1 comments about Microsoft SQL Server 2005: The Complete Reference.

1. Just a reference. Short explanations. Some critical notes (big plus of this book).
   The only book you need in case you love to look for details out of the BOL.

5 comments about Beginning Algorithms (Wrox Beginning Guides).

1. Neither the front or back cover says this, so I will. The source code examples in this book are all written in Java. I suspect the book is being a little coy about this because the authors want to maximise the potential audience. Fair enough. Granted, the text mentions Java immediately inside, but you have to actually open a physical copy, to see this.
   
   If you are already conversant in Java, that's great, because the book offers an indepth guide to several crucial classes. But what if you program in C++ or C#? In the Standard Template Library for C++ and in the default libraries for C#, you should be able to easily find the equivalent classes to those used in the text. Of course, you will then have to rewrite the examples that use those classes. Straightforward. None of the examples are long. And since this book is fundamentally about computations, and not about making a user interface, the syntax for using the system classes is roughly the same, across these languages. Also, some examples might use the object oriented property of extending a base class. As you can do this in C++ and C#, there is no problem here either. A problem might have arisen if the authors had used C++ with multiple inheritance, because Java and C# forbid this. But since they didn't, it's not an issue. As an OO language, Java is actually pretty minimal.
   
   Another way of looking at the topic of your language is that if you don't use Java, you can potentially use the book to better effect. Because you can't simply copy the Java code, then you have to actually get an accurate understanding of what it is doing, before manually recoding.
   
   The text covers the most common structures and methods for using those structures, that you are likely to need. Lists, stacks, iteration, recursion, queues, sorting, searching, hashing etc. Some of these subjects have immense depth. For example, sorting and searching takes up one volume of Knuth's "Art of Computer Programming". But that is a very advanced text, and ill suited to someone new to the basic algorithms. Harris and Ross give you enough complexity to be challenging and understandable. While perhaps giving some indications as to more intricate underlying issues.
   
   As alluded to above, if you proceed through the text, several important Java classes are used. Vector, List, Hashtable, HashSet and others. You would be well advised to gain fluency in these, as the book shows how they form the basis of much computational work. You also get an appreciation for the beauty of Java, inasmuch as it comes with those classes. While you could certainly write these from scratch, not having to do so is a huge timesaver. And by using the system classes, you are assured of very stable, highly debugged classes.



2. It's pretty easy these days to use a programming language and the high level of abstraction it can offer to avoid understanding certain programming fundamentals like lists, queues, and stacks. It's for sure that I've gotten away with it. But if you're just starting out in programming (or if you're trying to fill in some gaps), you might be interested in Beginning Algorithms by Simon Harris and James Ross. They do a nice job of making a complex subject approachable...
   
   Contents: Getting Started; Iteration and Recursion; Lists; Queues; Stacks; Basic Sorting; Advanced Sorting; Priority Queues; Binary Searching and Insertion; Binary Search Trees; Hashing; Sets; Maps; Ternary Search Trees; B-Trees; String Searching; String Matching; Computational Geometry; Pragmatic Optimization; Further Reading; Resources; Bibliography; Answers to Exercises; Index
   
   Harris and Ross take you through the basic programming algorithms using Java as the base language. Rather than just tell you "use this Java class to do a Hash", they explain the underlying concept and then have you build an implementation of that concept in code. After you've taken the time to write the methods and classes by hand, you'll end up with a pretty complete understanding of that algorithm in a way that just using provided classes can't offer. Another commendable point in this book is that they start off each algorithm coding exercise by building unit tests first. That way, you can be assured that the code you write does everything it's supposed to do, and further tweaks to improve the logic don't lead to the introduction of bugs. Very solid approach...
   
   I will end up keeping this book around for a couple of purposes. First, I'm sure to end up referring to it when I need to understand a certain fundamental like Soundex or searching. I'll get more out of this book and it's focus on practicality than I would out of some academic treatise on the subject. And second, if I have to code something related to one of these algorithms, I'll have some good example code to pull from. Can't ask much more from a book than that...
   
