5 comments about Macromedia Flash MX ActionScript for Fun and Games.

1. The examples in the book are not updated and show an older method of writing action script. While it still works, it's not the best way to learn the current methods.



2. The five stars are only for the price and quality of transaction for the distributor. The book, however, deserves 3 max. If you want to know how to create these specific games, then look no further. If you want to learn the theory behind the games so you can easily go on to create your own, buy another book. This is a good tool if you are interested in Rosenzweig's style of programming, but only that. If you wish to expand your knowledge of ActionScript on a more modular and appliable level, I would suggest Flash MX 2004 Savvy or an ActionScript Bible (for the more advanced topics).



3. This book is not very well suited for beginner actionscript programmers.The author gives two or three brush off chapters on actionscript.Then bombardes you with math.random()* this that and the other.And starts using object type programming with little explanation of whats going on behind the code.He does comment the lines but the comments faintly explain what he is doing.I would have given this book 2 stars,but because you can take these games change them around graphics,little script or whatever and "make them your own" I am giving it 3 stars.I've owned this book for over a year and after reading other books it's making more sense what he's doing now.But for someone with little experience, be prepared to get lost very quickly.



4. If you have even a little background in Actionscript or programming in general, you will find this book worthwhile. The author gives a few beginner's tips, but for the most part this is for the intermediate user looking to take the next step into Flash gaming. There are a variety of games covered and each game is included on the companion CD. The CD is probably the biggest selling point when compared to other Actionscript books as it's a huge help to see what the author is talking about on screen.



5. Even though this book was written for Actionscript 1.0, it still has plenty of life left in it. A reasonably capable Flash designer should be able to convert the script to AS 2, and probably even convert it to AS 3. If you're already a guru you may not find it as useful, but intermediate level Flashers should find plenty of inspiration. The game theory is light - just the basics - but I was more interested in the script, which it is full of. Well worth the money.

5 comments about SAP Planning: Best Practices in Implementation.

1. Whilst an excellent book for its broad treatment of the IT related issues in planning and implementing SAP this book does not address "Best Practices" - in particular the stage of ASAP titled 2.Blue Printing.
   
   Yes, in the TOC you will find Blueprinting mentioned but in this title these topics are addressed from an IT sizing perspective and not the business process oriented planning or implementation perspective; the latter is required to address alignment with strategic goals and to realize ROI.
   
   Why do organizations role out SAP? In fact why do organizations expend on IT? For the same reason they invest in any of their shared service; to support their business objective of course. In order to plan and implement major IT infrastructure then it is an imperative that it is done through IT and organizational strategy alignment and the most obvious route to alignment is via support for structured business processes management. Companies arguably role out SAP for (customer driven) process oriented reasons with IT & cost benefits a supplemental or bi-product outcome. To successfully plan and implement in the absence of business process management structure is to miss this key imperative. SAP realise this, they have it in ASAP, but its absent from this book.
   
   So if you are looking for a book that treats the entire planning and implementation process this is not the book but it does provide the most comprehensive IT treatment I've come across. My rating of three stars therefore reflects this deficiency.



2. I got this book and I was dissapointed to find that it is mostly talking about the technology part of the implementation ( landscape, High Availability, system HW,....) but it almost did not go through the functional (business) part of SAP, i.e. IMG activities are not discussed, building a company oraganizational chart and structure is not discussed, financial and controlling Baseline configuration is not discussed and so on.
   Although I am a certified SAP basis and XI consultants I do not find this book reflecting it's title, it can be very good for an IT / IS manager from the customer side.
   
   Regards.



3. This book focuses almost exclusiveley on the technical side of an SAP implementation. Not much regarding all the other aspects of an SAP implementation.



4. If you want to know more about SAP Implementation best practices. Just go ahead and GRAB it ! Well written and lucidly explained.
   
   Easy to understand, good look and feel of the content layout.
   
   Looking forward to the next edition.



