5 comments about PHP 5 Advanced: Visual QuickPro Guide.

1. I've been reading Larry's books since back in the early days when php/mysql books were barely found. I have to credit Larry's books with helping me just get started learning about php & mysql, and even helping me with most of what I learn today. I've purchased every new version of his books and pick up new things every time. It's so easy to step along with the examples, to help provide a solid understanding, and to give a fresh reassurance of what I may have already known... plus I always learn new tricks and techniques. I guess that's why I keep getting his books. This book especially helped me with a few tricks just at the right time, right when I needed help with them. I have over twenty-five php books and his are all in the top of my favorites and most referenced to.



2. While not quite as good as its predecessor (PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Websites 2nd edition) in terms of readability and ease of understanding, Larry Ullman is still, with this book, miles in front of pretty much any other technical author I have read. The chapters on object oriented programming are certainly the best I have come across on the subject.
   
   There is also a quick but useful demo of how to put a bit of AJAX in to a PHP site to increase usability.
   
   The one thing missing from this book that I personally would like to have seen, would be an introduction to frameworks.
   
   But let me stress this point: Larry Ullman is the best technical author, by a long, long way, on any subject I have ever read about in my life. I just wish he was an expert and wrote books on all the other things I want to learn about - that's how good his teaching ability is.



3. This book is a great continuation of the PHP5 Visual Quickstart Guide by the same company "Peachpit press). They stay with the same learning style that they have in the other books (visual and doing) but go into more advanced operations.



4. I've purchased this book and PHP 6 and MySQL 5 for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide, both by Larry Ullman. They're wonderful -- with them, I took my first steps into working with databases and a language like PHP. The step by step examples have made it very easy to learn and when I've been stuck -- I've gone to Larry's site and he's answered my questions in his forum. Two of the best purchases I've ever made. Highly recommended.



5. Have just started reading but so far it is explaining things that I had seen but didn't quite understand. Larry Ullman explains all and will take the time to help on his forums for each book he writes. A must have for anyone learning PHP and wants to go to the next level.

5 comments about Illustrated C# 2005.

1. I purchased this book about a few weeks ago for roughly $40 inlcuding postage. A few days later the price dropped to $12 and some stores are selling the book at around $8.... l0l



2. Explains more or less basic features but does it in such a way as to stick in your head (Like Head First series claim, but this is done in a way that I prefer).
   
   Even know I am a seasoned programmer, I still highly recommend this to novice and above for reference. Apress is starting to become my favorite programming publisher....



3. Probably my favorite programming book that I've read to date. I read it completely in two nights, it's just incredibly engaging (as nerdy as that sounds). I just like the way this author explains things. It's like you're sitting with a friend of yours that just tells you what you need to know in a very clear no-nonsense way. This is the very best book to learn C#. It is especially helpful for people coming from a Java or C++ background.



4. Wow, I just read half of this book. I never wrote a book review before. I don't know what say. I was so suprised. It is just so GOOD!!! I have read several other highly rated C# books before. But none of these book can give me so clear explanation like this book does. It solved many of my misunderstandings of a lot of concepts by giving simple examples with visual figures.



5. The only C# book that I have two of...
   One at home...
   One at work...
   
   You will probably need a more basic book if you are a beginer.
   But I would make this my second book.
   
   If you are coming over from C++, then make this
   your first book on C#
   
   This book is one of the worlds best kept secrets on
   learning C#. I'm lucky that I took a chance on it.
   
   Not only are the visuals great, but the selection of topics are great also.

5 comments about What is WebSphere? Java, J2EE, Por and Beyond! (Demystifying IBM's Middle Tier Technology).

1. This book is a good introduction and overview of WebSphere, but for the price I paid, I was simply amazed at the number of typos, grammar, and spelling errors. With all the money this author is making on this book (and I think it is overpriced), one would think that he could afford to hire a proofreader and clean it up. Just for fun, I kept track and found 50 typos/errors while I was reading, and since the book is only 280 pages long, that's one error every 5 pages! Poor quality, if you ask me. Although the content is helpful and well organized, the multiple errors give it a sense of being unprofessional.



2. I wonder if anyone proofread this book. Although the book contains a nice overview of what WebSphere is about, someone forgot to clean it up, but made sure that the hefty price tag was in place.
   
