Rating: 
Summary: Great book, but the editing leaves something to be desired.
Review: As a beginner, this is one of the best books I have read and I highly recommend it, however I am 80% finished with the book, and have ran across many errors in the code. I would check my code against the book and find no descrepancies, and only when I looked at the code on the CD (included with the book) would I discover that it was not my error at all. This was quite frustrating. I only wish there was a site that could list all known errors within the book, before the reader goes crazy trying to find an error that they erroneously think they have made.
Rating: 
Summary: Visually Impaired
Review: I bought this book and LABORED heavily through it. It is riddled with errors and omissions and just plain poor programming practices.For example: By the end of CH.17 you add support to validate users through an access database called "VBFS" which you created a login panel for in the beginning of the book. After you finish the last few tid bits of code, the book tells you to run the application with the final code now in place. The only problem, is that the book omits the names of any valid users that exist in the database! If you know Access, you can open the database up and look for valid user names and their passwords.... If you are following along every page, you start to realize that you are creating a LOT of objects every time you turn around. Indeed, even the authors point this out finally in Chapter 18 where they state " As you have probably guessed...[this method] is not the most efficent way to achieve your scope... we are wasting a lot of memory (to hold the objects) and processing time... [they then tell you about a better way but say]... are beyond the scope of this book." (pg. 317) As you progress along with the author(s), you get to page 328 and enter a code line: m_order.InitOIList for which NO method InitOIList has been discussed or written... after you try to figure out what the heck the author is doing and take a guess that he is trying to used the Class_Initialize method for Order.cls... you get a second complile error for cod you entered on page 329: Set oi = oic.NewOrderItem Again, there is no method or property defined for this line of code... this one left me scratching my head for a long time... Also on pg. 328 you are instructed to enter the following line:
sRow = sRow & oi.productName & vbTab But AGAIN! there is NO variable declared in the OrderItem class called "productName". You are left to figure it out on your own! The only option when this stuff won't compile or run is to forget typing the code, and try to copy the code off the cd and then try to read that stuff. I found a lot of this stuff in the book. It was frustrating to try to understand what the authors were doing at times. They start building a multi-tiered application, lead you down a path only to tell you when you have finally gotten there, that you are not proceeding in the way that you should be because they can't squeeze enough instruction into the book. I can't bash the book too much because it does give you enough of an over-view to be interested in looking at other books dealing with this subject though.
Rating:
Summary: Visually Impaired
Review: I bought this book and LABORED heavily through it. It is riddled with errors and omissions and just plain poor programming practices. For example: By the end of CH.17 you add support to validate users through an access database called "VBFS" which you created a login panel for in the beginning of the book. After you finish the last few tid bits of code, the book tells you to run the application with the final code now in place. The only problem, is that the book omits the names of any valid users that exist in the database! If you know Access, you can open the database up and look for valid user names and their passwords.... If you are following along every page, you start to realize that you are creating a LOT of objects every time you turn around. Indeed, even the authors point this out finally in Chapter 18 where they state " As you have probably guessed...[this method] is not the most efficent way to achieve your scope... we are wasting a lot of memory (to hold the objects) and processing time... [they then tell you about a better way but say]... are beyond the scope of this book." (pg. 317) As you progress along with the author(s), you get to page 328 and enter a code line: m_order.InitOIList for which NO method InitOIList has been discussed or written... after you try to figure out what the heck the author is doing and take a guess that he is trying to used the Class_Initialize method for Order.cls... you get a second complile error for cod you entered on page 329: Set oi = oic.NewOrderItem Again, there is no method or property defined for this line of code... this one left me scratching my head for a long time... Also on pg. 328 you are instructed to enter the following line:
sRow = sRow & oi.productName & vbTab But AGAIN! there is NO variable declared in the OrderItem class called "productName". You are left to figure it out on your own! The only option when this stuff won't compile or run is to forget typing the code, and try to copy the code off the cd and then try to read that stuff. I found a lot of this stuff in the book. It was frustrating to try to understand what the authors were doing at times. They start building a multi-tiered application, lead you down a path only to tell you when you have finally gotten there, that you are not proceeding in the way that you should be because they can't squeeze enough instruction into the book. I can't bash the book too much because it does give you enough of an over-view to be interested in looking at other books dealing with this subject though.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: I gave it a 4 due to trouble with some code found in the book. There are times when the code is missing parts or it's entirely non-existent. It's a good thing for the cd code, since one has to go back through it to find why parts aren't working. But I liked the project the book takes you through. It's a great way to learn by building an entire working application from start to finish, rather than just a bunch of small code snippets and useless program widgets.
Rating:
Summary: Not a beginners book
Review: I have just started learning Visual Basic. It has been many many years since I did some programming in Fortran and Basic so I consider myself a beginner. I got my introduction with "Learn to Program with Visual Basic 6" by John Similey. So I guess I'm spoiled. Visual Basic 6 from Scratch very quickly uses words and phrases that have not been defined. I know that these phrases are known by every programmer but a beginner needs help. Thus I rate this book low for use by beginners. I suspect it will be good after I have had a little more experience.
Rating: 
Summary: A MUST READ FOR SERIOUS VISUAL BASIC STUDENTS!