   If this is a weak point in your programming portfolio, getting a copy of this book to study and reference would be a good investment in your career.



3. If you are a self-taught programmer who has never taken a class in data structures and algorithms, or has done so but not really got it, this book could be a good read. It presents in a gentle, very tutorial-like, example-driven fashion the basics of this field, Lists, Sets, Maps, Trees, Hashing, Sorting & Searching and a little material on more unusual topics like String searching and matching and computational geometry. This last part however does not maintain the very good standards of the first part of the book. The treatment is too superficial and vague and little mistakes and confusion starts to creep in. The main body of the book anyways is really well written and clear. As an bonus, the authors use a test driven approach to developing their Java code giving you a chance to appreciate this very useful practice of extreme programmming and agile methodologies. The code itself is crystal clear and shows the principles of good coding and refactoring (other pillars of extreme programming): short reusable functions, few local variables and meaningful names.
   The end result is so good that the "how it works" sections who are meant to explain the code are almost always unnecessary.
   So this book can also be useful in teaching you how to write in a clear and elegant style. Final words, if you are looking for something that will introduce you to mathematical analysis of algorithms and their efficiency look elsewhere as this title contains none of that.



4. The title of the book is 'Beginning Algorithms' and as such should cover the basics. It would be nice if a book on algorithms actually contained detail explanations regarding the particular structure that is going to be discussed or constructed. This book does not do that and hence does an injustice to the beginner or someone wishing to move from some text describing the how-to of programming in a given language to a detailed understanding of fundamental programming paradigms. Moreover, the title should read loosely defined algorithms JUnit tested beyond belief. It is pedagogically unsound to write a beginning book on algorithms whose emphasis is on testing the structures being built and not on accurately defining and motivating the assumed subject matter. For example, a link list or any of it's other incarnations is a structure that every soo-to-be programmer or computer scientist should know of and be able to effortlessly construct. The authors of this book give you a whopping one page description of a doubly linked list with a neat diagram and then go off on their rather annoying tangent of building the JUnit testing for the class or classes they are trying to build. Only after they give you the doce for testing-wasting several pages and minutes of your time-do they begin to construct the linked list. What's even worse than the needless discussion revolving testing (that should come after the object is defined and constructed) is the fact that they do absolutely no justice to the linked list or any other structure for that matter. It's just code with little if any text to motivate of define what hasa been built, why it has been built, where it may apply, how it might be applied or how it relates to, say, some of the fundamental types written as part of the Java core. Hopefully if this book is allowed to be reprinted the author's will do the computer science community and, in particular, its readership justice by never mentioning testing and instead fill those pages with thought provoking ideas that actually pertain to algorithm design. For those of you just starting out in programming and who are looking to move on into data structures and algorithm design and analysis please be warned that this text is not a wise choice and, in fact, this text is not a wise choice for any person above the novel reader interested in applying JUnit testing to fundamental data structures. Just be warned, buy something different and happy programming.



5. While the basic data structure and algorithm content is fine, the "marriage" of test driven development/JUnit and DS&A is completely unnecessary and, to my mind, seriously damages this book. There's nothing wrong with test driven development and there's nothing wrong with JUnit. But to suggest that it's necessary to force the two together (ad nauseum!) for every single structure is just false. Really, after the first one or two test cases the JUnit stuff gets really tired and it should be obvious to the reader how to continue on with it. This is much like introductory OOD texts trying to munge software engineering principles throughout. A better title for this text would be "A Test Drive Approach to Beginning Algorithms with Java and JUnit". There are those who agree with the Beck Test Driven Development, there are those who disagree. But a linked list is a linked list. At this level, the important material consists of the basic data structures, the algorithms which manipulate them, recursion and some sense of when to choose which structure/algorithm. This material, in my opinion, should be concentrated on without the unit testing - leave unit testing to a text covering general programming best practices. A much better choice for an intro to DS&A in Java is Robert Lafore's "Data Structures and Algorithms in Java".

