5 comments about Numerical Recipes in C++: The Art of Scientific Computing.

1. Have only read over the first four chapters but so far the book seems to be little more than a print out of minimally commented source code with no context as to how/where/why one would apply the code or even explanations of what the code is doing. All code seen so far relies heavily on the included classes so the 'guts' of the recipe is not transparent with in the chapter. Sample user input and program output are not always listed with code but rather at the end of the chapter.
   
   Still may prove to be good reference.



2. Book contains the same numerical procedures as in recipes in C piled up in one class. Using this book is like using C without exploitation of object capacities on C++.
   What I would recommend is to get the vector library Blitz++ and Numerical recipes in C; both are available for free on-line. Using Blitz++ you achieve speed of Fortran 90 and easy exposition of C++.
   And that's what author of this book should have done, write all the procedures based on blitz++.
   
   This book uses C++ only in its title.



3. I returned this book. The licensing is very restrictive. The book comes with an "Immediate License" that allows you to type the routines into your computer and use for personal and noncommercial purposes. Any other use or distribution requires the purchase of an additional license.
   
   Some of the routines (Quicksort, p 336) are not very well coded: a bunch of one letter variable names, loops that only exit on break.



4. Forget about the bad comment about this book. Those guys do not understand scientific computing at all.
   
   About C style functions and C++ classes: for speed, C style functions still take the lead. The method provided here considered speed seriously. even in vector wrapping, reference trick is used everywhere to max speed.
   
   If you are professional programmer, you will appreciate the careful design in vector and matrix. I am not saying it is perfect. There are better ways to handle vector and matrix more consistently, like boost lib. but within the limited scope of this book, the care for details is just incredibly good.
   
   And the extra charge for the typed program, it is worth it. So stop complaining please.



5. The source code is absolutely atrocious. The code is not object oriented and the low quality standards make it difficult to understand and actually use. I recommend the C edition because it makes it clear what every function requires and who allocated what.

5 comments about DHTML Utopia Modern Web Design Using JavaScript & DOM.

1. This is without doubt the worst book on DHTML/Javascript that I've ever read. The author tries to be cute, funny and authorative but ends up just plain painful. The examples are over-long and artificial, and would be difficult to incorporate into a real world application. The author peppers the book with snazzy shots like "It's the modern way!" but rarely explains the benefits of the methodology he's pushing, and glosses over any shortcomings.
   For instance, in discussing regular expressions he provides a simple expression for a telephone number, then points out that it's seriously flawed. But it's "suitable for our discussion" so onward we press, and a correct solution is never provided. Bad luck if you were after such a beast. (Footnotes abound - often just URLs to now broken links - so you have to wonder why he couldn't have provided the solution at the bottom of the page.) The part on Ajax is a joke - he just plugs in an out-of-date version of the Sarissa library and never scratches below the surface.
   Beware.



2. As a developer with no prior JavaScript experience, I've been very disappointed with this book. In the Introduction section, the author says "Some experience with JavaScript might also be useful, but it is by no means critical" (Page VIII) which isn't true.
   
   Throughout the book, the author will keep assuming (implicitly) that you already have a good programming background (he uses a more complex logic in his code),and will leave many things unexplained or explained too late. This alone will easily guarantee frustration. NO BOOK EVER frustrated me that much.
   
   Another issue is that the book uses some very complicated examples with complex logic. Unlike other decent coding books, instead of starting with simple functional examples and developing them\it as you read a chapter, the author uses one big example and "tries" to explain it part by part throughout the chapter. This might force you to "memorize" the script(s) since they contain too much code to understand (which is not the point). To make sure if the examples of the book suit you or not, download the free sample chapters from Sitepoint.com and check the "table highlight" example at the end of chapter 3. That's how most of the examples will be presented. (with more code of course)
   
   Now don't get me wrong, the topics covered in this book are great, but it seems that the only people who will really appreciate it are those who already have a good background in JavaScript (logic,functions,methods...etc) NOT beginners like myself. So if you're trying to learn JavaScript\DOM, then go find a better book (such as "DOM scripting").



3. (this was originally published on www.last-child.com)
   
   This is a difficult book to read for non-javascript programmers. If you are more comfortable with HTML and CSS, I'd recommend reading Jeremy Keith's DOM Scripting first. Keith explains the theories behind this book.
   
