5 comments about Framework Design Guidelines: Conventions, Idioms, and Patterns for Reusable .NET Libraries (Microsoft .NET Development Series).

1. If you need to write C#/.Net or even Java, this book is a must have.



2. I don't personally think that all developers will find this book useful. In fact, I have a feeling that some may find it highly useless and disruptive as it is abstract in a sense (one must apply the lessons to each library and scenario independently, taking into consideration many different aspects of usability and readability) and it does require some "retraining" of bad practices which have been long since ingrained due to years of usage.
   
   But whether this book deserves a five star rating or a one star rating - whether this book is for you - can be answered by asking yourself the following question: are you obsessed with quality? Quality in the sense of creating a library that is:
   
   - Easily reused by others, even first timers encountering the library or even first timers to .Net
   - Well thought out with well designed classes
   - Consistent within itself and consistent with the base libraries from Microsoft
   
   The importance of the little things like naming classes, properties, methods, using one type of construct over another, using one type of accessor over another, etc. cannot be stressed enough in the overall picture of creating a library to a higher standard of quality, usability, and extensibility.
   
   As Confucius is to have said:
   
   "If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success.
   
   "When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music do not flourish. When proprieties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded. When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand or foot.
   
   "Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the superior man requires is just that in his words there may be nothing incorrect."
   
   As I wrote in an e-mail to my team, I think that digesting this book will lead to: higher quality public facing APIs for our customer development teams seeking to extend the functionality, increased readability and more consistency internally in our teams, increased usability and decreased maintenance costs for the support teams as well as new developers on our team, and of course, increased skill, knowledge, and competency as developers of each of the team members.



3. As a professional I have worked many times on building re-usable and extensible frameworks. Therefore, I had to read several books in order to make sure that the framework I was building was doing what it was supposed to do. However, in all these years I had never the luck to get a complete guide of "building a framework the right way" and I had to always put together pieces from different articles in order to make my own guide. Well, there you have it! Buy this book, read it and you will have a complete guide of how to do things the right way. Another great thing about this book is that different professionals make their comments about almost every guideline. As a result you are not only exposed to writer's view but also to the views and opinions of many well respected software professionals. Do buy this book and as hard as it might seem try to apply its recommendations to your daily development process.



4. I think this is one of the best books on this subject that I have read so far- very practical, very useful. There is a lot of information, real-life examples and experience from the .NET framework design team.



5. Very well organized, and good content.
   Id like to see more diagrams or so, so we can se how they decide to build the things... but it still is great.

5 comments about The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks.

1. I am a web designer by career. And when our company began moving into CSS, I thought I'd better find some good books. This one was fantastic. It's filled with a lot of examples and tricks that not only taught me about CSS at a level I could quickly grasp, but it also provided examples that I could actually pull and use in my projects.
   
   I own other sitepoint books such as "The Principles of Beautiful Web Design" and "CSS the Ultimate Reference" and they are all fantastic. I'm beginning to think that sitepoint is a great source for knowledge. I recommnend this book highly.



2. This book has some good examples, and the way that the author describes the code is very well done. I question the overall value of this book, though, because this book is designed with neither the beginner, nor the advanced user in mind.
   
   Ms. Andrews begins her book by making an incredibly quick overview of how CSS works and what it's for, but by no means explains it in enough detail for a beginner to really catch on. As she progresses through the question and answer format, she will quickly lose whatever intended audience she thought she had: the first half of the book is painfully simple, the second half is too advanced for the beginners, and probably too basic for advanced users.
   
   It is difficult to use the guide as a direct reference because of it's format...an unfortunate problem that comes of the way she chose to write this book.
   
   While I do feel that this guide increased my knowledge of CSS, I can't say that the few little tricks I learned were necessarily worth the money I spent on the guide, and that serious users should consider another option.



3. For those of us who are beginners or intermediate programmers of CSS, I would recommend this book. From beginning use to advanced hints and tips, this book has something for everyone. Any book that helps me to learn even one item more than I already knew is a benefit to my library, and you can't beat Amazon.com for price!



4. After reading two great Sitepoint books* cover to cover and returning to them again and again, I thought "The CSS Anthology" would be another good purchase.
   
   Unfortunately, this book makes learning web design as frustrating as the other two books made it easy. I'm on the verge of returning it.
   
