5 comments about Borland C++ Builder: the Definitive C++ Builder Problem Solver.

1. Not many books are available for Borland C++ Builder (compared to MS Visual C++ and MFC). And as there's not so much to choose from, one has to be happy with what exists.

   This book has an interesting form that I personally didn't find in other computer software related books - it's divided into problems and answers. Each problem-answer consists of a question, exact programming steps to solution and explanation of the solution.

   The book covers many programming topics, like forms, windows controls, internet, database, custom controls, etc., etc. All solutions are presented in such way that you can freely combine them together. You just implement all that would suit your particular needs in your projects. The book is well structured, so you can find what you're looking for easily.

   I find the book VERY readable and easy to understand (I have 2 years of Visual C++ and MFC programming practice and have recently switched to BCB) and I find myself browsing through the pages just reading the contents "offline" many times. And every time I run into something cool, something that will just have to be implemented in my next project...

   There are few examples, where not all code is covered in the book - you can get it complete on the included CD. I also found some examples that are based on older version of BCB (I use BCB4), so I had to find the corresponding commands in the menu. But nonetheless I still think it's really a good book and I only wish every software would have a similar how-to book...




2. I have used Borland Builder professionally since release 1.0. I purchased the How-to as soon as it was released have turned to it over and over through the years. Like all of the How-To series, it is written in a style that is easily read and digested. I recommend this book for anyone who uses the Borland Builder product for development.



3. This book bit all other books about C++ Builder combined!
   I wish to have second edition of this book covered Builder 5 and Internet development.



4. The book should have been titled "Advanced Windows API How-To using C++ Builder" or something else more appropriate. The examples are good but complex. If you're a novice with CPPB this book will be totally useless to you.



5. This book is everything a beginner, intermediate (and in some cases even an experienced) BCB user needs right by his/her computer. I found many solutions for problems I had as a beginner and intermediate developer in this book. The structure of the chapters is excellent and well thought. Explanations before AND after the writer implements the solutions are very practical. After you (as the reader) apply what you just read, some additional questions arise and the writer also discusses these types of questions.
   
   Sadly I must say that (about) 30% of the book is useless today (2005). A simple example is the splash screen example (the one I can remember right now). 50% of the example is still applicable today, but the rest can be done faster/easier if you're using BCB's 4,5 or 6, by just changing some properties.
   
   I would be delighted if Mr. Miano (et al.) could produce an updated version of this book, I would surely buy it as soon as it came out. "Borland C++ Builder: the Definitive C++ Builder Problem Solver," is (for me) the best "fast-reference" book written for BCB.
   
   I gave it 4 stars, because of its somewhat outdated, but to the beginner programmers out there who are contemplating buying this book, GO AHEAD it is worth it! It's worth 5 stars.

1 comments about C Shell Quick Reference Guide.

1. Very useful book, I keep it very close to my keyboard all the time. It's not the perfect one with all details but helps a lot when I when to do some fancy command with vi.

5 comments about Standard C Date/Time Library: Programming the World's Calendars and Clocks.

1. If you are a computer programmer, don't write any (more) date/time code until you see how Lance Latham does it! This book contains comprehensive, organized solutions to all the date/time problems you are likely to encounter, including tricky ones such as "What is the date N days after date X?," "How many days, exactly, are there between date X and date Y?," and even "What is my client's holiday schedule next year?"

   Even if you think you already have an adequate library of date/time code in your shop, don't be too sure until you've tested it using the methods illustrated in Lance Latham's own test programs, included in the CD that accompanies the book. The Year 2000 bug is not the only one infesting date/time code!

   For programmers with historical, international, or religious calendar problems to solve, this book is an invaluable reference for a wide range of past and present calendars and timekeeping systems. Lance Latham also includes a section on the forward-looking ISO 8601 standard, which is enjoying increasing usage in Europe.

   I recommend this book even if you write computer programs in some language other than C. The routines in this book are easy to translate into other languages, even for programmers with only a "reading" knowledge of C. The correct usage of the routines is exhaustively documented, with all parameters, returns, and limitations spelled out for you. Whichever language you use, following Lance Latham's approach will lead to concise, fast, and reliable code.

   My only caveat about this book is that the algorithms underlying the routines are not always adequately explained. Sometimes we are told no more than that an algorithm is a "standard Gregorian proleptic calendar conversion routine." Testing will verify that it does somehow give the correct results, but you may still be tempted to spend hours studying it to figure out how it works.




2. This isn't merely a list of algorithms (though the number of included date/time programs is extensive); it gives a background and an explanation for the major calendar systems and many of the obscure ones. So I'd recommend it not just for "C programmers" but to anyone who cares about calendars and their vagaries.



