Just a reminder that you can view my students' VB projects on my Web site:
You can check out Fran's Flowers project at
http://www.johnsmiley.com/flowers.htm
and Sneaker Projects at
http://www.johnsmiley.com/sneakers.htmA
s always, my thanks to the students for graciously sharing these projects with everyone.
They're beautiful works of art--I hope you enjoy them.
Tuesday, January 1, 2002
Need help with Visual Basic? Check out my VB Experts Page
Need help with Visual Basic?
Check out my VB Experts page.
Some of you have heard about this, but to many of you it's a new idea.
I get tons of email questions (100+ a day) about VB. I also gets lots of emails from people asking me how they can become better VB programmers.
Most times I ask the people asking the questions to post them to my Yahoo helpwithvb group.
Recently I decided we could kill two birds with one stone by creating a web page with identified experts in certain areas of VB, that people could access to either read an article on click on an email link to an expert.
That's where you come in.
You may be thinking "I'm hardly an expert, how can I help?"
The answer is I want to narrow the expert focus so that everyone---even a beginner new to Visual Basic---can chip in and help out.
For instance, you may not be a VB expert, but could you be my identified expert for the Listbox Control?
If not the Listbox Control, how about the Text property of the Listbox control?
If you check VB Help, you'll see that there are only 3 paragraphs or so written about the Text property--could you be the expert just on that portion of VB?
Here's the link to my new VB Experts page
http://www.johnsmiley.com/vbexperts.htm
You'll notice that the page is entirely blank--for now anyway.
That means there's a spot for you to help out and be the recognized expert. The benefits can be tremendous---not only will you be a recognized expert at something, you'll gain confidence and experience (and learn something) in the process.
Teaching and helping others is a great way to get really good at something--are you willing to try?
How will this work?
Based on the feedback you give me, I'll create a topic tree, along with your name and a link to your email address. Someone who needs help will be directed to the Experts page, and if they see a topic with an expert, they'll click on it to send you an email. The help you provide them will then be up to you.
You can choose to give them help for free or name a price for your services (Keen.com is a great way to do this)If you are willing to try, please send an email to
becomeanexpert@johnsmiley.com
Include your name, your email address, and the topic for which you wish to be the identified expert.
If you have a support web site, include that also.As time goes on, you can grow your expertise in any way you desire---you'll be able to write articles about your expertise, or get paid for it if you desire by setting up a paid link to Keen.com.
You may even be able to host your own minicamp!
Check out my VB Experts page.
Some of you have heard about this, but to many of you it's a new idea.
I get tons of email questions (100+ a day) about VB. I also gets lots of emails from people asking me how they can become better VB programmers.
Most times I ask the people asking the questions to post them to my Yahoo helpwithvb group.
Recently I decided we could kill two birds with one stone by creating a web page with identified experts in certain areas of VB, that people could access to either read an article on click on an email link to an expert.
That's where you come in.
You may be thinking "I'm hardly an expert, how can I help?"
The answer is I want to narrow the expert focus so that everyone---even a beginner new to Visual Basic---can chip in and help out.
For instance, you may not be a VB expert, but could you be my identified expert for the Listbox Control?
If not the Listbox Control, how about the Text property of the Listbox control?
If you check VB Help, you'll see that there are only 3 paragraphs or so written about the Text property--could you be the expert just on that portion of VB?
Here's the link to my new VB Experts page
http://www.johnsmiley.com/vbexperts.htm
You'll notice that the page is entirely blank--for now anyway.
That means there's a spot for you to help out and be the recognized expert. The benefits can be tremendous---not only will you be a recognized expert at something, you'll gain confidence and experience (and learn something) in the process.
Teaching and helping others is a great way to get really good at something--are you willing to try?
How will this work?
Based on the feedback you give me, I'll create a topic tree, along with your name and a link to your email address. Someone who needs help will be directed to the Experts page, and if they see a topic with an expert, they'll click on it to send you an email. The help you provide them will then be up to you.
You can choose to give them help for free or name a price for your services (Keen.com is a great way to do this)If you are willing to try, please send an email to
becomeanexpert@johnsmiley.com
Include your name, your email address, and the topic for which you wish to be the identified expert.
If you have a support web site, include that also.As time goes on, you can grow your expertise in any way you desire---you'll be able to write articles about your expertise, or get paid for it if you desire by setting up a paid link to Keen.com.
You may even be able to host your own minicamp!
