No comments about MySQL Tutorial..

No comments about MySQL Client-Server Applications with Visual FoxPro.

5 comments about JSP, Servlets, and MySQL.

1. This is the worst technical book I have ever had the misfortune to read. I was originally excited to purchase the book as the Table of Contents outlined topics I am interested in studying. However, the book is riddled with text and code errors. In fact, the author had the audacity to change the downloadable source code after the book was published. Therefore, you can't even get the code source for the examples in the book, and the new code comes with no instructions! In addition, the author does a poor job of explaining the concepts he is trying to teach. M&T Books should be ashamed for publishing this poorly edited text. I truly feel that I have been swindled by this company/author and would like a full refund. The book is so bad that I will avoid all M&T Books in the future.



2. I picked up this book because I had already decided that I was going to use JSP and MySQL together to create my web site. Quite frankly, I haven't learned anything from this book that wasn't done better in other books, which is a shame because this is an area that really deserves a more thorough treatment. In several areas he just fills several pages with code and hardly explains it at all, other than a few lines--so why bother showing the entire example? This is a clear case where better editorial review would have helped to focus the book on material that would have been more helpful to the reader.



3. This book has a very interesting title and the TOC look great too, but unfortunately the content is carelessly chosen/written. I don't want to repeat the error in the code listings. I just want to mention about design problems in this book.

   JSP has its born-with problem that it is hard to set boundary for Server Programmer and HTML Programmer. These 2 kinds of work need different skill set. That's why separation of Data and Presention is very important to JSP web site design.

   The author of this book carefully avoided to include much JSP code in HTML pages, but his design leads to another extreme: almost every control (forms, buttons, links) are generated by JSP code. This approach will create a nightmare for JSP programmers for changing the appearance of the web site.

   So besides coding error, this book has design issues. I really can't imagine who should be the audience...




4. The TOC sounded great, so I bought the book. I hate to reiterate what other reviewers have already said, but it's true: there are so many errors it's rediculous. It was painful to figure out why I wasn't understanding some of the material (for example, the SAME SQL statement produces two DIFFERENT result sets on page 208/209)when in fact it was just a very poorly edited book. The book's topics are perfect - now someone needs to go through it with a pitchfork to weed out all the errors. Not to mention that the example code you can download has been refactored (to put it nicely). It's an expensive lesson in wasted money and time and frustration, but from now on, I'll always check the reviews here before ordering any book.



5. I found this book very helpful. I knew nothing about JSP, servlets and mysql. My previous experience came from a standard university course in Java. The book took me through setting up tomcat, mysql,etc. It started me off using the technologies. The book is built around a core example. I didn't reproduce and test the code supplied but dipped in to take what I needed. Downloading the code from the website was confusing. Overall this book has been very helpful. I found the content concise and to the point. Thanks to the author.

4 comments about Mac OS X Panther in a Nutshell.

1. Do any of you remember the O'Reilly books from the late 80s on X Windows? Those became the definitive guides to X11, and probably were crucial in putting O'Reilly on the map as a prominent technical publisher.
   
   Well, this book on Mac OS X Panther captures some of that early O'Reilly spirit. In its comprehensiveness and heft. But also in its terseness. Turn to a random chapter and start reading. The authors try to get to the point, without wasting time. They write at a technical level that assumes you don't know the specifics of that chapter, but that you are no novice to computing.
   
   It should be noted that the second half of the book is essentially a standard unix reference. As you may be aware, OS X is now a unix variant. Which is neat. But also accounts for much of the book's size. Unix has built up a massive set of utilities in 20 years, and the length of the unix sections here reflects this.
   
   Don't let this put you off either the book or OS X. On the contrary! The building of the Mac operating system on top of unix gives you more power and stability (against crashes) on the Mac.



2. It's tough to tell this from Amazon, but this book is a thousand pages, which makes it quite a hefty tome. But that doesn't make it a doorstop. There are screenshots, but they are, by in large, useful and relevant, and the book doesn't use them to tell a click by click story of the interface.
   
   The book is organized into four parts that start at the user interface and continue to peel away levels of the system until, in chapter four, the author covers the command line unix shell at a surprising level of detail. A level of detail which rivals O'Reilly's other command line exclusive books. In fact, this book gives a fine introduction to scripting bash and tcsh. It does as good a job there as it does covering printing, or the vagaries of the new Finder in the chapters that precede it.
   
   This is a quality piece of in-depth work about the unmodified Panther operating system. It's well worth the price for those who are more interested in understanding than hacking (though I admit a love for the new Mac OS X Panther Hacks book as well.)



3. 
   
   The publisher, O'Reilly Media, seems dedicated to covering Apple's OSX operating system, OSX, from every conceivable vantage point. Its "Missing Manual" series on Panther is a user's reference on how to use the operating system and its applications for productivity and fun. Its "Hacks" series provides dozens of tips, guides, and project ideas. In the "Nutshell" series iteration, "MacOSX Panther in a Nutshell" designs to provide in-depth, comprehensive information about the inner workings of the OS. It is for power users and developers who want to master the OS and have the fullest description and explanation of OSX.
   
