Others say...

"Great for Beginners to Intermediate"
This book is easy to read and follow and doesn't induce sleep even after lunch. One way this is possible is the unique layout of the book: facing pages contain narrative on the left and examples on the right. This makes it easy to glance back and forth between the text explaining some subject on the left page and the example illustrating it on the right. I was a bit suspect of this layout at first, but before the 1st chapter was out I found myself liking it a lot. Another layout difference that I appreciated is the physical size of the book. At 8 inches wide by 10 inches tall, it's a bit bigger than most technical books. This helps get the examples on the page without squeezing the font down to unreadable sizes.

Beginning programmers will find the first two sections (the first 12 chapters) ready for immediate consumption. These chapters begin with an overview of the IDE, move on to basic Windows Forms concepts and then cover VB language basics. More advanced programmers can either skip or skim these chapters: the engaging writing-style (almost tutorial without talking down to the reader) and unique layout (the facing-pages) will hold your attention. You might even learn something you didn't already know.

Later chapters cover Database programming (including bound controls, data sources and datat sets, and ADO.Net), Object Oriented Programming (with copious examples of VB syntax), File IO, XML, and a brief explanation of LINQ.

Note that this book DOES NOT cover asp.net web programming using VB.Net. That topic is covered in other books by Murach books (Murach's ASP.NET 2.0 Web Programming with VB 2005 for one). This is probably a good thing, since - at 797 pages - this book is long (and heavy) enough.

Overall, I really liked this book. It was easy to read, easy to understand and held my attention through its explanations and examples.


"Useful for both learning and reference"
I purchased this book to learn Visual Basic 2008 as I have been "out of the loop" since VB6. The book helped me with that task as it presents each topic in a manner that really drills home the information. Half way through the book, I had to create an app us VB08 and the book then doubled nicely as a reference guide. I would highly recommend it and will be looking for Murach books on future technical topics.

"Great book for the computer professional...."

I have been using the Murach books for a number of years, and have
never been disappointed. I also read many other computer programming
books, but Murach books constantly prove superior.

The one best thing that sets the Murach books apart is the complete
application given at the end of the chapter. It's difficult to learn
a new language by just working with snippets of code. Murach puts
together an entire business application to demonstrate the concepts of
the chapter, and this more than anything else will help the programmer
on the job.

Another good thing about the Murach approach is that the applications
are business-related, which is what most programming is all about
today. Other books have silly applications with animals and games. I have nothing against animals and games, but do not want to see this in a
computer application.

Finally, I have found with other computer books that their code is
often not tested properly. When I try to use their code, the
programs often don't work correctly and are riddled with errors.
These books have many errata on their web sites. But why couldn't
they get it right in the first place. To me this is just sloppy,
sloppy work. On the other hand, with Murach, the code works properly
the first time. Murach took the time to do it the right way.

I completed reading and working with the programs of nearly all the
25 chapters in this book.

My Rating: 5 stars out of five.

Thank you Mike Murach and Anne Boehm for getting it right!





"An essential, invaluable, practical, and thoroughly 'user friendly' instructional reference"
Windows continues to be the dominant platform for personal and professional computers. Now in a fully updated and significantly expanded 2008 edition, "Murach's Visual Basic 2008: Training & Reference" by Anne Boehm continues to hold its place as the premier instructional manual for the novice and an indispensable reference for the seasoned professional. The principal focus remains on those essential skills that Visual Basic developers will find themselves using on a daily basis. Of special note is the four chapter section dedicated to database programming. Visual Basic is an object-oriented computer language and therefore "Murach's Visual Basic 2008" devotes five chapters on those features and aspects. This new edition features LINQ and how VB programmers can use the same language to access a variety of data sources ranging from databases to arrays to XML files. Enhanced with complete Windows forms applications for everyday business functions (which can be downloaded for free from the Murach website [...]) "Murach's Visual Basic 2008 is an essential, invaluable, practical, and thoroughly 'user friendly' instructional reference and strongly recommended for all Visual Basic developers.

" Another Professional Book From Murach"
There is a lot of information in this 820 page book. It is broken into five sections starting with basic Visual Basic concepts and finishing with LINQ and deployment. Easy to read, using the "paired pages" format: How-to on the left page and examples on the right.

It is a straight-forward presentation of Visual Basic 2008 information and a book that will stay on my bookshelf.