   The writing is not as simple, clever or memorable (important in a How-to) as the other books. Instead, the author tends to complicate rather simple concepts and blur the lines between topics.
   
   I'm at about an intermediate level with CSS. The few solutions here that aren't too basic are hopelessly complicated by bad writing. It is easy to waste a day trying to get something from this book to work, simply because the subject was not well presented.
   
   Because "The CSS Anthology" is not designed to be read straight through- I find myself using internet tutorials to find the same information. Not only do the Internet solutions tend to work better, they're easier to find and easier to understand.
   
   I'll probably try to get my money back. Skip this one from the Sitepoint library.
   
   *"Build Your Own Websites the Right Way Using HTML & CSS" and "The Principles of Beautiful Web Design"- Both excellent for beginners



5. CSS is difficult to master, and most who have have done so over a period of years, through trial and error, and from picking up tips one by one from the community of practitioners. Rachel Andrew's CSS Anthology doesn't offer much for the CSS veterans (I found only 1 tip I didn't know), but it's is absolutely full of all the good stuff that we CSS authors treasure and, of course, USE on a daily basis. The best part? Most instances in this book follow Web standards--you won't find that to be true with many other CSS books.

5 comments about Beginning Ruby: From Novice to Professional (Beginning from Novice to Professional).

1. I have dabbled in programming, but never really rolled up my sleeves to learn a language... until now. Both ruby and python seemed like great choices, and I looked for materials to play with them. Both offer some very nice features and the ability to get up and running with something useful and fun easily, yet offer plenty of room to grow. After a short evaluation period, I think I just like the "feel" of ruby better, but that's totally subjective. After settling on a language, I looked for a book.
   
   I checked out Chris Pine's "Learn to Program", and of course _why's Poignant Guide to Ruby, and then this book. This one is, by a large margin, my favorite. Both Chris Pine's book and _why's guide have their moments, but in my opinion Cooper's book has a considerable edge in clarity and usefulness. It explains complex concepts in clear prose and then by example. I feel that I can tackle useful problems after having read the book. It seems to hit the sweet spot for being clear but not condescending, complex but not overwhelming. The examples are very applicable to many real-world problems.
   
   This book is more of a tutorial than a reference, which is exactly what I needed as a new programmer. In addition to being a great ruby book, it's also one of the best "tech" books I've ever purchased. It's rare to see this level of quality in technical writing. I really hope Mr. Cooper continues to produce programming books.



2. I wanted to use ruby on rails for my web applications, but after some failed attempts I decided to learn a bit of the ruby programming language first. This book guided me to the language, even if you are new programmer I completely recommend it.



3. Beginning Ruby is one of the easier books to following Ruby, and get a decent understanding Object Oriented Programming (OOP). If you don't want to fork the money over yet for this book like I did not knowing if I would understand (I just now have grown a big enough interest into programming to want to study), then I would suggest grabbing the book called Learn to Program from Pragmatic Programmer Series. In that book he runs through basic ruby syntax, and programs that actually function more or less like a BASIC application would. Once you finish the short yet insightful Learn to Program book, this book becomes even easier to follow. Once you make your way through this book though, you will want to more then likely purchase the Pragmatic Programmer Ruby book (The Red Pick Axe Book, which the 3rd version is due out in October). But from a novice programmer perspective, this is an amazing book and is always by my side.



4. Every serious Ruby programmer has a copy of the venerable 'Pickaxe' (the definitive Ruby reference manual) at their disposal, but if you're just getting you're feet wet with Ruby and serious about learning it from the ground up, then Beginning Ruby is just what you need.
   
   The tagline 'From Novice to Professional' well describes the content. But if you're looking to delve into advanced GUI programming, then this isn't for you. This book takes you into the Ruby you need to know as the foundation for helping you become a great programmer. Peter Cooper introduces you to many critical concepts that you will need to master, but does so in a logical and easy to read manner. The text is neither dry nor whimsical, but a perfect blend between reference material and hands-on tutorial.
   
   While I had tinkered with Ruby from 2002 onward, I never gave it any real attention until I stumbled upon Ruby on Rails in 2006. When I came to the realization my programming style looked like less of a 'style' than it did a Rube Goldberg machine, it was time to get back to basics ... and thankfully this book was published.
   
