 Book
Recommendations
There are hundreds of books for Microsoft Access, SQL Server, Visual Studio.NET, and
Visual Basic. How do you choose what's right for you?
FMS is pleased to recommend some books we think will help you become a
better developer. These are books written by people we know (including
us!) who are experienced developers. These are not just books based on
the help file or written by professional writers. These books are
written by authors who experience the same problems we all face every
day. Their insight will save you lots of time and help you become an
expert.
As an added convenience, we have teamed up with Amazon.com so you can
order these books directly by clicking on the "Buy From Amazon.com"
links.
Microsoft Access
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Mastering
Access Development (2007 and earlier)
By Alison Balter |
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Special
Edition Using Microsoft Access (2007 and
earlier)
by Roger Jennings |
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Real World Microsoft Access
Database Protection and Security
by Garry Robinson |
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Microsoft
Access Developer's Guide to SQL Server
by Mary Chipman, Andy Baron |
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The Rational Guide to Microsoft Office
Access 2007 Templates
by Zac Woodall, Microsoft Corporation |
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Microsoft Access Bible
Editions (2007 and earlier)
by Michael Groh, Joseph Stockman, Cary Prague, Michael Irwin,
Jennifer Reardon |
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Microsoft Office Access Inside Out,
Building Microsoft Access Applications, and
Running Microsoft Access
by John L. Viescas |
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Access
2003 VBA: Programmer's Reference
by Patricia Cardoza, Teresa Henning, Graham
Seach, Armen Stein |
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Access 2003 : Your visual blueprint for
creating and maintaining real-world databases
by F. Scott Barker |
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Access
Developer's Handbooks (2002, 2000)
by Paul Litwin, Ken Getz, Mike Gilbert |
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Access
Developer's Handbook Sets (2002, 2000, 97)
by Paul Litwin, Ken Getz, Mike Gilbert |
JET Database Engine
SQL Server
Visual Studio .NET
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Microsoft ADO.NET (Core
Reference)
by David Sceppa
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Professional UML
with Visual Studio .NET
by Tony Loton, Kevin McNeish, Andrew Filev, Ben Schoellmann
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Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing
Code
by Martin Fowler, Kent Beck, John Brant, William Opdyke, Don Roberts
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Shared Source CLI Essentials
by David Stutz, Ted Neward, Geoff Shilling
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Programming Microsoft Visual Basic .NET (Core
Reference)
by Francesco Balena
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Mastering Visual C# .NET
by Jason Price, Mike Gunderloy
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ASP.NET Developer's JumpStart
by Paul D. Sheriff, Ken Getz
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Prof. ASP.NET Server Controls: Building Custom
Controls w/ C#
by Matt Butler, Thiru Thangarathinam, Matt Milner, Michael Clark,
Ryan O'Keefe, Angelo Kastroulis, Jan Narkiewicz,
Daniel Cazzulino
Visual Basic 6
Books for Microsoft Access
Mastering Access Development
by Alison Balter
Written by our dear friend Alison who is a well
known writer, presenter, and trainer in the Access
community, these books target power users and
beginning developers. They're great for getting you
up-to-speed immediately so you can use Access more
productively.
Alison's book takes a highly
technical topic and presents it in a manner that is
easy to comprehend. You'll want to read it from
cover to cover, but it can also act as an excellent
reference. Learn thorough knowledge of Access
application development, real-world solutions to
specific development and programming problems, and
professional programming techniques backed by
concise, no-nonsense explanations of the underlying
theories. Debugging and troubleshooting methods are
also included.
Alison reviews several FMS's products in the section
Third-Party Tools that Can Help You Get Your Job Done
Special Edition Using
Microsoft Access (Technical Editor: FMS's Jim Ferguson)
by Roger Jennings
An authoritative guide to mastering the
essential facets of Access's powerful 32-bit
development platform. Detailed, step-by-step
instructions guide the reader through the process of
designing and using Access tables, queries, forms,
and reports. Chapters on VBA techniques pave the
reader's way to Access programming.
Access 2003 VBA:
Programmer's Reference (Contributions from FMS's Steve Clark)
by Teresa Hennig, Rob Cooper,
Geoffrey L. Griffith, and Armen Stein
This book shows you how to take control of Access 2003 or
2002 using VBA. You’ll learn to create and name variables, use
DAO and ADO to manipulate data, handle errors correctly, create
classes and use APIs, and more. An entire chapter is devoted to
the changes in Access 2003, including new wizards and GUI
features that previously required VBA code as well as new VBA
features. You will discover how to access data with VBA, execute
and debug VBA code, and use VBA with Access objects. Finally,
you will learn more about the relationship between Access and
SQL Server, and how to use VBA in Access to control and enhance
other Office applications.
