BKTYVBS2.RVW   20000605

"Teach Yourself VBScript in 21 Days", Keith Brophy/Timothy Koets,
1996, 1-57521-120-3, U$39.99/C$56.95/UK#36.50
%A   Keith Brophy
%A   Timothy Koets
%C   201 W. 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN   46290
%D   1996
%G   1-57521-120-3
%I   Macmillan Computer Publishing (MCP)
%O   U$39.99/C$56.95/UK#36.50 317-581-3743 http://www.mcp.com
%P   679 p. + CD-ROM
%T   "Teach Yourself VBScript in 21 Days"

In this case the "21 Days" conceit works in a poorer manner than is
usual.  The "weeks," for example, are very poorly described.  If I had
to make a guess, I'd say that week one was about VBScript itself, week
two seemed to concentrate on ActiveX aspects, and week three dealt
with slightly more advanced topics.

That would be only a rough guess, though.  Chapter one has an odd, but
interesting, explanation and analogy of the Internet and World Wide
Web.  There are some examples of what VBS can be made to do in chapter
two.  The actual programming should probably start in chapter three,
but while there is a bit of sample code, it is not explained very
well.  This is a pity, since it means that the coming chapters are
building on a foundation that has not been laid.  Chapter four, for
instance, talks about variables, but without working programs, there
is little that the reader can do in the way of experimentation. 
Arithmetic operators, in chapter five; control structures, in chapter
six; and procedures, functions, and subroutines, in chapter seven, all
get introductions, but aren't really accessible to the reader.

Week two, as noted, seems to emphasize ActiveX.  Chapter eight deals
with HTML form elements, but makes a poor distinction between HTML and
VBScript.  More form elements are in chapter nine.  Chapter ten has
some ActiveX controls, chapter eleven has more ActiveX controls, and
chapter twelve has even more ActiveX controls, plus some material on
Java applets and ActiveVRML.  VBScript conventions are promoted in
chapter thirteen.  Chapter fourteen describes some means of output,
with message boxes, prompt windows, and a very poor explanation of the
restrictions on the use of document.write.

The final section discusses some advanced topics.  Chapter fifteen
looks as string functions.  Date and math functions are listed in
chapter sixteen.  There are some debugging tips in chapter seventeen. 
Chapter eighteen reviews interface factors and browser objects. 
Client-side form validation merits a brief discussion in chapter
nineteen.  Chapter twenty looks at some differences between Visual
Basic and VBScript.  Chapter twenty one closes off with some random
points on stability and security.

While the book does contain the important points about VBScript, the
content is not presented in a manner that is easy for the novice to
understand.  For the experienced programmer, and particularly one
familiar with Visual Basic, the text should not be too difficult to
work through.  The book will not, however, provide you with any
thorough reference material.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 2000   BKTYVBS2.RVW   20000605