If you're a Visual Basic developer, the following scenario probably sounds familiar. You get stuck on a problem - just how can you automate that FTP process? Hmm, it's a tricky one. You work on it for days, with no joy. And Books Online is about as useful as a hole in the head. Time to try the Internet!
You surf on down to AltaVista and try searching for "FTP VISUAL BASIC DOWNLOAD", but after searching through a dozen porn sites realise there's nothing to be found. Hmmm... next stop, Usenet! You post the question on several VB related newsgroups and keep checking your e-mail. The outcome? Nothing, bar a few opportunities to earn $50,000 in just six weeks!
So, you're pretty darn stuck. You have two options; (a) hire an expensive VB consultant, or (b) buy the Total VB SourceBook, from FMS. On first impressions, it seems expensive - $399 - especially to my dust-ridden wallet. But it's invaluable content make it worth its weight in gold.
Selling itself as "the most comprehensive code library and repository for Visual Basic 5 and 6", the software includes an impressive collection of functions and classes to meet your every need. As you can see from the screenshot, the code is organised into 27 logical categories, displayed in a tradition tree view. The left-hand side of the screen displays the actual commented code, notes, an example and full technical details.
For instance, I want to print out an RTF control on my form. How do I do it? Firstly, I expand the "Printing" category and am presented with two subcategories; one for working with the printer using Windows API and another full of printer routines. I choose the latter option and select a further sub-option, PrintRTFControl. The notes for PrintRTFControl explain exactly what it does, how to declare it, required arguments, what it returns and a bunch of other stuff.
Hmmm, looks good. So, I decide to try it. I copy the syntax coloured code to a module in my VB application and click on the "Example" tab. After copying a few lines of sample code and following the simple instructions, within seconds I can perform the desired function. Doddle!
