5 comments about LINQ in Action.

1. If you want to learn Linq, whether its data stored in a database, in XML files, DataSets or just in-memory objects this is the book for you.
   
   I found it so easy to understand, and really comprehend. There are lots of examples, but not too many. After reading the first few chapters you become comfortable with the concept and syntax of the new language extensions.
   
   The authors style had just the right combination of light humor and serious programming. He seems able to express complicated issues with the greatest of ease, and obviously has enoumous knowledge on the subject.
   
   If that was not enough, there are forums avalable where you can raise queries and doubts and the author will do his best to accomodate you, again with a nice and easy flowing style.
   
   The book is a 'must have' to any serious Linq programmer (or want-to-be Linq programmer!) and will certainly occupy a prominent place on my bookshelf.
   
   Highly recommended!
   
   Regards,
   Martin.



2. I am disappointed with this book - it did not meet my expectations. I found many examples and it is really hard to use them because the author hardly explains where all comes from and why I should go this way and not another one. It sometimes confuses why, where and for what purpose the author shows an example and whether it suits my case. It is hard to decide because there are almost no explanations about roots of examples and basic theory.
   However, I am happy with the fact that more and more books about LINQ come up and I do hope to find a proper one for me. Unfortunately, for now, I have to move from one book to another one for finding a solution.



3. This is a very nicely written book.
   Clear explanations, concepts are introduced gradually and build on each other with no forward references, simple and to the point code samples, good and appropriate pace, and very easy to read and understand.
   
   I was actually amazed by this book. I read a couple of books/month, and this book reminded me a lot of the quality of classic CS books, which is so hard to come by nowadays -- think "The unix programming environment", but more accessible.
   This is in sharp contrast with most of the today books in the (programming/CS) field which tend to have a big ratio of page-count to information (lots of screenshots, or 101/intro-level intermixed content, lots of fluff). This is not a book that you can shrink without loosing quality.



4. This book is best used with a companion book covering basic C# terms. I found that I had to refer to the internet for explanations of terms.
   
   Explanations, not just definitions. That need slowed my reading to a crawl. though I have been using C# for the past year.



5. LINQ in Action, at 600 pages provides a substantial introduction and in-depth discussion of LINQ, its history, its impact, and most important - its syntax and features. I found this book easy to navigate, given that many developers (I know I do) moved between LINQ to Objects, LINQ to XML and LINQ to SQL througout the working day. When you stumble over a particular query, I found it easy to find a relavent sample in the index.
   
   If you haven't had an opportunity to move into the .NET 3.5 Framework world and use C# .0 or VB 0 syntax yet, then this book will arm you with the background necessary to move productively into the new 'Query Centric' programming paradigm - one free of complex 'for' loops and deeply nested 'if' statements (and free of embedded SQL string statements).
   
   Although hefty in size, I recommend this book if you seriously want to move beyond the basics and really understand how to use LINQ.

5 comments about Fine Art Printing for Photographers: Exhibition Quality Prints with Inkjet Printers, 2nd Edition.

1. Rocky Nook consistently offers books that provide thoughtful insights and techniques by articulate experts who are objective in their recommendations. I have been a photographer for 40 years, a professional photographer for 30 years and a digital photographer for 10; Fine Art Printing has been a practical guide to improving my digital printing. I own several Rocky Nook titles and find them all to be books that are useful to professionals.



2. This is a title on digital printing by Rockynook, a recently established publishing house specializing in books on computers, digital photography and image production. They distribute their titles through O'Reilly here in the US. They have strong ties to a German publishing house dpunct.verlag, whose specialty is computer science and digital photography. Most of the early titles published by Rockynook have featured German authors. While I don't read German, the several books I've read in this series read as if parts have been translated from German, with occasional verbiage that reads as if it were transliterated, not translated. But the overall quality of the books is excellent, they're filled with beautiful pictures representative of the authors personal work, and overall the clarity of the text is more than adequate.
   
   This is the second edition of this work, the first was published just last year in 2007. The publication of a second edition following so closely on the heels of the first suggests the rapid changes that are occurring in digital image production.
   
