| New! Cutting Edge! VB 6! | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Part 3: The Appendix Chapters | |||||||||||||||||||||
Almost a fifth of the book is devoted to five appendix chapters. These could be regular chapters, but they don't fit the flow of the book. The "Tips and Tricks" Appendix A is short but the topics discussed are high level and really valuable if you happen to need them. For example, they correctly point out that Microsoft seems to have come full circle on several architectural issues and one of them is INI files. After declaring INI files obsolete in favor of the registry, .NET now moves back to something almost the same as INI files: XML files. So since INI files are back in style, an appendix chapter in PVB6 shows you exactly how to incorporate them into your VB 6 program using API calls. The best of the appendix chapters is devoted to Windows Installer. Since About Visual Basic has written on this topic, we have an enhanced appreciation when somebody else does a good job. We can say with authority that Microsoft's own documentation of Windows Installer is tedious, confusing, and filled with self-promoting fluff. If you're up against a red-hot Windows Installer requirement, this appendix chapter could justify the book. It's followed up with another chapter on the Wise Installer for those lucky enough to actually have a project budget for system deployment. The last two appendix chapters are mainly for reference. One for the ADO object model and one for SQL. Since the book is billed as a Programmer's resource, these are simply appropriate. |
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