1 comments about Mastering Windows Programming With Borland C++ 4/Book and Disk.

1. This is a good book to read after you're finished "Teach Yourself OWL Programming in 21 days" by Ian Spencer, and Namir Clement Shammas' "What Every Borland C++ 4 Programmer Should Know". Tom Swan has written books on Assembler, C++, Delphi, Pascal and Java. Sometimes I wonder just how deep his knowledge can be.

5 comments about C# Threading Handbook.

1. the vb.net has code support but the c# has not.
   it is diificult to review the book without
   translating the vb version to c# to see if the code works



2. I've sat and read the book till chapter 3 and it's so academic it smacks of not being able to think in real programming scenarios. It really doesn't find a way to be jovial and sounds so disinterested in the topic. I've read so many books that do better than this. And, I love reading these type of books but oh god these guys are sooo dry I had take breaks just to sleep :) But... since I have the only book on 'c#' threading to date... I'll keep going... I am really pleased I read the book on books24x7 before I purchased!...
   
   Anff



3. Some of the most complex problems in commercial programming arise when you use multiple threads in your application. This book deals with the various ways in which you could spawn new threads and create a more responsive application. However, like every experienced programmer knows, that is the easy part. The real difficulty is in making your code thread-safe. This is also known as thread synchronization. This book has excellent coverage of those aspects too.
   
   It, however, assumes that you are familiar with C# and does indeed jump directly to the topic of the book. If you need help with C#, definitely look somewhere else (C# and the .NET platform, 2nd Edition by Andrew Troelsen is a fantastic book for that purpose). I also felt that the book skimps on some of the more detailed areas of .NET multithreading such as Thread Pools and some specialized classes such as AutoResetEvent, ManualResetEvent, etc. However, this in no way reduces the usefulness of this book.
   
   I found it to be a great primer to learning more about these topics, which paved a path for further investigations using MSDN or other web resources.
   
   Whether it is for your day-to-day job, or for an interview, if you are looking for a book that covers .NET threading in detail, you are likely to be satisfied with this book.



4. I am new to .net threading and this is the book i could find which is about .net threading. Since there are not much choices,comparisons are almost unlikely.
   
   The book is well organized but with one main problem, no source code download. Actually i don't mind there isn't a code for download, because i prefer to type myself. but the author had to make sure all the codes are within the book and all workable.
   
   When i read until chapter 2. I found some difficulty.
   There is a topic about "Life cycle of Thread". when i gone thru the "Interrupting a Thread" it prompt me error. Then i skip this part and go to "Pausing and Resuming Threads". no error but the pause button doesn't work. the thread still continue running even i press the pause button. till i put a break point in the pause button. A little dissapointed hope the author can rectify it immediately



5. This is a good book to get started on .NET threading. However some of the examples are syntax oriented rather than application oriented. For example, the chapter on synchronization covers all the synchronization mechanisms available in .NET but the examples appear to be rushed i.e concentrating on how to use them syntactically rather than providing concrete examples. I also found the book a little unorganized. Some of the snippets are incomplete or improperly explained. Nonetheless, this book helps in getting up to speed in a short time. It covers almost all aspects of .NET Threading. Good reference but not great. 3 stars.

No comments about C++ Programming for Windows/Book and Disk.

5 comments about Sams Teach Yourself Visual C++ 6 in 24 Hours (Sams Teach Yourself).

1. Don't expect to learn to write general c++ code from this book. It focuses specifically on the MFC class and does a great job of that. Most programming courses don't teach anything about MFC, but in many cases, you are expected to know it for work or upper level programming courses. I have certainly picked up the basics from this book.



2. More of a guide to use the IDE than code VC++.
   Less, if not zero, talk about OOP.
   Good for wetting your feet in.
   Concentrates more on GUIs and less on components, services, etc. No database examples.
   All the example code I tried worked just fine.

   OVERALL, LIVES UP TO ITS WORD: AN INTRO TO VC++ FOR NOVICES. So, 4.5 on 5 rating.




3. Chapters 4 and up would be a good review for those very familiar with MFC and Visual C++ programming. For the beginners - good luck and think about the great dinner you could have had w/the money you just wasted...



