5 comments about C Primer Plus (5th Edition).

1. I tried couple of C books but, never worked.
   C Primer start from the scratch and go through
   all the topics which a beginner should know
   very well.
   The book is thick and has lot of assignments.
   It helps new C student to grasp the language
   easily.
   I recommend "C Primer" for the beginners of
   'C'.



2. I have just started reading this book the day before yesterday and I'm only on pg.124 in ch.4 but I already know that this book is a must have for any beginner in C and with their index in the back of the book tells me that it is a great reference guide for veterans of C. I have read other programming books like Teach Yourself Visual Basic 2005 in 24 Hours (which is bad book-doesn't teach very well) and I have to say that this is one of the best programming books out there and it is a must own for any C programmer!



3. This is simply put the best beginner book I've found on C.
   
   I've been reading it for over a year, and have yet to finish it all of it.
   
   It covers all the C language aspects (and also the C99 extensions) and provides lots of exercises to train your skills.



4. Over the years, as I've flirted with the idea of really sitting down to learn C, I've looked at a variety of intro-to-C type books; I've even bought a couple - only to set them aside to collect dust. This book (C Primer Plus, 5th ed.) is, frankly, one of the best intro books I've seen. I've read the first 13 chapters thus far and have been very pleased with the content. Topics are presented logically, explained well, and include numerous sample programs in the text body to reinforce newly introduced ideas. If you take the time to walk through the sample programs, look at the review questions, and work on the end-chapter programming exercises, you'll be in good shape. This book is worth every bit of the purchase price; it will stay in my personal library for years to come and I will highly recommend it to friends and colleagues looking to learn core C programming skills.
   
   Note: I do have basic programming skills in other languages, but I think this book would be fine for any "true" novice as long as they gave themselves time and diligently worked through the exercises.



5. This would be a great book if not for the fact that the first 100 pages are about printf() and scanf(). The beginner does not need to read technical specs on these two functions. That's what the C99 spec is for. It just goes on and on and on. What the author should have done is very gradually introduce these important functions over the course of several chapters, mix it in with control statements, expressions, operators, etc. with a more complete and in-depth coverage saved for an advanced chapter on functions.

5 comments about Murach's ASP.NET 3.5 Web Programming with VB 2008.

1. Considering 2 of the other 3 reviewers have rated every book they have rated as a 5 star rating and one of those has only rated Murachs books....I would suggest you throw them out.
   
   On top of that, had I caught it before I bought the book, I wouldn't have bought it on principle alone for it appears that Murach is trying to stack the reviews.
   
   As far as the book... Overall, this book has some good information but it is still mediocre at best. I would keep searching....



2. I'm my job I review hundreds of books a year. I only publically comment on the really good ones and this one is super !
   
   If I were going to teach a course on ASP.NET Development in VB, this is the book that I would use. It's complete, well written, up to date with all the latest ASP.NET technology, and aesthetically pleasing !
   
   Joe Stagner
   www.MisfitGeek.com



3. I picked this book up at my local store the price is better than many others on the same scale. The information included is a great start for beginners and will be a nice desk book for people who already know ASP.Net but want to learn 3.5 or need a book that covers a wide array of topics.



4. Over the past couple of years I've become aware of the Murach series of books which fill a definite need for a complete coverage of a subject.
   
   This book, Murach's ASP.NET 3.5 Web Programming with VB 2008, is no exception.
   
   While it would be impossible to cover everything about asp.net in any book (nor should anyone try), this book covers a wide range of topics that will give the reader a very good set of knowledge and tools to develop almost any conceivable website.
   
   It does start from almost the beginning with html and procedes with actual examples and a growing project through the various server controls, navigation, validation, formatting, data access, security, ajax and custom controls.
   
   The reader should have some familiarity with programming and related concepts but beyond that a new person to .net will get a very practical education with this book. There is a lot of information packed into the 1000 pages!



5. Found the book very easy to read. Book offers clear, concise and exhaustive coverage of all aspects of ASP.NET 3.5. Murach has been my favorite programming book publisher for years.

5 comments about Expert F# (Expert's Voice in .Net).

1. As an experienced programmer, notably in C#, Scheme & Haskell, with no prior F# exposure, I've found Expert F# a joy to read and its level just right. The book reflects the language F# itself: it's elegant, fun & practical.
   
