5 comments about Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Unleashed.

1. Very valuable when it comes to referencing all the functionality SQL Server 2005 has to offer.
   Microsoft(R) SQL Server 2005 Unleashed



2. I used this almost every day now for the past couple months. I used it as a reference with developing in SQL SEVER 2005. It answers about 80% of my questions. Must books answer a little more then half - so I give this five stars.
   If you write a lot of code in SQL, I highly recommended this book.



3. Even for a beginner like me. This is a great book as a reference or if you learn by experimenting and need a book to look up things here and there. I'm not an expert with SQL Server but it really seems like this book is a must have if you're dealing with SQL Server setup, management, etc..



4. As a dotNet Developer, I am often called upon to write my own database code or maintain existing db code. I am also called upon to diagnose performance problems or set security. Sometimes on lightly staffed projects, I am a defacto DBA.
   
   I have always strived to have a comprehensive understanding of the technologies I use. However, my level of understanding of SQL Server was more limited then my understanding of the other technologies I use.
   
   I purchased this book based on existing Amazon recommendations. In particular, I was interested in the Performance and Security sections, as well as what is new. It did not disappoint. The depth on items like Indexes was exactly what I was looking for. The discussion of new items was enough to get we to a working level.
   
   So it definitely fulfilled my needs and expectations.
   
   However, the book seems aimed at DBAs. Given the number of topics covered in the book, I suspect it could not be comprehensive enough to take an intermediate DBA to the Advanced stage.
   
   But for someone like me, who is often called upon to be an 'acting' DBA it serves as an excellent reference; in addition to providing a tutorial on the topics mentioned above.



5. There are a lot of typos and grammar errors in the book. Like "or" instead of "for", for example.

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

1. Reading this book you can get the illusion that LINQ is just about XML. There is so much more - pretend that LINQ has noting to do with XML and see how it can change your project delivery!
   
   LINQ in Action This is the book that really shows what LINQ can do. It is VERY easy to read and get upto speed using this book - its a must have. Once you have mastered this book then look at others.



2. It's very rare to find a book on any programming topic that works as both an introduction to the subject as well as a reference for seasoned users. Joseph Rattz's book should be the first stop for anyone hoping to learn about LINQ. The examples given make what could have been a potentially massive learning curve even for experienced ADO.Net users a lot smoother.



3. This book is incredible at explaining the new LinQ functionality and since many of the enhancements made to C# were made to accomadate LinQ, it also does an excellent job at explaining the new language enhancements in a concise fashion. Highly recommend this book.



4. Once I had heard of LINQ I had spent a lot of time reading through the MSDN docs, but I wanted more information about it. Pro LINQ was the answer. It gave a very thorough run-down of each of the various technologies involved with LINQ as well as a breadth of useful examples to illustrate the points that were made. In addition I thought that the book had a nice progression of topics that left you wanting to continue on to the next chapter. LINQ is an awesome technology, and I feel that this book is a great tool to add to your arsenal to help better utilize it to its fullest capabilities. This book was definitely written from a developer's standpoint, but I didn't feel that it threw too much at you. I would highly recommend this book.



5. I actually met Joe in a Books-A-Million in Montgomery, Alabama... He is a very nice guy too! The book is chock full of code, it is concise and it is worth every penny and then some. If you want to learn about how to use LINQ effectively, congratulations, you just found your book.

5 comments about Foundation Flash CS3 for Designers (Foundation).

1. If you are interested in learning Flash, this is definitely a great place to start. I started with no knowledge of Flash, little artistic talent and a desire to create something cool. After going through this book, I now have a good understanding of how Flash works and I have a lot of cool animations and apps that I can show off to my friends.
   
   The book is very well written and has a nice learning curve. Difficult concepts are explained thoroughly, and the authors give plenty of tips that help a lot when you start to move on to doing your own things. The tutorials are very thorough and come with plenty of files to download, which is very helpful if you're like me and aren't very much of an artist. This allowed me to not have to really worry about drawing anything and focus more on learning how to use Flash.
   