4. 1. those give 3+ didn't really go through the book and try the examples. I used to think it is very good, then go details and found it little use.
   2. it let you go around controls, not go up. each hour you know a new control, similar design steps, too simple and uncomplete examples, may be stupidly designed. e.g., to edit treeview you need right click plus left click; after you quite the edition is lost. don't tell you how to use the edit.
   3. when it guide you to do sth, not step by step, but jump to top then back, sometime you don't know which relates to what, and you need to dig one key word from messy text lines to know your adding one belongs to which class/object (sometimes author just forget to list it clearly).
   4. tend to use long text rather than graph and tables. gives pages on font and their naming, font creation, yet no graph to show the font type. often mentioned "windows 95" with no meaning. put if..else etc. in later and no related chpaters, if it is really needed it shall be in 1st hour.
   5. repeatedly mention on similar things rather than give clear, real usage of controls. Never tell you resize window, give too simple drawing functions. Tend to list most controls rather than use their key features. Author seems doesn't know which parts in VC++ are most important and useful for applications.
   6. It gives you some info on VC++ controls, and do right in Hungarian namings. I suggest you just try the button/menu item/dialog box examples, than go other books.



5. Teach Yourself Visual C++ 6 in 21 Days was a disappointment. In general the book will give you the basic steps to create the example applications in each chapter. Trying to create an application that is not in the book will very quickly send you looking for other resources. I found more information on the web than I did in this book.
   
   The author does a lot of do this, do that instruction with little explanation of the exact reasons for the task. There are numerous errors which requires some creative interpretaion in order to figure out. Overall the book could have been better written to the level of developer it is intended for, and definately could have done with a coursory edit.
   
   A good example of what is missing in the book is Chapter 5, Button Contols. The author explains the different buttons and button properties and has you generate a sample application. What is missing in the chapter is how to actually retrieve check box and radio box values to use in other parts of your application. Even the Visual Studio help files are vague on this topic, which may explain the problem with the book.
   
   In short I can not recommend this book. It contains too many errors, there is a lot of missing information, and explanations are almost non-existant. A better title would be "An Introduction to Visual C++ 6 in 24 Hours".

3 comments about Data Structures: An Advanced Approach Using C (Prentice-Hall Software Series).

1. This was the book that made things click for me. It has a nice introduction to pointers and memory management using malloc(), then goes on to show how to implement stacks, queues, singly-linked lists, doubly-linked lists, circular lists, trees, and graphs. The example applications include a tiny line-oriented text editor (like UNIX's ed or DOS's edlin) and a lisp interpreter.

   The only downside to the book is that it uses old K&R C, so the syntax for function declarations is not compatible with strict ANSI C compilers.




2. After finishing this course for our 2nd semester in CS, covering data structures, I was taken back by how much this book has in it. I totally did not expect to see so much inside a book this small when I first glanced at it the day I received it.
   
   Their concept of Lists are phenomenal and this topic is only expanded on greatly as the chapters go on. Their technique of reusing old code while keeping implementation independence and only slightly changing it for future implementations is the backbone of the book.
   
   Programs developed range from complex, rational and polynomial code, graphical display list, graphical region filling, standard and complex parenthesis checker using stacks, infix to postix algorithm, operating system simluator, applying header nodes, circular list concepts developing a Lisp subset interpreter, line editor, expression evaluator, trees of all sorts and their counterpart graphs and their applications to a four-in-a-row game, Dijkstra's algorithm, and from sets to sorting, and many many more, there's even more they suggest for you to write in their exercises.
   
   Do not buy this book unless you're serious about taking on it's seriously 'advanced' approach, or unless it's required by your course. It assumes a level of maturity as the book goes on by leaving out components to their programs for your interpretation and development on your own. Exercises are just that, exercises - there are no answers given. You are to interpret what they have and run with it.
   
   I also minus a point due to K&R C. It was the only nuisance in the book. Otherwise, enjoyable read and the learning process from this book has been a worthwhile experience.



3. It says it's a hardcover but I got a softcover -- a really flimsy softcover. It looks like something someone made in their basement with a photocopier. I am sure the technical merits of this text stand on their own, but the quality of this reproduction are not worth the price. I have contacted amazon and asked them to correct the product page (if necessary) -- certainly I'd be cautious about ordering this product.

1 comments about Teach Yourself the Unix C Shell in 14 Days (Unix Library).

1. This is kinda poor book I have ever read about C shell

5 comments about Karel++: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Object-Oriented Programming.

1. With the use of this book and associated software, one can master the C++ or Java language in no time at all! It uses the analagy of a Robot, and the simple classes that operate it. Due to the fact that it has simple classes, time is not wasted trying to remember the many classes and their functions, and the reader immediatly begins programming the Robot. The Karel++ language has the Syntax of C++, and is Object Oriented (just like Java and C++). This is a must buy for anyone getting into programming, or just learning OOP (Object Oriented Programming)!



