Rating: 
Summary: Not All The Credit Goes To The Author
Review: Neuburg has compiled here a collection of his observationsabout REALbasic, and he is clearly a proponent. His target audience, however, is unclear. At times he seems to assume the reader *does* have programming experience (he laments without explanation the lack of grep functionality) while at other times he goes to great lengths to explain elementary concepts. He admits to a certain animosity toward Computer Science majors (which he is not) yet demands that the reader absorb his pet (and sometimes nonstandard) terminology. In short, he's a schoolmarm. (Ouch! I can just feel that ruler on the knuckles.) The value of this book, as I see it, lies largely in the doggedness of the reader (trying to figure out what the author meant), and I'd have to give the reader at least as much credit as the author, when the reader actually reaches some point Neuburg is trying to make (or finally decides the trip wasn't worth it). There is grain here, but there is chaff as well--and only your effort will separate them. I can personally attest to the autocratic attitude this author takes when confronted with alternate views...and I can tell you that you *must* first laboriously plod through his obscure corrections, because even some code is in error as published. And still you will find that the corrections in part waste your time, as Neuburg (in character) daydreams, speculates, and pontificates...
Rating: 
Summary: A must have reference.
Review: REALbasic : The Definitive Guide is a must have reference to the REALbasic language, possibly more complete than Real Software's own documentation. While it is a great beginning guide for the experienced programmer who is new to REALbasic, the beginning programmer will stay confused throughout much of this book. It dives right in explaining the syntax of the language with little explaination of how to use it. A more step by step approach would have been more easily understandable.
That being said, I would recommend this book to anyone who is serious about programming for the Mac OS, but expect to use it as a complement to other learning sources, not as the main learning tool.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic book - a MUST HAVE for every REALbasic programmer!
Review: REALbasic is one of the best programming languages I've ever had the opportunity to use, and Matt Neuburg's book, "REALbasic, The Definitive Guide" is a MUST HAVE for every REALbasic programmer. Mr. Neuburg does a wonderful job of detailing the in's and out's of REALbasic. He covers all the territory from beginning to advanced programming, and has a treasure trove of examples, tidbits, and areas to avoid for REALbasic programmers. Not only has it helped speed up my time coding, but it's eliminated countless hours of frustration that would have been wasted otherwise. The price of the book is practically a give-away; I've paid three times more for programming books in the past that haven't been nearly as half as helpful. I applaud Mr. Neuburg's compilation. The world of computing would be a better place for everyone if all programming books were this well written.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic book - a MUST HAVE for every REALbasic programmer!
Review: REALbasic is one of the best programming languages I've ever had the opportunity to use, and Matt Neuburg's book, "REALbasic, The Definitive Guide" is a MUST HAVE for every REALbasic programmer. Mr. Neuburg does a wonderful job of detailing the in's and out's of REALbasic. He covers all the territory from beginning to advanced programming, and has a treasure trove of examples, tidbits, and areas to avoid for REALbasic programmers. Not only has it helped speed up my time coding, but it's eliminated countless hours of frustration that would have been wasted otherwise. The price of the book is practically a give-away; I've paid three times more for programming books in the past that haven't been nearly as half as helpful. I applaud Mr. Neuburg's compilation. The world of computing would be a better place for everyone if all programming books were this well written.
Rating:
Summary: Fairly good
Review: RealBasic is really great first programming language: it is easy, powerful (object oriented stuff and all) and generates fast and tight executables. With modest Java, BASIC and general programming skills I was really happy to find it and felt home immediately. After reading the PDF-books that came along the package, I still wanted some more in-depth-view, and came across to Neuburg's book. I have developed a rule years ago: the thinner the programming book is, the better it usually is. Why? As the book gets thick, there is too much "static over the signal". This is true with this book as there definitely is too much text (as somebody said). With a little squeeze, the same stuff could be explained with half the text and it would make the book more usable and understandable. Also some tightening with the structure of the book could be in order. I also would say that this book may not work for a beginner -- too difficult vocabulary and sometimes the concepts are presented in backward order. I have seen quite many other books explaining object oriented programmig concepts in much more understandable way -- sorry to say, as the realbasic usually is a beginner language this would have been very good forum. If you have already done some realbasic stuff, want to know more and are somewhat fluent with the object oriented concepts, this could be a good book for you... a must, like it is for me. Introduction of the language, general concepts and other basics stuff is in here too, but it might be better explained in some other source.
Rating: 
Summary: Intermediate Level and Up
Review: The editorial introduction claims: "If you've never programmed before, the book offers both a primer in REALbasic and an intuitive approach to the concepts of programming itself, as you quickly reach the ability to program every aspect of REALbasic." I would caution prospective purchasers against believing that this is the ideal introduction to REALbasic. Although this book is the most comprehensive of the third party publications on REALbasic, it is definitely not the starting point for beginning programmers who want to learn to program with this user-friendly development environment. Probably the best introductory materials are the company's own comprehensive set of materials. This book would be useful after one has mastered the rudiments of the program.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: The REALbasic BIBLE is what this should be called. Since it's the only reference work available for RB, it is a must have if you want to get anything done. Combine this with the other samples in the online reference bundled with REALbasic and you'll be coding in no time.
Rating:
Summary: As definitive as definitive gets
Review: This book is not, as several other reviewers have said, a beginner's guide to programming; instead it serves as a reference to the RealBasic programming language. It covers everything in the online reference, but also adds more examples, tutorials, and explanations on some of the vaguer points. Many of the programs I have written could not have been completed without the aid of this book, and much of the help I give to others still refers to this book. The book is also written in a manner that will get you to think inside of the code you write, and this will help you to further expand your own knowledge without having to rely on other people's example code. If you want to learn from scratch how to program in Realbasic, don't get this book, but if you need help on anything to do with RealBasic, then this is the book for you. Use it as a dictionary or encyclopaedia, and you will not be sorry you bought it. Written by a man who knows what he's doing, and will help you to gain insight into programming on general, it's still serving me several years and many programs after its purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Great resource to REALbasic programmers.
Review: This book will save you time (and money), help you with major problems and will treach you many aspects of the programming language we all love to code in. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: Good, but outdated
Review: This covers some really good information, and really expands on what is found in the included documentation, however it is woefully out of date, and only getting moreso with the impending release of version 5.0 next month. If it covered a 4.x version, I'd have given it at least a 4, 4.5 if I could.
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