No comments about Herb Schildt's C++ Programming Cookbook.

5 comments about Introduction to Game Development (Game Development Series).

1. Steve Rabin edits Introduction To Game Development a weighty text based on the curriculum guidelines of the IGDA and the first to examine all aspects of the theory and applications of game development and design. It lends to use either as the classroom text or as supplemental college-level reading: a comprehensive overview accompanied by a detailed CD-ROM holding all animations, documents and demos referenced in the text makes for a very detailed presentation packed with tutorials and source code, while almost thirty leading industry game developers and programmers contribute technical chapters. A highly recommended pick, indeed.



2. I am a Instructor who adopted this book for a College Course, Intro to Game Design. This book is well organized and goes over numerous major concepts that apply to all interested people in the game field. The only complaint is there is almost no pictures, so that makes the text extremely heavy being 945 pages.



3. This is a good book introducing game programming. It is massive, trying to cover almost every essential aspect of game programming. This book would be a great supplemental text, along with another code specific book, for a two-semester game programming class. If you are a newbie looking for a quick way to learn basic game programming techniques on your own, this book is probaly not for you. (Not that there is truly a quick way.) It is a long read with little code. Let me make it clear this is a good book worth reading: it is just not the quick and dirty introduction that I was looking for. I suggest a step-by-step type book that offers a working game at the end, along with this book.



4. The book only offers some insight into a realistic game production pipeline; it tries to cover subjects from "Fun" theory to BASIC to small Physics equations to Artistry.
   
   As an introductory book it is -ok- in these respects; however, I just suppose I found myself disagreeing with alot of the subject matter that is presented. Especially when it came to the design section, they try to put in the "waterfall" flow of design into game design which just seems too counter productive to be a realistic methodology for developing a game. Especially if you're only an 'entry' level designer.



5. This is a very useful book with respect to tying the elements of a game together as well as giving a broad outline of game program flow. It highlights necessary business considerations toward completing the final product.
   
   Sadly, as a programming book, it falls short of the mark with respect to teaching any programming code. It aludes to examples on the included CD but does not explain concepts covered in the code.
   
   This book is useful to a person who already has a strong programming background who is looking for ways to tie things up and market their final product. For a person who is looking for a tutorial for programming games, I would look somewhere else.

3 comments about Introduction to Computing and Programming in Python, A Multimedia Approach.

1. Guzdial presents concepts in simple form that is easy for beginners to understand. Actually entertaining to read. Worth every penny!



2. This book achieves both of the things you would want a Python as a first language book to do - it engages the beginner with things they might actually want to do, but doesn't fail to introduce the deeper concepts that are needed to come to appreciate the beauty and elegance of Python.
   
   Focusing on computing applications in the arts, this book uses a clever approach to enable the beginner to do really interesting stuff, very quickly. There are things in there that would be of interest to any photographer, not just a software beginner.
   
   Yes, Photoshop is faster and easier, but it hasn't got this level of control! If you ever wanted to write your own Photoshop plugins, this book might be of interest just as an alternative way to get to design your own effects.
   
   The end of the book gets carried away, trying to pack too much in. It tries to explain OOP and Swing, HTML, Javascript and SQL. I think this is too much to get into one book, and if you are working through the text yourself without any mentors you should probably not give yourself too much grief if you don't get all the way through it.
   
   Admittedly, it is also pretty darned expensive.
   
   Otherwise great stuff! This book fills a gaping hole in the Python literature. If you are an intelligent beginner, it is a great place to get started in getting real control over your computer!



3. Guzdial teaches Python from the angle that you want to use it to easily manipulate various types of multimedia files. The files might contain images, sounds, video or even just plain text. This gives some of you extra motivation to learn the material.
   
   Along the way, you can learn how images are encoded in JPG, and how colours are represented, either in RGB or HSB. There is a fair amount of image analysis and modifications that can be easily done in Python. This does not approach the sophistication of what Photoshop provides. But being able to do a lot yourself, instead of invoking canned Photoshop routines, might appeal to you.
   
   Audio manipulation is also covered, though perhaps not as extensively. There are more specialised audio tools available elsewhere, especially for music synthesis.
   