   First, some caveats. The book is not really intended for the casual photographer who may print out occasional 4x6 prints on his ink jet printer. It is not for those who are using color lasers or small dye sublimation printers. It is for photographers using photo inkjet printers. The emphasis here is on "photo." Other printers are briefly discussed, but the discussion relates to "fine art printing."
   
   What does that mean? It means one must be willing to make a substantial investment in both equipment and time. A high quality lower end photo printer with some printing capabilities for 13", 17", or 19" paper will start around $500, and the prices go up from there. These printers typically have 8-12 ink colors, and large prints use a lot of ink. That means substantial ink replacement costs. Good quality photo paper in larger sizes may run $2-$4 per print or more, depending on size. By the time you've calibrated your printer, done several test prints, make adjustments, hopefully printed a final perfect copy, you'll have invested some serious time and money to make a single quality image.
   
   The stated goal of the book is to teach you how to make museum quality prints. Museum quality means not only are the prints excellent in composition and rendering, it also means that they'll last for decades to centuries. Besides outlining some of the tweaks in Photoshop that are an inevitable part of printing, there are discussions of the choice of archival inks, paper weight and finish, managing workflow, color, and presentation. The use of printing packages is covered. Both Windows and Mac systems are discussed. The final framing and presentation of prints is well covered.
   
   A real positive is that specific recommendations concerning three manufacturer's printers are given, Epson, HP, and Canon.
   
   This is an excellent work for the serious amateur, and possibly a reference for the professional photographer who wishes to retain final control over his images. Also, this is a good introduction for those interested in discovering the requirements for high quality inkjet printing.



3. If you are pushing hard for the last 3% improvement in Fine Art look no further..To be a Master is to have your OWN Style and Skill..This book provides the up skill techniques to present your work more professionally as a Master must...So many great usable tips and ideas to help you improve...Simply Buy it and use it and see..I did..



4. The thing I love about niche books is that they stand out from all the others in the market. Nice books can be risky, being independent either the market is new or unknown and its kind of like throwing darts, not knowing whether you'll make a big hit or not when you toss that sharp projectile in the air. With 'Fine Art Printing for Photographers: Exhibition Quality Prints with Inkjet Printers' this is certainly a niche market, that being inkjet output for photography lovers. Does the dart find its mark or trail off, careening off the wall??
   
   Bullseye!!
   
   I think that this is a great book for professionals or hobbyist photographers that are looking to get the best quality hard copies of their work from a (much) cheaper alternative way of printing. From looking at different kinds of equipment to settings to sample images, this book does every kind of examination that I would want and does it well.
   
   Looking to learn how to enhance photos? CHECK
   Want to learn the basics of Photoshop? CHECK
   Want to learn how to present photos better? CHECK
   Want to focus on black & white photos? CHECK
   
   Great writing, layout, and a great niche market, this is an easy recommendation.
   
   ***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED



5. Great book with lots of good information, but I am a little perturbed with the lack of profiles, and information for people with a common printer that is a generation or two older. I have an Epson 4000 printer, and it is still going strong, and was also a very popular printer. The authors have chosen to skip these printers and go straight to the 3800 and 4800 printers instead. I wish they would go back at least a generation to help us out. I DON'T replace my printers EVERY time a new model comes out. I do so when the need arises--which often will mean I might skip a new model or two. I think that most people are the same!
   
   Otherwise, I'd recommend this book highly.

5 comments about Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job (Programmer to Programmer).

1. Buy this book if you are interviewing with MSFT anytime soon. I have two brothers and both work for MSFT. They both think this book is a very good prep. Moreover, my eldest bro is an interviewer at MSFT and he uses this book! So does the other 4 interviewers he knows at MSFT.
   
   1) This book has sample interview questions for you to solve and several approaches for each question.
   2) The book then tells you which approach is the best and why. VERY VERY NICE!
   3) This book also tells you how to approach problems, how to make sure you are not stuck, how to brainstorm and get the best answer.
   4) There are puzzle/riddle type questions too.
   5) How to write resumes and cover letters as well.
   6)Finally, the book also has very nice simple tutorials of all the important/basic concepts of OOP.
   
