Build a Program Now 281
Graeme Williams writes "My experience with Visual Studio was several years ago, and limited to a support role. My only serious programming experience was more than twenty years ago, so I'm the kind of hobbyist programmer that Visual Basic 2005 Express and this book is aimed at. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition: Build a Program Now! doesn't attempt to teach you programming in general or Visual Basic in particular. It's focused on introducing the features of the Express Edition of Visual Basic 2005. I think this focus serves the book and the reader very well." Read on for the rest of Graeme's review.
| Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition: Build a Program Now! | |
| author | Patrice Pelland |
| pages | xi + 209 |
| publisher | Microsoft Press |
| rating | 9 |
| reviewer | Graeme Williams |
| ISBN | 0-7356-2213-2 |
| summary | An excellent introduction to Microsoft's new Visual Basic 2005 Express programming system |
At the moment, the book is only available in PDF form as a free download from Microsoft when you register Visual Basic 2005 Express. According to Barnes & Noble, it will also be available as a paperback some time this month. The paperback will include a CD with both Visual Basic 2005 Express and SQL Server 2005 Express. This review is based on the PDF.
The PDF is an inconvenient form for an ebook. It's protected so that you can't create your own bookmarks, and Microsoft doesn't provide any, and there are no clickable links -- in the table of contents, for example. There's a menu item for find, but the text doesn't seemed to be stored as text, so find doesn't actually find anything.
The book starts off with brief descriptions of .NET, object-oriented programming and the new features in Visual Basic 2005 Express. I guess it makes sense as a general introduction, and you can skip it if you like. It's certainly not a thorough explanation of object-oriented programming, but it's enough to let someone know that there's more to learn.
The next chapter leads you through installing the software. This is of doubtful value, since it basically advises you to stay with the defaults, which you almost certainly could have done on your own. If you have a problem, the book points you to some online resources, but that's all. I had a problem because my 'My Documents' folder is on a server, and this was enough to break the default security settings. The installation offers to install SQL Server 2005 Express, but neither the installation nor the book tells you that this will leave SQL Server running all the time.
Once the software is installed, you can start programming. The examples in the book are great. Starting with a simple console application to add two numbers might seem silly, but it makes sense in Visual Basic 2005 because you can't just start typing – you have to start somewhere in particular, and you need to know how to do that. Following that, you build a Windows application to add two numbers, a web browser, a database application, and an application that retrieves data from a web service. Each example builds nicely on the one before, and they're functional enough to be useful in their own right.
As important as the examples is what you learn along the way about the tools that make up the Visual Basic 2005 system. The book shows how simple it is to use the built-in components in Visual Basic 2005 to add features and functions to your application including forms, buttons, menus, toolbars, a splash screen, an about box, web services and database connections. This is where the book really shines. It shows you very clearly how to take advantage of the time (and work) saving features of the system.
The book is pretty good at explaining how to design a form. Form design was just awful in previous versions of Visual Basic, but the book clearly explains the new features that make it a little easier. The system is still not perfect – you can't automatically create three equally spaced textboxes (input fields), for example – but that's not the fault of this book.
The book also does a good job explaining the mechanics of starting a project, building applications and libraries, debugging, and "publishing" your application. "Publishing" is what Microsoft calls the process of turning your completed program into an installer which anyone can run to install your program. There's also an excellent introduction to database tables and how to create and use them within the system.
The graphic design in the book could be better. Each step in the instructions is indicated by a large numbered green bullet, which works well when there are only a few steps on a page, but you can easily get lost when one page has ten bullets and five tables. Also, you spend a considerable amount of time setting object properties. The value for each property is shown in a table, but sometimes a single table will include more than one object and sometimes it won't, which can be confusing. Finally, the screenshots aren't very clear. These may seem like quibbles, but an introductory book has a responsibility to be as clear as possible, and then some.
As you work through the examples in the book, you can really feel yourself gaining momentum. The flip-side of this is that as you go through the book, you get less and less explanation for larger and larger chunks of code. The largest single piece of code is 56 lines long. In context, it's presented clearly enough that it's still easy to digest. One way of measuring the success of an introductory book like this is whether it gives you the confidence to keep going on your own, and I think this book does just that.
But what if you're new to programming? If you're an absolute beginner, this book won't teach you how to program in Visual Basic. For example, the book never mentions structures or recursion. You can't do any serious programming just with what you'll learn about programming from this book, but that's not its purpose. The instructions in this book ARE clear enough that you'll be able to follow along, but if you want to get the most out of this book you'll have to spend some extra time working through the examples and with learning the language, even if it's only via the online help.
