2 comments about PostScript(R) Language Program Design (APL).

1. I consider myself a hardcore programmer, but I have not programmed with postscript before. When my job required postscript options added to the printer drivers, I started with this book. I now believe it would have been better to start with a beginner's guide and a reference manual on postscript. This book is great if you are already programming in postscript and want to better your skills with it



2. This is a book intended for those who want to write drivers and stuff. I'm not that guy. I just want to know enough about how it works to respond to needs as they arise.

   You know? Just because I want a web server on my machine doesn't mean I want to write an HTTP stack from scratch. I'll probably just find what works and adapt it to my purposes.

   Here's a specific example relative to PostScript:

   I needed to create an application for someone who wanted a custom driver that would print different state-related labels on their printed images.

   Did I run off to the Program Design book to figure out how to write it from scratch? No way, man. My advanced status within the cigarette consumption community requires continued proficiency through hourly breaks, thus making this sort of focused activity quite impossible.

   Instead I looked in other drivers that had what I wanted, then printed to file, viewed source, and then pulled the code out as I felt appropriate. Quick, relatively easy, and demonstratively slothful.

   Get this book if you want to learn how to write drivers. Better, get this book and display it prominently so others think you know how to write PostScript drivers.

   Just get this book. Hell, its worth the money.

2 comments about The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants (The Virtual Laboratory).

1. The color plates are quite extraordinary. Knowledge of math helps, but the book pretty much starts at Ground Zero. It is quite useable for those wishing to implement the plant modeling systems described (which is why I purchased it).



2. The beauty of plants has attracted the interest of mathematicians for centuries. Plants have many conspicuous geometric features such as symmetry in their leaves, rotational symmetry in their flowers, and then there are the interesting helical arrangements of pine cone scales. This book examines two factors that organize plant structures and therefore contribute to their beauty. The first is the simple elegance of the rules which describe plant development in relation to time. The second is self-similarity as characterized by Mandelbrot.
   
   This book applies the basic idea inherent in recursive graphics programming to modeling natural organic phenomena to the greatest degree of accuracy possible. This book uses L-systems, which is a method of specifying rules that enables very complex ideas to be expressed in a very exact way. The book contains no information on specific programming language implementation. However, the L-system specification is given in enough detail that an implementation of a basic L-system compiler should be attainable by most programmers with a talent for efficient algorithms implementation and sufficient motivation. All of the graphics are done using either two or three dimensional turtle commands, which are also easily adapted to fit into whatever compiler you choose. Efficient display routines will require some work, and as most of the algorithms described produce very large amounts of data, speed is very important for all shapes apart from the most basic structures.
   
   The results of using an L-system is quite impressive. The book contains many photographs of computer generated trees using L-systems that are almost identical to their natural counterparts. The book is very well written, with lots of examples and many illustrations. It starts off as quite easy reading, but by the time it reaches sections on the simulation of internal balancing of cellular structures, the math gets very complex. Although you need an interest in artificial life, graphics, and fractals to find this book interesting or even just comprehensible, you probably also need some skill in the analysis and design of algorithms to make any of the ideas contained in the book a reality. The table of contents is:
   
   1. Graphical Modeling Using L-systems 1
   2. Modeling of Trees 51
   3. Developmental models of Herbaceous Plants 63
   4. Phyllotaxis 99
   5. Models of Plant Organs 119
   6. Animation of Plant Development 133
   7. Modeling of Cellular Layers 145
   8. Fractal Properties of Plants 175
   
   A. Software Environment for Plant Modeling 193
   B. About the Figures 201
   C. Turtle Interpretation of Figures 211

3 comments about The Web Design CD Bookshelf CD-ROM.

