I am the author of this book. I am submitting this review because I believe there's a confusion about what's in the book. This is, in part, because the title changed three times on the way to its final release, and some book sellers didn't get the last change. For example, the book title on this page is correct, but the book cover shows the wrong title. I write this review to give potential readers a good idea about what's in the book and why the content is important for those creating solutions with Access databases.
I want to begin by saying this book is about Programming Visual Basic .NET. My goal is to introduce you to the .NET Framework through Visual Basic .NET. As result, the coverage is broad without drilling deeply into any one area. For example, you'll find 3 chapters on VB.NET programming, 2 on Windows Forms, 3 on ADO.NET, 2 on ASP.NET, and 1 chapter on XML Web Services. In addition, there's an introductory chapter on the .NET Framework and an appendix on XML for Visual Basic .NET Access database developers.
The second point that I want to make about the book is that it targets Access database developers. All the database samples in the book, except one, are for Access databases, and every chapter has at least one complete sample -- most have several samples. There is a separate chapter devoted to securing .NET applications for Access databases. To say the book is about Access databases is true. However, it is not about the Access UI. If you currently create solutions exclusively with the Access UI and you want to continue doing that, this book is not for you. However, if you currently program Access solutions with either VBA or VB, then this book is an easy way to transition to VB.NET.
I want to close my review by mentioning why I think it so important for Access developers to learn VB.NET. The simple answer is that .NET is coming. Microsoft introduced it in Visual Studio .NET, and then added it to Windows 2003. A Microsoft roadmap explains that the next version of SQL Server will include the .NET Framework. Can Access and the whole of Office be far behind? Beyond the certainty that .NET will be on a growing number of computers near you, there is the issue that now is the right time to learn VB.NET. This is because VB.NET is at the beginning. It can only become richer (more complicated) with each succeeding version. The best time to learn .NET is right now. My hope is that you use my book to help you do that.
