5 comments about MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-290, 70-291, 70-293, 70-294): Microsoft® Windows Server(TM) 2003 Core Requirements, Second Edition.

1. Read the books: they're easy to read and explanatory.
   
   If you're hoping on practice exams buy from another publisher. The ones provided my Measure Up are full of errors. The font size they use is tiny and not resizeable.
   
   When asked about the errata for the practice exam I was told by Measure Up to just look up microsoft kb articles to check the validity of the answer -- when I said I shouldn't need to look up the questions to be able to trust their validity the customer service agent basically told me I'd only need to do that if I was knowledgeable.
   
   I'd really stay away from this if you want it for the practice exams.



2. I ordered this book set and another book at the same time, from Amazon, and got free shipping. This book set came NEW as advertised. However it came with (1) 290 book, (1) 291 book (0) 293 books, and (2) 294 books. A mis-packaged set. I returned it only to find out I couldn't get a replacement - Amazon is out of stock. Now I can place a new order, from someone else, and pay $14.00 more for the same item. Not the bargain I was looking for. Amazon's response was in effect 'Oh well.' Even though I assume the mis-packaged set was not on purpose, the outcome is the same as the old 'bait and switch.' It would have been acceptable to say they would ship it when they received new stock, but that wasn't even offered.



3. This is a great series just make sure you get the latest version, this one only deals with SP1.



4. arrived very quickly & in great condition - many thanks!!
   Also heaps cheaper than buying here in NZ.



5. I don't know how I'll fare on the exams, but these books are easy to understand, well laid out, and thorough. If you follow the exercises, you can't help but learn the material well.
   
   Microsoft is finally getting it right. These "Blue Books" used to really suck before. My skepticism has been put to rest.

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

1. C++ Primer Plus (5th edition), by Stephen Prata, is an excellent book for learning the fundamentals of C++. It's practical, informative, easy, complete, and enjoyable!
   
   Here's an outstanding bonus you get: The author teaches you to program using the generic programming concept. In other words, the book shows you how to write C++ code that is portable (requires little to no modification to run on different operating systems); powerful (gets the job done error free); easy to maintain (spend your time designing and coding--not trouble shooting); and educational (gives you lessons in structrual and object-oriented programming methods).
   
   But that's not all!...
   
   The author demonstrates a genuine committment to developing your knowledge, skills, and abilities by providing background information on C++. In fact, the author even discusses the similarities and differences between C and C++ so you can better understanding the language.
   
   If you want a superb foundational education in C++; one that isn't intimidating; one that is useful; one that is fun, then this book is for you.
   
   Beyound a shadow of a doubt...I highly recommend this book to beginners and intermediate programmers. Even expert programmers unfamiliar with the generic programming concept will richly benefit! Finally, I highly suggest to teachers who teach C++ consider adapting this book for their programming course. Your students will praise you for your savvy decision!



2. I can't really say much about the Primer Plus books. Other than they are the best training texts ever written. This is the first C++ book I added to my library but have purchased others such as C/C#/Java2/vb.net They all stand out above the rest. Mainly because they are in depth and get the job done.
   
   Only cons would be it could use a little larger print. However, thats just me and my bad eyes!



3. I started first with "C Primer Plus, 5th Edition" by the same author and was already convinced about the quality of the information presented by Stephen Prata. This is why I had not doubts when I bought "C++ Primer Plus, 5th Edition" and, guess what ? Again, what an excellent book ! Well written, a lot of very useful examples, a lot of humor, as usual.
   
   If you already have a background in C, this book will be easier to follow.
   However, some parts are more difficult to understand because of the complexity of C++. In my opinion, C++ is a complete different way of thinking, and not only because of the OOP.
   But do not panic, Stephen Prata is there and will present you complex functionnalities in a such way that you will get them rapidly !
   
   So, if you are looking for a quality book about C++, you have found it !



