5 comments about Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML.

1. A lot of tech books ive read in the past i have had trouble following, but not this one. This was my first Head First book and it completely sold me on them. It was super easy to follow and actually enjoyable to read. The authors silly antics made it read more like a novel vs a tech book. I definitely recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn XHTML and CSS.



2. This book was excellent in providing the background, the "why, what and how" of HTML. Not just a boring book, but a step by step guide to making a nice website, with everything you want to know.
   I really liked the way it's written, because it's not just hard facts but written with a lot of humor.
   
   If you're searching for a book that is actually nice to read, it's great. If you just want to look things up about HTML, I'd buy a handbook.



3. This book stands above the other HTML books that I've read. It's explainations are easy to follow and complete. The examples are fun and you will learn XHTML and CSS so well that you'll be designing clean and effective websites in no time.
   
   Unlike other HTML books where authors have you copy their information and expect you to follow along, with Head First the skills you learn will be yours.
   
   Highly recommended!



4. When I became interested in starting my website, www.stevechambers.com, I wanted to learn the basics behind the code so I could get my web pages looking as close as possible to how I wanted them to look. I first tried some free HTML tutorials on the web, then purchased several different books before happening upon this one. Far and away, this is the book to use to learn the basics of HTML and CSS.
   
   While this is not a reference book I have it sitting on my desk every single time I code. It will teach you HTML & CSS in a fun manner, and will clarify the often dry reference material you will use after you complete this book.
   
   If you are on the web in any capacity you should know some code. This is the book to use to learn it.



5. This is the first "head first" book I've read, and unfortunately it will probably be my last.
   
   I actually don't have a problem with the material covered in the book. It seems pretty complete. But to me, having to wade through all the "cutsie-poo" little pictures and notes and jokes and all that just leads to a book that is difficult to pick up and find the info you need. I suppose if your goal is to be amused, then by all means pick up this book. But if what you are trying to do is learn so that you can accomplish something in an effecient way, then I'd definitely buy something different.
   
   I'll leave the "head first" book to the teens, I want my medicine "straight up" and strong, not watered down like this.

5 comments about Head First Design Patterns (Head First).

1. This book is great. Granted, it is a little bit...cheesy, but it is a great way to learn design patterns in a fun and easy to understand way. The code is great, and the object lesson are very effective. Coupled with the price, this is a great book for teaching yourself all the way to a college text book replacement. (My Software Engineering class in college used it!)



2. I buy quite a bit of stuff from Amazon. Don't we all. But all this while, I had never wrote a review. Just never felt compelled to do so until getting this book.
   
   Just awesome!
   
   I'm a hobbyist programmer and never learned about design patterns in school. Understanding they're importance I tried learning. I really did. But everything I read from articles to glances at different books just left me more clueless.
   
   Except for a very small minority, this book will blow your mind (in a good way). I now understand why there are patterns, what the most popular ones are, and how to apply them.
   
   Just get it.



3. It's really wonderfull. Not only funny to read, the most important thing: you learn a lot with it.
   If you know very much about patterns and object oriented design you may find it useless... but even then you'll admit it's a great book for beginners and for people (not only beginners) who's been working with Java (or other OOLanguage) but haven't learnt subtle details. It makes you realize how many things can be always done better. It takes enough time to explain everything well. And finally, it doesn't only teach patterns but a bit of OODesign in general.



4. The "Head First" book series is the best product that O'Reilly makes and Head First Design Patterns is a perfect example of the quality and innovation inherent in this great series.
   
   If you only need to learn the main design patterns or if you want to find out what the deal is with this whole 'design pattern' thing then this book is the easiest way to get started. For those who need to know all 23 design patterns then you might be stuck with the famous "Gang of Four" book which is not as easy or entertaining as this book but good none the less.



5. The promise they make on the preface of the book is true. The knowledge really sticks to your brain, part due to the examples and part due to the language the authors use along the text. Just one thing to record, the authors were too humble declaring it can't be considered a reference guide, yes it is, although fun, the book is an excelent reference guide.

