5 comments about Building J2EE Applications with IBM WebSphere.

1. This was a great book to use in getting started with WSAD. The step-by-step tutorials help get one through the often complex steps of creating applications in WSAD, and at the same time introduce good design principles.

   The negative reviewers seem to imply that you will have only one book on WebSphere on your bookshelf--which isn't realistic. This book won't be the only one you buy for WebSphere development, but it is a very good book to become familiar with the tool and build enough proficiency to make good use of more "reference oriented" texts.




2. This is buggy book. there are a lot of errors. I only read part of it but found a lot errors on Page: 26, 70, 89, 158, 157, 159, 167, ....
   The explanation is not clear, make you confused to very simple things. At the very beginning, Page 26, the author wants you to import file from CD-ROM, but where is CD? The code on the web site are not compressed to one file, It is very hard do download them, I don't understand why the author upload his sample code that way. The author don't forget teach you config the WSAD and make it hide deprecated API, because code of the book used a lot of deprecated API. On the chapter of JUnit, the explanation is not clear, and I wonder if author know how to use WSAD's wizard with JUnit to generate test code automatically, that is what IDE should do.

   I saw some readers review, the author think that readers blaspheme his book?

   I would suggest the author read the book review of "Mastering Enterprise JavaBeans" by Ed Roman, and then read the book. You will understand how accurate the reader's review is.

   Next time I buy a book, I must read reader's review first.




3. This is buggy book. there are a lot of errors. I only read part of it but found a lot errors on Page: 26, 70, 89, 158, 157, 159, 167, ....
   The explanation is not clear, make you confused to very simple things. At the very beginning, Page 26, the author wants you to import file from CD-ROM, but where is CD? The code on the web site are not compressed to one file, It is very hard do download them, I don't understand why the author upload his sample code that way. The author don't forget teach you config the WSAD and make it hide deprecated API, because code of the book used a lot of deprecated API. On the chapter of JUnit, the explanation is not clear, and I wonder if author know how to use WSAD's wizard with JUnit to generate test code automatically, that is what IDE should do.

   I saw some readers review, the author think that readers blaspheme his book?

   I would suggest the author read the book review of "Mastering Enterprise JavaBeans" by Ed Roman, and then read the book. You will understand how accurate the reader's review is.

   Next time I buy a book, I must read reader's review first.




4. I used this to get a JSP up an running on WSAD pretty easily. Not a lot of nitty gritty info on EJBs (like 1:N relationships), but a good read nonetheless.



5. The author vaguely addresses much of the subject matter. He definitely tells you which buttons to click on to complete a specific type of exercise but, makes little effort to tell you what goes on behind the scenes and why your putting components where they are (doing this would be signficant improvement, rather than assuming the reader has this knowledge).

   I had a problem with this book because each example in most of the chapters built on previous chapters, which I didn't need or want to do.

   As a result the source code was incomplete for each chapter (no WAR files etc.) For example, Getting the code to run for chapter 10 required following every step in 3 or 4 other chapters that were not relevent to creating a JSP. To make matters worse I had to go back and figure out where these steps were in what previous chapters.

   The book takes on too much (or needs another 500 pages) and as a result misses explanations for critical concepts and operational procedures.

   A simple complete unique PROJECT example zip for each chapter would be a huge improvement, at least then we could figure it out ourselves.

   A message to the Author: Go checkout "Professional IBM Websphere 5.0 Application Server". This book goes the extra distance that it takes to make the process of learning WSAD as easy as possible. Yep, it costs twice as much as your book and takes twice as long to read (it has the extra 300+ pages) but, you know the old saying. You get what you pay for. By the way I have no connection with the folks that wrote that book (their IBMers), never met 'em. I'm an Oracle bigot.

   I apologize for the drubbing, but it's my honest opinion. I know the old saying about opinions...

3 comments about Programming Multiplayer Games.

1. I was eagerly awaiting this book, after reading much hype on the web. Finally it was here!!! However my joy at this turn of events turned somewhat to dismay upon reading the book. Why?

   Let's start with a page breakdown:
   542 pages not including index.

   Page #: Official Title
   My summary

   001-014: Intro to Windows Programming
   How to create a project using Visual Studio
   015-055: Using Databases
   How to install MySQL and explanation of Queries
   057-101: Creating Web-Based Server Interfaces
   How to install Apache and intro to PHP<->MySQL
   103-113: Intro to TCP/IP
   What is TCP/IP?
   115-162: Basic Sockets Programming
   Intro to socket/bind/accept/listen/connect/close etc.
   163-177: I/O Operations
   Threads/Blocking/Broadcast

   Part 2: The Tutorials

   181-203: Using 2DLIB
   How to use 2DLIB with Visual Studio Projects
   205-304: Creating Your Network Library
   Design and function of dreamSock library for networking
   305-369: Creating a Basic Network Application with dreamSock
   Client and Server Using dreamSock
   371-425: Creating the Game Lobby
   Front End for Logging in and Instantiating Games
   Uses MySQL for user and passwd, etc.
   427-542: Creating your Online Game
   Creation of a very basic move and shoot 2 player game.
   Using overhead viewpoint. No persistance, MySQL only
   used for login, chat and front-end functions.