4. My son's a grad student in Digital Production Arts (DPA) at Clemson University and has a BFA in Fine Arts. Because the DPA program is by nature computer programming-intensive, he has to take several prerequisite programming courses. I bought him the C Primer when he was struggling with that course and it made a huge difference. So I bought him the C++ Primer Plus because it was by the same author. For those for whom computer programming does not come naturally, these books by Stephen Prata are a lifesaver. I highly recommend them.



5. This book teaches you C++ from the ground up. If you want to learn C++, get the latest edition of this book, whatever it may be (it may be this book at the moment.)

5 comments about Spring in Action.

1. I have a handful of Spring books and all but this one are more for reference than concepts. Between Spring online docs and Google, I don't use my Spring reference books. Spring In Action is the best book for learning about Spring. Topics like AOP, MVC and dependency injection are not ones you're likely to just read about and think "I've got it!". These are big concepts and require examples that encompass the concepts and break them down a piece at a time. I found the author's style engaging as well clear, indeed, many of the concepts put forward in this book have stayed with me for years.



2. I purchased this book to learn Spring. I was looking for a book that would plainly explain the reason for Spring, its benefit as a framework and provide clear examples of how to implement Spring in my projects.
   
   The authors do a satisfactory job explaining the need for Spring, it's history and its impact on alleviating code-dependencies. The examples are simple and easy to understand, overall. The authors fail, however, to clearly demonstrate how Spring is implemented. The examples are verbose with partial file listings. For example, I would like to know more about the framework context. The authors show snippets of XML code but do not show entire files or adequately explain how the files are related to the framework. The source code example is incomplete. Its missing dependencies and there is no explanation what they may be. I spent 30 mins searching then gave up.
   
   "Spring in Action" discusses implementing Spring with Struts, iBatis, Hibernate and some other frameworks in a failrly detailed manner.
   
   Overall I would say the book is OK but not concise.



3. I bought this book as an experienced programmer with 10 years of professional experience with Java, .NET, PHP, etc. Having no idea of what Spring was or how to use it, I read many reviews talking up this book.
   
   Its a good book in that it explains how to do configure options in the framework and gives some understandable examples. But at no point do you actually get walked through setting up a spring project say in NetBeans or Eclipse.
   
   Thats the perspective throughout the book. You move from chapter to chapter being presented with a new angle of the framework and a high-level example of how its done but no "Sit down and build this in your IDE, then hook it up using the spring feature to actually SEE it work".
   
   Good book, but I know that I will need some additional info to be able to start using the framework.



4. This book is exactly what you would expect from the In Action Series. The book is thorough and comprehensive. I even thought it had a slightly more personal writing style than some other In Action books.



5. I enjoyed the first edition and this one is equally good. I would like more information about MVC (or a Spring MVC in action book) but anyway it's highly recommendable. I hope they update it soon to Spring 2.5.

5 comments about Head First JavaScript (Head First).

1. hey, with Head First Series book, you will never go wrong. With this Book, you WILL learn Javascript, no matter what is your Javascript skill level. A Good book that I will definitely recommend. 5 Stars.



2. You should think of this as a tutorial book, not a long-term reference volume. While you're going to be reviewing certain sections repeatedly as you gain experience with the code and techniques, you won't find an exhaustive list of parameters for each type of JavaScript object. There are plenty of other VERY large books that will give you all that information. But as a tutorial guide that gives people of all skill levels a chance at success, this book is excellent.



3. As in traditional 'Head First' style, this book delivers content in an easy to understand conversational presentation. I am an experienced programmer, but up until I read this book, had trouble understanding how JavaScript and the DOM work. I've read countless resources on JavaScript, and this is the first time I've ever felt like I got it.
   
   The first several chapters are very basic, so even someone who had never programmed a day in their life would be able to pick up this book and start writing JavaScript. Those chapters introduce JavaScript, where and why it's useful, basic programming constructs including decision making and looping, and code reuse with functions. Next, there is a chapter on using JavaScript in forms for validation, which also explores some of the built-in JavaScript objects, using regular expressions, and how events work. The next chapter explains how the DOM works and how to navigate it using JavaScript. There are two chapters on objects, the first talks about how to create an object in JavaScript as well as some of the commonly used build in JavaScript objects (like Date and strings), and the second describes how to create actions for the objects and increase efficiency. The book wraps up with a chapter on debugging JavaScript and a chapter on AJAX.
   
