[.ca] Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Professional Step by Step (ISBN 0735618836)

From Amazon.co.uk:
In 24 easy-to-follow lessons, Microsoft Visual Basic Professional 6.0: Step by Step covers all of the fundamentals of programming with VB6. The book breaks lessons down into clearly defined steps and concise discussions that assist in creating demonstrative sample programs. A companion CD-ROM contains 84 projects, organised into 24 folders to match the chapters in the book, plus an extras folder. The sheer number of projects and abundance of source code provide a valuable resource that will help beginning programmers get started quickly. Though it contains a complete introduction, the book avoids or simply briefs on some advanced topics like multiple document interface (which, of course, advanced programmers would need to be familiar with, though it receives only a one-page sidebar). The discussion of object linking and embedding, while a tad Microsoft Office-centric, adequately introduces and explains a potentially difficult subject. The book also contains lessons on current topics, including DHTML and file transfer, a pleasant surprise as Richter gives these topics their due. For those looking for a complete, hands-on introduction to Visual Basic programming, this book will provide a valuable resource. --John Keogh Topics covered: Using the Visual Basic development environment; forms and projects; properties; exiting Visual Basic; creating a new project; running a program; creating an executable; using controls; menus and dialog boxes; variables; mathematical operators; conditional and looping code; debugging; printers and error handlers; graphics; drag and drop; file operations; modules, functions, and procedures; collections; static and dynamic arrays; string functions; text files; simple encryption; using Access databases; launching OLE-aware Windows programs; OLE Automation; the Windows clipboard; ActiveX controls; integrating sound and video; monitoring your systems memory; downloading files using FTP and HTTP; using Internet Explorer to display HTML files; working with DHTML; creating an HTML page that supports DHTML; using ActiveX controls in DHTML pages; brief discussion of preparing a DHTML project for deployment as an HTML file and DLL; ActiveX Data Objects; FlexGrid; using the CD-ROM.

You got to get this book:
This book is awesome, I had no idea of were to even start but knew I wanted to learn how to be a programmer. I got this book in addition to the text books that I had gotten in school, this book was a great addition and helped me alot, you got to get this book!

Very shallow. Great for beginners.:
Like most step by step books from MS press this book is filled with lots of fluff. Just about everything covered in this huge book would be covered in the first chapter or two of most other VB books. That is not always a bad thing though. If you have never programmed in another language before then the hand holding that this book gives you will really help you get your foot in the door although when you are finished you really won't know much more than the very basic concepts. A good combination would be to read this book first and then to read "Visual Basic Programmers Guide" also published by microsoft press.

Much promise - no follow through:
As an experienced programmer looking to learn languages I do not regularly use, or asked to recommend a book to someone else for learning a new language, I look at many books. This book is bad. The author takes you by the hand and does everything for you. There aren't any exercises or review questions at the end of chapters. People don't learn that way. To learn something and keep it learned people must do something, perform an exercise, think through and solve a problem. This book isn't much better than a classroom lecture, or a TV show. This book does not make you think!

Good for the basic beginner only:
Mr. Halvorsen's book is excellent if the student is starting with just a very basic knowledge of Windows and nothing else. He takes you through the basics step by step as the title implies. Don't get this book if you already know something of programming, particularly VB. Pick up something a bit more advanced, such as Francesco Balena's "Programming Visual Basic 6.0" which gives a bit more information and assumes you already know than how to maneuver around the OS.

Better books out there:
I bought this and 3 other vb book for work and I think this is easily the worst one. It doesn't explain a lot of the code, which is why I bought the book. Also the way it's organized isn't very easy to follow. I bought this book because I firugre that Microsoft would know their product the best but apparently not. My advice is to look for another book on the subject.