No comments about Reusability and Software Construction C and C++.

No comments about C++ Programming and Object-Oriented Programming I and II with CD-ROM.

5 comments about Programming Microcontrollers in C.

1. Programming Microcontrollers In C is a "user friendly" compendium of solid information on the use of C to fully exploit the power of today's microcontrollers. Beginning with an excellent tutorial on C basics, the reader is introduced to microcontrollers with descriptions of their programming environment and tips on coding for microcontrollers. Expert Ted Van Sickle then goes on to describe techniques for obtaining maximum performance from code; the differences between 8-bit and larger microcontrollers (giving application examples and providing details on using different compilers); advanced information for programming embedded systems and RISC microcontrollers (using Motorola's MCORE as the example). Programming Microcontrollers In C offers a great many useful C routines and the accompanying CD-ROM. contains all of the software referenced in the text, as well as C compilers, a full set of Motorola's microcontroller documentation in hyperlinked PDF format, and a fully searchable Deluxe eBook version of the text. The latest title in LLH Technology Publishing's "Embedded Technology" series, Programming Microcontrollers In C is a very highly recommended and invaluable addition to the dedicated programmer's reference shelf.



2. I have the first ed. of this book and just got the 2nd ed. It's much better, very up to date, clearly written wtih LOTS of helpful application code. This cD with this new edition is great, since it has the code on it.



3. I have the first ed. of this book and just got the 2nd ed. It's much better, very up to date, clearly written wtih LOTS of helpful application code. This cD with this new edition is great, since it has the code on it.



4. This book starts out with 120 pages of fluff C - mediocre at best and NOT why I bought the book. Then it discusses briefly what microcontrollers are - seemed more like a bunch of scattered notes on the topic thrown together - again NOT why I bought the book. Then it dives into Motorola chips and spends many pages talking about them - NOT why I bought this book. Then the author uses really useless examples like sort routines (like that happens in microcontrollers a lot - better examples would have helped here) to illustrate whatever it was he was trying to illustrate. Over all the book had the feel that the author tossed a bunch of lecture notes together, some poor cut and paste C examples in the beginning and then just simply got lost in his mission to show us how to program microcontrollers in C. The reason I bought this book was to learn what I could and could not do with C. I wanted to find out where C ended and assembly code "had" to take over. I wanted good in-line programming techniques, addressing schemes, code techniques, the best ways to implement monitors, slick ways to manipulate registers.. This book was about Motorola chips and some strange examples of how to program them. The book should NOT be called Programming Microcontrollers in C - maybe something like, Some Touchy Feely Intro To C and Motorola Chips With Sort Functions.



5. This book is written by a retired Motorola guy and it shows. Van Sickle all but ignores other processors and all of his examples are based on Motorola controllers and C compilers. He's also a bit out of date in many areas.

   Much of the book is centered around older (non-flash) Motorola parts. He mentions some of the newer ones here and there, but it's obvious the bulk of the author's experience and the first edition of the book pre-date the newer parts.

   The book doesn't really go into a lot of detail in any one area, but instead tries to cover a lot of ground using assorted examples and code snipets. Many of the examples may or may not be useful depending on what you're trying to do.

   The book isn't geared towards total novices, as it doesn't really start from ground zero. The author assumes you know the hardware side of things, how to run a development project and the basics of working in C. There are two chapters that sort of gloss over the C language, but they're not complete enough for a novice. Unfortunately, he doesn't go into many specifics in those chapters on how C applies to a embedded project so they're kind of a waste of ink.

   All in all, I don't think this book is worth anywhere near its ...list price. If you're interested in the Motorola M68HC05, HC08, HC11, HC12 or HC16, however, it might be worthwhile for some readers.

No comments about Introduction to Programming Using VISUAL C++ .NET.

5 comments about Professional Mfc With Visual C++5.

1. Having a descent knowledge of Windows OO programing from Visual Foxpro, this book was the best I've found on MFC. It is NOT for pure novices, Mike expects reader to have a good amount of programming skills, but is not overly expectant of the reader. His style and detail make the book a joy to read. I especially liked the absense of pages and pages of sample code that many other books contain. It seems to be applicable to MS VC++ version 6, with very few discrepencies in the difference of versions.



2. This is a great book for experienced MFC programmers. The author explained many important topics that other books did not explain at all. However, the examples of the book are not discussed by author. Thus, it is not good for beginning and intermediate level MFC programmers.