   That said, I did learn enough from DHTML Utopia to not look like a complete idiot during my job interview with Yahoo. This book is filled with project examples for you to follow along with. I will say that I tried several of the examples and had mixed results. I visited the book's web site to get updated code.
   
   If you've already worked with Javascript, this is a great book to have on the shelf. If you are a rookie, start with Jeremy Keith and follow up with DHTML Utopia.



4. This book has a lot of great stuff but you have to have the patience to sit down and read it line by line. Can't scan through the book and hope to learn something. Even need to type in the script and try it yourself. Some of the most important ideas the author just covered in two sentences. It does teach a lot of useful stuff but it is absolutely not a beginner's book. Save me from my job interview.



5. I agree with most reviews for DHTML Utopia; the book is middle level, leaving beginners in the dust but pros wanting more. It is, however, well written and contains very good code and coding standards. If you are not completely new to JavaScript and DOM scripting, but would like to learn more and make sure your code is up to today's standards, then this book is for you. If you are very familiar with web scripting and/or have been writing your own unobtrusive client side code then go with a more detailed book.

5 comments about Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Programmer's Guide.

1. If you are a programmer and looking for a good guide and/or reference, do not buy this book! The examples are few and not very good. The book does not go beyond VB in explainations, or lead you to additional reference material. Don't waste your money.



2. I started doing VB back on Win 3.1 and had lost touch with it after severals years. I had to begin to relearn the new improved versions of VB now for a summer job i had received. I picked up this book, and for the most part the information was very good. However the main problem i have with this book, is that if you are ever looking for more indepth information into it, the book refers you to "the Language Reference" or one of the other reference library books. I understand that you cannot have all the info in this book, but being refered to another MS book just bugged me. I mean the knowledge being online, they could have given the exact URL to find the info, instead of trying to get you to buy a 70dollar reference manual.

   THe information in this book is more of an overview of all the different components, and have helped me out of a lot of binds over the time. This book is not for someone new to VB or to programming in general, there are plenty of books and online refs for those.

   I have since bought the reference library, and without that as an accompanment to this book, it would have been very difficult to get most of the knowledge I have needed for my programs.

   If you are looking for a good standalone VB book, look elsewhere, if you are looking for a good reference book for a outside assistance, this could be your answer.




3. This is a good step-by-step book for learning Visual Basic 6.0 Professional Edition. There are some minor mistakes in this book but overall it is a very good book. If you follow along, you should not have a lot of problems. Please note, this book is geared toward the "Professional Edition", you will need to have a strong understanding of the features of "Enterprise Edition" in order to pass the certification exams. Subjects such as the Visual Component Manager, Visual SourceSafe, MTS/COM+ are not covered or bearly covered. You will need other books in order to get a more thorough knowledge of these subjects. Visual Basic Professional Edition and/or Visual Studio Professional Edition are excellent for SOHO (Small office, home office). I have Visual Studio 6.0 Professional Edition installed on my home PC and I use this book to solve some of the issues that arrises.



4. If your a newbie to Visual Basic do not buy this book! This book in geared towards the intermediate to advanced programmer I have been using VB for several years and take it from me, don't buy it. Even for the intermediate programmers this book makes numerous references to the Library Reference, If your serious on vb then get it too otherwise don't bother, try a website.



5. For 90% of the VB questions that I have I can find the answer in this book. It is a great programmers reference. Of course it is just about the Visual Basic language itself and really doesn't delve to far into using VB to program databases or anything like that. Just a good solid reference to the basics of the core language itself.

5 comments about Writing Word Macros.

1. Having read/studied "Writing Word Macros" authored by Steven Roman, I've been able to discern more accurately the meaning behind the phrase, "it's all Greek to me".

   If it was my intent upon having read through this manual to then be able to compose macros for the MSWord program, then the purchase of this manual was a serious waste of time, mental energy and money.

   I would hate to think that my life and/or my employment stability could be based upon what I was able to garner from having read this book from cover to cover. Needless to say, I would be simultaneously unemployed and "laid out" prior to either burial or cremation, at the funeral home of my choice.

   I am not more equipped to construct a simple [or complex] macro from having read through this manual than I would be able to submit a resume touting myself as a "rocket scientist."

