Rod Stephens $39.99, 440 pages, 1997 Wiley Computer Publishing ISBN 0-471-18881-6 Paperback This valuable guide explains how experienced Visual Basic programmers can add advanced capabilities to their programs. It describes sophisticated features included in commercial applications like About dialogs, splash screens, recent file lists, and print previewing. The programs cover database programming, client/server, ActiveX controls, and Web programming.

Praise for Advanced Visual Basic Techniques

Bedtime Reading
If you're tired of Visual Basic books that skimp on highend features, we've found the perfect tome: Advanced Visual Basic Techniques by Rod Stephens (Wiley Computer Publishing, $39.99). It tackles complex validation, file management, database, client/server, and dynamic controls issues in VB5 head-on, without belaboring details to make the book unnecessarily thick. Well written and with sufficient code (only on the accompanying CD), this is a must read. -- Windows Magazine, Nov 1997, page 104.

Small Computer Book Club Selection of the Month.

Library of Computer and Information Sciences regular selection.

Readers Say

I got Visual Basic 5 Advanced Techniques by Rod Stephens last week. I have not finished it yet but I've looked thru the whole book. If you are looking for the next step up from all the "How to" books out there, this is it.

I was at the point where I was tired of ordering a new book and most of what it did was tell me how to draw a text box again I was about ready to give up.

This book takes us another level up. It's the best thing I've seen so far as far as learning new things. I am still using VB4.0 so I almost didn't order the book because I though it would be just a beginners book for VB5 but after I heard about it on this forum [CompuServe Basic Languages] I decided to take a chance and I'm glad I did.

You can also find it at www.booksonline.com --Don Evans

A Note on Visual Basic Version

VB6 introduced some new features that provide alternatives to some of this book's techniques. VB.NET is so different from previous versions that few examples in any book will work without modification.

Even so, several of the techniques described by Advanced Visual Basic Techniques are still extremely useful. Splash screens, About dialogs, non-rectangular forms, MRU (most recently used file) lists, and other topics are relevent even today.