3. I am sorry I gave this book one star. It is the lowest rating I can give. The book is full of inaccurate information and does not state the most obvious things. I wanted to use a check list box and the author talked for pages on sub-classing and doing lots of nonsense. I finally found out that all you have to do is change the list box declaration from CListBox to CCheckListBox making sure you have the styles set to Fixed /Owner Draw/ Has strings. That is it. MFC takes care of the rest. When I tried to have a drag list box, the author did not mention the most important piece of information, which is to make sure the list box, is not sorted. I do not know about people giving 5 stars. I personally will burn it tonight while dancing around the fire.



4. This book is one of the most helpful and informative books on MFC there is, no you don't have to be a expert to read it but you do need some good foundation knowledge of MFC to understand it. as for the dips that give it 1 star, if you notice they complain about the most basic elements such as working with check boxes, placing checks in checkboxes, sorry people but that's beginning MFC not PROFESSIONAL



5. Mike knows his topic. I know this from other dealings but the book does meander. As a resource the index is useless...less than useless. There are numerous places where he addresses a particular topic but only sights one page in the index. "Professional" ? I leave that to someone else. He does state that the book is for the professional developer. And I was not looking for a text book. But an idex is a tool. In this case used very pourly.

1 comments about Programs and Data Structures in C: Based on ANSI C and C++, 2nd Edition.

1. After purchasing 2 other books on data structures, both of which were good for the experienced programmer but unclear for a student like me struggling to get through my data structures class, I finally found one that is perfect for explaining advanced data structures. The author breaks down multiway trees, heaps, linked lists, etc., in understandable terms. The sample code is complete and variables are intuitively named. Don't waste you money on other data structures books, espcially Data Structures & Program Design in C by Kruse. This is the textbook for my class and is universally hated among nearly everyone who has to use it. Ammeraal does a great a job with this book and is a must for the beginning CS student.

5 comments about Computer Algorithms C++: C++ and Pseudocode Versions.

1. This book is a textbook for a Computer Science course "Analysis of Algorithms" in Queens College, CUNY. The entire class suffers, because the book isn't readeable. The language isn't English!

   Authors strive to make even the simplest algorithms difficult to understand. The code examples have almost no comments and are typed in a messy disordered fashion. Mathematical analysis requires huge background in analytical mathematics and prior knowledge of everything it talks about. Proofs of theorems are not clear. Where the authors state something like "... clearly this is so-and-so... " the argument isn't even logical!

   Very often they don't even describe an algorithm - they just say "the algorithm is presented by the code on page ..." (this page is usually 10 pages away). The number of typographical mistakes is enormous. The examples are based on bizarre numbers and data structures.

   Don't ever ever ever consider buying this book! For college professors: please don't use this book as a textbook in your class unless you want to have a "D" average at the end of the semester.




2. I'm a student at department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Taiwan University.We took the course "Algorithms",and used this book as a text book.After a semister learning, i never heard any good comments for this book.The most word given to this book is"This book can make easy to hard!"We'll never choose this book as a text book again.



3. This book discusses algorithms in computer science but does integrate enough C++ code into the text, in spite of its title. Also, a lot of the code still has remnants of C philosophy, such as #define statements, in spite of the authors frequent use of "class" in their code. Buy this book with caution, as it is very expensive.



4. Don't waste your money on this text, it is rotten. I had it for a class and found this book to do very little in aiding the learning process due to its lack of any sort of coherent explaination. I ended up purchasing another text and used it from then and until now, after college.

   this is the only textbook i have ever sold back after the semester.




5. ... If the primary complaint against this text is that the authors have not provided enough C++ source code examples for the types of algorithms explained, take a look at the price tag. At a list price of [price], one can logically deduce that this text is for a university audience, emphasizing the theory behind the algorithms, as well as the synthesis it takes for you to generate modified versions from the templates presented. If you are looking for a more "how to"-oriented text (you know, the kind that "spoon feeds" you) with excessive source code examples, you definitely should look for another text. Nevertheless, I consider this book to be both highly appropriate and effective for its intended audience.

5 comments about Waite Group's Turbo C Programming for the PC (The Waite Group).

1. This was my very first C programming book. I had used Pascal a little bit when I bought it. 11 years later my copy of the book is tattered and torn, but I always keep it handy. The book is illustrated very well. It has floating arrows that describe what each element of the source code does. It does not talk down to the audience. The information within is presented with extreme clarity. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn C. I would also recommend this book to anyone wanting to give it as a gift to a teenager.