   I believe that the author would have been more in keeping with what was expected of this manual if he had included more actual, usable examples and/or exercises. I haven't any greater idea as to how to actually apply what I've read to anything that even comes close to being practical with regard to the use of VBA or MSWord macros.

   I equate having read through "Writing Word Macros" with having initiated the reading of a novel or the watching of a motion picture with the thought in mind of seeing it through until the end in the hopes of, at the denouement, eventually enjoying the fact of it somehow coming together and making some semblance of understanding.

   I hesitate to even think of how "utterly in the dark" I would currently be had I not recently finished a 20 hour course on Visual Basics at my local community college.

   At this juncture, I would rather take my chances with one of the manuals alluded to by Mr. Roman in his introduction as "...very slow paced, primarily by padding them heavily with overblown examples and irrelevant anecdotes..." or one of the "monstrosities" that programming manuals are apt to be, and walk away having a sense of having learned something, than to have spent the time, energy and money on a book where the end result was simply and unequivocally "huh?"

   For me, from this point on, it's either a "Fill In The Blank for Dummies" or a third party, albeit monstrous tome, published by Que or Sybex. This is, without a doubt, my first and last purchase of any book either authored by Mr. Roman and/or published by O'Reilly Publishing.




2. I think the review from "A reader from Lawrenceville" got it right.

   It is not a good book. It is mostly a list of the various classes and their properties and methods. It can be useful for getting an overview, but it soon becomes tedious.

   It does not cover vital suff like Word application event handling.

   I suppose the only reason that it still sells is that all the other Word VBA books are out of print.




3. As someone who has been making a living writing Office macros for the past three years, I'd say this is the book I refer to most often. I taught myself Word VBA with this one book, after having briefly studied Excel VBA with SAMS Excel Programming (Podlin/Webb).

   Even now that I'm working in XP, the book is as useful as ever as a quick reference for solutions to common tasks, for descriptions of Word objects, and answers when "Help" is no help at all.

   It's certainly possible to learn Word VBA from zero with this book, but if you prefer a structured 'teach yourself' course with excercises, then you'd better get another book to go with this one. A good start might be Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Word 2000 Automation in 24 Hours.




4. This is probably the best book one can buy for learning VBA and Word. That said, one should also note that it is a terrible book. The trouble is that there is no other book available that covers this subject.
   
   I refer to this book all the time I am trying to program VBA, but most of the time the book is no more help than what I can get by using Microsoft help. I have wasted hundreds of hours (no exaggeration) trying to find out information that should be in this book but is not there. He makes a plug for you to send him money for his "enhanced object model browser" because the one in Word "gives only a flat one-dimensional view of the object model" whereas his is "two-dimensional". He nowhere explains what he means by those terms, and the illustrations he gives do not help one either.
   
   Before buying this book you should first be a professional programmer who uses VBA already. Mr. Roman assumes you know many things that he will not explain. That might be OK if he would give more programming examples so that one could try to extract from the examples the steps that his book does not explain. On a more positive note, Mr. Roman likes to explain things that most persons who buy this book already know: the different kinds of variables, the importance of declaring variables before using them, and so forth.
   
   It would have been better if in the draft stage he had had some neophyte try to work with what he had written so that he would know where he contradicts himself and where he leaves out material one has to know to make things work. A better solution would be for him to read John Walkenbach's "Excel ... Power Programming with VBA" and then try to imitate that for Word.
   
   One wishes that someone else could write a book on VBA for Word. I hope Mr. Roman's students at CSU Fullerton have the opportunity to ask him questions to get him on the right track when he is unclear. Unfortunately his readers do not have that ability.



5. I have noticed that certain number of commentators did not give this book high mark. I wonder why?
   
   First of all let me introduce myself. I have been electronic engineer, system engineer and a programmer for the last 20 years. I follow this MS Word thing from about its first versions up to now. You do not want to hear how many languages I have or I have had in my pocket. My first steps in Visual Basic for Applications has been so old that I do not remember when exactly I have been involved in the matter. Most of my knowledge of VBA and with lots of other fields started with no books at all.
   
