5 comments about Processing: A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and Artists.

1. Este libro es un compendio básico de las herramientas de procesing, lo interesante de este texto es que las herramientas vienen contextualizadas con entrevistas o ejemplos de trabajos realizados por artistas.Recomiendo este libro a aquellos que se estén iniciando en la programación con fines artísticos.
   
   Marcos Chilet.
   Diseño, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile



2. Processing is a great language for anybody who wants to create graphical applications or visualizations without messing with complex graphics libraries. This is the definitive reference to the language, with much more detail than you get from the web documentation. It'll help you get up and running writing visual apps in no time.



3. As a high school physics teacher with a lot of advanced students, I've been trying to work a bit of computer programming into the course over the last few years. I always wanted to do graphics programming with the students in order to help them visualize and simulate systems, because the pictures produced are a lot prettier and more rewarding than just the formulas on their own, but the languages I tried were just too difficult to teach from scratch in the time we had. Processing seems to be just what I'm looking for: it's free so the kids can download it themselves, and it really doesn't take much to produce stunning graphics. Now I would NOT recommend the book to someone with no programming experience at all - the emphasis of the book is clearly (and rightly) on how to get up to speed making images, not on what a variable is. That said, this book is a terrific resource for me; anyone with a basic programming course under their belt ought to have no trouble making sense of Processing's syntax, and the power of the language is phenomenal. The authors have done a fine job of both explaining the use of the Processing language, and showing off what it can do with all the examples. Processing is letting me do what I always wanted to do with a computer - make stunning graphics from mathematical information - at a level high school students can understand. If you are at all interested in Processing, download the free software and go here next.



4. I have been watching the development of processing and the processing community for a few years but until now haven't explored it much.
   I create live visuals for musical performances - mostly within the chiptunes music scene (people using game console hardware to create new music). Originally I did all of my work with PureData, GEM and other libraries but then decided to move to performing with handhelds, writing code for the GP2X and Gameboy Advance (because unlike newer machines, the GBA has video out).
   
   For an upcoming project, I decided that I wanted to create a web "playable" version of the software that I have created for the gp2x (where the visuals react to the joystick, button presses, etc) - enter Processing!
   I decided that Processing would be the best tool for this job because it is easy to deliver on the web, has functions for interactivity (key presses, mouse actions, etc), and is open source which is important to me.
   
   After looking at the Processing.org website, I decided that while there is a good reference there, a book might be nice. I was pleased to find the book "Processing: A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and Artists" written by the creators of Processing, Casey Reas and Ben Fry and thought that no matter how useful it would be, it was good to support the developers of the project.
   
   The pleasant surprise was that book is great!
   I was expecting something like an extended reference book but it is much more than that. For one, this is a book that teaches programming concepts regardless of the language used to implement them. Although I have previous programming experience, I know that I could give this book to someone with no previous experience and they would be able to follow along and not only learn Processing, but learn programming. Sure, you can learn programming by reading C (or name your favorite language here) tutorials, writing text to the screen, reading and writing to files, etc. but ... I think that for some people it's much more exciting and motivating to see cool things happen, shapes moving, colors changing, etc. when they type in commands, learn about functions, conditionals, objects and so on. This book does that.
   
   Another interesting thing about the book is that periodically there are interviews with visual artists who create with software - and not all with processing but with various types of software. I liked these and could imagine seeing more (or just new ones) in future editions of the book or online. I'll admit that I only use open source software so I am biased, but could imagine seeing more mention of Pd (Pure Data) as alternative to Max/Jitter.
   
   [...]
   
   Overall, the book is very well written and enjoyable to read even when you aren't in front of a computer (I read much while traveling) - the authors make reference to many pioneers of computing, visualization, motion graphics, film, etc. and I had fun looking up those whose works I wasn't familiar with. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in creating visuals with computers.



5. So far (hey!, its a big book, and dense material) this is an excellent book covering the basics of processing. I plan on spending some quality time with this on my vacation.
   
   I hope to post some video on it later, as well as some examples of programs I make on my blog.
   
   Tim

5 comments about Programming Perl (3rd Edition).

1. This contains a lot of useful information and examples which go above and beyond the "basics" found in the extensive Perl man-pages.