   Now as an Intermediate level book, and touting the MySQL/PHP use, I have to admit I was expecting something a little more in-depth when it comes to the actual Multiplayer Games part.
   
   For example I assumed that the Database would be used by the game for some purpose (Object library, persistance, player data, etc). Instead it's used for login functions, chat and front-end functions.

   The creation of a new/proprietary network library seems excessive, and takes up nearly 20% of the book, adding little to understanding how to program Multiplayer(2) games.

   I can understand why you wouldn't want to put too detailed of a game in the book itself, as each developer probably has their own game design goals in mind, but the included game is a toy, and has been implemented to death in many other versions.

   In short I "might" recommend this book to a Newbie developer who had no knowledge of any of the topics, and was looking for an intoduction to "on-line" non-persistant games, but I cannot recommend this book for anyone familiar with the various topics listed above.




2. I agree with the poster below. I purchased the original book from these guys a couple of years back and I thought it was okay. I read this one on the shelf around 30 minutes ago and realized it wasn't too different. Now it seems they stay on the topics that many programmers have gone through time and time again. It certainly doesn't start with these authors, this is a definiton of many computer books on the shelves these days. They spend half the book to explain and reiterate over concepts that many developers have been through time and time again. These concepts are probably covered in the books around it on the shelf as well. Authors that create tech books need to realize that with the economy the way it is there are probably way more programmers with decent experience than there are newcomers to the field. I myself have probably been writing SQL and studying TCP longer than the authors, I don't need all this coverage of such simple topics just to have the code section of the game crammed into that last few parts.

   Hopefully next time a multiplayer game book is written the authors will cover advanced topics as well as do's and don't's in the realm of multiplayer game programming and server creation and optimizing.




3. Doom. Quake. Call of Duty. All are popular multiplayer games and many a person has dreamed of coming up with the next winner. The title of this book is thus a masterstroke of marketing simplicity, sure to capture the attention - and hearts - of many.

   Yet, it fails to impress right from the onset. To start, the book is specifically about programming online multiplayer games, specifically Web-based multiplayer games - so immediately visions of producing the next Quake are out the window.

   That said, the authors present their formula for successful code-cutting with TCP/IP sockets, MySQL and PHP4. These are hot, popular technologies and all are freely accessible to any programmer and hence mean anyone can hope to get into the biz with no real cost - just as well, given the hefty price tag of the book itself!

   However, a book about programming is not necessarily a book about programming games. In this case, it's not until page 427 (of 542) that the mechanics of the sample game itself are discussed. Instead, the bulk of the text is dedicated to tutorials on PHP and MySQL and a very lengthy and wasteful custom network library. The value of these tutorials is very dubious: the eventual game does not use a database, for instance, to save the status of a game but instead to facilitate on-line chat between players in the "pre-game lobby". Neither does the game itself use PHP. The game does - of necessity - use TCP/IP but the sheer amount of space devoted to a custom library of routines makes little sense, especially because the network library produced has no special game-oriented functionality. The authors themselves do little to explain its inclusion, giving the sole reason, "Microsoft DirectPlay could be used but does not cater for UNIX".

   Ultimately, this book has potential value. Disregard the title and it does serve well as an introduction to a multitude of good technologies, but there is little here for experienced programmers.

5 comments about Inside LotusScript: A Complete Guide to Notes Programming.

1. Lots of good ideas about LotusScript programing. The title is somewhat misleading since there is a lot of Formula language programming explained. The weakest point is the over and over repetition of evaluating formula commands in LotusScript which does not provide anything new after the first example. Furthermore, I did expect 'inside' information about native LotusScript list processing, which is not covered. On the positive side, I liked the style of writing and many ideas.



2. I bought this book because I want to understand LotusScript in details, but the book is very confuse and don't have a cronologic "learning" process... Was a spend of money.. In time, if want to understand LotusScript in ease (But not like a dummy way) purchase TY LotusScript!



3. Although not for the beginner, this text was straight forward. Goes beyond Lotus' explanation of this language. It provided solutions to some of my current LS issues...as well as the code-to-go. Great Reference!



4. I expected much more on LotusScript than this book offered. I needed information and explanations. The title suggests it's all about LotusScript, but it's not. If you want some basic understanding of functions, domino and security, which is what this book offers, there are more helpful books out there.