   The discussion of movies is very weak. Due to the complexity of what is required. Here I suggest you turn to what Apple and others offer.

5 comments about Macromedia Flash MX ActionScript for Fun and Games.

1. The examples in the book are not updated and show an older method of writing action script. While it still works, it's not the best way to learn the current methods.



2. The five stars are only for the price and quality of transaction for the distributor. The book, however, deserves 3 max. If you want to know how to create these specific games, then look no further. If you want to learn the theory behind the games so you can easily go on to create your own, buy another book. This is a good tool if you are interested in Rosenzweig's style of programming, but only that. If you wish to expand your knowledge of ActionScript on a more modular and appliable level, I would suggest Flash MX 2004 Savvy or an ActionScript Bible (for the more advanced topics).



3. This book is not very well suited for beginner actionscript programmers.The author gives two or three brush off chapters on actionscript.Then bombardes you with math.random()* this that and the other.And starts using object type programming with little explanation of whats going on behind the code.He does comment the lines but the comments faintly explain what he is doing.I would have given this book 2 stars,but because you can take these games change them around graphics,little script or whatever and "make them your own" I am giving it 3 stars.I've owned this book for over a year and after reading other books it's making more sense what he's doing now.But for someone with little experience, be prepared to get lost very quickly.



4. If you have even a little background in Actionscript or programming in general, you will find this book worthwhile. The author gives a few beginner's tips, but for the most part this is for the intermediate user looking to take the next step into Flash gaming. There are a variety of games covered and each game is included on the companion CD. The CD is probably the biggest selling point when compared to other Actionscript books as it's a huge help to see what the author is talking about on screen.



5. Even though this book was written for Actionscript 1.0, it still has plenty of life left in it. A reasonably capable Flash designer should be able to convert the script to AS 2, and probably even convert it to AS 3. If you're already a guru you may not find it as useful, but intermediate level Flashers should find plenty of inspiration. The game theory is light - just the basics - but I was more interested in the script, which it is full of. Well worth the money.

1 comments about Alice in Action: Computing Through Animation.

1. I am an attorney/geek that has toyed on and off with various programming languages for a number of years. However, there were always certain concepts that eluded me. Prof Adams book, combined with the free software generously provided by Carnegie Mellon (just google Alice and Programming to download), really "opened the window" for me!
   
   The combination of copying and pasting code (thus eliminating typo errors)and then "seeing" the results of ones efforts via an animated graphic, is a really good idea! The overarching metaphor is that object oriented programming is similar to producing a modern movie, you've got to work through the book to really get it, but imho it works! And usually drives home the all important underlying programming concept/s. It keeps one engaged! The graphics (though apparently designed for middle school students work well), and are not overly "cheesey" when viewed by adult eyes (if you have a bit of imagination (-:
   
   Prof Adams prose is relaxed, and fun (which helps when learning). The book is very well organized beginning with object oriented program design, moving through functions, methods, properties, etc, and ending with an appendix chapter on Recursion. Copyright is 2007, so this book is very relevant.
   
   There are other books out there written to be used with this program, but I'm glad I found this one, and highly recommend it to anyone interested in really "getting" the all important elementary concepts of OOP (object oriented programming).

5 comments about Crystal Reports .NET Programming.

1. This is my first and the only Crystal Reports book. I bought this coz this is the first time I am working on a VB.NET project and have to build reports for it.
   
   Pos.
   It outlines well about Crystal Report structure and what it can do in a clear and simple way. As a new comer, I can catch up fairly easy by reading this books.
   
   The size of this book is v. handy and good for reading on the road.
   
   Cons:
   At the very beginning, I have just want to create a report, a single form which is a field service report for my company engineers. I need to display customer information as well as some description on the it. I think it is pretty simple. But I think I just can't find such a simple example on this book. Since the project schedule is tight and Crystal has so much options that I really need some good example to do my job. By I can't find one here. All reports in the books are concerntrated on multiple records reports only. And finally I have to do it on my own, though this book give me a clear direction what I should do with those ado.net dataset.



