrative on the left and examples on the right. This makes it easy to glance back and forth between the text explaining some subject on the left page and the example illustrating it on the right. I was a bit suspect of this layout at first, but before the 1st chapter was out I found myself liking it a lot. Another layout difference that I appreciated is the physical size of the book. At 8 inches wide by 10 inches tall, it's a bit bigger than most technical books. This helps get the examples on the page without squeezing the font down to unreadable sizes.Beginning programmers will find the first two sections (the first 12 chapters) ready for immediate consumption. These chapters begin with an overview of the IDE, move on to basic Windows Forms concepts and then cover VB language basics. More advanced programmers can... 4/5 Owen J. Mortensen "ojm37" (TUCSON, AZ USA) - See all my reviews, June 19, 2008

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  List Price: $54.50
  

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  Stephens' Visual Basic Programming 24-Hour Trainer (Wrox Programmer to Programmer)

  Book (Wrox)
  

  Rating (9 reviews):

  (5.0/5)

  

  Another great book by Rod Stephens

  This reviewer has been programming in various computer languages for 4+ decades but most recently in the Microsoft Visual Basic language. I have 4 other texts written by Mr. Stephens and have learned a great deal from each of them. When offered the opportunity to provide a review for a Visual Basic dot Net book for beginners, I was delighted since I wanted to see how an experienced writer like Rod Stephens would accomplish such a daunting task.I learn new code syntax quickly by seeing code examples and reading an explanation of each line of the code. As an experienced programmer but fairly new to the dot Net community, I found many excellent explanations that clarified my understanding. This book is written in a direct and often wry style that kept me entertained and eager to turn the next page. The author's humor is well-placed and doesn't get in the way of the message.Whereas the Visual Basic language capabilities are huge, the author has chosen wisely... 5/5 Art Braundmeier (Boulder, CO United States) - See all my reviews, April 13, 2011

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  Great for all learning styles

  I have been programming for many years and started Visual Basic programming with VB 4. I wanted to move to VB 2010 and I thought that this book would be an ideal way to do that. I have several books by Rod Stephens and have found all of them to be very useful and thorough.I was not disappointed with this book. It is easy to follow and the multiple methods allows you to use the learning style that works best for you. I would recommend that you use all of them because they reinforce what you have learned.Highly recommended! 5/5 John Bisschop (Lynden, WA USA) - See all my reviews, September 10, 2011

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  Helped me move from VB6 to VB.Net

  This is my 4th book written by Rod Stephens that I have purchased. I have found all of his books to be very helpful and worth the space on my shelf as I can always find the information I need easily.This is especially true with this book. I have been programming in VB since version 1 in 1991. I make my living writing programs in VB6 and had not taken the plunge into .Net. I've always heard; wait for Microsoft to release the 3rd version of a program before you dive into it. So I waited with .Net. With this book I was able to progress easily through the new environment and new concepts in VB.Net. Rod touches on all aspects of VB.Net so you can get a taste for them. You won't become an expert in any one thing just from this book, but it will provide you the understanding you need so you can dig deeper. For example: I have heard a lot about LINQ but did not know the first thing about it. This book has 11 pages regarding LINQ which gives you a taste and Rod even... 5/5 klf - See all my reviews This review is from: Stephens' Visual Basic Programming 24-Hour Trainer (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) (Paperback) This is my 4th book written by Rod Stephens that I have purchased. I have found all of his books to be very helpful and worth the space on my shelf as I can always find the information I need easily.This is especially true with this book. I have been programming in VB since version 1 in 1991. I make my living writing programs in VB6 and had not taken the plunge into .Net. I've always heard; wait for Microsoft to release the 3rd version of a program before you dive into it. So I waited with .Net. With this book I was able to progress easily through the new environment and new concepts in VB.Net. Rod touches on all aspects of VB.Net so you can get a taste for them. You won't become an expert in any one thing just from this book, but it will provide you the understanding you need so you can dig deeper. For example: I have heard a lot about LINQ but did not know the first thing about it. This book has 11 pages regarding LINQ which gives you a taste and Rod even... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , June 12, 2011

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  List Price: $39.99
  

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  Visual Basic 2010 Programmer's Reference (Wrox Programmer to Programmer)

  Book (Wrox)
  

  Rating (13 reviews):

  (4.1/5)

  

  Excellent Visual Basic Resource

  This book is an excellent coverage of Visual Basic in the Visual Studio 2010 environment. Over 1000 pages of reference material including appendices. The book is well written, comprehensive, and concise. A reference book needs a good index and this book has one.I purchased the book in April, 2010. It is now three months later and I briefed the reference and am writing my first Visual Bssic program in years. The programming environment has changed dramatically and this book is an entensive guide to my requirements. The text offers code within the book and links to many sources for assistance. In addition the author offers help through e-mail assistance, which is very timely. I don't think you can go wrong with this book for the money. 5/5 Augustus L. Ervin (Greenville, SC) - See all my reviews, July 26, 2010