   Anyway, I recommend this book to a WebSphere newbie, as long as one can stand the errors (all grammar-related) and won't faint from the book's price.



3. I have over 10 years of software development experience and I am glad I chose this book to start learning about IBM Websphere Application Server. This book definitely delivers what it claims to in its title. It is written in a pithy, very witty yet technically sound style. Read this book for an insightful introduction to distributed computing using IBM Websphere platform.



4. Anyone who is new to the world of J2EE SHOULD read this book. Also anyone new to Websphere MUST read this book as an introductory book. It clears up a lot of questions for any newbie in J2EE (as well as Websphere) field. (A J2EE intern/newbie in my group borrowed this book from me for a couple of days and on the third day bought his own copy - He told me that this book helped him clear a lot of questions).
   
   This book lays a strong basic foundation on many topics in J2EE which is very very helpful in the long run. And I found a lot of stuff in this book which I was unable to find in a LOT of other books or online material . The author writing style is simple AWESOME/ AMAZING /BEST /SUPERB. I found a lot of other technical authors writing style to be boring and kinda intimidating. But Mr. McKenzie's writing style is simply fantastic, he explains the topics to point in a very crystal clear way and with a bit of humor which really makes the reading very enjoyable(and of course his explanation of technical details is pretty interesting/intriguing). (Also, I didn't see any author responding to questions/queries so fast.. I mean the author of this book Mr. (Cameron) McKenzie is lightning quick in answering your questions. I had a couple of questions in EJB related chapters and I e-mailed him regarding the same.. he replied to my e-mail with in 5 minutes FLAT with answers to my questions.. his explanation to my questions very crystal clear as always).
   
   I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars (if possible more than that). Thank you Cameron for this awesome book.



5. I purchase the book based on some review. But it turn out it was really out-dated and some of the term the author himself can't explain well. It does has pulp fiction style, not suitable and serious enough for the real world at all. $65 for a 279 paged (2/3 of junk non-sense), pocket size out-dated little book? not worth it.

3 comments about Agile Software Development: The Cooperative Game (2nd Edition) (Agile Software Development Series).

1. Cockburn emphasises a flexible approach to writing code, especially when you have a team of programmers. Unlike other approaches, like CMMI, the methodology advocated by the book seems deliberately informal. Now, certainly, the book does enumerate various steps typical in an agile approach.
   
   For example, we see a list of methodology design principles. One of which is independent of whether you use Agile or not, and which especially caught my eye. It says that larger teams need heavier methodologies. There are several methodologies floating around in the IT industry. And Agile is only one of these. But that particular principle can be very useful. As the text explains, with 6 or less people, say, you can put them in one room, and have little or even no methodology. Because people can just talk and plan things together. But as teams get bigger, and they get dispersed over different rooms, buildings and cities, then you need more elaborate methodologies. And your choice need not even be Agile.
   
   The book also has a writing style with lots of little side notes or anecdotes, that can help some readers assimilate the ideas in the main narrative.
   
   The biggest problem to me with the book is its relatively uncritical acceptance of XP (Extreme Programming). It quotes that the first XP project was successful, in delivering results, compared to a larger team that had failed. But the first XP project that I am aware of, from another text, "Extreme Programming Refactored", was at Chrysler, and it failed to meet its deliverables. That book gave a far more plausible analysis of XP and its brittleness. Cockburn's text does allow that XP can have its limitations if the team gets too big. Because both admirers and critics of XP generally acknowledge that an XP team must intensively share knowledge and coordinate actions, and this just does not scale.
   
   But if we put XP aside, then the Agile approach can be useful.



2. The agile model of software development has become an industry leader, making the second updated edition of Agile Software Development: Cooperative Game an even more essential reference. Agile's pioneering developer updates his Jolt Productivity winner to cover all aspects of the agile model, from its applications in an organizational structure to how to blend agile ideas with others. Any needing a basic introduction to Agile principles, history, and construction must have this.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



3. I picked this book up because of the Jolt Award. I was amazed as what I read. I give kudos to anyone who tries to apply game theory to their decision making process. This has grown to be the accepted way economists discuss decisions between agents, so why shouldn't we apply that to architecture or project decisions?
   Still more kudos to any author who heavily references 'philosophy' and then correctly references a real contemporary philosopher (Wittgenstein)!
   Sadly though, I would have loved to see cooperative game mapped out a bit more. The tools of game theory are there, so we should use them.
   My favorite take aways: ShuHaRi analogy, Cooperative Game analogy, Selection of *implemented* project methodologies as starting points, and a methodology to create methodologies. All in All this is an excellent book to get you started in Agile or to bring you up to date with the 'why' questions of Agile.

