Rating: 
Summary: This book helped, but more is needed.
Review: Typos aside, this is a good book to use in preparation for exam 70-176. It is a very clear, concise coverage of developing desktop apps using vb6.Faults: Like many other test prep books, this one skims the surface a bit too much and doesn't present the kind of detail of the subject matter that gives one a sense of mastery when confronted by actual test questions. The examples are weak in this respect as well. COM, App. maintenance, and deployment are underrepresented in this book vis-a-vis the exam. This book helped in a lot of ways, but only in conjunction with experience and other guides.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, but not enough!!!
Review: I read the book and understood all the concepts, I even passed their sample test by 90% the first try. I took the MS exam and failed. Find a better book, this book is really for beginner VB programers.
Rating:
Summary: A good overview, but not enough detail
Review: Three stars seems harsh for how much I enjoyed this book. It gave me a great overview of the new features that are on the exam, and I did in fact learn new things while reading it. If you are newer to VB, I think this is a great introduction to some of the major topics you will need as a professional developer. The book only gets three stars because: It wasn't perfect. There are a few mistakes in the sample code where it looks like they copied and pasted from different examples they were developing. It wasn't flawless, so that moves it down to four stars automatically. The only glaring error I found in the actual writing of the book was near the beginning. You don't actually want to use the "End" statement to be sure all your forms are unloaded prior to exiting an application. They correct themselves later. The reason I lowered the score another star was overall value. The language of the book is clear, readable, and even enjoyable. The demos from the CD are good, and even the sample project has some merit. Overall, I really liked this book. I wouldn't pay $70 for it, though. For the level of detail the authors go into on each part of the exam, this book should have been about $40 - $50, not $70. If it was cheaper, I would definitely have given it four stars. It really is good, but I'm not going to recommend it to my coworkers and friends because it just costs too much for what you get. At that cost level, I want more for my money than a quick overview. For the record, I am VB5 certified with over two years of professional programming experience centering on OOP development with VB. (I think credentials help when gauging the quality of the reviews)
Rating:
Summary: OK
Review: This book I think is good for Beginners.I don't think this book alone will help one in clearing 70-176. If you know VB I will suggest not to go for this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Best VB 70-176 Book so far
Review: I stumbled upon this book at a bookstore (sorry Amazon) recently after buying 4-5 other VB books for the MCSD 70-176 test. This book by far is the best of the bunch. (I would give #2 position to the Exam Cram.) I generally find the Microsoft Press books to be difficult to follow and written for a "low-level" audience. In this case, however I feel more prepared than ever to take this test. Hopefully the relatively high cost of the book will pay off.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent value for the money
Review: This book seems to offer excellent value for the money you spend on it. Material is presented in a clear and logical fashion. Each chapter contains exercises and labs which offer hands-on practice. The CD-ROM contains multimedia presentations of key concepts, partial and complete solutions to the labs, a sample exam, and the "Learn Visual Basic 6.0 Now" multimedia course. If you could only have one book to study for the exam, this would be it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Hands-On Experience - Get Another Book To Study
Review: This book had great labs to help you get some hands-on experience, but is lacking GREATLY in test sensitive material. I got MCSD In A Nutshell from Oreilly Press. I passed the test with an 857. This book did very little to help me achieve that goal. MCSD In A Nutshell + Transender Exams = You Pass
Rating:
Summary: Good, but...
Review: The book covers about 70% of the exam. Its coverage of VSS, VCM and Package and Deployment Wizard are very superficial. These topics are very important in the exams (PDW has 10 to 15 questions) and can make the difference between pass the exam or not. The coverage of COM is good but incompleted. If you use only this book you need good experience in Client/Server applications. I used this book for some basic material and, the best of all, MCSD in a Nutshell by James Foxall (good coverage of PDW, VSS, VCM and COM). This last was my main guide to pass the exam. I agree with other reviewers: this exam isn't for beginners, you need at least two intensive years of experience building real applications to catch some questions. Without it, this book -any book- can help.
Rating: 
Summary: Whiners are missing the point
Review: I suspect that those who are whining about this training kit are missing the main point of the Microsoft Certification program - DEMONSTRATE YOUR EXPERTISE. You can't become an expert by studying a book and working through a few exercises. This book is essentially a very good guide book that points you in the right direction. I used this book and then followed up on each topic by digging into the on Programmer's reference for VB6 that comes with the product. I passed the test yesterday on the first attempt after 2 weeks of evening study. You want to pass this exam? Use the book, follow up in the online manuals, and work through a small VB6 client server project, including deployment. You will pass. You do not need a bunch of fancy, expensive sample testing products. I did not take a single practice test other than the one that came with the book.
Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as they say
Review: This book is actually pretty good. It's split into lessons that supposedly cover each objective of the 70-176 exam. Each lessons begin with an estimated amount of time needed for completion and you follow the steps to do something. Then after each chapter you have some quiz questions and stuff to work on for the book's "Lab," which is a hotel database applications complete with many VB features. Yet, the book alone is not enough. It's sample test is lacking, and the content in the book isn't full-blown like you might have though it was, being from MS Press and everything. Instead, buy the Transcender tests. Yes, they're expensive, but worth every cent. Like the guy before me, I read this book and took the Transcender test but flunked all three times (the last time barely passing), and then retook and studied every test until I was dead cold. It turns out the real test is just like Transcender's with only a few twists. I got 842 (passing score was 714) on the real thing. But if I had just used Transcender's without this book, that probably wouldn't be enough background info. So in sum, get this book and the Transcender's and be on your way to MCP success.
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