Book excerpt: This book will concentrate on C++ and some C# techniques that will benefit Visual Basic programmers. The author's approach is to cover things that "feel good" in each language and where the languages can enhance each other, then the basics of C++, from a VB programmer's perspective, and finally COM and ActiveX programming in depth. This book should be more practical than most; much of the code shown will be shipping commercially and have a demonstrated application. There will be a great deal of source code, and will include controls and COM objects that can be directly adopted by the reader.