Monday, April 23, 2001
Developer Career Tip #0041---Update on VB.Net
Developer Career Tips #0041
Update on VB.Net
As I mentioned in my last article, I'm seeing more and more attention focused on VB.Net. Conferences are teaching courses on it--despite the fact that Beta1 of the product is just a few months old, and Beta2 isn't due out until May. Several books have been published on the Beta itself (I've been tempted and ASKED to write one myself). Personally, I just don't get it.
I understand the need to be 'up' on a product more than most people---I make my living as a consultant and author, and the need to stay current is crucial---but I can't ever recall this much pre-hype over a software development product.
I receive at least ten emails each week from readers asking me if they should begin learning VB.Net right now (presumably from the Beta), how much worth I think the VB6 Certification exam will carry (I can't even guess), and whether there will be Learning Edition, Professional and Enterprise editions of the product.
And now the picture is even more complicated. It's no secret that Microsoft intends to 'retrofit' Beta2 of VB.NET to be more compatible with Visual Basic 6. As far as I'm concerned, the waters are now more muddied than ever.
The bottom line is to stay the course: if your goal this year was to learn Visual Basic 6, or become certified in the product, then that's exactly what you should do. Timelines indicate that VB.Net--when it appears---will probably be available in early 2002. You'll have plenty of time to learn it at that point--hopefully with books and courses that are at least based on Beta2.
Update on VB.Net
As I mentioned in my last article, I'm seeing more and more attention focused on VB.Net. Conferences are teaching courses on it--despite the fact that Beta1 of the product is just a few months old, and Beta2 isn't due out until May. Several books have been published on the Beta itself (I've been tempted and ASKED to write one myself). Personally, I just don't get it.
I understand the need to be 'up' on a product more than most people---I make my living as a consultant and author, and the need to stay current is crucial---but I can't ever recall this much pre-hype over a software development product.
I receive at least ten emails each week from readers asking me if they should begin learning VB.Net right now (presumably from the Beta), how much worth I think the VB6 Certification exam will carry (I can't even guess), and whether there will be Learning Edition, Professional and Enterprise editions of the product.
And now the picture is even more complicated. It's no secret that Microsoft intends to 'retrofit' Beta2 of VB.NET to be more compatible with Visual Basic 6. As far as I'm concerned, the waters are now more muddied than ever.
The bottom line is to stay the course: if your goal this year was to learn Visual Basic 6, or become certified in the product, then that's exactly what you should do. Timelines indicate that VB.Net--when it appears---will probably be available in early 2002. You'll have plenty of time to learn it at that point--hopefully with books and courses that are at least based on Beta2.
Monday, March 12, 2001
Developer Career Tip #0040---Should you turn your attention to VB.Net?
Developer Career Tips #0040
Should you turn your attention to VB.Net?
I'm seeing quite a bit of attention to VB.Net recently. More than one book has already been published on it already, plus I've received several email solicitations to attend classes on VB.NET, and the product hasn't even been released yet--in fact, it's in Beta1. Beta2 is schedule for release sometime this quarter. If all goes well for Microsoft, the production version will be ready before the end of the year. This is an awful lot of hype for a new version.
I've been using Beta1 now for the last four months as I write the update of my Visual Basic 6 book for VB.Net. I signed a non-disclosure statement to work with the Beta, so I can't speak about the details of the language, but I can tell you that in my opinion, it's much too early to start working with it, but let me give you some information which may help you make up your own mind.
First, don’t consider VB.Net a new version of Visual Basic. Although a knowledge of previous versions of Visual Basic will serve you well while learning it, there are enough dissimilarities to make you believe you are dealing with a new language altogether. This may well be a reason to be the first kid on the block to know the language---that knowledge could make you very valuable to employers--provided they adopt the language.
Secondly, if you believe that it's a foregone conclusion that you're going to be forced to learn VB.Net, and you may as well learn it sooner than later, you may want to rethink that position. In the latest edition of the Visual Basic Programmer's Journal, the editor indicates that Microsoft has informed him they intend to 'support' both VB6 and VB.Net. The key question---what does 'support' mean.
The bottom line is that at this point there's no rush to learn VB.Net.
Should you turn your attention to VB.Net?
I'm seeing quite a bit of attention to VB.Net recently. More than one book has already been published on it already, plus I've received several email solicitations to attend classes on VB.NET, and the product hasn't even been released yet--in fact, it's in Beta1. Beta2 is schedule for release sometime this quarter. If all goes well for Microsoft, the production version will be ready before the end of the year. This is an awful lot of hype for a new version.
I've been using Beta1 now for the last four months as I write the update of my Visual Basic 6 book for VB.Net. I signed a non-disclosure statement to work with the Beta, so I can't speak about the details of the language, but I can tell you that in my opinion, it's much too early to start working with it, but let me give you some information which may help you make up your own mind.