2. If you need to know what's going on under the hood of Crystal reports, this book is a must have.
   
   I had a requirement that a report be able to draw data through a stored procedure from 1 of 4 versions of a SQL Server 2000 Databases determined at runtime. Without this book I would have been forced to use the Push method.
   
   Thanks to this book I was able to write the code to dynamically modify the login information, set the parameters, redirect the data source, and other things inside the ReportDoc object and other objects. I would have never found the UML diagrams and code I needed to track down what to change.
   
   There is nowhere on the Net that had what I needed to know about Crystal Reports, this book does.



3. If you want to create professional looking reports using Crystal Reports, this is the book to read. It is easy to read, and examples are excellent for all programmers.
   I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in using Crystal Reports to generate professional looking reports in a short period of time.



4. Like many other people I purchased Visual Studio 2005 and tried to use the bundled version of Crystal Reports but found the supplied and online documentation to be inadequate. I bought this book because the description references the bundled version of Crystal Reports and also that it covered both the declarative and programatic approaches to developing reports.
   
   Having read much of the book I find that all the examples and screen shots are from the stand-alone version of Crystal Reports with no attempt to accomodate those readers using the bundled version. In the majority of explanations I am forced to explore the bundled interface trying to find the feature the book is explaining. Sometimes I was unable to find a feature leaving me to wonder if the feature was excluded from the bundled version or if I simply didn't look hard enough.
   
   Some examples simply don't work. The explanation on changing the connection info programaticaly doesn't work with the bundled version - it still reads from the original connection. I don't know if this is because the example is bad or it simply doesn't work with the bundled version.
   
   In addition to the versioning confusion (created by Business Objects admittedly, but not resolved by this book) there are numerous gross grammatical errors in the book. Someone needs to slap the editor awake because that's his/her job and they didn't do it. I'll give you a couple of the most egregious errors.
   
   'The layout tab effects[sic] your interaction with the report designer.'
   'This insures[sic] that no matter how short your line is,...'
   
   And yes, I don't have a professional editor either so don't start harping on about spelling or grammatical errors in this review :-)
   
   Now that I read the acknowledgements I see Brian didn't employ a professional editor; two of his friends edited some of the chapters. It shows.
   
   I decided to upgrade to the developer edition of Crystal Reports to gain access to some features I need so perhaps one of my major critisisms of the book will go away and the examples will actually match what I see. But if you think this book will help you learn the bundled version of Crystal Reports you will see a limited return on your investment.
   
   [...]



5. The book is outstanding. packed full of real time, practical info. Brian's online forum is the best.
   
   The problem is crystal reports itself. It repeatedly crashes my VS2005. Business Objects is selling an enterprise server product which delivers CR reports thru the browser. My guess is BO wants to discourage users from using asp.net to access their reports.
   
   As someone using CR for the last 6 weeks to design reports, I would much prefer to ditch the product and try other Windows reporting alternatives. It is totally tedious when working with reports with a lot of columns and total breaks. snap to grid does not always work. Have not been able to figure out how to use one report as a template for another ( ex. the dollar version of a report is a lot like the unit version. problem is I have to code each from scratch. With 12 monthly columns and 5 total breaks, this is hours of needless work. )
   
   BO tech support is brutal. Basically you have to pay $2500 per year for phone support. Otherwise you will waste too much time figuring out how to do what you want with the product. Then for the enterprise version, for the same reason, you will have to pay for another tech support contract.

5 comments about Programming Embedded Systems in C and C ++.

1. This book is geared towards people who intend to venture into the field of embedded systems and need an overview on the basics. These include the scope of development and most importantly, things that the developer should pay attention to (In the embedded system field, the developer has to pay close attention to the underlying hardware's characteristics such as registers, interrupts and memory address locations, in Java application development on the other hand, the underlying hardware and to some extent the OS is considered an afterthought).
   
   Though the examples are targeted to the Arcom board, the author makes a good effort to extract general principles applicable to any other hardware type. A passing knowledge of C and C++ is required though to understand the code.
   
   Of course, experienced embedded systems programmers would find the text a rehash of what they know however for those new to the field, this serves as a very good foundation.