On the other hand, I don't think you can know so much that this book won't be very useful. Microsoft in its wisdom changes terminology regularly (toolbar is now toolstrip??) and there are many new features in this version of Visual Basic, so it's a good idea to hire a guide.
Depending on your level of experience, you may need other resources to learn everything you want to about programming in Visual Basic 2005, but this is a great place to start."
You can purchase Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition: Build a Program Now! from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
It's not bad (Score:3, Interesting)
Xcode and half-measures (Possibly OT) (Score:2, Interesting)
Is it for beginners ? If so then well done - people who don't understand the essentials of coding can now knock out their dodgy apps at a faster rate.
Is it for experienced developers ? Only Joking.
Is it for everyone across the board ?
No! You have to go out of your way to develop a serious app in VB because the abstractions that make it attractive to the uninitiated are a bugger to get round.
OK, in honesty, I don't like IDEs, debuggers or any of that stuff, but if you want it simple then the
Re:Xcode and half-measures (Possibly OT) (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Xcode and half-measures (Possibly OT) (Score:2)
Re:It's not bad (Score:4, Interesting)
For example, no crystal reports, you can only connect to a sql 2005 mdf file for a database. (No connecting via odbc or ole)
That said...
The express editions (and free until november 2006) are pretty good if you're wanting to do general programming (non-sql/db) stuff.
However, let me advertise something i've used in the past Sharpdevelop [icsharpcode.net] which can create programs written in VB.NET, C# and C++ (requires MS Visual Studio 2003 C++ Toolkit).
Version 1.0 only has a database viewer type thing, version 2.0 [sharpdevelop.net] (which is still a work in progress.. classed as alpha I think) is apparently at some point going to have a proper database explorer akin to VS 2005 where you can drag and drop db fields etc into a program you're creating.
Re:It's not bad (Score:3, Informative)
The database issue is true only if you intend to use the wizards or designers to do your database binding, which, in any case is not a good thing to do. You can connect, as with any other piece of software, to any database that you want using inline ADO.NET or much better yet with a data abstraction layer.
About Crystal Reports... have you tried using the SharpReport library that co
hmm.. (Score:5, Insightful)
From Review: If you're an absolute beginner, this book won't teach you how to program in Visual Basic.
Brilliant!
Re:hmm.. (Score:2)
Re:hmm.. (Score:3)
Re:hmm.. (Score:2)
Re:hmm.. (Score:2)
Build a Program Now (Score:4, Funny)
Could be worse (Score:3, Insightful)
Everyone has to learn somewhere, although if you are serious, VisualBasic is not the place to start. In my experience, the typical VisualBasic developer is just that. A good developer needs to understand concepts outside of the frame of wizards and such. Probably one of the biggest flaws in VisualStudio in general. MS loves wizards.
Re:Could be worse (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Could be worse (Score:2)
All in all, I think C# should be wasy enough for unskilled developers (read, MIS majors, etc) to use daily. The benefits include a better compile, ev
Re:Could be worse (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Could be worse (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Could be worse (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Could be worse (Score:2)
At least one of the examples you cited clearly doesn't fit the definition. I think only the ultimate die-hard coders would argue that Intellisense is a bad thing, but it's certainly not a wizard.
Re:Could be worse (Score:5, Interesting)
Honestly most VB dev's I know still have a copy of VB6 around to do the stuff they need running in a hurry... you can not program anything fast in VB.net Even printing is a major PITA compared to the old VB6 days.
Many are abandoning it for other RAD languages. Python for example it's better cross platform and with the right setup your GUI looks good across platforms as well as able to compile to a single EXE.
Re:Could be worse (Score:3, Insightful)
Huh? It is almost exactly the same as C#, but with different syntax. I don't get what's so hard about printing, either. Create a PrintDocument class, add graphics elements to its Graphics(GDI+) class. What's a PITA about that?
Re:Could be worse (Score:2)
IIRC, freeze does this on a variety of platforms.
Re:Could be worse (Score:2)
Hope that helps.
Re:Could be worse (Score:2)
If you were using a framework in the pre-.NET days (such as the old MFC stuff) the wizards would generate a lot of the required macro code and skeleton classes for you. Since the underly
Re:Could be worse (Score:3, Insightful)
I think you said it all right there. The Wizards in VS allowed MFC to flourish. IT was a nightmare and if you have a lot of MFC code you are stuck with it until you port it all to the n
Re:Could be worse (Score:2)
I learned something related earlier this year that was kind of a "duh!" moment for me. If you're going to have generated code, then the "source" for the generator is what you need to save, as far as source control goes. Save it off as a first-class source module.