1. The Web Design CD Bookshelf: Version 1.0 contains six different, complete guides that, taken together, cover everything anyone needs to know about the art of web design. Novice web designers and experienced professionals alike will appreciate being able to quickly look up answers to the most harrowing difficulties at a few clicks of the mouse. The CD-ROM includes the complete text of Web Design in a Nutshell 2nd Edition; HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide 4th Edition; Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide; ActionScript: The Definitive Guide; Information Architecture for the World Wide Web; and Designing Web Audio: RealAudio, MP3, Flash, and Beatnik. Truly the definitive compendium about web design, and the perfect reference for anyone seeking create or improve their own website. The system requirements for The Web Design CD Bookshelf: Version 1.0 are a browser software such as Netscape Communicator or Internet Explorer supporting HTML, and to support the search engine, a Java-enabled browser supporting Java version 1.1.2 or later.



2. The "6 Bestselling Books on a CD-ROM" on the cover looks impressive, but dig into the info contained on the CD and it begins to look a lot less so.

   Some of these titles are definitely looking a bit long-in-the-tooth ("Information Architecture for the World Wide Web" was published back in early 1998, and the "Cascading Style Sheets" title is looking a lot less "definitive" in the two years since it first came out). In fact, with the sole exception of the book included with this CD pack, all of the books are at least a year old, limiting their usefulness. Can you say "retread"?

   The ActionScript title is good but I would have preferred a more generally-applicable book instead, like, say O'Reilly's recent book on JavaScript...

   Still, having all of this info at your fingertips in a CD-ROM format is genuinely useful -- the search feature is fast and accurate -- more so than you're likely to get when looking up the same keyword on a major search engine. So far I've found the XHTML title and the Web Design in a Nutshell (which is the "book" included in this package) the most-referenced titles, the latter in particular an excellent (and relatively recent) publication.




3. The Web Design CD Bookshelf CD-ROM by O'Reilly, Associates has received a "BEST BOOK for 2002" award by readers of the Design & Publishing Center, the Editors of DT&G Magazine and the Design-Bookshelf.com.

   Need we say more.

5 comments about New Masters of Flash: The 2002 Annual.

1. The tutorials worked through in this book are really up close and detailed, and absolutely nothing is skipped: each chapter begins with instructions on what size to create your canvas, and finishes by telling you to export your final .swf file. In between you have not only detailed descriptions, but also loads of screenshots, and every line of ActionScript code file typed out. The book also comes with an accompanying CD containing not just every .fla used in the book, but also video interviews with some of the designers, and if the static printed screenshots in the book aren't enough for you, then just sit back and watch the amazing animated walkthroughs on how to build your movie in the application itself. So if you don't feel like lugging the massive 500+ page book around with you when you go somewhere, just pop the CD into your pocket and you've got everything you need.

   The book continues in the fine tradition of its predecessor, but now, in response to user demands apparently, there is a brand new element to be found at the end of each chapter: Headnotes. This is a small section in which we are told how to expand the example we have just worked through, or how we can alter it slightly to get a totally different result. So if for example, the tutorial walks you through an effect that makes use of the cursor's X position to control a horizontal slide of some sort, the headnotes might suggest making use of both the X AND Y properties of the cursor to create an object that seems to rotate in 3D. It's things like this that mean the book is not just a set of 15 set, un-changeable effects that you can't do much with, without looking like you're ripping off the creator, which some people may mistakenly believe when merely skimming through the book. The headnotes invite your mind to look at the examples not as one complete contained effect, but rather one end result that was achieved by using a whole range of possible techniques within Flash, and that it is these individual techniques that your mind should be looking to and combining when wanting to create any other effects of your own.

   Although this book is aimed at people who are "at the summit" and is written by some of the leading Flash designers in the world, it is a book that absolutely every Flash user (and a whole bunch of non-Flash users) of every skill level will enjoy immensely. The whole book is written in easy-to-understand terms, without ever once being patronising. This is not only an excellent book on how to learn to work with a fairly advanced level of Flash, but it is also an excellent standalone design book.




2. Plain and simple this book is about the code! Some of the authors have interesting perspectives (Brain Limond) but when it really comes down to it, who cares!

   The real value of this book is knee deep in the minds of the people who wrote the actionscript for the tutorials.
   Pick it apart, and get in to the head of each of these authors and there you will find the price of the book worth every penny you may have had to pinch to purchase this very expensive book.