5 comments about Head First Java, 2nd Edition.

1. 
   
   That's what the "Head First" philosophy seems to purport, and the foray into their lingua franca (Java) is a prime example. From the start Sierra and Bates break down the essence of "whole brain" learning a potentially dry subject like programming and design in the Java language. They then apply this methodology to each chapter by framing core instruction with cute sidebar humor and illustrations and then concluding with review exercises in the form of puzzles that openly appeal to the right-brained audience. Such a shift in the paradigm of computer science instruction has been scoffed at by many, but the truth of the matter is the new generation of developers are those who have an affinity to agile-dev, elegant-syntax type technologies such as Ruby or PHP, those who are learning from the avant-garde likes of the "Poignant Guide to Ruby". For Java evangelists extraordinaire like Bert and Kathy, making the sacred core language that much more accessible only made sense. That being said, I would caution the droves of aspiring young webmasters (not to mention migrants from older high-level languages) to understand that even with the "connect the dots" activities besprinkled throughout some assumptions about programming competency are made by the authors. In my opinion, this would not be an exclusive venture into the world of Java (and it's a BIG one) but a supplemental text that spawns the "aha" moments when more condensed and comprehensive texts like those by Cay Horstmann just don't drive a critical point across. I can say that I do appreciate the authors jumping immediately (erm, head first) into OOP concepts.
   
   In sum, I would say that this book is not for everybody, but for those that need a healthy diversion from the "standard" reference material (read: Java API).



2. Basically the book was ok. The difficulty I had was when I paid for Expediate service, I was expecting 2-3 days for delivery, not five days. and when I requested the tracking# and name of delivery company. All I got was the order# which did not help me at all. I will not order from this company again.



3. The style and manner of presentation of the new HEAD FIRST Book Series is a great way to learn these newer languages. Highly recommended for everyone.



4. I am an instructor who was tasked with teaching a basic Java class even though I didn't really know the language. I had to learn it FAST. I looked at a lot of different Java books and this is the one I settled on.
   
   The style of the "Head First" books is unconventional and may seem silly on the surface but it is based on serious metacognitive (thinking about thinking) principles and IT WORKS.
   
   The book is fun but it makes its point. It is also a comprehensive and well-chosen coverage of the subject. Java is a whole universe and they have made a good call on what to present and what to leave out.
   
   This is my first purchase from the "Head First" series and it won't be my last.



5. This book is for beginners but it assumes that you know the basics about computer programming, I mean, it won't teach you what is a program, what is code or those very basics things. If you have programmed in C, C++ or C# then this books could be slow for you but still useful but if you don't know about those languages or Object Oriented Programming then this book is great to learn OOP and JAVA, really good.

5 comments about Learning ActionScript 3.0: A Beginner's Guide.

1. I'm plugging away with Learning ActionScript because I can see how it's capable of amazing things, and I have been using Flash for a little while.
   However this book is written using the kind of language that seems simple to a programmer and obscure to the rest of us - a lot of what is written I simply can't fathom despite frequent re-reading (I'm afraid this probably says more about me than the writers of the book). It's probably best for those who are more familiar with the composition of scripts and want to upgrade to ActionScript 3. Not really a beginners guide.



2. Any computer library strong in web development titles in general and ActionScript in particular will want the beginner's guide to Flash, LEARNING ACTIONSCRIPT 3.0. It's an excellent introduction which also lends well to classroom use and assignment, covering all the basics of how ActionScript and Flash work and surveying logic, content, transferring projects to ActionScript, waveform visualization, loading HTML and more. Chapters offer hands-on exercises to reinforce skills building learning and also pair well with a companion web site offering material for all the exercises plus test quizzes. ActionScript learners will find it an essential - and surprisingly easy - reference.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



3. I'm surprised a book by O'Reilly was released with this many typos. I've been going through it and typing the tutorials that were new material for me. The amount of mistakes is just unacceptable, especially that many times it happens in code. The code is correct in the examples from their web site which begs the question, why didn't they just cut and paste it from the WORKING examples? The errata on their web site has a few of the mistakes but I've found many more.
   