First, don’t consider VB.Net a new version of Visual Basic. Although a knowledge of previous versions of Visual Basic will serve you well while learning it, there are enough dissimilarities to make you believe you are dealing with a new language altogether. This may well be a reason to be the first kid on the block to know the language---that knowledge could make you very valuable to employers--provided they adopt the language.
Secondly, if you believe that it's a foregone conclusion that you're going to be forced to learn VB.Net, and you may as well learn it sooner than later, you may want to rethink that position. In the latest edition of the Visual Basic Programmer's Journal, the editor indicates that Microsoft has informed him they intend to 'support' both VB6 and VB.Net. The key question---what does 'support' mean.
The bottom line is that at this point there's no rush to learn VB.Net.
Monday, March 5, 2001
Developer Career Tip #0039---The IT Training Academy
Developer Career Tips #0039
The IT Training Academy
I've written twice about a company called SetFocus.com, a company with headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey, about 45 miles outside of Manhattan, that will provide you with a 13 week intensive Visual Basic training program---in exchange, you agree to work for them for the next 9 months as a paid consultant.
Many people, discouraged at the prospect of having to relocate to the Manhattan area, have written me emails asking me if there are other programs like SetFocus anywhere else in the country. To date, I've had to answer 'no'---I hadn't heard of any others until one of my students brought to my attention the IT Training Academy
http://academy.fdminc.com/
The IT Training Academy, part of the FDM Consulting group
http://www.fdmgroup.com/usa/index.htm
is similar in many ways to Setfocus, but not identical.
As was initially the case with SetFocus, about all I know of the IT Training Academy is what I can glean from their Web site---they offer an intense, six month training program (they concentrate on Web technologies such as Java and Oracle). Unlike SetFocus, the training is not free for everyone. The cost for the training is $11,000, and according to their web site, they will waive this fee from time to time as part of a sponsorship. If your training costs are waived, you must commit to work for the IT Training Academy at the end of your training period. Even if your training costs are not sponsored, you may also be asked to work at the end of your training period, but it's not guaranteed. SetFocus, on the other hand, guarantees you a position if you pass 2 of the 4 exams necessary to achieve the Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer Certification.
What apparently differentiate the IT Academy from SetFocus is that you don't necessarily have to relocate in order to take part in the training, but this can be deceiving. You have a choice of training at their facility (located in Raleigh North Carolina), or doing the majority of your training at home via the Internet--but you are required to spend some time at their North Carolina facility at the end of major potions of the program, and for the final few weeks of the program.
After that, if your training costs were sponsored, you'll be expected to commit to 1 year or so (really, until your training costs are paid) as a consultant--and travel is expected and customary. The bottom line: if you want to consider the IT Training Academy over SetFocus because you hope you won't have to relocate, that won't be the case. As I've mentioned, even if you study from home, you'll still need to travel to North Caroline, and if you accept a training sponsorship, you'll most likely be placed as a consultant somewhere on the East Coast. Even without a sponsorship, if you accept a position through the IT Academy, you'll be doing some traveling--they even provide you with a company car.
The IT Training Academy
I've written twice about a company called SetFocus.com, a company with headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey, about 45 miles outside of Manhattan, that will provide you with a 13 week intensive Visual Basic training program---in exchange, you agree to work for them for the next 9 months as a paid consultant.
Many people, discouraged at the prospect of having to relocate to the Manhattan area, have written me emails asking me if there are other programs like SetFocus anywhere else in the country. To date, I've had to answer 'no'---I hadn't heard of any others until one of my students brought to my attention the IT Training Academy
http://academy.fdminc.com/
The IT Training Academy, part of the FDM Consulting group
http://www.fdmgroup.com/usa/index.htm
is similar in many ways to Setfocus, but not identical.
As was initially the case with SetFocus, about all I know of the IT Training Academy is what I can glean from their Web site---they offer an intense, six month training program (they concentrate on Web technologies such as Java and Oracle). Unlike SetFocus, the training is not free for everyone. The cost for the training is $11,000, and according to their web site, they will waive this fee from time to time as part of a sponsorship. If your training costs are waived, you must commit to work for the IT Training Academy at the end of your training period. Even if your training costs are not sponsored, you may also be asked to work at the end of your training period, but it's not guaranteed. SetFocus, on the other hand, guarantees you a position if you pass 2 of the 4 exams necessary to achieve the Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer Certification.
