1 comments about Encyclopedia of Graphic Communications.

1. Ok, it's a big and heavy book but there is no other book that I know that cover graphic communications history as well as "Encyclopedia of Graphic Communications". It's a must of you're into that part of graphics. But also if you just want a great book to look through to get ideas. I loved the parts about termoly of printing, paper, ink, typography, color etc...

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!

1 comments about Mastering Mathematica, Second Edition: Programming Methods and Applications.

1. 7.24.99 SJW *****

   This is something of a book review, but also a commentary on the Mathematica package. My background is a recent MS in Computer Science. My interest in Mathematica is as a thinking tool for Programmer/Analysts or R&D Prototypers.

   John Gray's book comes with a CD-ROM including the entire text of the book (the book was produced using Mathematica) as well as help files which can easily be integrated into the resources of the Mathematica Help Browser.

   The book is well laid out (see the Table of Contents at amazon.com) topically, starting with very basic usage of the math abilities, and the user interface, then moving on to programming styles using Mathematica and methods of representing information in Mathematica. (All major commands in the Mathematica package are searchable, topical resources are available via documentation chapters on that topic, and explanatory text is hyperlinked in html format.)

   The book's style is absolutely functional, and is targeted at users who have at least a threshhold knowledge of modern programming. Much of the material somewhat assumes that the reader has read enough using the Help Browswer with its on-line manual to be able to operate the notebook interface. Examples are given for almost every topic (the examples are executable in Mathematica, as the text of the book is in the form of a Mathematica notebook), although the specifics of each example are not necessarily explained.

   As a programmer, the most amazing revelation of Gray's book is the degree to which the Mathematica package is programmable. Of course, procedural commands are built in to allow the coding of procedural algorithms (these commands have the form of generic pseudocode commands, or "near-C"). But Gray gives examples of programming using functions (recursion is allowed), as well as instructions re o-o and constraint (rule-based) styles of programming. (Note that Mathematica has built in pattern matching notations--especially useful for rule-based programming.)

   In short, not only is Mathematica a completely integrated symbolic/numeric advanced math utility with integrated graphics and statistical packages, but it also has its own virtual operating system (full file i/o controls), and it allows the user to write rule-based programs (such as LISP or Prolog interpreters) which have full access to all of the built in Mathematica abilities, and to custom compiled components which the user has written.

   Because all Mathematica's abilities are integrated, data can easily be displayed graphically, allowing visual debugging of difficult algorithms, or analysis (or reports). Gray provides a few examples of the visual display of algorithms.

   The bottom line is that Mathematica is an astounding prototyping tool, as well as being the best graduate CS math utility I have used. And John Gray's book opens up these possibilities to the reader. Savor the possibilities!

No comments about Computer Graphics-Computer Art.

1 comments about The Inventor Toolmaker: Extending Open Inventor, Release 2 (OpenGL).

1. I think the reference manual is important because of the hierarchial nature of the class structures. Unless, you can visualize a map of all the class relations and there properties this book is a necessity. Open Inventor uses many default parameters for fields and attributes, but you may want to customize the node behavior. The reference manual explains each class, its fields, and the effects of applying various enumeration types.

No comments about Mathematica - A System for Doing Mathematics by Computer.

1 comments about Visualizing the Semantic Web.

1. If you are analysing various XML-encoded data, and am overwhelmed with the sheer mass of it all, you have probably wondered about displaying it. The problem is that there are an infinite number of ways to display data.
   
   This book can only describe a small, finite number of display ideas. But it may well be worth your while to at least quickly thumb through the chapters. Various authors offer different takes on their data sets. The book also has some nice colour plates showing results.
   
   In the book's title, you can ignore Semantic Web if you so choose. The key thing is supposedly that you have XML data. But it turns out that even this is not a necessary restriction. One way to read this book is to look for different data visualisation ideas. If you find one that is promising, you then have to reimplement it for your data structures.

1 comments about Essential Gimp for Web Professionals.

1. Everything in this short Web graphics based book for GIMP showcases graphics that would have been used back in the 20th century. I get the feeling GIMP is a more powerful photo editing and manipulating program than it's Adobe rival Photoshop, especially a version from the 90s. This book was no help to me at all as a Web professional. It's a shame there isn't a lot of resources out there in book form for GIMP, as I do prefer reading from left to right (ie. reading a book), rather than up in a vertical direction (reading a screen). Look for the Official Handbook, and look for more books to be released in the future.

No comments about Advanced Spatial Analysis: The CASA Book of GIS.

5 comments about Creating a Web Site with Flash 8: Visual QuickProject Guide.

1. I was looking to design my first Flash-based website. This book may have helped me do it... but I learned nothing in the process. It did not answer any of my "whys" or "hows" - just merely gave me step by step instruction. Furthermore, several of the steps, when followed exactly (trust me...sometimes I'd redo them 3 and 4 times to make sure) would not produce the results the book said they would. If you're looking for a more comprehensive, teach-a-man-to-fish type of book, this is not what you're looking for.



2. I am very pleased by this book, because it is the only one that I have ever found that I can use to teach Flash to someone else. The books doesn't get bogged down in the technical details of the program, it just shows you how to put Flash to work for you or your client.
   The book is VERY well illustrated, and the website you make is nice enough to show to other people. This compares to other Flash books that teach you all about how and why you do something in designing a website, but never demonstrate how to put it together into a worthwhile product. So you end up with a "properly" designed website that either doesn't work right or is too ugly to show to anyone else.
   This book changes that. Using it, I can sit down and walk someone through the creation of a pretty AND functional website. If they want to know why something is done a certain way, I would refer them to another book, but most people really don't seem to care once they have the project completed...



3. This is a good primer or refresher for Flash 8.
   
   This book serves two purposes: (1) Acquaints the reader with fundamental Flash principles and (2) demonstrates what you can do with Flash.
   
   The author could have made the book a lot better by writing a paragraph at the outset of each mini-lesson giving an overview of the point of the lesson and the steps.
   
   Retention with this book is difficult because it drones from one lesson to the next in linear fashion. If the book were broken down with reference points and summary overviews, it would even be a great little reference book.
   
   Another reviewer noted that some of the steps do not function. He is correct. It appears that there are a few instances where the author is either unclear about the steps or loses track of whether the reader is to work within a symbol or the main stage. I just hacked my way through it.
   
   Also, Flash is such a dynamic program that the learning curve is lengthy. To learn Flash, you MUST dedicate time and effort. It gets easier once you make up your mind to make the effort.



4. It seems like the other people who gave this book a low rating did so because it lacked detailed info as to why some of the steps were done. Well guys, maybe you should have read the front and back cover of the book before you bought it. This book was designed to walk you step by step through the process of creating a website in Flash 8. That's what it does... sort of. The problem is (and this is the only reason I'm not rating it 5 stars) that it is RIDDLED with errors. Some of the steps just don't work and you really have to spend a lot of time figuring out where the author has screwed up.
   
   That said, it's still a nice little primer and worth the nominal cost for beginners.



5. All words are written in large, childlike print, to give an impression that this book is easy to read and thus also easy to execute. But the execution instructions are not very well described. Some steps have missing photos. The book is also way too short for the kind of book it is supposed to be: visual introduction to flash for beginners. It also has no troubleshooting nor any FAQ. This edition is identical to the newer one for Flash MX 2004(ISBN: 0-321-32125-1).I do not recommend starting learning flash from this book, it is for more advanced learners.