Wrox Press Beginning Access 97 VBA First Impressions Karl Moore
If you're heading out to buy this book from your local Waterstones, don't be deterred by the two mugshots on the front cover. They are in fact the authors, Robert Smith and David Sussman, who strangely resemble a slimy lawyer and his dodgy client.
Both are Access experts, a theme that is discreetly plugged throughout the book, and they wrote this tutorial with two people in mind; those who have some experience of Access, but have yet to learn any VBA, and those who are familiar and have programmed with Access 2 in Access Basic. If you fit into the latter of the two groups, you're entitled to skip the first few chapters, pass "Go" and collect £200.
The 600-page book starts with a simple introduction to an Access application, along with descriptions of the sample "Whisky" database, bundled on the enclosed CD. Now that's an interesting database title. No prizes for guessing what the two authors get up to in their spare time.
During this introduction, the author(s) explain(s) advantages of VBA as opposed to Macros, what event-driven programming is all about and how code fits into the whole scheme of things.
These first chapters are particularly well --written, with excellent sections on subs/functions and scope/variables. For the beginner, the first three chapters lay down the foundations of professional programming, the results of which are echoed throughout the entire publication.