   Anyway, apart from the ridiculous number of typos it is a pretty good book. I don't think its the be-all Flash book like some people on here that have been raving, but it is a good stepping stone book to learning some OOP. Its very practical and eases you from timeline code into classes. Most Flash books seem to go all timeline or all OOP, so good job to them for understanding their audience. Another knock I have is that in many examples they try to show you additional techniques apart from the main thing they are trying to illustrate. Normally I would applaud this because you just learn more, but too often here it just confuses. My last issue with the book is that it sometimes fails to explain an important element of code or give you a really vague explanation, even if that is the purpose of the exercise! Personally I want to know why I'm typing every line in so I can be more flexible when I write my own code, as opposed to blindly memorizing and hoping I remember it when I need it.
   
   All in all, you won't go wrong with this one, but it is by no means perfect. It could've been great. Its not. But its still good and worth a purchase.



4. After reading the other reviews I decided to give this book a try and I don't regret it.



5. First, please note that many of the 5-star reviews are written by experienced Flash professionals, who already have actionscript expertise -- and that makes them poor judges of how clear this book will be to a beginning audience.
   
   The book is explicitly written for beginners, but the authors often have a good grasp on what readers know. On one page they start talking about "trapping" events. What does that mean? Who knows?
   
   I have a good math background, so I was able to decipher the math chapter, but it contains explanations like, "A radian is the angle of a circle subtended by an arc along its circumference that is the length of the circle's radius (hence the name, radian)." What's the point of writing a sentence like that? Will it be understood by anyone who doesn't already know what a radian is? Has a math newbie even ever heard the word "subtend"? This casual use of undefined jargon happens in every chapter.
   
   Also, sometimes they're just wrong. They say that a ball moving 4 pixels to the right and 4 pixels down per second will have a velocity of 4 pixels per second in a south southeast direction. No. The Pythagorean theorem (which they explain, badly, in the next section), says the ball will be moving more than 5.6 pixels per second. And the direction is southeast.
   
   The book really is full of typos, and they're not all caught in the errata. It's necessary to go the website and download the code being discussed in the book. The files you download will have the correct code (though before you check the code, as you're reading the book you're thinking, "Do I not understand, or is this code wrong?") Unfortunately, the book sometimes refers to these files by the wrong name, so you have to figure out which file to open. That's really inexcusable -- how hard would it be for the authors to go to their own website and correctly name the files?
   
   Another random, infuriating example of the book's sloppiness: on page 144, the authors state a line of code "g.curveTo(275, 0, 400, 100);". In the context of the chapter, the hardest part of this code to understand is the "275, 0" and it's the one part they don't bother to explain!
   
   And as long as I'm ranting (I just threw the book down to come and write this), the authors often put unnecessary lines into the code. I'm left trying to figure it out, wondering, "Why did they put that there? Is it necessary?" so I try the code without the extra material, and it still works fine. But the authors never explain why it's there, so while you're trying to learn to read actionscript, wanting to understand the importance of each line and its relationship to the rest of the example, you're thinking, "Am I just missing the importance of this line? Or does it have no importance?" Learners shouldn't be left to wonder those things!
   
   It's a maddening book, full of unexplained terminology (I just found the phrase, "dedicated canvas"; huh?), incomplete explanations, bloated code, and many, many errors.

5 comments about Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 (Windows.Net).

1. This is a great book for learning LINQ. Lots of code examples, fairly exhaustive and does well at explaining concepts. However, the first chapter must have been given special attention knowing it would be the sales pitch for the book. The rest of the book falls into a more rushed fashion, evidenced by typos (mostly in code), and sometimes condescending tone. Also, if there are two extension methods with the same signature, and one has the word Descending tacked on the end, please don't take another four pages to describe its usage. LINQ to Entities is not covered at all, and they don't claim it is, just a heads up to the potential buyer. All that said, this is overall a great book on the subject, but it could use a little polishing.