Review: I wholeheartedly agree with Joe Ward and Chuck Easttom. This is an EXCELLENT book for learning Visual Basic. I am giving this book a FIVE STAR rating based on the challenging, real world application developed chapter by chapter, step by step throughout the book. Before I espouse its additional virtues, I must comment on the poor quality of the proofreading and the lack of thorough testing for the code in the project. On several occassions, when I went to run the application at the points suggested by the authors, I came up with errors. After double and triple checking my code to absolutely match the code in the book, I ran the project again and received the same error. I then cut and pasted the code from the CD into my project and received the same error again. I then ran the project from the CD version and still got the same error. "Perhaps" something on my computer is out of whack or I am still overlooking an error in the code that I wrote. However, I am still trying to find the cause of the errors! I have read and completed the exercises in approximately 10 Visual Basic books. The project in this book is ABSOLUTELY THE BEST PROJECT in any Visual Basic book that I am aware of. Although most of the material covered is material that I have previously worked with, I am learning nuances and details that have eluded me in the past. (If I could only find the cause of the above mentioned errors I would be elated!) Chapter 13 on Elementary Object-Oriented Concepts greatly enhanced my understanding of working with objects. Chapter 16 on Adding Class Persistence was another gem. Even with the shoddy proofreading, the strengths of the this book and the affordable price tag make this book an excellent value. I highly recommnd this book to anyone who is serious about learning Visual Basic.
Rating:
Summary: Best Second Book for VB Concepts and Code
Review: I'm a technical school instructor and used 4 different books to teach the first course in VB before an outside instructor gave me this book. The concepts that are so very abstract and hard to understand are explained extremely well with great examples and in simple terms. The format is an excellent one for instruction. You may want to also work through a book that completes several different projects before you tackle this one. But when you do, this book will pull it together for you and take you further into the code world of business which is were most of the work programmers have generates from.
Rating:
Summary: Best Second Book for VB Concepts and Code
Review: I'm a technical school instructor and used 4 different books to teach the first course in VB before an outside instructor gave me this book. The concepts that are so very abstract and hard to understand are explained extremely well with great examples and in simple terms. The format is an excellent one for instruction. You may want to also work through a book that completes several different projects before you tackle this one. But when you do, this book will pull it together for you and take you further into the code world of business which is were most of the work programmers have generates from.
Rating: 
Summary: Beginners Beware!!!
Review: I'm really shocked that Que is calling this a beginners book! Also, I find funny is that they state, on the back cover, that no programming experience is required. Then they start out in chapter two talking about built-in Datatypes, Arrays, Variables, User Defined DataTypes, Constants, Functions, Subs, and Classes. I don't know about you but how many beginners are ready to learn about Classes and User Defined DataTypes by chapter 2. The main problem I have with this idea is not only are these hard concepts for beginners but they only give each subject a very small paragraph explaination. They do state that they will cover more detail later, but this chapter could scare off the new programmer. I have been programming for awhile and have taken classes in college in several different languages(Cobol, C, C++, RPG, Visual Basic) so none of this is to new but if I'm having troubles with this how could a new programmer with no experience in Visual Basic would be overwhelmed. Also, I don't think Que should have released this version of this book. It should have been tested by a programmer and had the sample code tested. I had compiler error after error almost everytime I input the sample code. Very aggrivating! Here is a list of just some of the pages with errors on them. (Page 32,99,125,129,141,150,152,157,174,175,179,180,181,184,196,197) This is not the complete list I suspect since I stopped using this book after page 200. Que should be ashamed! How are programmers going to learn if the code they are entering is full of errors. Also, I should mention that the authors start into Object-Oriented programming concepts in Chapter 13. The only briefly explain this very confusing concept and also mention that they are going to build the rest of the program using Classes. Classes is also an advanced subject and they only briefly discuss this concept. I would never recommend this book to a beginner! Too many errors and too many Advanced concepts. I would highly recommend books by "John Smiley". He is a fantastic teacher. He understands how a beginner needs teaching. I just finished his first book. Learn to program Visual Basic 6. Fantastic. I will be reading his other books ASAP. I wish I could get my money back on this one. I feel Que owes me a another VB book of my choice and is "Error free" That'll never happen...hehehe. I hope this help you beginners out there!
Rating:
Summary: Beginners Beware!!!
Review: I'm really shocked that Que is calling this a beginners book! Also, I find funny is that they state, on the back cover, that no programming experience is required. Then they start out in chapter two talking about built-in Datatypes, Arrays, Variables, User Defined DataTypes, Constants, Functions, Subs, and Classes. I don't know about you but how many beginners are ready to learn about Classes and User Defined DataTypes by chapter 2. The main problem I have with this idea is not only are these hard concepts for beginners but they only give each subject a very small paragraph explaination. They do state that they will cover more detail later, but this chapter could scare off the new programmer. I have been programming for awhile and have taken classes in college in several different languages(Cobol, C, C++, RPG, Visual Basic) so none of this is to new but if I'm having troubles with this how could a new programmer with no experience in Visual Basic would be overwhelmed. Also, I don't think Que should have released this version of this book. It should have been tested by a programmer and had the sample code tested. I had compiler error after error almost everytime I input the sample code. Very aggrivating! Here is a list of just some of the pages with errors on them. (Page 32,99,125,129,141,150,152,157,174,175,179,180,181,184,196,197) This is not the complete list I suspect since I stopped using this book after page 200. Que should be ashamed! How are programmers going to learn if the code they are entering is full of errors. Also, I should mention that the authors start into Object-Oriented programming concepts in Chapter 13. The only briefly explain this very confusing concept and also mention that they are going to build the rest of the program using Classes. Classes is also an advanced subject and they only briefly discuss this concept. I would never recommend this book to a beginner! Too many errors and too many Advanced concepts. I would highly recommend books by "John Smiley". He is a fantastic teacher. He understands how a beginner needs teaching. I just finished his first book. Learn to program Visual Basic 6. Fantastic. I will be reading his other books ASAP. I wish I could get my money back on this one. I feel Que owes me a another VB book of my choice and is "Error free" That'll never happen...hehehe. I hope this help you beginners out there!
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