   Genuinely interesting, the code samples never appear contrived, as is usually the case in a text presenting a language. Actually, Expert F# goes well beyond teaching F#: it is a compelling demonstration of effective functional programming and I am sure I've grown as a programmer by reading it. It's also a book I've found myself coming back to, gaining new insights at each careful reading.
   
   My favorite chapter is Introducing Language-Oriented Programming (ch.9), which is packed with fascinating examples: probabilistic workflows, schema compilation by reflecting on types, and using F# quotations for error estimation (though see a correction to the math here: http://cs.hubfs.net/forums/5508/ShowThread.aspx), to name just the three most striking.
   
   In short, I enthusiastically recommend Expert F#, specially if your task requires you to program on the .NET platform. Though C# is OK, F# is more elegant, more fun & more productive -- you won't be looking back.



2. For a background about the reviewer, I am a software developer with 5 years of experience. I have programmed in C# and C++ only.
   
   This is one of the first books to be written about F#. Taking into consideration that F# works on top of the .NET framework and all previous .NET Languages didn't include a functional language, most intended audience should be expected to have little or no background of functional programing while having a good background of imperative programming.
   
   Functional programming is a whole new world for imperative programmers, a world with new restrictions and new ways of thinking. Unfortunately this book doesn't give a good explanation for functional programming concepts, it is explaining the language syntax most of the time. Even when explaining language syntax it is always missing things that you find explained in discussions and tutorials online. This book acts more as a syntax reference more than a book to learn from.
   
   If you have no background about F# or functional programming then this book will not make things easy for you. You have to use another source with this book, either a series of tutorials or some articles or a discussion board.



3. This is my amended review after reading the other reviews for the first time. I totally agree with Muhammad, who also gave this book a 2 star rating. I can't believe people are giving this book rave reviews (I think some of the reviewers are being paid). I read lots of computer books, and this one just isn't that well written in comparison. It is quite apparent to me that the authors do not write applications for a living. Instead of "Expert F#" it should be "Academic F#". From an expert, you expect advice on the best way to do things, things you should avoid, and alternatives. This book does not have any of this kind of information.
   
   Here is my original review:
   
   Functional languages are "hot" because of the promise of easy multiprocessing and reduced error rates. So great, I'll buy this book and convert my C# code, so it can work with all these multi-core chips.
   
   Be warned, this book falls short of real world examples and uses. Its examples seem more of interest to the academic community than business applications. Most if the book is of the nature, "this is what you can do" instead of "in this situation; this is the best way to do it."
   
   It also assumes a lot of background in functional languages. Yes, it states "Expert", but really how many OCaml programmers are there? It really could use numerous examples of C# or VB code rewritten in F#.
   
   This is not to say there is not a lot of good information here and there are not a lot of alternatives. It is nice having this information all in one place. I am still sold that F# and functional languages are the future of programming, but just be warned the learning curve will be high.



4. It's definitely a good book. I've read a few sections in it and have been impressed with what I've seen. The book is targeted toward specific implementations of F# in various settings. I like that but think other people won't. The techniques described are quite powerful. I'd say this is a must for experts in the .NET languages.



5. Expert F# does a great job explaining why and how you should use F#. It is not a general purpose tutorial on functional programming. The title "Expert" should be a hint that some (maybe... 25%?) of the topics are going to be advanced and move fast. If you're completely new to functional programming, Real World Haskell (already out) and Real World Functional Programming (Tomas Petricek, 2009) are good resources to get you in the right mindset.
   
   Regardless, this book covers the many aspects of F# and is the best general resource on F# so far.

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 C++ for Dummies.

1. The explainations are just plain bad. When I stated reading this, I had a little experience with the Python programming language. I still had trouble reading this. Pay more and get a better text.



2. Well written, fairly priced book that helped me get through a college class. I recommend it for any beginners doing C++ programming.



3. --BUYER BEWARE! This book is a near replica of Mr. Davis' other book, "C++ Weekend Crash Course 2nd Ed." Don't do what I did and buy both of these hoping for a 1-2 punch into breaking into C++. When I say near replica, I mean word for word. Link Below.
   
