5 comments about Html 3.2 and Cgi Unleashed: Professional Reference Edition (Unleashed).

1. You won't find anything worth reading until you are 500 pages into the book and that is not a joke. The first 10 chapters is all useless garbage the authors threw together to get a big book. Those chapters cover planning and are written by people that don't even understand the word plan. To help the authors out, here is what Websters dictionary says the word plan means "n. a scheme of action or a drawing made to represent the top view." Hey, that's a single sentance. I just saved you 500 pages of reading.

   The remaining 500 pages have dubious value. I mean if you've never heard of HTML and Web publishing, you may want to consider this book. HOWEVER you won't understand a word the authors have to say. I say you can do much better elsewhere.




2. First, I must admit that I only skimmed the initial sections on web philosophy and design. Other reviewers seemed put off by the depth of those sections. Though I have only built small web sites so far, I very much welcome having a source of knowledge to ensure my larger developments do not look like a poorly organized beginner's site. The design sections are really more than you bargained for, and they don't take away from the excellent discussions and reference material on HTML and CGI. The HTML section in particular let's the reader know which version of HTML supports each tag, so browser compatibility can be ensured. Simple samples that focus on the tags being learned are provided. The book is very comprehensive; hopefully, beginners won't find it too overwhelming. This book is highly recommended.



3. This book was quite helpful to starting up Web Development, although if you aren't looking for 10 opening chapters of web fundamentals, you may want to look elsewhere. HOWEVER, This book will cover all you'll need to know to get deep into HTML.



4. Includes extensive background material, useful examples and a wealth of URL's covering all aspects of Web development. Good historical information gives the reader a firm foundation. While some more recent information is lacking (i.e., client side image maps), it is still a good starting point for the serious developer.



5. Very useful book for anyone interested in web development! I applaud Ginsburg and December for putting together this masterpiece. Not only is there abundant information on anything you'd want to know about html and cgi, there's a fabulous section on links. Pick this up while you can... can't wait for a revised edition! BRAVO!

5 comments about CGI Programming with Visual Basic 5.

1. The problem with this title is its proprietary language. Depending on the server you program for, why would you want to use the Authors version of the interface software. It's well written but lacks being practical.



2. First, I should note that using Visual Basic for a web server application is pathetic. Each instance of the application requires a minimum of 4 megs of RAM, so using it on a high-traffic site is suicidal.

   That said, the book and the code in the book are very good. Ported to C, Delphi or especially PowerBASIC, you can't go wrong. The book also does a fairly good job of covering the CGI spec.

   My suggestion, buy the book and go get yourself a copy of PowerBASIC so that you can create true CGI apps that take only a few K instead of megabytes.




3. Well, in polite terms, somewhat useful but more useless than useful in any way. To be laconic " regretful buy "



4. "Deliver CGI applications easily" says the cover of this book. After spending a whole weekend with the book, I could not get past chapter 2. Every example I tried generated confusing error messages. I'm actually using VB 6 instead of 5, and nothing in this 500+ page book suggests whether or not this is allowed. A quick look at the index tells you it is too short for a 500 page book. One of the most popular CGI applications is a counter, however, the word counter does not even appear in the index. Only 2 entries are under the letter "B" in the index. That's what I'd expect from a 20 page book. This book is written in a language that only someone who already knows the subject matter could possibly understand.



5. Visual Basic is absolutely the wrong language to write CGI applications. The overhead required will drag your server down to a crawl.

   That said, the book itself is fairly well written with lots of useful information. If you are a CGI programmer in general (C, Delphi or PowerBASIC) then there is some really useful information here. Particularly if you are a PowerBASIC programmer, since PowerBASIC can compile stand-alone executables to just a few 'k-bytes'.

5 comments about Cgi Developer's Resource: Web Programming in Tcl and Perl (Resource Series).

1. I found much useful information in this book though it wasn't easy, wading through all the typos and sidebars which blended the backgroud color to the text color. Nearly unreadable. Mr. Ivler's book was not done justice by this publisher.