5. I was looking for PP-MRP book with strategy/configuration/integration instructions/advice. My mistake, this is not a functional book. I agree with other buyers regarding the poor title selection. The title "R3 Implementation Planning" would more accurately describe the book. As a PP-APO consultant it does not help very much. Perhaps if Amazon would have allowed us to browse inside the book, the table of contents would have saved some of us some time and money. SAP Planning: Best Practices in Implementation

5 comments about .NET and COM: The Complete Interoperability Guide Parts A and B.

1. This book has been an invaluble resource on a .NET/COM interop project I've been working on. Don Box's quote on the cover sums up the title nicely, "This is the last book that should be written about COM programming. There is nothing left to say."
   
   Since I'm a published author myself, I first bought a book on this topic from my publisher Microsoft Press. While accurate, it left a lot to desire. Very little advanced information was provided. However, this title from Adam Nathan's and Sams Publishing leaves nothing out, including extensive references.
   
   If you are working with COM objects from .NET, or vice-versa, this book will be an excellent resource.



2. Never one to skimp on books, I ordered three with almost exactly the same title on COM/.NET Interop when I needed some information on the subject. Adam Nathan's book is by far my favorite. I've never found an answer in another book that wasn't in Nathan's (and have found many in his that I didn't find anywhere else).
   
   It seems like this book isn't as easy to get on amazon as it once was--a pity, because it's the first (and maybe only) Interop book you'll need. Maybe he'll come out with another edition as .NET changes...



3. I read Troelsen's book on COM/.NET interroperability. This two volume set easily exceeds in content. Both books provide valuable information that I use regularly in developing .NET solutions that use COM as clients and servers. If I had to have only one selection, I would choose these books (Adam Nathan's) for the extensive content.



4. My co-worker had a previous edition of this book (now set) and it was the bible for any question regarding .Net/COM interop. When he left the company and took the book with him I was sad. Now it's back in print, however, and happy days are here again.
   
   I'm not going to pretend that I'm a COM God; I'm mostly a desktop .Net component developer who has to expose the component to both managed and unmanaged (COM) clients. This book was invaluable for walking us through some of the trickier steps of integrating our new component with the main client (QuickBooks accounting software) in a way that supported new version deployment and backwards compatibility.
   
   The way that Nathan describes best practices for exposing managed libraries to COM is clear and concise (as much as you can be when talking about COM, I suppose). It directly led to several utilities and build steps we added in order to create better components.
   
   I highly recommend this book set.



5. This product requires some knowledge and experience in coding with .NET and in Visual Studio but it contains all you need to know about the interoperability of .NET and COM. Many hints, detailed information and examples are included and guide through the interoperability of managed and unmanaged components.

No comments about The Definitive Guide to SOA: Oracle® Service Bus, Second Edition (The Definitive Guide).

4 comments about Beginning ASP.NET 2.0 Databases: From Novice to Professional (Beginning: From Novice to Professional).

1. Almost every book with ASP.NET 2.0 in the title will tell you something about the Grid View, Detail View, Form View, SQLDatasource and the SQL 'Select' statement; this one will too. While the other books provide a rudimentary overview of these topics then move on, "Begining ASP.NET 2.0 Databases: From Novice to Professional" takes you way beyond the SQLDatasource and the 'Select' statement, delving deep into ADO.NET.
   
   Just as bread & butter go together ASP.NET and databases go together; and there is a lot more to the database side of the equation than is brought out in most ASP.NET books, which tend to limit themselves to the use of the controls, getting into databases only enough to have something to show in the controls. with this book it is the other way around; the reason for the controls is to display and maninpulate data in a database, and there are several ways to access and manipulate databases with ADO.NET besides the SQLDatasource. Along the way you will learn to use the controls with all the different data access formats and how to use the controls and their events to manipulate the data, which is what it's really all about.
   
   If DataReader, Command Object, DataSet, OLEDBDatasource and ODBCDatasource are not familiar terms to you, and you want to develop ASP.NET web sites you need this book. If you don't know when not to use the SQLDatasource (there are some definite situations when it won't work), or don't know how to create a server side data cache and why you would want to, you need this book.
   
   The book is easy to read and has numerous small exercises titled "Try It Out", after each exercise is a "How It Works" section where the code in the previous exercise is explained, line by line in most cases. Not only does Damien take you through DataReader, Datasets and Commands he also covers stored procedures, which you will want to use rather than queries in code shown in most of the other books.
   
