〜ほど: degree and negative comparison
Use ほど to show the extent of a state or to say that something does not reach the degree of a comparison standard. Check how much the full comparison actually claims.
Show degree through a result
隣の人の声が聞こえないほど、雨が強く降っています。 means that the rain is so heavy that you cannot hear the person next to you. The clause before ほど supplies a measure of the rain's intensity.
その話は、お腹が痛くなるほどおもしろかったです。 describes the story as funny enough to make the speaker's stomach hurt. The result before ほど can vividly illustrate a degree without always asserting a literal outcome.
Make a negative comparison with Aほど〜ない
今年の冬は去年ほど寒くありません。 says that this winter is not as cold as last winter. The noun before ほど supplies the comparison standard, and the predicate is negative.
この問題は前の問題ほど難しくありませんが、簡単でもありません。 says the current problem is less difficult than the previous one but is not easy. Aほど〜ない places it below A on that scale; it does not erase the quality entirely.
Present the most outstanding example
この町には、あの店ほど遅くまで開いている店はありません。 says that no other shop in town stays open as late as that one. The negative sentence as a whole makes that shop the outstanding case.
練習すればするほど上手になります。 relates improvement proportionally to practice. Distinguish this repeated ば〜ほど pattern from ほど that simply marks an extent.
Quick check: Does この本は前の本ほど難しくありません。 mean that this book is not difficult at all?
Show the answer and why
No. It says this book is not as difficult as the previous one; more context is needed to know its actual difficulty.