Where to Begin in VB 3

[chelandrew]

I'm coming from a unix/oracle/c/java world to sql server/vb and would like some general hints/guidelines as to where to start as far as tools/books/articles etc. especially for vb. I've scoured the web and have found tons of sites/forums but not knowledgeable enough at this point to know which are the best. The app I need to do is fairly simply on the input side but pretty complex on the analytical and report side. I'm having to be dba and developer so I'm looking for anything to make the vb development as easy as possible.

 

[dilettante]

Even those simple-looking "21 Days" style books work fine for a quick lead-in to VB.

They should cover the basics of the language syntax, working with the GUI form-layout tools in the IDE, setting control properties, manipulating methods and properties of VB objects, menus in VB, the event-handling mechanism VB uses, and simple I/O. Maybe even some simple graphics processing.

But this is for a quick intro, enough to be able to make sense of a more advanced book. This first level book will be boring, but it isn't the waste of time some people might tell you it is. Go through it methodically, beginning to end being VERY sure to actually do all the simple example programs.

Then get a next level book, covering database access, advanced I/O topics, classes, ActiveX, and socket and serial port I/O. Perhaps advanced graphics processing if you have a use for it. These books usually have something like "Mastering" in their titles - but quality does vary.

My "best" choice isn't a book at all, it is Microsoft's "Mastering VB" CD short-course.

After this you'll find you know merely enough to be dangerous - you have all of Windows DNA (and soon .Net - the next incarnation) ahead of you.

I'm assuming you need more than to do simple two-tiered applications. If not, you'll be almost home after the second book - if you supplement it with a book that discusses VB and SQL Server. You might need more detail on SQL Server if you're going to have to be the DBA too, or if you need to write stored procedures. Transact-SQL is very different from Oracle's PL/SQL, but meets roughly the same needs.

You might want to look into reporting tools beyond those included in VB too, but you won't need that immediately.

That's my 2 cents, I'm sure others have more specific recommendations to make ;-)

 

[Terpsfan]

I suggest you get a couple of books by WROX press that have helped me immeasurably in creating client-server applications with VB/SQL Server. One is called "Professional VB6 Databases" by Charles Williams and the other is "Beginning Visual Basic SQL Server 7.0" by Thearon Willis.

What I like about the WROX books is that it takes you from a project from beginning to end and explains the code every step of the way.

 

[MikeCox]

Take a look at Microsoft Press Programming Visual Basic 6.0 by Fransesco Balena. It's geared toward the experienced developer learning VB from the ground up. It covers most everything you'd need, and comes with a ton of reusable routines and (class) modules on CD, and the book itsself is full of tricks, VB bug workarounds, and reusable code. Check out his website at

http://www.vb2themax.com

and you'll get a feel for the kind of information covered in the book.

Good luck!

~Mike
Any man willing to sacrifice liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security.

-Ben Franklin