Visual Basic Books

Here are some good books that can help you with this thing we call VB....

BillSoo -
Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the Win32 API
By Dan Appleman
SAMS, ISBN 0-672-31590-4, US$60

This is THE book to learn API programming. It is written by Dan Appleman, of www.Desaware.com. There are 3 previous versions of this book, covering VB3 to VB5. Most of the versions are similar (even the VB3 version is useful) so you might be able to find a used copy or remaindered copy at a good price.

Aside from describing the various API calls, Dan also gives good examples and talks about general VB issues, like printing, graphics, and the UI. There is also a good section on Messages.

Includes oddball information, like some file formats, serial port communications and DLLs.


CycloneBri-
The book that I used to learn VB6 is

Visual Basic 6 Programming (Business Applications with a design perspective)
Author is Jeffrey J. Tsay
ISBN is 0-13-026199-8

This book is great for begginer to intermediate programming in VB6, and is actually a textbook that was used in an introductory class in computer science at ISU. It has a lot of example projects that you can do to learn some of the basics of VB. I immagine that there wouldn't be anything in it that isn't already covered in your current books though...
website for it is:
www.prenhall.com/tsay
I think I paid around 75-80 dollars for it, as it was a university library special.

just my 2 cents...

Defiance-
I have 3 books:

Learn To Program With Visual Basic 6
By John Smiley
ISBN 1-902745-00-0 $29.99

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This is the first book I ever bought to teach me VB. The author is the owner of a large programming company, and teaches VB6 to many colleges throughout the state. This book is for mainly beginners, because it has 15 chapters that range from building the interface, to multi-dimensional arrays and writing to the registry.

If you have to buy a single beginner's book, I would definetely recommend this one, because of its detail to everything, even on the simplest points. If you want to visit the author's website, go to http://www.johnsmiley.com. John Smiley has written a total of four books so far, and plans on writing more soon.

Sams Teach Yourself Game Programming with Visual Basic In 21 Days
By Clayton Walnum
ISBN 0-672-31987 $49.99

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This is a good book to buy if you want to grasp the beginning concepts of game programming. The author presumes you have a fairly good knowledge of VB before picking up this book. If you want a book to teach you DirectX, this isn't for you. This book is mainly focused around building simple and not so simple games.

After I read this book, I managed to pick up some great concepts and even learn a few good ways of speeding up your application. Another plus of this book is that there is a section at the ended dedicated to drawing graphics for your games. It teaches you some basics about it, such as creating metal, glass, and a few other 3-D things.

Visual Basic 6 Complete
By Steve Brown, Wayne S. Freeze, Ken Getz, Mike Gilbert, Guy Hard-Davis, Kevin Hough, Susann Novalis, Evangelos Petroutsos,
ISBN 0-7821-2469-0 $19.99

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This book I am still reading. It is mainly a reference book, with chapters taken from other books to make something of a "super book". It covers everything from writing your first line of code, to VBA, to scripting, and even a chapter dedicated to the internet. This book is filled with facts and is explained in a simple way by the many authors.

Another great thing about this book is that it is incredibly cheap! I mean, this book is a total of over a 1000 pages, and only costs $19.99. If you need a reference book, this is the book for you, if you want to learn new concepts, I would recommend some of the later chapters, because it skims through a lot of basic concepts that you might have problems with.

Visual Basic 6 Database Programming For Dummies
By Richard Mansfield
ISBN 0-7645-0625-0 $29.99

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This is my favorite book, because it explains hard database concepts so plainly, and even throws in a joke here and there. It is as if the author was a comedian explaining rocket science to you, and you were understanding it. This book covers all the new and old ways of database programming, from DAO, to ADO, Data Environment, Visual Data Manager, Microsoft Access, and a few other goodies.

The author is credited for writing a lot of For Dummies books over the years, particularly a famous one I've never heard of called Visual Studio 6 For Dummies. I finished this book in a few days, not because it was small, but because it was easy reading and explained any concept so simply and even gave step by step examples on the easiest of things to do.

--Defiance


"It doesn't matter what broke, who died, what burned or what drowned, it's my fault!"

UseTheForce-

Well here's one that i enjoyed for Database programming.