2. "But keep in mind, it is extremely superficial. In other words, it's a great introduction for people who have no idea whatsoever what embedded development involves." This is a quote from a reviewer that gave it 5 stars. I agree with this reviewer comments but don't buy a book you will outgrow before you finish reading it! For now, I still recommend the David E. Simon book.



3. I am curious for the meaning of "advanced users" and what they would enjoy on a "advanced book" and why they despise this book for its basic content, And perhaps, they are after a title like "do my work". I guess much of the material here is very important to embedded developers, being experienced or not. For ex, start up code, the memory initializations and the excellent introduction to a RTOS. I am an Electrical Engineer, always writting embedded application code ( mostly dealing with API calls when it comes to low level ) and I was looking for clarification of several issues and the book did it well. Have a manual for your processor, your compiler and it will be all that you will need. Tips for embedded applications might be easily found on application notes ( be it ARM based processors or AVRs or Freescales ). This book is about writting the software not about the applications them selves.



4. In agreement with an earlier reviewer who also gave this book 1-star rating, it took me about 10 minutes of going through this relatively thin book to realize that its contents was not substantive (at all). Too much hand-waving, and not nearly enough meat. And there's barely any C or C++ code in the book.



5. I'm new to embedded system programming so I bought this book. I was disappointed because I didn't get much from this book. Buy something else.

5 comments about AI Game Programming Wisdom (with CD-ROM) (Game Development Series).

1. "Artificial Intelligence" means different things to different people. One useful application is the control of nonplayer characters (NPC) in video games. This is the first book to address this field. Like any collection of papers, it is uneven and does not systematically cover the subject. It should be read in conjunction with a traditional AI text, such as Murphy "Introduction to AI Robotics", Russell and Norvig "Artificial Intelligence: a Modern Approach", Tom Mitchell "Machine Learning" or perhaps Bruce Blumberg's forthcoming "Synthetic Characters".

   I teach AI at DigiPen Institute of Technology and made this one of the required books. It is good in showing which techniques are most useful in games and what you need to consider when designing your AI. Some papers are overly general and some are too specific. That's probably unavoidable, but game programmers can pick and choose the most appropriate ideas. Unfortunately, some of the better introductory articles on A*, finite state machines, flocking and fuzzy logic are not in this book but in "Game Programming Gems".

   Once you understand the basics of AI, this book can save some major headaches by helping with the selection of an appropriate architecture. The CD has source code to help you get off to a good start. Reading the appropriate articles will let you anticipate problems before they happen and design around them. Professional game programmers will likely find at least one technique that pays back the cost of the book.




2. Published by the same folks who brought you Game Programming Gems (and edited by one of the more prolific AI authors in that series), AI Game Programming Wisdom provides a wealth of real knowledge by actual game programming professionals, not professional authors. As a game programming professional, the number of game programming books that sit on my shelf is fairly small. Most have nothing interesting or meaningful to offer beyond rudimentary descriptions and concepts.

   AI Wisdom is definitely a cut above the rest. The topic selection is intelligent and relevant, and the articles are all of a consistent quality and polish. I've already referenced articles several times when writing production code, and several co-workers have borrowed it when they had a particularly tricky problem to solve. This is simply a must-have resource for any professional AI programmer, period. Or, if you're an amateur or hobbyist looking to see the tricks and techniques professionals use, then this is a book you absolutely can't afford to miss.




3. Being in the game development business, I am always on the lookout for new and different tricks, techniques and strategies. When most programmers go to the lectures, panels and roundtables at the Game Developers Conference, we are looking to pick up this same sort of material... we share ideas and approaches - but rarely get the chance to get down to the code details to make it easy for us to implement those ideas into our own work. This book makes that possible.

   Along the lines of the other "Gems" series of books, this collection is filled with ACTUAL techniques and code chunks that are used by some of the top professionals in the industry. Just flipping through the list of the contributors to the book is like going around the room at one of the AI roundtables at the GDC... in fact, Steve Woodcock and Neil Kirby are 2 of the "3 AI guys" that RUN those roundtables! (The 3rd being Eric Dybsand who has contributed to the "Gems" series but not this title.)