   The author Mr. Roman says very clearly that Word macros scheme is so large that his intention is not to cover all, or even most of these objects, but to acquaint the audience with the major portions of it in order to EASE LEARNING. I also would like to point out that the editor's note on Amazon also brilliantly says: "Not intended to be an encyclopedia of Word programming". And finally who would expect that some topic with more than 3,000 properties and methods could be just put in a book with less then 400 pages altogether?
   
   From these reasons I consider the book is properly advertised and the marks given to the book should only judge about what the book promise and what it delivers. And it delivers a lot.
   
   What I personally needed was a book on Word objects and here it is. Longer than decade I needed a book on Word macros, and this author seems to be the only one who dares to go for adventure of giving an insight into this topic. I think he did the most he could; otherwise he would need 5 years more to write the encyclopedia, and we should not like that, should we?
   
   For this discussion it is important that generally the Microsoft company has made a very hard life to programmers, with version inconsistency, with peculiar solutions, abandoning standardizations and trying to enforce just private rules, with monopoly and with a lot of other problems that I do not want to enumerate in this letter. In spite of that, this author did the best job of bringing the controversial Word macros topic much closer to the broad public that he deserves applause. For that I give him 4 stars.

No comments about Requirements Management: The Interface Between Requirements Development and All Other Systems Engineering Processes.

No comments about HTML: Introductory Concepts and Techniques, Fourth Edition (Shelly Cashman Series).

2 comments about Enterprise SOA: Designing IT for Business Innovation.

1. Being a student of business and information management, I had heard about SOA before, both from a technical perspective (XML, Web services) and from a business standpoint (shiny visions of flexible processes). This book is like the missing link between the two areas! It does not only tell you that SOA will change organizations but it also shows *how* exactly this is going to happen. The authors describe all relevenat aspects, starting from organizational change down to the SAP tools that can be used to model processes and to create your own service-oriented applications.
   What surprised me most was that ESA - SAP's flavour of SOA - is business-ready today! This is illustrated with numerous real-world examples from a wide range of corporations. The case studies give a good idea of useful ESA applications and show how the transition to a service-oriented infrastructure could take place.
   "Enterprise SOA" is suited for everybody interested in information management, even without any previous knowledge in the SOA field. After reading through the book, you'll finally know how SOA is changing the business environment and how SAP is bringing the concepts to life based on open standards. Although you won't know every technical detail, you'll have learned enough to plan your organization's future in a service-oriented world.



2. This is a very helpful book on SOA because it provides the business case for SOA, an excellent technical overview, and real-life examples of how to use it.
   
   While it is written from an SAP perspective, any IT group that is investigating SOA will find value in this book -- as it describes how SOA impacts different layers of the IT stack (from persistence to business objects, to process orchestration, and uesr interfaces). It also provides actual case studies.

3 comments about Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution.