   All in all, this is a great buy for anyone wanting to learn Flash, which can definitely be a daunting challenge to most without some sort of guidance, which this book provides plenty.



2. I had no previous experince with Flash. I am about to finish this book and this is a great book.Authors and the design of the book are top quality.Source files are well designed with two folders every chapter Completed and Exercise,this is a convenience for readers.Also inside the book there are many great links to websites of good Flash designers.If you need a flash book from the beginning this is the book to go..



3. Overall I think this book is pretty good. I bought it to brush up on my flash skills, which had been sitting unused for about 5 years, and this book was perfect for getting me up to speed.
   A few bad points:
   -If you had little or no knowledge of adobe programs this book might be a little confusing for you. As another reviewer pointed out in the first exercise they say to click on certain objects, but they never indicate you need to use the selection tool or what that tool even is.
   -The book asks you to use exercise files, but does not provide a CD with the files or any instructions on where to get them. I finally went to the publishers website and found the files in their download section.



4. Overall this is five-star survey of Flash CS3, written for people with slight knowledge of earlier versions of Flash and some more familiarity with basic graphic programs (primarily Photoshop and Illustrator) and web design. The treatment of CSS covers most of what any designer or developer will need to know in the course of any average Flash project. The introduction to ActionScript 3.0 is itself worth the price of the book and serves as a beginner's course to more thorough AS3 books, of which there are plenty.
   
   I doubt many people read a book like this cover-to-cover. Typically, the reader will head for a particular subject heading, read part of the chapter and try out the exercises. And this is where the text really shines--the exercises are extensive and presented in an accessible, friendly fashion.
   
   People who are just starting Flash now are very lucky. Although there have been voluminous Flash manuals for years, most were aimed either at the complete novice who wanted to learn the basics of timeline animation, or emphasized some abstruse new features, particularly in programming, image filters or video development. Now at last we have some well-written books aimed at the vast middle market of designers.



5. I just started using this book to learn Flash CS3. I think it is very easy to understand. However, the one downfall I do not like about it is that the author keeps referring to examples for the user to open as if a disk was included with the book, but isn't. It is just difficult to keep up or understand where they are going. Other wise I am learning tons!

5 comments about PHP 6 and MySQL 5 for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide.

1. This book is a complete waste of money. You can find all the material covered here for free online. The book is difficult to read because of all the author's tips, the small size of the letters in the text, and because the text in each page is divided in two columns wich is absurd. buy something else instead.



2. I'll keep it brief since "Customer" nailed it with their review already, but wanted to say with this book and the free manuals on PHP and MySQL I was up to speed and developed my first dynamic web site in a matter of weeks, reading and learning part-time at night.
   
   I wanted to go a bit further than just basic PHP and MySQL as part of a current personal project; researching and learning about open source CMS, web applications and web application frameworks, and how it all fits together.



3. Although I have some background with programming (Basic, Pascal, COBAL) and desktop db business applications, I had been somewhat intimidated by the idea of server-side programming.
   
   I can only tell you that I did in fact take this book one chapter at a time, sometimes re-reading some sections several times, and marking-up certain parts with a hi-liter and a red pen. I followed the tutorials, downloaded the scripts from the book's associated website, and even got help directly from the author at his website's forum.
   
   Don't misunderstand me, that I marked-up the book, did homework, and asked questions was a reflection of how the book did engage me - AND TAUGHT ME. The book is well written, methodical, detailed, and its intended audience seemed to be someone with my background (pretty fluent in HTML, handy with CSS, has a basic understanding of databases and programming concepts, and who enjoys the learning process under a good professor).
   
   This book will get you started and on your way - correctly. It was the perfect launch site for me (once you get through this book you will be in a good position to evaluate what you need to learn next). As for me, this book (alone) taught me to write programs/scripts to login users, develop MySQL databases, write database reports, do user input forms and process them at the back-end updating the database tables, sessions, cookies, etc. etc.
   