   The best feature of this book is how they present only the right way to use JavaScript, omitting unnecessary and often confusing details. The book did a stellar job of presenting the DOM (Chapter 8) as well as AJAX (Chapter 12).
   
   If you want to learn JavaScript the easy way, get this book. Don't waste your time on any other book. If you want a JavaScript reference book, however, this isn't the book for that purpose. I actually hoped to see a listing of the methods available for Date, Math, String, etc., but they aren't included here. Many of the popular ones are discussed, but there's no page to bookmark that has them all listed.



4. I'm really sorry I bought this book. I expected a creative, clever (hell, maybe even fun) way to learn Javascript. What I got was a dumbed down collage of random retro photos with unfunny captions, rife with asinine exercises. I appreciate the whole "alternate learning" angle, but this really is not the way to do it. A technical manual with some dry humor is way more preferable to people who actually want to learn a language instead of doing idiotic "fill-in-the-blank" exercises and crossword puzzles.



5. Short version: Very disappointed by Head First JavaScript ("HFJS"). Loved Head First HTML/XHTML/CSS ("HFHTML"), felt like I retained everything from it immediately, but couldn't figure out why the info in HFJS wasn't sinking in. Turned to web tutorials (better), and finally changed to Simply JavaScript(Sitepoint), a much more clearly written and explained book.
   
   Long version: Less than a month ago, I knew very little about web design, much less any sort of programming. I'd tried to teach myself HTML from a rather dry text perhaps ten years ago, but nothing stuck. But I had a desire to give it another go, and set about finding another HTML book. I settled on HFHTML -- while it took many more pages to explain concepts which other books treated succinctly, the writing was much better in the Head First volume and I guessed I'd retain more from it.
   
   It turned out to be a fantastic purchase, I devoured the book and within a week or so became proficient enough at HTML and CSS to code some complex site layouts. Since my latest site required dynamic behavior, JavaScript seemed like the logical next step. Given my positive experience (almost miraculous) with the HFHTML book, my first choice for a JavaScript book was HFJS. The many positive reviews on Amazon reinforced my decision.
   
   When it arrived, I eagerly began from the beginning, skipping nothing (just as I'd done w/HFHTML). Did the quizzes, the crosswords, but from the beginning, things were a little off. In HFHTML, the authors show you where and how to introduce new code in your example pages, but in HFJS, it wasn't even clear whether you were supposed to be coding along, or merely just reading the book's examples. And while HFHTML proceeded very logically from basic to more advanced concepts, HFJS appeared to be veering all over the place. I persisted for 250 pages, but had to admit to myself that none of it was sinking in.
   
   I turned to some web tutorials (better), and finally, purchased Simply Javascript (Sitepoint). While it is not a perfect book, either, I think it explains JavaScript more clearly than HFJS, and is better about starting the beginner off with good coding habits, such as keeping JavaScript code in separate files, rather than in the header of the HTML document (something which HFJS doesn't do). It also cuts to the chase of what most aspiring web designers want to use JavaScript for, which is dynamically modifying the content of pages via the Document Object Model ("DOM").
   
   To be fair to the HFJS author, JavaScript is a SIGNIFICANTLY harder language to learn than HTML or CSS. And HFJS does a good job introducing and explaining the types of JavaScript data (e.g., text, boolean, number). But HFJS overall was a disappointment, and doesn't live up to the high standards set with HFHTML.

5 comments about Head First C# (Brain-Friendly Guides).

1. There are over 43 pages of corrections (errata) to the first edition (11/07) of this text. It is inexcusable. You can go to O'Reilly's site and print the errata lists, three of them, to use as cliff notes to decode this book. I have purchased three other titles in the Head First series that are excellent. The quality of this one is horrible. Not only do some of the programming examples have minor syntax mistakes, but entire sections of code are incorrect. In one case the errata recommends downloading a pdf because the text has been substantially revised "to enhance clarity and quality of learning".
   