   Very comprehensive book. A MUST buy!



2. This book played a significant part in landing me a job at major technology company. Although out of the entire all-day interview process there was only one question that was actually very similar to one I read about in the book, I did benefit greatly from the advice on how to approach the interviewer, how to be verbal with my problem solving process, how to dress, even how to write my sample code on the white board. These are intangibles that relate particularly to the software development world, and some of the specifics were a welcome departure from the 'generic' advice you get from most sources.
   
   It was my first interview with a major tech company, and I was fresh out of grad school, so though some of those things may be obvious to the more experienced, for me it made a world of difference bringing that with me to the interview. Just made me very comfortable and familiar in what should have been a very unfamiliar environment. And the one question that was very similar to the one I read in the book came from an interviewer that I later found out was pivotal in the final decision to hire. So.. you never know.
   
   Reading this book is not a substitute for being technically adept, and certainly will not guarantee a job, but it does leave you better equipped to handle the interview. Seasoned and beginner alike should find many useful tidbits.



3. I picked this book up, and I got Interview tips from a chronic job hopper by Tom Elsa on kindle and between the technical aspects in this book and the how to wow them secrets in the interview tips kindle I should be straight!



4. Cannot say more. Must have if you prepare for interview. Also good for interviewer as a reference for interview questions.



5. Good book for CS people or people who need to find a job in CS.

5 comments about The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography.

1. For a book on cryptology from a historical perspective it's really hard to believe it would be as entertaining as Singh makes it. Using his skill as an author he weaves history, technology, and methods of encryption together to explain topics that normally would leave many of us in the blind.
   
   The most interesting thing about the whole book is that as you begin to read up on forms of encryption and decryption you begin to absorb yourself into the whole culture. One chapter describes the Beale Ciphers, a set of ciphers that gained popularity especially in the early 1900s and still are significant today linking to a fabulous treasure and yet still remaining unbroken. I remember spending the day after reading up on it thinking of ways I'd try to break the cipher. Not many books fill your mind with such rich images and excitement as this book seems to.
   
   Generally, the book is wonderful and has enough to keep you hooked until the very end despite its historical nature.



2. great book regarding the history of cryptography. The only way to truly understand anything is c the history of it's introduction



3. If you want to know about codes, secrets, cryptography and cryptanalysis then this is the book. Simon Singh presents the history of codes in a clear and simple way. Without the mathematics to disturb the flow of the story, you enjoy plots, conspiracies, secrets and algorithms. Excellent for general knowledge and for an introductory text in cryptanalysis. Buy it!



4. Nutshell review - This is an excellent book covering the history of cryptography up to present day and into the near future. Very well written, easy to understand and worth reading by any layperson interested in the topic.



5. Simon Singh books usually hold you from the first page and till the end. "The code book" is very well written and very informative. You will see how it's started and where cryptography goes, but even more interesting part of history of cryptography - life (sometimes secret life) of people who worked and continue to work on development of cryptosystems.

5 comments about Java Persistence with Hibernate.

1. As of the writing of this review in early 2008, there is no other work in the marketplace quite like this text. At over 800 pages, Bauer and King cover a lot of ground, starting with the object/relational persistence paradigm and continuing with domain models, mapping, and conversations, addressing specialized situations along the way such as working with legacy databases. Database development is not for the faint of heart, and serious work in this space requires understanding of both object-oriented technology and relational database theory, not to mention the associated business domains. Although this book has received a relatively high amount of positive reviews, readers have also understandably shared their complaints. While at the same time Java Persistence with Hibernate is probably not for everyone, there really are not that many alternatives to learning the necessary material. As with other development frameworks, it is a given that familiarity with the online documentation for Hibernate is required, with the realization that this documentation really only starts to be of benefit once the associated tools start being used. This book provides solid background to prepare the reader for the road ahead, but the reader should also be reminded that the entire book does not need to be read, nor does the material need to be read in order from front to back in order to prepare for that road. Much of the material will probably just not make sense until one gets their feet wet with the technologies. These are the reasons I choose to refer to this text as graduate school training. As Immanuel Kant, the great German philosopher, once said, "experience teaches nothing without theory, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play". The change in name for this second edition of the book reflect the fact that Hibernate is now an implementation of the Java Persistence API. Be aware that the authors traverse back and fourth between the conformance of Hibernate to JPA, and what Hibernate provides apart from JPA. I think the decision of the authors to present material on these technologies side-by-side was a wise one, because it helps keep the reader reminded that these are not separate technologies and that there are architectural tradeoffs between sticking to JPA and using Hibernate functionality beyond the specification. Well recommended.