   Select this book. Your php output will be, primarily, html markup. So if you don't know HTML - spend some time with that first -- along with CSS (I recommend CSS The Missing Manual by David S. McFarland).



4. PHP 6 and MySQL 5 by larry ullman is one of the best book I've read in my life , the book contain 17 chapters , covering topics for beginners to advanced topics and it is explain the most common web application examples like (develop user registration , build message board , e-commerce website) .
   
   the book covers the fundamental details in very quick way and specific which is makes the reader build the web application in very short time .
   
   the great thing about this book , it discuss the new improvement mySQL and unicode which is help non-English developers.



5. I don't understand why the same exact code needs to be repeated twice on the same page, every page. It's not only a waste of space, it's distracting and difficult.
   
   The whole book could have been printed with less than half this number of pages. I'll work through it when I get the time and PATIENCE.
   
   Shees.

5 comments about The Essential Guide to Dreamweaver CS3 with CSS, Ajax, and PHP.

1. This book is a wonderful assistant for people they like to dive into DW and PHP. It completes all my questions and it's tips are rule!



2. I haven't finished this book yet. I have completed the chapter on how to setup a testing server for php. So far I am very pleased with the book it has allowed me to setup a server and test my php code. This book is well worth the price just for this.



3. I have read many books on programming. While I have gleaned some value from just about every book, the page-count-to-learning ratio hasn't been great. And on a few occasions, I hit a roadblock where I simply wasn't getting what author was telling me I should be completely proficient with at that moment...anyone else experience that?? Makes me feel like a coloring-by-the-numbers code monkey. I've gone back to some of those books once I have gained some proficiency on the topic (elsewhere) to find that those authors made things unnecessarily complex. Who knows why, but it sure pisses me off.
   
   I give you this background, so that when I say that this book is absolutely without equal in delivering actionable, easy-to-understand content on almost every single page, that is no exaggeration. I lost count of the number of times I came up with a question, only to read the very next sentence which usually went something like this, "...you are probably wondering why this is the case. Here's why..." It was incredible! And the exercises start to ween you off of the minutia at precisely the right pace (for me, anyway). It was a great confidence builder when the author wrote, "You should be comfortable with these steps at this point..." and I totally was.
   
   Truly excellent work by David Powers and Tom Muck (who did the technical review). And they've kept their errata/updates site up-to-date with DW CS3, which definitely came in handy as I encountered current-version discrepancies with things like Spry 1.6.
   
   One miss was, the very last exercise did not work for me. After thoroughly reviewing the sample code, my code, etc. I submitted it as errata...waiting for a response.



4. I'm currently taking a class in PHP/MySQL and it's use in eCommerce, and this book has really helped me along the way! The author shows you the ways in which Dreamweaver can help you to reduce your development time, but still produced some really great, dynamic sites. He goes into detail on some of the code as well, which is helpful. Additionally, the author is very honest and recommends other resources for items he covers in a limited manner. If you want to learn more about connecting to a database or just using PHP for simple mailing forms, as well as some nice CSS tips, this book is for you!



5. I have had some experience in using Dreamweaver since version 8, and I wanted to 'marry' my meager PHP+MySQL experience in using Dreamweaver CS3 beyond what I was currently doing; creating static XHTML+CSS websites.
   
   This book has exceeded my expectations and then some! With it, I am now able to easily create dynamic websites, all within the GUI comfort of Dw CS3. (Ok, some ad hoc hand coding may be needed.) I didn't really want to learn more about PHP programming, MySQL queries, Ajax, etc. I just wanted to know how to use tools available in Dw CS3 to manipulate web technologies, and this book delivers. Real-world examples in the book helps drive this knowledge further.
   
   A mild caveat; this book really is an intermediate-level book. It would be helpful if you were already familiar with the technologies used in creating dynamic websites. i.e., having passing knowledge of PHP, MySQL, XHTML+CSS, Javascript, and Dw CS3. That said, the book does include a PHP and MySQL primer.
   