   If you want to purchase this book, make sure you get the latest edition.
   
   Kevin



2. O livro é incrível, o melhor livro de computação que já comprei. Melhor que a série Deitel.
   
   Amazing book!



3. The concept behind the book is great... the editing and quality control is a joke.
   
   If you are new to programming, this book will frustrate you. Despite the best efforts of your brain trying to struggle around the errors in the book, this book's often convoluted logic (due to the errata) will make learning C# a very tiresome experience.
   
   The snappy "Leave-It-To-Beaver" photos are ok, but the quality control on this book just needs to be improved. Check out the errata on this book, it's just insane.



4. Head First C# was my first experience with the Head First series, although I have since also purchased the excellent Head First Design Patterns (Head First).
   
   This book is designed to teach you C# from the beginning. Technical books can generally be categorized as either tutorials or reference texts -- and this is absolutely in the tutorial category. It's intended to be read and worked through in order, from start to finish. If you already know C# and are looking for a reference text, look elsewhere. If you're an experienced C++ programmer looking to learn C# but are already very familiar with object oriented programming, consider checking out the excellent and concise Accelerated C# 2008 (Accelerated). If you're an experienced C# programmer and just want to learn the advanced features of C#2 and C#3, you'll again want to look elsewhere, and you couldn't do better than C# in Depth: What you need to master C# 2 and 3.
   
   But if you want to *learn* C# and object-oriented programming, and especially if you have little or no prior programming experience, look no further than this fantastic book. If you're reading reviews of the book, then you probably know two things: it has an unusual style and some quirky humor, and it has a bit more than it's fair share of errors. These two things are true, but there's a lot more about the book that you should know, and that's mostly what I want to talk about in this review. Before I move on, though, let me say two things. First, the conversational style and the humor are sometimes overstated -- this is a book about programming, and it's not a joke a minute or anything. I know that you can't Search Inside here on Amazon to see what the book is like, which I assume is because of the visuals-heavy design and unusual layout of the text, but just do a quick search for the book's website and you can download a full sample chapter and some other excerpts. Judge for yourself before dismissing an excellent book based on its unusual (but effective!) design. Second, the errata *are* extensive, but they don't get in the way of your learning. This book shines for its well-chosen examples, its focus on your learning (you'll be talked to rather than at), and its great overall structure -- and none of the errata interfere with any of that at all. If the extensive errata lists do bother you, I wrote a small free program that can sort through them for you and filter out the types of errors or page ranges you're not interested in. (You can find the link stickied at the web forum for Head First C#.)
   
   There are also some features of the book that I don't see mentioned often enough, and which I want to comment on briefly before getting to the heart of the review. First, I love that the introduction is actually useful, giving you valuable insights on why the authors made the design choices they did (why text is in the pictures, rather than beneath them as captions, for example), and offering advice on how best to approach the book if you want to maximize your learning experience. I highly recommend reading it. Second, it's worth mentioning the way that the book uses the (free) Visual Studio 2008 IDE to make graphical Windows applications throughout, rather than focusing on a text editor and console applications like many other introductory texts. Visual Studio is a powerful IDE, and it *helps* you learn with syntax highlighting and Intellisense -- I'm very glad that the Head First C# authors chose to incorporate its use into the book, because it often allowed me to focus on concepts at first rather than syntax, picking that up gradually through repeated use with the IDE's guidance. Third, you'll be making some genuinely impressive software over the course of the book -- between the use of Visual Studio and the authors' being unafraid to assign projects that take several pages just to *describe*, you'll get a much better feel for what it's like to make real software than you would from the small "toy" examples that are more common in many other introductory books. (But don't worry, there's plenty of guidance, including fully annotated solution code for most of them, and a helpful web forum if you get stuck.) Finally, the book has the advantage of going to print for the first time after C# 3.0 and .NET 3.5 were released, and it fluently combines the various iterations of the language, teaching C# *as it now exists* from the ground up in an order that makes sense for someone learning now from scratch, rather than taking the more common but less sensible route of introducing C#1.0 features before C#2 before C#3. This is great, because it allows the authors to introduce some of the powerful and convenient features of the newer editions of the language and framework -- the stuff that really makes C# appealing as a language -- quite early in the book.
   
