Rating: 
Summary: It Accomplishes Its Goal
Review: I use this book a LOT. The reason I love it is because it does exactly what it was meant to do: take a starting point that I can relate to, Visual Basic 6, and cross-reference my previous knowledge to VB.NET and C#. I have not found any other book that cross-references all three languages the way this one does. For instance, if I know what command I would use in VB 6, but I'm new to C# then it's a 15 minute search to find something equivalent in MSDN. But if I pull out my trusty Translation Guide there it is in a few seconds! From there if I need more in-depth detail I can go straight to the correct article in MSDN, however in most cases it tells me everything I need to know because I already understand the concepts, I just need to know how to do the same type of task in another language. This book is absolutely invaluable to me as a reformed VB6 programmer!
Rating:
Summary: Not like the other .NET books
Review: I've purchased 7 .NET books so far, and my favorites so far are by Troelsen and Liberty. They both do a great job of teaching you C#. However, this book takes a different approach. Rather than trying to teach you everything about .NET, it focuses on showing you the syntax for the languages. It does it for BOTH languages. What makes it unusual is the way the material is presented. Its concise and to the point. There's no fluff. The beginning of each chapter has a three column table that compares the syntax for VB6, VB.NET and C#. If you know how to program in one language, just find what you want in your current language and look at the next column. It shows you how to do the exact same thing in the other languages. In my opinion, these "conversion" tables are the best part of the book. The rest of the chapter goes into details explaining what the differences are. These explanations were helpful the first time I read them, but I'm really going back to the tables for a refresher of the syntax I forgot.The chapters at the end of the book (forms, COM, ADO.NET, graphics & printing, the Windows registry, dates & times) focus on comparing how to do something that you did in VB6 and showing you how to do it in .NET. This is really dealing with the .NET Framework. I think that if you can't make up your mind which language to learn, then this book could help because you can see where the languages are similar and where they are different. Once you decide which language you like, the syntax tables make a great reference guide.
Rating: 
Summary: Focussing too much to the language
Review: If you're a programmer, this book wouldn't teach you much except serve as a language reference when you are working on a specific item. If you are looking for a more solid book on reference, go for those that covers from A - Z (eg. Core Reference). If you want to convert from a older version (eg. VB6), this book will only help you in the language part as it doesn't cover other essential elements such as the new IDE, or distribution, or framework aspects. I don't think you will use this book to decide which language you want to migrate to in .NET. It's not really helpful in that sense and you'd probably best be sticking with the language you are most comfortable with. I was using VB6 and because of the lack of necessary details, I find it very difficult to move up to VB.NET until I got another complete reference book. However, if you already know your way around .NET, this book would help you much. Also, there are many examples which is good but it does take up much pages here. I wish this book could be thicker. There could be really much room for improvement.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent beginning to .NET programming
Review: If you're like me and you learn best from example, you'll find this text--it's riddled with examples--a terrific choice. I recently began a new software development project that will take about a year to complete. I wanted to ramp up on the .NET platform since I believe it a vast (vast is too little a word in this case) improvement over the platforms of yesteryear. I browsed Amazon and ordered a variety of titles with which to equip myself; some of the titles more advanced in nature than this one. The box of goodies arrived and I began to assimilate. I went for "Applied Microsoft .NET Framework Programming" straight off and found it to be informative but overly so. Some of the concepts being so fresh that I had no relational peg from which to hang them. The nitty-gritties were deeper than necessary for transition into .NET. I typically learn in an incremental fashion: first give me something that shows me the basics at 20,000 feet so I can begin creating my "relational pegs" from which to hang the more advanced notions as I read additional tomes. I've found "The .NET Languages" to be one of the essential books I needed (and you'll need) in my toolbox. It's no mere translation guide, it's exactly what you need to absorb the basics if you're already versed in one of it's three languages (VB 6.0, VB.NET, and C#). I came from a primarily VB 6.0 background, and I've been learning both C# and VB.NET. This book is amazing at quickly helping me to grasp the two newer languages as the majority of it consists of side-by-side example-code comparisons in the 3 languages. Understand, it's not a standalone means of breaking into .NET, you'll need more meat, but this is one excellent appetizer. It also serves as a quick syntax reference or, as it's title suggests, a basis for translating code between languages. As I moved from theory into actual design and then development, I found .NET to be a different monster than I had encountered in my past 10 years experience. At first, my impression and my fear was that I'd have to learn so many