Rating: 
Summary: Slow starter
Review: As the title indicates, this book is for beginners. The first 3 chapters assume that you have no programming experience. Many simple examples are followed by only decent explanations."pass in parameters by reference using byref. This is an advanced technique, and is beyond the scope of this book."
I never considered "byref" an "advanced technique"; it is an important technique that should have been covered, if only for a few pages. Chapter 15, "Accessing Databases" and chapter 16, "Database Programming with SQL Server and ADO.NET" were extremely shallow. If you're interested in learning to access a database, you'll need a different book/resource. Overall, I am Disappointed with the book.
Rating: 
Summary: A shallow beginner's book
Review: As the title indicates, this book is for beginners. The first 3 chapters assume that you have no programming experience. Many simple examples are followed by only decent explanations. "pass in parameters by reference using byref. This is an advanced technique, and is beyond the scope of this book."
I never considered "byref" an "advanced technique"; it is an important technique that should have been covered, if only for a few pages. Chapter 15, "Accessing Databases" and chapter 16, "Database Programming with SQL Server and ADO.NET" were extremely shallow. If you're interested in learning to access a database, you'll need a different book/resource. Overall, I am Disappointed with the book.
Rating:
Summary: A shallow beginner's book
Review: As the title indicates, this book is for beginners. The first 3 chapters assume that you have no programming experience. Many simple examples are followed by only decent explanations. "pass in parameters by reference using byref. This is an advanced technique, and is beyond the scope of this book."
I never considered "byref" an "advanced technique"; it is an important technique that should have been covered, if only for a few pages. Chapter 15, "Accessing Databases" and chapter 16, "Database Programming with SQL Server and ADO.NET" were extremely shallow. If you're interested in learning to access a database, you'll need a different book/resource. Overall, I am Disappointed with the book.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Helpful
Review: Being new to the .NET Framework, I found this book extremely helpful.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Learning Environment
Review: I am a Systems and Network Administrator who used Visual Basic 6.0 to automate many of the redundant tasks typical of this environment. I don't claim to be a "developer" but have been developing tools for a long time. I typically do not like WROX books but after sitting down at my local bookstore and plowing through 20 books on VB.NET, this one stood out. It has good examples that you can follow, it assumes you have basic programming/development skills and it is well written. If you are a developer by occupation this is probably not the book for you. For those of us who do not release our code to production environments this book has served me well by not being incredibly basic nor losing me in advanced topics.
Rating:
Summary: Good Learning Environment
Review: I am a Systems and Network Administrator who used Visual Basic 6.0 to automate many of the redundant tasks typical of this environment. I don't claim to be a "developer" but have been developing tools for a long time. I typically do not like WROX books but after sitting down at my local bookstore and plowing through 20 books on VB.NET, this one stood out. It has good examples that you can follow, it assumes you have basic programming/development skills and it is well written. If you are a developer by occupation this is probably not the book for you. For those of us who do not release our code to production environments this book has served me well by not being incredibly basic nor losing me in advanced topics.
Rating: 
Summary: Avoid this book...
Review: I am EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED with this book -- here's why:
Problem #1:
This book was written by four different authors. It appears that some of the writers could not agree whether this book was to be designed for complete "beginners" (who want to learn the language) -- or if it was to be written for seasoned developers who simply wanted a rapid review of how VB.NET functions.
This confusion can be clearly seen by looking examining the first six chapters.
Chapters 1, 2, & 3: These are designed strictly with the beginner in mind. For example, chapter 1 takes the reader on a gentle review of the programming development environment. Chapter two intros carefully the idea of storing information in the computers memory in the form of ones and zeros by using the concept of a variable. It then proceeds and describes data types, etc. If you get the idea, these first few chapters are designed strictly for beginners.
Chapter 4, 5, & 6: This is a huge switch from being designed for beginners. Chapter four rapidly intros the idea of beginning and advanced object-oriented programming concepts, such as inheritance, polymorphism, read / write properties, constructors, namespaces, and more! Not good for the beginner who is likely to enjoy the first couple of chapters, buy they book, then panic when they get here. (Chapter four provides only a single example of object-oriented behavior -- either you get it the first time, or it's mostly a lost cause.)
Chapter 5 reads like a story and provides zero coding examples.
Chapter 6 starts out for beginners again, but then makes a rapid transition in the middle of the chapter by providing a complex example without much explanation again.
Very frustrating to say the least...
Problem #2:
Many of the chapters provide a very brief intro to some important concepts, such as database, XML, and others. At the very end of the book, the authors STRONLY HINT at the idea that the concepts taught within their book will not prepare you for actual programming experience -- thus they provide you with a commercial to buy additional books, which they "promise" to actually teach you something worthwhile.
Take my mind, if the author's don't believe in their product -- NEITHER SHOULD YOU.
Problem #3:
Some chapters try to use a single programming example that was designed to teach only a single concept. However, in order to "save time" on the author's part, they try to keep use the same example through the entire chapter. Thus, one will find themselves constantly deleting code, moving code, and trying to "debug" unnecessarily complex programs -- in order to hopefully master a new concept.
My final words -- find a book that is truly interested in teaching you VB.NET. This book is NOT it. If you buy it, I feel very sorry for you -- you have my sympathies...
Rating:
Summary: Stop reading and buy this book
Review: I bought this book a few days ago and due to other commitments I have only read up to chapter 4. During this reading, I wrote out every example in the book. To my surprise, not only did every example work, but I managed to remember so much more than I thought I would. I even went as far as to debug a friends application, with no assistance from any book. My total reading time thus far for ANY .NET book has been 3 days...and my only source of reading has been this book, and the online classes reference from VB Studio.NET. I particularly like the fact that the book presents an idea, steps through the code and then details each section of code - what it does, how it works etc. This was very useful in understanding why things are structured the way they are. I might also add that I have never programmed VB in any way before, making me a total newbie at this (my only other programming language is a little bit of Perl). Even if the other chapters turn out to be rubbish (which I very much doubt), then I would still say, this has been well worth the money. I have learnt (and retained) that much. I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Go buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Psycho Hair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I didn't read this book yet, I am ordering it, but gotta agree from another posted review about the guy 2nd from the left, not only is his hair freaky but he looks psycho!
Rating:
Summary: Poorly Written, Scrimped On Editing
Review: I have liked Wrox books in the past, including Beginning VB 5.0, but this book is not up the level of quality that the others achieve. It is very frustrating to read unedited or poorly edited text, where the authors are trying to describe something and they use the wrong words. Many of the descriptions and examples are unclear. I am sure that there are much better books than this. I am sorry that I purchased Beginning VB.Net.
| 