2. This was required reading for a web applications class. I am sorry I wasted money on it. The writing alternated between tedious and redundant. The editing was so bad I found typos in every page. The graphics looked like something out of an elementary school art project. More important, they interfered with the text and made it difficult to read. Every page was an eyesore. What little valuable information I could glean from the text wasn't worth the wading. The publisher should be ashamed. Midway through the course, I threw the book in a corner in disgust. Save your money.



3. As others pointed out, the sidebars are unreadable because the background is a graduated greyscale that turns as black as midnight toward the bottom.

   The information is poorly organized, incomplete and often incorrect.

   They borrow buggy code from other sources then admonish the readers on page 575 not to copy the code for their own use.




4. I too am sorry I spent the money on this one. I also noticed the bad production techniques on the graphics and found some sections to be very thin on the info. I was looking for (the guts of doing cgi-sendmail, not just the use of a cookbook module ...) I guess I'll just wait for the Black Book version coming out -- I've found these to be real good.



5. This is an introductory book on CGI, with examples written in both TCL and Perl. It is a great idea for a book; unfortunately, this is a poor implementation of that idea.

   Source code listings, tips, and notes are presented in way to make them almost unreadable (black text on a dark gray background). Notes and tips are written in a font designed to mimic handwriting, but makes it even more unreadable. I'm not talking distracting or unique, but unreadable. On page 73, the gray background gets darker the further the text progresses down the page, until you have black on black. A portion of that page is totally unreadable. This continues throughout the book. I am stunned that Prentice Hall didn't catch this. The design of this book is horrible.

   Mr. Ivler aims the book for people comfortable with TCL or Perl (and UNIX), yet spends three chapters introducing the HTML protocol, firewalls, and other topics. The author's focus seems confused throughout the book and the author(s) loose sight of who the audience is frequently.

   More or less, the second half of the book ends up documenting their scripts.

   I also found the copyright notice offensive (page 575)... that informs the readers that Ivler and Husain owned the code (fair enough), but also owned any modifications you make to the code (yeah, right).

   On the plus side, it does have code you can cut and paste into your own projects and demonstrates what you can do with CGI on a limited scale, albeit without a lot of depth.

5 comments about Sams Teach Yourself CGI in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) (Sams Teach Yourself in 24 Hours).

1. This is a well written book to obtain a quick understanding of CGI.



2. Dear Mr. Rafe Colburn:
   Buddy! Just thought I had better write you to THANK you for your book, 'Sams Teach Yourself CGI in 24 Hours". I bought the book last Christmas, and though progress is slow, things are sinking in GOOD!
   I just wrapped my head around Hour 15, Session (State) Management, and cookies. Your book is extremely well laid out, easy to understand, and there hasn't been an exercise in your book that I haven't been able to complete yet! The exercises are challenging and fun yet possible with your book. Once again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
   I have found it to be an OUTSTANDING resource for myself, a beginner in the PERL programming language.



3. The content of the book impressed me. Prior to reading the book, I had taught myself Perl programming, and had learned the basics of forms processing. I didn't understand some of CGI jargon I came across in more than one Perl book that glossed over CGI in a single chapter somewhere toward the back of the book. But this book on CGI programming gave me all the information I needed to feel like a CGI pro, someone who could keep his cool in any discussion where "CGI" was spoken.

   Some of the information in this book is worth writing down, so you can remember the clear understanding that reading the book gave you, and so you can regurgitate that understanding to other people later, say after months of no complex CGI programming. This book offers enough explanation to make you see things from a webmaster's perspective, but also a UNIX programmer's perspective. Without more than a basic idea of how the UNIX command-line works.

