VB6 Book

[Allanon]

OK, I want to get into programming and so a while ago, decided to start with visual basic.

After reading this book (dummy ) I really enjoyed it and got a grasp for the basics such as variables, functions, arguments, procedures, UI design etc yet now I want to progress.

I'm having problems though, deciding which book to go with next. I obviously don't want a book which is going to go over the same concepts again but at the same time, I don't want to go too far and find myself in the deep-end at an advanced level. When I do find one that looks promising, there tends to be really good reviews but also reviews which say it sucks

So if anyone can reccomend a good book which should help me to progress, it'd be much appreciated, thanks.

[Cintaria]

... alternativeley, find an on-line tutorial, and skip the bits you know?

[Allanon]

Originally Posted by Cintaria

... alternativeley, find an on-line tutorial, and skip the bits you know?

Yeah it's probably something I'll look into but I'd also like a good book, just something to read on a night and something I can really put my concentration into. I think I'd learn better and quicker from it tbh.

But on a side note, any recommended online tutorials, google can come up with some crappy ones.

[kevin]

nah stick with the book you have and use the basics to make more advanced programs.

With the basics you should be able to make a chess game against a computer, or connect-4 game against a computer or tic-tac-toe game against a computer. (lol and other things apart from games,but games tend to be the most fun to make).

once u've got the basics totally mastered you should be able to make a whole range of programs without much diffuctly.

My advice is:

if you can make a decent chess-game against a computer then you can move on to more advanced things.

[Tesl]

Originally Posted by kevin

(lol and other things apart from games,but games tend to be the most fun to make).

And also the most difficult...

Originally Posted by kevin

My advice is:

if you can make a decent chess-game against a computer then you can move on to more advanced things.

If you were me, i wouldnt bother with making something like that yet. The problem with a game like chess is that wheras the game mechanics are simply and the graphics easy, the AI very very difficult. If you really want to make a game id go for something like Tetris.

Then again, thats assuming you actually want to programme games. If you want to improve your programming then be aware that you will eventually need to move on from a language like Visual Basic, and start working with languages such as C/++ or Java. Maybe even some scripting languages (Perl/Python/Lua whatever). Only by doing that will you improve your programming ability, and by becoming proficient in a C based language be able to truly understand what is going on under the hood.

Ultimately you could really do with some sort of goal, something that you want to make that you would consider useful. Application programming is easy once you have a good understanding of the logic your chosen language uses. Its especially easy to do that in VB if you have Visual Studio.

[kevin]

Originally Posted by Disley

And also the most difficult...



If you were me, i wouldnt bother with making something like that yet. The problem with a game like chess is that wheras the game mechanics are simply and the graphics easy, the AI very very difficult. If you really want to make a game id go for something like Tetris.

Then again, thats assuming you actually want to programme games. If you want to improve your programming then be aware that you will eventually need to move on from a language like Visual Basic, and start working with languages such as C/++ or Java. Maybe even some scripting languages (Perl/Python/Lua whatever). Only by doing that will you improve your programming ability, and by becoming proficient in a C based language be able to truly understand what is going on under the hood.

Ultimately you could really do with some sort of goal, something that you want to make that you would consider useful. Application programming is easy once you have a good understanding of the logic your chosen language uses. Its especially easy to do that in VB if you have Visual Studio.

thats some good advice there

[Allanon]

Sorry for the late reply.

Thanks the advice guys, I did get myself a book but with starting sixth form and such, haven't really had the time yet.

I think I'll probably take your advice Disley and set myself a target to overcome, gradually get better at VB and then move onto more advanced languages.