by John W. Rittinghouse is widely considered the definitive starting point for learning the Gambas programming language on Linux. While praised for its hands-on approach and clear examples, it is frequently criticized for being outdated and containing numerous technical errors. Core Content & Strengths
“If you are using Gambas 3, you end up spending a lot of time trying to figuring out what's being said.” Amazon.de
“Excellent presentation of the subject. I enjoyed learning from the example programs he used... On the constructive criticism side, there were a quite a few programming errors and misprints?” Amazon.com.au A Beginner's Guide to Gambas
: Chapters cover everything from standard GUI controls (buttons, text boxes) to more advanced topics like database interactions with MySQL and SQLite.
: While excellent for the basics, it lacks deep dives into custom component development or highly complex database structures. Community Perspectives by John W
: Multiple readers have reported a high number of programming typos and misprints throughout the text.
: The original and some revised editions focus on Gambas 2 . Modern users working with Gambas 3 may find many examples confusing or broken because the language has evolved significantly since the book's 2005 origins. Core Content & Strengths “If you are using
The book serves as a comprehensive reference for the Gambas IDE and its BASIC-inspired syntax.