5. I'm on my third copy of this book. Every time I loan it out to a new developer, I never see the book again.

   The title is a bit confusing because it deals with more than just LS. This book contains a LOT of great Notes design information - @functions, LS, general db design, web design, security, the whole bit. It also contains some great code you can copy/paste into your apps. Sequential numbering, text parsing routines, and more.

   I keep hoping Joe puts out a new version for R5 or R6. I love this book.

5 comments about HTML 4 Bible (with CD-ROM).

1. Teaching HTML for the past 5 years I have certainly found that there very few really in depth reference manuals, this book does have some really nice features, however at the same time there things that confused me about the book.

   One thing I found odd was the 4 pages covering XML/XSL, after reading this I think the author could have left this out of the book and expanded and very good section on severs and server options.

   Part III, development of pages with HTML is very good with fairly good coverage of each section. In the next edition they should bring some of the web editors more up to date. One section I found to very well written is Part IV or CSS, the authors seem to have everything covered here.

   Part VII - cross browsers, deal with DHTML and JavaScript, I found this section to be okay but certainly more, much more information should have been included. One of the most impressive sections of the book is Appendices A through G, which is by far the best breakdown of attributes, CSS syntax, color and hex conversion I have ever seen.

   The cd included is mostly made up of trial version of software and most of the software has newer version available, so this will also need fixing for the next release. Overall, since I don't need the eval software, I found that the book certainly serves a purpose and for those new to the HTML arena this book should be helpful.




2. This book is very poorly organized. The author get so excited about CSS and the new coming XML that they neglect to explain the HTML fundamentals, syntax, and capabilities. The author has a tendency to jump from topic to topic without any warning or explanation. I would definetely not recommend this book to advanced programmers nor beginners, it's just too difficult to follow.



3. Comparing to other books of the Bible family, this book is not satisfactory. It's short of enough figures that can give readers a vivid description of what these codes can make. And the real-world codes are also insufficient. The book is divided into too many chapters, which makes the whole book disordered. The 150-page Appendix is the only highlight of the book. Readers can easily query the usage of keywords. For sure, the book is not suitable to a beginner.



4. This book truly is my HTML bible. I've been doing HTML constantly for the past four years and have used a lot of resources, both printed and on the web, and when I got this book I didn't need to use any other resources because this book always had the answers to my multitude of questions. I admit that this book would be a little hard to follow if you're completely new to HTML but if you're familiar with HTML and are hungry to become very good at it this book will satisfy you. If you're totally new to HTML I reccomend the book on HTML published by Visual (it's white with a blueprint of a bridge on the cover). It was my first HTML book and it served me well until I learned everything in it and wanted a book that would teach me more. That's why I got this HTML bible.
   
   I have to say I disagree with an earlier review. This bible book explains syntax very very well and gave me a great understanding of it. It would actually break it down and tell you what was what in syntax. No other HTML book I've read did that. I also found that, unlike some other bible books, it was written in language that was easy to understand and follow.
   
   The appendexs in this book are utterly devine. I use them ALL THE TIME. You can look up any tag in html, any attribute for CSS, how to make special characters, and even more, and get information on how to write them, how to use them, what they effect, and what attributes go with them. I think this is just so awesome.
   
   Now, no book is perfect, but this one comes very close :)



5. I bought this book a while ago, I think sometime in 2000. It's been very helpful as a reference. I wouldn't recommend this book to someone with no knowledge of HTML. It doesn't teach you HTML so much as it reiterates things the author assumes you already know. It's nice to have if you know HTML and CSS and need to brush up. I find myself pulling it out pretty frequently when I'm building a page and my brain farts out and I need to jog my memory. But for a beginner, this book will likely cause frustration.

No comments about Programming with Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: An Object-Oriented Approach.

1 comments about C# in Easy Steps (In Easy Steps).

1. This is a very good book. I bought it today from a local bookstore. The cover is a little different than whats shown and the price is only $9.95 brand NEW. As far as the content, the book has many examples in each chapter. One example for each new item. If you have programmed before in C++, you'll pick everything right up with no trouble. If you've never programmed before, you might need a bigger book if you have trouble understanding programming concepts like classes and functions. I would suggest getting it if you're interested in programming in C#.

No comments about SAP Interface Programming.

5 comments about Karel The Robot: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Programming, 2nd Edition.

1. I am a teacher in Universidade Sao Francisco (Itatiba, SP, Brazil), working with Computer Cience undergraduate studants. "Karel, the Robot" is the book we were looking for to introduce programming concepts. Once you started, it is dificult to stop reading: the concepts are presented in a clear and natural manner, from the basic ones to more advanced techniques. All the teachers that take a look in the book share the same opinions: the ideas behind Karel are powerfull and can help the studants to understand the foundations of programming. The primitives, the language and also the interface can easily be adapted to other languages and environments, making this book an exceptional one.



