Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the .NET Framework Class Library is the definitive guide every Visual Basic .NET developer needs to understand the capabilities of .NET namespaces and increase productivity inside the .NET framework. Lars Powersand Mike Snell have provided a comprehensive book that details the capabilities of the key namespaces, and then explains how to leverage them by extension or reference to create applications ranging from simple to complex.

Each chapter provides a brief introduction to the selected technology, followed by detailed suggestions, reference material, and a sample application that illustrates common programming tasks using the classes, interfaces, delegates, and events of a specific .NET namespace. This book answers the primary questions that VB .NET developers will face as they start developing code in the .NET environment, including: What does the .NET class library provide me in terms of re-usable code? Are there .NET structures available that I can use to accomplish a specific task? How do I go about interfacing with the .NET framework through my code?

Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the .NET Framework Class Library is acomprehensive guide as you learn how to use the .NET Framework classes, then it will become a trusted reference as your experience and needs grow in the world of .NET.

For example, today I needed to show the "save file" dialog and then write the contents of a text box to a text file. I know how to do that in VB6, but I hadn't done it in VB.Net before. I searched MSDN which gave me accurate descriptions of the menthods and properties of at least four classes for writing data to files, but I still had no idea which one(s) I needed to use.

I am sure the sample code I needed is somewhere in MSDN, but I hadn't found it after 20 minutes searching when I gave up and referred to this book. In five minutes I had found what I was after, my code worked and I was able to get on with my next task. That is what this book is for. If you want to learn about the new programming features in VB.Net (like polymorphism, delegates etc) this is not your book. But if you want help getting your .Net program to talk to anything (files, printers, active directory, browsers, TCP/IP Sockets, XML/XSLT or whatever) This book will be a valuable resource.

Just note that while this book covers ASP.Net and ADO.Net, if you work with these a lot you might want more depth than is provided here. I will be considering the Wrox "ASP.Net Namespace Reference" when it is released.


A Focused Look at the Namespaces   March 5, 2002
 10 out of 12 found this review helpful

I found this book to be a handy 2nd book to have on .NET programming... it doesn't have much content to help you make the transition to .NET (I'd have to recommend Gary Cornell's Programming VB .NET: A Guide for Experienced Programmers for that task), but it does do a great job of helping you find the right class libraries and write code with them once you are up and running with your language of choice.

Each chapter is focused on a namespace. The authors then spend a few pages bringing people up to speed on the spotlight technology (I am new to XML and particularly liked the intro to XML piece). Then they dive right into the details of using the .NET classes to achieve your desired end-result. The class library that ships with .NET is huge, and I found it helpful to use this book as a guide to highlight the classes I should worry about to get 80-90% of my programming work done.

Now for the cons: the sample applications could have been a bit more in-depth, and I really think they should have spent the time to make the book "bi-lingual" by providing some C# code as well - but overall, a great addition to your .NET bookshelf.


An excellent resource for writing code   May 28, 2002
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Because of a project, I needed to finally make the jump from VB6 to VB.NET. After reviewig several books, I grabbed the book by Powers and Snell. It helped tremendously on the key pieces of my project. What I really like are the numerous code examples - worth the price of the book alone! I even contacted the authors to get their thoughts on something and ask a few questions. Not only did they reply with great answers, but their indepth knowledge of .NET helped finalize an important part of my project architecture. Looking forward to more titles by Powers and Snell. Thanks again guys!


Awesome Book, a must have   February 28, 2002
 1 out of 3 found this review helpful

Packed with tons of usefull source code, helped me complete a project early. A definate must have. If you want to do any programing on .Net!


Enhanced with call-outs and highlighted sections   October 8, 2002
 1 out of 3 found this review helpful

Visual Basic experts Lars Powers and Mike Snell effective collaborate in the Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the .NET Framework Class Library to instruct intermediat to advanced level users on a full range of issues including: delineating and define the pieces of .NET; explaining how/why .NET was conceived and what this means to VB6/Windows DNA developers; how to execute Windows programming using the .NET namespaces; position the .NET namespaces within the context of the reader's project; how to make architecture decisions when using .NET namespaces; as well as details about the construction of Web Services and how they programmatically communicate with each other. Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the .NET Framework Class Library is enhanced further with call-outs and highlighted sections will illustrate concepts by relating previous VB6/Windows DNA best practices with the new .NET approach. 1152 pages. User Level: Intermediate-Advanced. Highly Recommended.