Rating: 
Summary: Not for the Novice or Beginner
Review: Although showing a User Level of Beginner on the cover, this book is not for the novice trying to learn how to program Visual BASIC .NET 2003 from scratch. An example is the "Quick-and-Dirty Programming Primer" section which attempts to describe the fundamental concepts and use of variables and procedures/functions with only a brief paragraph (and one example) for each. The step-by-step instructions that a beginner needs are frequently buried in the dialog text without any changes in font type, size or bolding to identify them. The lack of identification of the steps (and numbering 1, 2, 3, etc.) combined with the corresponding screen shots being missing or located on another page makes it easy for a novice to get lost or make a mistake. If you have prior experience with Visual BASIC 6, then following through this book will be relatively "easy" because you have been through most of this before. If you have any other programming experience, then you will need to pay close attention on what-to-do-and-when and be prepared to get lost once in a while. If you have little or no programming experience, then I recommend you find another book providing more dialog and examples on basic concepts; and better step-by-step instructions. I also think the book would have been more cohesive if one primary Visual BASIC .NET 2003 project had run through the book. This project would have started out simple, been build on as each chapter was completed and would have revealed itself at the end with all the complexity and elegance a well written "real world" project should have. Instead you create a series of mini projects that don't illustrate how all the concepts and techniques interact.
Rating: 
Summary: A truly great book for the serious beginner
Review: Every once in a long while, a great book comes along that forces even someone like me to post a public opinion. This book unlike a lot of other "great" books takes you step by step and actually show you "HOW it is done" and not just tell you what you are to do. After trying another VB.NET Beginners book that was highly touted on the internet I almost gave up. I came accross this book on the shelf of Borders just by chance
and what a pleasure, pure pleasure. This is a sample of how these kinds of books should be written THANKS MR. FOXALL !!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: A truly great book for the serious beginner
Review: Every once in a long while, a great book comes along that forces even someone like me to post a public opinion. This book unlike a lot of other "great" books takes you step by step and actually show you "HOW it is done" and not just tell you what you are to do. After trying another VB.NET Beginners book that was highly touted on the internet I almost gave up. I came accross this book on the shelf of Borders just by chance
and what a pleasure, pure pleasure. This is a sample of how these kinds of books should be written THANKS MR. FOXALL !!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Well done James Foxall
Review: Fellow readers,
I have no hesitation in recommending Jame Foxall's book "Visual Basic.Net 2003. He has put a lot of effort into taking you through step by step and reinforcing each lesson learnt. The back-up images and files have also had a lot of work put into them.
The .Net Visual Studio is a quantum leap forward and this is a great book to get started. Regards
Alun .
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for beginning VB .NET
Review: Great introduction to VB .NET and the Visual Studio IDE. I am a novice MS Access developer migrating to Visual Studio .NET. This books is an excellent quick start for devloping with VB .NET. But don't expect to get in depth. It's just a primer, but well worth it if that's what you need. You will need to continue learning with other books. Also, the DVD-ROM 60 day trial version of Visual Studio is great. I'm going to buy the full version when done.
Rating:
Summary: Beginner's view
Review: Having previously used Visual Basic 6 tutorial books I have been very pleased with the clarity and communicative skills of this book. Whilst I appreciate that there is much more to leart about VB.net I have been able to write smoothly flowing commercial applications with the sole help of this book. Well done James Foxall!
Rating:
Summary: Just what I wanted
Review: I am a part time programmer, making the transition from Access VBA to VB.Net. I don't have time to code in notepad and want to use all the productivity tools available (read Visual Studio 2003). This book gave me the basics for text boxes, combo boxes (big differences) etc. and provided good real world examples. Also the downloaded code worked and was easy to follow.
Great job.
Rating:
Summary: A Great book for Beginners
Review: I am new to any version of Visual Basic and found this book on the recomendation from a friend to look into the Sams Teach Yourself series. I couldn't be happier. Although new to VB, I'm not new to a PC or Windows. After reading many other "self paced" books on the market (A+, Network+, Access to name a few), this one has been the easiest to follow along while keeping my attention peaked. I couldn't seem to wait to get to the next chapter. He also references his web site which also provides additional information to help you while you learn. That was helpful. Also, James Foxall has a very good sense of humor, which does help learning this language. Thank you James!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: I have been using SAMS Teach Yourself books for quite some time now and must say all of them have provided me with a lot of knowledge that I have been able to use in my work environment. I have also attended a few of Microsoft instructor led courses and found the book to be at the same level. The advantage with having a book like this is that you can study in your own time and the cost is only a fraction. This book is far the best I have read so far and recommend anyone to buy.
Rating:
Summary: first ever review
Review: I think James Foxall's book on VB.Net successfully hits the middle ground, not an easy task, particularily within the constraints of a '24hr' structure. The style is clear and logical and the pace was just right for me. I found his constant reminders of good practice very reassuring.
The examples were more than adequate. I must confess I have 'dipped into' many books on VB.Net, therefore by definition I am not a novice and this may have helped in my understanding of the book. Most readers will get added value and early rewards from this work.
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