   I will confess that if you don't know Perl, I don't think you'd have the same reaction I did. But CGI books shouldn't have to teach you Perl, and at the same time, Perl is THE language for CGI programming. The "brief" coverage that this book gives to other CGI languages is not meant to underplay their relative importance, but rather to give Perl the attention that it's due. Also, realize that PHP is not a CGI language, and I wouldn't classify JSP as one, either, so you definitely won't find mention of them in Rafe's book as anything other than alternatives to CGI.

   So learn some Perl, say from the new "Beginning Perl" book from OReilly, and then get Rafe's book, to learn CGI. "Teach Yourself CGI in 24 Hours" is worth buying and studying.




4. I have been learning CGI/PERL/PHP for the past 6 months now. I am currently in an internship and my job is to update the webpage. This book was great! This book helped me a lot. I am definitely still a begginner at CGI and this book taught me a lot of basics. You won't learn how to create professional looking guestbooks or message boards but you will learn the basics of how to create them. This book covers just about everything you need to know to get started.



5. This book encompassed most of what CGI is all about and did so straight forward enough to where a beginner could learn from it. It covers the basics of programming in a sense with all of its topics and how it's structured. It wouldn't be feasible to go straight from using the book to application programming, but like I said, it's good for beginners to start getting a feel for what the server side world is capable of and how things work.

5 comments about CGI Programming 101.

1. This is an great book on perl, gets you started right off to the code, and is great for anyone looking to geting into perl, I my self was new to perl but not to programming, and found this book the best, teaching and reference book out there, it also give you links to all the source code, html, and working examples online, a must have for anyone getting into CGI perl. A++



2. i am a fairly bad perl programmer. this book has helped me write some really smart (yet easy to understand) programs which i use everyday.

   if you want to get to grips with perl and cgi, get your hands on this book. especially if you know nothing about perl or cgi...

   although i recommend php as a better language!




3. The first 40 pages are useful to give you the sense of how CGI functionality is implemented in Perl. However by staying away from the most used standard Perl module for CGI programming (i.e. the CGI module) except for a few pages towards the end, the reader is ill served (because they have to buy a book to get the real work done).



4. If you are looking to learn Perl/CGI programming from the ground up, this is an excellent intro to the world of Internet programming with Perl.
   The book, however, is UNIX-oriented; small chapter on Windows vs. UNIX would be a plus.



5. I have spent approx. $500 on Perl/CGI books and I will tell you that this is the best concise treatment available. There is no other book that provides as good an overview without leaving out critical issues, such file locking and security considerations. It remains my most frequently used reference. It is very well written and it does not go into unnecessary details.

   My recommendation for anyone considering using Perl/CGI is to start with this book and then to build your library based on your specialized needs (algorithms, pattern matching, exotic data structures, etc). If all you wish to do is some solid Perl programming or to power up a basic web site, this is all you will need.

   Do not forget to look at the free preview chapters available at the author's web site. You will also find the code for all the examples there, which I have found myself constantly reusing.

5 comments about Professional JavaScript with DHTML, ASP, CGI, FESI, Netscape Enterprise Server, Windows Script Host, LiveConnect and Java.

1. If you are a beginner, think twice about this one. This is for the Pros. This book is seriously packed with improvements and deep explanations that you won't find anywhere else. With tons of pages and code samples to download covering everything you every wanted to know about web scripting with JavaScript. This is a definate keeper in your library!!...



2. Including the discussion on JScript.NET. Excellent coverage on JavaScript, providing practical solutions. A must to have book for every Web developer.



3. This book is terrible - it's incredibly frustating to use. It's worthless as a reference and I doubt that anyone has ever read it cover to cover (including the army of authors that wrote it). I have over 10 years of experience in software development in a wide variety of languages: C++, VB, Pascal, and others. What I need to know about JavaScript could probably fit in a book half this size. This book is over 1000 pages, it's poorly organized, the index is bad, and it doesn't focus on relevant facts about the language. If I want lots of prose I'll pick up a novel, not a JavaScript book.



4. And yes, another WROX. No formal organization, no definte goal, but a whole bunch of high class authors. The result: an excellent book if you're looking for examples of that little twist of class, a dash of luster code.