   Some minor snits;
   This book covered the installation of a LAMP stack on a local machine. (Either Windows or Mac) I would have liked to see a chapter on installing a LAMP server (Ubuntu is great!) on a laptop or a computer running in a home network. After some fair amount of trial and error, I was able to have a testing server on another machine, freeing up my main machine for Dw CS3 and other tasks.
   
   It would be nice if the book could have followed up with more examples of extending Dw CS3. The book did show one example of how to add in a customized server behavior, and I wanted to see more of that. Less hand-coding, and more GUI coolness via these extensions would help making working in Dw CS3 a more enjoyable experience.

5 comments about Learning Python, 3rd Edition.

1. If you are a top-down learner this book is not for you. You can safely pick "Dive into Python".
   However, if you are the bottom-up type, you will not regret. While the Python slogan promises "one way to do it", Mark Lutz will show you four, and explore every detail, like complex list comprehensions, closures and the diamond inheritance pattern. This is why you will wait 200 pages (exploring data types) until the introduction of the first Python statement, and 200 pages more for the first script.
   But if you cross the details, you will get excellent understandings of the core Python logic, which will save you countless debugging hours in the future.
   The OO part alone worth the entire book. It's going from the very basics of OO programming up to elementary design patterns and some advanced OO implementation issues in Python.
   One last caution: although 600 pages, this book should be really read cover to cover. It's a true tutorial, which gradually develops the major concepts (sequences, assignments, references, objects, namespaces etc) from the ground up, with (midterm?) exercises. Give yourself a few hours to really learn, exercise your brain (and fully grasp 100 ways to silently override your variables with namespace mistakes). It's a great book.



2. I'm talking about the 3rd edition. It's the first book about Python that I read, so I can't make a comparison. It may be just the best first book out there, but I'm not impressed. The book reads like a draft, not a book in its 3rd edition. The author just keeps repeating himself on minor points in subsections back and forth. It's 700 pages long, but I wish it were half the length, after cutting needless elaboration and repetition. Perhaps the older editions are more concise. On the other hand, we readers may not have a choice.



3. Python has the reputation to be a language that is easy to learn. Well, why do you need a book more than 500 pages to only learn the language then? The answer is that even if you can learn the basics very fast, it has a lot of bells and whistles that can take time to master.
   
   This book covers only the language not the libraries, but covers it very well. Highly recommended reading once you'll want to use the language to write something bigger than a script of 10 lines.
   
   4 stars only because I would have expected some exposure to the standard libraries as well for a book called "Learning Python"



4. I've been wanting to learn Python for a while. Hearing that the 3rd edition of Learning Python had added "exercises", I ordered it. It was a mistake.
   
   The book winds its way through each facet of the language one by one, making no attempt to integrate what you are supposed to be learning into a working, functional solid.
   
   The exercises consist of simple parrot questions: "Name the four major components of the module search path." Even the major exercises are childish. After the chapter "Advanced Function Topics", write a function which prints its single argument. Then try passing it more than one argument, or no arguments, to see what happens!
   
   The code examples are never more than five lines, usually initialization of a variable, then a toy operation on that variable, with in-line comments taking the place of actual demonstration. A particularly choice tidbit comes when the author demonstrates making user-defined classes adopt the iteration protocol. He gives as an example a class which iterates over a predefined series of square numbers, then finishes the section with a note to the effect that such a simple procedure should really be programmed using a list comprehension.
   
   The author constantly urges the reader to try things in interactive mode, but he doesn't give much of an idea what to try. Of course the reader can make up exercises, or rewrite a old program, which is what I have resorted to, using this book as a reference manual, but that's hardly ideal. The author is an expert on Python, and I don't know anything yet; he should be directing my exploration of the language, not just handing me an atlas.
   
