Visual Basic .NET Resource Kit

On hearing about the recent Visual Basic .NET Resource Kit, I must admit to having reservations, in fact my initial reaction was along the lines of: "Hmmmm, just what I need, another 300Mb of hard-drive filler".

Anyways, - thankfully - Dan from ADNUG downloaded it and has offered it to members of our group. I'm glad that he did - thanks Dan! - because otherwise, a 200Mb download would just be totally unreachable.

So, I've grabbed the CD and fired it up and have to say that it looks very promising. There's hundreds of VS.NET Projects and walkthroughs that demonstrate everything from building a screensaver using GDI complex WindowsForms databinding scenarions.  In fact clicking on “Code Samples” under Windows Forms yielded links to probably 60 or more apps containing production-ready code.  The components from ComponentOne seem like an immediate win too!

This product needs to get out in the field!  I sincerely hope that VB User Groups and Microsoft Regional advocates can get it to current and future VB programmers as it seems like the perfect tool to provide immediate gratification to common and complex questions.

As for the laconic sales pitch behind the package, there's a quote - that I might take out of context - lifted from ^zhurnal that seems an apt description:

Of some fields it is difficult to tell whether they are sound or phony. Perhaps they are both. Perhaps the decision depends on the circumstances, and it changes with time. At any rate, it is not an objective fact, like 'the moon is made of green cheese'. Some subjects start out with impeccable credentials, catastrophe theory, for instance, and then turn out to resemble a three-dollar bill. Others, like dynamic programming, have to overcome a questionable background before they are reluctantly recognized to be substantial and useful. It's a tough world, even for the judgement pronouncers.
    - Gian-Carlo Rota, 1985