What apparently differentiate the IT Academy from SetFocus is that you don't necessarily have to relocate in order to take part in the training, but this can be deceiving. You have a choice of training at their facility (located in Raleigh North Carolina), or doing the majority of your training at home via the Internet--but you are required to spend some time at their North Carolina facility at the end of major potions of the program, and for the final few weeks of the program.
After that, if your training costs were sponsored, you'll be expected to commit to 1 year or so (really, until your training costs are paid) as a consultant--and travel is expected and customary. The bottom line: if you want to consider the IT Training Academy over SetFocus because you hope you won't have to relocate, that won't be the case. As I've mentioned, even if you study from home, you'll still need to travel to North Caroline, and if you accept a training sponsorship, you'll most likely be placed as a consultant somewhere on the East Coast. Even without a sponsorship, if you accept a position through the IT Academy, you'll be doing some traveling--they even provide you with a company car.
Monday, February 26, 2001
Developer Career Tip #0038---Behind the scenes with Bob Lautenbach of Bayside Technology
Developer Career Tips #0038
Behind the scenes with Bob Lautenbach of Bayside Technology
This is the second in a series of periodic 'behind the scenes' looks at companies and individuals using Visual Basic. It's sometimes an 'eye opener' to see how others are actually using Visual Basic in their work.
For this tip, I interviewed Bob Lautenbach, who is the President of Bayside Technology, located in Marmora. New Jersey. You can visit the company’s Web Site at:
http://www.baysidetech.com
Question: What is your job at Bayside Technology?
Answer: I'm President of the company. At Bayside Technology, we do a little bit of everything, but recently have been heavily involved in PC-based and Internet based Benefit Administration.
Question: How does your company use Visual Basic?
Answer: We use Visual Basic as our primary development tool. We use it in our PC-based and Internet-based development, and rely on it to produce reusable components to interface with n-tier architectures with which we must interface.
Question: How did you and your programming staff learn Visual Basic?
Answer: Most of it is self-taught, along with an occasional supplemental course on specific development issues that are evolving quickly and with which we need to be immediately familiar.
Question: Do you use other languages besides Visual Basic?
Answer: Yes we do. We also use JavaScript, Java, VBScript, and ASP.
Question: Do you use third-party tools?
Answer: Yes, we buy and use various tools as they are needed. Most of the third-party tools we have purchased are reporting tools: Crystal Reports and ActiveReports. A word of caution: you need to bear in mind the viability of various third party companies. Know your vendor well--you don't want to purchase a third-party tool only to find out that the company has gone out of business, or doesn't have the resources to support changes to Visual Basic--such as VB.NET!
Question: What's it like to work at your company?
Answer: Our company is an incredibly exciting one to work for since our work is so cutting edge. We try to balance the unique needs of our developers and our client's needs with flexible working hours and telecommuting.
Behind the scenes with Bob Lautenbach of Bayside Technology
This is the second in a series of periodic 'behind the scenes' looks at companies and individuals using Visual Basic. It's sometimes an 'eye opener' to see how others are actually using Visual Basic in their work.
For this tip, I interviewed Bob Lautenbach, who is the President of Bayside Technology, located in Marmora. New Jersey. You can visit the company’s Web Site at:
http://www.baysidetech.com
Question: What is your job at Bayside Technology?
Answer: I'm President of the company. At Bayside Technology, we do a little bit of everything, but recently have been heavily involved in PC-based and Internet based Benefit Administration.
Question: How does your company use Visual Basic?
Answer: We use Visual Basic as our primary development tool. We use it in our PC-based and Internet-based development, and rely on it to produce reusable components to interface with n-tier architectures with which we must interface.
Question: How did you and your programming staff learn Visual Basic?
Answer: Most of it is self-taught, along with an occasional supplemental course on specific development issues that are evolving quickly and with which we need to be immediately familiar.
Question: Do you use other languages besides Visual Basic?
Answer: Yes we do. We also use JavaScript, Java, VBScript, and ASP.
Question: Do you use third-party tools?
Answer: Yes, we buy and use various tools as they are needed. Most of the third-party tools we have purchased are reporting tools: Crystal Reports and ActiveReports. A word of caution: you need to bear in mind the viability of various third party companies. Know your vendor well--you don't want to purchase a third-party tool only to find out that the company has gone out of business, or doesn't have the resources to support changes to Visual Basic--such as VB.NET!
Question: What's it like to work at your company?
Answer: Our company is an incredibly exciting one to work for since our work is so cutting edge. We try to balance the unique needs of our developers and our client's needs with flexible working hours and telecommuting.