Quoted directly from Amazon!(hope i'm not in trouble

Beginning Visual Basic 6 Database Programming
by John Connell
Paperback - 880 pages 1 edition (September 1998)
Wrox Press Inc; ISBN: 1861001061

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This book covers all of the new and improved data-access features of Visual Basic 6 (VB6) and illustrates how to put the various components and techniques to work in real-world applications. The first chapter spells out the concepts of databases in general and then introduces the reader to the Data Control and the VB Data Form Wizard--a quick way to snap together a database interface. From there, author John Connell spends a few chapters illustrating how to code the data control and build a "bulletproof" user interface to your data.
After a discussion about planning your database structure, Connell steps you through the process of building a fully functional application that uses many important VB features. The chapters include screen shots, diagrams, and code snippets, with plenty of tips and step-by-step exercises. You can download the source code for the included examples from the publisher's Web site.

Once you have the preliminary education under your belt, the author presents Microsoft's Universal Data Access (UDA) architecture. He shows how to create your own data-bound ActiveX controls and use Active Server Pages (ASPs) to fetch and return database records via a Web browser. Connell finishes off this lengthy education with a brief foray into data mining and a discussion of how to export data to other applications. --Stephen Plain

Amazon Link <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861001061/qid=994468510/br=1-2/ref=b_br_lf/002-7447601-8390453>


Also, the must have!! my Fave

Mastering Visual Basic 6
by Evangelos Petroutsos
1285 pages 1st Bk&Cd edition edition (August 21, 1998)
Sybex, Inc.; ISBN: 0782122728

Editorial Reviews
Book Description
1300 pages! Here's complete authoritative coverage of Microsoft's new Internet-enabled Visual Basic, including VB 6's HTML tags and VBScript components. Like its best-selling previous edition, Mastering VB 6 is the perfect single-volume reference for beginning and intermediate programmers. New material includes detailed hand's-on exercises showing how to use VB 6 to integrate VB applications with Windows 98. Includes scores of real-world Visual Basic sample applications that are used in the business world. The CD includes all of the example code used in the book, plus ActiveX control panel extensions and Visual Basic compatible Web utilities.

Amazon Link <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0782122728/qid=994468510/br=1-24/ref=b_br_lf/002-7447601-8390453>



"I have a plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel!" - Edmund Blackadder

I've got several to suggest:

Dictor, E. (1999) Visual Basic Controls in a Nutshell . O'Reilly
The Nutshell books are typically quite good, and this one is no exception.
Excellent coverage of the various controls used with VB

A follow-up: While the content is quite good, the binding on my copy of this book was lousy.
Pages began breaking loose within a few months. It's may be confined to just this book or
production lot, since other Nutshell books I've bought don't seem to fall apart.

Rahmel, D. (1999) VB 6 Programmers Reference . Osborne/McGraw-Hill
This book is a very good quick reference, and is normally the first one I grab when
I have a question regarding basic syntax. The coverage of more advanced topics is limited,
and there are a few holes in explanations, but all in all,
it's a very good reference.

Snowdon, N. (1999) Oracle Programming with Visual Basic . Sybex
There are a lot of books about database programming with Visual Basic, and
a LOT of books dealing with Oracle, but there aren't many combining these two
areas. This book very specifically deals with the area of interfacing Visual Basic
to an Oracle database, and includes some information regarding Oracle administration.

Freeze, W. (2000) VB6 Database Programming Bible . IDG
This book is a generalized view of database access using VB, and is a valuable
addition to any database programmers library, especially if you don't need the more
in-depth information specific to an individual data server.

Mezik, D. and Hiller, S. (1999) Visual Basic 6 Certification Exam Guide. McGraw-Hill.
This is one of those in-depth manuals where you can generally find out
nearly anything you need to know. However, it is more condensed than
the other books presented above, and I generally grab it when I just can't find
an answer in the others. I'm almost always sucessful when I turn to it, although it can
take longer, with a bit more experimentation.

A follow-up post: a book which several folks have raved about, & which IMO is quite good, especially for VB beginners :

Holzner, S. (1999) Visual Basic 6 Core Language Little Black Book, The Coriolis Group, Scottsdale, AZ.

This book is laid out in a functional fashion; The first few chapters discuss creating VB programs, using the editor, defining variables, creating procedures and program flow. After this, each chapter focuses on a diferent area within VB programming, including working with files, core controls, advanced controls, WinAPI, databases, classes, etc. Within each chapter, Holzner uses a semi-cookbook approach; while he gives an example of the code needed to achieve the desired goal, he also gives a good explanation of what you're doing and why you're doing it. Each chapter is 20 to 30 pages long. Overall, the book provides good basic coverage of almost all of VB's features.

