The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Visual Basic 2005 - for the bookshelf Major Keary |
Visual Basic (VB) first made its appearance in 1991 and subsequent versions through to VB 6 were released until Microsoft introduced Visual Basic .NET, which "offered developers a new range of development possibilities ... [that enabled them to] target Windows Web, Mobile, and Office applications ... ". Many developers stayed with VB 6 because of its Rapid Application Development features, which may have resulted in expected VB .NET sales figures not being realised.
Microsoft's latest offering is VB 2005, which the author of Visual Basic 2005 Jumpstart describes as a "member of the .NET family of languages ... [that] retains much of the flavour of its VB 6 lineage". That title, described by Microsoft's VB Product Manager as "a great way to take your Visual Basic 6.0 development skills forward to become an expert in Visual Basic 2005 programming", is one of two recent VB 2005 titles released by O'Reilly. At the time of writing (October 05) a check with the City Software website returned a not known message when I looked for VB 2005 and Visual Studio Express; Visual Studio Pro was priced at $1285.00 (standard version $472.00); and there was a not known response to Visual Developer 2005. That situation may have changed by the time you read this, but the indications are that upgrading from VB 6 is not a financially trivial exercise. However, if you want get with the strength the following texts are essential resources.
Programming Visual Basic 2005
This title is intended to make the established VB 6 user immediately productive. Readers are assumed to be familiar with VB 6 and to have a copy of VB 2005 along with Visual Studio 2005 or Visual Basic 2005 Express. The author makes it clear that "this is not a reference book ... [and is] not a primer on the language". There is no introduction to VB, or the conventional toe-in-the-water program that displays "hello world". The book's tutorial style uses real-world applications; the clear instructions are interspersed with explanatory discussions.
The book is in parts. The first shows how to build a Windows application that involves the design of forms that require buttons, text boxes, event handlers, data access, and data sets. The user is also shown how to use the GDI + and Graphics class.
In the second part readers are introduced to a web application; there are similarities between Windows and web applications, but there are significant differences. This part also introduces the use of Visual Studio.
The first two parts take up most of the book. The third part, Programming with Visual Basic 2005, is more in the conventional style of a programmer's reference and covers Visual Studio 2005, a review of the VB 2005 language, using collections and generics, and a formal overview of object-oriented VB 2005.
If you are a VB 6 user who skipped VB .NET, this is an essential guide and ongoing reference. If you are coming to VB for the first time with skills in some other programming language, it should serve as a valuable introduction and guide. Very well presented.
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Jesse Liberty: Programming Visual Basic 2005 ISBN 0-596-00949-6 Published by O'Reilly, 548 pp., RRP $74.95 incl. GST |
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Visual Basic 2005 Jumpstart
This is another text written for the VB 6 user who wants to move to VB 2005. It
is a much smaller book than Programming Visual Basic 2005, which reflects the
concise way in which the author presents a series of practical
hands-on projects that illustrate various aspects of VB 2005 and offers advice
on upgrading VB 6 applications to VB 2005. The focus is on explaining to VB 6
users how common tasks are handled in VB 2005. Visual Studio's new features —
such as improved IntelliSense — are also put on show.
Extensive use is made of example code to illustrate the step-by-step tutorials
and the discussions. Good use is made of screen shots to support the text, and
there are plenty of boxed items that contain additional information.
To use the book as intended it will be necessary to have a Windows machine with
VB 2005 Express Edition, Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition, and SQL
Server 2005 Express Edition. Even though not designed to be a stand-alone text,
anyone with VB 6 experience and an interest in VB 2005 should find it an
interesting read.
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We-Meng Lee: Visual Basic 2005 Jumpstart ISBN 0-596-10071-X Published by O'Reilly, 197 pp., RRP $29.95 incl. GST |
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Other related titles from O'Reilly are:
MacDonald: Visual Basic 2005: A
Developer's Notebook,
and Avery: Visual Studio Hacks.
Reprinted from the Jan / Feb 2006 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne
PC User Group, Australia