5 comments about Java Servlet Programming (Java Series).

1. I wouldn't say this is an excellent book, but it's not bad. The book covers good fundamentals in its first 8 chapters for those beginning Servlets. The book also covers some useful information on JDBC and Java Server Pages. There's also some additional coverage on Applet-Servlet communication, Internationalization and Tea & WebMacro application frameworks. However some topics like JavaBeans, SSL, Filters, deployment descriptors and XML were too brief and should have been given some depth. Another dissappointment is that all examples are based on API 2.2 but not 2.3!!. The Appendix just touches on new features of API 2.3 with also a separate listing of API 2.3.
   It's been 8 mths since I purchased this book. I'd suggest that starters either wait for the next edition or get something that is based on Servlet API 2.3.



2. I found this book to be semi helpful. It would have been nice if it was more tutorial like. The examples also were not the most straightforward. The book does cover alot though.



3. This book's examples in later chapters may be a bit much for the beginner, but it does a good job of covering thing very well. Good coverage of various protocols, etc.



4. I completely agree with the 5-star positive reviews listed here. I saw a couple of new ones that were not so positive, so I wanted to voice my opinion.
   
   This book is very well written - well structured, with in depth explanations, humor, good code examples. It can be used both as a tutorial and as a reference.
   
   Even though it may be showing its age now in a couple of places (e.g. Tapestry is not mentioned, uses JDK 1.0 and 1.1 for the examples), it is still very good. It paints a complete picture, so one ends up with understanding of the principles and architecture - which is what matters - for the updated APIs there is always JavaDOC.
   
   I don't know how suitable it is for beginners, but for an experienced programmer it is a thoroughly enjoyable read - once I started it I couldn't stop until I finished (I didn't actually type the examples - that isn't necessary for understanding the material) .



5. If you do not understand servlets and program in Java this book is for you. I found it very easy to read and comprehend right off the bat. The examples are excellent and you will get off writing servlets very quickly. It is somewhat shallow in complex examples but then again how complex are servlets. Some best practices and commercial examples could have helped a lot.

5 comments about Crystal Reports XI for Developers.

1. This book is supposed to be for developers. It's supposed to help you learn how to integrate Crystal XI with your application. DO NOT USE THIS BOOK! It is totally wrong when it comes to telling you how to do it.
   Example (pg. 276-277) Explains how to view a report using just a line or two of code. Here's the code: CrystalReportViewer1.ReportSource = "D:\projects\dynselect.rpt"
   It says to add this line in the Form_Load subroutine. Even after making sure the path was correct (mine was C:\Test\dynselect.rpt) it DOES NOT WORK! It comes up with an Invalid Cast Exception. You cannot simply pass the ReportSource property a string. It expects something else. I'm not sure what it expects (it looks like it needs a report object passed to it), but the book certainly doesn't have any clue.
   This is totally inexcusable and renders the book useless for anyone wanting to integrate reports into their application.
   
   It ignores Visual Basic 6 (which may be OK for some folks, but certainly made me upset - I still use VB6). There is supposed to be a web site that gives more help and resources from the book, but that is a joke as well. It has a single page that says that it will be ready by December 2005. It's way past that now and still nothing there (http://www.crystalxibook.com)
   
   I can not imagine how this book got published when it is just plain wrong. I gave it 1 star only because the information about using Crystal XI is OK as long as you don't plan on using it in your application. Since this book is supposedly for Developers, even 1 star may be too many.
   
   If you want to use Crystal XI to just create reports, not actually use them, then this book may help.
   Otherwise, I would skip it and look for something else.
   
   I will be returning this book.