concepts that I'd be dizzy before I could even start programming. Yes, there was/is a lot to learn, but you can begin developing more quickly than you might expect. As I said, I started with the .NET Framework Programming book which, in my opinion, although I thought it would be an excellent starting point, was not. It only served to overwhelm me with some complexities (not that the entire book is complex) that I was able to better learn after I had my foundation. Dig into the nitty-gritties later. How do you know, in the computer profession, that you're equipped and ready to begin creating production-level systems? It seems you're only as ready as you are, because you could always know more. (Why God didn't make a 32-hour day exception for computer professionals I'll never know!) How many times--if you're of the variety who undergoes continuing self-education--are you reflecting on past designs and implementations with new enlightenment and the feeling that you could do it twice as good now. In my opinion, if you're moving into .NET, take the incremental approach. This book along with Wrox's "Beginning C#" and "ADO.NET" were excellent starting points for me.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent beginning to .NET programming
Review: If you're like me and you learn best from example, you'll find this text--it's riddled with examples--a terrific choice. I recently began a new software development project that will take about a year to complete. I wanted to ramp up on the .NET platform since I believe it a vast (vast is too little a word in this case) improvement over the platforms of yesteryear. I browsed Amazon and ordered a variety of titles with which to equip myself; some of the titles more advanced in nature than this one. The box of goodies arrived and I began to assimilate. I went for "Applied Microsoft .NET Framework Programming" straight off and found it to be informative but overly so. Some of the concepts being so fresh that I had no relational peg from which to hang them. The nitty-gritties were deeper than necessary for transition into .NET. I typically learn in an incremental fashion: first give me something that shows me the basics at 20,000 feet so I can begin creating my "relational pegs" from which to hang the more advanced notions as I read additional tomes. I've found "The .NET Languages" to be one of the essential books I needed (and you'll need) in my toolbox. It's no mere translation guide, it's exactly what you need to absorb the basics if you're already versed in one of it's three languages (VB 6.0, VB.NET, and C#). I came from a primarily VB 6.0 background, and I've been learning both C# and VB.NET. This book is amazing at quickly helping me to grasp the two newer languages as the majority of it consists of side-by-side example-code comparisons in the 3 languages. Understand, it's not a standalone means of breaking into .NET, you'll need more meat, but this is one excellent appetizer. It also serves as a quick syntax reference or, as it's title suggests, a basis for translating code between languages. As I moved from theory into actual design and then development, I found .NET to be a different monster than I had encountered in my past 10 years experience. At first, my impression and my fear was that I'd have to learn so many concepts that I'd be dizzy before I could even start programming. Yes, there was/is a lot to learn, but you can begin developing more quickly than you might expect. As I said, I started with the .NET Framework Programming book which, in my opinion, although I thought it would be an excellent starting point, was not. It only served to overwhelm me with some complexities (not that the entire book is complex) that I was able to better learn after I had my foundation. Dig into the nitty-gritties later. How do you know, in the computer profession, that you're equipped and ready to begin creating production-level systems? It seems you're only as ready as you are, because you could always know more. (Why God didn't make a 32-hour day exception for computer professionals I'll never know!) How many times--if you're of the variety who undergoes continuing self-education--are you reflecting on past designs and implementations with new enlightenment and the feeling that you could do it twice as good now. In my opinion, if you're moving into .NET, take the incremental approach. This book along with Wrox's "Beginning C#" and "ADO.NET" were excellent starting points for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice Concise Overview
Review: It is fun to skim through the first chapters of this book. It gives you a nice and concise overview of what changed from VB6 to VB.Net and C#.
The later chapters are still interesting. Anyhow they are more about the classes in the libraries. Here sometimes there is no comparison to VB6 (ADO.Net) and also the differences between VB and C# are marginal only. The overview itself is to the point refreshing and helpful.
To read this book a good familiarity with VB6 or Java is mandatory. Also the author will not teach you any OO or DB basics.
Rating:
Summary: MUST HAVE!
Review: Not only are the examples simple and to the point, but its the first reference book that I have actually read cover to cover. This book does an excellent job of capturing the limit OO techniques VB 6 offered and translating them into VB.NET and C#. If the book were available in pocket size I would stick it in my back pocket and never leave home without it.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Waste Your Time
Review: This book ignores major features of the .Net Architecture, and barely acknowledges ASP. It is as if the author has heard about the framework secondhand.
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