It's a very good book for anyone who is trying to learn VB, and if you've ever had a brain cramp, it's a handy way to get back on track when you have a specific issue that you're trying to nail down.

I'd recommend Dan Appleman's "Programmers Guide to the Win32 API". Marvellous book, totally invaluable.

Here (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0672315904/ref=sr_aps_books_1_1/202-7567725-3143821) on Amazon...

I've been working slowly through Applemans "Win32 API Puzzle Book and Tutorial" - He presents a puzzle and encourages you to work through the solution youself, although you can cheat & look at the answers... I'ld never do that :rolleyes:

One additional book I'ld like to mention is:

Billy S. Hollis (1999) Visual Basic 6 - Design, Specification, and Objects, Prentice Hall

This book is a combination of software project management and programming. Part 1 (the first 7 chapters) cover such topics as Analysis, Design, Functional Specifications, Requirements Gathering, Estimating, etc. Part 2 (Chapter 8-18) covers the use of objects in VB in detail. Part 3 (Chapters 19-26) covers system design. This is a book written for software developers, by a software developer. The intent of this book is to ensure that the reader develops the analysis, specification, and system design skills needed to support a software system project using Visual Basic.

I'm amazed that noone included two of my favorites:

"Visual Basic Graphics Programming (http://www.vb-helper.com/vbgp.htm)", Rod Stephens - Functional examples and explanations of many of the GDI32 API calls. The second portion of the book is devoted to 3D rendering, which I have no use for, however the first 8-9 chapters were a great way to learn about the GDI API.

"Subclassing and Hooking in Visual Basic (http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/subhookvb/)", Stephen Teilhet, O'Reilly publishing - Covers a everything about subclassing and hooking fundamentals, from instance subclassing to global subclassing to ** cringe ** hooking.

Mitchell, Allison (2003) Real-World SQL-DMO for SQL Server. APress, Berkeley, CA

This book is just outstanding in it's coverage of applying DMO to SQL Server. It's an intermediate to advanced level discussion of the topics involved in applying the SQLDMO library with Visual Basic. In addition, as both authors are database developers/DBA's, you get a good overview of their approaches to the job functions of a DBA, as well as innovative approaches in automating these roles as much as possible.

A couple of VB6/ADO books:

Gunderloy, M. (1999) Visual Basic 6 Developers Guide to ADO. Sybex (453 pages.)
This book is pretty much what the title indicates; A guide to ADO, written for the intermediate to experienced VB programmer who needs an in-depth understanding of ADO. The book does a pretty good job of this, starting with an overview and history of ADO, a discussion of competing technologies and database architecture. Gunderloy then follows with chapters devoted to the ADO object model, Bound Controls, Data Environment, and Data Reports. The last half of the book is devoted to more advanced topics, including Data Consumers, Data Shaping, Internet Access, Using ADO Multidimensional data, and even the basics of creating ADO Data sources and/or OLE DB Providers. Finally, Gunderloy includes a SQL Language Primer as an appendix.

Macdonald, R. (2000) Serious ADO: Universal Data Access with Visual Basic. APress (616 pages, CD, ISBN 1-893115-19-4)
In many ways, Serious ADO picks up where Gunderloy's book leaves off. It is intended for the experienced VB programmer, who already knows the basics of ADO. While the breadth of coverage is more limited than in Gunderloys' book, Macdonald definitely goes into more detail, and this book is especially good at discussing not only the 'How to,', but the 'Why' of ADO. In my opinion, this approach allows the reader to better understand, and be better able to use ADO effeciently, when done. The last third of Serious ADO is devoted to more of the 'real world' applications of ADO, including binding with controls and classes, the Data Environment, MTS and COM+, RDS and DHTML, and multidimensional ADO.

The CD contains all the sample code used int he book, as well as script to create the example databases. Macdonald also displays a nice sense of humor; the database he uses is based on one of the works of William Shakespeare - "Much ADO About Nothing" ;)

Both of these books are a worthwhile addition to the VB programmers library, and both are recommended. Just be aware that Macdonald's book is intended for a more experienced user than is Gunderloy's.