   The funny thing about Head First C# is that the conversational tone, the humor, the quirky layout, and the pictures make the book seem completely un-academic. At first glance, it's as far from an academic textbook as you could possibly get! But I've come to realize that reading through the book from the beginning, doing all the exercises, is as close to the structured learning experience of an academic course as you can get in book form. The brilliance of Head First C# isn't in the phrasing of any given sentence or the coding style in a particular snippet -- it's in the overall structure of the book and especially in the examples chosen for exercises, which allow you to build up your knowledge incrementally while still reviewing past material. (Which is why the errata really aren't a big deal.) I've seen some reviews point out the book's "redundancy" as a flaw, and I just shake my head. The book is often repetitious, but never redundant, and always deliberately -- seeing the same material repeatedly from different perspectives and at different times is absolutely key to learning anything, and the repetition is one of the best features of the Head First series in general and this book in particular.
   
   So there are errors. So there's a bit of fuzziness in the phrasing sometimes. So it doesn't cover Advanced Language Topic A or B. So what? This book is a teaching tool. It's a full course -- instructor, fellow students, textbook, homework, projects, review sessions, and conversations with peers -- stuffed onto paper, rolled up, printed, and stuck between covers.
   
   I've learned C#, and I've *retained* what I've learned. I've had fun doing it. And if you too want to learn C# and programming, I can't recommend Head First C# highly enough.



5. Shall it be called "C# for Dummies" or "C# for Managers"? A lot of sales pitch for the brain friendliness and almost zero essence. I work in IT for 30 years and can not imagine working with someone who learned C# by reading this book. This approach may work as introduction to Internet for housewives, but they do not code in C#.

5 comments about Microsoft® Office Project 2007 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft)).

1. I thought I already gave this one a review, but if you did not receive it, I just wanted you to know that your expedient service was excellent!



2. This book may have been usfull for running a home business but, not too usful for me.



3. I bought this book because it was recommended for an online-college course that I am taking. I couldn't believe that the same book was much higher in price on several other websites and how affordable it was to get through Amazon. The book itself is excellent as it gives step-by-step directions on how to use the project. It is an excellent resource and very easy to use. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking detailed, but easy to understand directions regarding the product it is designed for.



4. This item is half the price in the collage bookstore. It arrived quickly, unlike our bookstore with a record of delivering tech books after classes start for the upper level courses.



5. This has been a great book for learning Project 2007. If you already know Project, it does a great job of providing review material, guiding you away from unnecessary chapters. If you have never really spent time with Project, this book does a very good job of walking you through, Step by Step, aspects and capabilities of Project, as well as exposing you to solid project management practices.

5 comments about CSS: The Missing Manual.

1. McFarland's book has filled in a lot of missing pieces for me, and a lot of his illustrations have clarified what I have had trouble visualizing from other sources. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book for beginners or intermediate CSS users who want a clearer understanding to take the design process to the next level.
   
   I've been messing around with CSS for a while, but because of some missing details in other sources, I'm using what I've learned to format page elements within tables, never having totally grasped CSS layout concepts, particularly floats. I'm only half way through the book now and have a much clearer understanding of how to solve previous problems.
   
   In addition to being an easy read, the hands-on tutorials have been very helpful. And I love that he's included the hacks to make CSS work in even IE browsers. Many other resources provide only links to websites where you can scrounge around for tutorials.
   
   McFarland provides plenty of links too, but includes important explanations and hacks that keep you from having to roam the web looking for basic explanations that should be included in an instructional manual.
   
   If you've been struggling with some of CSS's quirks, this book could provide missing information that will allow you to move ahead more quickly. I've had a lot of "Aha!" moments as an advanced beginner and am looking forward to many more.
   
