I knew how to do all the basics in access, Make forms, reports, basic queries, and basic access pages--so I got this book hoping to expand on the one area i was foreign to--VBA.
The first 150 pages were great, very clear and like any WROX book, they do these 'do it yourself' examples where they make you type out some code.
After roughly page 150, I began to get sucked into a quagmire of theory and less and less practical application. I went into this book hoping to answer the single question 1. What practical uses of VBA can i employ in my bio-tech work environment? As I proceeded into the book I realized that I was being lost in theory and -0- practical application. The book sure tells you what an Array is, what Functions are, Methods, operators, etc--but you know what? I sure wish there were some practical examples! good lord, there is an entire chapter on the history of DAO stuck in the middle of useful information.
This book for the most part is a massive amount of theory which is used in THEIR context, not one that one could think 'hey..that might be useful!'---on page 226 I realized I had found something that might be useful to me: a way to count how many records are in a table. Excellent. It only took 226 pages to get there. But other than that--I have 250 pages of information stored in my brain and can't think of any practical use for them! The book has a large 'ice cream' database that it uses for examples, but its really really just not very helpful.
Its method of teaching I think contains way too much theory and far too little practical training and experience. If you already know VBA or another language, sure this will be a decent review--but if you don't know any language well like me, but you DO know access fairly well minus the VB aspect, this book will leave you clueless at the entrance of chapter 5.
My favorite line? Page 228 "You should be getting a feel for the VBA code by now, so we won't explain every line that we write"
Ah, wonderful--not only am I left in the dust due to excessive amounts of theory which I have not been able to use, but now they're not going to explain every line.
Anyway, I usually like the Wrox books--like their javascript book, but this one is just terrible. If you are new and you want something to help you with the fundamental uses of VBA and its practical application, LOOK ELSEWHERE. If you want a reference book on how specific areas in VBA work--this book will be a decent refresher.
Ethan