2. To be fair, I have the first edition of this book, dated 1987, and called "Turbo C Programming for the IBM". It has been with me many a year and has always been my favorite C book. It is the easiest of my C books to understand, and can be read like a novel with only occasionally going to the computer to try out their programs for reinforcement of a concept. All their examples are complete programs which are very helpful to me. Drawbacks to this book include: a) their sections on "Turbo" C are not applicable anymore, b) there are sections dealing with pc-specific issues that are not useful, and c) the C is not ansi compliant. However, in spite of this, it is still my favorite book because it is easy to understand.



3. This is a great book for C programming. It starts from elementary level and ends up teaching you advanced controls and professional aspects. It also covers some part of C++ and object oriented programming.



4. This book is how I learned to program 'C'. This is my favorite programming books of all time. It's easy to follow, good explanations and an excellent read. I've went on to become a lead programmer, and it all started here. Nostalgic, you bet. If you want to learn how to program in 'C', start here! I can't say anything more.



5. I picked this book up probably around 11 years ago and it is what I used to learn C programming. I had other books at hand as well, but this one really shines. The book has an obvious DOS slant to it as it is from that pre-Windows era. But in learning C programming, this one is hard to beat. I have since gone on to learn other languages, most notably Pascal / Delphi, but this book will always remain on my shelf. It was incredibly useful.

3 comments about Understanding Directory Services (2nd Edition) (Kaleidoscope).

1. This book provides more than a theoretical overview. The authors dig deeper and explain design ideas to implementation issues. The book is written for technical professionals and not "managers". (no offense)



2. This book is for technical managers who are evaluating directory services, and enterprise architects who are designing the infrastructure component of an encompassing enterprise solution. Other audiences include: portal designers and developers who intend to employ directory-enabled identification and access, and IT security professionals who are designing enterprise-wide role-based access controls and application-independent security architectures.

   In a nutshell (with apologies to O'Reilly & Associates) this book gives a balanced view of the major directory services solutions on the market. It starts with a high-level overview of directory services, how they can fit into an enterprise architecture, and the mechanics of directory services in general.

   The first directory service discussed is the grandfather of them all: X.500. If you are evaluating directory services as an enterprise infrastructure component, carefully read this part because it will give a solid basis for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each approach that follows. This section of the book is suitable for "technically-challenged" managers, as are the introductions to each of the directory services discussed in the book.

   X.500 is followed by a detailed description and technical discussion of each of the commercially available directory services. The descriptions and technical discussions follow a fixed format and structure, making comparison easy.

   The directory services that this book coversare: LDAP (lightweight directory access protocol), DNS (domain naming system), Novell's NDS and Microsoft's Active Directory. It is interesting to note the order in which directory services are discussed. The authors start the book with open standards-based services (X.500, LDAP and DNS), followed by NDS, which is proprietary, but conforms to LDAP version 3. They save Active Directory, which is completely proprietary, for last. Also note that this book is written by what looks like a husband/wife team, one of whom holds Microsoft certifications and the other with Novell certifications. Both demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of directory services discussed in this book, and they have managed to give a completely unbiased view of the advantages and disadvantages of each service discussed.

   The reason I gave it four stars is because it badly needs to be updated to reflect what is currently happening today. I took into account the fact that this book was published in December 1999. I also took into account the fairly long lead time between the time a book is written until it is published, and the fact that the information in this book probably reflects the market and state of technology as it was in early 1999. However, the publisher should realize that this book needs to go into a second edition if it is to remain authoritative and valuable.

   Here are some examples of gaps:

   (1) Novell's NDS now goes by the name "eDirectory" and has been strengthened by their DirXML product. eDirectory is LDAP version 3 compliant, and DirXML is also on its way to becoming an open standard via the DSML consortium (see below). DirXML integrates with eDirectory to monitor and report change events through an XML interface. This is an important management feature for enterprises.

   (2) Another gap is Microsoft is not standing still either and is giving some signs of embracing open standards. Their SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)approach might open Active Directory, making it a safe choice that might actually go across platforms. I am not saying that it will happen - just saying that it is possible.

   (3) Finally, I feel that this book should be updated to include DSML (Directory Services Extended Mark-up Language. This is an open, industry standard specification that is sponsored by some large players. DSML will provide a standard for querying the data in directories and allow cross-directory exchange of information about their data. The exchange mechanism in this standard is XML, making the extended directory services available to any Web application that supports the XML standard. This is obviously of interest to the target audience and needs to be addressed in a second edition.