2. Crystal Reports is one of the most ubiquitous software packages for turning raw data into useful information. Whether it is a stand alone package or the reporting portion of another program it seems everyone is either using canned reports or writing custom ones with Crystal Reports at some point. In this book the author takes the reader through the process of creating the various types of reports available with Crystal Reports. Starting with the most basic reports that simply list the results he quickly moves the reader through sorting, totaling, grouping, and multiple other ways of organizing your data. From there he moves the reader through the creation of much more complex reports including consolidated ones with multiple sub-reports. In this book you will find everything you need to learn how to use Crystal Reports to its fullest potential including how to integrate it into your own programs. I wish I had had this book available to me when I was first learning Crystal Reports. Crystal Reports XI for Developers is highly recommended. I had no problem integrating a reporting module into a VB program that pulled data from a dbase database.



3. This book is not titled particularly well. It does present a good amount of detail about how to develop a report within Crystal Reports--but it does not do a very good job of telling you how to embed those reports into other applications, or how to call the reports from other applications. In other words, if it was titled something like 'Crystal Reports Reference' it would be a pretty good book--but it's definitely not going to serve up the kind of hard-hitting developmental details you would expect for a "developer's guide".
   
   If you're looking for a very plain-vanilla introduction to Crystal Reports integration, this is perhaps sufficient. But if you're looking for the nuts-and-bolts of how to actually fully integrate Crystal Reports into your application--this book will dissappoint. I might note, however, that some of the new features of XI are covered in surprisingly good detail.
   
   As a previous reviewer has noted, many of the implementation examples do not work or work only with considerable tweaking, and the number of development environments that is supported in the examples is somewhat limited.



4. This book has been very helpful in getting my reporting skills where they need to be. It has been much more helpful than the Crystal Reports user guide.



5. Return this book if you've bought it. I bought a copy of this book without reading deeply into(my mistake) cause it looked like it would be useful. I am a C# developer and need to generate some Crystal reports for the project. When I got the book and started reading/looking up info, I found something startling. All of the Code Examples in the Book are VB. Now this doesn't sound bad if your a VB person, but it included C# Examples that were actually VB Code. This was amazing, I'd never seen a mess up by an editor like this. I returned this when i saw it and got a different book that actually had C# in it. Worst Book ever....

No comments about CMMI and Six Sigma: Partners in Process Improvement (The SEI Series in Software Engineering).

5 comments about MCSE: Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure Planning and Maintenance Study Guide: Exam 70-293.

1. This book will teach you the basics. iT does not prepare you for the test. I read the whole book cover to cover and understood it completely. The test is nowhere as easy as this books questions. It does not go into depth with scenerios that can be helpful. I recommend you get the microsoft books for this test. If you are currently working with 2003 it will help alot. but do not plan to only use this book unless you luck up and get the perfectly tailored test to what this books covers.



2. The book is an easy read, which is good. You'll have an easy time getting through the questions, but when you go to take the test you'll fail. This book is no where a good match for the exam. I suggest this book for people who want to learn about Win2k3 AD, but if you're getting it to prepare for the test you should think twice. Nothing this book discuss could have prepared me for the test. Bummer.



3. You could definitely tell when they switched authors. There were two chapters when I could tell the author really didn't know the subject and was merely regurgitating information. I stopped midway through those chapters and skipped onto the next chapter. I later got the info I needed for Certificate Services and High Availability Services from Whitepapers and I also discovered the MS Press book on this test. It was much better. Reading the Sybex book I had very little confidence in the author. Reading the MS Press book I had complete confidence in the author.
   
   For example in the Sybex book, when they were describing High Availability Services, I kept seeing a single point of failure. After a while I got disgusted and looked for better sources of information. I printed out the chapter from the MS Press book from Safari and my issue was addressed within a few pages. My point being is that the author of the MS Press book obviously knew how the brain of an IT person works and was able to answer my questions and concerns as they arose while reading. This was not the case in Sybex.
   
   I would say the MS Press author definitely understood the subject and me (as an IT professional) much better.



4. Anyone who is seeking a Microsoft Engineering certification should obtain this book. In fact, the entire Sybex series of books are great.



5. A caveat: I don't care about the test. I was searching through lots of books for some information about creating a Windows server based network and this book really stood out. (I was setting up my first network and was lost trying to figure out some things.)
   