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2007 Version
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2003 Version
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The Rational Guide to
Microsoft Office Access 2007 Templates
by Zac Woodall, Microsoft Corporation
Our friend Zac Woodall is a Program Manager and lead
developer on the Microsoft Access 2007 development team. In this
book, he shares his experience and provides templates to create
tracking applications incorporating the rich user interface of
Access 2007. In particular, the design, creation and sharing of
Access 2007 templates.
Topics include customization, personalization, branding, and
working with SharePoint. Advanced topics include template file
anatomy, template collections, enterprise templates, generating
templates without running Access, and integrating templates with
add-ins.
The book includes sample code, sample templates, and a bonus
chapter on how to install and use .accfl field template XML
files to customize the Access Field Templates task pane. Learn
from one of the best Access 2007 experts. |
More info

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Real World Microsoft Access
Database Protection and Security
by Garry Robinson
This book focuses on issues
that help protect your database. Written from an experienced developer's
point of view, the author discusses protection and security task-by-task.
This book is even recommended among Microsoft TechNet Security Topics:
Threats and Countermeasures.
You will learn to hide tables
as system tables, produce databases difficult to crack, and back up
databases. You will learn how to keep staff from viewing salary tables,
prevent customers from peeking at your distributed software design, and
become a better judge of worthwhile security options (versus time-consuming
choices).
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Microsoft Access Developer's Guide to SQL Server
by Mary Chipman, Andy Baron
Microsoft Access Developer's Guide
to Microsoft SQL Server provides much needed information and guidance for
the Access power user or developer who wants to exploit the power of SQL
Server. Written by Access experts and Microsoft MVPs Mary Chipman and Andy
Baron, this hands-on guide provides you with the practical knowledge you
need to harness the enterprise-level power and scalability SQL Server
offers, while using the Access tools you are familiar with. More than just a
migration guide, you will benefit from the authors' expert discussions of
topics including the new Microsoft Database Engine (MSDE), Transact SQL,
building stored procedures and views, converting your applications to SQL
Server, working with SQL Server security, and building Access interfaces to
SQL Server databases.
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Microsoft Access Bible
Editions
by Michael R. Groh, Joseph Stockman, Gavin Powell, Cary Prague,
Michael Irwin, Jennifer Reardon
This perennial favorite was completely
rewritten by our dear friend Michael Groh for Access
2007. Michael is the former editor of Access
Advisor and has a wealth of experience developing
Access applications, along with his coauthors.
These books offer step by step instructions and practical examples
and advice that equips you with everything you need to know to organize,
present, analyze, and share data on a network. CD-ROM included.

2007 Version
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2003 Version
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2002 Version
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2000 Version
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97 Version
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Microsoft Office Access Inside Out, Building Microsoft Access Applications,
and Running Microsoft Access
by John L. Viescas
A comprehensive reference that takes readers through the most used
tasks and functions of the software. Easy to use, the book has a
friendly, open design that features copious screen shots, call-outs,
cross-references, and tips.

Access 2007
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Access 2003
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Building Microsoft
Access Applications
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2000 Version
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Access 2003 : Your visual blueprint for creating and maintaining real-world
databases
by F. Scott Barker
This is the only guidebook series that takes a visual approach to
professional-level computer topics. You will discover step-by-step screen
shots that demonstrate over 140-key techniques to help you make the most of
Access 2003, including: building
charts and graphs, setting up database relationships, writing and using
classes, managing databases, and more ... |

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Access Developer's Handbooks
by Paul Litwin, Ken Getz, Mike Gilbert
Here's the book FMS recommends for anyone who wants to be a serious
Access Developer. It includes the tips and techniques necessary for
being an advanced Access developer. We know Paul, Ken, and Mike
personally and can vouch for their knowledge of developing sophisticated
Access applications. Get their expertise for a fraction of the price you
would have to pay to hire them as consultants.
This must read book is
packed with tips, tricks, secrets, undocumented features, and tons
of reusable source code. This indispensable guide is your ticket to
developing bulletproof applications. Learn how to build more
efficient databases, design better user interfaces, develop
client/server applications, and plan for interoperability. The
companion CD includes all examples from the book, a library of
reusable code, ready-to-use subroutines and user interface objects,
and great freeware and shareware utilities.