2. I would not recommend this book upfront if you don't know any Perl. Read up Beginning Perl by Simon Cozens and feel around a bit. Then pick this book up and put in the effort and you WILL appreciate the power, truth and beauty about PERL.
   
   It is not a light read... certainly wasn't for me. But at the end of it, the effort was so worth it. The book will give you several Aha moments and by the end of it, thou shalt be rewarded!!



3. I program in C# almost exclusively. However, I needed some serious regex power and this kind of power can only be handled/performed with Perl.
   
   Well, I have been learning Perl now for about 2 months and this book is uber invaluable to my book collection and has made it very easy to pick the syntax up quickly.
   
   -- smerkdaddy



4. I decided to buy this book because I needed to learn Perl after having programmed in several other languages for my new job.
   
   I was looking for a reference guide that pretty much outlined EVERYTHING that Perl can do. Proper syntax, short cuts, how to properly go about writing code in this language, how do write certain operations... etc
   
   I was also looking for something that could be authoritative and set the STANDARD for how something should and should not be done... and not be written by some sloppy idiot who thinks he knows what he's doing.
   
   And last but not least, I was looking for something that was funny and entertaining to read and not a dry boring textbook.
   
   This book, as others call it "The Camel" or "The Camel Book", meets all those criteria. This is truly the BEST book on Perl out there, written by the inventor himself, Larry Wall, and some of his Perl-guru buddies. If you came to this page wondering if this is the book to get to learn to program in Perl, look no further.
   
   Absolutely 5 stars on this one. And trust me, this book is pretty funny. It's almost as if it's written by your best friend or your roommate who you drink beers with, yet still goes into amazingly tidy and meticulous detail on how to do things properly. I couldn't have asked for a better book.
   If you're like me and learning this for work, see if your boss will even buy it for the office. Mine did!
   
   I hope you enjoyed my review. I've gone from knowing NOTHING about Perl to writing some pretty robust scripts in a matter of a few short weeks and I truly LOVE writing stuff in Perl because it is very easy once you get the idea of how the syntax is written in your brain. Anyways, I felt I had to share my experience with you so you can do the same. Enjoy.
   
   PS: There is a correction I've found since there have been a few newer releases than the Perl 5 explained in this book. (As I write this, I'm using Perl 5.8.8).
   
   pg. 513: At the very bottom should tell you that the period character "." will display the current position of the debugger.
   
   pg. 514: The w command no longer lists a window of lines around your position. It is now the "v" as in [v]iew.



5. It is difficult to study perl using only this book.
   Learning perl is the best way to study perl.
   This book should be a reference of perl.
   
   And there are many examples on the Net.
   You can use these examples to modify for your purpose.
   Sometimes, you should study how to debbug perl.

5 comments about C# 3.0 in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)).

1. I'm a professional developer but I have no experience using C#. My current project required learning C# at a highly accelerated pace and this book did it for me.
   
   If you are an experienced developer needing to learn C# quickly and thoroughly without resorting to the "for Dummies" types of books this is an effective tool, use it.



2. sits on my desk as a reference when I encounter something I cannot remember or just need to brush up on!



3. For those who has experience with object-oriented programming, this is an excellent book both for learning C# and for being used as a reference book on the desk. The examples are carefully designed in general but can be made better in a couple of places.



4. Pure awesome - if you're a good programmer already and want the skinny on what's new (or even great explanations on what you already think you know), spend the $10-$15 and buy this book. I love it and I buy every version they put out. There just aren't enough people like Joseph and Ben writing tech books!



5. The "In a Nutshell" series has long been my favorite's. I am glad they did C# again with .NET 3.0. The format of the book changed quite a bit with a much better format and lenghthy explainations and demonstrations. I truly hope they redo ADO.NET in a nutshell as that was my favorite as well.
   
   This book is all you really need on C# and .NET framework. [I have many others, but always find myself coming back to this, and for good reason]

No comments about Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Unleashed.

5 comments about Beginning PHP and MySQL: From Novice to Professional, Third Edition (Beginning from Novice to Professional).

1. I purchased this book because I needed to use PHP and MySQL for a project at work. I never had any exposure to either before reading this book. By using this book and the w3schools website I was able to successful build a meager database and have a fully functioning php front end. It was very pleasing to see the project come to fruition and I have this book to thank for that. I used it mainly as a reference book. For example, I knew exactly what I wanted to do so I would search this book for an example of that and adapt the code to my situation. I didn't use this book to "learn PHP." I think you need to have a project to do in order to best use this book.