2 comments about Integrating and Extending BIRT (2nd Edition) (Eclipse Series).

1. This book is an impressive extension on "BIRT: A Field Guide to Reporting". The latter described BIRT to a newcomer, showing how to use its features. With a minimal discussion of scripting for customisation. While the scripting certainly involved programming, it was rather minimal, and most of the text showed a declarative layout approach to using BIRT.
   
   The Integrating book is the sequel. Strictly a programmer's book. It assumes you've read the earlier book. But now you need to take the customising [much] further. So here the text shows how to program in Java, not just JavaScript. Essentially, the bulk of the book explains the package org.eclipse.birt, which is freely available and has been built out with many classes. The problem to a programmer is the sheer multitude of those classes. An embarrassment of riches which the book tackles.
   
   Some classes relate to customising the UI. There is a charting API built on top of Java Swing. So you can key off your pre-existing Swing expertise. Swing is pretty easy to learn, and the BIRT graphics classes seem to continue this property.
   
   The only possible problem might be if you prefer SWT widgets for the better native look and feel. But the BIRT contributors correctly decided to support the most popular widget set, which is Swing.
   
   Other BIRT classes relate to getting data at the back end, from various possible sources.



2. It is a very useful book for anybody starting to use BIRT. However, some sections are slightly out of date vs. the new versions (2.2.2) of BIRT in 2007.
   
   The basic concepts in this book are still very useful, otherwise it is hard to find online information explained in such a systematic way and in such details.

5 comments about Visual Studio Tools for Office: Using C# with Excel, Word, Outlook, and InfoPath (Microsoft .NET Development Series).

1. This is a solid walkthrough of building C# automation code for Office, and for writing code that integrates into Office. Excel is covered in depth. As are Word, Outlook and the fascinating new Infopath product that is an XML technologies client.
   
   The writing is good. I could have used a few more non-screenshot graphics to illustrate the control flow between applications. But these are nit-picks. This is a solid book on automating and integrating with office using C# and .NET framework.



2. This book ties together two longstanding traits of Microsoft, that long predate C# or .NET. The first is its Office suite, which is one of its main moneyspinners. The second is its tradition, going back to the early 80s, if not earlier, for writing nice development tools for programmers.
   
   Undoubtedly, when Microsoft devised C#/.NET a few years ago, the abilities given in this book would have been a major goal. The book promises a synergy between C# and Office. The attraction is of course the huge user base for Office. To this ends, the book describes many ways to open up Office to programmatic control and customisation.
   
   The code examples don't even seem all that hard, conceptually. No doubt, they were well chosen for this reason. The size of the book reflects its natural division. There are sections that correspond to the components of Office- Excel, Word, Outlook.
   
   You can also see from the examples that there are groups of classes, in an object hierarchy that is very logically named so that you can easily get at the underlying data. For example, a worksheet under Excel is accessed as [naturally] Excel.Worksheet.
   
   Open source proponents might decry this further lockin of a developer into Microsoft's arms. But if you are willing to put up with that, it has to be said that Microsoft does provide a lot of support.



3. Part of my 2006 professional goals involve learning more about Microsoft's collaboration software. To that end, I got a review copy of Eric Carter and Eric Lippert's book Visual Studio Tools for Office - Using C# with Excel, Word, Outlook, and InfoPath. Good stuff here...
   
   Contents:
   Part 1 - An Introduction to VSTO: An Introduction to Office Programming; Introduction to Office Solutions
   Part 2 - Office Programming in .NET: Programming in Excel; Working with Excel Events; Working with Excel Objects; Programming Word; Working with Word Events; Working with Word Objects; Programming Outlook; Working with Outlook Events; Working with Outlook Objects; Introduction to InfoPath
   Part 3 - Office Programming in VSTO: The VSTO Programming Model; Using Windows Forms in VSTO; Working with Action Pane; Working with Smart Tags in VSTO; VSTO Data Programming; Server Data Scenarios; .NET Code Security; Deployment
   Part 4 - Advanced Office Programming: Working with XML in Excel; Working with XML in Word; Developing COM Add-Ins for Word and Excel; Creating Outlook Add-Ins with VSTO
   Index
   