I'm completely new to Visual Basic and have found a book that, of the few programming books I've read, is by far the best. "Programming with Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 An Object-Oriented Approach" is the title and it's authors are Michael Ekedahl and William Newman. Even though it presents concepts in a scattered format, it has a very thorough breakdown of coding and also presents real-world hypothetical applications for the code presented. For people having difficulty with other books, I'd definitely recommend this book for a different approach.

Learn to program Visual Basic Objects (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1929685165/ref%3Dnosim/professorsmileys/104-4080078-6390360) ISBN: 1929685165 List price: $39.95
by John Smiley

This book covers a number of VB staples including

VB's own objects and collections
Control arrays and creating controls at run-time
Creating your own objects with properties, methods and events
Collections
Basic Automation with Word or Excel
Creating ActiveX components.

Again in his usual classroom style.

I found this book extremely useful in learning more about how objects work in Visual Basic.

Kline, Kevin with Kline, Daniel (2001) SQL In a Nutshell. O'Reilly (214 pages.)
This book is pretty much what the title indicates; A concise reference guide to SQL. It doesn't limit itself to just one vendor implementation though. The book does a good job explaining the various (comparative) syntaxes for ANSI SQL (SQL99), Oracle (8i,) MS SQL Server 2000, MySQL, and PostgreSQL (7.0) implementations. It doesn't explain how to use SQL, it doesn't try to show you ways to optimize a SQL procedure, or how to perform abstract joins. This book has one real purpose: to compare and contrast the major versions of SQL implementations in use today. It assumes that the reader is someone whoi is already conversant with at least one version of SQL, and is trying to learn another "flavor."

While this book is a very good general-purpose SQL reference, it's true value is, in my opinion, that it's a comparative reference. As such, it is an outstanding aid for anyone who has used, and is familiar with one of the 4 commercial or open source SQL implementations discussed above, and who now needs to broaden their expertise to include a different SQL dialect.

Version 2 was released in 2004. It is much bigger; at 691 pages it has tripled in size! This is a more complete version as well. It has added both DB2 and Sybase SQL implementations. A chapter covering SQL functions (comparitive) is included. In addition, a chapter with an overview of basic database programming has been added in Version 2.

APress, the publisher responsible for a couple of the Recommended books above, has released several, free, in PDF format.

They are available for download here: Free books from APress.Com (http://www.apress.com/free/)

Douglas, K. & Douglas, S. (2006) PostgreSQL. Sams Developer's Library Series (1006 pages - code available online)
At over one thousand pages, this is a large book. Since PostgreSQL is a large, mature product, you would expect that a book which would adequately cover most of it's features WOULD have some bulk. The Douglas' followed an interesting approach in the book; They reasoned that there are three basic groups, or classes of readers of a database book; people who need information on how to use the database, people who need information on how to develop applications that use the database, and those who need to administer the database. Granted, all of us wear different hats at different times, but, this is probably a solid approach to follow.

So, they built their book in three sections; the first section, titled Programming with PostgreSQL is aimed at the database user - it discusses how to use the database, and contains an introduction chapter, a chapter on working with data in PostgreSQL, a chapter on PostgreSQL's SQL syntax and use, and a chapter on performance.

The second section, titled Programming with PostgreSQL discusses both server-side programming and client-side programming. Server-Side programming includes an in-depth discussion of PL/pgSQL, used to write stored functions and procedures, a discussion of the PostgreSQL API's, and an overview of writing custom functions in C. The discussion of client-side processing includes chapters devoted to ODBC, Java, Perl, PHP, Tcl, Python, and .Net.

The third section is devoted to topics pertaining to PostgreSQL administration. This includes managing databases, user accounts, backup and recovery, point-in-time recovery, logging features, internationalization and localization, security, and replication, as well as exchanging data using XML, and applying the full text search capabilities.

I received this book on Friday; within 15 minutes, I had used it to solve a problem that I had been working on for a couple of hours. It's well written, and, the authors don't assume that all users will have the latest version of PostgreSQL installed - they discuss the differences between older versions of PostgreSQL and Version 8. It's earned a place on my bookshelf in only a week.

I recently received a PM from user twychopen22 (http://www.xtremevbtalk.com/member.php?userid=143862). In part, he statesI was looking at the books thread where you guys post all the recommendations for books and I was going to recommend this book to you. It is AWESOME. It is easy to understand for beginners (like me) and by the end of the 650 pages it has given a very in depth description, explanation, and instruction on ADO and all things related. In the 2 weeks I have had this book I have learned tons! Please recommend this to all who want to learn about ADO it is a life saver. It also comes with a cd of very helpful coding. Thanks!

