Rating: 
Summary: Beyond advanced
Review: This book is written by people who generally know what they are talking about and there is a lot of good stuff in there. However, like all books with multiple authors, some chapters are better than others and some just plain irrelevant.The error handling chapter is probably the best. The "Programming with Variants" chapter is the most interesting but, if followed through, is a sledge-hammer to crack a nut. The "Minutae" chapter is also interesting but of no practical use. The chapter on Business Objects was the most dissapointing. It appears to have a lot of good stuff in it but falls dreadfully short on how to implement its theories. "How to recruit" was cetainly the most irrelevant chapter in a how to write code book. I guess it was there because it's a subject close to the author's (Mr Mandelbrot's) heart. The book's biggest strength is its 'different viewpoint' to most other VB books. It's biggest weakness is that VB is rapidly heading for the history books. Despite its many shortcomings Java is now where it's at. Sorry.
Rating: 
Summary: A bit of a "Parson's Egg" but useful nonetheless.
Review: This book is written by people who generally know what they are talking about and there is a lot of good stuff in there. However, like all books with multiple authors, some chapters are better than others and some just plain irrelevant. The error handling chapter is probably the best. The "Programming with Variants" chapter is the most interesting but, if followed through, is a sledge-hammer to crack a nut. The "Minutae" chapter is also interesting but of no practical use. The chapter on Business Objects was the most dissapointing. It appears to have a lot of good stuff in it but falls dreadfully short on how to implement its theories. "How to recruit" was cetainly the most irrelevant chapter in a how to write code book. I guess it was there because it's a subject close to the author's (Mr Mandelbrot's) heart. The book's biggest strength is its 'different viewpoint' to most other VB books. It's biggest weakness is that VB is rapidly heading for the history books. Despite its many shortcomings Java is now where it's at. Sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Way too verbose. Not enough code.
Review: This book seems to be a lot about nothing. Don't get me wrong, some of the chapters were ok, like the On Error GOTO Hell, and the appendix on coding conventions. But, if you're looking for someting to teach you how to do something in VB, forget it.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, Vital and Unique
Review: Wow! Advanced VB6 is a great book. I've been developing in VB1 since 1991 and this book (and its predecessor) stands head and shoulders above any other VB book I've ever read - and I've seen most of them. I particularly enjoyed Davies's chapter. Also, Morris and Sewell's treatment of HR issues is highly unusual for a VB book, but makes fascinating reading. Burn's coverage of variants has softened since the last edition, but the rewrite makes fascinating reading. Overall's Y2K chapter is state of the art and I've found the Y2K goodies on the CD invaluable. As a result of this material I've certainly made my development manager re-think his attitude to the VB apps we have to fix up. A swift change of underpants was required. But why mention only these? I didn't find a bum chapter. I was surprised how much had changed from the first edition. It's virtually a different book! I can't recommend it enough - a "must have" for any serious VB developer. I don't expect everyone to agree with everything that the guys from TMS have written, but that's not the point. It's challenging and thought provoking - quite unique - I love it!
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