3. I purchased this book out of interest, but then, as always, there comes a time when you reach for a reference book to help out when you need something coded. Well, that's what I did, and unfortunately the book has basic errors in its Julian to Gregorian conversion routine. Minor, I know, but this book is billed as "the Y2K buster" to get on the bandwagon, but the supplied (tested! hah!) routines don't actually work.

   I went to the support web site to look up or report this errata. It's gone. Unforgivable. The correct algorithm is available from (the U.S. Naval Observatory's website). The transcription error from this algorithm in Fortran to C is minor, but enough to get me irate. A book that is sold on accuracy and Y2K busting should get dates right. You'd have thought that given a function and it's inverse, that the author would have checked that f(f^-1(x)) == x and f^-1(f(x)) == x. But no...

   Apart from that, you'll never use many of the other calendric functions. My faith in this tome is severly shaken.




4. I'd like to clarify the bug that was reported in an earlier review. The bug is in JD0_to_gregorian. Don't worry, though. You can just use JD0_to_gregorian_proleptic which works just fine! The strange thing is even the comments say the 2 functions are identical. I suggest copying the code of the proleptic version to JD0_to_gregorian because a lot of other functions call into it, such as JD0_to_date. It's odd that just this one function has a bug (and a very pivotal function at that) because everything else seems to work great.

   Otherwise the book is very complete and has a lot of interesting explanations of different calendars. It even has moon functions, although they are limited to about +/- 100 years from AD 2000 (it says the full versions are too processor intensive). Great book!




5. When I looked at this book, I checked the terms and conditions on using the code, and bascially, those Ts&Cs say "thou shalt not alter a darn thing in the code". I think those who attempt to fix bugs in it should be very wary -- the licence as I read it (but I'm not a lawyer) said that you could do nothing with it. And the licence makes it difficult to read it as well -- see for example a search at ... with key words Latham Standard Date, news group comp.std.c, and a date range from say 2000-01-01 to 2002-12-31 will pick up three different threads mentioning this issue.

4 comments about C# Data Security Handbook.

1. What can I say about this book? To start with I have to give praise to author of the first chapter. As an introduction in various security concepts such as Integrity, Authentication and Authorization, it is so simple that even a manager could understand it, but the wealth of knowledge available means that every developer picking up this book should be reading this chapter in-depth.

   Moving on chapters 2, 3 and 4 provide a real insight into how cryptography works within in the .NET framework. These chapters not only present invaluable information on how to use the .NET cryptography classes, but also how they are often misused - practical information for any developer.

   The rest of the book is jam packed with valuable information on a whole range of topics from SSL and TLS right through to certificates and CAPICOM.

   For anyone developing XML based applications there is an in-depth look at the use of XML Signatures and the various ways it can be applied within an application. If you want to transmit verifiable XML data then this provides a useful insight.

   I really liked the list of best and worst practises included in chapter 7, which introduced some long term worth for this title. If you are developing security for an application it is a trivial exercise to check you implementation against the list of best and worst practises.

   Perhaps the most standout part of this book is chapter 8 which brings together all of the topics of the book to build a full web service application that simulates a virtual hard drive. This application gives a real-world understanding of how various different security techniques and concepts can be brought together.

   What I really liked about this book was that I wasn't a regurgitation of the MSDN documentation. All the information is presented in ways which you can, and probably will, use in day-to-day development.

   My only criticism of this book is that I felt that the concept of key stores could have been better explained, much earlier in the book. As it was I had to re-read certain sections to better understand them.




2. What can I say about this book? To start with I have to give praise to author of the first chapter. As an introduction in various security concepts such as Integrity, Authentication and Authorization, it is so simple that even a manager could understand it, but the wealth of knowledge available means that every developer picking up this book should be reading this chapter in-depth.

   Moving on chapters 2, 3 and 4 provide a real insight into how cryptography works within in the .NET framework. These chapters not only present invaluable information on how to use the .NET cryptography classes, but also how they are often misused - practical information for any developer.

   The rest of the book is jam packed with valuable information on a whole range of topics from SSL and TLS right through to certificates and CAPICOM.

   For anyone developing XML based applications there is an in-depth look at the use of XML Signatures and the various ways it can be applied within an application. If you want to transmit verifiable XML data then this provides a useful insight.

   I really liked the list of best and worst practises included in chapter 7, which introduced some long term worth for this title. If you are developing security for an application it is a trivial exercise to check you implementation against the list of best and worst practises.

   Perhaps the most standout part of this book is chapter 8 which brings together all of the topics of the book to build a full web service application that simulates a virtual hard drive. This application gives a real-world understanding of how various different security techniques and concepts can be brought together.

   What I really liked about this book was that I wasn't a regurgitation of the MSDN documentation. All the information is presented in ways which you can, and probably will, use in day-to-day development.