   Many books on game development are informative. This one is actually USEFULL. I have personally adopted Steve Rabin's source code from the section "Implementing a State Machine Language" into my own game and it has saved me many hours of development and improved the readability and understandability of my code for the rest of the team. Just that section alone has netted at least a 1000:1 return on the cost of this book. Other sections have given me a different approach on how to handle the economic strategy layer that I could have come upon myself... but was able to implement a lot quicker than if I had done it myself. It was definately worth the price.

   Are any of these sections worth the purchase price for YOU? I suppose that depends on how much you value you your time. Once you equate the cost of the book to the man hours you save, it's a no brainer!




4. This is the best book in my library.
   Write by professionals, with usefull techniques and well explained details of almost every cool aspects of AI in the game programming world.



5. It's hard to find good information about game programming and design. The trouble is that people working in the industry have an incentive to keep their techniques secret -- they don't want their competitors to learn them. The people who aren't in the industry can write about games but don't have the experience to back it up.

   Game AI Programming Wisdom gives us wisdom from people who have worked on real games. Each section is a short explanation of a particular problem (like pathfinding, tactical reasoning, or pattern recognition). Since they're short and independent, you can pick the section that applies to the problem you're trying to solve and read that without having to read everything in order. However, each section is written by a different person, so if you try to read the book straight through you will be distracted by the change in writing styles and level of detail.

   I'm quite glad to see this book. It's actually the first game programming/design book that I purchased. (I'm quite picky when it comes to books. I'm sure Amazon doesn't like that.) Most of the game books I see go into low level programming details. This book teaches you the principles and techniques that will be useful for more than the specific problems they cover.

5 comments about The Build Master: Microsoft's Software Configuration Management Best Practices (The Addison-Wesley Microsoft Technology Series).

1. Vincent works for Microsoft and has consequently had unique access their development organization. This books reflects this fact with frequent stories and asides - and for which alone its purchase is recommended. There is some good advice and tips in here, however I don't particularly like the latter chapters as they merely descend into an advert for the build capabilities in the (at the time forthcoming) Microsoft Team System.



2. This book does a great job of presenting the overall issues of builds, and SCM (software configuration management) as a whole. The way Maraia presents real Microsoft situations and short anecdotes with bold quotes of different Microsoft personnel make the book a fun and interesting read. As far creating the culture of enforcing SCM policies, he does a very good job at selling the concept and gives good examples why. I would even recommend getting the book just for sharing excerpts with managers and fellow developers who are otherwise resistant to culture change that suppports good SCM practices.
   
   The only downside for me was that Maraia's position at Microsoft seems to be dedicated to SCM and the book gives examples of very large projects with lots of resources. For example, it was difficult for me to get anything out of his recommendations for the "build team" or the "build lab" because in most of my situations there's simply not enough resources dedicated to this process as much as we would like it to be. Still, if the book drives one point home it's that the process shoudn't be overlooked as trivial and the process itself can and maybe should redefine the way development is done in your team.



3. The fact that the author has been working for Microsoft and that he managed to get a foreword written by Jeffrey Richter do a good marketing job, but the book is disappointing.
   
   No issue is treated in detail, and instead too many obvious remarks are provided (such as "Test the product fully before shipping..." or "No hardware is allowed to enter or leave the build lab without a team member's okay").
   
   The only valuable idea is the so called Virtual Build Lab, which is nothing more than a separate codeline for a sub-project, which is merged to the real mainline only when it is stable enough. This idea comes naturally in big sized projects.
   
   Berczuk book on Software Configuration Management is by far a much better choice.



4. This is a sorely needed book for anyone in the process of managing or introducing an automated build process into a development team. There is nothing ground-breaking here for experienced managers, however, it's a great reference book and covers all the major areas of concern regarding the build process. I've also found it to be a very useful resource to help build consensus in the team regarding the why the need for a build process and how to define it. This neatly fills a void in the book market.