   Despite the gaps I found this book to be a valuable resource, and the best book available for learning about directory services technology. I applaud the authors for their unbiased treatment of the subject and hope that they will update this book with a second edition.




3. This second edition represents a major overhaul of the first edition, and addresses each of the issues cited in the previous review. The authors have done a remarkable job in this edition by clearly explaining the fundamentals of directory services in general and going into the details of specific implementations that have either a large installed base, are used by large corporations or both.

   Highlights include complete and clear explanations of directory services at the conceptual level, how they fit into an enterprise-wide infrastructure, and how they have evolved as the foundation of identification and authentication, as well as a more pervasive security approach.

   The early models, DNS and X.500, are given detailed treatment. Although DNS is not a feature rich directory service, it does qualify as a legitimate one and its inclusion is a nice touch. I liked the clear explanation of LDAP, which either is implemented in many organizations or is the basis for commercial products such as Novell's eDirectory.

   Two commercial products that are covered in great detail are eDirectory and Microsoft's Active Directory. Since each author has extensive experience with, and certifications in, these products the material is credible and sets the book apart by giving a balanced view of two competing products without bias towards either.

   Three other parts of this book are valuable:

   (1) Discussion of metadirectory services - this section covers the basics and contains good (but brief) material about Siemen's DirXMetahub, Sun/Netscape's iPlanet metadirectory and Microsoft's metadirectory services, Novell's DirXML and Radiant Logic's RadiantOne VDS. While these products are in many ways niche players (except for the Microsoft and Novell offerings), the description of them indicates where metadirectory services are evolving.

   (2) Directory mark-up languages - this section covers XML and offshoots that are specific to directory services, such as DMSL and Novell's DirXML. Given the fact that XML is a web services building block this section of the book is particularly valuable.

   (3) Evaluating directory services - the complete, unbiased method for evaluating directory services that the authors provide reflect their objectivity as well as a sensible approach to ensure that both business and technical factors are taken into account.

   If you are exploring directory services as an infrastructure component or need to understand them, this book provides the most objective and complete explanation of the fundamentals and key issues, as well as a survey of standards and products. It's up to date and easy to read.

2 comments about Efficient C/C++ Programming: Smaller, Faster, Better/Book and Disk.

1. This book is an easy-to-understand description of *why* to be concerned about speed, as well as ways to improve the execution time (response time) for common database applications. Too many programmers write code assuming that tomorrow's machine will be more memory, faster, and that speed won't matter. It still does matter in many applications. The book has extensive listings, which didn't impress me, as well as the code available on disk for practice and evaluation. I've picked up a few ideas from the book and found it worth the time to read. Charlie Weesner



2. Heller's book is nothing if not grounded onactual problems he has encountered in a career as a programmer.Heller presents actual test results, comparing various approaches. Heller cites specific articles (where available) documenting the algorithms chapter examples are based upon. When articles are not available, he spends time explaining the algorithms. If my inter-library loan privileges at the Downey City Library were not already at their maximum order level, all of the journal articles cited in EC/C++P would already be on order. Chapter 5 goes deeply into an example of a token threaded little language, providing one of the best explanations of token threading I've encountered. Heller has a history of work in this area, as can be verified by articles he has had published in "Computer Language" magazine. ("OMNI: One person's language", Dec., 1984, pp.58-62, "Design Your Own Language", Jan., 1986, pp.61-63) The results from this chapter should be wider known; maybe more work in this area could justify an article in the Forth Interest Group's journal where this sort of topic is hotly discussed. It also touches on an article I saw recently, something to the effect of "Unified Memory: Not So Crazy After All?". (this all ties together, believe me!) Chapters 4, 5 and 7 get into assembly language. This didn't really spoil things for me, because it was in the context of the overall project of the chapters. The main emphasis throughout the book is on getting the algorithms out of papers and into working code. The "Entropy barrier" for sorting is shattered most logically. Peter van der Linden, of SUNSoft, once picked hashing as his "Desert Island Algorithm". EC/C++P provides plenty to study for a long stay. In short, the benefits from reading the book may have differed somewhat from the reasons I started reading it, but were real none the less. reviewed by Dallas E. Legan aw585@lafn.org dlegan@heart.engr.csulb.edu delii@sc.liberty.com