2. The presentation of the concepts of programming and the building of layers of complexity was handled in a competent and easily read manner. However, the software simulator is completely out of date and does not run under windows 98. For beginning programming students with little or no other computer experience, this would be a good starting point...IF the software worked.



3. This book is very well written and I highly recommend it. It is interesting to read, and very comprehensive. Richard Pattis is my 15-127 professor. (I hope I get an A on the Mastery! ) Thanks.



4. Its concepts are amazing to any programmer but, widely known, I learned just as much from my Instructor in my post-secondary class then I did in this book. The Karel code also gets a little boring. However, to be a good programmer you need to know these concepts through and through, so I do find it useful as an introduction to programming. I don't recommend it to anyone who knows their own logical style well already; it will be useless to you.



5. Tengo 10 años enseñando programación y gracias a Karel ahora mis alumnos entienden la programación más facilmente. Lo que facilita el aprendizaje de lenguajes más avanzados.
   Es muy importante contar con el software para poder llevar a la práctica los conceptos, este es libre de costo si se utiliza en la Universidad, funciona muy bien y sin problemas en cualquier máquina.
   Adicionalmente sugiero el diseñar previamente los mundos en el programa para que los alumnos trabajen solo en la programación y no en el diseño y asi no perder el objetivo de Karel.

5 comments about Learn Microsoft VBScript In a Weekend.

1. First of all, by no means did I expect to 'really' learn VBScripting over a weekend. I only purchased this book as an additional learning source as I believe in approaching learning through a repetitive process.

   This book attempts to make learning VBScripting fun by almost immediately showing how to apply VBScripting to Web pages. It doesn't do a good job at really digging in to VBScripting that would be useful to an Administrator working in computers. Feels more like something for someone retired sitting at home playing with his computer for fun.

   What really bothers me about this book is I would expect a bit more care to go into proof reading and correcting mistakes with a book on programming or scripting. How can someone teach me about proper syntax when they fail to include the correct spelling for the basic english language?!!

   This book is also FILLED with typo errors, incorrect screenshots, and outdated or useless website references which often make the book difficult to understand or follow.

   So, thumbs down on this one. Keep looking. You'll find much better books.

   (...)




2. There are not very many up-to-date books that cover VBScript and most of them are aimed at experienced programmers. This book is perfect for first time programmers, future web developers and would-be system administrators. It assumes very little prior experience and takes you from A to Z in 7 easy to read chapters.

   Don't expect to read the entire book in a single weekend if you plan to follow along and recreate all the example scritps for yourself. Still, if you want to learn how to work with VBScript this book will give you a big head start. I recommend that you read this book first and then move on to one of the more technical VBScripts books.




3. This is a good book. There are not many books in print that focus on VBScript and most of them seem to me to be written for hard core programmers. Learn VBScript in a Weekend goes a long way to filling the void of 'unwritten entry-level books' on VBScript.
   
   It easy to understand and doesn't overwhelm you with technical mumbo-jumbo. Its probably not something a master programmer is looking for but for people new to VBScript and the WSH or for new programmers book I think that this book provides a great starting point.

   It begins with a good introduction to VBScript. After that the author shows you how to use VBScript to help spice up your web pages. The last half of the book is dedicated to covering VBScript and the WSH. Here you'll learn how to do collect system information, work with the registry, write to event logs, create log files and reports, interact with users using popup dialogs and a lot more.




4. This book is for beginners. It is very well written and keeps your attention. I recommend it as a first book. For the guy that only gave it 1 star, who in their right mind would think they can pick up a 350 page book on vbscripts and think that they will be able to administer their network? That aside, i suggest everyone that is interested buy it. It's probably the only updated book on vbscripts that you will find and well worth the 25 or so bucks.



5. I too found the book lacking in its explanations. In most cases it failed to breakdown the scripts adequately. It also failed to provide comprehensive examples.

   For instance the SetTimeOut function was not adequately explained as to what its syntax is and how it functions.

   When Frames were addressed the book provided three separate pages. How would a beginner know how to put all of the pages together to achieve their goal? The book should have shown what a script that includes frames looks like when it is complete.

   I am sure there are other examples of what is lacking in this text but I will never know. I am moving on to another book that hopefully will provide me with strong basics I am missing with this book.

   The only saving grace for me is I have a background in VB and VBA. Heaven help anyone who does not come to this book with previous VB knowledge.
   This was written as if the author was trying to make a very tight deadline and shame on Premier Press for publishing it. The above favorable reviews must have been written by family and friends.

No comments about New Perspectives on HTML and XHTML 5th Edition, Comprehensive.