2. I agree with all of the above positive reviews. Excellent book. I just wanted to comment on the publisher. This is my 3rd book(my other two were a book on WPF and C++/.Net) published by Apress and they have all been very good. I don't know if that is just dumb luck but they do an excellent job.



3. Microsoft must be under new management, we are getting a slew of new, truly useful tools that are making pretty big strides forward for faster more enjoyable C# development and ease of maintenance. The latest technologies seem well worth taking the time to master. I find the combination of LINQ and the Sync framework couldn't have come at a better time. While the book mentions that LINQ to SQL only supports SQL Server, that is no longer true as you can also use (at least) MS SQL Server Compact Edition 3.5 (which is required for the Sync Framework). You can't use the visual object relational designer with SSCE but the book documents SQLMetal, and you can use that to create your context.
   
   Overall I found this to be a very good book but it has a few flaws. If like me you are interested in LINQ for a current or upcoming database project here is what I would suggest. First don't start with this book, finish with it. Start with the ten excellent screencasts by Mike Taulty. Then read this book. Your reading will go much faster and you'll get a satisfyingly sated feeling. The author will probably hate me for saying this, but if you already know SQL or ADO.NET 2.0, I would suggest reading Chapters 1-3, then skim 4 and 5 just to get an overview of the operators available. Then read part 5 (Chapters 12-18) on LINQ to SQL. After you digest that I would suggest whichever topics interest you the most, then I would finish with a more thorough read of Chapters 4 and 5 on Deferred and Nondeffered operators, which in my mind are really a thoroughly documented reference section.
   
   The reason the author will hate that, is he doesn't want readers to use LINQ for just database purposes, and he states that many times in the book. In fact, I think that is why he put the LINQ to SQL section at the end. However, he seems to have made a significant effort to make any part readable on its own, so I see no problem with skipping to the end so early.
   
   The book doesn't really cover data binding, but there is a lot of good information on that available on the internet (the above mentioned screencasts show some of them, and an overly long video on Channel 9 with Young Joo from August 2007 shows even more).
   
   I also have a few nit-picky things that drove me crazy. The most significant one being the amount of repetition and unedited console output. I was also none too happy that the author didn't mention that the Visual Studio Command prompt was under the START menu not an IDE menu. But then again without the author I wouldn't even have known there was a Visual Studio 2008 command prompt.
   
   The weakest part of the book is the index, it is downright anemic. In the several weeks since I've finised the book the index has NEVER helped me find things I remember reading. If you find items of interest you better pencil them into the back cover if you want to find them again later. If one book ever needed a free PDF, this one is it, but they charge $10 for it. Maybe that is why they made the index so bad, to encourage you to fork over another $10.
   
   That said, I also found a good half-dozen or so gems in the book that saved me significant time. Now I could tell you what those are but I think you should buy the book to find out.



4. This book is very well thought out. The author helps you understand some subtleties of relational algebra (without really saying it) and helps you think like a LINQ head. It's a different way of doing things, but he shows that if you get a basic understanding of a handful of concepts you can grow it from there.
   
   awesome book!



5. No doubt about it. If you are learning/using LINQ, this is THE book to have. Author did an excellent job explaining the material and giving numerous examples, that work, about the material. Had to mention the "that work" part as I get so frustrated when I buy a book and the examples do not work. I could tell this book was a "labor of love" and he didn't just crank out a book to make $.

5 comments about Programming Collective Intelligence: Building Smart Web 2.0 Applications.

1. Love the book, great topical review of methods with working examples. Every chapter makes you think of a dozen things you could do next.
   My only reason for 4 instead of 5 stars is that the code examples are all python-based and leverage python specific features. The book title should be "Programming Collective Intelligence...with Python" although it does present a fun challenge to convert the examples to a different language (like Ruby!).



2. I use python as my primary programming language, when I ordered this book I was concerned it would be more about website design then AI algorithms (collective intelligence encompasses a subset of soft AI algorithms that draw upon information from various sources readily avaliable on the Internet, large document collections, etc.) I found the text to be readable with broad application in other areas including document classification systems for analyzing large amount of documents in the context of e-discovery. I would recommend this book to anyone using any-type of clustering process for review and analyzing documents and data. Taxonomic, clustering, neural networks, etc. are sold generally to the public as magic while in fact the concepts are readily accessible in this book.