2. This is the the BEST book for hibernate. better than hibernate in action and other books.
   
   Gavin King Rocks.



3. Got this book when I started working with hibernate at work. This book and its sample code saved me weeks of effort.
   
   Hibernate is an OK framework, but a steep learning curve. This book will help you significantly reduce that learning curve.



4. I have finally found a great resource on persistence. This book allows you find enough detail quickly to get going and enough in-depth knowledge and understanding to keep you coming back. A must own.



5. Some of the reviews for this book are a little harsh.
   
   This is the most complete book on Hibernate on the market. It covers everything, and I mean everything. From mapping to annotations, to whatever, it's in here.
   
   The book is written by the makers of Hibernate, and you can find an answer to pretty much every question you'll ever have explained in extreme detail, and in a very, very technical way.
   
   The book uses the Caveat Emptor application as a reference. You keep going back to that example, which you can download from the hibernate site. It is a very complete and intricately developed application that is a reference for how to develop enterprise ready applications that could be deployed to pretty much any mission critical environment.
   
   This book is amazing. Some reviewers have tried to use this as a Dummies book or How To book and have been frustrated, and have given this book poor reviews. That's not fair. Imagine trying to learn to swing a baseball (or cricket) bat by taking pitches from a major league pitcher. You wouldn't learn a thing, as every pitch zoomed by you at 100mph. This book is like the big league pitcher, helping you develop and design applications that are ready for the big leagues. When you understand that, you can understand why people who are new to the technology, and looking for very simple and straight forward examples, can get frustrated with this book and give it 1 or 2 stars. Really, those reviews are not fair.
   
   If you are new to hibernate, you should start of with something a like Hibernate Made Easy: Simplified Data Persistence with Hibernate and JPA (Java Persistence API) Annotations. If you are using mapping files, then Hibernate: A Developer's Notebook is the other book you should get.
   
   Overall, this is a five star book written by the people that know Hibernate the most. We're very luck to have a book like this to help guide us through the really, really, really tough stuff.

5 comments about Software Requirements, Second Edition (Pro-Best Practices).

1. This book is a classic. Well written and to the point. It helps resolve what requirements are and should be. I have done requirements for 30 years and I learned a lot! Wish it had been out sooner in my career.



2. Needed to understand and learn how to get software requirements. Very informative and helped me fit into my new role at the time.



3. I work for CDW and this book came highly recommended. It did not disappoint as it is clear, well written, and organized in a logical format. I have been writing requirements for many years and this is by far the best overall book on the subject that I have read. The suggestions for labeling and writing requirements alone make it worth the price of admission.



4. Absolutely happy with it. Having recently completed a project this book gave me the opportunity to look back and think about things I could have done /planned better.



5. 
   I have had this book for some time and recently realized how often I use it as a reference when I am trying to figure out a way to document or model a feature. This book is well worth the price, I have definitely benefited from keeping this book near my desk.
   
   Although this book is not to replace books dedicated to topics such as Use Cases, technical writing, UML and modeling, change control, or test case development it is a great place to see them all work together in context.
   
   Don't forget to visit the `Requirements Engineering" section of the authors' site. There you will find the samples from the book and other useful articles.

5 comments about Head First SQL: Your Brain on SQL -- A Learner's Guide (Head First).

1. If there is one book in head first that deserves attention (apart from Servlets book) it is this. All the programming books are great anyways (Exception is Head First Design patterns, PLEASE DONT BUY that one!).
   