1. This collection of essays on the open source movement could be called a second edition to the book "Open Sources: Voices from the Revolution" that was published in 1999. That book spent much space trying to argue that the open source movement was legitimate and here to stay. That argument has long since been settled, so this book takes up the current and future trends of the open source movement. The essays can be read in any order, and depending on your expertise, some may not be of any real interest to you- for example the open source biology essay might not be valuable to someone interested in network security. However, all essays are written to be accessible to a wide audience in spite of that fact. For example, I have no background in biology whatsoever, but I still found the essay on open source biology an understandable and interesting read. I particularly enjoyed the essay on the open source paradigm shift by Tim O'Reilly. His premise is that free and open source developers are in much the same position today that IBM was in 1981 when it changed the rules of the computer industry, but failed to understand the consequences of the change. This allowed others, Microsoft in particular, to reap the benefits. O'Reilly concludes that existing proprietary software vendors are no better off, playing by the old rules while the new rules are reshaping the industry around them. Another favorite of mine was on the commoditization of software in which it is explained that this process has been driven by standards, in particular by the rise of communications-oriented systems such as the Internet, which depend on shared protocols, and define the interfaces and datatypes shared between cooperating components instead of those components' internals. There are also two fascinating essays on the open source movement in China and India, neither of which was really a factor when the first edition of this book was published six years ago. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in where technology might be headed in the future, not just those who are employed in the tech industry. I notice that nothing about the contents of the book is currently shown by Amazon, so I show the table of contents here for the purpose of completeness:
   The list of essays are:
   1. The Mozilla Project: Past and Future by Mitchell Baker
   2. Open Source and Proprietary Software Development by Chris DiBona
   3. A Tale of Two Standards by Jeremy Allison
   4. Open Source and Security by Ben Laurie
   5. Dual Licensing by Michael Olson
   6. Open Source and the Commoditization of Software by Ian Murdock
   7. Open Source and the Commodity Urge: Disruptive Models for a Disruptive Development Process by Matthew N. Asay
   8. Under the Hood: Open Source and Open Standards Business Models in Context by Stephen R. Walli
   9. Open Source and the Small Entrepreneur by Russ Nelson
   10. Why Open Source Needs Copyright Politics by Wendy Seltzer
   11. Libre Software in Europe by Jesus M. Gonzalez-BarahonaGregorio Robles
   12. OSS in India by Alolita Sharma and Robert Adkins
   13. When China Dances with OSS by Boon-Lock Yeo, Louisa Liu, and Sunil Saxena
   14. How Much Freedom Do You Want? by Bruno Souza
   15. Making a New World by Doc Searls
   16. The Open Source Paradigm Shift by Tim O'Reilly
   17. Extending Open Source Principles Beyond Software Development
   by Pamela Jones
   18. Open Source Biology by Andrew Hessel
   19. Everything Is Known by Eugene Kim
   20. The Early History of Nupedia and Wikipedia: A Memoir by Larry Sanger
   21. Open Beyond Software by Sonali K. Shah
   22. Patterns of Governance in Open Source by Steven Weber
   23. Communicating Many to Many by Jeff Bates and Mark Stone
   Appendixes :
   A. The Open Source Definition
   B. Referenced Open Source Licenses
   C. Columns from Slashdot



2. Open Source Software (OSS) has radically redefined the landscape of the software industry and the Information Technology field. As much a mindset as a methodology, there are many elements of OSS that draw some of the deepest thinkers of our field. You can find some of those essays in the book Open Sources 2.0 - The Continuing Evolution, edited by Chris DiBona, Danese Cooper, and Mark Stone. There's a little something here for everyone...
   
   Contents:
   Part 1 - Open Source - Competition and Evolution: The Mozilla Project - Past and Future; Open Source and Proprietary Software Development; A Tale of Two Standards; Open Source and Security; Dual Licensing; Open Source and the Commoditization of Software; Open Source and the Commodity Urge - Disruptive Models for a Disruptive Development Process; Under the Hood - Open Source and Open Standards Business Models in Context; Open Source and the Small Entrepreneur; Why Open Source Needs Copyright Policies; Libre Software in Europe; OSS in India; When China Dances with OSS; How Much Freedom Do You Want?
   Part 2 - Beyond Open Source - Collaboration and Community: Making a New World; The Open Source Paradigm Shift; Extending Open Source Principles Beyond Software Development; Open Source Biology; Everything Is Known; The Early History of Nupedia and Wikipedia - A Memoir; Open Beyond Software; Patterns of Governance in Open Source; Communicating Many to Many
   Part 3 - Appendixes: The Open Source Definition; Referenced Open Source Licenses; Columns from Slashdot; Index
   
   As with all compilations from various writers and authors, it's not possible to have all the articles flow with the same voice and pace. And really, they shouldn't. You're looking to get a wide array of opinions and insights, not a blended mind dump from a single writer. Conversely, you'll find that some of the articles resonate with you, and others have you moving into scan mode to get to the next one. If you keep that in mind as you're working through the book, you'll get a lot more out of it.
   
   For me, there were two areas that were enjoyable and valuable. The story of how Wikipedia went through growing pains and worked through rules and culture was interesting. Likewise, the story of Slashdot and how it got to what it is today is insightful. I still don't care for the site, but you can't argue it's effect in the technology world. The most thought-provoking essays for me revolved around the commoditization of software. Coupled with a different book I recently finished, I realize that certain software vendors are in a very precarious position, and they are following the same path that has led others to destruction as they attempt to hold on to what doesn't work any more. Those essays would have been worth the cost of the book alone to me...
   
   If you're part of the OSS movement, or if you're trying to understand how it will affect your business, this is a good book to read and ponder...