   I give this book credit for completeness and for clarity of explanation. The author lays out language features and tells you how they operate in a way that is easy to grasp. What he fails to do is to get the reader coding and actually using all the bits of the language, so that actual work can be done. He notes that the creator of Python has a mathematical background, which accounts for the consistency of the language design. It may also account for the lack of practical instruction.



5. I used to say that there were several good books for learning Python. You just had to browse them and choose what works for you. Not anymore. This third edition, along with coverage of Python2.5, adds dark tabs for the exercises at the ends of most chapters, and I think that many people can now learn the language by just trying the exercises and comparing with the answers in the back. The sidebars are interesting. The tables are clear. The examples are instructive. The typesetting is well-chosen. Despite all the materials availabe free on the web, this book is worth the price.

5 comments about JavaScript: The Good Parts.

1. Do you struggle when creating objects in Javascript?
   Do you find the syntax to be non-intuitive and frustrating?
   Do you know the difference between using a function as an object vs using an object literal?
   Do you know how using object literals can simplify your code and create something similar to namespaces?
   Do you know how to augment the type system -- for example, if wanted all strings to have a trim() method?
   Do you know why the "new" statement is so dangerous? Do you know an alternative that eliminates the use of "new" entirely?
   
   These are some of the topics that the book touches upon.
   
   This book is aimed at someone with intermediate programming experience that wants to know the best way to create and use objects, arrays, types, etc. Crockford takes his experience with Javascript to show you best practices coding techniques and styles to use with Javascript. In addition, the book provides insights into what makes Javascript so confusing and what can be done about it.
   
   You might ask "Isn't this stuff already covered in other books that I have?" The answer is no. For one, most other books use a psuedo-classical coding style (see below) to explain objects that is a source of confusion.
   
   Javascript can be very confusing, especially for programmers who have extensive experience in other C-based languages (like myself). Writing good Javascript that uses objects, methods, etc. is hard. In Javascript, if you want to create objects, use inheritance and create methods, you have several different ways to write your code and it's difficult to know what the strengths and weaknesses of each are.
   
   Crockford explains the problem plainly. Other C-based languages use class inheritance (Crockford calls this classical inheritance). Javascript, on the other hand, is the only popular language that uses prototype inheritance, which does not have classes. However, the syntax which Javascript uses to create object is Java-like (Crockford calls this pseudo-classical syntax). It's confusing, because it keeps you in a class-based frame of mind while working in a language that has no concept of classes.
   
   Clarifying what's going on with the object model is the best part of this book. Crockford also explains other parts of Javascript that can be problematic and the techniques that he prefers for handling them. I don't necessarily agree with all of them, but the important thing is that he explains his reasoning.
   
   To effectively learn Javascript, I recommend that you buy 1) a book that covers the details of the language and can be used as a reference (e.g. Javascript, the Definitive Guide) and 2) Crockford's book. Advanced programmers might also enjoy Pro Javascript Design Patterns, which shows a number of ways to combine Javascript with some of the GoF patterns. I would avoid any cookbook style books on Javascript, because you're better off using YUI, JQuery or one of the other Javascript libraries than writing your own drag-and-drops, calendars, etc.
   
   There are a series of Yahoo! videos by Crockford that mirror the material in this book and can be found as podcasts under YUI Theater. They contain nearly all of the material in the book and probably a little more. Those videos are:
   
   - Douglas Crockford/An Inconvenient API: The Theory of the DOM (3 parts)
   - Douglas Crockford/The JavaScript Programming Language (4 parts)
   - Douglas Crockford/Advanced JavaScript (3 parts)
   - Douglas Crockford/Javascript The Good Parts



2. I have to wonder if the positive reviewers actually read much of this, it's so surface. This book will neither teach you javascript nor interest the experience programmer for more than about 15 minutes.
   
   The money could be much better spent on a truly useful book.



3. it's amazing that many great people don't know how to teach...somebody who loves this language so much to write so little and not explaining and providing examples......
   