What that gives you is the ability to re-generate the generated code in the future. It's even portable, assuming someone can put together a translator to generate the new output from the old source. But you can't do much of that w
Right tool for the right job. (Score:2)
Oh the humanity!! (Score:3, Funny)
Write a Program Now! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Write a Program Now! (Score:2)
Is programming getting much harder? (Score:3, Insightful)
10 Home
20 Print "What is the password: "
30 Get A$
40 If A$ = "b" then goto 70
50 Print "Wrong!"
60 Goto 20
70 Print "Right"
80 End
Now compare that kind of linear logic to a Java program with classes and { () and all that jazz. I remember when starting Java, thinking why do I need 3 different classes imported just to do a simple hello world? VB was no different, they had forms where you needed to drag and drop control boxes, and the like. Very little is straight forward, where a user/programmer could figure out the logic without a teacher/tutor.
I wonder how much more difficult the learning curve is? Maybe the programs will be better, and the programmers more skilled, but there was an element of fun in a language that is so simple a 7 year old can write his own code. Compare that to my college level Java class, which started 28 strong, and ended with only 16 students for the final exam.
What happened to a computer language that is intuitive and very easy, that anybody can learn?
A little... (Score:5, Insightful)
Security mostly. Scope is huge. Being able to define things that only exist within the curly braces is a blessing. Namespaces. Classes. Inheritance. All of that stuff that makes development such a joy. I'm not a computer scientist, I'm an aerospace engineer but I do simulation programming and all of these developments in object-oriented programming make my life so much easier. It is harder then when I was a kid and wrote my first programs in QBASIC, but man I'd much rather dig into a book and have to scratch my head a little learning C++ than go back to the old days...
-everphilski-
Re:Is programming getting much harder? (Score:3, Interesting)
Sure basic was easy, but it was very...basic.
Re:Is programming getting much harder? (Score:2, Insightful)
For serious programs, however, simply things like binary trees and linked lists can be all but impossible to create with old BASIC-style languages. A complete lack of pointers and references makes it very difficult to write reusable code, and even trivial changes can require modifications to the code in a large number of places.
Traditionally trivial code now has more overhead than it once did, but complex code
Re:Is programming getting much harder? (Score:3, Interesting)
I find VB6 is also a quick way for a beginner if they wanted to jump from console applications to GUI development. However, for the hobby programmer to jump from anything non-object oriented to VB.NET is going to be a huge jump.
At work we've used VB6 extensively to write front-end GUI's for our systems, where the mission c
Re:Is programming getting much harder? (Score:2)
/Mikael
Re:Is programming getting much harder? GET WHAT? (Score:2)
So when did it become Get, let alone accept lower case?
In my day it was:
30 INPUT A$
and that's all there was to it.
Re:Is programming getting much harder? (Score:2)
Re:Is programming getting much harder? (Score:2)
You can download from IBM [ibm.com] a personal version of UniVerse, which is an extended relational database environment that uses a version of BASIC as the primary programming language.
Re:Is programming getting much harder? (Score:2)
package slashdot;
import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
public class DorkTest { public static void main(String argv[]) throws IOException {
System.out.println("What is the Password?");
InputStreamReader reader = new InputStreamReader(System.in);
BufferedReader read=new BufferedReader(reader);
String a=read.readLine();
if ("b".equals(a)) { System.out.println("Right!"); }
else { System
Re:Is programming getting much harder? (Score:2)
till you get it right.
Sorry bout the formatting.. Slashdot whitespace filter's fault ***/
package slashdot;
import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
public class DorkTest { public static void main(String argv[]) throws IOException {
while (true) {
Sy
Re:Is programming getting much harder? (Score:2)
QBasic [qbasic.com] still runs on every version of Windows.
Re:Is programming getting much harder? (Score:4, Insightful)
So, if you want to write crap, a 1970's language is just fine. Feel free to write hobby code in GWBASIC. We won't stop you. Heck, many of us will have a great time helping you. But, truely simple applications don't exist in the professional arena. Modern languages aren't designed to tackle issue that were solved 30 years ago.
My OO programming students usually gasp when I tell them that there is no application that can be written with an Object Oriented language that cannot be written with an old-fashioned language. The whole point of OO programming isn't to do better things, it's to do the same things we did 30 years ago, only do them better. It's all about the process.
BTW, line numbers weren't invented to make the program easier to read. They were invented because many systems didn't have a text editor. The best way to insert a line between 30 and 40 was simply to make a new line 35. Going up a few lines and inserting simply wasn't an option.
Re:Is programming getting much harder? (Score:2)
Microsoft: Use of VB and VC is deprecated. (Score:2, Funny)
I don't know a lot about VB but MS seriously is in deep shit with VC especially the language syntax in 2005. Not many liked it. They also didn't support STL.NET which majority of the folks wanted. Is this something new?
Issue closed. (Score:2)
Re:Microsoft: Use of VB and VC is deprecated. (Score:2)
I'm to be subjected to this language (Score:2)
I am upset, because I allready know a lot of programming concepts, even if I'm not fluent in any particular language (I know a smidgen of Perl). I'd rather just jump right into Java, but I can't. (or, you know, C++. They don't even
Re:I'm to be subjected to this language (Score:3, Insightful)
How do you KNOW if you haven't had any exposure to it yet? Forget the moaning masses at
Re:I'm to be subjected to this language (Score:2)
Re:I'm to be subjected to this language (Score:2)
First time I've seen that on Slashdot.
Re:I'm to be subjected to this language (Score:2)
Go there to learn fundamental concepts of programming. Learn things like debugging, algorithms, encapsulation, threading etc... These will naturally transfer to any language. Go with a positive attitude, even if it is "just VB" or you won't learn anything.
Your a CS major... (Score:2, Interesting)
-everphilski-
Re:Your a CS major... (Score:2)
-everphilski-
Re:Your a CS major... (Score:2)
BUT,
While you poo-poo the details, HOW you use that language makes a big difference. Does it have pointers? Well then you can use them. What, no pointers? Ok, then a different way of organizing information. Structures, types, classes, associative arrays? Hmmm?
Each way requires a different mind-set to effectively use the language. The difference between a new comer and someone who has used a
Re:I'm to be subjected to this language (Score:2)
Re:I'm to be subjected to this language (Score:2)
My high school had 150 students. Let me put it this way: The head of our computer "department", and I swear to God I'm not making this up, did not know HTML. He knew Microsoft Office and basic computer hardware, these were the only qualifications nessicary at my school. Computer Hardware, "Computer Applications"(Office), and Keyboarding were the only computer classes taught in my high school.
I graduated in two thousand and freaking one. We were in the s
Re:I'm to be subjected to this language (Score:2)
Re:I'm to be subjected to this language (Score:2)
Re:I'm to be subjected to this language (Score:2)
Finding VB Express (Score:5, Informative)
VB Express (.img file)
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=54764 [microsoft.com]
VB Express (.iso file)
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=57033 [microsoft.com]
Re:Finding VB Express (Score:2)
Also, VC# Express 2005, VJ# Express 2005 and VC++ Express 2005 are available until November 2006 too.
Finding VC Express (Score:2)
Everyone loves to bash MS and VB... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Everyone loves to bash MS and VB... (Score:4, Interesting)
I've used VS 2005, and I have to say that its poor at doing this sort of thing in comparison with a decent Java IDE these days. MS has lost a lot of its "ease of use" in this area (decent layout managers for instance) that it used to pride itself on.
I'll burn some Karma... but then I'm probably one of the few who has actually tested this stuff out.
Re:Everyone loves to bash MS and VB... (Score:2)
I'm confused on that one. VB5-6 had a very intuitive (click and drag) layout builder.
Last time I worked with Java(1.4 about 1-2 years ago) I had strong urges to poke my eyes out while dealing with layout managers and the whole cardinal direction crap. It was a nightmare. A buddy from that class built a VS imitation layout manager builder for his final project. It was an app that would allow you to c
Re:Everyone loves to bash MS and VB... (Score:2)
http://user.bahnhof.se/~johanl/perl/Loft/ [bahnhof.se]
Re:Everyone loves to bash MS and VB... (Score:2)
Re:Everyone loves to bash MS and VB... (Score:3, Interesting)
That's where Eclipse and the rest of the java stack beats the
Re:Everyone loves to bash MS and VB... (Score:2)
Re:Everyone loves to bash MS and VB... (Score:2)
If so what you wrote was not an application, it was a script.
Re:Everyone loves to bash MS and VB... (Score:2)
Re:Everyone loves to bash MS and VB... (Score:3, Insightful)
Oh one more thing. VB is never the right tool. It was merely the tool you knew how to use. In this case Delphi was probably the right too.
Re:Everyone loves to bash MS and VB... (Score:2)
Re:Everyone loves to bash MS and VB... (Score:2)
Re:Everyone loves to bash MS and VB... (Score:2)
VB.NET programmers don't need to memorize every overloaded method available in every class of any framework. They are reminded as they go.