3. Chris DiBona, Danese Cooper and Mark Stone edit Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution, a collection of essays from today's tech leaders exploring open source's impact on the software industry. Open source is network- enabled distributed collaboration that holds the potential of changing not only online business itself, but the nature of collaboration. Articles address the future of open source in essays that cover not just the developing technology but the participation of international communities. A 'must' for any interested in open source who would understand its ongoing evolution and potential.

No comments about C++ Programming In Easy Steps.

5 comments about Tricks of the 3D Game Programming Gurus-Advanced 3D Graphics and Rasterization (Other Sams).

1. Okay, maybe not the best book in the world. But it does do exactly what it says it is going to do, plus Andre Lamothe both knows what he is talking about, and presents all of the information in a logical and easy to understand way. A must have for all learning game programmers. After you read this book (which takes awhile) everything that you would need to know to write a full fledged 3d game is in your head. Long yes, but that is because the collosal amount of information in it. The CD contains source code for everything in the book. So not just do you have an explanation, but you have samples to play around with and learn from. Great book! But I would advise first reading his first book in the series, Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus, and then just skip the first three chapters of the 3D game programing, that way you get the whole deal. I have read both books and have made several games using his information.



2. writer talk about too much basic knowledges which are used for 3d game programming , but most of them like knowledge of math and windows programming we can find in other books even in the course we studied long long ago.
   wish writer take the 3d as the point and talk more about the newest technolegies arised this years.



3. Andre' LaMothe is a pretty big name in the game-development education market. I feel, however, this is mostly due to the fact that his stuff allows "cook-book" programmers to just rip the code right out of the book and use it for their own purposes, rather than just lay out the theory and allow the programmer to do what he or she is supposed to be doing: programming their engine and solving problems.
   
   It begins with a pretty fair introduction to REALLY basic mathematics (high-school pre-calculus level stuff), and then follows it with a section on how to build a math library. The problem with sticking in a math section such as this into a book, is that there are really no supplementary problems for the reader to figure out on her/his own. It just lays out the tools without giving the reader a chance to use them on their own (later in the book he shows how to use the math to derive things, but, again, the reader isn't using his/her mind much...just being handed the algorithms on a $40 platter).
   
   Then, the book goes into 3D concepts, describes various graphics algorithms, shows implementations, and then eventually, by the end of the book, LaMothe has written a cheap, Quake-style renderer which the user can then, presumably, use to build a game on top of. Or the more interested reader can even try to learn how everything is put together from the source. There's one problem here:
   
   If you're looking to learn from example, then this book isn't a very good one. John Carmack has released his sources for Quake, Quake 2, and Quake 3, and are truly professional game engines (the best in the industry, according to some). If you're not willing to solve problems yourself and want to study somebody else's work, then just go download the Quake sources...they're free.
   
   I probably sound overly harsh on this book, but perhaps it's due to the fact that I'm the kind of person who likes to be given theory (even sometimes I'll figure it out on my own) and be left to come up with my own, personalized code. Now, this book allows for that, but it does spend a good deal of pages on implementation, flat jokes, and massive code-dumps.
   
   Speaking of flat-jokes, LaMothe's writing style seems rather bloated with unnecessary colloquialism. It takes quite a few paragraphs to wade through his egotism and "cool" talk before you get to the meat.
   
   In short: If you're a newbie game developer and want a "quick-and-easy" introduction to software rendering (everybody should start with a sw renderer -- or at least understanding 3D graphics theory), then by all means, buy this book. It's useful.
   
   However, if math is one of your best friends, and you like solving problems on your own and implementing things your way, then I suggest just buying a 3D graphics textbook (Alan Watt's is nice) and writing your own real-time software renderer (or even a realistic ray-tracer).



4. This book provides excellent information for anyone who is looking to understand 3D game programming built from the ground up. It does not focus on coding styles and practices. Instead, it takes the reader step-by-step through the process of creating a 3D game engine and explains the mathematics and optimization techniques behind each system. If you've ever wondered how to make a 3D game from scratch, this book will teach you. Note that this book expands on code from LaMothe's "Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus", which covers similar material in 2D.



5. For all of you authors: We need more books like this. All of the rest of the books out there are hardware accelerate OpenGL and DirectX oriented. That's all fine and dandy, but what about those of us who want to know what goes on under the hood? This book is great. It shows exactly was is needed for software rendering without OpenGL.