Programming Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0

Rating:
Summary: Good book for "pick-up" programmers
Review: Programming Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 is great for intermediate and experienced programmers who wish to know more about Visual Basic. It is also good for experienced VB developers who need a refresher on some items that are not seen everyday. As a C++ programmer, I find it easy to browse through this book and find information and snippets that I need to program in VB. It covers some important topics that are not covered by beginning books like databases, ASP objects, and ActiveX.

In all, I give this book 5 stars because of the ultimate usefulness to a programmer. It touches a lot of topics that a person should know about VB. Though, it presents some of the code like, "here, we discuss some sections, just see how it works", I still like it. The eBook is nice also to bring around with you.

Rating:
Summary: Francesco is amazing.
Review: I am a moderate VB programmer- I spend more time working with technologies like ASP and DHTML. I was fortunate enough to attend VBITS and even more fortunate to hear Francesco give a couple of talks. After those sessions I decided I must have his book. The book is clear and concise while it still ventures into the detail that is absolutely necessary for those of us who use VB. The book is thorough; each page contains information that is pertinent and usefull. Not only that but it covers almost every dimension of the core product, Visual Basic. The book is for people who want to master their craft. If you are trying to learn a programming language in 21 days, this book is not for you because it is written with the technical detail that is absolutely necessary for mastering all the dimensions of a programming tool. Other books that promise the 21 day approach disguise the seriousness and power of Visual Basic. In short, if you are interested in mastering Visual Basic and you want a guide that will be as good in 2 days as in 1 year, buy this book!

Rating:
Summary: A Great Reference
Review: I am totally new to V.B. and am attempting to write a fairly complex application straight off. EVERY time I have been stuck I have refered to this book and it has so far always helped me out. As a beginner I do not always immediatly grasp the code samples, but after searching through some more basic texts then returning to this book, I have so far always got the results I am aiming for. It is almost as though the author has looked at what i am trying to do, then sat down and written an example or two of how I can accomplish it!

If I could only recommend one VB 6 book, this would be it. Great stuff.

Rating:
Summary: Thank you Francesco for your labor of love!
Review: Francesco Balena has written the definitive book for existing and new VB programmers! The author has distilled his very great technical knowledge of VB, very pleasing writing style, and tremendous feel for organization and presentation to create a gem of a programming text. A VB book with no equal and no substitute, it is a true classic. I wish there were a category higher than 5 stars!
FOR C/C++, Java (or even Cobol) programmers wanting an intelligent introduction to VB: DON'T LOOK ELSEWHERE! This single book will quickly teach you VB without insulting your intelligence.
FOR Programming Novices: Hey guys, don't start your journey on the trash-laden "made easy" paths; don't be misled by the tons of rubbish promising to get you there in 24 hours, a week, or whatever. Pick up this serious programming guide, slog a bit, and you will surely get there.
Thank you Mr Balena. Yours was the BEST computer book that I read in three years.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible!
Review: This is mother of all books on VB6! Balena is trully amazing in delivering a hands-on coverage of Visual Basic programming. I have read quite a few books on VB6, but this one is my favorite.
If you're planning to do some serious programming, you owe yourself a copy. And if you find it difficult to spend $30 to get one, you can always go to VB2THEMAX.COM for plenty of free code, tips, tricks and all.

Rating:
Summary: The cream of the crop
Review: I have practically worn this book out over the past two years, referring to it on a near-daily basis as I have developed a comprehensive application from start to finish. The ultimate VB reference manual, the author gives you lots of tips and tricks to make your code more powerful and efficient. As others have said, this book is not for beginners. But if you have a little experience with VB, it will quickly take you to the advanced level.

Rating:
Summary: This is a must read
Review: It's easy to write productive programs in Visual Basic, so much so that you don't really need anything but the online help to get you going. But as your solutions get more and more intricate the need to find 'elegant' solutions becomes more and more important. That's where this book comes in. I wish I had read this book two years ago, that way I wouldn't be unlearning and relearning so much now.

VB5 and VB6 while not fully Object Oriented languages are close and it's important to learn this concept sooner rather than later and that is the main focus of this book. I highly recommend this book to beginning and intermediate programmers alike.

Rating:
Summary: And excellent Book
Review: Don;t need to be a programmer to understand this eazy to go book of VB 6.0

Rating:
Summary: A nice golden nugget of comprehensive information -
Review: I absolutely love this book!
This is the book I had always lusted after but could not find; it covers all the information I am fairly conversant in, and then introduces me to topics in what I consider the stratosphere of VB6 knowledge. But "introduces" is just a misnomer, he covers all those topics in depth enough for one to understand the underlying structure intended, and how all the individual parts/components take their place in the microsoft authors' schemata of hierarchal system programming.
From the start, the author plainly admits he will not start teaching in a linear, keyword by keyword, fashion; rather he covers the topics, from the less complex to the more, in a usage oriented manner, as coming from someone who has learned the ins and outs only from experience. He makes you privy to stuff that just does not exist in written/documented form.
The text reads more like a well explained tour than a textbook.
I am a professional BASIC programmer from the old school, text oriented (what they call scripts now), and in line. Although I am a whiz-bang at the actual programming part, I still feel apprehensive about how all the components and submodules, communicate with eachother; it feels like the unknown has no understandable structure I can apprehend. This book gives me a sense that it is all actually out there only waiting to be discovered and learned, that is all just a matter of fact.
Overall, this IS my most favorite learning (and reference) VB6 book. Making it all the more valuable is the installable on-line electron version of the book, to which I go to more often for reference than the MSDN help utility. I still have lot more to learn/read, but this book makes me feel secure that I will be able to.

Rating:
Summary: Some VB knowledge required
Review: If you are new to VB, I would recommend buying "Programming in Visual Basic 6.0" by Julia Case Bradley and Anita C. Millspaugh. Francesco's book is written as if you already know some basic stuff about VB. Francesco's book is comprehensive, it's just not for beginners.