How helpful is this book in VFP9? 1

Hi, just started this week with learning VFP6. This language is used at the company I'm working. I've got programming experience with Delphi/C/C#.net. Soon we will start using VFP9 and I was wondering if the following book still holds its value in the new version:

http://www.hentzenwerke.com/catalog/aoopvfp.htm

I really want to master the VFP-oop and I hope this book will teach me for even version 6 and 9, but can it?

 

[Mike Lewis]

DirkVFP,

I once recommended this book to someone with similar background to yourself. The feedback he gave me was that it was very difficult to understand, and not suitable for VFP beginners.

He found a book by Savannah Brentnall which he says was much better, although it's a bit out of date now.

The book I usually recommend for beginners is "Special Edition Using Visual FoxPro 6." by Que. I have to say, though, there is no really good book out there for people coming to Foxpro for the first time.

I've posted reviews and bibliographic details of all the above books, plus several others, at

http://www.ml-consult.demon.co.uk/MLCBooks.htm

Mike


__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

My sites:
Visual FoxPro (www.ml-consult.demon.co.uk)
Crystal Reports (www.ml-crystal.com)

 

[DirkVFP]

Mike,

Thanks for replying.

What I did not find in your answer, or provided link, is the fact the book I presented and the book you brought up are a good base for VFP9?

Since I have no experience with version 9, I was wondering if it makes any difference which book to learn from?

DirkVFP
Holland

 

[Mike Lewis]

Dirk,

Both the books on object orientation (Egger and Savannah) apply equally to all versions of VFP (more or less). the basic OOP stuff hasn't changed much.

The Que book is OK for getting started, but it only deals with 6.0. There's a lot of new stuff it doesn't cover.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

My sites:
Visual FoxPro (www.ml-consult.demon.co.uk)
Crystal Reports (www.ml-crystal.com)

 

[alvechurchdata]

There's a lot of new stuff it doesn't cover

That might be a bonus for anyone new to the language. VFP5, 6, 7, 8, 9 are all very compatible and it'll be easier to learn the basic syntax and object orientation from a book which doesn't wander off into Soap and XML.

If you want a slim book as an overview then the "Visual FoxPro Certification Exams Study Guide" by Winegarden & Delay is worth a look. It won't teach you how to program in Fox but it gives a brief look at the whole process of doing database design, build and distribution with FoxPro.

As for learning the whole language from a book I'd say that's a major task in itself. If you're learning Fox to be able to work on existing products at this company then you might be able to make your work easier by asking the existing programmers which parts of the language they use. There's no point you learning how to use something like FormSets or DataSessions if nobody on site uses them.

Geoff Franklin

http://www.alvechurchdata.co.uk

 

[DirkVFP]

Mike and Geoff, thanks for replies.
I've decided to purchase the book by Que and reading I think it will provide me with a good base to get around in VFP!

 

[Mike Lewis]

Dirk,

Sounds good. Don't forget to come back here when you have some questions.

Mike


__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

My sites:
Visual FoxPro (www.ml-consult.demon.co.uk)
Crystal Reports (www.ml-crystal.com)

 

[DirkVFP]

Mike,

Trust me, I will. This is the only forum I found so far, with a substantial number of VFP-related topics. The search is becoming a good friend ;-)

Dirk

 

[alvechurchdata]

This is the only forum I found so far, with a substantial number of VFP-related topics

I was going to advise you to have a look at the "Community" page of the VFP Task Manager but realised that that wasn't available in VFP6. VFP forums aren't as common as some other languages but you could take a look at these for a start:

http://www.foxite.com

http://fox.wikis.com

http://www.foxforum.com

http://www.universalthread.com

They all address slightly different audiences but you might find something intersting there.

Geoff Franklin

http://www.alvechurchdata.co.uk

 

[craigber]

Looks like you've already made your decision, but I'll throw in my vote. I don't like the Queue book. I think it puts too much emphasis on doing things interactively, like a user, rather than teach you how to develop an application with VFP. I prefer "The Fundamentals" from

http://www.hentzenwereke.com.

There is another new one, but I haven't had a chance to look at it. It's at

http://www.lulu.com/content/106787

Craig Berntson
MCSD, Visual FoxPro MVP,

http://www.craigberntson.com

Author, CrysDev: A Developer's Guide to Integrating Crystal Reports"

 

[joerocket]

I would also like to throw in my vote for "The Fundamentals". Worked great for me. When starting out I also used "The Hackers Guide to VFP" a lot (also at Hentzenwerke).

 

[mspratt]

I also agree with Craig, "Fundamentals" was by far the most helpful to me.

Regards,

Mike

 

[cricket]

Craigber's response:
I prefer "The Fundamentals" from

http://www.hentzenwereke.com.

Web address spelling is incorrect.
Websidte address should be

http://www.hentzenwerke.com

 

[Mike Lewis]

Re Hentzenwerke. Note that ordering direct from their site only works properly for customers in the USA. Officially, they say they will supply to customers anywhere in the world, but in practicce they seem very reluctant to do so (except in the case of e-books).

However, most of their books are also available form Amazon and other on-line suppliers, and can also be ordered through bookshops.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

My sites:
Visual FoxPro (www.ml-consult.demon.co.uk)
Crystal Reports (www.ml-crystal.com)