Visual Basic .NET is available as part of Microsoft's Visual Studio .NET suite of developer tools or as a standalone product. When Visual Studio released in 2001, adoption was limited-especially when comparing book sales on VB 6 to VB.NET. Now that Visual Studio is moving out of the "early adopter" stage and into general acceptance by the bulk of the developer audience, use of Visual Basic, the most highly used programming language in the world, will migrate from VB 6 to VB.NET. Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft® Visual Basic® .NET 2003 in 24 Hours provides readers with 24 structured lessons with step-by-step guidance to real-world programming tasks including Windows and Web applications. Each chapter includes practice exercises, tips, notes, and cautions providing easy-to-understand advice on how to start programming quickly. Sidebars provide more experienced readers with tips that will ease their migration from Visual Basic 6 to Visual Basic .NET.

James Foxall, MCSD, is VP of Tigerpaw Software, Inc. a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider (MCSP) specializing in commercial database applications. He is responsible for management of all Windows application development, and is an authority on application interface and behavior standards of applications for the Microsoft Windows and Office environments. In addition to being a well-known book author, he contributes to several journals and magazines, speaks internationally, teaches college level courses on Visual Basic, and has been featured in news shows, trade publications, and newspaper articles for his technology expertise.

*The DVD is not included with the digital version of this book.