3. As a long time O'Reilly reader & fan, I have to say this is the best O'Reilly book I've
   read in the past several years, and is now among my favorite programming books in general. This is really an applied Artificial Intelligence book in disguise, as it covers most of the core topics found amongst the top AI textbooks. I've recently read a few of the standard AI books, such as Norvig, Duda & Hart; which are thorough, but in a bad way, because they miss the forest for the trees. Your average working software developer is not going to be able to use these textbooks to create any code without investing a lot of time, or stopping long the way to get a Phd.
   
   And this is precisely where this books shines, unlike similar books out there--Toby Segaran has managed to explain the core AI algorithms in plain language, with very readable code examples that implement a fully working example to get you started. Reading this book made me realize most of the AI that I've studied is not hard in itself, but rather the standard way AI algorithms are presented in textbooks is just terrible and obfuscated.
   
   For example, Toby describes a fully working backpropagation neural network, with code(!) in about 9 pages. I've never seen a NN presentation better than this. There were several chapters where I couldn't help laughing at how conceptually easy a given algorithm ends up being if only you stop and explain it as simply as possible, and throw out most of the mathematical notation. That sounds obvious, but for some reason few authors think brevity helps get the point across, especially when dealing with a mathematical topic. So kudos to Toby for this, which is a major accomplishment in itself, as it's going to really help the book appeal to a much wider audience.
   
   I also though it was a great idea to connect every topic in the book to large data sets which anyone can get off the web. This lead me to think of many other kinds of datasets to try this code on, so it's not the kind of book that you read and put away;
   but rather you keep tweaking the example code(available on the book's website), adding to it and experimenting.
   
   In all, a great book, highly recommended!



4. I think this is a good, easy-to-read intro to several interesting data-centric software technologies, but it is superficial.
   
   For example, their collaborative filtering (ratings + recommendations) section illustrates only the most simplest of algorithms and completely skips over more advanced techniques (improved normalization, matrix factorization, and others), it skips over even basic benchmarking of the rec system (IMO, if you aren't doing objective benchmarks and tuning it off of those metrics, your rec system is useless), and doesn't address any of the common pitfalls and problems (sparsity, overfitting, normalization problems, scalability issues).
   
   I guess that is expected. If you want a book that's easy to read that can get you excited about some cool ares in software development, this book is great. If you want information beyond the introductory casual reading level, look elsewhere.



5. This is one of those books I wish I had more time to devote to. I've barely begun to read it and already, I'm thrilled with the information being shared - I never knew what I didn't know, but this book has really opened my eyes to an entire facet of my development expertise that needs to improve.
   
   Highly recommended

5 comments about Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction.

1. I started by reading the first edition of this book. I got the second edition when I was almost finished with the first edition of this book.
   
   After getting the new version of the book I decided to continue reading the old one because I found that there are quite a few differences between the old and the new edition.
   
   This is perhaps one of the best books that I have ever read on programming in my life. The author Steve McConnell has put together a book that is independent of what ever programming language that is used. In the authors words. He wanted to write a good book on software construction because he had looked around and had not found any good books out there on the subject. I would have to agree with him there are not a lot of books on good programming technic. There are hundreds of books on this programming language or that programming language.
   
   Code complete is so good that I feel every programmer should read it. It would be best if in the first year of college every single student read the book. I just don't know how it could fit into a regular curriculum. Even if it does not fit that well into a regular curriculum what is taught in this book is probably more important then what most people learn at school.
   
   I like the book and would advise it to anyone that programs.
   
   I am looking forward to the new edition because the old book didn't have much advice about object oriented programming. Mostly because it was a new way of programming when the book was first written and he didn't want to commit much information to it when object oriented programming was so new. He does talk a little about things that are outdated but the book is still one of the best.
   
   I will wait a while before I read the second edition but I expect to be as satisfied with it as I was this one.
   