5. While many people bash Microsoft for what they consider the dubious quality of their software products, there is no question that they must have an efficient configuration management system. With so many designers, developers and testers working on any single product, it would be very easy for any software development project to descend into chaos. Since Microsoft does manage to push new products out the door on a regular basis, they have to do a great deal right in the area of configuration management.
   This book describes the Microsoft experience and strategies they use in managing their product build, testing, customer support and service pack cycles. There is also a chapter on some ways to change the corporate culture and the final chapter describes future build tools that will be released by Microsoft.
   A great deal of the Microsoft experience is certainly expected, believable and worthy of emulating. Whatever the size of your development teams, the best way to learn efficient and effective ways of configuration management is to study what the biggest teams do. If they can do it efficiently then by copying them, you can get that same efficiency and perhaps squeeze it a little tighter due to your reduced size.

4 comments about Function Point Analysis: Measurement Practices for Successful Software Projects (Addison-Wesley Information Technology Series) (Addison-Wesley Information Technology Series).

1. This is an authoritative book by two authors who have a published a large number of articles on the subject.

   Function point analysis is, in both my experience and opinion, one of the most accurate estimating tools a software engineer has at his or her disposal. I have previously used the constructive cost model (COCOMO) through version 2, Raleigh curves, and hybrids such as Software Estimation Analysis Tool, which computes both COCOMO and function point statistics. Granted, not all of these estimating models are equal - the Raleigh curve approach has a focus on quality and manpower loading that the others lack. But each (and many I have not cited) are estimating tools for software development.

   My experience shows function point analysis to be the most accurate - if done correctly. Therein lies the crux of the matter. Function point analysis, in order to yield accurate estimates of effort, needs to be performed by certified counters and the resulting data needs to be properly interpreted. That's where this book comes in.

   It starts with an overview that serves as an understandable introduction for someone who is new to software estimation, yet is interesting enough to hold the attention of more experienced professionals. The advice on preparing for IFPUG (International Function Point User Group) certification is a highlight and underscores the fact that FP counting should only be performed by certified counters.

   The chapters on software measurement and executive introduction to function points are really extensions of the introduction. I found both the software measurement model in this chapter, and how to establish a world class measurement program interesting and informative.

   This segues into three chapters that cover measuring and using function points, and industry benchmarks. Some highlights are the way the authors tie function points to key performance indicators such as productivity, quality, financial and maintenance. I also liked the way that the authors stratify the users of function point data into project managers, IT managers and cross-organizational stakeholders. I was particularly interested in the last group because I am often involved in both service and application delivery projects. The use of function points as a basis for service level metrics and outsourcing is an intriguing idea that I will explore further.

   When you arrive at chapter 6 the foundation built in the first five chapters prepare you for a detailed, methodical approach to performing function point analysis. This is straightforward and appears to be completely consistent with IFPUG. All you need to know about function point analysis is, in my opinion, provided in the remainder of the book. The material is augmented by case studies, and also addresses contemporary issues such as applying function point analysis to object-oriented, web, client/server and data warehouse applications. While each of these topics are not given in-depth treatment the fact that they are addressed at all is impressive. The authors end the book with advice on preparing for the certified function point specialist exam, and gives sample exam questions. They also provide sample worksheets in the appendices.

   This book merits a solid five stars because it is well written, up-to-date and follows IFPUG recommendations. If you are pursuing CFP certification this book will simplify your life. If you want to learn about an effective software estimating technique this book is a great starting point. To be completely fair, if you are new to software estimation you should also read Estimating Software Costs (Caspers Jones), which gives a complete and unbiased survey of all of the major (and some obscure) software estimating approaches.




2. This is a really useful book. It's a must if you need to look deep into the Function Point Analysis and get a clear understanding of what this is all about. As a professional and local instructor in Function Point Analysis I've got a lot of inspiration from this book for my course. I believe that beginners would gain even more from this book, however. It covers all topics from the current IFPUG Function Point Counting Practices Manual (release 4.1). It guides you all the way through the whole process and presents a lot of examples and additional explanations on the way.

   Beside the operational guidelines this book also describe the Function Point Analysis in the perspective of related topics as e.g. estimation and benchmarking. Those topics are covered very thoroughly as well and the book provides a good insight in how Function Points can be used as a management tool.