   My only criticism of this book is that I felt that the concept of key stores could have been better explained, much earlier in the book. As it was I had to re-read certain sections to better understand them.




3. Simply a great book about security, certificates, encryption, signing, and more.



4. Very very good book about security in the .NET platform.
   highly recomanded

No comments about Microprogramming and Computer Architecture.

No comments about The Complete Idiot's Guide to C# Programming.

5 comments about Desktop Applications With Microsft Visual C++ 6.0: McSd Training Kit for Exam 70-016 (Training Kit).

1. This is one of the best books I've ever brought! It uses some great build-it-yourself project examples to cover an incredible amount of ground. It reads in a very easy but factual and organised way. There are no flat boring sections and any complex areas of VC6 are covered with ease. It must be said that reading and fully understanding everything in this book wont necessarily be enough to pass the exam, but it will take you most of the way and it'll probably make a first rate VC developer of you.



2. I think this book is great. After taking C++ courses at college (Foundations and Data Structures) that focus on UNIX, I wanted to learn about Windows Programming. The "Visual C++ starts here" program that comes on one of the included CD's is a great reveiw and primer for the book's material. I found the whole package to be chock-full-o information and I have learned tons of stuff from it. Compared to College tuition this book is a steal, but I don't think I would have enjoyed it without a solid foundation in C++ first. I recommend it to anyone that wants to learn "real" C++. With products like this, it's no wonder Microsoft is so damn successful.



3. I bought this book with no idea of what to expect on the exam. I have since taken the 70-016 exam and passed it. I have two years of experience with Visual C++ and MFC but had never used COM.

   Overall I feel that this book did a good job of giving a general overview of the material on the test. A warning though, you will need to know more about COM than this book alone covers.

   I also purchased the Exam Cram book for this exam and was very pleased with it. ( I also read the first five chapters of The COM / COM+ Primer and it cleared up a lot of COM issues for me )

   For any one who can afford it I would highly recommend the practice exams that can be purchased from Trancender.




4. I have little experience with VC++ and was using this book and exam to better my understanding. This book offered alot of good help, but like most MS Press training kits, is not focused on real exam preparation as much as on giving alot of details (even if the exam doesn't require those details).

   This is my 6th MS exam (3 NT4 , 2 SQl7, and VC6). I have always used MS Press training books (I like the depth), Transcenders, and sometimes TestOut material. All my other exam scores have been over 800, but this exam was in the 500s (but enough to pass). I also spent more time going over this material.

   The reality is VC++ a detailed subject area, and I blame my low score more on my lack of experience than on the book. Also for the first time, Transcenders only gave practice on half the material. I didn't use TestOut.

   Remember also these exams are really geared for those already comfortable with the material. The book says it covers the exam material, not that it prepares you for the exam itself (though the title "... for Exam 70-015" may give you another impression).
   The thing about the MS-Press books is you have something that is useful beyond the exam.

   I gave the book 3/5 because I passed the exam mostly on this material. More exprerienced VC candidates will do well, I suppose. I thought it was difficult reading (alot of detail), not enough diagrams, and not enough summarizing of key exam points. Be prepared to go over the material, making your own "exam-geared" notes.




5. This book is MOC (Microsoft Official Curriculum) for preparing for the 70-016 exam: Building Desktop Applications with Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0. Considering the source, this should be the best book on the market, but it isn't by a long shot.

   This book is, like the other Microsoft texts, an exercise-driven text. Each chapter contains one or more labs to be used to reinforce the material presented in the chapter. If you remember lab books from chemistry class - which contain some descriptive information followed by a step by step procedure, then you get the idea.

   This book is neither an exam cram styled review, or an in depth exploratory text. This book is more a collection of lab-based tutorials.

   If you are a skilled Visual C++ programmer, and are looking for a review, you will find your eyes glazing over while you read what you already know. The layout will also act like a comprehension speed bump.

   On the other hand, if you are a neophyte, you are stepped through the process of building applications and applying the information. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of explanation.

   This book alone will not prepare you to successfully pass the exam.

   My advice: I would highly recommend getting the Visual C++ 6 Desktop Exam Cram book.

5 comments about Visual C++ in 12 Easy Lessons/Book and Cd-Rom.

1. Out of all the books I have read about C++, this one tops them all. This book proves you do not need to be a "Rocket Scientist" to be a programmer. If you have not programmed in C or C++ before get this book, it will give you a kick start into the world of programming.



2. This is a great book, but it suffers from a few typing errors. For instance, on their tear out guide, the maximum values for floating point variables is listed twice. Other than that, the book presents the material in a well thought out, organized manner.