   This book starts out detailing the multi-layered architecture of OSX and illuminates its power and elegance. In great depth and detail, it explains the Unix components, Aqua elements, OS9 and Classic, the Finder, and the multitude of Unix services, daemons, and applications.
   
   This is terse, descriptive prose. The authors focus a sharp telephoto lens on the skeleton, sinews, and pores of OSX, starting with basic elements and probing deep into the details of the file system, networking components, directory services, printing configurations and more. This in-depth description and large handfuls of guides and tips totals over 1,000 pages.
   
   A separate part of the book is devoted to Applescript, X-code tools, and Java. The X-code tools are for developers. Part IV is all about Unix, including three chapters on "shells" alone, plus sections on text editors, the X-Window system, and a full 262 pages of Unix command references, touted as the most complete such source in print publication.
   
   No mere user manual would have ten pages devoted solely to understanding and managing preference files, or five pages on using the Colorsync feature with Quartz filter scripts.
   
   Surprisingly, only ten pages are dedicated to security issues. Although the Mac is known to be extremely secure, recent news shows even the Mac is vulnerable to sophisticated exploits.
   
   For those with a need to know, this is the definitive source for deep knowledge of OSX.



4. Since I converted I have found OS X UNIX is amazingly friendly and accessible. Some people who had never used it before type commands and work with the operating system directly as a "cool guys" in movies! This book is very helpful and well written and it is serves as a very nice reference. I paired this book with Linux and UNIX for a beginner training suite, 4DVDs + 2CDs includes 4 Unix Academy Certifications ed.2008 This book and a video they contribute one another greatly. You improve the reading and by reading you improve what you have seen.
   The book is very particular about the subjects that related to OS X and because there are some differences between OS X and other UNIXes it is nice to have a book that deals with it.

5 comments about Sams Teach Yourself MySQL in 21 Days.

1. What this book is and what this book is not?
   This is not a book neither mysql, nor sql language, nor database management.
   Examples are left unexplained, some critical topics are left uncovered, others are left to author's intuition, chapters are bad organized, there is a sense of non-logical organization all over the book. If this is your first book about mysql, you will "teach yourself" nothing about mysql. If not, you simply don't need this book. I suggest to spend money for this book to buy an ink cartridge and some paper to print out the official mysql manual. This book has definitively no mean.



2. Typos galore

   I know I'm throwing fuel on a bonfire, but this book [stinks]!

   HUNDREDS of errors and misinformation. I tried to return the book but found out if I open the CD it is non-returnable.

   The only reason I opened the CD was to get a file that WASN'T EVEN ON THE CD!

   Next time I will read the reviews on Amazon first.




3. I thought that this book would teach me the basics of MySQL in a relatively short time. While I did learn some things, I spent most of my time figuring out how the author got from one step to the next. There were numerous typos in the code that left me, as a beginner, scratching my head. Most SAMS books are great, but not this one.



4. This book doesnt waste time with all the little details and just talks about the major points. Want to be a MySQL guru? Then this books is NOT for you.
   However, if you are know how to code and how to use flat files then this book is for you and will teach you how to code your scripts with the use of MySQL database.
   Yes there are some typos like others pointed out but who uses the codes word for word from the book? You should know the basics of scripting language like Perl or PHP before buying this book. And you might want to buy a book about SQL.
   This book isn't here to teach you Perl, PHP or SQL so making small errors in those codes shouldn't affect your buying decision.
   This book teaches MySQL database nice and simply and I still use it as a referrence after 2 years of working with MySQL.



5. Two thirds of the book are about nothing. If the book was completed only on 100 or 150 pages ("the best of"), i could give 3 stars..

   It is a bit chaotic ordered, there are mistakes in that book and author often uses magic formulas "If you need do this, do this: ...". The book is much more about How, not Why.

   If you have some experiences with programming in any language, buying subj. is only wasting money..

No comments about Dreamweaver CS3 Dynamic Development.

No comments about Dynamic Web Application Development: Using Php and Mysql.

No comments about Simply SQL.

No comments about PHP 6 and MySQL 6 Bible.

2 comments about MySQL Enterprise Solutions.

1. I like the way this author writes. I was amazed at the network configurations to move MySQL to a higher level. I was inspired by his positive attitude and straight forward approach to solving any MySQL problem -- "Lets make it work" and gave lots of tips and advice in a very orgainized manner.



2. I wasn't very impressed with this book. There was lots of general common sense statements that don't need to be said. The author glosses over installing MySQL from source. The majority of the book deals with version 3.2. If you know nothing about databases and MySQL is your first, you might get a little out of this book. If you have some experience with databases, you will get little from this book. If you are a DBA you will get nothing from this book.