   If you're serious about looking into Ruby, now is the time to pick this book up ... then you can go get the latest edition of 'The Pickaxe'. I almost want to buy a second copy out of sheer appreciation for Peter Cooper providing a great guide to a great programming language!



5. I am not in the habit of reviewing books that I have not finished reading, but like the clinical trial that is stopped because it is obvious that patients taking placebos are at risk, this book can be reviewed even though I have only read about half of it.
   
   If you are a beginning programmer, you want to write in Ruby (a superb programming language for the beginner), and you don't have this book, then you are missing out. Peter Cooper writes well, takes every topic from the beginning, and explains very clearly, with examples.
   
   The range of topics is breath-taking. The usual beginners stuff, such as numbers, expressions, strings, text processing, arrays, hashes, flow control, dates, times, ranges, classes, instances, and large numbers, is all there. But the good news is, Peter Cooper doesn't stop there. He takes you on to using libraries, debugging techniques, testing, benchmarking, profiling, connecting to and programming databases, bindings, security, threaded execution, in-line inclusions, Unicode and UTF-8 support, networking, sockets, daemons, network operations, HTML sessions, XML processing, and much more. These are topics that beginners normally do not even touch. Even though this book is not dumbed down, it is absolutely clear and easy to follow. No prior background is necessary. If you go work through this book, you will be ready to work directly with advanced Ruby references. You will not be held up by lack of Ruby knowledge.
   
   If you want to learn Ruby, my advice is buy this book and work through it. I don't think you will need anything else until you are ready for the advanced Ruby references, at which point you should be able to write quite sophisticated programs. This book literally takes the beginner to the professional level. A great buy.

3 comments about Wicket in Action (In Action).

1. This is a great book that really gives a in-depth overview of Wicket. I've been working with Wicket for a couple of years and had to suffer through figuring things out from examples and mailing lists. This book is the definitive guide. I've already learned several new things from it. Many thanks to the authors who went to great lengths to get this book out!



2. I don't normally review books on Amazon but this is one of the best technical books that I've read in a while. The authors do a great job of organizing and presenting the material. The book is easy to read and I was able to get through it in about two evenings. I'm now using it as a reference while I work on my first major Wicket application. It might help that Wicket itself is well structured which makes the concepts that much easier to understand.
   
   That being said, there are a few short-comings:
   1) The cheese and lasagna examples get really old really quickly. The authors could have used different concepts or something a little more relevant or interesting to most developers.
   
   2) The book is somewhat short. While they covered the core topics well, I felt that a few things we missing. I was surprised to see that the publisher trimmed the book and put an extra chapter online but not in print.
   
   3) Some fundamentals like what DTD to include in an HTML page or what the Wicket web.xml should look like would be nice. You can find these answers online with a quick search but this book should really cover it.
   
   But these faults don't hurt the overall usefulness of the book. It would be nice if most/all of this documentation was available in the Wicket project itself, but no such luck which makes this book even more valuable. I don't know if it will be in all copies, but my copy had a coupon for a free version of the digital book (PDF I suppose)... nice touch.
   
   I recommend buying this book and learning about a very reasonable alternative to JSF.



3. I already bought this book before it was released. I love wicket and this book sure makes it easier to work with Wicket. It gives you a great in depth view on how wicket works. Adding more and more complexity in all the different chapters.
   
   A needed read for anyone who wants to get the most out of Wicket.

5 comments about Core JavaServer(TM) Faces (2nd Edition) (Sun Core Series).

1. This book is just loaded with JSF material. Google is still my first choice for answering JSF questions, but when Google can't do it for me, I can usually find what I'm looking for in here.
   
   A good book to have.



2. I'm disappointed in that the book focuses to much on how to accomplish a task without telling much about the architecture, why and how JSF operates behind the scenes. This results in that you don't exactly know what goes on, and thus don't know how to solve other specific problems. This is primary reason why I'm looking for another book about JSF.
   
   The book contains a lot of complete file code. Not necessarily bad, but keep in mind that the book might have less pure written text than you might expect.
   
   What I like about the book it doesn't only cover standard JSF, but also well known third party frameworks, like Apache Tiles, Facelets, JBoss Seam. Although again, it's also on that part more a how-to.



3. I recommend this book cause really you will familiar with JSF and in all technology needed in web application, for me I review some issue with this book such as JDBC and LPAP.
   