   Great book that should be in every programmers library.



2. it's a book that all programmers must to read. it explain a lot of interesting things about how to made good software!



3. I'm currently studying computer science and have been reading this in my spare time. Skip your lectures. Just read this book! If you want to construct software in a timely, efficient, and complete manner--this is the definitive book to read. Not dry at all, Steve McConnell covers topics for all experience levels. Even if you're an experienced programmer, you will learn something from this great piece of literature.
   
   I've only gone through the first few chapters thus far. So pending finishing my reading, I'll update this review. Unfortunately this might never happen as I find myself re-reading portions of the book to pick up new ideas and details for software construction!



4. If you're an experienced software developer or a newbee in the world of commercial computer programming this book will give a good kick in the right direction. Steve McConnel will keep you hooked by mixing the right guiding concepts with real-life knowledge and examples.



5. This was a great book both for me and my team. I've been in the software industry for many years. I started building a team of developers and needed an easy way to bring novice and experienced programmers together on a similar set of standards. This book provided us with the perfect framework from which to start our team. We've developed several major projects using the principles in this book and have experienced a great deal of success.
   
   One warning, the book gets a bit tedious after the first half. If you're looking to improve your C programming skills, it gets really detailed into pointers and other fun, or not, stuff. Also, the examples are in VB.NET...but you still get the point.

5 comments about Pro C# 2008 and the .NET 3.5 Platform, Fourth Edition (Windows.Net).

1. Andrew Troelsen has done a remarkable job. The book
   does a great job of explaining C#. Every time I had a question about a specific topic he would answer it with in a few pages. This is not a reference book. It is a book that through thoughtful text and coresponding examples leads you through C#. It is an intense book and every word and example needs to be examined so don't expect an easy trip. Pro C# 2008 and the .NET 3.5 Platform, Fourth Edition (Pro Series)



2. It's a great book for an experienced programmer who already knows Object Oriented Design and Programming, because many important concept (like inheritance and polymorphism) are explained very briefly.
   But if you come from Java, C++ or any other C++-derived language, you'll feel familiar with the concepts explained and begin developing in C# quickly.
   The development tools explained are principally Visual Studio 2008, but also some other IDE and compiler are explained.
   Maybe a little disappointing the examples, and some suggestion of exercises at the end of each chapter would be very usefoul.
   Anyhow, 4 stars.



3. This is a book that I'd expect from Apress pro series. As a java developer, I've had no prior experience with .net. This book has walked me through and tought me the .net concepts and the c# language in no time. Very straightforward, no blabla, and thorough. Also with 1300+ pages and being hard-cover, it is a bargain. Highly recommended.



4. Ho trovato un'ottima guida in questo libro. Gli argomenti trattati sono spiegati in maniera eccellente: breve introduzione, esempio banale e poi una trattazione approfondita dell'argomento. Un breve sommario conclude ogni capitolo e permette di fare un ripasso di quello che si e' letto all'occorrenza.
   
   E' un libro che consiglio sia a chi inizia per la prima volta a programmare in c#.net (seppure sono necessarie delle basi di programmazione oop) e naturalmente ai piu' esperti, pubblico a cui sembra essere destinato.
   
   Devo dire che ho trovato in questo libro un fedele compagno di lavoro, visto che e' corredato anche di un ottimo indice analitico e, per chi lo acquista subito, dell'intero pdf full searchable.
   
   Mi assumo la responsabilita' di consigliarlo a tutti :).



5. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about learning C# and is coming from an older .NET platform or from previous C/C++ experience. The book is extremely thick, yes, but wastes little space. The examples are detailed in explaining the topic at hand but do not carry extraneous details that could distract from the current topic.
   
   I would also recommend this book to anyone who might not have constant access to a computer to test out the topics. I find this book to be one of the few programming books that I can sit down with in front of the fire and read without having to get up every five minutes to see how an example really works. This book manages to fully explain the topics in such a way that the explaination is complete; a visit to the computer to try and understand the text is rarely needed.