   I know many or most of you only care about the test, but I am writing this to tell others that if you need a good book about infrastructure I think you may want to get this one.

1 comments about Adapting to Web Standards: CSS and Ajax for Big Sites (Voices That Matter).

1. I a big fan of books that simplifies technology and provides useful (not comedic) illustrations. I picked up this book and read it cover to cover within a few hours. It reads well and has few dull moments. Isn't that amazing for a Standards book?! Seriously, I'm astonished with how much funner tech books are these days. I almost view them as novels than 'work manuals.'
   
   Obviously, if you're looking for a dry implementation book this is not the right choice for you. I would say this book is made for those who need a refresher, those who are curious, or the management type. I'm a developer myself, but I'm more of a 'convention over configuration' type. I rate this highly and compare it closely to the excellent "Bulletproof" series.

5 comments about Simply Java Programming: An Application-Driven(TM) Tutorial Approach.

1. As a compulsive computer programming autodidact, I rate *Simply Java* the best computer language book I have ever read. Java is a hard language to learn. Most books get you bogged down in abstract exercises. *Simply Java* gets you writing practical GUI applications almost immediately. It's worth every penny. I'm going to stop writing this review right now and study another chapter.



2. A wonderfully helpful book. Some of the directions don't work, such as copying key files to hard disk, unless you ignore the autoplay features on the disk. A few of the graphics are confusing as well as directions being a little too vauge. In spite of that, there is enough clear, concise information to let a person of average intelligence work their way throuigh the lessons and learn Java, with or without formal instrution.



3. I have been a mainframe developer for 16 years and very resistant to switch to objected oriented programming. Let me tell you something: "Simply Java Programming" has changed my attitude. For the first time, I finished a compuer book from cover to cover and enjoyed every bit of it!!! I've recommended the book to my colleagues and one of them just purchased the same book yesterday.
   
   What I like most about this book is the practical / tutorial approach which got me interested in the JAVA world.



4. This is a text book such as a high school or junior college might use to support a Java class. There are lots of excercises, the programs come quickly. But the book does a poor job of teaching the basic precepts of Java.



5. I absolutely adored this one. The organization was amazing, the book advanced to each new level in tiny baby steps with the option of a full-blown tutorial in which every step is thoroughly explained and illustrated, many exercises, charts, etc. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Visual Basic 2005 How to Program (3rd Edition) (How to Program (Deitel)).

1. Only about a quarter of the way throught this text but I am enjoying its depth and coverage of programming concepts.



2. As a former IT Instructor, I give the thumbs up on this book. Its great, informative and very detailed. It takes a novice programmer to the intermediate level of programming.



3. I have been used this book for my teachings to my students. It is a very good book to teach them the concept of procedural and object-oriented programming. The book is well-organized and impressively, my students understood the OOP very well. TQ.



4. I'm taking a VB 2005 class in college and we are using this book. I am not a programmer, I am a Systems & Network Analyst and I read lots and lots of computer books and I have to say that his book reads horribly. I find myself confused at times and its very fast paced. Also, our instructor assigns us the exercises at the end of the chapters and the exercises are truly hard. The exercises want you to create something that was "supposedly" covered in the chapter. Not that it wasnt covered, its just that it did not go into depth as much as it should to do the exercise. Everytime I have to work an exercise I have to look else where to find a solution or sample code. I would not recommend this book to anyone unless you have taken and Intro VB class or read an Intro VB book.



5. This is the 3rd Deitel book that I've used for school. They are very easy to understand and the assignments in the text are challenging. Deitel has a way of blending humor, real world experience and concepts together to make an interesting read out of what normally is challenging. I'm not much of a book reviewer, but I would recommend this book to someone wishing to get a start with programming in VB.

5 comments about The Unified Modeling Language Reference Manual (2nd Edition) (The Addison-Wesley Object Technology Series).