   I will give this book 4 stars, the one start losing for this book, cause really don't focus and mention enough the life cycle of JSF, for me I refer to another resource to can understand the JSF life cycle.
   
   Although this book really great. I read some reviewer said the Sun Microsystems don't put their brand-name in product low level of quality, I agree with him. Allthing realsed from Sun Microsystems I believe it.



4. It seems the main focus of these 'authors' is to sell Sun technology as opposed to educating developers. They force on you a technology that should be transparent to the education process. If I wanted to know about glassfish I would have bought a book on it.



5. this book have not reached the intended recipient till now(7/24/2008)expected date of delivery should have been 7/18/2008.
   still waiting for the book.
   thanks!
   arnel garcia

5 comments about Visual Studio 2008 All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).

1. I haven't read the entire book yet, but my initial impressions are that it is an excellent beginning book for Visual Studio 2008. It also touches on some topics not immediately related to Visual Studio, such as modern programming practices, which I found valuable as a junior programmer.
   
   If you are a veteran Visual Studio user, this book is probably too basic for you.
   
   Most of the chapters are overviews, rather than in-depth coverage of any one topic. However, the content is very practical and concise, and contains a lot more useful information per chapter than some more poorly written books would.
   
   From what I can tell, this book is very similar to the previous edition for Visual Studio 2005, with much of the same text. This new version includes mostly the same chapters, with a few new chapters on new features - notably AJAX and LINQ. The new JavaScript debugging does not appear to be covered, which would have been nice.
   
   The new book is missing a few chapters that were in the 2005 edition - one on SQL Server Reporting Services and another one on Using Enterprise Library.
   
   The omission of Reporting Services is unfortunate, since that is a popular alternative to Crystal Reports. (The 2008 edition still has the Crystal Reports chapter that the 2005 book had.) However, if you are going to use Reporting Services you'll probably get a separate book for that anyway. And perhaps the RS chapter was left out of this 2008 book in anticipation of SQL Server 2008 (scheduled for release later in 2008).
   
   All in all, this is an excellent overview and introduction to Visual Studio 2008. If you have a little .NET programming experience and want to learn more about the basics of Visual Studio development, this book is for you.



2. This is exactly what you need to get started with Visual Studio 2008. Whether you are a novice programmer or an experienced developer this book has something for you. It is a very easy read and has a basic step by step approach throughout. For anyone interested in programming with Visual Studio 2008 or if you just want a good reference guide, I would highly recommend this book.



3. This book has been a great reference and learning aid. From start to finish it gives you a great insight of Visual Studio 2008 and the versatility of this program. There are many step by step examples of the many uses of Visual Studio 2008 as well as many tips and web site references. From building application programs (such as smart client and web applications) to accessing data(by using XML or SQL Server) this is a great reference for any programmer. I would strongly suggest that this book become a part of any programmers library.



4. This book is good for a first overview of what and how do to with VS 2008.
   The reader should have minimum programming skils, not a dummie at all.



5. Many people like the style of the "Dummies" books, but most will find this one tries to cover too much. It aspires to be the Swiss Army Knife of anything you could want to do with Visual Studio but that would take 5000 pages so it falls well short.
   
   VS 2008 for Dummies is arranged into 7 "mini books" (not 6 as the cover artwork here on Amazon shows). And while each book has some great information, it typically covers too little to do much real development. Overall, it's biased towards web development (asp.net) using databases but also includes desktop applications, smart phone apps, deployment, unit testing, extending Visual Studio, etc. Unfortunately, unless you just want an overview, most of the mini-book topics really needs its own book.
   
   There's a reason most beginning books on say just C# or Visual Basic are around 1000 pages. This book tries to cover both languages in only 163 pages.
   
   Trying to cover so much information with relatively few pages creates problems. For example, Book 5 is titled Coding. Likely to save space, C# and Visual Basic examples and descriptions are intermixed on nearly every page. So the C# programmer is confused by all the Visual Basic examples and text, and visa versa. It's far from ideal unless you really do want to learn two complex programming languages at once, which seems like a bad idea for a beginning programmer buying an intro "Dummy" book.
   
   So few pages per topic means a lot of important things are not covered at all. If you want to go much past useless "Hello World!" applications, a lot of what you'll likely need is just plain missing--i.e. basic file I/O using FileStream, ReadStream, etc. Many windows forms controls and other common .NET resources are also not covered.
   