2. This book is meant for the earliest of beginning programmers. If you have any programming experience whatsoever, even with macros, the information in this book will seem extrememly remedial. Also, some of the terms used aren't even real C++ code, so you'll have to adjust your thinking just a little when you move on. Finally, the price is pretty steep for the amount of information you get. I would probably only recommend this book for someone needing a very, very, VERY gentle intro to programming.



3. I had to read this book for an introductory programming class and didn't find it at all helpful when going on to Java. It wasn't worth the time I spent working with it. You'd be better off just beginning the object-oriented language you're interested in. If you want my advice, try Beginning Java Objects by Jacquie Barker instead.



4. This book reminds me of the older LOGO programming language. You have a small "robot" that explores his world. You tell him how to move and what to do. The only reason this is good is that it helps you think of object oriented programming. (The robot is considered an object). There are also special editions of the book in case you want to specifically move to C++ or Java later. Basically, the book is a good start. If you have any programming experience - skip it. Otherwise, it will get you in the rate frame of mind to move toward OOP.



5. This book was the text for one of my intro to programming courses. I had no choice. You do. Run while you can.

5 comments about Beginning ASP.NET Databases using C#.

1. It is not until you read a book that is dedicated to using databases in ASP.NET that you realize just how much there is to learn. This is a very readable & well structured book with excellent `Try It Out' examples that provide easy to follow step-by-step guides.

   Obviously understanding data readers, datasets, command objects and web server controls is vital but there are some rare and extremely useful chapters: componentization - leveraging class libraries for data access, performance, and a chapter that discusses Data-Driven ASP.NET application in the Real World that raises some very interesting issues; for example security tips, raising your own database errors & organizing your code.

   The authors not only provide information that you would expect but they offer every encouragement to raise the bar by discussing ways to do things even better; for example `A Better Connection String', creating Data Access classes, and fine tuning dataset & datareaders.




2. I went through this book. It is great for the beginner to ASP.Net. However, I think it is because there are many authors worked on this book. Its contents is NOT so integrated.

   I felt I gain a lot from chap 1-6, however after ch7, it seems worked by another author. The concept between two of them has conflict. For example, the author ch1-6 said using ADO.net data adapter you don't need to open and close the data connection, but in ch7, the author said, you must close the connect obj after you used DataAdapter??

   Their writting style are also different, after ch7, the contents is not so good and has a log of mistakes.




3. on the whole this is a very good book for beginners
   The last two chapters which i thought were the
   most useful was RUSHED!!

   The performance chapter should not have been a chapter
   since it was non-existent

   The most important chapter of all the bidding web site
   construction, I failed to get it to work!! one error
   after the other. For a book with so many authors, I
   would have thought at least one of the would have had the
   time to review the code for the last chapter.

   I give this book a 3 but it deserves a 4.
   Unless the code in the last chapter works, the last chapter
   might as well not be there either




4. This one gets you up and running with database prograaming with ASP.NET in a matter of few hours. In the process, it also provides you with useful real-world tips. Great book for getting your feet wet with ADO.NET.
   The treatment is to-the-point and precise.
   All the sample codes work.
   The pathway followed is quite logical, starting from establishing connection to database, to various ways of reading and displaying records, followed by inserting and updating records, all using ADO.NET. Each chapter builds on the previous one, and the net effect is a coherent, easy-to-follow, enjoyable book. It really takes the complexities out of ADO.NET and helps us understand the simplicity behind the model.
   The later chapters on componentization, performance etc are a real bonus.
   Good value for money.



5. This book is very readable and very well suited for beginning asp.net programmers. It makes you feel at ease with asp.net. Too bad the examples don't always work. For instance, the final chapter 12 makes you write an application with all the stuff you've learned in the previous chapters. The code that is provided, doesn't work at all. I get error after error and that's a shame because I really want to see the information being used in a real world example.

1 comments about Fractal Programming in C.

1. This is a real cool book, not really any application for me professionally, but it was fun to try to make the examples. It was a fun exercise in a completely different realm of C than I am used to. Kind of like a cross-word puzzle based on a genre you were totally unfamiliar with, but A fun learning process just the same. Had I seen the picture of the Author prior to purchasing this book I would have clearly known that this was a science text as he just has that "scientist" look about him. I would recommend this to any C programmer that has extra time on their hands, really loves C and wants to try something way out there more on the scientific side of C or if fractal programming does apply to your profession.

2 comments about Practical Ray Tracing in C.

1. This book is a excellent source of information on Ray tracing. It is written to help novice as well as expert to sharpen their knowledge on the subject. I personally have gained a lot after reading this book which helped me professionally to implement HLR algorithm for my product.



2. This is a good book but just realize that its a bit dated and there may be better and more up to date books out there. If you can get this cheap then go ahead, otherwise, look for something more up to date.