3. this book is excellent for beginners to the world of programming, not just new to C++. it teaches you everything from general concepts of how code works, but it works you up to advanced programs. the layout of the book couldnt be better. it has 12 units (hence the title) divided into sections. the last section in a unit summarizes what you have learned during the unit. anyone that is looking for "the perfect C++ book", this is the one!



4. A very good book for someone beggining Visual C++. The Authors do a good job of keeping your attention and this is the least boring technical book I have ever read. I strongly recommend it for someone wanting to learn Visual C++. I am 14 years old and I read it in three weeks.



5. This is one excellent book to learn C++ programming. I purchased this book after I bought Greg's other books on Programming. I wanted to learn to use Visual C++. Also, this book had more information on Object-Oriented Programming than Greg's book "Turbo C++ Programming in 12 Easy Lessons" which I bought earlier. I chose this book to learn on my own.
   
   Greg's style was crisp and to the point. It was easy to read. BUT, more importantly, the book was chock full of assignments. This is great, because you don't really know that you've learned anything until you actually write code yourself. Also, the disk had answers to the questions. So you can test yourself.
   
   Greg with the help of Ian Spencer emphasized code style, white space and readability along with the basic C++ syntax. Because of this book, I've purchase other books by this author because I thought this one was so well written. I also own his Crash Course in QBasic, Visual Basic in 12, Easy Lesson, Turbo C++ in 12 Easy Lessons and his Java book. I've been pleased with most of my books I've purchased by this author. His Java book didn't keep the style of programming assignments and end of chapter questions as his other books, so I didn't like that one as well. Also, this book "Visual C++ Programming in 12 Easy Lessons" does a great job of teaching the basics of Object-Oriented Programming. So, you can go on to advance topics in OOP with confidence.
   
   ONE WARNING: Greg recommends different books to advance you knowledge. Most of the books he recommends were excellent for going on in C++ programming. He does at one point recommend on the accompanying disk a book titled "Assembly Language for Real Programmers Only" to learn assembly language. Though this book by Marcus Johnson is a great book, it's not a good entry level text. I did buy it. It's actually an advanced book that also double as a reference. So, you may want to get "Assembly Language Step by Step" to learn beginning assembly language programming.
   
   Even though this book is from the mid 90s, I would highly recommend this book for beginners to learn Visual C++. A working copy of Visual C++ comes with the book on a CD.

5 comments about Thinking in C++.

1. I feel this book is utter garbage. The book is confusing and full of political rederic. I really dislike this book.



2. I've been writing in C++ for about five years now (and in C for about ten years before that). Reading this book changed me from a C programmer writing code that the C++ compiler would (eventually) accept, to a programmer who "thinks in C++".

   If you seriously want to learn C++, and you know "C", read (and re-read) this book, and you'll know more than 90% of the people out there who call themselves C++ programmers. I can say that, because I've "tech screened" many, many dozens of alleged C++ programmers; about 5% were competent. Work your way through this book, and you'll never be embarrassed during a code review!




3. This book made me understand C++. After first trying with the "C++ Primer", where most examples just show how it is not, here I got how it is and why it is the way it is. But it has to be said, that the book goes from C to C++. So if one starts with C++ afresh, it needs some patience.



4. +AH4-This is a good book to learn C+-+- -- specially if you are new to the topic; it has code examples and long discussion of topics (some of which frankly is based on author's opinion). The writer is knowledgeable and well cited. He certainly has good friends giving him excellent reviews, but I found the book very very lengthy. The Stream chapter is about 70 pages. Many paragraphs, can be succinctly summarized in a sentence!

   Code examples are helpful (and proven in studies to be the best way+AH4-+AH4- to learn programming), specially if you are new to C+-+-. But if you already know C+-+- and want a good, solid, discussion try C+-+- Distilled by Phol (about 200 pages! as opposed to 800). Reading this book is like pulling tooth! agonizingly long and cumbersome. Now I understand he has written a 2 volume book for the second edition!

   I also disliked the organization of the book. No section or subsection numbers to easily partition the topics. Some topics like function overloading or ...+AH4-+AH4- who knows what ... are delayed to later chapters but are then referenced upfront!

   Again if you want to start learning C+-+-, definitely get this book -- I think it is good start. If you already know C+-+-, Eckel comes across as someone who likes the sound of his own typing.+AH4-




5. I bought this book for a class but quit using it when I found it did not have the information I needed to complete the first assignment. The examples roll all the code up into a single file, a style of programming rarely used in the industry. He devotes space to topics not related to C++ such as Extreme Programming. The book contains annoying typos even though it is in the second edition. The explanation of the use of try, throw and catch is extremely cusory.

   On the plus side, he has a good and lengthy discussion of programming style and good programming practices. If you like involved, wordy explanations, buy this book.

No comments about C++ Programming/Book and Disk (The Peter Norton Programming Library).