   While the book primarily uses SQL Server 2005, MYSQL 5.0 is also covered at the same time, everything from installing and configuring to using with stored procedures, parameters and transactions.
   
   If you want to build ASP.NET web sites you will work with databases, if you are not intimately familiar with ADO.NET this book should be on your bookshelf readily available.



2. I really liked this book because it shows step-by-step how to do things and then has a "How does it work?" section. Great book! Well written and seems quite comprehensive.



3. This book does a good job explaining how to work with databases. The one thing I didn't realize is the only language used for examples is C#. It would be nice if VB examples were also included.



4. I bought this book knowing a good bit about regular ASP and how to communicate with databases, hoping to learn how to do the same thing with ASP.NET. I was not disappointed. The book walks you through step-by-step in creating database connections, command objects, stored procedures, etc... It doesn't dwell too long on topics that it shouldn't be covering (like database design, and web site design). The instructions within the book identify software that is free, so there are no unpleasant surprises. This book will be a great reference and has really helped me make the jump from ASP to ASP.NET.

5 comments about Joomla! Template Design: Create your own professional-quality templates with this fast, friendly guide.

1. I thought I would learn to make joomla templates. But this is just a makeover of one of the standard themes.
   
   I read the entire book and didn't read anything new.
   
   I could not imagine that the publisher of this book read it too, because he would have thrown it in a bin



2. I bought this book to learn how to create Joomla templates. Look at chapters 1, 2 and 3. NOT A SINGLE WORD HOW YOU DO IT.
   
   In chapter Two 3 screenshots how you can change the Rhuck template without coding. But nothing as how this gets done.
   
   In chapter Three the author has the nerve to start with "We continue with our modified Rhuck template" - the changed template he forgot to describe in chapter Two.
   
   Yes, very useful information about what I don't want to know about. Like which color picker to choose, this is a nice editor, that is a great photo editor, and you set it up like this.
   
   Sorry, but if I want to learn how the NVU editor or Dreamweaver works, I look for different titles. That has nothing to do with coding templates.
   
   I expect some guidance as how to change the template css, the related images and the module positions so a newbie template editor can get acquainted with the beginnings.
   
   In fact, if you try on your own, you will find that the author KNOWS you're going to run into trouble on page 15. He describes the area below the top=newsflash as 'this area's space is hardcoded in the xhtml'. If you try to switch the menu's from left to right that little bit sits nicely in the way. The authors knows it, but doesn't care to mention it.
   
   It's like learning English as a second language, and dumping the sonnets of Shakespeare on your desk with the remark "This is what you can achieve if you master the language."
   
   The examples from the website? I tried to install the supplied templates, but even that doesn't work. A complete waste of money.
   
   The book is very expensive. I'd expect a LOT more for this kind of money. Not the first time I am snookered out of money by Packt, but it is most certainly the last time.
   
   For beginners this is worthless. You don't learn anything that you can't find on the Internet with some searching. Actually, I bought this book because I need to code a 1.0 template - and even there it fails miserably.
   
   Barry North book "Joomla a user's guide" teaches a LOT more in a single chapter about creating templates.



3. This is the best and really the ONLY book out there for Joomla. Now, I have to admit that I don't really like Joomla. However, I'm a web designer and occasionally I have to create or work on sites in Joomla anyway.
   
   At first, I bought another Joomla book but all it did was left me confused. It didn't help me and didn't talk at all about fixing up a template to reflect a client's logo and branding which is what I usually need to know. And forget about online documentation for Joomla; it's just not out there. And the interface is not intuitive at all, so you'd think documentation would be a given.
   
   But THIS book is completely awesome and it does what it says it does. The author showed me clearly how to make a Joomla site look the way I need it to look AND in the process, she explained many things about Joomla to me that made no sense at all to me before (for example, why Joomla does some of the things it does, what parts of it spit out html tables and what parts I can really control with my template CSS, etc). Also, the author explained how to make multi-level unordered menu items work (I had previously torn my hair out over wondering why that didn't work in Joomla) -- turns out you need to install a module.
   
