Desktop Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 MCSD Training Kit

This book alone is not enough to pass the exam. I did it using this book and Transcender. First I went through the entire book, did all the exercises, and took notes to use for study. When finished, I did the Transcender simulated exams. I took all of the simulated exams (flunked all the first time through), then went back and studied the answers and why the answer was correct. I passed the real exam the first time. A lot of material is not covered by the book, but the book exposes you to areas of Visual Basic that you don't use in your work environment. As one example, the exam covers Package and Deployment in much more depth than the book.

On balance, the book provides a useful learning experience. Completing the lessons forced me to learn about a number of topics I had simply skipped over in my programming experience, and that is probably good for exam preparation. I was, however, apalled at the large number of errors. In some cases the process of figuring out why the code in the book did not work was in itself an interesting learning experience. In other cases the errors simply could not be fixed - such as essential files missing from the CD. I looked in vain for some instruction on how to report errors. I guess they just don't care.

I bought this book as a resource to study for the MSCD exams. I am very satisfied with it. It is an invaluable study guide for the exams, and it can teach you a lot about some of the ancillary technologies in Visual Basic.PROS: Excellent self test on the CD. This test can help you prepare for the test as much as the book itself. In depth discussion on ADOCONS: Inconsistancies in the labs, and a presumed development environment. Make sure you load your software as they suggest in the book. Any variations may cause some issues with doing the labs. They tend to presume you've installed things a certain way.TIPS: Take the sample test until you get 100% on it.

I read this book from cover to cover and used each of the labs. I wish there was an additional workbook with more examples and lab exercises, but what was there was mostly quite good.One negative comment regarding finding erratta / updates. It was hard. I engaged in a slew of emails with Microsoft before I found the stuff. When I did, it was worth it.The thing I liked best was the labs followed one example through the entire book. That gave continuity to the practice exercises.

I found this book to be good but it does not contain enough info to pass the test. For example, coverage of the Package and Deployment wizard is too minimal. I recommend it highly, but you'll need more info so don't count on the info from just this book.

You will have to rate your current Visual Basic (VB) skills to help you decide whether you should buy this book.I consider this book helpful if you have not used VB in a very long time (me), you have used a previous version of VB and are not familiar with VB 6's new features (me), or you have programming experience with a tool other than VB. The material flows nicely from chapter to chapter and the topics build upon each other. The fact that you write an entire application by the time you finish the book is nice because you see how the skills you are learning can be applied to a real situation. You also get some insight into Microsoft's software development philosophy. I felt good after finishing this book because I had a much better understanding of VB 6's features and how they could be used.For those of you with current VB 6 experience and you just want to pass the exam, buy something else. This book does cover most of the topics that are on the exam, but does not do so with the kind of depth needed to pass the exam. With that said, I would recommend both MCSD in a Nutshell and MCSD Visual Basic 6 Desktop Exam Cram. The Transcender practice tests would be a wise investment, also.Good Luck!

Will this book give you everything you need to know for the exam? No.Does it point you in the right direction? Yes, it does that.But you will need supplemental material AND Practice.Is this book error-filled? Yes. And the corrections are hard to find.Is it easy to read? Yes. The language is light enough for someone relatively new to VB 6.It was hard to tell who the intended audience was. I have enjoyed much success with MSPress's Training Kits in the past. As an MCSD Training Kit, it would seem to be for someone proficient in the language, wanting to know what points to emphasize in study. However it is not detailed enough, and is written in a language style more suited for a newcomer. Overall, this is a pretty good book to sit down and learn some of the language along with the Intentions of the VB Exam. It gives the reader a high-level view of the language and topics covered. However, the detail is left to the reader to find, in either experience or other materials. The exercises are valuable and the demo exam is not.The largest problem of this book, besides the errors, is the price tag: The cost of this book outweighs the benefits.

You've heard all this before, if you've read any of the other reviews on this page. So I'll be brief about the book, and then tell you what you really want to know, and that's how to prepare for the test.The book is, as per the MOC usual, a general foundation and overview of the technologies, but very much lacking in the detail needed for you to pass the exam.The exam tests your knowledge of data types, default properties for controls (referencing "text1" is the same as referencing "text1.text"), focuses heavily on how to deploy solutions (to web server? To floppy? To CD-ROM? You decide...), and stresses data services as well (knowing which cursor types and locations to use).Read this book for a good overall picture, but also read the following:- VB6 Desktop Exam Prep- VB6 Black Book- VB6 Distributed Exam Cram (this will give you some cross-reference on data services and package/deployment)Good luck on the test.