   SQL Head first helps in visually knowing what is going to happen, especially when running mutltiple OUTER JOINs and writing subqueries etc. Thanks to this book (and a combination of SQL Cookbook and SQL Tuning (for more advanced people)).
   
   Here are some of positives of this book :
   1.) Starts out at very basic level (this can be annoying for some folks, who already know much of the stuff, but then this book is not for you then, try SQL Cookbook or SQL Tuning). I would still say this book can be kept as a good reference, as even seasoned people can be helped from visually organized "notes" in there.
   
   2.) Advanced Select section is awesome, JOINS and subqueries and Associations are explained very well. (In this case diagrams help in better visualizing things and helped me understand and recall the concepts really well, After a long time i am not trying to "remember" what the syntax of a clause is in SQL, instead i just visualize things (an example of this would be a sum(xxx) and a group by ... and how the diagram illustrates it very neatly, if i want to use a complex JOIN query or a multiple group by, i don't have to google anymore).
   
   Cons :
   1.) Some of topics could have been covered in a better way, example tuning etc.
   2.) is @ medium level, for advanced topics i still refer to SQL cookbook or tuning book (by Dan).
   
   All in all it was a great buy for me.
   
   Regards
   Vyas, Anirudh



2. At first I was a little thrown off by all the images and quips (I guess I'm used to boring, dry guides). After a while I was actually drawn into the book and how it guided me through learning SQL. I must admit that I had a somewhat rudimentary understanding of SQL but after completing the book my queries a sharper & more complex.
   
   I do want to put it out there; this isn't really a reference book, it's primary focus is to teach you the fundamentals of SQL, not really the fancier functions or tricks that you can use in SQL.
   
   There was only one short coming to the book; some of the samples did not contain answers. I know it's petty, but there were times I would've liked to have known the answers.
   
   I would confidently recommend this book to anyone looking to learn SQL.



3. This book is an excellent book for beginners to SQL that have a tough time using books to technology. The book is a very long read if you are already comfortable basic concepts like joins. However, it does have good chapters on table and database design. For the length of the book, I expected more advanced topics like stored procs.



4. Before purchasing this book, I read the reviews and was instantly hooked on the concept of a technical book that would use humor, imagery and other off-beat approaches as teaching tools. Unfortunately, after reading the entire book I feel that these techniques were way over utilized. The figures are very busy because the author feels you will remember words if they are attached to an image. In addition there is very little information conveyed on each page. I found myself thinking "why doesn't the author just get to the point already instead of making me flip through 10 pages?" The book probably could have been condensed down to a half or quarter of its size. The "exercises" are also quite uninspired. I didn't learn anything more from them than I would reading an intro to SQL webpage.
   
   Anyone who has a technical background such as engineering or computer science will probably feel the same as I do. However, for those who have weak or moderate computer language skills may find the book a breath of fresh air as compared to dry, boring long-winded textbooks. I would strongly recommend reading through the first chapter if at all possible to determine if the teaching style is a good fit for you. Do a search on the net as the first chapter is freely available. I learned this after I bought the book!



5. Packed with needed knowledge in humorous manner! It is way easier to read than any SQL I have ever encountered... wonderful job done. I will definitely look at the books in the series first before I buy computer books of other technologies from now on.

5 comments about Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.

1. This book gives an introduction to a number of Internet-based tools and how they can be used by teachers. The focus tends to be on K-12, but the principles are applicable (generally) to other settings, including higher education.
   
   The author covers blogs, wikis, RSS, social bookmarking, Flickr, and podcasting. Some strengths of this book include:
   -Solid introduction to each tool for those not familiar
   -Simple "how to" to get started with each tool
   -Good pointers to resources, especially the free ones
   -Some commentary on the significance of these tools that goes beyond "gee whiz"
   
   Some weaknesses:
   -In spite of a focus on K-12, there was little discussion of how to use these tools to support specific educational standards. Granted, that's a huge task, but some examples would be nice. Then again, if you "get" the tools, that exercise is for the reader.
   -Huge emphasis on blogs, much shorter entry on podcasting. I can only guess that the author wrote about what he knew most about.
   