   The coding style that Erik Natzke talks about and demonstrates in this book is priceless.

   So bottom line if your a actionscript junky and you got the IQ to dive into someone else's mind I just don't see how you could not love this book!




3. Code samples and tutorials from different Flash artists, including individual influences and perspectives. Some of the artists are way out there. The code is consistently understandable if you really spend the time with the tutorials, and you have a basic ActionScript knowledge. This book is cool.



4. This is the coolest book I have ever seen, unlike any other book out there. Includes tutorials, background information, and more. If you love Flash, this book must be in your collection.



5. this is not a actionscript book or a book that explains the features about the flash program. It's only a book that will give you an idea about how other designers (not masters that means a lot of years of experience) face their proyects and how they solve them. So it's very interesting if you want to know their process and some new tricks. I recommend it.

4 comments about Adobe Flash CS3 Step by Step Training.

1. After struggling forever with Flash, I just wanted a book that explained everything in a straightforward manner. I didn't want to read a 500 page manual to get what I wanted. This book was exactly what I needed. It's not that long, and just tells you what to do to make a simple animation. Basically it walks you through a lot of great examples and once you're done you can go do your own stuff. I feel like I *finally* get this program!



2. Just like the classes given at Nobledesktop, the training manual is straightforward and easy to understand and follow. The exercises are practical, giving you the tools to get up and running quickly and to accomplish tasks that you will use daily in real life Flash production. Heavily illustrated. Gives instructions for both MAC and WINDOWS users.



3. This workbook is a great learning tool if you're just starting out in flash. There is a cd included that has files and activities for you to work from. The book is very clear and gives you helpful tips throughout. You'll learn the very basics from using the tool palette to applying sound and inserting video. Overall, well worth the money.



4. I was also able to attend a tutorial session by the folks at Noble Desktop and I have to say that they are very thorough and consise in their direction for people like me who have always had a problem with this particular program. I was even able to go home and follow the easy step by step directions that are illustrated in the training books. They are highly recommended.

5 comments about Digital Cinematography: Lighting and Photographing Computer Generated Animation.

1. This is a highly practical book outlining the use of lights in 3D graphics software. The ideas and applications are independent of any particular package. The explanations are lucid, and the ideas can be put to immediate use. The black-and-white illustrations are poorly reproduced, so the real appreciation comes from applying the techniques to your own images.



2. After finishing the book, I have to downgrade my rating. Like others, I agree the title is promising, but the content is not "top." And I also agree with two other readers about the fact that all those basics can be found in any good cinematography book. As for the digital part, now we have other books that deal with the subject better (see Digital Lighting, J. Birn).



3. "Digital Cinematography" is a hot-sounding, promising title. It's a shame that title was wasted on this book.

   We are all eager to see a good book on cinematic lighting and texturing techniques, so buying this failed attempt was a great disappointment. Crude, childish 3D renderings were shown, with no subtlety of lighting, certainly no evidence of "cinematic" techniques. The cheap black-and-white printing of the author's own beginner-level 3D work, and vague writing that seemed to do little more than rehash highlights from an old cinematography textbook, do not deliver a book that lives up to its description.

   The author doesn't seem to have a lot of artistic talent, or professional graphics production experience, and these deficits show in his writing and illustrations.

   Despite being the first product cranked out last year that promised to explain cinematic graphics techniques, the book itself is a cheap, incomplete, and uninformative attempt! . The author may be making money because of the title, but when you open the book, he doesn't seem to have much to say.




4. //:practical//logikal//clear explanations//crazycool!



5. I've recently evaluated several better books on this topic, and this one didn't make it into my spring term reading list. The book did little beyond skimming the basics of what can be found in any cinematography textbook, and had nothing new to say about 3D rendering or graphics production. Even the author's own sample images were crude and poorly lit.

   For a much better choice, consider getting "Digital Lighting & Rendering" by Jeremy Birn. Birn's new book is an amazing resource for any 3D artist, and I reviewed it on amazon with 5 stars.

