Customer Reviews
0 to 60 One Step At A Time 
2008-07-12
I got this book because I had just accepted my first professional programing job and was feeling extremely anxious. Although I have a Master's Degree in IT and a strong background in programming, I have been teaching Special Education for the last five years. I needed something that would knock the dust off of my programming skills allowing me to refresh my basic knowledge of VB semantics. I read this book in a week, working the exercises, and am now feeling like a capable programmer again. I can honestly say that I have nothing but high praise for this book.
It takes the user from the very basics of declaring variables to simple
ADO, ASP, and XML structures. An excellent book for learning the basics.
Worthless 
2008-04-30
Another worthless book from Microsoft Press. Microsoft must pay its writers by the word. This book could be boiled down to 25 pages.
Great intro into VB 2008-03-17
Highly recommended for anyone starting with Visual Basic or programming in general. I bought this book to have a better understanding of how Visual Basic differed from other programming languages I have had experience with before (Java and Python) and I learned a whole lot. The step by step tutorials were great in showing me how to perform basic tasks using the language. I actually have read through this book twice now because 1) it is such an easy read, and 2)it always helps to refresh some of the concepts (especially for me since I can be quite forgetful).
Great step by step guide for VB.Net 2005 2008-02-17
I've been plowing my way through this text and have found it very helpful and great at explaining the concept of VB.Net 2005. I'm a beginner in Visual Basic, and I am using this as a supplement to my Visual Basic.Net textbook "Programming in Visual Basic.Net" by Julia CAse Bradley and Anita C. Millspaugh. I find that it is great for a beginner like myself, as it is extremeley detailed and shows you every step, though as you progress it expects you to understand more, and isn't as redundant. The author is a Professor, so has a natural teaching ability that shines through, and you alway sget the sense he is right there with you working on it. I would recommend it to anyone who is a VB.Net beginner as a supplement to their text, or just using it by yourself. It also comes with all the files you will need to complete all the excercises on the book included in the CD-ROM. A great purchase!
Good Beginners Review 
2008-01-28
This book is good for the beginner. The instruction is at very basic levels.
Goog information and easy to practice and test. 2007-12-13
Visual Basic 2005 focuses on enabling developers to rapidly build applications, with enhancements across its visual designers, code editor, language, and debugger that help accelerate the development and deployment of robust, elegant applications across the Web, a business group, or an enterprise. Now you can teach yourself the essentials of working with Microsoft Visual Studio- 2005 and the new features of the Visual Basic language#151;one step at a time. With STEP BY STEP, you work at your own pace through hands-on, learn-by-doing exercises. Whether you're a beginning programmer or new to this specific language, you'll understand the core capabilities and fundamental techniques for Visual Basic 2005. Each chapter puts you to work, showing you how, when, and why to use specific features of Visual Basic and guiding as you create actual components and working applications for Microsoft Windows-. You'll also explore data management and Web-based development topics.
Good for starters 2007-09-25
This book will get you going on using visual basic and visual studio 2005. I had last used visual C++ V6.0 in an academic setting, and this book helped me migrate to the latest version of visual studio and the VB.NET language quickly. The code examples provided are easy to use, and understand. I found the organizarion of the book to be just right. Now I want more.
Great for beginners!! 2007-09-24
I'm taking a VB 2005 class in college and the book we are using is not for a true beginner (VB 2005 How to Program by Deitel), it is very fast paced and confusing at times. The book also uses console programming through most of the book (VISUAL BASIC!!! VISUAL IS THE KEYWORD); I dont know how it got a good rating. Anywho, in order to learn VB better I hunted down this book. It is well written and easy understood. He uses nice concepts and examples. I've learned more in the first 3 chapters of this book than I had the book for school. I'm half way through and understand everything I have done up to now. I would totally recommend this book to anyone who is a true beginner.
Absolute beginners only 2007-08-22
I know PL/SQL, SQL, PHP, some Bash scripting skills and can "read" Java to a certain degree, but am new to the world of developing Windows apps, and was looking for a book to start building applications in VB .NET 2005. Unfortunately, I'll have to look elsewhere.
This book does a great job of guiding the reader trough the basic features of VB .NET 2005. Every chapter, and every section includes some basic examples, which you can either build yourself, or study from the included examples CD.
If you're totally new to programming, this is the book for you. However, if you already have experience with any programming language, this book will not do much for you. I only rate this book 4-stars because of its value as what it IS: an introduction to the language (I breezed through it, examples and all, in about 8 hours).
Good for beginners 2007-08-07
This book is well suited for beginners or near-beginners who want to learn basic programming in VB2005. Sometimes I felt it would have helped if I had had some earlier programming knowledge/experience, this way I would have been able to grasp the consepts easier as this book does not really discuss programming-theory on a broader level. It is a good book to start with if you plan to learn more about programming in asp.net.