   The physical paperback itself is ok. Mine definitely shows the wear and tear of being carried around in my bag.
   
   Overall: if you're a teacher (or technology coordinator) and are a relative newcomer to these tools, this is a very good place to start.



2. This is a great book. I am thoroughly enjoying every page! It is giving me so much inspiration and instruction on how to use these tools. Great examples and resources too.



3. I started reading Will Richardson's book to educate myself about how teachers and instructors have been utilizing web tools into their curriculum. In October 2007, I attended the Computers in Libraries conference and participated in a workshop called "New Research Tools" where they discussed practical and successful cases of educators using various online tools, like Flickr, Clipmarks, or RSS readers.
   
   As a librarian, a 2nd year educator, and one who personally uses these different tools, I really am interested in incorporating these tools into the curriculum.
   
   During the course of reading this book, I have started reading Will Richardson's blog - Web-logged - as well as other educator and librarian blogs. This book has inspired me to try to incorporate the different tools that I enjoy using personally into the curriculum.
   
   Richardson's enthusiasm for these various web tools is conveyed through each chapter. He devotes chapters to each tool. For example, there is a chapter on Blogs, one on RSS and one on wikis. It is easily explained and whether you use these tools already or not, his writing is easily accessible. I have been promoting this book to my colleagues and have also pointed some of them to his blog.
   
   His chapter on Wikis has caused me to reassess my hesitance towards utilizing Wikipedia as a valid source of information. I am still skeptical but one should be skeptical when approaching print media as well.
   
   The chapters are short and easy to understand. He has an excellent list of resources and great examples of people who are already incorporating the read/write web into their classrooms. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Web 2.0, education and technology.



4. Finally a book all about how to incorporate the newest in technology in the classroom. Combines info that's been floating around on the internet into a concise book and an easy read. Many great ideas.



5. I am an elementary school teacher who values technology integration in classrooms. Initially, the book begins slow with an overabundant amount of details about the simplicity of blogging. Some advice is given to lead novices in the right direction tailored to their blogging interests.
   
   An aside: As I was searching on the Internet for safe and secure blog sites for young students, I found this website: http://mhetherington.net/blogs/?p=8 which was created by a middle school teacher with similar interests in student technology involvement. It details steps that can lead any teacher into a free (yet time consuming) setup for students to use. (I used this website to create my own blog site for my 32 fourth grade students and it worked marvelously!)
   
   The author then introduced the power of wikis. I really appreciated the real-life accounts from actual educators who use wikis for group projects with students. I did feel a like the examples came mostly from secondary education and did not focus heavily on primary student possibilities with wikis. PB wiki (peanut butter wiki) for educators was explained and the book offered some great resources for teachers on a low budget with wiki interests.
   
   Next, RSS feeds were explained. Although much of the explanations of RSS feeds were still above my head in understanding, I learned a number of values in using RSS feeds with the Web. One of the examples used in the book was that one could subscribe to all RSS feeds in Cyberspace about a topic of interest. If a person is interested in "Global Warming in California," they can subscribe to any place on the Internet that may use those words as an update when stories or writing is produced and submitted on websites you may not know existed. RSS feeding is a promising method of allowing the computer to do the searching for you.
   
   During my reading of this book, I posted two blogs (on blogger.com) about my reflections. Within 3 days of my writing, the author of this book, Will Richardson, posted a comment on my blog thanking me for reading his book. My inferences told me he may have an RSS feed in Cyberspace that brings him news about whenever information is posted about himself or his book. I was impressed by his comment as this showed me he practiced what he preached in his book and really values the technology he promotes.
   
   By the end of the book, podcasting, screencasting, and videos were introduced as well. In all, the book catered more toward novices and technology learners, not experts. Experts may find this book a bit juvenile, while I enjoyed it for its practicality and rapid information. My favorite part of the book stands at the providing of websites and tools that can be searched just seconds after reading about them. I found that using this book as a user's manual was helpful for technology novices on the go.