2. Despite the title, this book is not for the novice. Even the introductory first 100 pages or so assume that you are above a novice level. The examples lead to more questions (for me, the novice) than they answer.
   
   Having said that, this book has a tremendous amount of information in it and, as other reviews mention, it will work well as a reference. Now, I hope to find a true beginning PHP book to provide the basis to use this book!



3. I have recently bought this book and have to say it is execellent, it does help if you have a little prior knowledge as some new readers could find it a little difficult to understand. But if you have an interest in PHP and MySQL it is a great book to get your hands on. I highly recommend it.



4. This book does have a lot of information, making it a great reference book. However, after 10 chapters I still do not know how to use any of the information to "build dynamic, database-driven web sites..." as the subtitle states. If you're a beginning programmer, as I am, try to find a true beginner's book (wish I could give a recommendation).



5. This books is written for someone who is familiar with other programming languages and databases and now wants to use PHP and MySQL. It is not written for somebody completely new to programming. For example, if you came from Perl or ASP, and you wanted to know how arrays, loops, and objects in PHP, this book will cover that.
   
   The topic coverage is broad but not deep. The book has a feel of "semi-reference" in that each topic stands on its own. This is not a cookbook or "learn by example" book. There is enough information to get you started, but if you have a complex/niche problem, this book will not help you. For more information, you will have to consult books that specialize on the topic you are interested.
   
   I have one major gripe with this book. There is not any significant coverage of XML manipulation or XSL/XSLT aspects of PHP. When you look at the table of contents or index, there is no mention of XSL/XSLT and only a brief mention of XML (and RSS) in the Web Services chapter. For a book that covers a lot of subjects, this is a weak area.

5 comments about Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture (The Addison-Wesley Signature Series).

1. As a newcomer to enterprise architecture this book educated me on possibilities for decisions to be made in designing an enterprise architect. It will also give you a language for describing existing characteristics of an existing enterprise application which may use some combination of the patterns describe in this book. The discussion of where to keep session state for a webapp was particularly helpful to me.



2. For me, this book is an invaluable reference for building business apps.
   
   Want help choosing a framework? Want some guidance for solving common business problems? These patterns help solve these kinds of problems.
   
   NOTE: I have tried to find other sources for these patterns, and I have only found Fowlers website, which is really only a summary and recommends purchasing the book.
   
   This book has examples in both Java and C#. You can certainly use these patterns in .NET.
   
   Under .NET you are not actually forced to use the Table Model. I think the purpose of this book is to help you realize this.
   
   There are frameworks for .NET that use the Domain Model and Data Mapper patterns, but you would never know this unless you were familiar with the patterns in this book.
   
   For me, reading this book didn't allow me to write new code, but it did allow me to understand my choice to use a particular framework/technique over another.



3. This is a must read book if you are a developer, architect or in anyway related to technology.



4. Even if you don't do "Enterprise Application" development, this book is a must have in your library. If you have been developing for more than a couple of years and you haven't seen 1/2 of the patterns in this book, then you are probably doing something wrong and this book could greatly help you.
   
   Even if you do know 1/2 or more of the patterns in this book it is a great reference to the details of these patterns. Unless you are a Sophomore Software Engineering Student I'd recommend this book over the GoF book. Gof is a must have too, but if you can only have one. Get this one!



5. This book is a complete beginner's handbook for enterprise patterns.
   
   1) The "Mapping to Relational Database Patterns" section discusses patterns that are completely intuitive. I recall logically coming to this conclusions when I started programming in Visual Basic in 99. Nothing new in this section.
   
   2) The "Concurrency" section is criminal in nature and assumes that the application runs on high-cost server. Process-per-session? Thread-per-request? Come on!! Has the author missed out on the Reactor, Proactor and Active Object patterns (he does reference ACE but only as a reference). These patterns have been recognized as not scalable in the late 90s.
   
   3)The distribution patterns are clearly incomplete and desire a lot of details.
   
   If you're just starting out,as a System Architect :-), you'll find this useful. Otherwise, use MSDN or ACE for enterprise patterns.

5 comments about Core Java(TM), Volume I--Fundamentals (8th Edition) (Sun Core Series).