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  Excellent TextBook in Visual Basic 2010

  Rod Stephens, all times amazed me with his books and this one is not an exception.The Visual Basic 2010 Programmer's Reference, is a great textbook written with the accumulation of experiences from VB 7.0, 7.1, 8, and VB (9) 2009.Visual Basic 2010, is the best among the (Visual Basic) .NET, and Rod has been able to present a very good book, that can be use for the beginners as well for the experienced programmers.VB 2010, the program, is full of good and great features that allow an easy programming, eliminating "almost all errors" from the point of view of the language and allow, more clear and powerful programs. This book is helping to accomplish this and more with very well detailed examples and also with the support of the Wrox and VB-Helper.The way Rod, presents the many topics in the book, is remarkable for the simplicity he uses to explain every single statement, etc and for the thing, we as programmers are looking for: KNOW-TO, KNOW-HOW,... 5/5 Alberto Torres "atklinger" (Mount Arlington, NJ United States) - See all my reviews, May 11, 2010

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  Great Resource Book

  I have several of Rod Stephen's books. This one is a great reference book jam packed with examples. I have already used the book to get myself out of several jams. Rod provides in-depth information where it is needed. Rod covers everything including WCF and LINQ. The appendices are also a wealth of information. The book download code works and Rod provides great examples. If you want a great resource book to add to your collection, this is the book for you. 5/5 Joe Waldin - See all my reviews, July 19, 2010

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  List Price: $39.99
  

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  Beginning Visual Basic 2010 (Wrox Programmer to Programmer)

  Book (Wrox)
  

  Rating (6 reviews):

  (3.5/5)

  

  Excellent! Use it!

  This is an excellent guide to learning VB 2010.NET for several reasons.1) It provides many "try it yourself" exercises which give you ample opportunities to use what you read about.2) It provides "exercises" at the end of each chapter, where you have the opportunity to write simple programs on your own, rather than simply copying code from the book. Answers are provided in an appendix.3) The book provides the user exposure to a very large number of classes, properties, etc., while, at the same time, clearly explaining what classes, methods, etc. are - as well as their differences. Examples are also provided and are very clear.4) This book is a step above the 'Step by Step' books, and if you have gone through the 'Step by Step' book, this is a great next book to go through because it provides so much exposure to the methods, classes, modules, etc. which the 'Step by Step' book introduces, but does not give the user much, if any, practical experience... 5/5 JustMe - See all my reviews This review is from: Beginning Visual Basic 2010 (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) (Paperback) This is an excellent guide to learning VB 2010.NET for several reasons.1) It provides many "try it yourself" exercises which give you ample opportunities to use what you read about.2) It provides "exercises" at the end of each chapter, where you have the opportunity to write simple programs on your own, rather than simply copying code from the book. Answers are provided in an appendix.3) The book provides the user exposure to a very large number of classes, properties, etc., while, at the same time, clearly explaining what classes, methods, etc. are - as well as their differences. Examples are also provided and are very clear.4) This book is a step above the 'Step by Step' books, and if you have gone through the 'Step by Step' book, this is a great next book to go through because it provides so much exposure to the methods, classes, modules, etc. which the 'Step by Step' book introduces, but does not give the user much, if any, practical experience... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , August 10, 2010

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  get something else

  Yuk. This book is really terrible for anyone who wants to learn VB programming. Too little explanation, and a really horrible excuse for an index.If you want something far better that will also serve as a reference for future use, try . 2/5 BarryTN - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Beginning Visual Basic 2010 (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) (Paperback) Yuk. This book is really terrible for anyone who wants to learn VB programming. Too little explanation, and a really horrible excuse for an index.If you want something far better that will also serve as a reference for future use, try Murach's Visual Basic 2010. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , January 16, 2012

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  Difficult for a beginners book

  I made the slow crawl to chapter 6 before I finally surrendered. It's been a long time since I've let a book get the best of me, but with this author's terribly illogical way of approaching the subject I could waste my time no longer. Chalked it up as a loss and made sure I wrote this review to deter any other VB beginners from making the same mistake I made.It's laughable how the author thanks god for "the many talents that he has blessed me with" in the Acknowledgments. Well, Mr. Willis I can assure you god didn't bless you with the ability to teach. 1/5 saserfrac - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Beginning Visual Basic 2010 (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) (Paperback) I made the slow crawl to chapter 6 before I finally surrendered. It's been a long time since I've let a book get the best of me, but with this author's terribly illogical way of approaching the subject I could waste my time no longer. Chalked it up as a loss and made sure I wrote this review to deter any other VB beginners from making the same mistake I made.It's laughable how the author thanks god for "the many talents that he has blessed me with" in the Acknowledgments. Well, Mr. Willis I can assure you god didn't bless you with the ability to teach. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , September 25, 2011

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  List Price: $44.99
  

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  Starting Out With Visual Basic 2010 (5th Edition)

  Book (Addison Wesley)
  

  Rating (11 reviews):

  (4.4/5)

  

  A Solid Introduction, But Pricey!!!