   And even beyond Jooma itself, I also picked up quite a bit on how to properly implement web standards and use CSS, which I'd been needing to brush up on. This book has actually helped me with many aspects of my job in general, not just making a Joomla template!
   
   I still don't completely understand why people choose to use Joomla, as I still find the admin interface to be confusing and badly worded, but as long as people use it, they'll need designs for it This book is the only thing out there that makes this possible. I totally recommend it.



4. I have 3 books on Joomla and this is the only book that truly helped me through getting an original design (from another party) into one of my Joomla sites. I run three sites with Joomla, all for non-profit organizations and therefore have to do my work on night and weekends. I'm a web professional and know the concepts of building sites but I'm a manager and don't build sites everyday for a living. This book got me through the template basics in way that allowed me to implement an original design that had no references to typical Joomla page layout areas, in a couple of days. By taking you through the process of designing a Joomla template from scratch I was finally able to understand how a web page was generated by Joomla and how I could eliminate much of the "noise" in the default setup. It's possible that a web beginner may find some things difficult and perhaps a comprehensive description of the Joomla content engine will not be found but I heartily recommend this book if you need a jump start of creating templates for Joomla.



5. The style of the book worked very well for me. It was a great balance of solid instructions and visual examples that made it very easy to understand and follow. I have other books by this author and highly recommend for the novice to those more advanced who may need a refresher.
   
   Kudos to the author and Amazon for carrying this selection!
   
   R. Pettway

2 comments about Pro EDI in BizTalk Server 2006 R2: Electronic Document Interchange Solutions (Pro).

1. While EDI is straight forward in concept to understand it can be difficult to implement. This book is targeted towards the developer and architect tasked with crafting a B2B EDI solution and does a great job at detailing what needs to happen to make this task possible on the BizTalk 2006 R2 platform.
   
   This book does not focus on the business specifics around EDI, but rather immediately jumps into detailed and concrete examples that can easily be extended into the real world. There are many EDI features with BizTalk 2006 R2 that can only be understood after working with the product across many projects. This book will reduce the time required experimenting with the tool just to understand the new features. I recommend this book to anyone working with EDI and BizTalk 2006 R2.



2. For understanding EDI processing in 2006 R2 this is a great material. It has all forms for processing like EDI, AS2 etc. The Book gives a brief description about all these Architectures and then comes the good part, the samples created and Tested which you can test at your machine.
   
   The samples are so easy to deploy with minimum pre-requisites and test them thoroughly along with a book to understand what we have done. We can download the samples from a web page directed in the Book.
   
   Even if you are newly introduced to EDI processing through Biztalk, there is no worry. All you need is a little hands on how Biztalk translates the EDI data. From there the book has all the techniques involved in resolving the data, retrieving and mapping the information and Orchestrate the message for processing as you wish.
   
   The Book also briefs about the deployment and production support considerations and reporting updates with the new Server. In a nutshell this is the perfect material for understanding EDI processing in 2006 R2 environment.

3 comments about Sams Teach Yourself Programming with Java in 24 Hours (4th Edition) (Sams Teach Yourself).

1. This book is designed to learn basic programming with Java and it's been working excellent for me. However, in the "HOUR 2" section where you exposed to the first very basic programming, you'd get very confused if you are newbies who are totally rely on Windows XP. I assume that the most newbies have never had to deal with the XP's hidden feature - DOS, these days.
   
   If that's the case, the "HOUR 2" section won't be one-hour session but a couple or more hours right there. If you are somewhat familiar with DOS, then I'd recommend this book. The author explains how to do things in DOS commnad window but I don't think it's enough. Let's say, if you don't know such as CD , MD and all kinds of DOS commands and how to navigate through all kinds of folders and/or directories in DOS window....you won't like this book.
   
   BUUUUT, that's the nature of programming at the first place.
   No visible graphics but just lots of text, text, text and text.:)
   
   Thus, if you expect some kinds of XP's feature such as "Drag & Drop" this book is totally wrong for you. My advise is that please be familiar with some DOS functions, then look for programming books suitable for you:)
   
   The other thins is the book includes a CD-rom, which includes lots of software but by the time you buy it, they'll be somewhat out of the date. If you are using dial-up connections, it'll be a major headache to updated your software for sure.