1. This is a very fine book. Althought I am still progressing through the first third of it, I have found it to be very useful.



2. This is a great book, it provides detailed descriptions about how to write in Java. I recommend it if you have some, (but not much) java experience, or even if you have a lot of experience. It includes great programs, references, and notes describing how to use the most commonly used peices of java. If there are certain methods not in the book, it gives exact references to them online at the sun website.



3. I am an extremely experienced Java programmer and Ph. D. computer scientist. I write and teach courses and develop technical assessments, so it's important to me to keep up with language developments. While I've bought a great many Java books over the years, I've been neglecting Core Java for many editions, thinking it would no longer be of any use and being tired of repurchasing books. I'm part way through this one, and I am astounded at how much I am discovering, especially about Java 5 & 6 (even though I thought I knew all about their new features). I'm also enjoying the detailed comparisons with C++, as I used to use and teach that too. No matter how much you know about Java I would strongly recommend this book, if only to read all the well-delineated comments and clarifications that appear frequently. A particularly nice feature is that where portions of the API are summarized there are indications of the version in which the feature was added -- it helped reduce my feelings of chagrin when I read something surprising to find that it had been introduced in v6 or was a part of v5 I hadn't yet explored. Unlike so many other books this one provides meaningful and useful examples. I am eagerly anticipating the second volume.



4. The book does well is saying what's new in JDK 5.0 and later. It doesn't do well in actually covering it. The book shows results of certain arguments, commands, etc..., without actually showing you the command that would be executed to achieve the result. It leave you to the trial and error of figuring out the syntax by yourself.
   
   It also lacks explanation at the beginning chapters, making this a book I wouldn't want to start out learning JAVA with. I don't have other JAVA books covering the new specs, so I don't have anything to compare this to. However, I learned JAVA initially with FAR superior books to this. One was Introduction to JAVA Programming by Liang. It explaned everything a beginner needs to know, and included plenty of example code, and explained the code. I don't know if there is a new version though, and the one I have would be outdated now.



5. If you're looking for a solid book on Java 6 (this is a two volume series though) that is part reference material and part insight from a veteran educator and programer then this book is for you. It's not a Java / Comp Sci 101 book but one that is geared towards folks with some programing experience, particularly in Java. I highly recommend this to the Java programmer that needs a good reference and wants t know how Java works in te real world.

1 comments about GO! with Microsoft Office 2007 Introductory (Go! Series).

1. book was a good price, sold with the course disc, only the disc was for the 2003 course.

5 comments about Pro WPF in C# 2008: Windows Presentation Foundation with .NET 3.5, Second Edition (Books for Professionals by Professionals).

1. Please buy this book if you haven't explored Windows Presentation Foundation. The separation of the UI (with XAML) and the code-behind page controller (C# or VB.NET) will revolutionize .NET development. If you don't have a designer you must learn Microsoft Expression Blend, but a UI designer will push your view (from Model-View-Controller) to the extreme.
   
   The browser-based XBAP works like a Winform app, but it can be viewed in Internet Explorer. If you've ever tried to create a dirty flag to denote changes in form data in ASP.NET, you know how superior Winforms are for this purpose. XBAPs give you the ability to access the textbox text changed event like Winforms. This takes a ton of JavaScript to accomplish the same programming task in ASP.NET forms.
   
   The update of the application to the client machine (the XBAP runs on the client) can be done with new technolgy called ClickOnce. What a technology!
   
   I've even tried to learn the XAML markup from a very good chapter on this.
   
   This book is really well done. Kudos to the author.



2. I've bought three books about WPF, including Windows Presentation Foundation Foundation Unleashed and Silverlight 1.0 Unleashed. Matthew MacDonald's book is for developers and is what I needed. It uses Visual Studio 2008 and is up to date with current development tools. I've also read his books on ASP.NET and this is one top-notch author. I fully recommend this book.



3. The book is good so far. Only about 150 pages into the book, but so far easy to read, examples range from simple to more advanced. I will post another review upon completion.



4. I generally like Matthew's writing, but this one really fell short of my expectations, esp considering it's a 2nd edition (I've never read the first edition, though).
   
   Pros:
   - it gave a good overview of what WPF is all about(the underlying DirectX etc), and why we need yet another Windows GUI technology.
   
