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Summary: Programming VB.NET Core Reference
Review: There are few books that get a Five Star rating - This is one.
This book has paid for itself twice over in time saved finding solutions to programming problems. Of all the VB.NET books on the market at the moment for advanced programming - this is the most comprehensive and most helpfull.
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Summary: Not what I expect from a core reference
Review: This book makes the assumption that you know most there is to know about Visual Basic, so it really isn't for a beginner as it tries to imply. The author makes many references in this book to his other book so much that he included a copy of it on the CDROM, and is great if you like eBooks. I see it as just being lazy in repeating information. When I got the VB 6 books, I expected them to repeat what was in VB 5. This book doesn't do that much. It starts out listing the differences and only goes into dept where the information is new. Even then I find the explanations are week and leave one wanting. If any information is left for repetition the author points you to his eBook that is included on the CDROM. The outline of this book does not go from command to command as you would find in most core reference manuals, but is more outlined like a poorly written novel about the authors personal experiences with the coding of VB .NET and is laid out as an instructional manual that might have been dictated from a recorded tape as a professor was teaching a class. As for the advance topics they do get coverage so if you are looking for material that covers the advance topics you will find that here. I wouldn't expect to get a clear picture of what is covered though. The author has filled the pages with useless information and finding the "meat and potatoes" is something you will have to dig for.
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Summary: The VB.NET Bible!
Review: I became a fan of Balena after I bought his VB6 book. This latest offering is even better. It's 1500+ pages of vital .NET information. There's so much to learn with .NET and many different ways to do the same thing. Balena cuts to the chase and gives you the info required to get the job done. It doesn't cover remoting which is the only disappointment - but still an excellent book.
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Summary: What everyone really wants to know about Balena's new book
Review: Well,..this may not be a review,..but I have to comment anyway hoping that maybe this will appear.Anyone who has read Balena's Programming Microsoft Visual Basic 6 book knows without question how excellent Balena is on the subject. Mine is a bible,..a well-worn bible,..which brings me to my main reason for this "review".... What we all really want to know is ....will the book FALL APART THIS TIME,.....(you know what I'm talking about if you have the "other" book). Please say yes and I'll buy a copy now!! (no disrespect to the author intended,...but the publisher of the "other" book should have been sued...I can't say enough about how pathethic the binding was,..I tried glue sticks,..epoxy,..rubber cement,..I have pages all over my office,..and glue too. Great author,..STINKO binding.
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Summary: Look No Further. This is THE Book on VB.NET
Review: Forget all of the other books on VB.NET. This is the one and only book you'll need. Before Balena's book became available, I spent over [price] on four other VB.NET books. I now wish I had waited. Balena covers more topics in greater detail than all of the others combined. But, if for some reason you feel the need to purchase more than one VB.NET book, make this your first purchase. I'm sure you'll find as I did, that another book is unnecessary.
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Summary: Unbelievable depth and content
Review: I have about six years of experience programming VB. The last book I bought on VB.NET was PROFESSIONAL VB.NET, which I thought was a pretty good book, mainly becuase it had some good code. But this book simply blows the WROX book away--Balena knows an unbelievable amount about a brand-new technology, and he tells all. This book has more good content than you usually find in 3 or four books. Warning: experienced programmers will love this book, but beginners should start with a different book.
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Summary: Nothing can be improved in this book, incredible!
Review: If you are a Beginner to VB.NET this is the book to buy, it will take you through the complexity of VB.NET as if you were reading a magazine. Is an amazing quality that this well know author possess. And if you are an expert programmer, (you probably grow up reading Mr. Balena book on VB.6) .You'll find in this book an incredible resource, of clean code techniques and really useful examples ( not like most books out there, full of bogus examples) . This will be your desk reference book. Francesco Balena is the best teacher of Visual Basic .NET, no one else comes close to him. The way he writes it makes it so easy to understand. Suddenly Visual Basic .NET makes sense.
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Summary: Practically all you'll need
Review: I have several books on vb.net and asp.net. Yet, as good as those books are, I've found myself using only this book since I received it over a week ago. This book does not simply gloss over or "introduce" you to concepts. Every chapter provides enough coverage to really get you programming, rather than researching. In addition to 1500+ pages of informative and concise writing, the book's CD features sample applications that demonstrate generally simple, though effective code. And no, as reviewers have pointed out, the CD does not contain a copy of its namesake book. Frankly, MS press isn't obligated to provide any CD at all, so I don't see any problems with that, especially since the CD that is included is very useful indeed. It should be noted that this book is not a "teach yourself in xx hours" endeavor. There are some good beginning books for learning VB.NET from scratch, and that would be a better place to start. Although I don't have them yet, I imagine that this book would provide an excellent stepping stone to MS Press' .NET Framework reference and the VB.NET Programming Techniques book.
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Summary: Excellent book and a very nice author
Review: This is an excelent book. It helps me to obtain an in-depth knowledge of VB .Net, given that I am really new to VB. Most important of all, buying this book accidently leads me to a brief contact with the author. He is such a nice person whose attitude and behavior convinces me of his devotion to the readers and his products. You cannot expect a high-quality book from a person who is not so devoted to his work. Since there are already so many comments on the content of the book, I hope my view from a personal perspective can help you choose this book as your gateway into VB .Net.
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Summary: Everything Under the Sun
Review: This is the most through book on VB.Net I've ever found. It's a steep read, but if there are any dark corners of VB.Net that haven't had light shed on them, then you aren't useing VB to it's fullest potential, and you haven't read this book.
The current price of this book on Amazon right now (~50.00) makes it more than a steal with the amount of information in it. Espcially compared to the avarage cost of a class in any programming language.
Though the book is written for a programmer who is at least a novice in VB6, certain versions of the book provide a CD with an eBook of the authors VB6 book (with code examples) as well as a PDF of this book. So, if you are just getting into VB.Net you'll have some place to turn when Balena starts refrencing well known VB6 syntax.
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