ADO Programming in Visual Basic 6 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0130858579/sr=1-1/qid=1153947207/ref=sr_1_1/103-0591983-9319807?ie=UTF8&s=books)
by Steven Holzner

This is still my all time fav classic VB book - Hardcore Visual Basic by Bruce McKinney.

This is THE book that turned me into a hardcore programmer.

Hardcore Visual Basic, Second Edition is a book for people who like Visual Basic, but don't like limits. It's for people who won't take no for an answer.

Bruce can be caustic, opinionated, and arrogant, but if you are a hardcore VB programmer, his book reads like a novel, and a good novel at that. I found myself looking forward to his flame sidebars and didn't even get too upset at him in sections where I disagreed with his comments. Bruce has that rare talent to explain extremely technical subject matter in an understandable way and to make that explanation entertaining, as well. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

It's for advanced VB programmers and it does not cover database nor internet programming.

It was on the MSDN CD (up to Dec 1999/Jan 2000) and is available online at http://vb.mvps.org/hardcore/

Corrections, updates, links to source code, rants, etc. can be found at http://brucem.mystarband.net/mckinney.htm

Matthew, N. and Stones, R. (1999) Beginning Databases with PostgreSQL: From Novice to Professional. Second Edition. APress (637 pages.)

This book provides a very thorough overview of database basics. This is NOT just a book about PostgreSQL; instead, it is a book about databases, from the ground up, which happens to emphasize PostgreSQL. This is due to the fact that, in addition to being a very good database choice for almost any real-world application, PostgreSQL is an outstanding database with which to learn how to use databases correctly.

The first few chapters are an introduction to PostgreSQL, basic relational database principles, and how to get started with PostgreSQL. After a chapter on working with PostgreSQL's text-based interface (pSql) with simple to intermediate SQL queries,you have a chapter on working with PostgreSQL's other tools, both command line and GUI based. You also have three full chapters dealing with more advanced SQL, a chapter discussing transactions, a chapter on functions, stored procedures, and triggers, and a chapter dealing with PostgreSQL administration. Then, a chapter dealing with database design, which in about 35 pages, is a very nice overview of the subject. (It covers systems analysis, logical design, conversion to a physical model, normalization through 3nf, and several common patterns you will encounter.

The next 6 chapters deal with interfacing to PostgreSQL from C, php, perl, java and C# (both Windows and Mono.) Finally, the various appendixes and index comprise the last 90 pages or so.
I was quite impressed with this book. It's coverage is outstanding, especially for someone who is just starting to work with databases, or for someone just starting with PostgreSQL. For the database novice, the authors provide excellent coverage of SQL; not just the syntax, but WHY you do things one way as opposed to another. For the PostgreSQL novice who already knows SQL, this book is still good for you, as they cover the whys and wherefores for PostgreSQL; its installation, administration, programming, and tuning.

About the only fault that I had with it is the linux leanings of the authors, (not surprising, really, since PostgreSQL has its roots in linux) which, in and of itself isn't an issue. However, the (probably subsequent) total lack of VB coverage, either classic, or dotNet was. I really don't consider this to be a major issue: it is really more of an annoyance, given the other outstanding features of the book. At the time of the it's release, PostgreSQL version 8.0 was released, and its features are well documented in the book, however, several features which were released with PostgreSQL versions 8.1 and 8.2 (Roles and Two-Phase Commits are the most significant) and will need to be addressed separately by the reader.

I can strongly recommend this book, for both the novice database programmer, OR for the novice PostgreSQL user.

Well if you guys liked Hardcore VB check out. "Advanced Visual Basic 6: Power Techniques for Everyday Programs" by Matthew J. Curland

i know VB6 is a dying platform, and this book is a little too hardcore for most, but i loved it. gave me a better understanding than hardcore vb.

amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Visual-Basic-Techniques-DevelopMentor/dp/0201707128/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/103-7746592-2546229?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181750201&sr=8-3)

also all the database books you guys recommended are pretty much invaluable. those are probably more important than any vb books :D at least in my experience as a developer.

edit: if you do buy this book, don't get it from amazon - get it from one of their affiliates, and make sure it comes with a CD. the CD isnt mandatory - but most people that get this book will be absolutely clueless without the included code.