   I can imagine a few sorts of people for who might want to buy this book. The first is someone who wants an overview of the capabilities of VS 2008 but doesn't need to actually develop anything. An example might be someone managing a group of developers using VS 2008.
   
   Another target audience might be experienced developers coming from a different or older development environment (such as Linux/Eclipse, VB 6.0, etc.) who only want to get up to speed on VS 2008. They would still likeley need to know (or buy another book on) the current .NET framework, however.
   
   If someone just wants to play around and develop a few "Hello World!" examples, this book will get them there. In the "Dummies" tradition, it holds your hand fairly well through the basics.
   
   If you're the sort of person who likes to read 2 or 3 different books on the same topic, this book may also prove useful. Visual Studio 2008 is a very complex product and this book presents some good information I've not seen elsewhere. And it presents information found in other books in new ways.
   
   If you want to do some serious application or web development you either already need to know what you're doing, or you'll almost certainly need another book that covers your particular development area in more detail. This book will not, for example, teach you object oriented programming, or the full syntax of Visual Basic, ASP.NET or C#. It also doesn't cover the .NET framework and libraries in sufficient detail to do much more than play around.
   
   In summary it's a useful overview, but unless that's all you need, you're probably better off with a book that targets the particular area of Visual Studio development you're most interested in. Many beginning books on C#, Visual Basic, ASP.NET, etc. do a good job of also covering Visual Studio 2008. So if you only want to buy one book, this might not be the best choice.

5 comments about PHP Cookbook (Cookbooks (O'Reilly)).

1. This book is not for someone who doesn't know programming. If you haven't coded at all in your life and don't basic PHP syntax you need a different book.
   
   It also isn't a full solution for your site. You can't by this book and expect it to provide a complete solution for your programming needs.
   
   What is it. It is a collection of discrete coding examples of how to program. It's not a book of syntax. It is a book of techniques that you can learn and then use as needed on your own projects.
   
   I haven't read this book from end to end but when I recently had my first XML project it was useful to learn my different options on how to approach the project. Next I will be working on improving security. Again it has good examples that I can use and MODIFY for my own needs.



2. Each recipe states a Problem, gives a Solution, adds Discussion to help you understand the "why" behind the "what", and tosses in a "See Also" section if you need more info. There are 26 chapters of problem-solving recipes that will not only get you over the current hurdle but provide for learning in quick bits. Take a couple minutes, try something that interests you, and add it to your toolbox.
   
   Awesome book!



3. O'Rielly is a name I trust, and often look to for technical manuals. Their cookbooks and pocket guides are particularly sweet.
   
   
   I am constantly pulling this book for snippets of code. Converting dates all around, array manipulation all the mundane but oh-so-common choirs.
   
   I have already added an extensive collections of methods and classes based on the book's code. With my newly found admiration of Object-Oriented design and development I am able to reuse the code I create once again and again.
   
   If you are new to Object Oriented coding, check out
   Object-Oriented PHP: Concepts, Techniques, and Code
   
   Together you can build powerful classes of date or array methods to handle anything you'll come across, and anything new only makes them better!



4. This book is a good reference for people who already have a fair amount of programming knowledge. You don't need to necessarily know PHP since it's pretty similar to all the other languages out there. You should however have an idea of how a data driven website works.



5. It is pretty good. Especially for the people who worked a little bit on php but not an expert yet. (That is me.)

5 comments about Applying UML and Patterns: An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design and Iterative Development (3rd Edition).

1. I found the previous edition 5 years ago, and completely marked it up. This book was instrumental in passing the OOAD test certification.
   I continued recommending this book to my colleagues.
   Then found the UML 2.0 edition, and plan on using this book as much as I did.



2. This book was purchased for the Business Analyst in our IT Department. She is very pleased with the graphics which make the instructions much easier to understand. There are many practical applications in the book that have already been extremely helpful in her job.



3. It's a "must read" for a programmer. This book has opened my eyes for lots of things connected with programming I didn't realize before.
   
   After reading this book I recommend you reading followings:
   - "Agile Software Development, Principles, Patterns, and Practices" ew. "Agile Principles, Patterns, and Practices in C#";
   - "Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture".
   
   I have to say that English is not my first language, but I found this book "readable" with no problems.