4 comments about Professional C# 2008 (Wrox Professional Guides).

1. 'Professional C# 2008' is one of those ginormous books that I usually (usually) complain is too big, too bloated, too MUCH but sometimes the exception is the rule and that is the case here. With 1750+ pages of material spread over 48 chapters and 3 appendixes, if you are looking for brevity and/or a simple learning book this is probably not for you. If you are looking for a complete solution on learning C# from top to bottom, keep reading because you are in the right place.
   
   Although it's lengthy, I feel a chapter listing is beneficial to detail out all the details of this book:
   
   01. .NET Architecture
   02. C# Basics
   03. Objects and Types
   04. Inheritance
   05. Arrays
   06. Operators and Casts
   07. Delegates and Events
   08. Strings and Regular Expressions
   09. Generics
   10. Collections
   11. Language Integrated Query (LINQ)
   12. Memory Management and Pointers
   13. Reflection
   14. Errors and Exceptions
   15. Visual Studio 2008
   16. Deployment
   17. Assemblies
   18. Tracing and Events
   19. Threading and Synchronization
   20. Security
   21. Localization
   22. Transactions
   23. Windows Services
   24. Interoperability
   25. Manipulating Files and the Registry
   26. Data Access
   27. LINQ to SQL
   28. Manipulating XML
   29. LINQ to XML
   30. .NET Programming with SQL Server
   31. Windows Forms
   32. Data Binding
   33. Graphics with GDI+
   34. Windows Presentation Foundation
   35. Advanced WPF
   36. Add-Ins
   37. ASP.NET Pages
   38. ASP.NET Development
   39. ASP.NET AJAX
   40. Visual Studio Tools for Office
   41. Accessing the Internet
   42. Windows Communication Foundation
   43. Windows Workflow Foundation
   44. Enterprise Services
   45. Message Queuing
   46. Directory Services
   47. Peer-to-Peer Networking
   48. Syndication
   
   Subject matter is extremely thorough, and the writing is right to the point. Full of usable examples and traditional (good) Wrox design, you will be able to use chapters piece mail to get the information you are looking for or read the book from beginning to end if you want the whole experience.
   
   I feel that this book is best for marginal/new C# developers who aren't intimidated by a tome of this size. There is lots of great information within and you certainly learn what makes C# such a fantastic language to use in today's world.
   
   ***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED



2. If you are looking for a brief introduction to C# this is not your book. But if you are seriously interested in improving your skills in any area, this is definitely the book to have on your shelf.
   Great job.



3. If you are looking for one book which covers the ENTIRE applications of C# Language, then this is the only book you need to buy. Covers every different type of application that can be developed with C#. good examples all the way. As the title says, it is real PROFESSIONAL Book. 5 stars for sure. Worth every cent.



4. Although I am an advance C# programmer. I found this book excellent in the way it presents staff. It is well written and organized.

5 comments about Professional ASP.NET 3.5: In C# and VB (Programmer to Programmer).

1. Scott, Bill and Devin do a phenomenal job of covering evrything in 3.5. This massive book can be read cover-to-cover over a couple of weeks or sit on your desk as a reference. The info from these three is rooted in real-world experience. They cover the technical details as well as the how and why of decisions around developing Rich Internet Applications.



2. Bill, Scott and Devin are long-time ASP.NET experts, and the authors of several best selling ASP.NET and .NET books.
   
   This latest book is outstanding and provides an excellent end to end resource for almost all things ASP.NET related (UI, AJAX, Data Access, Security, State Management, Deployment, etc).
   
   The book is very well organized, with a nice balance of text, code samples, and screen-shots. All code samples are provided in both C# and VB - making it applicable to developers of all language backgrounds.
   
   The book does a good job of covering new .NET 3.5 material - with good content on LINQ, LINQ to XML, and LINQ to SQL, as well as the new ASP.NET 3.5 data controls - including the ListView control. It has chapters on ASP.NET AJAX and the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit. It also has some great IIS7 material.
   