2. I am just finishing this book, and it is one of the best programming books I have ever worked with. The author has a sense of humor that completely complements the work. I usually find humor in a programming book cheesy and distracting, but Cadenhead's humor is informative and fun at heart, and makes the work go more quickly and make more sense.
   
   The DOS issues mentioned in another review are not a problem with this book. Learning any powerful programming language these days does involve understanding a little bit of what's going on under the hood in your computer. That learning curve exists in almost any language, and each book needs to include it. There is extensive coverage in this book for the difficulties that may arise in this stage, and help for getting around those issues. Once you get your particular system set up properly, you will enjoy playing with the language. There is also extensive online support for these issues.
   
   I am also sticking with the Sams 24 Hour series for other languages, because they are very well done for a wide range of readers.



3. It's great! I was able to (in everyone else's opinion) master Java within 2 days!

3 comments about CMMI(R) Survival Guide: Just Enough Process Improvement (SEI Series in Software Engineering).

1. Garcia and Turner address a widely held concern about adopting CMMI. That it is overly heavy, with much to assimilate before a group of programmers can usefully apply it. Well ok, CMMI can be used for more than just software development. But as a practical matter, most of its users and proposed users are in that business. The book is perhaps also a reaction to the Agile process. The latter is in some ways the mirror image of CMMI, with short design and coding cycles.
   
   The book gives a relatively quick walkthrough of CMMI. A broad picture about using CMMI to improve your development process. En route, it also discusses general topics like project management issues, which are not exclusive to CMMI. The entire text is really just a primer for CMMI. It shows that CMMI has many subtopics, and the procedures involved can be rather detailed. Adding up to a formidable total barrier for the newcomer. But the text does supply enough information to give an appreciation of what CMMI can do for you, and the concepts to be mastered.
   
   Of all the chapters, I found Chapter 11 to be the most formidable. It seems to give the strongest indicator of the amount of material in CMMI. Just consider the O process areas within CMMI. "You'll need people who can implement the practices in Organisational Process Focus, Organisational Process Definition, Organisational Training, Organisational Innovation and Deployment and (eventually) Organisational Process Performance". Whew! And the chapter goes on to give more information about what these might entail. No wonder some might baulk at CMMI.



2. An easy to read book about using an abstract model: this is quite a feat. This is the book I'd write about improving processes, if I had the time, the talent, the motivation, etc. I've been doing this improvement work for many years, occasionally with the authors, and it is gratifying to see that they've captured so many good practices and useful ideas and shared them in an accessible, friendly way.
   Many different fields use CMMI as a standard, to decide about improvement planning, to gauge their results, to convince customers they are reliable. This book shows the way around the pit-falls, points out the poison-ivy patches, and can help people find their way to the benefits of process improvement.
   Of course CMMI for Development can be daunting: it describes professional engineering and engineering management practices in enough detail to be used in several ways by different communities. Finally, it isn't CMMI that drives people to disappointing improvement results. Mistakes in judging how easy it is to get people to change or even to describe their way of doing things often have led to "heavy" process implementations, as change agents add more and more detail hoping it will get people to use the processes. Or, mistaking how fast processes can be implemented can lead to mandated processes that work well for no one.
   The authors have accurately described how to find your "main, broad road" to the benefits of improvements, and the many factors that you have to consider that will lead you there. Now I don't have to write this book. I'll give it to our customer's managers and their process engineers and be confident that they can get good direction from it: we now have a rich resource of techniques, stories, and directions that we can refer to in our projects.
   Okay, some criticism: the techniques described in the last chapters are very effective, but have to be approached with discipline as well as a fun-finding mind-set, so they may not work for everyone. But that's one of the good things about the book- the authors say that few improvements work exactly the way you want, the very first time. Honest and useful advice.



3. I've been exposed to a number of process improvement methodologies throughout my career, as well as read a number of books that try to explain them. To be honest, it's not a subject that's high on my "can't wait to read" list. But were more books styled like CMMI Survival Guide: Just Enough Process Improvement by Suzanne Garcia and Richard Turner, I would probably be more inclined to give them a chance. This book covers what you need to know without all of the mind-numbing jargon and detail...
   