   In the last chapters "hot issues" as applying Function Points to GUI applications and OO-system development are discussed. Some very useful guidelines are presented here, indeed. But it's my personal experience that mapping OO components to the Function Point concept might be quite more challenging that the book indicates.




3. Even though dated, this is still the best book on Function Points available in the English language. It complies with the 4.1 version of the International Function Point Users Group (IFPUG) standard, while the current version is 4.2. Nevertheless, the book contains many interesting hints and examples not available in the standard. You may also want to buy the IFPUG Counting Practices Manual - the official reference - directly from the International Function Point Users Group.



4. Published in 2001, this is a very detailed book on Function Points that follows the guidelines in the 4.1 version of the International Function Point Users Group (IFPUG) standard. Function Point metrics originated in IBM back in the 1970's and spread slowly out to the rest of the world in the late 70's and early 80's. As with anything originating from IBM, it's a process that's heavy on detail and requires a lot of work to get it right. Over the years, FPA has got more and more technical, to the extent that you really need to get certified in it these days (when I first took an FPA course in the early 80's, it wasn't nearly as comprehensive as it is these days, 20 years on..). The authors of this book between them have published a number of articles on the subject and have more than a few years of experience under their respective belts.
   
   The book kicks off with an overview that provides a useful introduction for those "new" to software estimation, although it's still pretty heavy going and it assumes a process-heavy background. If you've worked for a large organization with a comprehensive PMBOK-like methodology, it'll all make sense. If not, you're going to have a headache by the time you finish the first chapter. . There's some good advice on preparing for IFPUG (International Function Point User Group) certification and the authors emphasize the fact that FP counting should only be performed by certified counters. IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO REITERATE - FP counting should only be performed by certified counters!!!! Keep this in your mind at all times. FPA is "Estimating-Heavy", not estimating-light. It don't come cheap in time or education.
   
   The other reviewers have covered the content in enough detail that it's rather pointless to reiterate - suffice it to say I agree with their comments on the content. So, cutting to the chase, if you're looking at books on Function Point Analysis, you've obviously got a serious interest in estimating, and if so, and if FPA is where you want to go, this book is going to be very useful for you as a reference and as a guide. On the other hand, FPA is, while accurate if applied correctly (the nub of the matter.....), both time and expertise intensive - I can't emphasis the expertise factor enough. You need a sizable project with a budget sufficient to fund the additional overhead to make it worthwhile - for your average development project, this is overkill. If you've got a $50-$100 million plus project within the grasp of our sticky little paws and you can get a certified FPA resource on board, using FPA may very well help you stay within your rather sizable budget. And if your're studying towards your FPA certification, by all means delve into this book - it'll help you no end.
   
   But having been there and done that in my past, don't try this at home kids. This book is a great resource, you'll learn all about FPA from it, but reading the book is a completely different kettle of fish to actually doing it. As another reviewer has pointed out, FPA is accurate IF DONE CORRECTLY. To get accurate estimates, you need certified FP counters, and the data needs to be interpreted correctly. Easier said than done. If you want to use FPA yourself, go study and get yourself certified before you try it for real - otherwise, you may well send your career as an estimator down the tubes.
   
   If you've got to come up with estimates and you've got no real estimating experience, DON'T START HERE. Go look at Steve McConnell's book on "Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art" to get yourself started. You could also look at Caper Jones' "Estimating Software Costs" although it's a little dated and not up to date with Agile estimating practices (my bias shows through.....). (Subsequent update - apparantly -the second edition (2007) of "Estimating Software Costs" by Capers Jones addresses Agile methods...).
   
   On the third hand, I do give this book 5 stars for what it is. Well-written, understandable, effective - and it follows IFPUG guidelines. If you're after CFP certification, this book won't lead you astray (although it is a version or 2 out of date) and it will prove a useful study aid. I've got it on my bookshelf at work and although I now use Agile Estimating Practices a la Ken Schwaber (Agile Project Management with Scrum) and Mike Cohn (Agile Estimating and Planning), I do take a look at this one every now and then just to see what the FPA guidelines are. Mind you, every time I look thru this book and think of what I might have been doing, I bless Ken Schwaber for coming up with Scrum (OK, OK, I like smaller projects and I like the Agile approach.....).