  I have been a programmer for some decades and wanted to do a crash course on Visual Basic 2010 -- I had last used VB 6 before the .net revolution. This book provides a solid foundation on the subject and this edition has been brought up to date to cover Visual Basic 2010. I assessed all of the recent books on VB and this is among those I consider the best. The unusual expense of the book is in part due to the software CD that is bundled with it.A much cheaper alternative is Microsoft Visual Basic 2010: Step by Step by Michael Halvorson. Both books cover much the same content, yet the Halvorson book is less than half the cost of Gaddis & Irvine. Skip the convenient software CD bundled with Gaddis & Irvine, you can download Visual Basic 2010 Express from the Microsoft website for FREE. The Halvorson book is the better one if you are cost-conscious and want the best value for your book dollar. 5/5 Mark R. Jorgensen (Saint Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews, April 30, 2011

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  Easy to learn from and a great start for VB.NET

  I just finished a course in Visual Basic .Net, and this was the textbook. I found the examples to be concise, and easy to understand. The book gets you up to speed creating forms and basic applications right away, while covering the most popular common use of the language, from basic apps, to web ASPs, to database connectivity front ends, all is explained, while providing you with real world examples of how the language is used.The only downside is that it doesnt go too deep into methods, and only covers the most basic of classes. You are expected to move on to another book, for more in depth knowledge of these topics. However, the material is presented in a very enjoyable and easy to follow format, and I for one, plan on keeping it. 5/5 Vincent (Dallas, TX.) - See all my reviews This review is from: Starting Out With Visual Basic 2010 (5th Edition) (Paperback) I just finished a course in Visual Basic .Net, and this was the textbook. I found the examples to be concise, and easy to understand. The book gets you up to speed creating forms and basic applications right away, while covering the most popular common use of the language, from basic apps, to web ASPs, to database connectivity front ends, all is explained, while providing you with real world examples of how the language is used.The only downside is that it doesnt go too deep into methods, and only covers the most basic of classes. You are expected to move on to another book, for more in depth knowledge of these topics. However, the material is presented in a very enjoyable and easy to follow format, and I for one, plan on keeping it. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , May 4, 2011

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  Not Good

  I had to buy this book for a class, and the labs in the book don't have anything to do with the chapter they are in. The labs were very hard after a certain chapter(4 I think), and I just couldn't figure it out from what this book gave me. I had to buy a second book to pass this class with a B. It's not worth the price if it's not for required reading for a class. 2/5 Lisa S. - See all my reviews This review is from: Starting Out With Visual Basic 2010 (5th Edition) (Paperback) I had to buy this book for a class, and the labs in the book don't have anything to do with the chapter they are in. The labs were very hard after a certain chapter(4 I think), and I just couldn't figure it out from what this book gave me. I had to buy a second book to pass this class with a B. It's not worth the price if it's not for required reading for a class. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , June 18, 2011

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  List Price: $127.00
  

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  Visual Basic 6 for Dummies (for Windows)

  Book (For Dummies)
  

  Rating (35 reviews):

  (3.8/5)

  

  Good for the basics, but just.

  Visual Basic 6 for Dummies was the first book I purchased to learn the fundamentals of VB. I have since purchased Visual Basic 6.0 Professional Step-by-Step and have recently ordered an intermediate level book, which I have not yet received. Because it was my first book on VB and I had no experience programming, I was able to get a lot from this book. I have since found that many of the methods and techniques, such as communicating with databases using the Data object (the only technique presented), to be too limiting for good programming. Sure, the techniques work, but I feel that if you're going to write real-world programs you need more depth, even as a beginner, than this book offers.But let's be fair. I'm a technical kind of guy who wants to learn as quickly as I can. This book has its good points, too. It is written in a style that is easy for non-technical types to stay interested and learn programming at a reasonable pace. I found the examples to be... 3/5 Steve Etter (Raleigh, North Carolina) - See all my reviews This review is from: Visual Basic 6 for Dummies (for Windows) (Paperback) Visual Basic 6 for Dummies was the first book I purchased to learn the fundamentals of VB. I have since purchased Visual Basic 6.0 Professional Step-by-Step and have recently ordered an intermediate level book, which I have not yet received. Because it was my first book on VB and I had no experience programming, I was able to get a lot from this book. I have since found that many of the methods and techniques, such as communicating with databases using the Data object (the only technique presented), to be too limiting for good programming. Sure, the techniques work, but I feel that if you're going to write real-world programs you need more depth, even as a beginner, than this book offers.But let's be fair. I'm a technical kind of guy who wants to learn as quickly as I can. This book has its good points, too. It is written in a style that is easy for non-technical types to stay interested and learn programming at a reasonable pace. I found the examples to be... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , March 26, 2000