   In addition to being a good source of instruction, the book also covers some advanced CSS topics including media style sheets and tips on improving CSS habits. There are three appendices: a CSS Property Reference; using CSS in Dreamweaver 8, and about 7 pages of links to additional information, examples, and advanced tips and tricks.
   
   "CSS: The Missing Manual" was a money very well spent for me.
   
   Sunny Carney



2. This is a excellent book to learn CSS, Very detailed, well laid out and McFarland adds more information then just teaching Css; Heck it's like all you need to know really is basic Html.



3. I was recommended this book by a colleague and it is already proven to be a valuable resource. I had a problem where my DIVs weren't behaving like I wanted them to. And I actually found the answer and it took me just ONE extra selector that knocked my web page in place!!
   
   Now that's worth the money!! I haven't even read the whole book at that point. I highly recommend this book. I'm new to the whole "Missing Manual" series, but can tell that these books are sort of like the "..For Dummies" books.
   
   If you are a CSS designer, I recommend this book. And the cool part about all this is that my boss thinks I'm a CSS Guru, which I'm not, I just know where to go to find the answers!!!
   
   Add this book to your resource library!!



4. The author did a great job of covering all of those items many developers use in their CSS but may not have had the time to review in detail. His book reads well and does a good job of reviewing what's supported in many current browsers, plus what "hacks" may be needed to continue to support IE 6 and below. Very well done ...



5. I read this book cover to cover and I found it to be a pleasant read. This book explains CSS in great detail. I liked the author's presentation style. With every chapter, he introduces specific styles, gives example(s) with relevant screenshots of browser display and finally ends it with a tutorial where the reader can see the same in action. It seems to me that this is a very good way to learn something new. The book covers a lot of ground and where applicable presents the differences between browsers for the same set of styles. Specific hacking strategies for IE browser are also included. Another nice feature about this book is that it includes links to external sites that have sample code - I found this to be very useful. There is lot of good information about CSS on the internet, some of which the book does not cover but it points you in the right direction. I will recommend this book to beginners and intermediate users of CSS. This book has impressed me so much that I certainly will not hesitate to buy another book by this author (provided the topic is of interest to me). Deserves Five Stars!!!

5 comments about MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation.

1. OK, this book is a little dated, but I got a really good chuckle from an anecdote relayed by one of the authors that is still funny. Early in the book, on page 68, Mr. Wildermuth attempts to assert his expertise to the reader by declaring that he has "written hundreds, if not thousands, of lines of code". I have shown this little blurb around to many of my colleagues and clients. It has turned into somewhat of a euphemism for a n00b. For instance:
   
   Dev1: "How did the interview go with Ted?"
   Dev2: "Not great. He's got a good personality, but his skill set is a little weak."
   Dev1: "What kind of stuff has he worked on?"
   Dev2: "I would say that he has probably written hundreds, if not thousands, of lines of code."
   Both: "ROFL!"
   
   or
   
   Dev1: "Holy cow! Come over here and look at this mudball of code that I have to support now."
   Dev2: "Wow! You're not kidding. Who wrote this?"
   Dev1: "Who do you think? Joe."
   Dev2: "Oh man, he's written hundreds ..."
   Dev1: "If not thousands!"
   Dev2: "... of lines of code."
   
   All that said, this book does the job. It helped me pass the test. I have taken quite a few Microsoft exams and I have usually turned to the Microsoft Press Self-Paced Training Kit books as a first resource. This book lives up to the good name the series has earned for itself.
   
   I see from many of the reviews here that readers are disappointed if the book doesn't spoon feed them all the way through the exam. I would say that, for myself, preparing for an exam includes a multi-pronged approach. It starts with these books and continues to MSDN and Transcender. But most importantly, I think you have to definitely open up Visual Studio and practice. Write some code! Maybe even hundreds, if not thousands, of lines. ;)



2. Comming from the 1.0 and 1.1 framework, this book really helped me get up to speed with 2.0. It covers many new capabilies and enhancements of the new framework (isolated storage, generics, etc...). This is my "MAIN" reference book now... its almost like my programming bible. :)



3. This book is a good start, but you won't pass the test by just reading it. Experience and practice test will go a long way to help.