   
   The same thing you could find online.....
   
   
   Don't take me wrong, you will learn a thing or two, but that's not the point.
   
   So called diagrams or flow, whatever they are, they are totally useless.



4. This is the first book by Douglas Crockford a Senior Software Archtitect at Yahoo. He is widely known as one of the most knowledgeable on JavaScript apart from the creater of JavaScript (Brendan Eich). Douglas Crockford is the creator of JSON and has written many articles and presentations on JavaScript-related topics in web development.
   
   His book JavaScript: the Good Parts, is a short (145 pages including Appendix) but is very useful for the person who wants to expand his/her JavaScript skills and knowledge. It reviews the basics of the language in the first two chapters and then focus on intermediate and advanced topics such as objects, inheritance, arrays, and methods.
   
   The appendix categorizes the "bad" parts of JavaScript that are not good programming syntax and should be avoided such as global variables, scope, eval function, with statement, undefined variables and so forth.
   
   I really like how Douglas Crockford gives you everything you need in this book that is relevant to how modern developers using JavaScript program and helping you understand it easily and quickly. No long-winded explanations or extra "filler" just to make the book longer. He is right to the point and explains it in a coherent, understandable way no matter what your "technical" level is.
   
   This is a very useful book for the client-side developer who wants either a great reference book or somebody who wants to take their skills to the next level using JavaScript.
   
   A must buy!



5. I'll keep this short and sweet (like the book). This book distills the JavaScript language down to the bare essentials that a programmer will need to write clean, powerful code. It even tells you what to avoid along the way. Douglas Crockford takes a veritable pig of a language and turns it into delicious ham, bacon, and chops.
   
   For someone serious about JavaScript, there are two books to own. JavaScript: The Definitive Guide to learn the language and its syntax (in minute detail), and this book, to learn how to use the language well.

5 comments about JavaScript: The Definitive Guide.

1. This work is great as reference once one has acquired some skill, however it is not a good introduction for starters.



2. I bought this book after the helpful reviews found on amazon. This book is must have for reference, I've been using this for the past one month and its been great reference for me, a beginner.



3. I feel that this book is really a work of art. Besides agreeing with the last reviewer that it is not fair to consider this as a book for beginners and then judge it against that standard, I'd say that even though it is not for beginners, it does not make unnecessary arcane references, etc. It is very readable, at least for someone who's had a little experience working with JavaScript. I'd say it is not even a requirement to know object oriented principles (except for those sections perhaps). The author has not only made intelligible so many of the quirks of JavaScript, but provides code which is easy to follow yet extremely useful.
   
   As far as examples, while for JavaScript fans, it might have been nice that the book expanded into 2000 pages instead of almost 1000 that it is now, the author does, I feel, what is necessary to both explain and demonstrate the concepts, and most often, does so by creating VERY useful utility functions and "classes". Just for the utility functions alone, the book would be worth it, really. There are only a very few places where the author suggests to look elsewhere, and besides my not minding doing so given how the book already saved me so much time, the cited references would have taken up unnecessary space if the author were to include them (and they definitely weren't essential).
   
   The book is not outdated! Unlike other books, most of the book is rarely tied down to code that can become outdated as browsers change (like the changeable but helpful quirksmode.org ). Of course, as a big fan of this book, I hope the author will be persuaded to keep making new editions (and make a hardcover!). If you really want to learn the language, this is THE book.
   
   This book was no doubt an immense labor of love--you can feel the author is human, actually teaching, and is not trying to show off with terminology while he still does explain a whole lot of necessary terms, etc., comments the code well, etc. As with art (not the strange modern variety either), I am flabbergasted some people cannot appreciate its beauty. In a complex JavaScript application, I am building, I am using no less than 7 of the utility classes he provided in the book.
   