   Alternately, you might just pick up a first-rate book on lighting for cinematography, such as "The Technique of Lighting for Television and Film" by Gerald Millerson or "Matters of Light & Depth" by Ross Lowell (although these cimematography books don't cover any techniques that are unique to digital graphics production.)

5 comments about Beginning .NET Game Programming in VB .NET.

1. This book may present some theoretical views for beginner level game programming, but do not expect to learn the correct syntax for VB.NET. Actually if you purchase the same authors book for programming in C# you'll find they have the same first chapter (that's as far as I looked). This book was obviously a lazy attempt for these people to make a quick buck. Unfortunately they wait until the end of the book to let you know:
   "Most of the example games leave much room for improvement. Even when we looked back on them after finishing each chapter, we would sometimes look at parts of the code and think, "We can't believe we wrote that." Even worse, some of the things we told you aren't always true." pg 348
   While I was trying to complete the exercises in this book I spent more time with my nose in other books so I could learn the correct way to do it. Do yourself a favor get a different book.



2. Although this book isn't a complete waste of money, don't be fooled. It's not very well written.
   There are countless errors in the code right from the beginning. They also just skip telling you some important pieces about what is going on in every chapter.
   However, you can still squeeze some use from this book. Go to the web site and download all the code from them. For the most part, the code works and can be your reference. You *can* learn from this book and d/l code, but you have to work at it and use a lot of trial and error.
   
   Thank you for reading.



3. My biggest complaint with VB.NET game programming books so far (and I've read a few) has been that they either: A) try to teach elementary VB.NET using game flavored examples (but nothing about actual game development) or B) try to take existing game programming material and shoe-horn it into a VB.NET book. Sadly this book falls squarely into the second category (so far).
   
   It's quite obvious that ALL of the sample code was originally written in C#. No big deal, it's easy enough to convert. However, if you aren't a VB.NET guy, don't you dare write a freaking book with VB.NET in the title. There are more differences between VB.NET and C# than just syntax!! For the love of god, 85% of the code samples (encountered so far) do NOT work as printed in the book. Some have glaring C# syntax still in them, but only in places... often sharing a line with VB.NET syntax. The tech editor should be drawn and quartered, on TV.
   
   To make matters worse, the main author seems somewhat condescending (arrogant?) for someone who's never actually published a game in his/her life, ever (and had to have TWO other people write the book with him... neither of whom have ever published a game either.) This is an actual quote, immediately after some collision detection code that DOES NOT work as printed... If you think this is too much math, this is probably the place where you should take this book back and take up something less mathematically demanding, like nuclear physics! Ok... seriously? That comment would be a lot more impressive if your code ACTUALLY WORKED!
   
   So far I have nothing positive to say about this book, so let me see... ok well, the girl on the back cover is kinda cute (allegedly one of the authors, although I have no idea which sections are written by whom... is that good or bad? You tell me.) Oh yeah, and the price I paid was 40% off, although sadly I still feel ripped off!
   
   FWIW, I did eventually get the collision detection code to work on paper, although NO explanation is made for why the algorithm handles things a certain way, and the reader is told to perform a simple Google search for more info (I kid you not!!). I'm guessing this is because they don't actually know why the code they "borrowed" (from the net?) did things that way either.
   
   At this point, I'm almost considering this book as a possible alternative energy source. I can't believe anyone at one of my favorite publishers actually read this book prior to printing it and selling it for $50 a copy. By the time you rip out the index, table of contents, foreward, introduction, recommended reading and 'about the author' section... it's barely 350 pages. Yes... I know it's not about page count, but when quality is already out the window, what other metric is there?
   
   I'm not going to tell you the name of this book or the publisher (yet), because even though I've managed to work up this much bile and stomach acid over it, I'm only on page 35. God help me, I hope it gets better quickly.
   
   It's funny, every truly good tech book I read makes me less inclined to try writing my own. This book, however, has convinced me that I still have a pretty good chance at getting published.