   The two Erics have put together a very nice volume that shows how the programmability of Office is structured, and then how that object model can be used within the Visual Studio environment using special tools provided for that purpose. While you have to have the latest and greatest Office and VS software to follow along, their writing style is pretty straight-forward, and the reader should be able to pick up on the core concepts to understand the possibilities inherent in the integration. Even if you're not necessarily ready to fire up VS to program Word or Excel, Part 1 and 2 do a great job in showing the object layout of those Office components and how they can be manipulated. If you've never gotten into the code that can be added to a Word or Excel document, those two parts of the book would be worth it alone.
   
   For me, I'm going to gain two benefits from this book. First, the object model information will help me better integrate Office into my Notes/Domino applications. I do some of that now, but the object model for Excel and Word have always been somewhat hazy to me. This book will help clarify those areas. Second, I think that knowing more about InfoPath will be part of my process as I seek to understand more about Microsoft collaboration application development. As a result, having this book should help me tie InfoPath into the Visual Studio environment and get a running start on my education.
   
   Definitely a useful addition to your library if this is an area of interest to you...



4. THERE IS NO CODE Download, you get to ALL THE DOCUMENTS YOUR SELF, I have read most of the word portion (that's why I bought the book) If I had written this book I would have created an integrated application. That's what office is all about right? I think this is a great egghead book, but for learning TERRIBLE.
   
   Pass on this, wait for the wrox book; even if it sucks, I am sure it would be better than this. AW would you like me to write a book? I can bang out something more practical in a weekend!
   
   M~



5. If you just want to switch from VB to C# and are looking for a good how to reference this is not the book for you especially as it pertains to Microsoft Word. There is a solid description and how to for the range object, but that's about it. Word's Bulleted/Numbered List object, arguably the most convoluted of them all, doesn't even get mentioned and tables are glossed over in barely 2 pages.

5 comments about Java Servlet & JSP Cookbook.

1. Target Audience
   Web developers who are looking for real-life examples of the use of servlets and JSP.

   Contents
   This is a companion-type book that goes beyond strictly reference material to the use of different servlet and JSP features, along with working examples of code to illustrate the concepts.

   The book is divided multiple chapters that each cover a different technique or function:

   Writing Servlets and JSPs; Deploying Servlets and JSPs; Naming Your Servlets; Using Apache Ant; Altering the Format of JSPs; Dynamically Including Content In Servlets and JSPs; Handling Web Form Data in Servlets and JSPs; Uploading Files; Handling Exceptions in Web Applications; Reading And Setting Cookies; Session Tracking; Integrating JavaScript with Servlets And JSPs; Sending Non-HTML Content; Logging Messages from Servlets and JSPs; Authenticating Clients; Binding, Accessing, and Removing Attributes in Web Applications; Embedding Multimedia in JSPs; Working With The Client Request; Filtering Request and Responses; Managing Email In Servlets and JSPs; Accessing Databases; Using Custom Tag Libraries; Using The JSTL; Internationalization; Using JNDI and Enterprise JavaBeans; Harvesting Web Information; Using the Google and Amazon Web APIs

   Review
   I really like the O'Reilly Cookbook series. I read a lot as part of my ongoing study, and often it's easy to understand conceptually what is going on. But making the jump to practical solutions can be difficult at times. The Cookbook series gets plenty of use on my bookshelf as I do my day to day coding. And when it comes to servlet and JSP coding as I continue to learn more about Websphere Application Server, this book will surely become dog-eared like the rest of them. Bruce Perry has done a great job.

   As with most Cookbook titles, each chapter in the Servlet And JSP Cookbook is made up of a number of Problem/Solution/Discussion groupings. This format proposes a coding problem, states the solution to solve it, and then devotes the necessary space to discuss the solution both with text and code. By using this format, you can think through a working solution and determine how to apply that technique to your own problem. Perry covers a wide range of problems that will help both the beginner and the experienced coder. For beginners, the solutions for setting cookies with servlets and JSPs may be just what you need to get started. Experienced people will find the internationalization and JNDI/Enterprise JavaBeans solutions useful. I appreciate the fact that coders of all experience levels can get something out of this book.