   C++ Weekend Crash Course
   
   
   
   This book was something I was sure I could delve into when I saw it. It was one of those promisingly titled "...For Dummies" books. I bought this and dug right in. I have no programming experience. What I did have was a thirst for knowledge of C++ and an open mind. It got me through (roughly) half the book before I just couldn't take it anymore. Reading this book was like listening to an old codger tell you how he mowed his grass with fixed blades powered by his own two feet. Mr. Davis explained the concepts well enough for a basic understanding, but it was by no means built for a "Dummy." Some of the variables could have three or more characters before them. Following his naming convention, I was getting confused of what the variable did before I even got to the actual name of it! This review is short and to the point. Mr. Davis' book didn't make learning the language easy, fun, and even made me dreading looking forward to finding out more. I would not recommend it to anyone.



4. this book was fine, but simply not good enough. as a beginning programmer i found this book tremendously useful as it introduced me to the basic functions of c++ and how to do normal programming. however the object oriented programming section was nothing short of a disaster. in the beginning he clearly explained every necessary lined of coding and in the object-oriented section he basically cut the explanations way too much. this book is a begginers guide and everything should be clearly explained, he would used some algorithms like: (strimcp(maxnamesize-1) - that was for a system that the max character limit was 100, as you type in your name it subtracts after every character, i know what strimcp is but how am i supposed to understand why it's needed for that function. he uses maxnamesize in the beggining of the program to intitialize it and it's something in brackets like (maxnamesize, char* something i don't remember) and how am i supposed to know why it's there? he thinks everyone thinks like him



5. This is a great book for those whom are unknowledgeable about programming. However, when you want to start making your own programs, you will find yourself frustrated. There are no lists of commands, you have to flip through the book and stop at examples to find them. Even more frustrating is the lack of libraries these commands are tied to. The author gives you a two-sentence explanation about libraries, but doesn't explain which ones have what relationship to which commands. Don't get me wrong here. This is a GREAT book to learn about why C++ does what, but you might want to also find something to accompany it.

5 comments about JavaScript and Ajax for the Web, Sixth Edition (Visual QuickStart Guide).

1. This book gives some nice examples of usable code for a few common uses but doesnt give a very good explanation of what is being done and why. if you have great programming experience and a excellent knowledge of the DOM this book would be good way to get some javascript going, but for the average person looking to learn how javascript works and apply it in other ways than those shown in the book you are better off elsewhere.



2. I'm an experienced procedural php, xhtml and css developer with litter foundational knowledge about javascript. I purchased this book to fill that gap and was a little disappointed. It's not a bad book but it assumes a lot and has little instructional flow. The book scrolls though one example after another without much explanation for the actual language constructs behind javascript.
   
   The author states that this book is not for beginners and I don't consider myself to be one, however, I'd advise anyone looking to buy this book to have a solid understanding of object oriented programming principals before they do so.
   
   Overall it's not a bad book for a certain audience but it lacks foundational, and in my opinion vital, information about javascript.



3. I've been learning JavaScript off and on, with some success, for three months. In doing so, I've skimmed about a half-dozen books and tried the following three, so far, "graded" below:
   
   Learning JavaScript (Powers B-)
   VQS JavaScript and Ajax (Negrino & Smith C+)
   O'Reilly JavaScript Pocket Reference (Flanagan B)
   
   It's hard to find good books on this because the subject matter is new and the books are often dashed off quickly. VQS JavaScript and Ajax is essentially a collection of well-explained examples of well-organized code. It's written more to fill pages than flesh out the subject, however. The explanations are unnecessarily wordy and the broader coverage of concepts, context and how to, you would want to include in a teaching book are missing.
   
   Strangest of all perhaps is the author's choice of leaving out how html talks to Javascript or the details of how they link. Since JavaScript's purpose is to interact with html and pass things back and forth, it's sort of like doing marriage counseling and only focusing on what the woman's thinking to herself. Unfortunately, they're not the only authors that make this oversight.
   
   The VQS format is great and they do a good job of using color to highlight the portions of code they're referring to. The is a good, annotated collection of code examples. It's something I've found to be only marginally helpful in getting started.



4. The book arrived quickly. I is new quality. I intend to increase my knowledge of DOM, JavaScrip anf AJAX.



5. This is my first QSG book. I assume the layout is "feature" of the series, if so this will be my last.
   
   Bottom line first: the title is a lie, this is a book about javascript with a chapter on AJAX; this book has good content, but the presentation will drive you insane while you read it.
   