4. This books structure makes it very easy to get a chapter a night done and prepare you for the exam. The labs are good and the accompanying DVD contains both practice exams and a trial version of Visual Studio 2005, so you have everything you need in one book.
   
   This exam is only half of an MCTS qualification, so you'll need either the Web Development or Windows Development to go with it if you want an actual qualification.
   
   I only had issue with one or two of the answers given to questions, but I found it quite encouraging that I was able to think 'hey, that's not the best way to achieve that'.



5. I also have the newer (corrected) version of the book (check the copyright page in the beginning of the book, mine lists version: 5 6 7 8 9 QWT 1 0 9 8 7). Despite the numerous corrections, I still find some errors, even those that are unlisted in the errata list. When looking at the four KB articles on the Microsoft site, the errata list shows a gap between part 3 and 4. So I think there is something missing in the errata.
   
   For example: an error I discovered today, on page 712, the second bullet reads:
   
   "One or more PrincipalPermission properties. Use Authenticated to restrict access to authenticated users, Role to restrict access by group memberships, and User to restrict access to a specific user name."
   
   This is incorrect, there is no 'User' PrincipalPermission property. Replace 'User' with 'Name'.It should read instead:
   
   "One or more PrincipalPermission properties. Use Authenticated to restrict access to authenticated users, Role to restrict access by group memberships, and Name to restrict access to a specific user name."
   
   This is in particular a strange error, because on the previous page the authors says:
   
   "Memorize these three properties (Authenticated, Name, Role). Remember, PrincipalPermission doesn't expose any other properties--not a user's full name, phone number, password, or any other attribute."
   
   For the rest of the book, I found the topics are not very well explained. Except for the chapter dealing with Code Access Security, which I found was very clear. In general, I did not like the fact that there are so few images in the book that could clarify the text. Sometimes the text alone is a litte bit boring to read. But then again, it's part of the job, no?
   
   As there is no alternative for this book yet, I hope I will pass my exam by using this book and some internet resources... We'll see.
   
   Good luck to all exam takers!

5 comments about Java Concurrency in Practice.

1. Though the book is admittedly good and valuable in content, the paper quality of the pages is absolutely horrible! One can see through to the next page, and using a highlighter for emphasis is next to impossible. I will never buy this book as long as the paper quality is so poor (as my colleagues have also mentioned).



2. This was a solid book to gaining an understanding of Java concurrency, especially the new concurrency features introduced in Java 1.5



3. This is "the" authoritative book on java concurrency. However, apart from some java specific items, the book is an excellent source on parallelism in general. Do not even try to implement parallelism without "reading and understanding" this book. Highly recommended !!!



4. After reading this book you will probably thank God that you haven't been using threads, but with that being said this book contains all the information you need to start writing code that walks the straight and narrow path.



5. An awesome book on concurrency that all Java programmers ought to read before embarking on anything more complicated than the primordial Hello World application.

5 comments about CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions.

1. Not a beginner's book and thank god for that - beginners should start online anyway.
   
   If you've been working with CSS for a while but have some nagging questions that never seem to get answered about the tricky stuff like certain layouts and centering, this is the place to go. Andy Budd appears to possess that rare quality that makes for an excellent how-to author which is a deep awareness of just how hard it was to come by his own solutions to CSS issues and focus on those in his book rather than just reiterating stuff you could get from w3schools and peppering it with the occasional tip that's useful.



2. I'm a developer with minimal experience designing web pages "by hand." Most of my work on the front-end includes using built in templates and designers to do the front-end magic for me.
   
   I decided to change all that and picked up this book. In a couple of days I was up and running creating some pretty cool front-end designs...plus, the advice in this book matched almost all the advice I was getting from one of our top front-end guys.