   There are excellent case studies that make this a good addition to your bookshelf and there are valuable hints scattered everywhere: but the total lack of organization and tutorial direction leaves the book like a box full of sharp tools hidden in a dusty attic.

   There is no attempt to teach Javascript (perhaps Paul Wilton's excellent Beginner Javascript is intended for that). The section on Good coding Practice is laughable: why does a book entitled *Profesional" Javascript have 2 chapters on programming practices? The Core javascript section is just a bare scratch on the surface of language itself and does not do Javascript any justice. The Jscript.Net seems to have been thrown in as an after thought.

   I like WROX for the "from the field" examples for which they are famous: and I found the case studies ( a third of the book) very interesting. However, sorry, Wrox, it's not worth paying that much for just the last chapters. I'll wait till it hits my library or wait for the 3rd edition.




5. I have version 2 of the book and it is fantastic! Seems each of the experts wrote about his/her field and the result is very in-depth study. The book's coding is still actual though it dealt with IE 4 and 5. What I want is to find version 3 that deals deal the more current IE 6 release - but they probably never published it.

5 comments about Perl, CGI, and JavaScript Complete, 2nd Edition.

1. Despite some basic concept familiarization, I was horribly intimidated by JavaScript and Perl. This book does a great job of introducing and hand walking you through difficult concepts and ideas - building a little at a time - Great desk reference... Recommended to some friends and bought as a gift for others!



2. I like Sybex's idea of giving the reader 1,000 pages of info for under [price]. But this book is not well executed: there are innumerable mistakes littering this book, but the website lists only one entry in the "errata." And these are mistakes that can frustrate a newbie (e.g., the book says that UNIX PATH varibale has a ';' delimiter when actually it is a ':', etc.) Also, the reference section for Perl modules leaves out any mention of CGI.pm -- a very important module. Both sections leave the reader wondering just what level of expertise the authors have.

   I would not recommend this book.




3. I just bought this book and read into it, and many of their examples are incorrect and they do not teach you very well. If you want a decent book on programming, try one from PeachPit Press.



4. This is a very dry reading. It holds a lot of information but not fit for the learning point of view, it is set up more to be a reference for the already advanced jscript/perl/cgi programmer. The layout is not created up well enough to display samples, and only makes you more confused as you get further into the book. I found myself reading pages over 2 or 3 times before one page would make sense with the next.



5. I bought this book mainly for Perl and CGI. I found it quite difficult to follow, and had to re-read chapters repeatedly to get the main points. Even then it was hard. I think I would prefer more "hand-holding". I always felt I was being overwhelmed.

No comments about Practical Perl with CGI Applications.

3 comments about CGI: The Art of the 3d Computer-Generated Image.

1. Peter Weishar's latest work is a masterful and comprehensive discourse on the current state of 3d animation. This revolutionary art form has already established itself as a fundamental tool of the film industry, and its potential is scarcely imaginable. Prof. Weishar's writing is accessible to the lay person with accompanying wonderful images. A great addition to the coffee table!



2. I thought that I would find at least little texts about the work done in each film or picture, but the books only shows images and more images from famous animation films and other films that used CGI. If you'd like to see many photos then buy it, otherwise choose a book with more things to say.



3. This isn't deep-covering book and sometimes I even felt that more info could be. It's minuses from my point of view is that it very rarely mentions software used in production of images and 3D stuff(Maya and Photoshop mentioned). I myself know around what kind of software things are going commonly but many 3D beginners who could look for inspiration of this book may suffer. Yet still - it is good book, nice choice of pictures and one thing also must be mentioned - Weishar himself mentions in the book that he even didn't intended to make best of best and that is not he claims his book is! Careful reading is a good point
   Still, those who seek the book with good quality pictures - this is good choice.

5 comments about CGI Programming in C and Perl.