   Layout:
   The book has a good concept but doesn't execute it well. Each page is divided into two columns, the example code is in one column, the text describing that code is in the other. This really is a great concept. It's used in analytic copies of a number of Shakespeare's plays and works well there. It works because they are conscientious about pagination, include line references, and use facing pages not columns.
   Columns are a problem because each line has about three words before wrapping. The dot syntax of javascript is particularly hard to read with such short lines.
   The pagination / line reference is really the biggest problem in the QSG's execution. They let the text and code flow through the columns across pages without much attention. This means you are constantly flipping forwards and backwards to see the code as you read. Without line references the flipping is not just annoying it's really more of a search.
   They make two attempts to address the pagination problem: first, the code being talked about is highlighted in red; second, they reprint the code block being talked about in the text column. Neither of these is helpful. Half of the code ends up being highlighted red - at most you can scan the red blocks to figure out what that code is an example of, and what is just there to support the example. If they are going to reprint the code anyway why not just go over to a normal layout? My suggestion: use facing pages for the next edition!
   
   AJAX:
   This is not a book on AJAX. This is an introduction to javascript that includes a buzz word in its title to jump off the shelf at people. It's not even an introduction to javascript from an AJAX prospective. In fact AJAX isn't covered well in the book. For example there is very little discussion of how to navigate returned XML using javascript. AJAX is mentioned in the intro and then 'taught' in chapters 15 and 16. (Chapter 16 is just a discussion of available libraries!) You can't give AJAX top billing and then devote 10% of the actual book to it.
   
   So why 2 stars?
   
   I was looking for a book that assumed very little or no knowledge of javascript. I was hoping for something that would address canonical javascripting, best practices, and a bit theory behind the topics being covered. I'm self taught and wanted to see how things should be done instead of how they can be done. This book would be a darn good intro for a beginner. The theory and best practices parts were not explicitly addressed as often as I would have liked; however, they were demonstrated and covered at times.
   
   4 star content, less 1 for layout, less 1 for title.

5 comments about New Perspectives on HTML and XHTML, Comprehensive.

1. This was a required textbook for a XHTML class I am taking at a local community college. I have been very impressed with this book in teaching the elementary art of correct coding. Also helpful are the appendices at the end outlining colors, elements, etc. I have learned a lot from it.



2. Do your students a favor and skip this book which is too long, too wordy, and has case studies that the students would be hard-pressed to recreate on their own.



3. This book is awesome if you want to learn HTML. It is explicit and easy to understand and walks you through step by step. Even a novice with no HTML experience can easily understand. I would highly recommend this book.



4. I purchased this book for an HTML class I am currently enrolled in. This book has been so helpful in helping understand the HTML code behind web pages. The book was also cheaper through Amazon than the book store (I always look at Amazon price first. In most cases Amazon was cheaper). This is good for the intermediate HTML class as well. The tutorials are very descriptive and explained thoroughly. Very easy book to follow for trouble shooting issues as well. I would highly recommend it for all people who are new to HTML code as well as seasoned HTML users as a great reference manual.



5. I cannot recommend this book. The chapters pace the information too fast. The tutorials are easy to follow, but do a poor job of explaining what is going on.
   
   If you already know html, this book will be okay. If you don't know html, find another book.

5 comments about Starting Out with Java: From Control Structures through Objects (3rd Edition).

1. THIS BOOK IS NOT AVAILABLE AS DESCRIBED. The description clearly states the book is a hard cover but no hard cover is available. I tried resolving the issue with Amazon, but all they did was send ANOTHER soft cover.
   
   For $100 you should get what you were told you were going to get. Other then being VERY VERY VERY disapointed with my Amazon experience, the book reads well and is ok for the very beginner.
   
   Over all I was not impressed by the book, or by Amazon's attempt to resolve my problem.



2. This is an excellent text for students to learn Java, and Object-oriented programming. The introduction of control structures first allows the beginning programmer to master the ideas of loops / selection, before tackling the more abstract concept of objects, and classes. The examples and explanations are very gentle on the reader. The frustration level for beginners is quite low. I have taught Java programming for almost 10 years, and have used many different texts - this one works for students who have little (or no) programming experience.
   Colin Archibald, PhD



3. If you read the reviews of this text and its earlier editions, you'll see that it's nearly always praised by intro CS profs and students alike. Only this 3rd edition has gotten a real 'ding' by a reviewer, and that came more from that one individual's problem with Amazon than any real fault found in Gaddis' text itself. The guy's anger is understandable, though, as the price of this thick *paperback* book is simply absurd - as is the case with so many college textbooks these days... especially those in subject areas considered the gateway to lucrative careers. How can the publishers possibly justify their pricing? They can't... it's mostly greed. They figure CS students will just borrow a ton of money for their education and then pay off their inflated loans with their huge salaries, later!
   
