Developing Microsoft .Net Controls with Microsoft Visual Basic .Net

by John Connell and John Connell

Written for experienced developers, this guide explains how to work with the .NET framework classes of controls and build custom controls for Windows forms and web form pages. After discussing... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0735619247
• ISBN13: 9780735619241
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Microsoft Press
• Length: 502 Pages
• Weight: 2.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Quite a bit of hard to find information here

I have Connell's database book, and his other Microsoft Book on Coding Techniques. So, I purchased this book because I was so pleased with the other 2. This is excellent. If you wish to build a control - he covers both client and ASP.NET. And if you have a really good idea for a control, he goes into several advanced licensing techniques. Probably my favorite chapter is on encryption. I can see why Microsoft wanted Mr Connell to write another book. He has a keen sense of knowing what readers want and can explain his thoughts with crystal clearity.

The first I've heard of GUCCI verbs

While I've never built a control before, I need to build something for a client. After pre-ordering this, I was amazed to find out about designer verbs and designers in general. The Wizards of Redmond constructed the pieces to interact and really make building sophisticated controls easy for anyone that understands OO and VB.Net (which is what I use). I purchased and read Connell's other books so hoped this would be in a par. "Controls" takes you from soup to nuts - and even discusses sophisticated licensing so you can build a control and sell it. If you are new to controls, even though this covers some fairly complicated technology, Mr. Connell clearly explains how its used and provides tons of full examples. Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth. Personally, I found the book extremely useful even if I didnt need it as I do. The technologies he explains such as encryption, serialization, and isolated storage alone make this a valuable tool for any serious professional programmer.

John does it again!

I have to admit, I'm a bit biased in regard to Mr. Connell. His bought on Coding techniques is one of my favorites of all, and I have a lot of .NET books. He has the incredible ability to make reading his stuff fun and get you thinking. He never goes off on tangents and really knows how to communicate his material.Creating controls is certainly something most developers will have to do...many times you have to do it a bunch. He has created many controls that I have myself (although he has some more interesting implementations), but the "Why" behind it really gets you thinking. he also has a lot of controls I never thought of, but have put into practice already. I had the book for about an hour before I put it down b/c I saw a ton of places to use his ideas in an app I was working on.Then he makes the case for component based programming in general. Sure, we all know we should re-use stuff. But many of us get in a hurry and forget to build things specifically with re-use in mind. I wont' make that mistake again. I can't say enough about this book, but you'll definitely like it. After i got a copy of it, the rest of my department eventually got a copy b/c everyone wanted to borrow it because of it's killer content. Everyone else shared my sentiments.I only wish John would quit his day job and write more books, few people do it as well as he does.

Good Stuff

I found the encryption control fascinating. While encryption is the up and coming area, I never realized you could do something this sophisticated. It's easy to see how this nifty control can be added to many of my programs. And the technique of hashing a key from a PW is elegant. Also, the concept of Isolated Storage was presented and covered in depth - another area that was new to me. The book is loaded with useful tips such as something I always wondered about - why do my VB forms and controls look flat on XP, when my browser and other programs sport the XP colorful look? All that is missing is a simple manifest and property settings. Cool. I was also impressed with the wireless and pocketPC programming. Oh, and then there is the advanced datagrid which shows how to make that sing. I wish the book were twice the size. Good stuff - I read it cover to cover in less than three days.

Finally - not a me-too VB.Net Book

I browse every new VB.Net book that comes out, and find that most are pretty much the same in terms of generalized content. This book is a refreshing change. Mr. Connell covers encryption with a handy control to encrypt your important files so that even governments can't crack them, let alone snooping co-workers. But he covers isolated storage, the control designer, custom designers, designer verbs, type editors, type converters, and other topics you just don't find elsewhere. Other topics such as serialization, control licensing, the advanced use of the ASP.NET datagrid, and of course building sophisticated controls for both the desktop and the web are well done. This book treads new and exciting ground, so you won't have to worry about not learning new concepts. There is fresh and incredibly useful material in each chapter. Even if you are not building controls today, this book will help you be a better all-round programmer in so many ways. I've read Mr. Connell's other books and enjoyed them - this was not a disappointment and for me worth the wait.