Cheers
Adolfo
The next generation of IE flaws is born! (Score:2)
And so if you read this book you will get a microscopic and highly specialized view of programming in VB, minus all that unnecessary fluff like learning logic, pseudocoding, and documentation. Then you too can move to Redmond, get a good-paying job, and help create the newest set of flaws for IE, Office, Outlook and all other products in the ever-expanding Mic
Non-programmer question (Score:3, Interesting)
I do light programming, nothing professional, so maybe I'm just not in on the loop on this one.
Re:Non-programmer question (Score:2)
well, not instant
That's probably why it's not a main candidate for a beginner's book. It's harder to get running on a newbie machine (which probably has Windows) and a key "plus" (portability) is both too far off in the future for the newbie to reeeeeeeaaaallly care about at that point AND that key plus (portability) is not exactly as advertised.
Not an argument as to merit of the environment, mind you.
PDHossRe:Non-programmer question (Score:2)
Sequel (Score:5, Funny)
Visual Studio 2005: Laying the Groundwork for Future Exploitation
Visual Studio 2005: A Catalyst for System Compromise
Visual Studio 2005: Pseudo-Security; It Makes You Feel Better
Visual Studio 2005: Allowing Users to Do Things You Never Intended
Give this guy a prize (Score:2)
Well... (Score:5, Insightful)
I found that an uncle of mine going through a VB course focused on this kind of approach, learning how to write an application without learning how to program. The problem is, anytime he came across a programming problem he had to solve, he phoned me up and asked me how the code should look. Without understanding the fundamentals of conditional statements, loops, and functions, few can really start to develop a useable application.
The fact is, if you want to do anything NOT mentioned in the book (i.e. anything the examples don't cover), your out of luck, because you will not have learned the necessary skills to find out how to do more then what the book mentions.
I would think this books sounds best for those familiar with programming, but NOT with the VB.Net 2005, for instance, those that are wondering what that new ToolStrip object does. It's designed as a refresher for those looking to understand what new features are and how to use them.
In any regard, VB is a good tool to be able to develop an application with MINIMAL programming skills, but I would be hard pressed to find someone actually wanting to design an application without some desire to understand how to do some basic programming. Anyone earning a paycheck by writing application swithout understanding how to program should seriously consider the morality of cashing his paycheck.
Good job kids. Way to be elitist. (Score:5, Insightful)
Did you read the article where he says he's a hobbyist ? Why do you all need to rag on him, the book and program ?
In architechture schools you learn to build houses with cardboard first to understand the concepts, then you get to work with concrete.
Are you all so insecure about your jobs that you wouldn't encourage others to learn to write programs ? I don't see any other ideas from this audience, just hostility.
LouSir
Re:Good job kids. Way to be elitist. (Score:2)
Cheers,
Adolfo
Re:Good job kids. Way to be elitist. (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, as a former VB user (don't flame me Slashdotters, I have redeemed myself by learning C, C++, and Java), VB itself isn't half bad. Need a GUI for an application? With Visual Basic, you are done in just ten minutes or so. Need to access a database? Just drag the control, change some variables, type some minimal code, and you're done. Visual Basic allows you to make simple programs very quickly. Now, Visual Basic becomes impractical for larger, more complex projects (such as high-end video games, o
Cleaning up after a VB programmer (Score:3, Informative)
Part of the problem may be that VB enables people with not a lot of experience at program design in any language to generate these quick-and-dirty applications that morph into critical applications in some business that some person then has to maintain. I guess t
Re:Good job kids. Way to be elitist. (Score:3, Interesting)
The fact that your "hobby" attatches more strings to your life than other people's "jobs"? Until you've made the *jump* from MS to an Open Source platform, you have no idea. You're like somebody who's lived in a little box all their lives and doesn't believe in the sky. Once you can look far back on your MS days, you'll wonder if there's that much difference between "programming" in Visual Basic and huffing glue. Sure, it's a hobby, and you're hu
Try RB, it's easier than Java (Score:2)
Re:Try RB, it's easier than Java (Score:2)
IM
I've always said... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Bash build a program now in 10 easy seconds (Score:5, Funny)
echo "alert('Hello world');" >hello.html
firefox hello.html
(9 seconds
Re:Bash build a program now in 10 easy seconds (Score:2)
Re:Bash build a program now in 10 easy seconds (Score:2)
Re:Bash build a program now in 10 easy seconds (Score:2)
Re:Bash build a program now in 10 easy seconds (Score:2)
Re:Bash build a program now in 10 easy seconds (Score:2)
Re:Visual Basic is pretty good... (Score:3, Funny)
Why not?
Re:Visual Basic is pretty good... (Score:2)
Re:It's not the coding that you need a book for... (Score:2)
Creating a msi for deployment/upgrades/patches is a complete nobrainer.