Developers will want
to sit by their computers with this edition--the best available and
most comprehensive. It is packed with reusable code, advanced
techniques, and insider tips from the leading Access experts. The CD
includes all examples from the book including the databases, a code
base of reusable code, and subroutines and user-interface objects
ready for immediate use.
Access Developer's Handbook Sets (Contributions from FMS's Luke Chung)
by Paul Litwin, Ken Getz, Mike Gilbert
If you are serious about being an Access developer, you need to read
these books. Without them, you'll waste countless hours trying to do
things you can look up. Discover how to create databases the Access way.
Your life will be a lot simpler if you know how.

2002 Version
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2000 Version
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97 Version
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THE Book for the Microsoft Jet Database Engine
Microsoft
Jet Database Engine Programmer's Guide
by Dan Haught and Jim Ferguson
This is the official technical
reference on Microsoft Jet, the powerful database engine used in Microsoft
Access and Microsoft Visual Basic. If you write code that creates and
manipulates a database in one of these products, you can easily use that
same code in the other, or use both products together to create custom
database applications. You'll learn what Jet is, how to use it, and how it
compares to other database engines. Each chapter includes a simple Visual
Basic program that is built upon to illustrate points throughout the
discussion.
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Books for Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server
Unleashed (2nd Edition)
by Ray Rankins, Paul Bertucci, Chris Gallelli, Alex T. Silverstein
Microsoft SQL Server Unleashed offers a variety of topics for system and
database administrators to help them learn new features of the product and
to solve problems they face on a daily basis. It shows them how to build
upon their working knowledge of the product and take their experience and
knowledge to a higher level. This new edition of Microsoft SQL Server
Unleashed covers the latest updates and service packs to SQL Server 2000 or
2005, including full support for XML, notification services, and SQL Server
CE.
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Professional SQL Server
Programming
by Rob Vieira
In addition to providing a thorough treatment of SQL Server 2000
development, Rob Vieira's extensive reference also devotes quite a lot of
space to covering SQL in general and issues relating to database design.
Included is a complete introduction to Transact-SQL and an excellent chapter
on normalization that will help demystify an over-referenced but much
misunderstood database design concept. There is also in-depth information on
the new features of SQL Server 2000, including indexed views, user-defined
functions, and support of XML.
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Books for Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
Microsoft ADO.NET (Core
Reference)
by David Sceppa
This core reference demonstrates how to use ActiveX Data Objects.NET (ADO.NET)
to access, sort, and manipulate data in enterprise-wide, Web-enabled
applications. Readers learn best practices for writing, testing, and
debugging database application code using the new tools and wizards in
Microsoft Visual Studio .NET-with code on a companion CD, plus insider tips.
The book also describes the ADO .NET object model, its XML features for Web
extensibility, integration with Microsoft SQL Server 2000, and more.
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Professional UML
with Visual Studio .NET
by Tony Loton, Kevin McNeish, Andrew Filev, Ben Schoellmann
If you want to use Visio to create enterprise software, this is the book
for you. The integration of Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect and
Visio for Enterprise Architects provides a formidable combination. Visio
offers powerful diagramming capabilities, including such things as creating
UML models, mapping out databases with Entity Relationship diagrams, and
aiding the development of distributed systems. Its integration with Visual
Studio .NET Enterprise Architect means that C# or Visual Basic .NET code can
be generated from the UML diagrams, and Visual Studio .NET projects can be
reverse engineered to UML models. For the developer already familiar with
UML and looking to get the best out of Visio, the Visual Studio .NET and
Visio for Enterprise Architects combination is weakly documented, and the
quality information needed to realize the time-saving features of Visio just
doesn't seem to be available, until now. This book presumes that you are
already familiar with the basic concepts of UML notation - this book will
not teach you UML. Instead, this book will take you forward into the Visio
environment, showing you how to make the most of its software-related
features.
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Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing
Code
by Martin Fowler, Kent Beck (Contributor), John Brant (Contributor),
William Opdyke, Don Roberts
Your class library works, but could it be
better? Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code shows how
refactoring can make object-oriented code simpler and easier to maintain.
Today refactoring requires considerable design know-how, but once tools
become available, all programmers should be able to improve their code using
refactoring techniques.
Besides an introduction to refactoring, this
handbook provides a catalog of dozens of tips for improving code. The best
thing about Refactoring is its remarkably clear presentation, along with
excellent nuts-and-bolts advice, from object expert Martin Fowler. The
author is also an authority on software patterns and UML, and this
experience helps make this a better book, one that should be immediately
accessible to any intermediate or advanced object-oriented developer.