4. This was my first book on development process theme. Well it's quite interesting to read and full of useful information. It highlights some interesting methods of software design work. This book has one shortcoming: the actual useful information is hidden by huge amount of text which sometimes repeats itself. I had to make some efforts to begin to understand the ideas and principles. And after reading it twice you will have clear view of agile development in you head. Anyway it is worth to be read.



5. I needed the book because I did not pass the examen OOAA (Object Oriented Analysis Advanced). The cause: the study material did not cover all the subjects. Therefore I bought this book to increase my ability to apply the UML patterns and to pass the exam.
   
   I have read half of the book.
   It is clearly written, without any errors for far.
   That is why I consider this book as a valuable resource and give it five stars.
   
   Although English is not my native language, I am able to read and understand the subjects.
   
   René
   The Netherlands

4 comments about Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft SQL Server T-SQL in 10 Minutes (Sams Teach Yourself).

1. Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft SQL Server T-SQL in 10 Minutes (Sams Teach Yourself)
   by Ben Forta
   
   Short Review:
   If T-SQL (Transact-Structured Query Language) is foreign tongue to you, after reading this book, you will speak T-SQL. This book is SQL Server version of best-selling book Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes. This book teaches what a SQL developer must know methodically, systematically, and exactly. Anybody who are new to SQL Server and wants to learn most of T-SQL which can be implemented in short time in their application - BUY this book immediately.
   
   Detail Review:
   This is the one book I was awaiting eagerly. I claim that I am very experience Database Administrator and Database Developer, however, I have learned something new from this book of acclaimed author Ben Forta.
   
   This book is focused on T-SQL only. It begins with simple data retrieval and continues to develop complex topics. It addresses various topics that are enough to get some work done with SQL Server as well explains concept in depth. SQL Server 2005 is a very complex, feature rich product. This book does a wonderful job of explaining the various features with out going to too many details that majority of the users will not need anyway. This book covers all of the important aspects of SQL Server 2005 without clouding the information with tons of examples that are not for every user.
   
   Author has divided the book into short comprehensible chapters along with to the point examples and explanations of the concepts. If you see "Table of Contents" of this book, you will find that this book covers many areas. I will talk about few of my personal favorite chapters of this book here to demonstrate, what this book does is best at.
   
   Chapter 5: Sorting Retrieved Data
   If you want to sort in descending order on multiple columns, be sure each column has its own DESC keyword.
   When you are sorting textual data, is A the same as a? And does a come before B or after Z? In dictionary sort order, A is treated the same as a. If you need an alternate sort order, you can not accomplish it with a simple ORDER BY clause.
   It is not required, and it is perfectly legal to sort data by a column that is not retrieved.
   
   Chapter 10: Using Data Manipulation Functions
   It is far safer to always use a full four digit year so that SQL Server does not have to make any assumptions for you.
   When comparing dates, always use DATEDIFF(), and do not make assumptions about how dates are stored.
   
   Chapter 15: Creating Advanced Joins
   It is worth noting that table aliases are only used during query execution. Unlike column aliases, table aliases are never returned to the client.
   Self joins are often used to replace statements using subqueries that retrieve data from the same table as the outer statement. Sometimes these joins execute far more quickly than do subqueries.
   
   Chapter 22: Programming with T-SQL
   This is my most favorite chapter. Experienced programmers will find this chapter most interesting.
   
   To discover the secret of SQL, this is the book you need to read, extremely well written, easy to follow and most importantly to the point. This has got to be the smallest SQL book in existence with highest amount of quality content. A really MUST have book.
   
   Rating: 5 stars
   
   In Summary, A MUST read.
   
   Pinal Dave
   Principal Database Administrator
   (http://www.SQLAuthority.com)



2. I am brand new to SQL Server and have been reading a handful of large SQL Server for beginners type books, but I kept getting hung up on all the T-SQL commands. No book seemed to explain it clearly, or they'd suddenly introduce a series of mind-numbing code without explanation - assuming you knew it. Fortunately for me, I stumbled on this gem of a book. It is well laid out, concise, and there is no filler. It starts with the absolute basics and works on up through to more complex T-SQL scripts (stored procedures, cursors, triggers etc.), but by the time you get there - you're more confident with this stuff. I'd highly recommend this book if you want to learn T-SQL.



