Amazon.co.uk: Programming Distributed Applications with COM and Microsoft Visual Basic (Programming/Visual Basic): T. Pattison: Books

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links (What is this?)

www.progress.com/dataxtend Ensure performance of distributed database apps with DataXtend.

www.roguewave.com Components and infrastructure for enterprise C++ development

www.reedlearning.co.uk Advanced Level - Visual Basic Programming for Excel...

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Microsoft's DCOM is the key technology for enterprise development for the Windows platform. Written for the working Visual Basic developer or project manager, Programming Distributed Applications with COM and Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 introduces the basics of DCOM objects in a clear style. All examples are written in Visual Basic, and the reader learns about new Microsoft BackOffice technologies such as Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) (for transaction processing) and Microsoft Message Queue Server (MSMQ) (for message queuing). If your shop uses Microsoft tools, Visual Basic 6 stands ready to write today's scalable distributed applications using DCOM. This well organised text shows you how DCOM works and what advantages it offers for today's enterprise developer using Visual Basic 6. --Richard Dragan

Book Description
In order to create scalable, distributed objects with Visual Basic, a programmer must understand the underlying architecture and complexities of Microsoft's Component Object Model (COM)-information that until now has been primarily available in resources aimed at the C++ programmer. PROGRAMMING DISTRIBUTED APPLICATIONS WITH COM AND MICROSOFT VISUAL BASIC 6.0 teaches COM fundamentals in language Visual Basic programmers understand, and explains how to exploit the significant COM-based capabilities in Visual Basic 6.0. Businesses that can leverage existing VB proficiency to develop business objects in the middle tier can realize tremendous gains in their enterprise development strategy.

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
This chapter briefly describes what the Component Object Model (COM) is, where COM came from, and why you need to understand this technology to work in a distributed Windows NT environment. Read the first page

Explore More
Concordance

Customer Reviews

43 Reviews

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

(43 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Best-written technical book I have read, 3 Jun 1999

By A Customer

There are two ways a reader will measure how good a technical reference book is; The first is how closely the technical information matches the reader's educational requirements and the second (less important) criterion is how much the reader likes the author's writing style. Both are highly subjective.

In my case, as a C, C++ and VB programmer and latterly as a project manager, I have managed to avoid COM throughout my career because it sounded complex and I couldn't be bothered to learn it. However eventually the unthinkable happened- A client demanded an n-tier solution based upon VB and MTS which means COM! So I bought this book to learn about COM and MTS from a Visual Basic 6.0 standpoint. The results, from my point of view, are unequivocal- It could not have been better! Not only does it go through all required subjects in a clear and logical manner it manages to do it without patronising the reader and without introducing ANY of the tedious and superflous "fluff" that is par for the course with many other less notable programming books.

Since the subject matter fitted EXACTLY with my requirements it would have to be very poorly written indeed not to achieve a high mark- but it is rather well written, which is a pleasant bonus. Passages are repeated- but only where you need reminding of crucial information to support a point. There is some humour, but it is used sparingly and therefore, to my mind, to greater effect. I did not find any typos and there are plenty of diagrams where relevant and none where not relevant.

Note that as well as a detailed reference on Distributed Programming, COM and MTS using VB, this book also goes into great detail into threading, Message Queue programming, DLL compatibility modes and other esoteric but important Visual Basic matters.

The one area it does not cover is how one goes about designing systems that are going to be distributed- But this is not a criticism as it is not in the scope of the book. I bought Visual Basic Business Objects published by Wrox for learning those particular skills (only just started reading it so cannot comment on its suitability).

All in all this has been the best technical programming book I have ever read (and I have read a great many), not for the VB beginner and only useful if you REALLY need to know about COM, MTS and distributed programming- But if this describes you then it will not fail you.

Well done to the auther. If only all programming books were this good!

Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you?

(Report this)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

The greatest bok of the millenium about VB, COM and MTS, 14 Dec 1998

By A Customer

What a great book! The author (a fellow of Don Box at Develop Mentor) explains COM and DCOM as seen from Visual Basic side in the best way I've ever seen. The technical details of the book are right to the point, without too much detail in useless code and not missing a point for what regards developing for COM/DCOM and MTS. This is a book that any VB serious developer needs on his bookshelf, and if you develop using MTS it's a mandatory reading. After having read and understood the DCOM parts (and if you will understand all you've done the 80% of the job of understanding MTS) there are two chapter about MTS that should be taken as an example from Microsoft about how MTS documentation should have been written (and they include also a very good explanation about how debugging under MTS using VB6), a chapter on MSMQ explaining the various way of persisting objects, including the new persisting properties of VB6 and a final chapter about security and planning with MTS.

If you develop with MTS using a language different from VB I suggest you to read it in any case, because, if you omit the VB parts, it has a very good explanations about COM and MTS internals that it's useful for any language.

Very, very, very recommended, I've read all what is available regarding MTS and this is the BEST book on the subject until now, with a big margin over the second place.

Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you?

(Report this)

Clear, but with detail., 23 Jun 2000

By	shudson@clara.net (London) - See all my reviews

I have read quite a few books on COM aimed at VB programmers but this one stands a head-and-shoulders above the rest. My understanding of interface design, the workings of COM and threading models has been greatly improved. This book gave me the king of detail that I was looking for, but still presented in a clear way. I recommend it.

Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you?

(Report this)

› See all 43 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews