5 comments about Software Engineering: (Update) (8th Edition) (International Computer Science Series).

1. I bought this book as a required textbook for my grad course. I've learned a lot from my past misconception and misunderstanding between software science and software engineering just after reading a few chapters from the book.
   
   The book covers wide aspects of engineering a software, both technical aspects and non-technical aspects (social, laws, ethics) although not in deep-breath details.
   
   I highly recommend this book for any students who want to know about software engineering, pracicing software engineers who want to enhance their engineering ana managerial capability in developing a good software or for self-study for anybody who want to jump into software business.



2. This is a good high-level book for a first software engineering course. It mentions things like critical systems, object oriented programming, and real -time systems, but at a very high level; so it should not be used for a specialized course. It provides many helpful examples and diagrams. My only complaint is that the chapters are very long, and a lot of things are repeated several times. I think this book could easily be 75% shorter without loosing any important information.



3. This book is a good book to learn from, it can be a little boring at times but in general it is a good study tool that keeps subject matters seperate where they should be



4. it feels like this book goes out its way to stretch easily understandable concepts into a huge 900 page book.



5. I used this book as the text in my software engineering class in the spring semester of 2008. When I was evaluating it for potential adoption, I did not read through it in detail, I looked over the chapter titles and subtitles, read the first few chapters and examined the exercises at the end of the first few chapters. As the semester progressed, I found myself wishing I had read further into the text.
   As I moved through the chapters, I found myself mentally noting over and over again that topics are repeated. When the class was over, I asked the students their opinion of the book and they were unanimous, with no prompting from me, in saying that there is a great deal of repetition after the first chapters.
   I have no complaint about the quality of exposition or the coverage of software engineering in this book. My reason for not continuing to use it in future classes is solely due to my belief that the size could have been reduced from the current 840 pages to around 600 pages with no real loss of content of flow.

5 comments about SQL Pocket Guide (Pocket References).

1. This book is the best form of remember SQLScript by engine details and lexical diference; I'm using Oracle v7, v8, v10 and SQLServer in my job; and mySQL and Oracle v10 in my own SOHO applications.



2. I love this little book since I work with many RDBMs and need use different syntaxes to accomplish the same thing. That's what this reference is good for - to remind you of material that you've forgotten.



3. I'm writing a review because of how impressed I've become with this over time. I have several SQL references and this gets used by far the most. I'm a big O'Reilly fan and I think I bought this title in addition to the Nutshell book because it was cheap and I also wanted multiple SQL reference books so I could have some at home as well as the office.
   
   I at first assumed that the Pocket guide would be inferior to the Nutshell book but I've found the reverse to be true for me. The strengths of this book are passages are always straight to the point, with tons of examples, and ALWAYS is very clear on relevant differences between different flavors of SQL (DB2, Oracle, SQL Server, & MySQL) without any blah blah blah.
   
   For knuckleheads who have worked in so many languages that they can't remember any syntax anymore, and who prefer a good terse example to a big syntax tree, this reference is highly recommended.



4. this pocket book is useful in that it touches on command sets from mysql, sql server, and also oracle. this cross platform approach is helpful when learning sql, or if one was to switch from one enterprise level system to the next. this mini book was shipped out in a timely fashion. i can say that the reference available in this book was well worth the moderate expense, as well as the shipping time.



5. A comprehensive and detailed SQL reference with sample code and result sets to make the content clear. An excellent pocket guide to take anywhere.

5 comments about Programming Erlang: Software for a Concurrent World.

1. I've been working through this book and am very glad for it. I'm not sure how else I'd efficiently have gotten up to speed on Erlang.
   
   The book does need lots of minor work, though - it still feels like a beta piece of software. There are examples / explanations that make use of not-yet (or never) explained functions/modules. The appendix describing some of Erlang's modules only claims that the set of documented modules is incomplete, but doesn't mention that the set of functions within some modules is also incomplete. Etc.
   
   Another issue is the license of the code examples. The author shows some example code for how to do certain things, such as a distributed map function (pmap). After reading the book, it's hard (at least for a newbie) to imagine a different solution than the author's. But if you go to the website containing the example code from the book, you find a pretty restrictive license on the example code. So this leaves the reader in a difficult position: the book only shows you one way to do something like pmap, and the author has a license on that code that makes it unusable to many readers. This is more than a little frustrating.
   
   Finally, the index is very incomplete.
   
   If you're new to Erlang you still want this book. But it would really be a good thing for the author to gather criticism (if he hasn't already) and go a second round.



2. I made an attempt at working through this book 6 months ago and didn't feel quite comfortable so I dropped it and instead pursued Programming in Haskell. Yesterday I decided to get back into Erlang and found it a complete breeze, powering through the entire book in a few hours.
   
   A lot of things seem to become really easy after working with Haskell, not to say that programming in Haskell is hard, just it twists and bends your mind into a different shape.
   
   Now that I'm abreast of the material covered in this book, I am leaping into a large project with great confidence.
   
   5/5, excellent book!



3. Overall, I liked this book. When I read this, I was looking at doing some Erlang work; I didn't end up using Erlang, but the book was still enjoyable, and gave me a good overview of the language.
   
   Some things were a bit odd: the organization was not clear, and the order of chapters was confusing. The authors choice of material was seemed unusual to me: he covered a streaming MP3 server, and mentions ID3 tags; he does not, however, describe what they are or describe in detail how his code processes them. Still, the important details of Erlang itself are covered, and perhaps that's the most important part.
   
   Take it easy,
   
   Dave



4. This book was well worth the money even if you don't intend to program in Erlang. It gives a very good over view of an alternative model of parallel programming that is currently not heavily used. The model emphasizes reliability by not having any shared state. I went on to use this model in C++ projects.



5. With a very amenable writing, Joe Armstrong presents a clear overview on the Erlang Language and basics of the OTP. The book presents the basic topics, with simple and yet powerful examples, and points the directions on how to find more informations.
   
   Definitely a great book.

5 comments about Murach's C# 2008.

1. Murach's C# 2008 is a good book on C#, but it is not great. Too many areas are either lightly covered or not covered at all. To be fair if he had included the coverage it would have been a much bigger book, but Dietel does it and I would expect Murach to have been more complete. For example, in many coverages of methods of objects avalable in the .Net Framework the coverage is incomplete. If your going to cover a subject, cover it completely, either in the book or via a reference to a web page. I think the solution when providing the type of coverage displayed in this book is to have a web site that completes the coverage on each subject. That way the book doesn't weigh thirty pounds and the customer gets the needed complete information on a subject.



2. I found this book difficult to read... I'm not a fan of books that repeatedly refer to diagrams or code blocks that are located in previous or yet to come pages.
   
   Overall it's just dry... Not enough exercises to reinforce learning.
   
   I made it to chapter 9 and stopped... Just my opinion but if our new to programming I would consider other options.



3. I have been frustrated for a while looking for a good publisher. Then I found Murach. Hands down the best publisher. I have NOT been disappointed at all so far. As long as they keep using the same methods, I will be a fan for life.
   
   I strongly recommend Murach's books first above everything else.



4. Murach's C# 2008 book is an excellent resource for getting up to speed with Microsoft's VISUAL STUDIO development environment. At this point, I have read about 1/3 of the book.
   
   An excellent feature of this book is its use of two adjoining pages for concept presentation. Instructions and explanations are presented on left-hand pages while sample code or screen displays are shown on right-hand pages. This makes it very easy to follow and comprehend material.
   
   The book also has a companion website where sample code is avaiable for downloading. This facilitates both understanding of presented materials and experimentation with your own ideas.
   
   This book is geared to VISUAL STUDIO C# 2008 and I believe you need the latest software. If you are using VISUAL STUDIO C# 2005, then you may want to consider purchasing an older edition with that name.
   
   This book is an excellent college text and I strongly recommend it for that purpose.



5. AWESOME! For those starting out and even intermediate programmers, this is a great BOOK!

5 comments about Windows PowerShell in Action.

1. This book is written by a self-admitted geek expressly for geeks. Being a geek myself I rate it highly for content. However, Administrators should bypass it. There are few administrators or programmers that need to know "Why" something was done. There is too much information in this world to absorb and reading this book contributes to that. Plus, practical things like profiles and snapins are not even mentioned (I didn't find them while reading it, but if they are there it emphasizes the following point).
   
   I disagree that it can be used a a reference, except by an occaisonal geek. It would take too long to find anything related to your daily problem even though it is probably there. Few publishers know how to organize and display technical data so that after it is read it can be found again. There are silly things like showing the wrong way to do things. Who needs that in a reference book since you may copy it without checking if it works? A true reference book defines every (well at least the most useful) command/parameter nuances and tells you what you can't find in the normal documentation. Another book I own, Professional Windows PowerShell comes far closer to being a reference, and is a better book for a general programmer.



2. This guy maybe be a Guru at PowerShell but this book is not beginner friendly at all. If you have been scripting for years then this may well be the "definitive guide". However, if you are a Windows System Administrator who tends to script from time to time to solve basic problems then this is book is absolutely not for you. I got better examples and information from the guide that came with powershell and webcasts on powershell that are on the microsoft technet site, than I got from this book. Once again its probably great for a developer or an person with scripting experience but its of little value for a beginner Sorry Bruce :( I had high hopes for the book based on all the other stellar reviews.



3. I purchased this book with high hopes based on the other glowing reviews to get started with powershell. The book covers the basic language pretty well, maybe it's because I am a beginner with powershell, but when I attempt to actually get something done with powershell, the book just doesn't have the answers. Beginners and task oriented people should look elsewhere and avoid this book.



4. This is the only Powershell book you will ever need - until 2.0 comes out anyhow. Even then, this book builds the groundwork for using Powershell to automate all types of tasks and will be usable far into the future. I've used it to write a couple of Powershell applications so far and it's been worth every penny I paid already. After years of scripting in Windows shell, Perl, and some brief work with VBScript, Powershell is the way to go and this is the guide you need for it.



5. I am reading many books about software development. This one is by far the best computer book that I've ever read. It starts of with the basic building blocks of powershell and ends with the Great finale of putting it all together. Wow, wow and wow. It's a feast.
   
   By the way, I love Powershell.

5 comments about MySQL Cookbook.

1. While I'm very familiar with working with relational databases, my MySQL skills are weak. This book was exactly what I needed while building a new web application that uses MySQL. For every question I had, I found the answer in this book. Highly recommended.



2. This book is useful for anyone looking to find examples of MySQL 4 usage in multiple languages such as PHP, Perl, Java, and Python. It covers many areas that are used in real world applications and is great as a reference material. This book is structured in the Problem/Solution layout of the Oreilly cookbook series.



3. As indicated, this book is true to its title. It is a cookbook, by which I mean it contains a great number of (generally useful) recipes of varying complexity, but lacks detail and analysis that a more focused text would have.
   
   Mr. DuBois and O'Reilly publishing are clearly targeting a wide audience: the recipes range from frighteningly simple (e.g. 3.1, Specifying Which Columns to Select) to fairly sophisticated (e.g. 12.14, Performing a Join Between Tables in Different Databases). The recipes are typically clearly written, with ample supporting code examples and few typographical errors.
   
   I must also note that Mr. DuBois nicely avoids a pitfall many authors (the competence of whom I have to question) in this genre encounter: failure to weave security considerations into the text. While other books often mention security as an afterthought, or worse include code examples featuring disasters like non-escaped strings (hello, SQL injection!), DuBois explicitly points out the need to sanitize input and writes code examples that demonstrate the use of prepared statements in best-practices.
   
   Unfortunately, in other areas he is less thorough. For example, only passing mention is made of the (possible) dependence of FULLTEXT indexes on choice of storage engine. There is an entire chapter on handling duplicate rows, but the oft-needed (and non-obvious) process for removing pseudo-duplicate rows differing only by a primary key field is not directly addressed. Stored procedures, triggers, and other new additions to MySQL are among the least-well understood but most powerful features of the database engine, yet astonishingly little space is spent on them. (I could understand not discussing them in depth as there are other books available, but length did not seem to be a concern anywhere else in this book.)
   
   In summary, the book is an excellent resource for novices and experts alike - but only as a starting point. To return to the cooking analogy, the book at times feels like it is loaded down with recipes on how to add sugar to flour, but omits recipes on how to ice the cake.



4. This book is
   -a great resource for those looking to implement various mysql functions
   -a great resource for database programmers
   -a trove of information on powerful query and sort techniques
   
   Finding information about the topic you're looking for is a breeze in this book - the chapters are well-organized, and this book has anwered all questions I've posed to it....
   
   The cookbook is a powerful tool to those who know some mysql, and some dB design. I recommend that you use another book to learn basic mysql (or just an online tutorial), and another to learn database design (Navathe).



5. At 900+ pages this book addresses a lot of common SQL tasks. And that's what a good cookbook should do. Not only does it present the SQL queries in the MySQL dialect, it also covers how to pump those queries through Pearl, Ruby, PHP, Python, and Java APIs.
   As an added bonus you can actually use this book to learn SQL. I thought the chapter on JOINS was especially well written.

5 comments about The 2007 Microsoft Office System Step by Step.

1. Since VISTA is new, it sometimes hard for a IT professional to use it, particularly the new feature. (I spent 22 years in IT.) This new book is excellent, fairly easy to use.



2. I have been an MS Office user for more than a decade. I have been using Office XP or 2003 on my systems but needed to add a new PC to my office and it came with 2007. While I do not need instruction on the basics of using Office, there are some new things about this version that are unique and it would be nice to know what the critical changes are, other than the graphics design and where they hid the buttons! And the 'manual' that comes with the MS software is, politely, a joke.
   
   So I bought this book because my business runs a number of things on Excel that are critical and I upgraded the other PC to 2007 for consistency. Primarily I needed to understand what be gained or lost from critical files in converting them to the new Excel format.
   
   For example, if you are working on an existing Excel file in 'compatibility mode' and hit 'save', you may well be presented with a dialog box that says that some formatting may be lost if you do not save in the Excel 2007 mode. It will nicely even tell you how many instances of formatting loss you will have and how 'important' those losses may or may not be. What it will NOT tell you is what the formatting losses are!
   
   How about the 'Save As' command? You have the option of Saving as Excel Workbook, Excel Macro-enabled Workbook, Excel Binary Workbook and Excel 99-2003 workbook. Each option has a brief description but is not at all clear on when and why one format should be used over the other. Even using the Help files is of no Help.
   
   Enter this book. Certainly a book sanctioned by MS would give me some good clues about what I gain or lose by using the compatibility format or certainly the binary format. Nope. The book offers NOTHING on what would seem to be a fairly basic bit of information - why use any given format and what is gained or lost when using one vs. another.
   
   Thankfully I know how to use most of the functions that I need anyway, even if I now have to hunt for them since the menu format has so radically changed. But what I wanted from this book it has failed to deliver in every instance. Other than helping to understand the way the new ribbon bar works and a few other fairly minor issues, this book makes a wonderful paperweight. Maybe if you are a first time user of Office this book can be useful. But if you are converting from an earlier version and have some critical documents that you will be using in an ongoing manner, look elsewhere - this book will be of no help.



3. this was for college, not enough chapters for class but it will be ok according to the teacher.



4. The book came exactly how I expected. Good condition and good price! Timely shipping too!



5. The book was received very quickly. Great packaging, good time frame and easy purchase. I was very pleased and will purchase again from this seller.

5 comments about Learning SQL (Learning).

1. I needed a book to get one started with SQL programming from the basics to professional use of the language. After reading a few books (thanks to our great Public Libraries system), I concluded that this book is the one.
   It has the right size (size is important not to scare people off), makes the right assumptions about the reader, gives lots of examples (cases) and it is, mainly, DB agnostic.
   
   Get it and READ it.



2. I bought this book thinking I could learn SQL as a true novice. This book is not intended for a real beginner, but for developers/programmers that probably already know at least one language. For a real beginner's book see Forta's MYSQL Crash Course or Teach Yourself SQL. This book, Learning SQL, would probably be your next book.



3. Buy instead the excellent book by Ben Forta "SQL in 10 Minutes", which is a bit more simplistic but better.
   
   This book is geared towards an older version of MySQL, ver 4.x. Despite my best efforts, and I have several books on SQL and am not entirely a beginner, I could not entirely translate the MySQL script source code associated with this book to MS SQL Server 2005 SQL.
   
   Also, some of the "foreign keys" in the sample database have confusing names--a minor point but annoying.
   
   Avoid this book, unless you want to use it (as I do) as a training exercise (since I have other SQL books) rather than a book you can learn from.



4. I have been working with some fairly decent SQL from the past 3 years. I wanted to improve my basics and also learn some advanced topics.
   This book is good for real beginners and not somebody who is already into SQL.
   Apart from that, the content and explaining style of the author is good. I would recommed this book for beginners only.
   I wish O'Reilly would tag their books in terms of target readers. like beginner, intermediate, advanced, re-search, etc.
   I agree "learning" does indicate the same, but still.



5. Very well written book. However, I really needed the book to learn Microsoft SQL Server and it is more directed towards MySQL, which I do not use. I was a little disappointed in that fact so if you are in the same predicament, take this into account for your purchase.

4 comments about Core Java, Vol. 2: Advanced Features, 8th Edition.

1. Updated for Java 6, "Core Java Advanced Features" does not disappoint. This is for those of you who have finished volume 1, either this 8th edition or the 7th edition. Quite frankly, I think in the case of Volume 1 you can skate by with the older 7th edition. However, in the case of the eighth edition of Volume 2, there is quite a bit of expanded coverage to the tune of the resulting book being over 1000 pages in length. It follows the same format as past versions of Core Java Advanced Features. The authors start at the beginning of each topic and walk you through increasingly difficult programs and very well done illustrations and screen shots of applications that are really quite helpful. I include the table of contents since it currently is not included in the product description.
   
   1. Streams and Files
   2. XML
   3. Networking
   4. Database Programming
   5. Internationalization
   6. Advanced Swing
   7. Advanced AWT
   8. Javabeans Components
   9. Security
   10. Distributed Objects
   11. Scripting, Compiling, and Annotation Processing
   12. Native Methods
   
   Before you go out and buy expensive books on the topics in any one of these chapters, get this book and read the corresponding chapter. It will make whatever you hear or read from that point forward much clearer.



2. In my review of Professional Java JDK 6 Edition, I said I didn't think one book could cover such a wide variety of topics and expect to do a good job overall. This volume is, I think, an exception that proves the rule.
   
   It is indeed a monster book, easily several months of steady work to get through, and an useful reference afterwards as well. It is well put together, clearly written, methodically presented. I wouldn't put it down if that were possible. The coverage is broad and the examples are interesting. The topics also feel complete, not because they are thorough, but because they leave off right where intermediate-level programmers could work out most details on their own.
   
   I read the first and second editions years ago, and I must say this title has become a case study in steady, disciplined, tireless improvement and refinement of the original. It's 990 pages, but I haven't come across a useless sentence yet. The authors haven't just added on. They've refined their examples, improved and replaced others. Most importantly, they've realized a format that puts boilerplate and API tables to the side, allowing the reader to focus on the concept at hand. Complete code listings are in the text, presented in a way that makes it easy to gloss them in favor of the soft copy available by download.
   
   If you need lots and lots of code work on different topics to burn Java into your fingertips -- and there really is no other way to do it -- this book is an excellent choice.



3. The Core Java (vol 1 and 2) are simply superb books. If you are a developer looking for thorough books on this subject, look no further.



4. Like many reviewers I find the the Core Java series to be very valuable. However, be forewarned that the kindle edition is not a good representation of the book. The figures are completely useless either because they have not taken the time to convert them properly or because the kindle technology is simply incapable of displaying non-text content properly. I wish I had known this before I paid for the kindle edition of this book.

5 comments about The Art of Agile Development.

1. After reaching 100 pages I felt really disappointed. I was looking something more similar to "Beautiful code" but about management. I have found a book without facts and measures but "tips". I think that we [developers, project managers and other animals] should try to move our profession towards a scientific discipline (i.e. hypothesis-measure pairs).
   
   I was looking for something either like "Mythical man-month"/"Peopleware" or the IEEE articles "voice of evidence". I didn't found any of those.
   
   I do not need any tips but real evidence about what development strategies are good/bad and in which conditions. Real data please.



2. This book is very well written and gives a great description of many different types of Agile practices. Although the book centers around XP, I think many of the techniques and practices could be brought over to any of the different Agile disciplines. The book also goes into the all important steps of selling agile practices to those with the money: managers, directors, stake holders, and the customers. This is a very important step! The book is also nice in that it doesn't necessarily have to be read in chapter order. If you need some help on something, it's easy to pick up the details by just going straight to that section - no need to read everything before it to get caught up. All the information in the book can be applied directly. Many of the concerns related to starting up Agile development in a shop are covered very well.



3. In my opinion, this is the best book for someone starting to implement XP. Before this book, other two books on XP practice were "XP applied" and "XP installed".
   Book by James Shore and Shane Warden provides more broad coverage, then previous books, and contains a lot of good advice, what to do, what not do, and how to do what should be done, while going to the path of Agility.
   
   Presentation is based on the XP, but book also shows a more wide perspective, and contains comparison with SCRUM
   
   What I really like in the book
   - Pragmatic approach to XP - In this book, you will not see approach XP as a holy grail - do it either this way, or you are wrong. Instead, authors expand the original definition of the XP from XP Explained by the practices, which they found to work well in real world
   - Its practical focus - It contains a lot of the practical tips (for example, how to implement continuous integration successfully, how to do test-driven development, what is the real meaning of the user stories etc..)
   - Balanced presentation - for each practice there is Q&A section, contraindications and alternative practices.
   - Live style - book is written in clear and engaging language
   
   Quality of book is very high, and I would recommend it to my friends as a best book to read on working in agile/XP style



4. I have about a dozen books on Agile and Lean development and this rapidly became my favorite.
   
   Why: It's advice at the level I can use. Clear solid explanation and methods to understand what to do, what not to do, and most important, why.
   
   It's just incredibly easy to read and use.
   
   I've already bought 2 more copies to share with friends!



5. This book has three parts in it - introduction to agility, guide to extreme programming and afterthoughts. You may want to read this book if you want to set up XP in your team or participate in it. It is mostly beneficial for the developers or project managers to read it.
   
   The first part (Getting Started) is about 40 pages long and just puts you on the right track by discussing what agility means and introducing you to extreme programming. Here is where the authors explain how to determine whether XP is right in your case, what prerequisites are needed and what steps need to be taken to start.
   
   The second part (Practicing XP) takes most of the book, some 300 pages and contains detailed guide to extreme programming. This is where all the XP practices are explained one by one. Each is given a big chapter - Thinking, Collaborating, Releasing, Planning and Developing. Inside each chapter, there is a detailed explanation of the relevant practices.
   
   The last part (Mastering Agility) is again on the smaller side, it takes 40 pages and contains assorted advices along the "rules are there to be broken" lines. Afterthoughts to help you improve XP once you think you have mastered it.
   
   It is therefore safe to say that the book is essentially a guide to XP, and a good one too. The writing style is excellent - information is organized in half a page long self-contained chunks, each chunk covers some concept or answers some question. Because of this, it is really easy to follow the material.
   
   Even better, each chapter is closed with mandatory sections Questions, Results, Contraindications, Alternatives. Questions are indeed short Q&A and the questions were real-life, more often than not I have found mine answered. Results explain what exactly comes out of the discussed practice. Contraindications explain what obstacles there could appear. Alternatives explain what to do whenever you cannot use the discussed practice. Very realistic and informative.
   
   There were a few imaginary tales from the field. You know, the ones that go like
   - "We use XP here", said Alice.
   - "Wow !", said Bob.
   I don't generally like such stories, they make me feel stupid and therefore in my opinion the book (just like any other) could have got without them better. But this is just me.
   
   An extremely practical guide to extreme programming.