5 comments about IT Manager's Handbook: Getting Your New Job Done (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems).

1. This book is full of practical examples. It is useful to people who have in-depth programming knowledge but no idea how to do a budget or interview job candidates. I found this book specially timely, given that my team is composed of several technical professionals who are now considering a move into management. The information in the book is well layed out and quite accessible.



2. This is something for a new manager with little experience in not only systems administration but supervision. This book may give a clue to someone who has just stepped into such a position but provides little depth and direction. Unfortunately, there isn't any one book out there as management is a very complex role that encompasses many disciplines, any one of which would be a volume in itself. I was very dissappointed and I find the other reviews misleading.



3. Technology can change all it wants but the fundamentals of being a good IT Manager have changed very little. This book hits all the major areas of focus from staffing and budgeting to infrastructure and disaster recovery.

   The section entitled "Certification: How Do I Know Its Worth" applied 10 years ago, and still applies today. Right on the money and a good brief for an IT Manager building a team. Also, small but extremently important policy issues like email and security are included.

   I do think that the book included slightly heavy doses of technical information such as a full page table of different memory technologies as well as an entire section entitled "How Do I Configure a Server". These would service a Network Administrator or Engineer just fine but an IT Manager ? Not so much. Don't let this detract you from the overall picture though. Too much information is certainly better than not enough.

   I have to be honest, I didn't read this cover to cover. But for someone who has spent time as an IT Manager in the past and one who is looking at doing it again, I was able to re-establish concepts and draw on new tools that, no doubt, provided benefits.




4. This book is written only for the very basic beginner in IT. If you have been around an IT department for any length of time, you will find it difficult to pick up any new management thoughts in this book. For example, the entire topic of ERP systems is covered in 2 pages.



5. This was a basic read, for thse already into the methodology explained throught the book. Would be a useful tool for someone just starting out. I would recommend expanding on the disaster recovery portion, and possibly adding a section on managing in the non-profit arena.

5 comments about Moving from C to C++.

1. Excellent for people who learn C and want to move to C++. Even if you dont know much about C, it is still a good book for beginner in programming. Highly recommanded.



2. The cover art for this book shows "C++" as a pit of hellfire and brimstone in an otherwise clear and open road, with sulfurous vapors rising from it--which matches my opinion of C++, so I figured the book would be worth a try, given that I have to learn C++.

   So far, it looks like a reasonable, gentle introduction to the language, but at the beginning there are some pretty basic errors in its discussion of C that make me wonder whether I'll be misled about C++. Cases in point: pp.16-17, where the author claims that the sizeof a variable of type char is sizeof(int) in C (it's not, even though in C, "character" constants actually have type int); p.24, where the author says that in C, uninitialized variables have random contents (that's only true for automatics; others are zeroed). It looks pretty thorough, though, so I hope a new edition with corrections and updated to deal with the new (draft?) standard and libraries will come out (though considering that these days, "introductions" to C++ are running at 1200 or so pages, I expect that would be a LOT of work).




3. As the title suggests, this is an excellant book if you are already a strong C programmer. The books starts with an easy transistion from C to C++ outlining "a better" C. It then moves smoothly into OOP concepts and does an excellant job of explaining each. If you don't know C, I would not recommend the book - there are better tutorials for novices. However, if you know C well and wish to make the transition, I strongly recommend this purchase.



4. My introduction to this book was when I was reading its prequel -"C++ Programming 101" by the same author. The 101 book was great in that it gave me a quick overview of the input and output features in C++. It does not cover much about OOPs.

   Moving from C to C++ was the book that I exactly needed next. The concepts were wonderfully explained and I was able to finish this book in about a week. As the name suggests, the beauty of this book is that it explains very clearly how C++ overcomes some of the pitfalls of C. I had a little background in C and could therefore appreciate some of these points. If you are new to C++ but have some background in C, I strongly recommend this book.

   Once I finished this book, I was able to sweep thru C++ how to program by Harvey M. Deitel, Paul J. Deitel in a couple of weeks. I would recommend the following stratergy for new comers to C++

   a) Read C++ programming 101 - Greg Perry to get an overview of some basic C++ stuff (no OOPs)

   b) Read Moving from C to C++ next - This will bolster your OOPs aspect of C++ big time

   c) C++ How to program by Harvey M. Deitel, Paul J. Deitel
   - This is a huge book but with ur concepts clear, u shud be able to finish this book in about 2 weeks.