   Cons:
   - it lacks substance, each chapter mostly contains a shallow description of a "feature" of WPF, with some code snippets. The content feels more like a showoff of what WPF can do + some tips & tricks.
   
   - there is no central theme in the book, ie. the author doesn't hold your hand and build a non-trivial app using the key features of WPF. So at the end of the book, i'm still at a loss as to how to re-write some of my Windows Forms apps in WPF.
   
   - it's completely focused on the WPF technology, with hardly any information on the fundamentals of Computer Graphics theory and how it's related to WPF. I guess for most folks who just want to cobble togther a form with a few data bound controls in it, this prob isn't a problem. But to create commercial apps in WPF, this book is just not enough.



5. I love the Petzold book Applications = Code + Markup, but it covers a subset of WPF and is out of date now. Pro WPF in C# 2008 is up-to-date, covers a much larger subset, and doesn't shy away from the hard stuff. Almost every time I turn to this book, I find either an answer or a new pointer that leads to the answer on-line. Yesterday, I found a method called TemplatedParent that is ill-covered in my other books. Today, I found IScrollInfo. Highly recommended as a well-written, comprehensive, up-to-date WPF reference for intermediate to advanced developers. For starting out, I still recommend the Petzold book, which really tries hard to build understanding.

5 comments about Effective C++: 55 Specific Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs (3rd Edition) (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series).

1. This is a great book which covers a lot of useful topics for every C++ professional. I have been programming in C++ for a while so some of the topics Scott Mayers discussed were already familiar but I still picked up a lot from this book. From a beginner to intermediate programmer, this is a must have. Advanced programmers probably have this book already (or its previous editions). Otherwise, if you bought this in order to learn something new then you are not really "advanced", are you?
   
   This book assumes that you already used C++ and understand its fundamentals. Scott's goal is not to teach the fundamentals but to advice readers on how to use the language effectively - generating good, efficient, re-usable, portable code. On this goal, he was successful. Its pretty much like when I was learning Japanese. I understood the fundamentals and word translations but in order to effectively communicate in that language, I had to be familiar with proper sentence construction, various formalities (some words are not appropriate for certain settings or people) and word dynamics as well. In a sense, this book (or Scott) is your sensei to good C++ programming.
   
   Some more suggested reading to complement Scott Mayer's series:
   Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)
   and
   Modern C++ Design: Generic Programming and Design Patterns Applied (C++ In-Depth Series)



2. A good book in an informal language to take a look at the most importance topics to avoid many common errors during the programming in C++. Widely used in the industry.



3. Is this a great book? I have been asking myself that question ever since I found out that Scott Meyers does not write (or has not written for a long time) production code in C++. With that said, book is a great theoretical treatise on how to make your C++ code better but it is not a "cookbook" which will be immediately useful in day to day tasks. This is not necessarily a bad thing; such approach will encourage deeper understanding of issues at hand and that will lead to better code.



4. This book must be required reading for anyone developing in C++. I count this book as essential as Bjarne Stroustrup's "The C++ Programming Language"; these two books are a necessity.
   
   Mr. Stroustrup's book could be considered a technical reference to the C++ language. This book I consider as a technical reference for how to use the C++ language.
   
   The book was well written. I found the book to be easy to read and the index to be exhaustive enough for the book to be used as a quick reference.



5. This book is fantastic, I own three editions.
   
   But the Kindle edition is a pale shadow of the print edition. Purchase the printed edition first, use the Kindle edition only as a portable reference. Expect your reading speed to be much slower on the Kindle edition than in the print edition.
   
   The Kindle display is too narrow for the code, causing lines to wrap at inconvenient places. Code is mostly readable, but the line wraps render the code less readable than the print edition.
   
   The Kindle edition uses the same serifed font for both code and prose, all in black. The printed edition uses a serif font for prose, and uses a sans-serif font to differentiate code. The print edition uses color to identifies important code.
   
   Comparing the two editions gives you deeper appreciation for the art of typesetting.
   
   Photos comparing Kindle and printed formatting at
   http://gallery.mac.com/ziggr#100056
   
   The Scott Meyers books were *the* reason I bought a Kindle: these books were in my backpack on the day I ordered my Kindle. "I could carry a 10oz Kindle instead of a stack of books? Sold!" Even with the Kindle's limited formatting capabilities, I'm glad to finally have them in a Kindle edition.