Review

 I found this to be an excellent book for beginners to Visual Basic. As the title states, this book takes you "step by step" through all aspects of Visual Basic .NET. It assumes no prior programming experience with Visual Basic. The book was designed with a variety of skill levels in mind so that new programmers can learn software development fundamentals using real world applications and experienced Visual Basic programmers can quickly master the essential tools and programming techniques offered in the new Visual Basic .NET version.

The book starts off slowly by showing the reader how to create their first simple Visual Basic .NET program. This helps to build confidence and quickly familiarize the reader with the Visual Basic environment. The book is well organized and divided into various parts, such as, creating the user interface, database programming, internet programming, object oriented programming, and more. Each of these parts is clearly presented with plenty of sample code and screen shots.

I highly recommend this book to all beginners to Visual Basic. Check out other reviews at Amazon.com. They are all excellent.

Table of Contents

Ch. 1 Opening and Running a Visual Basic .NET Program
Ch. 2 Writing Your First Program
Ch. 3 Working with Toolbox Controls Ch. 4 Working with Menus and Dialog Boxes

Part. 2 Programming Fundamentals

Ch. 5 Visual Basic .NET Variables and Operators
Ch. 6 Using Decision Structures
Ch. 7 Using Loops and Timers
Ch. 8 Debugging Visual Basic .NET Programs
Ch. 9 Trapping Errors Using Structured Error Handling

Part. 3 Managing Corporate Data

Ch. 10 Using Modules and Procedures
Ch. 11 Using Arrays and Collections to Manage Data
Ch. 12 Exploring Text Files and String Processing
Ch. 13 Automating Microsoft Office Applications and Managing Processes
Ch. 14 Deploying Visual Basic .NET Applications

Part. 4 Advanced User Interface Design

Ch. 15 Managing Windows Forms
Ch. 16 Adding Graphics and Animation Effects
Ch. 17 Inheriting Forms and Creating Base Classes
Ch. 18 Working with Printers

Part. 5 Database Programming

Ch. 19 Getting Started with ADO.NET
Ch. 20 Data Presentation Using the DataGrid Control

Part. 6 Internet Programming

Ch. 21 Displaying HTML Documents Using Internet Explorer
Ch. 22 Using Web Forms to Build Interactive Web Applications Part. 7 Appendixes

App. A Upgrading Visual Basic 6 Programs to Visual Basic .NET
App. B Where to Go for More Information
Upgrading Index
Index