   I read all these books in about a month before my classes (in C++) began and I think it really helped me.




5. Perry makes a federal case out of every little detail of the language. Even simple aspects look complicated and difficult to follow once he's done with them. Stay away.

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.

No comments about C How to Program.

2 comments about Object Oriented Programming With C++.

1. There are many texts for OOP, but this one surely outshines the others. The language used is so simple and elegant, that once you start reading this book, it is very difficult to stop. Real life examples make learning very easy.

   I highly recommend this book to anyone, who wants to take the first dip into the ocean of Object Oriented Programming.




2. Background: I have done extensive procedural programming in a variety of languages including Fortran (mostly), c, Pascal, BASIC, PL/I, and even COBOL. I needed to learn object oriented programming (OOP) in a short time so I could guide my staff more effectively.
   I find Parson's to be an excellent book to introduce object oriented programming (OOP) in C++. The book is very well organized. Each chapter is divided in two sections, first the OOP concepts are covered, then the C++ syntax to achieve the concepts is presented. In this way, the OOP concepts are not tied to a particular language. The language is "secondary" to the OOP concepts. Also, in this way, the strengths and limitations of C++ are clearly described. I recommend this book to any programer doing the transition from procedural to OOP.

No comments about Microsoft C: Secrets, Shortcuts, and Solutions.

No comments about User Interfaces in C++ Object Oriented Programming.

5 comments about Sams Teach Yourself C for Linux Programming in 21 Days.

1. This is one of the best programming books I have ever worked with/used. I had a program which I had written in Perl to parse and search unformatted log files. It worked, but very slowly. I picked up this book and thought I would try and rewrite it in C during the holidays. Four days latter it was done. I felt like I had really accomplished something, rewritten my program (which is now over a 100 times faster), and learned some C.
   The best thing was that I never ran into an example that didn't work and the examples were so straight forward I didn't have to write and try every one. ( I'm of the ilk that usually writes and tries all the examples). I wish they could all be this good.



2. This book is beyond as good as i said in my last review, well this is an update. After finishing this book, i have an entirely new outlook on why this book is so good! I always find myself looking back for a reminder; if there's something i need a refresh or rescale on, it's got it. it teaches compiling all the way to deployment. This book is desirably the best in my GNU/Linux stash. There are so many extras in this book, you would b surprised why they priced it so low!

   COVERED- Pointers (in depth), functions, all forms of data structures, GTK/GTK+, and more-

   If you the reader are taking any introductory courses in programming, for goodness and gpa get this book! Especially if you have a[bad]teacher as i once did ;)

   Hope this was helpful




3. This book helped me get back with programming in C (one of the most powerful languages out there), and they did a nice job of explaining the Linux environment and how the GNU C compiler (GCC) works. I am pretty new to Linux but had no trouble getting up and running with the book.



4. Going into my first year as a computer science student, I had never programmed before in any language. After realizing how tough it was, I picked up this book that was luckily in a local book store and read the entire book cover to cover. I'm now in my final year preparing to do a Masters in computer science thanks largely in part to this book. Even though it's not a complete C reference, it definatly gets you going in the write direction. From making simple to advanced makefiles in a clear and understandable manner, to structured software development with debugging information and proper coding techniques. It is missing important information like database programming and socket programming, but the things that are missing could be picked up in a more indepth and advanced book on C programming like "Beginning Linux Programming" (big red book with the 2 guys on the cover laughing at eachother). I'd never part with my copy of Teach Yourself C in 21 Days because its a good reference for little things you may forget along the way.



5. The Book: C for Linux Programming in 21 Days by Sam's is published in 2000. It is either so out of date, or inaccurate that even the first example (Hello World!), coding doesn't work. Even after following the instructions multiple times and double checking everything over. Warning their is a number of different downloads that have to be done to apply the information in these kinds of books that never get mentioned it is questionable if books like these serve any purpose other than coffee table decorations. Space too small to give lessons here. Buy only up to the minute beginning books. May things go well with you.

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

No comments about Dos and Windows Protected Mode: Programming with DOS Extenders in C (The Andrew Schulman Programming Series).