1. This book is one in a series of three by the three amigos. It is certainly the most authoritative and accurate of all three (the other two being very fuzzy in places). The book consists of the following major sections:

   I: Background (some history) II: UML concepts (static, use case, statechart and other 'views') III: Reference

   This book is pure syntax and can answer most of the questions that you might have about UML syntax. However, this book is not for beginners because it assumes (in my opinion) that you have applied UML to real-life situations. I find the book to be well-written (even if it is fairly dry) and compares favouably with other books in the UML series. There are different ways that you can use this book. First, you can consult it to check of you are using the correct UML syntax in your applications. Second, you can use it to deteremine what you have still to learn in UML (for example, activity diagrams, statecharts). This book should complement the other, more application-specific UML books. For example, it could be seen as a follow-up of Fowler's somewhat outdated UML Primer.

   It would have been a good idea if the authors had included a complete test case showing how all the specific 'views' are documented and how they fit together. UML has about 11 different views and which one to use and when will be a major undertaking if you are embarking on a first project.

   This book will be outdated as soon as the new UML 2.0 specification is ready. Do the authors have plans for a new version of their book "UML Reference 2.0"?




2. This book is too theorectical. Needs to elucidate for readers with examples. Unless you are an UML professor or an abstract UML guru, this book does not help to learn UML. Would help if authors shows UML mapping to say, C++ and Java.



3. I do a lot of UML modelling, and I keep this book by my desk at all times. It has in-depth information, is well-written, and is well-organized.

   The Reference Manual and the Users Guide are generally sold as a pair. Quite frankly, if you have the Reference Manual, then you don't need the Users Guide.

   If you are just learning UML and are already familiar with any formal design methodologies, then you can do just fine with the Reference Manual alone. However, if you are new to graphical modeling in general, you may want to buy "UML for Dummies" to serve as a useful introduction.




4. This isn't something that I would sit down and read just for fun, but it is well written and organized, which makes it easy to use. The bulk of the book is in the dictionary of terms which is organized alphabetically. Each one is described using both a text definition and a notational graphic, and often an example. There is a section on the different types of views at the front of the book.



5. Like all dynamic languages, the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is growing more complex over time. While it is true that for most developers, this means that you will regularly use a smaller percentage of the language, the actual percentage will vary from person to person and from day to day. Therefore, no abridged UML manual could possibly be adequate. Written by the three creators of the UML, this manual is clearly definitive and one that all developers should have at extended arms reach. Designed to cover the changes in the recently released UML 2.0, which were significant, a CD with the full text in Adobe PDF form with hotlinks to the definitions of the key terms is also included.
   The opening chapter is an overview of the UML and most people can skip it. Chapter two is an overview of models, and this one is worth reading. Short, it introduces some of the fundamental terminology and approaches. A walkthrough of UML is done in chapter three, which introduces the various formal views of a project. They are: static, design, use case, state machine, activity, interaction, deployment, and model management. Each of these views is then explained in a short chapter. These chapters should be required reading for users of the book, as they establish much of the notational and definitional background used in the reference section.
   The real value of the book is in the five hundred plus pages of detailed definitions of the key terms and phrases in the UML. Listed in alphabetical order, each entry has the following form:
   
   *) Entry name: the term or phrase.
   *) A brief definition, generally one or two sentences.
   *) The semantics of the term, generally using several paragraphs. This section Includes the structure,
   subordinate items and often an example.
   *) The notation of usage. Options and guidelines for use are often included.
   *) Discussion (occasional), where the author's opinions and/or a background explanation of the term
   are given.
   *) History (where appropriate), the changes in how the term is interpreted from earlier versions of the
   UML.
   
   Quite frankly, I cannot see how it would be possible for any developer to use anything more than a very tiny subset of the UML if they do not have access to this book. All speakers of a language can use that language in informal communication, but when we want to communicate ideas formally and precisely, a dictionary is essential. That is the role that this book will fill, as no human communication is more precise than when we do it with notations that describe software.
   
   Published in the online Journal of Object Technology, reprinted with permission.