   Contents:
   Part 1 - Scouting the Territory: Why We Think Process Is Important; Why Process Improvement Helps; Why Process Improvement Isn't Trivial
   Part 2 - Mapping the Route: CMMI As Your Guide; A Decision-based Life Cycle for Improvement
   Part 3 - Surviving the Passage: A PI Case Study; Survival and PI
   Part 4 - Experiencing the Journey: Developing and Sustaining Sponsorship; Setting and Measuring Against Realistic Goals; Managing an Appraisal Life Cycle; Developing Process Improvement Infrastructure; Defining Processes; Looking Ahead
   Part 5 - Outfitting Your Expedition (PI Resources): Tools and Techniques
   Bibliography; Index
   
   The basic direction of the authors is to talk to the reader like they were actually there, and to simplify CMMI so that it can be grasped and understood. And when you place a traditionally process-heavy methodology like CMMI up against agile methodologies like Extreme Programming, you realize just what a task the authors have taken on. Surprisingly, they pull it off pretty well. Part 1 lays the foundation for why a business or organization needs to have some sort of process improvement plan in place. The larger the organization is, the more important it becomes. Then using CMMI as the framework, part 2 covers the main topics of just what makes up the process improvement effort. Part 3 is where the application of the process becomes concrete. They use an easily-understandable case study that takes concepts and applies them to actual situations. That's usually where the large "formal" books fail. You can stuff as much information into your head as you want, but until it gets applied, it's pretty useless. Part 4 goes into more details of how the process works on an ongoing basis, followed by the actual tools and techniques that come into play for CMMI (part 5). By the end, you've covered everything you need to know (and you haven't poked your eyeballs out in frustration).
   
   While this might not be the "official" guide to a methodology, it's far more readable and applicable than books three times its size. And if you can read and understand the material, you have a far better chance of making it actually work...

5 comments about Objects First With Java: A Practical Introduction Using BlueJ (4th Edition).

1. Most other books on Java are practically carbon copies of each other. They'll take you through the same boring sequence of learning. When you get to objects, you're just overwhelmed with (what seems to be) information of little practical relevance - or at least, no fun. One hardly gets the feel for what the Object Oriented programming hype is all about.
   BlueJ gives you an IDE and code. Like most professional programmers, you won't be writing HelloWorld.java. Instead, you'll begin with code that was already writen by others. The book will take you on a tour in which you'll be exploring the behavior of objects. You'll be asked to reimplement classes, and observe the effects your changes have on the program's behavior. The IDE shows you class diagrams, so you can begin to analyze dependencies. Objects in BlueJ are "live", and you inspect their behaviors on the fly. This is unlike most other books, where you are required to use a text editor. This is miles ahead from the other 99% of tutorial books.
   BlueJ almost feels like the Java programmer is in a Smalltalk environment. BlueJ gives the beginer a real feel for code reuse, modularity, and objects, and the IDE is an integrated tool in the development process, just like it is for a professional Java programmer. An outstanding book. Having gone through piles of Java tutorial books, this is the one to learn from. This one's truly for learning OOP.



2. I purchased this for use in a Java class. The instructor swore by this book. In the end, it just wasn't worth the money. All the information I needed were already available online at through Sun and other Java resources.



3. most intro to programming books expect/assume you to know about programming before you can begin. This book actually teaches you the very basic and doesnt assume that you know anything. :-) Its probably the best one for beginners.



4. I bought this book because it was required for a course. Out of all of the exercise books I have used, this is by far the hardest to follow. There are not enough examples to actually teach you the information. There are no answers, so you never know if what you're doing is correct. Overall, the book is vague in its descriptions and has not given me any kind of useful Java skills. I'm sure it would be good for someone who already knows a little about Java or that has a teacher standing right by them to explain everything. Even the exercises were not very clear and hard to understand. I would recommend searching for a different book.



5. i received the book on time. the condition of the book was brand new as stated. thank you for providing such great service!