MCSD - VB Study Guides

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VB Study Guides

baruugh

2002-05-07, 4:04 pm

Hi,

I am a newbie to VB - I have used the Visual Quick Start book to get a VERY Basic (no pun intended) idea of how it works.

I am looking for a book that will take me to an intermediate level. I am looking to learn it for functionality, rather than as a precursor to sitting the VB exams.

Ideally I am after a book that is concise rather than a 800-page tome with every nuance. It should also have a good reference section as well.

Anything you can recommend would be appreciated.

Thanks,

RichardJW

2002-05-08, 5:19 am

Something like SAMS Visual Basic in 21 days might or might not do the trick because it is not clear what level you are at from your post. There's probably a number of books that could be helpful. My experience of books on programming is that you rarely are provided with reference sections unless the book is itself a reference. Do you have any remaindered stock bookshops in your area? If so you may save a lot of money because those kinds of titles find themselves frequently into such shops here in the UK. I am not sure what you mean by 'intermediate level' but by the common understanding of it, a book or books for that matter will not suffice alone to get you there. I suggest hands on experience with the product. Try the specific exercises you find in books by all means but then try coding your own applications in whichever area suits you. Obtain sample code from the internet and modify it. Try using VB sites on the internet for code references and tutorials. Remember however that there will be less and less calling for VB 6.0 skills in the future, you should consider this when deciding how much time you wish to dedicate to learning it.

baruugh

2002-05-08, 5:55 pm

Thanks for the reply, RichardJW.

I have a book, VB6 Databases (by Wrox) which is probably a bit over my head in terms of the VB code used. I am following the examples in that, and trying my own things on the side to see if I can add to my skills.

The hard part is wanting to do something, but not having a reference to look up. MSDN help is good, but sometimes it's hard to know what to look for if you don't know if it even exists.

I understand that .Net is the way of the future, but there will still be a market for VB. Microsoft are dedicated to supporting it until Janury 2008 (according to their website) and there will always be clients who don't need the firepower of .Net.

I am not learning VB with the view of becoming a fully-fledged VB developer, but as an additional tool in my toolkit that can be offered to clients.

I figure a good 3 - 4 months should be enough to get me to a point where I can develop a two-tier application with a degree of confidence.

I also have a copy of the .Net trail CD on its way so that I can check that out as well. As anyone reading this would agree with, you can never know enough . . . though in my case, sometimes a little knowledge is a very dangerous thing!

Thanks again,

mchoirul

2002-05-14, 4:09 am

You can try “Mastering VB6” from SYBEX. It’s very good review on foundation material to advance level, but do not assume that you are a beginner.
After that, you can start with “Mastring VB6 Database”, also from SYBEX

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