R. farmer said
The only programming I have done is with Allen Bradley PLC's which doesn't really count. BUT, I have always be interested in the how to of programing so on a lark I purchased this book and started at it. If you want to learn and feel like you are making progress then this guy's books are for you.
In the book it say's, e-mail me @ blablabla and I will get back to you, I figure, ya, right, well I snagged, my fault, and I needed an answer so I did e-mail. And much to my amazement, no kidding, I got an answer back the same day. With the answer I needed. If you are scared to try, don't be, this John Smiley guy is for real. NO, I am not related, never met, never spoke to this man. I am impressed that there is still people out there that do what they say and how they say. Thank you for your time.
William Baker said
I have worked through the first 7 chapters of "Learn to Program with Visual Basic 6" written by John Smiley and published by Active Path with the latest reprint September 2001. I will finish the remaining 8 chapters in a few days.
This is a good book to work through the uses of the basic VB6 controls.
But the book is nearly useless for providing a quick way to understand VB6 code syntax. The VB6 program provided with the book has the HELP disabled. So, one is always "googling" to get syntax and examples. Plus, the program will not produce executable runtime VB applications.
The cover states about the software "...including a fully working version of Microsoft Visual Basic..." I consider runtime and HELP to be an integral part of a *fully* working version.
As to the title of this review, one should be be careful with which Smiley "Learn to Program..." book one is buying.
But, I would buy again. Just wanted to let you know what you were getting.
Bradley A. Jennings said
After programming in various languages, such as C and Perl, and using the Win32 API to write Windows applications, my company bought the rights to a product built on VB and ActiveX. The Visual Basic language, which in my mind was relegated to "script kiddies" and fly-by-night vendors, had found its way into our hallowed halls.
I found this book enlightening and very informative. John's treatment of the SDLC was very brief, yet helpful. Wheras most techical manuals border on mundane, this book was anything but boring. The "classroom" setting was a great medium to keep my attention page after page. It catered to the beginner in me, which was a relief.
Some books will just gloss over functional parts of development tools. Not only does this book come with a working version of Visual Basic 6.0, John goes to great lengths to walk through the menu system, debugging functions, and certain control parameters.
Each section in each chapter contains a discussion (this is the "classroom" converation part) about the exercises. I found that each exercise works as written in the book. At the end of each chapter is a Summary and a Quiz. The Quiz answers can be found at the back of the book, however, I found that some of the Quiz answers were wrong, but was glad I had enough knowledge from John's writing to recognize a wrong answer.
If you have a desire to learn how to program, have some knowledge of windows operating system, and enjoy good stories, then this book is for you. Keep in mind that John only covers the tip of the iceberg. You will truly need another book to actually do anything more than create simple forms and process the "Click" event (read the book to see what I mean).
Janetta said
If you are a busy person, you work a lot with programmers and you need a general understanding of programming, this is not the book for you.
If you have time on your hands, and you want to learn VB, this could be the book for you.
After I bought this book I realised I was fooled by the title. It should be called 'Programming in Visual Basic for beginners'. The point of this book is to teach you to program in VB6, not to teach you the basics of programming using VB as an example language. While I can understand that the verbose classroom approach may appeal to some, I found it patronising and time wasting. I eventually bought 'Sams Teach Yourself Beginning Programming in 24 Hours' by Greg Perry which gives a concise summary of programming basics, an overview of the most common languages, and exercises to drive home the lessons. Exactly what I was after.
W. E. Lopez said
I'm a hobbyist, not an IT professional, and have been programming in BASIC since I bought my first PC in the 70's. When I decided to tackle Visual Basic to write programs for Windows, I purchased five "how-to" books on the subject. Unfortunately for me, John Smiley's book was the last one I bought. If I had ordered "Learn to Program" first, I could have saved more than $100. This is a clear, concise, and sure-fire way for the beginner or experienced BASIC programmer to transition to the powerful yet simple language of Visual Basic. John Smiley's book easily allows the reader to understand the concepts of event driven programming and the differences from procedural driven programming. Consider it a "must have" for the novice with little or no programming experience.
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