   One of the things that is particularly useful is that the samples and chapters are written with Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Web Developer Express 2008. The book does a great job of explaining both the core ASP.NET programming concepts, as well as showing off how to use the tools to easily take advantage of them.
   
   All in all a great book and a fantastic addition to any ASP.NET developer's library.



3. If there's one book to own on ASP.NET 3.5 this is it! Unlike some other books that have simply added a couple of additional chapters at the end and a new cover, in Professional ASP.Net 3.5 sections that matter have been accurately updated to reflect the new changes and new chapters have been added where appropriate.
   
   This book is very well written, and is full of code examples. At 1674 pages it's a monster, but it's all solid content.



4. I've got the ASP.NET 2.0 version of this book (both the original and special edition versions) and all of the strengths still hold: It still walks you through all of the common (and some of the uncommon) usage for ASP.NET and provides great examples and code snippets to illustrate points. I'm not an ASP.NET newbie and I still find myself referring to the book from time to time - even in the age of Google - to find a nice, easy-to-understand example of this or that.
   
   That said, not much has changed from ASP.NET 2.0 to ASP.NET 3.5, so the important bits are the differences between this book and the previous version. So what is different?
   
   ADDED:
   * Lots about LINQ. Anywhere they discuss data - from databinding to working with XML - they've added info on how LINQ works into the picture. Thre is even a new chapter on "Querying with LINQ."
   * A chapter on IIS7 with a high-level intro to what it means for ASP.NET.
   * A chapter on basic HTML and CSS usage.
   * ASP.NET AJAX has been made a first class citizen with chapters on both the ASP.NET AJAX framework as well as the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit. (It was an appendix in the ASP.NET 2.0 book.)
   * A section on WCF services has been added to the "Building and Consuming Services" chapter.
   * An ASP.NET-oriented subset of the indispensable Scott Hanselman Ultimate Tools List has been added as an appendix with screen shots and larger discussion of each tool.
   * An appendix has been added on basic Silverlight.
   
   REMOVED:
   * The introduction to Visual Studio. You won't get an overview of the IDE in the new book.
   * Basic .NET concept review like the chapter on "Collections and Lists" have been removed.
   * The chapter on developing for mobile devices using the contents of the System.Web.Mobile assembly.
   * The appendix on VB 8.0 and C# 2.0 language enhancements (generics, partial classes, etc.).
   
   COMBINED:
   * The ASP.NET 2.0 book separated out the discussions of "ASP.NET Web Server Controls" and "ASP.NET 2.0 Web Server Controls." This is now one chapter that doesn't differentiate by version.
   
   For the chapters that the two versions of the book have in common, really the only differences I could find were that the first few "intro" paragraphs for the chapter and the screenshots have been updated. A few sentences here and there have been updated to remove version-specific wording, but the copy is basically the same. I did a page-for-page comparison of one of chapters and almost everywhere it was exactly the same as the previous version, verbatim.
   
   That commonality is not a bad thing. It means the new version still has the great content found in the previous version, so if you didn't get the ASP.NET 2.0 book, the 3.5 book will cover you. If you did get the ASP.NET 2.0 book, Wrox also has a Professional ASP.NET 3.5 Upgrade book that just contains the new stuff so you don't have to re-purchase content you already have.
   
   Again, the typesetting irked me. The font really needs to be a point or two larger. Also, in the Professional ASP.NET 2.0 Special Edition, they used a light gray background to highlight code snippets so it was easy to make the distinction between prose and code. They lost that light gray background in the 3.5 book so the prose and the snippets run together a bit. (They use the light gray now as a "highlighter" for particular lines of code.) Of course, at 1600-odd pages, they might have to start shipping this bad boy on microfiche.
   
   In all, still highly recommended.



5. Being a Microsoft fanatic I always want to stay on top of things with Microsoft Technologies.I have been reading a couple of books on ASP.NET 3.5. I bought this book from Amazon. And having seen this book physically and went over the contents of the book and read couple of chapters of my interest, I can definitely say that, this is the ONLY book that any ASP.NET developer would want to have on his desk. Complete. Comprehensive. Cost effective. Definite BUY.