   For those studying JavaScript in depth / reading this book, I'd recommend one supplement to the book: the informative articles at http://javascript.crockford.com/ (and no doubt that author's book too). The articles on private members and classical vs. prototypal inheritance are one area I felt for which additional examples and use of terminology was helpful, and allowed me to appreciate and understand the chapter in the book on classes more fully (and utilize the approaches in its utility classes as well).



4. This book not only assists first-time JavaScript programmers, but is an excellent reference for the more experienced developers. The examples are first-rate, and the reference sections are more comprehensive than any I've seen for this language. A MUST if you are a serious JavaScript professional.



5. This book could easily serve as an introductory text to JavaScript. It offers enough depth for beginning JavaScript. Unfortunately, it does not delve enough into things like closure, which I believe is a very important language features. Furthermore, after the first or second reading, this book can handily serve as a reference book since part 3 and 4 of this book is reference to the classes, methods, and functions that are available in most JavaScript implementation.

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

1. Recieved book in excellent condition! The book is very organized and very constructive in teaching me what I need to learn in a step-by-step manner. I very much recommend this book!



2. 
   Short commentary: The book is good and worth for your money.
   
   Long commentary: The book is good, however, it is not excellent. They have tried to mention all the relevant elements of ASP.NET 3.5, and they have succeeded; never the less, it is more or less just list of an elementary examples.
   The glue that would put all of them to real world use is not here, for such a book you will have to search other titles. I have also that kind of book, and - it has its own weaknesses. The best would be to have both books. Or one really big and complete book which would be twice thicker and about 4000 pages :-)....
   
   Still it is a good read and for lot of people this will be really enough. Anyway, it all depends on how much you work when you put the book aside.



3. Having read Imar Spaanjaar's Beginning ASP.NET 3.5: In C# and VB, I was expecting a number of good things from this book.
   
   Imar's book is really great in that he shows you how to build a Web application with ASP.NET 3.5. However, with Professional ASP.NET 3.5 In C# and VB, you instead get 1500+ page reference book.
   
   Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, but that does mean that if you want to get started with ASP.NET, pick up Imar's book first, or better still, too.
   
   That said, this also means that if you're the type to read a book from beginning to end, you'll have a real 'joy' reading this book. That's because after a few chapters you'll notice that the author's clearly intended for people to skip around the book. This is evident because they'll discuss something in one chapter, and then reiterate it at the beginning of the next in such a way that suggests they assume you didn't just read this in the last chapter. But, that is good if you consider this as a reference book.
   
   The other thing that will strike you is the number of typos in this book. I wasn't keeping track of all of them, such as words melding together, hard returns where there didn't need to be, incorrect figures, etcetera, but I did make note of, and submit, 29 errors in this book (25 of those from page 579 on - I wasn't keeping serious track before then). If you hear that they've done a special edition of this book, or a second edition, just spend the (extra) money and pick it up. Luckily, the code seems pretty clean.
   
   Having said all that, I still think Professional ASP.NET 3.5 is an excellent reference book, and one that I'll be keeping on my shelf. Almost every one of the 34 chapters had at least one valuable thing in them, and in most cases, they had many. While some topics are skimmed over, they give a very indepth look to existing and new features, providing sources to further reference as needed (most of which are free Microsoft references online).
   
   Together with Imar's Beginning ASP.NET 3.5 In C# and VB, I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in ASP.NET 3.5. I would also recommend this reference book (last time, I promise :) ) to anyone who's worked with previous versions of .NET, and just needs to know how to advance their skills.



4. This book is basically a re-branded ASP.NET 2.0 book. It covers a LINQ and IIS 7 just fine. When reading the book the authors spend too much time covering old 1.1 and 2.0 material instead of digging in deeper to the 3.5 topics.
   