3. This book has some useful information and is really targeted to the hardcore CSSers, who already know the basics (& a little bit more). It outlines clearly many topics and use some good examples (with some minor typos). If you are a beginner, I would not really recommend the book as it may overwhelm you with too technical stuff and exceptions. A good way in learning is not to provide exceptions at the beginning of a learning experience, but more towards the end. But that always happens with folks who know their stuff too well. So, get your basics and foundation right first, know about CSS and THEN go for this publication.



4. This was the first CSS book that I purchased. I was always hesitant to purchase a book on CSS because most of the resources that I've found have been mostly beginner's tutorials or instruction and I felt that I had at least a "beyond beginner's" understanding of CSS. I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm an expert at CSS, but at least mid-level to advanced. However, this book had some previous good recommendations from amazon.com so I bit the bullet and bought it. I must say that I was NOT disappointed!
   
   This book starts off with a very quick introduction/recap of CSS basics including good code structure and organization, validation, DOCTYPES, common selectors including IDs and classes, pseudo-classes, and the advanced selectors such as universal, child, attribute and more, and some wonderful reference on the specificity and inheritance, or the "Cascade", the core of CSS. Although this introduction is provided, it is relatively short at about 25 pages and I would suggest a good working understanding of these basics first, as it will help understand the rest of the book easier as opposed to trying to learn CSS for the first time from this book. The following chapter is another quick 15 pages with on "Visual Formatting Model Recap" including the Box Model and Positioning, two EXTREMELY important concepts to understand CSS properly. Although it is short, it is an extremely powerful section.
   
   Chapter 3 finally jumps head first into the code with "Background Images and Image Replacement." With the movement towards "Web 2.0? websites, one of the most common features you'll see in these websites is rounded corners. These can be difficult to achieve successfully and the authors make it very easy. This chapter also touches on different drop shadows and image replacement techniques, which are useful for placing a logo in place but still having the text remain search engine friendly. Chapter 4 is a fairly short chapter on "Styling Links" with some interesting uses of attribute selectors.
   
   Chapter 5 is all about "Stylig Lists and Creating Nav Bars" including the popular "Sliding Doors" popularized by Douglas Bowman of Stopdesign and first published in October of 2003 in A List Apart online magazine. During the section on creating nav bars, this chapter shows how to use CSS sprites for rollovers and visited links, something which I'll be blogging about soon. Chapter 5 also shows how you can use CSS to create image maps, something I've never even thought of doing with CSS.
   
   The next two chapters are two of the best in the book I think. Chapter 6 deals with "Styling Forms and Data Tables", while Chapter 7 tackles "Layout". I think that styling forms properly can be one of the most difficult things to do in a website Chapter 6 shows some good tips and tricks to handle this properly. After all the chapters on styling elements, comes the final code chapter which deals with Layout and shows how to center designs, create two and three column layouts, and liquid, elastic, and hybrid (elastic-liquid), or fluid, layouts.
   
   As any web designer knows, IE doesn't do the best job of displaying HTML and CSS properly according to the W3C. Fortunately, the last two chapters in the book are about "Hacks and Filters" and "Bugs and Bug Fixing", two excellent chapters for dealing with the countless IE CSS bugs. Finally, the last two chapters of the book are Case Studies that put everything together and take you through building two different web sites in a Web Standards way with CSS.
   
   Overall, this is an excellent book, one I'd highly recommend to any web designer, or CSS developer, looking to expand their knowledge of the powerful language that is CSS. Definitely worth adding to your library. On an additional note, this book is published by Friends of Ed, a fantastic publisher of technical books, and one of my favorites. I currently own 8 books published by "Friends of Ed" and 2 more from their parent company Apress, all of which are excellent books.



5. I'm a software developer, not a web designer, so I don't use CSS on a daily basis. I've read a number of CSS books. This is the clearest, most practical presentation that I've run into. CSS is a surprisingly complex topic, particularly when you have to consider the real-world incompatibilities. For an intermediate presentation, this is an extremely well written, impressive book.