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Shared Source CLI Essentials
by David Stutz, Ted Neward, Geoff Shilling
Microsoft's Shared Source CLI (code-named "Rotor") is the publicly
available implementation of the ECMA Common Language Infrastructure (CLI)
and the ECMA C# language specification. Loaded with three million lines of
source code, it presents a wealth of programming language technology that
targets developers interested in the internal workings of the Microsoft .net
Framework, academics working with advanced compiler technology, and people
developing their own CLI implementations. The CLI, at its heart, is an
approach to building software that enables code from many independent
sources to co-exist and interoperate safely.
Shared Source CLI Essentials
is a companion guide to Rotor's code. This concise and insightful volume
provides a road map for anyone wishing to navigate, understand, or alter the
Shared Source CLI code. This book illustrates the design principles used in
the CLI standard and discusses the complexities involved when building
virtual machines. Included with the book is a CD-ROM that contains all the
source code and files.
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Programming Microsoft Visual Basic .NET (Core Reference)
by Francesco Balena
Useful for VB developers of all levels, Programming Microsoft Visual
Basic .NET offers a massive and comprehensive guide to the new VB .NET.
While concentrating on "traditional" programming techniques brought up to
speed with .NET, this book also covers essential Web development, making it
a solid choice for those making the leap from VB 6.
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Mastering Visual C# .NET
by Jason Price, Mike Gunderloy
C# is Microsoft's brand-new object-oriented language for the .NET
platform, designed to make it easy for developers to create Web
applications. Mastering Visual C# .NET is aimed at experienced C++, Visual
Basic, and Java programmers who want a comprehensive resource to Visual C#.
It delivers complete coverage of the essentials of the C# language, plus
writing Windows and web applications. Topics include using the .NET base
class library for basic programming operations like I/O and threads;
database programming with ADO.NET; Web programming with ASP.NET; and
creating XML Web Services. There is also a chapter on programming security
with C#, including permissions and encryption. Author Jason Price has more
than ten years' experience in the software industry and has worked with C#,
.NET, Java, and Oracle. Coauthor Mike Gunderloy has written numerous books
on Microsoft programming topics for Sybex, including ADO and ADO.NET
Programming and .NET E-Commerce Programming.
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ASP.NET Developer's JumpStart
by Paul D. Sheriff, Ken Getz
The purpose of ASP.NET JumpStart is to show readers the practical
applications of .NET and ASP.NET by illustrating how to build Web-based
applications using Web Forms and Web Services. Emphasis will be on good
programming standards and practices. The reader will be taken from an
introduction of the VB .NET language to intermediate topics through a
step-by-step approach, which gives the reader the opportunity to try out the
practices presented in each chapter. |

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Professional ASP.NET Server Controls: Building Custom Controls w/ C#
by Matt Butler, Thiru Thangarathinam, Matt Milner, Michael Clark, Ryan
O'Keefe, Angelo Kastroulis, Jan Narkiewicz, Daniel Cazzulino
This book
is designed to be a complete reference on how to create Custom Server
Controls using C#. In essence, it's a definitive guide to what they're used
for, how they are created, and the benefits that they can provide. The first
part of the book will be concentrating on the code itself, and is designed
to be editor-neutral, concentrating on the raw code involved in creating
controls and making use of these controls. The second part of the book will
have more coverage of visual designers like Visual Studio .NET, talking
about why using IDEs is so helpful, and examining the powerful features of
Visual Studio .NET that are useful when creating custom controls.
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Books for Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0
Database
Developer's Guide with Visual Basic 6 (Technical Editor: FMS's Jim Ferguson)
by Roger Jennings
A perennial best-selling title for VB Database application, this is a "must
buy" for all serious VB developers. The book has been completely updated for
the latest release of VB, ActiveX controls, Microsoft's new Internet
database technologies, and Microsoft's newest client server technology:
Microsoft Transaction Server. The CD features source code and demonstration
databases.
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Hitchhiker's
Guide to Visual Basic and SQL Server (Technical Editor: FMS's Jim Ferguson)
by William R. Vaughn
A hands-on resource for developers, development managers in medium-sized
to large MIS development shops, and everyone else who wants to use Visual
Basic to tap the power of SQL Server. The enclosed CD-ROM contains sample
code from the book, a sample database, code "building blocks" for users' own
applications, white papers, and more.
Focusing on Visual Basic 6's new
data-access resources, this is the definitive guide to Microsoft's database
development tools. If you're concerned with creating a way for a Visual
Basic application or control to talk to an SQL Server back end, this book
most likely has the answers you need.
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