No comments about Itron 3.0: An Open and Portable Real-Time Operating System for Embedded Systems : Concept and Specification.

3 comments about Building Microsoft(r) SQL Server(r) 7 Applications with COM.

1. I couldn't find source code for this book on publisher's web site. That mean to test those code I have to type all code myself. If I had know it I wouldn't buy this book. I thought this is commone scense for reader to expect the code is either come with an attached CD or can be downloaded.



2. This was a good book. It is a great guide to SQL 7, and can be used as a good primer on interacting with it. The book explains how to use the wizards to accomplish tasks (important for beginners), as well as how do the same thing with straight SQL language from the Query Analyzer (valuable as a learning tool and a reference). Nevertheless, by the nature of the title, you would expect a lot of COM-related development content. If you count ADO (which I don't in this instance), then the title is justified. There are only a couple of chapters on developing COM objects that interact with SQL 7 near the end. It seems like the word COM was tossed in purely for marketing purposes. So final word on "Building Microsoft SQL Server 7 Applications with COM" is that it is great on SQL 7, but weak on COM.



3. This is a very confusing book. A lot of concepts are explained extremely poorly and I got totally lost after a short while. Get another book from Amazon instead.

No comments about Wireless Sensor Networks and Applications (Signal and Communication Technology).

No comments about The Pick Operating System.

No comments about Microsoft Official Academic Course: 70-271: Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a MS Windows XP Operating System.

2 comments about Palm OS Programming.

1. I found this book to be a disappointment. It looked good in the store but after reading most of it I felt like I had wasted my money. The author writes about the easy stuff and glosses over, or omits entirely, the more difficult areas. His coverage of the topics is not in an optimum order, leaving the reader wondering why certain code was included only to find out why in later chapters. Nearly all examples omit field member declarations but include non-used menu handling code. In my opinion, his programming style is at a less than professional level. For example, in many of his test conditions he assumes a Boolean result from a non-Boolean variable value without explicitly forming a Boolean expression. I also found the use of Hungarian notation to make the code samples less readable and harder to follow. He would do well to read and apply the principles from "Writing Solid Code", by Steve Maguire prior to writing any more sample code. Frankly, I learned much more, while spending less time and effort, by reading the "Codewarrior for Palm OS Tutorial" that comes with Codewarrior.



2. I found this book to be a disappointment. It looked good in the store but after reading most of it I felt like I had wasted my money. The author writes about the easy stuff and glosses over, or omits entirely, the more difficult areas. His coverage of the topics is not in an optimum order, leaving the reader wondering why certain code was included only to find out why in later chapters. Nearly all examples omit field member declarations but include non-used menu handling code. In my opinion, his programming style is at a less than professional level. For example, in many of his test conditions he assumes a Boolean result from a non-Boolean variable value without explicitly forming a Boolean expression. I also found the use of Hungarian notation to make the code samples less readable and harder to follow. He would do well to read and apply the principles from "Writing Solid Code", by Steve Maguire prior to writing any more sample code. Frankly, I learned much more, while spending less time and effort, by reading the "Codewarrior for Palm OS Tutorial" that comes with Codewarrior.

2 comments about Novell's GroupWise 6 Administrator's Guide (With CD-ROM).

1. Tay's Novell's GroupWise 6 Administrator's Guide is the longest and most complete Novell Press GroupWise Administration guide ever written. All the basics are covered, along with the not so basic, such as how to move a GroupWise Post Office, or a GroupWise Domain to a new server. And for those of you interested in the new features of GroupWise 6 such as GroupWise Wireless, and GroupWise Monitor, you will not be disappointed!

   Tay has been a Novell Support Engineer for 9 years, and he really knows what GW Admins need in order to keep their systems running smoothly. A fantastic followup to his GroupWise 6 Upgrade Guide.




2. and hence biased. So take my word with a grain of salt.

   But this is an excellent, clear and lovely book, covering almost everything you need to know about GW.

   There are some small omissions, and a few errors, mostly centering around SSL and LDAP, which were not complete when this book was written.

   But for a beginner-to-advanced training/learning/reference, you cannot go wrong with this.

5 comments about Advanced Palm Programming: Developing Real-World Applications (With CD-ROM).

1. I don't think this book can help you develop read-world applications. There are not enough contents for database and networking which are the most important and useful for enterprise applications.

   The better chapter would be the 'App-centric Networking'. It mentions some web connection with the Palm. But this book still have no discussion with the HotSync, a important part of Palm development.

   Most of the contents just help you develop stand-alone programs. I agree that you can read the SDK documentations for more information, or the Palm OS Programming Bible.




2. First, this book had one of the worst indexes I've ever seen! There is no (or hardly any) indentation, so subtopics swim with topics.

   Second, the book overall went deeply into some obscure topics (writing your own GPS software), but didn't present many topics deeply which is what I was seeking. If you would like to know how to do trig on your Palm or a few other weird topics, this is the book for you. As for me, I need something that takes all Palm programming to the next level.




3. As someone who does Wireless Palm programming for a living, this is generally the first book I look at for programming hints... Having said that, this book is not a beginners book, it does not explain all topics, but covers some of the more obscure features you can get involved with. If you want to go tromping around in the database of the native apps, you will find some tidbits that are not easily discovered otherwise. But you should still be prepared to read the source code for those apps too.



4. I am a professional Palm developer, and I currently have four books on Palm programming at my desk. This is by far the worst, and the least informative. I'm not sure what is in this that would let it claim to be 'advanced'. Everything covered in this book was summarily covered in Neil Rhodes' book. I always open it up, trying to find something useful, but it's just not in there. Don't waste your money. I've given it two stars, just in case you don't have Rhodes' book, you might find some small value in it.



5. If you find this book for less than $12 USD somewhere, it's probably worth the money just to look at some more code samples. However, the examples in this book are buggy, and are hard to isolate and recycle into your own projects.
   
   If you have the Neil Rhodes book from O'Reilly and/or the PalmOS Programming Bible from Wiley, then don't bother with this title at all.

2 comments about C and Unix Programming: A Comprehensive Guide.

1. I baught this book about 2 months ago and i'm about half way through it. There are many great things to say about this book so i'll start from the beginning.
   this book shows almost everything (minus the ASM) from the ground up, it shows memory and how C uses them when variables are declared, and explains references to memory blocks aswell.. it also as the name states is for learning C in *nix based systems, which helped me with problems i have had in the past with writing programs trying to use a windows C or dos C book for my reference.
   
   the reason why i'm not giving it a 5 star rating is the fact that much of the source code has errors.. usually errors that a beginner in C wouldnt recognize like a missing curly brace or missing semicolon. thats why i say its for someone thats wanting to advance their knowlege in C rather than being just an introductory book.
   
   other than that definately great Highly recomended for those who dont have ADD and have plenty of time on their hands.



2. This is exactly what I was looking for! N.S. Kutti's "C and Unix Programming: A Comprehensive Guide" can be used as a formal text or as a reference. The book covers basic to advanced C concepts on Unix. ANSI and Posix Standards are included. In my opinion, this book is a good model of what a formal college text should be. The book is heavy on theory without a lot of fluff, filler, or baby steps. I would recommend this book to C programmers or former enthusiasts who need a comprehensive review. A comprehensive C programming review can easily be done in 30 days using this book.

No comments about Centralized and Distributed Operating Systems.