4. I would hate for people to get the wrong idea about the book from reading the other posts. This really isn't a bad book.
   I am completely new to game programming (although not new to VB), and following along with the examples I was able to get the Tetris, Caterpillar and other games to work.
   This gives a good introduction to game programming, covering both 2D and some 3D graphics.
   
   But the book isn't all about writing the code. It also tells the reader how to plan out a game before coding, and gives good tips on keeping the project on track.
   
   The book isn't perfect though. There are some errors in the code (but only one glaring instance of C# code in the VB code).
   But APress has followed up, and has posted some code corrections on the web-site, and gives the downloadable code which helps a great deal.
   
   I found the text of the book to be very easy to follow. The author has more of a conversational style than lecturing.
   
   I think the book succeeds in being a good introduction to game programming. Getting the Tetris game to work gives you the incentive to keep reading and learning. Plus, it is fun to play your own game!



5. I am halfway through this abomination and only a masochistic bent will force me to continue. I initially thought that I could easily pick up any beginning programming book and breeze through it but I am new to VB.net and have been away from programming for a couple years so the MASSIVE amount of Typo's, random variable names, extraneous nonsense, as well as items that are left as an exercise for the reader -- most of which are anything but trivial -- make this a medication consuming, frustration-fest. I was considering trying to sell it second-hand but I would foist this dead tree turd on my mother-in-law. Not to mention it's poor condition from heaving it out the window numerous times. Don't, I repeat, don't consider this purchase!!! Pitiful, just pitiful!

No comments about Philippines in Pictures (Visual Geography. Second Series).

No comments about Exploring Canada - British Columbia (Exploring Canada).

4 comments about 50 Fast Flash MX Techniques.

1. This book looks like you will learn a lot as there are 50 tutorials.

   Unfortunately, many are redundant, many are not really significant (not really useful, just funny), and the last one is a filler as it teaches you how to make a projector.

   If you are buying this book from a library, take your time to review the center page that display each "Technique" in color.

   It is worth half the price it costs. Not a great deal anyway. At least, you get the source files.

   This book is for beginner who wants to have a bit of fun.




2. I gave this book 1 star for every useful technique that I found in it. You do the counting.
   Needless to say, I am very disappointed with my purchase. If you are, like me, an intermediate Flash developer looking to add a few new tricks to your bag, you are out of luck. Most of the techniques in this book are either too primitive or unusable in the field, or both...



3. I think this is a great book for beginners. They give you some easy plans to follow step-by-step (so you don't screw-up) so hopefully by the end of the book you can really do some damage by yourself. Bonus: They give you all the source codes and pictures so you don't have to start from scratch.
   The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because some of the techniques are really useless like creating a calculator!



4. Highly disappointed with this book... it has many techniques that (while colorful) are just not useful ... such as creating bubbles or a kaleidoscope.
   
   The one or two techniques I DID find useful... I was unable to properly do it in the way it was instructed. However when looking in similar books, I found instructions much more useful elsewhere. I recommend Macromedia's Flash MX Bible - which although doesn't have step by step instructions for these type of flash functions - it does have more efficient and reliable methods of instruction.
   
   This book also spent quite a bit of time talking about vector and bitmap images, which we all know can easily be done in alternate programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, and although Flash may allow us to do it... I don't see the point as making such a big fuss on how to do it.
   
   I would have been much more satisfied had there been techniques I could actually USE on a professional website, rather than cheesy techniques intended for beginner personal flash sites.
   
   This book also covers cascading menus, progress display bars, creating a clock, a 3D book as an interface, form validation (this is a good one but I couldn't figure it out), scrolling virtual panoramas (I ended up buying a program to do this for me since their instruction was hard to understand), swarming dots into text, rotating 3D logos (really really cheesy), tabbed menus, draggable menus, creating ripples, drawing lines with a hand, an onscreen paint program, even a drumset.
   
   Get the book if you want... maybe good for beginners just wanting to play with flash features. But not something intermediate users can learn a whole lot from.