1. Those of us who participate in the CGI programming newsgroups know Thomas' reputation and it's steller. When this book was first released, it was the best book available, and it some ways it still is. But the current edition is showing its age. It doesn't cover many new CGI topics or concepts. I still use this book as a reference now and again, but I wouldn't buy it today.



2. With many years of experience under my belt, i found this book to be easy. I'd written many complex cgi scripts using perl and c previous to this book, for many fortune 500 companies. They are much more complex than the ones "Dennis Chang" clamis to have written. The conepts in the book are sound but a little outdated. One major complaint is that there aren't enough code examples to look at while you are reading along. The bottom line, its a easy book to read that teaches sound principles for programming cgi in c, but remember you pay for what you get. So i recommend getting a more advanced book for when you master this one.



3. An EXCELLENT buy -- you don't have to be a "Pro" to use the programs here -- but you can't be a rookie either... Get it "New" or "Used"--the price difference is insignificant--compared to what's inside the book....I bought this book a few months ago--here on AMAZON--and was delighted to find this book contained entire (web)-C-programs that ACTUALLY WORKED! If your web-server(CGI-scripts) are runnning at a crawl...it's probably because you are running a "convenient-scripting-language" -- instead of a C-program!! This book is NOT long-winded, but very practical. I have seen (repackaged???-or-similar)-versions of this code running on a few of the "higher-profile" web-sites. Over the years, I have acquired a STACK of other C-Programming Books--and I am afraid to buy any more of them--because I am tired of EXPERIMENTING to see which ones are PRACTICAL to READ, and I'm tired of reading GOBS of POINTLESS-and/or-BLOATED text--I am very happy with this book. I am a self-taught (Linux) C Programmer, and the C-and-PERL-programs from this book run well on Linux(kernels 2.2 thru 2.4)... This book is a great start in getting you up and running--but the rest is up to you--since you'll REALLY NEED to UNDERSTAND MODERN WEB SERVERS !!! ...and... ONE LAST NOTE-- this code may be considered "old" (written in 1996?) --it's NOT obsolete--but it still runs perfectly-and-flawlessly "as is" --on a modern-day Apache Web Server(Linux). This code has stood it's test of time. After you use these programs--it may become more obvious as to the "updates-additions-or-deletions" you'll want to make. Be sure to get Boutell's UPDATED CODE (from his web-site).



4. I bought this book around 1998. It was the only book that cover
   CGI and C, the rest talked about PERL which I hadnt learned yet.
   
   Once the reader learns the basics (assuming they already know 1 of the 2 languages and have a webserver to play with), they should be able to construct any CGI program in almost any language.



5. I tried for a long time to get a handle on C. My background is PERL, and then later PHP, so i figured it might make sense for me to come at this from a web-based perspective. By chapter 4 I knew enough to start writing simple programs on my own (not using samples in the book). By the end of chapter 7 I was well versed enough to start more complex programs using PATH_INFO variables. Extremely good book. If you write web-based apps, and are thinking about learning C this is *the* book.
   
   One reviewer mentioned something about screenshots looking old, which is true, they are obviously Netscape 1, running on Unix's now ancient Motif window manager, but the concepts are all still exactly the same. The cgi's you write will look the same on Netscape 1, as they do on Seamonkey, or IE, or Safari so that's no big deal.
   
   I gave it a 5 because the concepts contained inside are very well written easy to understand and this is the only book that has given me a decent base on which to learn C.
   
   If I could change my rating now, I'd give it a 3 or 4. I wrote some more complex CGI's based on some of the ones in this book that didn't work. So for kicks I copied the source from the cd and tried to just compile those...gcc refused saying I hadn't declared strcmp(). :-/
   
   Indeed, I did a 'gcc *' in the SOURCE/C dir and didn't end up with a single a.out file. They all gave errors either on strcmp, feof, fgets, fprintf, in, isspace, fclose, and numerous others.
   
   Still an excellent book but things have changed a lot since it was written.
   
   Hey Thomas! How 'bout a Second Edition? :-)