5 comments about Adobe Flash CS3 Professional Classroom in a Book.

1. After reading Adobe Illustrator CS3 Classroom in a Book and really finding it to be quite good, I expected this book to be good, as well. Unfortunately, as many other reviews here already share, it has many steps missing in exercises throughout the book. Adobe needs to go back to the drawing board on this one.



2. This was such a terrible waste of money. It is too confusing and it does not help as much as it was supposed to. I have used a few of the Classroom In A Book series before,and I was relying on these past experiences, but this book is not as good as the other ones were. It looks like it has been written by some lazy writer who doesn't feel like explaining much. I should have listened to you guys who harshly criticized it. I agree with every one of you now. If I could, I would give NO stars at all to rate this thing.



3. I thought there was something wrong with me until I read through the other comments. I agree with those who say the instruction is imitative and not sufficiently explanatory. It is like following breadcrumbs through a forest-
   what do you do when the breadcrumbs are gone? Show me how to use a compass and a gps and I will find my own way through the forest. I felt the same way about the Illustrator and Photoshop books, though to a lesser extent. I am a middle aged adult returning to school, and something has changed in instructional philosophy.
   I like the program's capabilities and will now have to start over with a book that focuses on explaining how the program works.



4. I have been a graphic designer for over 14 years. I eat, breath and sleep Photoshop, Illustrator and Quark XPress, and have worked with InDesign, DreamWeaver, FireWorks, Acrobat and similar tools of the trade. I've also worked with Flash to an extent, and that's the only real reason I believe I got anything out of this book.
   
   The problem isn't that the lessons don't illustrate real-world applications, but that the author rarely explains WHY he's instructing you to do something. Also, in many of the more advanced lessons too much has already been done for the student, especially with the construction of nested symbols for complex animations.
   
   I had no difficulty completing the lessons successfully, but when I had finished the book and began to design an intro for a photography website, I realized that I didn't have a grasp on the principles of Flash, which should have been exactly what this book covered.
   
   If you've had some experience with the program, I think you'll probably glean something new from it. If you've never worked in Flash before, you should probably seek a different book for your initiation.



5. The Adobe Flash CS3 Classroom in a book is an easy to understand and fast way to get up to speed with the latest version of Flash. How do I know? I had NEVER used any previous version of Flash and solely using this book, in two weeks I taught myself enough to pass the Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) certification exam!

5 comments about Building Scalable Web Sites: Building, scaling, and optimizing the next generation of web applications.

1. Very good material, specially in the current world where people think that their out-of-the box Java application servers will do the job of serving tons of pages a day.



2. Despite its small page count this book both covers the basics for building a web application (i.e. how to pick a hosting service) and advanced topics such as cutting edge techniques for scaling out. Great as an introduction to building web applications and as a reference.



3. This book is a very useful guide for the professional web developer whose goal is to produce larger database-driven web sites in a scalable, debuggable way. Topics such as how to handle more web requests than a single web or database server can handle are covered thoroughly, in the usual easy-to-follow style that all O'Reilly books seem to possess.
   The author has some good experience with scalable web apps, too, having been part of the development team for the Flickr web site. Think about what it must take to receive, store, and display all the pictures that Flickr has to offer nowadays. Many of the chapters contain some behind-the-scenes descriptions of how Flickr handled the given chapter's topic, which is very interesting to read. Web application development, really any large-scale web site development, is not simple - there are a lot of things to consider. This book can help you track the major details you should be thinking about for such a project, predict scalability issues that may arise, and design for maximum scalability and flexibility in the future.



4. The book introduces the tools, processes, and high level architectures used in building large websites like Flickr, Youtube, etc. It is short enough to give you the high level framework and send you to explore various other books, software tools, etc to get more depth as needed. I found it very valuable.



5. This is a practitioner's book. Very knowledgeable, very hands-on, systematic in an expert's way, through clearly hard-won experience. Fun and irreverent too. I recommend it highly.
   
   So, what's my beef? It's not with the book. Hercules, Atlas, or Odysseus?