Rating: 
Summary: A great book for anyone using VB professionally
Review: A very well written book about what you should have learned in college (or your first programming class in high school). If you program for a living you should be applying these concepts already, but if you slept through your software design classes then definatly read this! I don't like the authors frequent use of the goto statement, and I'm not a big fan of Hungarian notation but those are the only two negitives I find (and hence the reason for 4 stars). He does an exceptional job of showing both the wrong way and the right way to accomplish the topic he is covering (for instance having only 1 exit in a sub).. Well worth the read.. matter of fact I'm going to be suggesting this to the project managers at work as a "must read" for new hires and veterans alike.
Rating: 
Summary: Software Design 101
Review: A very well written book about what you should have learned in college (or your first programming class in high school). If you program for a living you should be applying these concepts already, but if you slept through your software design classes then definatly read this! I don't like the authors frequent use of the goto statement, and I'm not a big fan of Hungarian notation but those are the only two negitives I find (and hence the reason for 4 stars). He does an exceptional job of showing both the wrong way and the right way to accomplish the topic he is covering (for instance having only 1 exit in a sub).. Well worth the read.. matter of fact I'm going to be suggesting this to the project managers at work as a "must read" for new hires and veterans alike.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Programmer's Reference
Review: Although I progam in VBA, primarily in Access, I wanted a book to help me with using standards in my work. I was not disappointed in buying this book. The use of Directives to synthesize the descriptive information into succinct programming rules was very good; the Directives should be included in a separate tear-out card on heavy stock so that it can be handy at all times. I found particularly helpful the portions on Naming Conventions, Select Case...End Case, Create Thoughtful and functional Message Boxes, and Central Error Handlers. I can now create intelligent and useful Message Boxes and am looking forward to writing Central Error Handlers based on the books suggestions. One of the most useful and well organized books I have ever bought.
Rating:
Summary: Practical standards for the rest of us
Review: An individual with a CS degree would probably find this material simplistic. However, for the rest of us this book is invaluable. Like many in this field today, I came from a business background. I found that this book in combination with Code Complete helped to solidify my basic programming foundation. While Code Complete is a general software design book, this book is very focused on VB. It starts off with simple suggestions (project templates and forms) to improve productivity and standardization. Sections follow this on procedure scope, naming conventions, formatting and commenting. The section on error handling was especially helpful. The book covered all the VB IDE settings for error debugging and made suggestions on error handler specifications. I even learned a few things on something as simple as looping structures. The final chapters on GUI design, user data entry, and version control were the strongest part of the book. Although GUI design was limited to one chapter, I gained more from it than many entire books. If I hadn't read Code Complete first, I might have been tempted to give this book five stars. This book doesn't quit match the literary excellence of Code Complete, but it does come close. I would give this book 4.5 stars, if Amazon had the setting for it.
Rating:
Summary: Practical standards for the rest of us
Review: An individual with a CS degree would probably find this material simplistic. However, for the rest of us this book is invaluable. Like many in this field today, I came from a business background. I found that this book in combination with Code Complete helped to solidify my basic programming foundation. While Code Complete is a general software design book, this book is very focused on VB. It starts off with simple suggestions (project templates and forms) to improve productivity and standardization. Sections follow this on procedure scope, naming conventions, formatting and commenting. The section on error handling was especially helpful. The book covered all the VB IDE settings for error debugging and made suggestions on error handler specifications. I even learned a few things on something as simple as looping structures. The final chapters on GUI design, user data entry, and version control were the strongest part of the book. Although GUI design was limited to one chapter, I gained more from it than many entire books. If I hadn't read Code Complete first, I might have been tempted to give this book five stars. This book doesn't quit match the literary excellence of Code Complete, but it does come close. I would give this book 4.5 stars, if Amazon had the setting for it.
Rating:
Summary: Even if you know how to write a Complier over the weekend...