   The only caveat I have on this book is that it is very focused on the Tomcat and WebLogic web application servers. If that's your platform of choice, you're going to get everything this book has to offer. For me, I'm partial to the WebSphere platform. While I will benefit from a lot of this book, there are chapters that will have no appeal to me, such as using the Ant package. I will also need to pay attention to the coding examples to make sure that the techniques are coded correctly for my platform of choice. Even with that warning, I would still highly recommend this book to all coders working in this area.

   Conclusion
   This is definitely a title that will be useful to you as you learn more about servlet and JSP programming. It will give you the ideas you need to solve real business problems you'll encounter as a developer.




2. Being an O'Reilly fan it is hard for me to find fault with their no-nonsense approach to technical books, but there is one MAJOR issue I have with this book.
   
   As a developer for a major corporation I cannot use custom libraries for my work, especially when the license (http://www.servlets.com/cos/license.html) does not allow for commercial use. Where it would be helpful to see details on creating say, a multipart request class, Bruce Perry instead uses the com.oreilly.servlet.MultipartRequest class to hide much of the functionality (this is just one example).
   
   This makes little or no sense. Developers in the real world need real examples. Hiding the implementation of such under the non-commercial license pretty much ruins much of the potential application of an otherwise well written book. If you buy this book realise that only some of it will actually be useful in the real world.



3. This book is exactly what it claims to be: a general reference to hundreds of "everyday" situations Java Web developers face. Just as any cookbook, it doesn't go into the "deepest" details about every little thing, and it does give examples of ways to not reinvent the wheel. Some reviewers see this as worthy of only 1 star... This is only a 1 star book for readers who like to reinvent the wheel and waste time on unnecessary details... if you're like me and have deadlines to meet, you'll find what you need here quickly and efficiently.



4. I'm not a big reviewer. I find writing a challenge, even if it's a positive experience, as it is now. I started learning Java a few months ago and bought a number of books on the topics I needed to really create a java website.
   I stumbled on this book as one of the ten or so I purchased.
   
   I haven't touched the other's since. This book has it all, written so clearly that you know the author is very familiar with her subject and understands it thouroughly. It was written in 2003 and discusses Tomcat server as release 4.0 but that does not matter one bit. I was truly able to use this book to put together a website. Servlet, jsp, even java script is covered. I found many questions I had assembled reading the other books being answered in this one.
   Murach's books should be proud of this and I notice that they don't publish a 100 books on a subject; just have a few. I'll bet they're just as good.



5. A good book. Not for someone looking for a "tutorial" or "introduction" on the subjects covered. However, a good reference book to find examples of specific programming problems for someone who already has a good understanding of servlets and JSP. Covers a good number of different aspects of servlet/JSP programming. I also found it a good book to convey some general knowledge in areas like using attributes, DB access, etc. I enjoyed selectively reading different chapters.

5 comments about Pro VB 2005 and the .NET 2.0 Platform, Second Edition (Pro).

1. This book covers what programmers need to know. The pillars of OOP are presented and clear examples are shown.
   
   I refer to this book often because it gets to the "meat" of things rather quickly and is not for beginners.
   
   My only criticism is that this book's examples are 90% console applications. Nobody uses this in the real world. But I understand the focus is on the code, but I still like the Deitel approach better. Use Windows applications NOT console, take the time to get the screen shots. (Just my opinion).
   
   Don't get me wrong, I can easily translate over what he is trying to convey, but still I see great authors such as Francesco Balena showing most examples with the console window. I don't like this trend. But hey that's me.
   
   Very good book though..



2. This is best VB.NET I ever had. This book explains OO concept very clearly with easy to understand examples. I am still in middle of the book. So eager to finish till end. Waiting to read more books from this writer. Thanks for Excellant Work.



3. If you are looking for a Visual Basic book that covers a lot more than books like Wei-Meng Lee's Visual Basic 2005 Jumpstart than this book should be at the top of your list. As well as the basics this book is very good at explaining advanced concepts like Interfaces, IEnumerable Types, Generics, Asynchronous Delegates, and Multithreaded Applications. The author has an excellent writing style. He stays on track, does an excellent job at expaining complex concepts, and provides a lot of hints about how the topic he is writing about now is related to the big picture. Apress should also be commended for the graphical layout of the book. It is very easy to find information on a particular topic in this book as all of the book is divided into clearly labeled short sections.



