by Steven Roman, Ron Petrusha and Paul Lomax
O'Reilly & Associates

My experiences with ‘Nutshell’ books have been both bad and good. I wasn’t sure which I would get with VB.Net Language in a Nutshell. After reviewing this book I am happy to say this is a good one. Not only good, superb.

I have used this book about 20 times in the last 2 weeks when I needed to look something up quickly. The funny thing was that the pile of books I usually keep close by on my computer table seemed to diminish the more I used it.

I have really only used the VB and VBScript languages (no C or C++, and just a smidge of Java), so going with VB.Net was definitely the path of least resistance when starting to work with ASP.Net. This book will be a great asset to someone who wants to stay in the VB world. Through out the book you will find VB.Net / VB 6 differences pointed out. These tips will really help during the transition to VB.Net.

Chapter by Chapter Summary:

Chapter 1: Introduction
This very short chapter gives a little background on VB and VB.Net. It is very brief, and I do not know if it is really needed. Most VB people will know the history of VB, and anyone getting this book will probably have heard all the info on VB.Net that is given. That being said it may just be in for the non-VB people getting the book.

Chapter 2: Program Structure
This chapter goes in to the details and nuts-n-bolts of what the structure of a VB program is. It also gives quick overviews of functions, sub procedures, property procedures, events, console apps and window forms apps.

Chapter 3: Variables and Data Types
This is a good chapter. It talks about everything from variable properties and scope to arrays and passing objects. VB data types, binding, and arguments are among the other things covered. All topics have very concise definitions and meaningful examples. No extraneous fluff.

Chapter 4: Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming
The chapter title pretty well says what this chapter is about. Encapsulation, Inheritance, Interfaces, Polymorphism, etc. are all discussed with a VB.Net twist. In reality this chapter and chapter 1 could have been integrated together, but I won’t bust them too bad on this since I really liked their information on Garbage Collection.

Chapter 5: The .Net Framework: General Concepts
This is a short 6-page chapter on general .Net Framework information. Briefly touches on Namespaces, Assemblies, and the CLR.

Chapter 6: The .Net Framework Class Library
This is another very brief chapter that highlights just a few of the more than 90 Namespaces in the .Net Framework Class Library.

Chapter 7: Delegates and Events
This chapter is an 8-page brief on delegates, events, and event binding. Not much more to really say.

Chapter 8: Attributes
This 10-page chapter goes into Attributes. Their use and syntax, as well as instruction on using custom attributes is covered.

Chapter 9: Error Handling in VB.Net
This chapter does a great job of explaining Error Handling in VB.Net. The difference between error detection and error handling is defined. Structured (Try, Catch, Finally) and unstructured error handling are discussed. Exception classes, logical errors, and error constants are also briefly talked about. This is a great overview chapter.

Chapter 10: The Language Reference
This is THE chapter. This almost 450-page chapter alone is worth the $45 price tag. It is a listing of the VB.Net language elements. There are many things I really like about the way that they cover the language elements. Besides return values and descriptions of the elements, they also have included ‘Rules at a glance’, which quickly informs you of all the important information as to the usage of the element. Another thing I like is the ‘Programming tips and gotchas’ section that some of the elements have. All are full of useful information that will save you time. The thing I probably like the most is the ‘VB.NET / VB 6 Differences’ blurbs they give when there is a difference in the language element from VB 6 to VB.Net. Those blurbs are invaluable to someone transitioning from the VB 6 world. Excellent, excellent, excellent chapter. Well done.

Appendix A: What is new and different in VB.Net
This appendix specifically covers the changes from VB 6 to VB.Net. This is an excellent supplement to the ‘VB.NET / VB 6 Differences’ blurbs in chapter 10. I also like that they give a listing of the obsolete programming elements that have been removed from VB.Net.

Appendix B: Language Elements by Category
This is an excellent supplement for chapter 10. It helps you find which language elements you need to use when approaching a specific kind of situation. It is a very nice and useful appendix.

Appendix C: Operators
This appendix covers the 4 kinds of Operators in VB.Net. They are Arithmetic, Assignment, Comparison, and Logical. Order of precedence is also covered. Excellent reference material.

Appendix D: Constants and Enumerations
This is a reference for all the built-in Constants and Enumerators for VB.Net. Again, great reference material.

Appendix E: The VB.Net Command-Line Compiler
A reference for the VB.Net command-line compiler. The switches are well explained.

Appendix F: VB 6 Language Elements Not Supported by VB.NET
This gives an alphabetical listing of the language elements in VB 6 that are not present in VB.Net. Once again, this reference will be very helpful for those transitioning to VB.Net from VB 6.

Well folks, without a doubt this book is a 10 out of 10. Get it. It is well worth the price. Well done!