World Famous Comics: Visual Basic 6 for Dummies (for Windows)
Visual Basic 6 for Dummies (for Windows)
By: Wallace Wang Publisher: For Dummies Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: For Dummies Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 504 Publication Date: September 04, 1998
Product Description: Create your own custom Visual Basic programs fast for Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT with the power and friendly object-oriented interface of Microsoft's Visual Basic 6 with Visual Basic 6 For Dummies.
Here's a great resource to help you * Understand the art of object-oriented programming in Visual Basic * Build attractive user interfaces with buttons, boxes, and scroll bars * Master menus and submenus -- plus expanding, pull-down, and pop-up menus -- quickly and easily * Discover how to write subprograms that everyone can share * Save and retrieve information in databases like Microsoft Access * Integrate your own special ActiveX controls into applications From the fundamentals of writing BASIC code to the thrill of distributing your very own custom applications, programming expert Wallace Wang brings a fresh and humorous perspective to the world of Visual Basic in terms everyone can understand. Plus, the bonus CD-ROM that comes with Visual Basic 6 For Dummies includes all the source code and examples from the book, along with demo or trial versions of some cool VB and ActiveX programs.
Amazon.com Review: "A witty, well-written guide to Visual Basic 6.0."
I have a stack of Visual Basic books to wade through, and I chose this one because, well, I love Wally Wang. We go way back, back to obscure computer magazines and that one night in Vegas when we found $600 (plus an unknown amount of a certain South American currency) in our hotel room. But that's a story for another day.
I love the way Wally (known as Wallace on the cover because "Wally Wang" just doesn't translate well in England) writes. He can certainly make a dull subject bright. There is no denying his humor in the figures and throughout the text and examples.
The book is massively entertaining. But the question is, does it teach Visual Basic well? And therein lies the rub, not only in this but also with all Visual Basic books. Unlike traditional programming languages, Visual Basic is both a language and a product. So, the question is, which do you talk about first, creating a Visual Basic program or using the Visual Basic interface? Wally opts for the interface first, which he handles well. Alas, my goal in learning any new programming language is to write the first program. In this book, that doesn't happen until chapter 4. Ouch.
Happily, though, once the book gets going, there's no stopping it--it is packed. The pace is swift, and the steps outlining each project are thick. This may be too much for some beginners, but it sated my appetite for relearning this programming language. (My first books were on GW Basic way back in the mid-1800s.)
The book's hefty cover price means it has a CD-ROM, which I didn't look at. But even without looking at it, I enjoyed reading Wally's text--something I haven't done in too long a time. --Dan Gookin
Visual Basic Having been to school for this subject but never quite understood the workings of this program, this book has been an eye-opener
Not so hot I generally like Dummies books, but this one is a little weak. The book covers a lot of topics but is really short on examples. I went through 90% of it and still didn't feel like I could actually write a meaningfull program. I purchased "Microsoft Visiual Basic 6.0 Professional step by step" by Michael Halvorson and found it to be MUCH better. I'm about 50% of the way through it and have learned a lot more.
This book is now obsolete. I bought this book and quickly discovered that Visual Book 6 is no longer the latest tool for VB programming. Microsoft has introduced Visual Basic 2005--which you can download free from Microsoft.
Consequently, any book on VB6 is really a waste of your time. You would just end up converting your VB6 code to MS VB 2005. Why waste time learning old commands? Go right to the latest.
If you want a great book on MS VB 2005 try Michael Halvorson Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Step by Step.
Excellent Starter Book I used this book, and found it very helpful to begin writing vb code. The only drawback is that it is of course covers only the basic stuff with very little background info. If you want to get started in VB, I would suggest this book to anyone.
First Visual Basic book When I was trying to make the upgrade from Visual Basic 4.0 to Visual Basic 6.0, this was the first book that I bought. This book is very easy to read and there are ample examples to illustrate each principle that the author is trying to teach you. I combined this books with the 4 "Learn to Program Visual Basic" books by John Smiley to give me a solid foundation in Visual Basic 6.0. The cartoons in this book will reduce down the stress of trying to learn something new.
Now that I am moving into .Net technology, I really appreciate how good this book was for people who have little or no experience with Visual Basic. This should be your first Visual Basic 6 book. By the way, Visual Basic 6 and the legacy source code that goes with it will be around for years to come.
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