   Anyway, end of rant. What I would suggest, though, is to consider using an earlier edition of Gaddis' text - used - if ninety plus bucks is too much for you. For the purpose of introductory programming in Java, very little is lost in using the first edition, "Starting Out with Java 5". As I write this in 2008, Java is 13 years old and has become a mature language; very few basic features or keywords are deprecated anymore, and all of the latest and greatest extensions are mostly beyond the introductory level of this textbook. What the first edition did well - build a firm foundation for understanding programming structures and object oriented features in basic Java - all editions still do extremely well. The second edition, and the third, however, are incremental improvements... not essential to getting one's students off on the right foot.



4. This book has pleased me a lot.I have 2 other books for Java which are waste and I never open then from the day I started reading this book.Tony Gaddis has explained every concept in detail.I am a beginner and this book is a very good choice for beginners.The examples in this book are explained so well with no errors which makes it even more good. I want to learn EJB also if his book is available.



5. i never received the book.... it is over a month ago now and i have no book and no refund.....chances are i will continue to use ebay for my textbooks, atleast they arrive on time

5 comments about iText in Action: Creating and Manipulating PDF.

1. In January 2006 I was assigned to build a system that would create lots of PDF reports, typically with hundreds of pages of tables, and with tables nested in other tables. I started with an an open-source tool called BIRT that is well-designed and powerful, but it didn't quite give me sufficient low-level control over some aspects of PDF creation. When I realized that BIRT wasn't going to work for me, I was behind schedule and in trouble. Then I discovered iText. (BIRT actually is built using iText jar files.) I found that iText gave me exactly what I needed: an easy-to-use yet powerful Java API for creating PDF files. The remainder of the project, using iText, went smoothly, and my boss was very happy with the results. But I sure wish that I'd had Bruno Lowagie's "iText in Action" book at the time! That would have shaved a few weeks off of the project and would have saved me from learning some things painfully, by trial and error. As the original developer of iText, Bruno Lowagie is uniquely qualified to write this book. He obviously put a huge amount of effort into it, reflecting his longstanding commitment to iText. He made every effort to explain things as clearly as possible, and to document the pitfalls as well as the attractive features. It is evidently a labor of love for him. The book is written to the high editorial standards of other Manning books, with clear organization, good typography and layout, and so on. I highly recommended iText itself, and also this book, to anyone who is using Java to work with PDF files.



2. I've always figured that there should be some way to create PDF files without the manual effort of any 3rd party software client. Now I find out there is a way, and it's rather exciting... iText In Action by Bruno Lowagie covers the iText open source software project. It's a very well done reference manual that can also serve as a tutorial for a decent Java developer.
   
   Contents:
   Part 1 - Introduction: iText - when and why; PDF engine jump-start; PDF - why and when
   Part 2 - Basic Building Blocks: Composing text elements; Inserting images; Constructing tables; Constructing columns
   Part 3 - PDF Text and Graphics: Choosing the right font; Using fonts; Constructing and painting paths; Adding color and text; Drawing to Java Graphics2D
   Part 4 - Interactive PDF: Browsing a PDF document; Automating PDF creation; Creating annotations and fields; Filling and signing AcroForms; iText in web applications; Under the hood
   Appendixes: Class diagrams; Creating barcodes; Open parameters; Signing a PDF with a smart card; Dealing with exceptions; Pdf/X, Pdf/A, and tagged PDF; Resources; index
   
   Lowagie starts off with a brief background of how iText came into being, along with a scenario of where the ability to programmatically create PDF files could dramatically change the way a college would run a department. Then after a short Hello World example that involves creating a simple document, he delves into all the different features and capabilities. The book at this point starts to change from tutorial to reference manual, but it's done in such a way that you could just keep working through the material in tutorial fashion with little effort (and good results). The example code in all the chapters are extensively annotated and explained, so you're not left to your own devices to try and figure out what the logic is trying to accomplish. In fact, I would say that the code annotation and commentary is some of the best I've seen in a book of this type. Great job...
   