Monday, February 19, 2001
Developer Career Tip #0037---Put yourself to the test with Brainbench.com
Developer Career Tips #0037
Put yourself to the test with Brainbench.com
I've made no secret that I think it's vital that candidates for Visual Basic programming careers take and pass the Microsoft Visual Basic Certification exam. I consider passing that test to be the ultimate proof of your mastery of Visual Basic.
If you are looking to prove your Visual Basic mastery, and avoid paying $100 to take an exam, you may want to consider Brainbench.com.
http://www.brainbench.com/
Brainbench was founded in 1998, and offers online certifications in over 200 different skills. The exams are free to take, are web-based, and you have the added advantage of having your score results made available to companies who may be looking for someone with the skills in which you have been tested and or certified. The site also has a bunch of 'extras' that are worthwhile checking out.
Every person who takes a Brainbench exam receives a Brainbench account. All of your test and certification data are then posted to this account, and you can also enter other information, such as your resume, third party certifications, and your career preferences (all optional). From within your account, you decide which information should become a part of your public transcript.
What’s the process?
You need to register before using Brainbench for the first time. You supply an email address, a mailing address (in the event that you pass the exam, you'll be mailed a Brainbench Certificate), and be asked if you want your results posted privately (you can change your mind later). Once you're registered, you can take an exam.
The Visual Basic exam is a 40 question multiple choice test. When you begin the exam, a window appears warning you that you are 'on your honor' to complete the test without any help from anyone else--you may, however, refer to reference manuals if you wish--although the time limit of 3 minutes per question can discourage that.
How does Brainbench compare to a Microsoft Certification exam?
I took the Brainbench Visual Basic exam myself earlier today and easily passed. I suspect that if I had actually used the permitted reference materials, I would have gotten close to a perfect score. I thought the exam was easier than the Microsoft exam. Unlike the Microsoft exams which test Desktop and Distributed VB separately, there's only one Brainbench VB exam, and as a result, I noticed some topic areas on the Brainbench exam that are covered on the VB Distributed exam,. There were also one or two questions on IIS, and some questions about some obscure controls I never use.
In short, the Brainbench VB exam is not quite the feather in the cap that passing the Microsoft Certification exams is, but it is an attractive low cost alternative. I think it's true value may be in the testing of some other skill sets, where there's no other assessment alternative. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone whose employer uses Brainbench certifications as a criteria in hiring.
Put yourself to the test with Brainbench.com
I've made no secret that I think it's vital that candidates for Visual Basic programming careers take and pass the Microsoft Visual Basic Certification exam. I consider passing that test to be the ultimate proof of your mastery of Visual Basic.
If you are looking to prove your Visual Basic mastery, and avoid paying $100 to take an exam, you may want to consider Brainbench.com.
http://www.brainbench.com/
Brainbench was founded in 1998, and offers online certifications in over 200 different skills. The exams are free to take, are web-based, and you have the added advantage of having your score results made available to companies who may be looking for someone with the skills in which you have been tested and or certified. The site also has a bunch of 'extras' that are worthwhile checking out.
Every person who takes a Brainbench exam receives a Brainbench account. All of your test and certification data are then posted to this account, and you can also enter other information, such as your resume, third party certifications, and your career preferences (all optional). From within your account, you decide which information should become a part of your public transcript.
What’s the process?
You need to register before using Brainbench for the first time. You supply an email address, a mailing address (in the event that you pass the exam, you'll be mailed a Brainbench Certificate), and be asked if you want your results posted privately (you can change your mind later). Once you're registered, you can take an exam.
The Visual Basic exam is a 40 question multiple choice test. When you begin the exam, a window appears warning you that you are 'on your honor' to complete the test without any help from anyone else--you may, however, refer to reference manuals if you wish--although the time limit of 3 minutes per question can discourage that.
How does Brainbench compare to a Microsoft Certification exam?
I took the Brainbench Visual Basic exam myself earlier today and easily passed. I suspect that if I had actually used the permitted reference materials, I would have gotten close to a perfect score. I thought the exam was easier than the Microsoft exam. Unlike the Microsoft exams which test Desktop and Distributed VB separately, there's only one Brainbench VB exam, and as a result, I noticed some topic areas on the Brainbench exam that are covered on the VB Distributed exam,. There were also one or two questions on IIS, and some questions about some obscure controls I never use.
In short, the Brainbench VB exam is not quite the feather in the cap that passing the Microsoft Certification exams is, but it is an attractive low cost alternative. I think it's true value may be in the testing of some other skill sets, where there's no other assessment alternative. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone whose employer uses Brainbench certifications as a criteria in hiring.
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