4. This book covers just about everything: The .NET platform; VB language fundamentals; OOP; Assemblies and classes. In each chapter the author gives a simplified example and then progresses thru to a complete module. He explains each step in detail and give many of the most-likely errors.
   
   This is not novices. The author expects some level of programming experience with VB, C, C++ being the best. It is also best for a Visual Studio 2005 environment, though it is not required. If this is you and you are looking to move to VB.NET, this book is absolutely for you.



5. I have read several books on this topic, but this book was very structured wich made it easy to follow. It gave a very clear explaination on both base- and advanced OOP programming concepts. Many things I'v not read anywhere else and many times I yelled 'AHA!' and 'WOW!'. Yes, it was great fun to work trough all the 'Fun with...' examples.
   I really can recommend this book, however NOT if you are a beginner!
   I also learned that I'm a Generic Type, because I drink a lot Of T. :)

5 comments about Purely Functional Data Structures.

1. This is the best book available on the implementation of data structures in functional programming languages (e.g. ML, Haskell). Unfortunately, much of the book covers esoteric data structures that will almost never be needed in practice. Hash tables are a major omission, likely because they don't fit well into a functional environment.



2. A correction to another review: Hash Tables are included, briefly.



3. Okasaki's slim volume is one of the best expositions on implementing data structures & algorithms in a functional language. After taking an introductory course on functional programming, this would be the book which tells you where to go next.
   
   This book doesn't just present a rehash/rewrite of imperative data structures, only written in a functional language. Instead, Okasaki makes sure to emphasize benefits which only functional programming can bring to the table. For example, many functional data structures can compactly represent not just their current state, but all of their past states as well--a feature called "Persistence". Also, functional newbie programmers might be wondering why lazy vs. strict programming is a big deal, and Okasaki shows clearly where data structures can benefit from either being lazy or being strict.
   
   For the advanced reader, Okasaki also presents several powerful techniques for analyzing the runtime of algorithms, including the so-called "Banker's Method" and the "Physicist's Method" for analyzing amortized algorithms.
   
   I hope that Okasaki comes out with a 2nd edition of this book; there is one missing piece in particular which I really wish he would have included: Although he presents an EXTREMELY lucid description of how to implement Red-Black trees in a functional language, he only presented algorithms for insertion and querying. Of course, deletion from a red-black tree is the hardest part, left here, I suppose, as an exercise to the student. If you want to supply this missing piece yourself, check out a paper by Stefan Kars, "Red-black trees with types", J. Functional Programming 11(4):425-432, July, 2001. It presents deletion routines, but you'll still want to read Okasaki's book first, for unless you're very much smarter than me you won't be able to understand Kars' paper until you read Okasaki's exposition of red black trees.
   
   Finally, this book is not just useful for programmers in functional languages; logic programmers, using prolog or a varient, will also find this book very helpful, because most of the techniques (all of the techniques, really, with the exception perhaps of the lazy programming stuff) can be directly applied in a prolog programming setting as well.
   
   After reading this book and implementing some of the data structures for yourself, you'll be amazed at how fast algorithms can run, even when written in a functional language!



4. The description of the book says it includes source code in both ML and Haskell. Unfortunately, the body of the text uses ML exclusively, and the Haskell code is banished to an appendix.
   
   I say "unfortunately", because many of the data structures used depend on lazy evaluation, which comes quite naturally to Haskell, and seems to require some sort of non-standard extension in ML.
   
   While the content is good, I wish it would have used Haskell as the primary exposition language.



5. If you are beginning to learn functional programming, this is a good book to study. It focuses much on the "no assignment" aspect of the functional style; a good place to start. And does this on one data structure after another allowing it to be easily understood by readers with a procedural background. For the more advanced reader, the algorithmic content of the book is good reading and I find myself picking this book every year or so just to entertain myself. The applicability of the data structures is limited in that most languages come with basic libraries that suffice most of the time.

3 comments about Introduction to Programming in Java: An Interdisciplinary Approach.

1. Undoubtedly the finest computer science book published to date. This will be the standard for years to come.



2. This is the only textbook that really helped me understand programming in Java - I was so glad to find it!



3. Truly an excellent book: well-written, clear, and very interesting (unusual for a cs textbook). This book is a great introduction to programming, but also to the field of computer science, and is full of exciting examples of applications to problems in other fields, including physics and genomics. A real gem!