Review: and no one can teach you anything new, because you already know everything, I still think this book is defintely worthwhile. So if you are new to programming and/or Visual Basic this book is an absolute must-buy. Do yourself a favor and learn a clear, concise methodology from the get-go, before you fall in love with your own personal style.
Rating: 
Summary: Everyone can write better code
Review: As a professional Visual Basic programmer and teacher/lecturer, I know first hand the benefits gained from standardization. When it comes to writing solid code, consistency is key. Have you ever noticed that most code samples you download from the web lack consistency in structure and methodology? Heck, the code samples in most well-known publications vary from page to page in their basic structure almost as much as they vary in their purpose. Although the processes performed by one procedure may differ greatly from those of another, there is no justifiable reason for the basic coding practices to differ as well. Whenever I'd hire a new programmer or teach a class, I was always frustrated by the lack of any available standards to offer my employees or students. What I was looking for was sort of a "Strunk and White's The Elements of Style" of programming; something that would help developers of all levels achieve a base-line set of skills. I never found it. Visual Basic is often criticized as being a "hobbyist's" language. If you work with Visual Basic, you know that this ceased being an accurate statement many years ago and many version ago. However, part of the reason that the stigma persists is due to the fact that many Visual Basic developers are self-taught, and therefore lack the structure and discipline gained from taking professional programming classes in a "structured" language. The image of the tool and the quality of its output are critically linked. This book has been designed from day one to be for Visual Basic programmers, and only for Visual Basic programmers; this includes anyone who writes Office macros using VBA as well. You won't be bombarded with theory and statistics here. Instead, you're given clear examples of how to integrate coding and development standards in your own projects, resulting in solid, more reliable, and more efficient code. In this book you'll learn so much more than formatting code and using naming conventions. You'll learn how to properly implement powerful and professional error-handlers, how to structure code to produce fewer bugs, how to build efficient loops, how to architect modules and procedures, how to increase performance and how to decrease overhead. You'll also learn practical approaches to designing professional quality user-interfaces, and how to improve the interaction between your program and it's users. If you're developing in a team environment using the Enterprise edition of Visual Basic, the chapter on implementing Visual SourceSafe alone is worth the price of this book. I understand that many of the standardization topics, such as the use of hungarian notation, are quite controversial. Therefore, I attempt to refrain from saying "you must do this" or "you must do that." Instead, I start each chapter with a set of goals that are met by applying the best-practice standards presented in the chapter. I try to point out when one standard is more critical than another, but you are always free to choose your own path; as long as you are meeting the goals. Even if you adopt only a few of the principles put forth in this book, you will write better code. I hope you find this book valuable. James
Rating:
Summary: Buy It Now While It's Still in Stock ...
Review: Foxall's work is valuable not only for what it encourages and discourages with clear, persuasive examples of good versus poor VB programming practices, but also for the compelling way in which he unifies the underlying principles of his thinking into an elegant advocacy of extensible, maintainable code. This book belongs in every VB team leader's right-hand desk drawer. richard_stout@hotmail.com
Rating:
Summary: if you understand how much coding standards help...buy book!
Review: I have read countless VB articles, and books, and have often longed for a one-stop resource about structured VB programming. When working with different teams over different periods of time, I have often found that little or no standards are in place. Consequently, the time to get a feel for someone else's code can sometimes be more than the time to fix it. Foxall's book isn't an end all to programming in VB. And some may feel that he is telling you how to code, and stifiling what many programmers fear-their individuality. This simply isn't the case. Foxall breaks down all the aspects of a VB project, and how to best document, declare, write, and design your code. This is the most practical book I have ever read. Thanks for a wonderful book. And more thanks for something that's equally as practical.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I just finished reading this book. I am currently learning VB and neither the teachers nor the books I previously read explained anything about how to write decent code, and in many cases gave examples of bad code. I was amazed to discover from this book that every procedure should have an error handler, but it really makes sense. This book has really opened my eyes.
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