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  Good Starting Point

  For any beginner, this book is great. If you have no clue what BASIC is and don't know the difference between a module and a procedure, this book is great.Although this probably won't get you at the expert level, it is a great beginning for anyone. It is much simpler than Microsoft's documentation and will definitely get you off on the right foot if you want something easy to start you off. 5/5 "cm364smg" (Greenville, SC USA) - See all my reviews This review is from: Visual Basic 6 for Dummies (for Windows) (Paperback) For any beginner, this book is great. If you have no clue what BASIC is and don't know the difference between a module and a procedure, this book is great.Although this probably won't get you at the expert level, it is a great beginning for anyone. It is much simpler than Microsoft's documentation and will definitely get you off on the right foot if you want something easy to start you off. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , May 31, 2001

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  Good but not

  I found this book GREAT for learning visual basic if you are an ABSOLUTE beginner. Which I am, or thanks to this book, was. If you want a book on learning VB6 without having to slave at it, this is great. The tutorials and the practice software on the CD was also great. Although two things went wrong and only 2: 1) When they start to talk about Class Modules, The last chapter and second to last chapter (12 and 13) should be in the total reverse order. 12 talks about the complications of Class Modules and 13 talks about the simple stuff. 2) This uses code statments that can be used 2 different ways. IE: They talk about "End" and "Unload Me", even though Microsoft never mentions the "Unloade ME" statment because Microsoft never uses it! But, all and all, this is a great book. If you are starting VB right as you are reading this, VB for Dummies if for you. 4/5 0, October 1, 1999

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  List Price: $34.99
  

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• 

  Sams Teach Yourself Visual Basic 2010 in 24 Hours Complete Starter Kit (Sams Teach Yourself -- Hours)

  eBooks (Sams)
  

  Rating (27 reviews):

  (3.8/5)

  

  Better than the other book I tried...

  Well, I first started with another book (Mastering VB 2010), but it didn't explain everthing well enough for me to understand. I took C++ 10 years ago in college, but I think it was written for someone with more experience than me.So, I bought this book, and WOW! Much better. Foxall takes the time to explain everything. I am the kind of reader that reads slowly, and makes sure he comprehends every word and sentence. I cannot move on until I'm sure I "get it". So, if you are new to programming, this is the book to buy. I'm planning on finshing this one and the moving on to the other so that I can learn the in-depth stuff a little better.PROs:1) VERY IMPORTANT - Every step is clearly explained. I CAN'T UNDERESTIMATE THIS FOR THE BEGINNER. I had to reread a couple paragraphs to make sure I clearly understood (e.g. Classes/Controls/Methods/Objects and what each word meant in OOP), but that's because it's complicated, not but because he does a poor job... 5/5 John Owens (Fresno, CA USA) - See all my reviews, September 23, 2010

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  Buy this book now!

  I'm reading this book on Kindle for PC. It's really easy to have this open on screen and work in Visual Basic at the same time. I havent tried programming since the mid 90's. Back then it was C+ and I eventually gave up because it took so long to learn and all the lessons seemed so abstract.I am learning so much faster with this book and am excited about programming again. I have already written a useful app (Not Calculator) and I have only owned the book for 2 days.I highly reccommend this book to any begginers like me. 5/5 W. Hansen (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews, September 24, 2010

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  The best VB.Net book written

  I have been programming with VB since 1993 and am a MCSD in Visual Studio 6.0. When .NET came on the scene, all of the VB.NET books were, in my opinion, very poor. I purchased this book on the strength of the Amazon reviews, and I am more than satisfied. I read the book and built all of the sample projects in thirteen days -- roughly two chapters per day (less than two hours each day). The projects are very practical and cover all of the topics that any programmer needs to know in order to build a complete, polished application.At the same time that I purchased this book, I also purchased the Murach VB 2010 book (I already had the Murach VB 2008 book). It is about 800 pages, but each opposite facing page simply restates in a slightly different way what was stated in the left page. It will be a nice reference, but VB 2010 in 24 Hours is the one that I will turn to whenever I begin a VB project.Before I purchased this book, I had already built a VB.NET 2008... 5/5 Joseph Davoli - See all my reviews, January 25, 2011

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  List Price: $27.99
  

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