   The main target audience for this book is the Java developer, as the iText project is Java-based. There are .NET ports for J# and C#, and knowing how close those languages are to Java, this book should work pretty well for those development efforts with a little bit of thought and modification. Other languages should be able to use the iText toolkit if they have some way to call Java code modules from within their programs. As a Notes/Domino developer, I should be able to utilize all of this package in any Java agents I write, and the LS2J feature of LotusScript might also work well. After reading this book, I know I have some things I need to try...
   
   If you have any sort of need involving the creation of PDF files from within your own system, iText is a great alternative to explore. And if that seems to be the way to go, I don't know of any better book to get than this one...



3. This is nice book, though most of the contents can be found online (I believe it is linked from the author's website). I have created some complex PDF files using iText following the examples on the book and online tutorials. This is the book from iText creator, surely it worth a 5 starts.



4. This is a great book for people developing or maintaining applications using iText. It covers every corner-case I've run into, typically offering various options on how to solve a problem. The writing is concise, with easily approachable chapters and examples.



5. This is a best book I have ever seen. It has every details about how to use the iText. It's very clear in every technical aspects. iText is also a great API for Java programmer. It's also really easy to learn. I love iText.
   
   I love this book. I strongly recommand this book.

5 comments about More Effective C++: 35 New Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series).

1. It provides even more explanation than the first book and they both have similar advantages: easy-readable, explained in detail, large and useful topics covered.



2. Describing more advanced topics of c++, such as - things you should know before overloading special operators, inner works of exception-handling (and what you should avoid while using them), how the virtual table is built when using RTTI & Inheritance, general efficiency issues (such as the works of temporaries and multiple inheritance) and few Design-Patterns related techniques.
   
   The style of this book is light and easy to understand, which makes it a fine sequel to the first book.
   
   The author does tends to get carried away in some of the chapters into describing topics in too much detail (overloading operators ||/&&, forcing heap allocations, smart-pointers/refrence counting) and there are few duplication issues between this book and the previous one (I found myself thinking "hmmm... didn't I read that before?") several times.
   
   All said - although it's often a bit less practical and a bit more advanced than the previous book - you would definately gain new insights from reading it, plus it might be used as a useful reference as well.



3. Like every sequel, in my opinion, this book is less good than the original as if the topics covered in this book are the ones that did not make it into the original book. However that being said, this book is still very good and is just more of the same good stuff that made the original book a bestseller. If you liked Effective C++, there is not risk at all that you will not like this one and will get new knowledge out of it.



4. A sequel to Effective C++. Unlike the prequel, which got a third edition in 2005, this has only been updated via the addition of footnotes in a few places (my copy is the 22nd printing from 2006), so some of it feels a bit dated: the items on templates and keywords such as explicit and mutable are somewhat rudimentary.
   
   The material is a mixture of items of a similar level to Effective C++, plus some more advanced topics, like how to find out if your object is allocated on the heap or not, how to prevent an object being allocated on the heap, and the mechanics of the object model, about which C++ users (or the authors of C++ books) seem inordinately fond, at least compared to Java users and Smalltalkers. As a result, the more advanced material has slightly narrower appeal than that in Effective C++ - many of the techniques seem more hassle than they're worth.
   
   That said, a good deal of the material is still universally important, such as exceptions and the new-style casts, which were new at the time of publication, but which are no longer considered 'advanced'. By now, though, this material is covered elsewhere, e.g. in the likes of C++ Coding Standards and Thinking in C++, or in modified form in the third edition of Effective C++. The last item in the book, on the use of the STL, has been superseded by the author's own book-length excursion, Effective STL.
   
   There's also a slight difference in format. The items are in general longer than those in Effective C++. For some topics, it works very well. For example, there's a great treatment of writing a 'smart' pointer and using it for reference counting that takes up 60 pages. That entirely merits the extended format. On the other hand, in some places, the book could have done with editing. Meyers' witticisms are welcome as always, but are sometimes a little too chatty, compared to Effective C++, where the writing is tauter.
   
   It's still a pleasure to read, and this has established itself as another C++ must read, but from the perspective of 2007, it's not quite as genre-defining as Effective C++.



5. The example are really clear. Scott Meyers make it clear what the compilers will generate from the C++ code. My favorite item is on the reference counting object. It is a great add-ons to the Effective C++ book. One book a C++ programmer must have in his toolbox.