   Buy this book in you need an overview of ASP.NET 2.0 with some 3.5 topics as well but there are better books out there. Usually Wrox book are great, this one just doesn't deliver with ASP.NET 3.5



5. I find it hard to believe the other reviews aren't plants by the publisher, or by people accidentally reviewing a similarly titled book. The introduction is full of documentation probably dumped from MSDN about obscure directives and their obscurer attributes. It reads like a phonebook. Writing the samples in both C# and VB is just another tactic to fill up 1600+ pages; here's one of the "gems" from the first chapter:
   
   VB
   
   If Page.IsPostBack = True Then
   'Do Processing
   End If
   
   C#
   
   if (Page.IsPostBack == true)
   {
   //Do Processing
   }
   
   As if the " == true" is not enough of a WTF, the book then goes on to say "In addition to checking for a true or false value, you can also handle postbacks like this," and gives the following example code:
   
   VB
   
   If Not Page.IsPostBack Then
   'Do Processing
   End If
   
   C#
   
   if (!Page.IsPostBack)
   {
   //Do Processing
   }
   
   So the target audience of this book is interested in reading a list of the public key tokens of the assemblies referenced by default in a "web.config" file, but they don't know how to negate a boolean value without someone holding their hand?

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

1. Learning Actionscript 3.0 is just what the doctor ordered for people looking to start at ground zero with actionscript 3.0. I also purchased "Essential Actionscript" and "Actionscript 3.0 Cookbook". Both are very good reference books but I was a bit lost being an extreme nuubie.
   Learning Actionscript 3.0 really helped me "UNDERSTAND" the basics on how to set things up and how and why things do what they do.
   
   I consider this an essential purchase if your just picking up actionscript 3.0.



2. I pre-ordered this book before it was even out in the bookstores about 7 months ago. I was an intermediate ActionScript 2 developer before making the jump to ActionScript 3. What a difference in the language, but most importantly the book makes light of all of that in way thats very easy to understand. Its the perfect book for a beginner, it teaches you a lot of procedural programming but also wraps everything you do nicely into Object Oriented Programming. Its not overwhelming by any means, I have already recommended this book to all of my friends! There is also a great companion website for the book and the authors tend to reply to comments that you make on the site. Ive read the book straight through 3 times already, its by far my favorite book for Flash. And it's really unlike other beginner books, its on an island of its own. This is how all newbie books should be written!



3. This is, quite simply, one of the best books I have ever read concerning the topic of Actionscript. As an Adobe Instructor in the discipline of Flash, I often find myself looking for books as suggestive reading for new learners. This book has now become my #1 choice for professionals looking to quickly learn Actionscript 3 from the ground up.
   
   For years Colin Moock has set the standard for Actionscript learning with his Essential Guides to Actionscript. The wonderful thing about Learning Actionscript 3.0 is that it is openly and largely based on Colin Moock's titles. The benefit to choosing Learning Actionscript 3 is that Rich Shupe and Zevan Rosser realized the advanced technical nature of Colin Moock's titles. They also realized how potentially difficult this may be for professionals with no prior experience. It was through this realization that they delivered a book that was as thorough in coverage as Moock's but as easy to read as Harry Potter!



4. I just hate trying to learn from a book that has errors! Is it that hard to get someone to check a book before releasing it? First of all, many of the example files that are available for download are named different than the book says they are. A lot of the code in the exercises doesn't even work! I spent hours unsuccessfully trying to do one of the exercises before I realized the code was incorrect. I had to sort through the misnamed example files and get the correct code, that should have been in the book. O'REILLY is getting worst and worst.



5. I think "Learning Actionscript 3.0" by Rich Shupe and Zevan Rosser is an excellent resource and I recommend it highly. I am a programmer, and have enjoyed reading it. It is organized well and covers a lot of useful information for Flash designers.
   
   I debated buying it, since there are a lot of references to Actionscript 3.0 on the Internet. However, Schupe and Rosser really do a good job of teaching the new Actionscript, using many examples that readers can download.
   
   The transition from Actionscript 2.0 to 3.0 can be daunting for people. That's why a resource like this one can be appreciated. It starts out with fundamental concepts, then builds on them sequentially.
   
   "Learning Actionscript 3.0" is a very good addition to a programmer's library.