3. This is a great book for any newbie to T-SQL. There are lots of examples and each of those is accompanied by an explanation, without assuming that you already knew something (a pet peeve of mine for many how-to books). The chapters are broken up well and each leads into the next seamlessly. It is not the ultimate reference guide, but if you are looking to learn and understand how T-SQL works, then this is the book for you.



4. Read this book if you are new to Microsoft SQL Server. This book is well written and gets right to the main points of T-SQL. I especially liked the later chapters on Views, Stored Procedures, XML, and programming with T-SQL. This is one of my top 10 computer books and I always keep this book close at hand for reference. Use another book if you are looking for the hard core nitty gritty details of SQL Server. I hope Ben Forta writes a "Sams Teach Yourself" book on for other SQL server features like SQL Server Integration Services or SQL Server Reporting Services.

5 comments about ActionScript 3.0 for Adobe Flash CS3 Professional Hands-On Training.

1. I am a regular user of Flash, however ActionScript (other than the really basic stuff) has always been a mystery to me. This book helped me to understand it in a way I never thought possible. I highly recommend it.



2. The author takes you step-by-step through useful examples that make the learning flow very easily from basic to intermediate. The style is crisp, with just the right amount of humor. Perfect to get your grounding if you are just getting into ActionScript 3.0



3. If you are an animator looking to enter the world of actionscript, or you just don't have much development experience, then this book may be appropriate, but for anyone else the useful content could be compressed to the size of a pamphlet.
   
   As for the accompanying CD, I found the content on this to be totally useless, there are much better video tutorials available on-line for free.



4. What this book does, it does very well. It illustrates the new syntax and methods of AS3, and shows you exactly how to use them. It is illustrated and organized so efficiently that it can function as a "cookbook" reference.
   
   It's a deceptively compact book, very handsomely bound and thoroughly illustrated with color screenshot examples. It is much better printed than earlier lynda-dot-com H-O-T Flash books (cleaner typography, opaque paper for color printing), though inside there's a superficial family resemblance. You get a series of step-by-step, read-and-type exercises, as well as a few supporting video tutorials. It even uses the old "snowboarder" example that the H-O-T books have used for the last three versions of Flash.
   
   As I say, the resemblance is only superficial. The tutorials are much more concentrated than is usual. The chapters and subsections are short--a key concept may be covered and demonstrated in just two or three pages--but this concentration of material can make it very slow-going, requiring two or three re-reads. The few videos provided seem to be there merely for tradition's sake and add little to the tutorials.
   
   I recommend this book but do not recommend attempting to learn AS3 from this book alone. Its virtue is its limitation: the author covers all the basics, seldom digressing from his lessons, so you may feel cramped and distracted if you try to cover more than one chapter at time. What you're missing is commentary and elbow room, a sense of overall context and practical application. For this you should get the Shupe/Rosser book (Learning ActionScript 3.0) and two or three others.
   
   You might also get Todd Perkins's follow-on to this book, '...Beyond the Basics,' also from lynda. Though more advanced, it recaps this book's material very well, and being a series of short video tutorials is easier to follow. Put both Todd Perkins efforts together, and you get one fine five-star tutorial on how to code ActionScript 3.0.



5. Thanks to the LA Flash Club for letting me take this book out from their library in order to get a better grasp on ActionScript. I am by no means computer illiterate, but I also needed to be brought up to speed on flash.
   
   The book is laid out in a logical order, first introducing ActionScript, then explaining basic communication techniques before going deeper into the more complicated topics such as graphs, arrays, and functions.
   
   The pages are set up in a visually impressive way. The colors and large screen shots make following the text not too difficult and the colored code makes sure I avoid the occasional careless typo. While the layout was clear and the instructions were good, it got to the point where the step by step "click this..type this...click that..." hand holding was a bit excessive.
   
   The projects get the point of the lesson across, but they seem disconnected from one another and often the book instructs you not to bother saving your work when you finish. I would have appreciated seeing how all the techniques would combine on a larger scale as opposed to separate projects independent of each other.
   
   The CD included with the book is a very useful resource and aids in the learning process. Throughout the entire book it is constantly referring to files contained on the CD for you to work along with. While this does make learning process easier another complaint that i have is that it does not delve
   very deep into the actual programming. It covers the subjects that i want, just not with the depth i need.
   
   Overall the book is a solid introduction to ActionScript, but if you are looking for a one stop resource for everything ActionScript this is not it.