2 comments about Exploring Typography (Design Exploration Series).

1. 
   Thomson Delmar Learning just sent me the book Exploring Typography to review for use in my classroom. I think it is one of the best on the subject and know it will be adopted for use in my classes. I teach at an independent high school in Vermont and also at the state college near by. The book is well organized and the illustrations are great. It must have taken a lot of effort and time to write; I am always in awe of someone that can bring light to a difficult and confusing subject such as typography....great book!!!



2. I teach at a 4 year university and had been unhappy for a while at the textbook we were using; but like any big ship, it takes a while to steer in another direction. In the meantime, I had a lot of time given to checking out possible exchanges and I was so glad that I found this book. It is everything many of the others in its genre are not.
   
   One issue from a previously used textbook was the layout and the amount of material being presented. It was not only clumsy for a book on typography, but tragically full of errors; in spelling, grammar and facts. This book, "Exploring Typography," covers all of the important information for a first introduction into the subject. It gives a nice overview of the history of written communication starting with pre-historic man, up to the present digital era we are in. It also challenges us to think outside of where we are now and to grasp typography's place in the future.
   
   The thing I enjoy perhaps most about the book is its easy layout. Students often have so much to read in their studies, and sadly many only skim the surface for the relevent information to get by. The layout is broken into bite-sized paragraphs, lots of images and consequently keeps their interest longer. A number of chapters highlight a present-day typographer or designer, which gives students a look at their upcoming peers as they look toward graduation.
   
   For those interested in using the book as a textbook, I would certainly recommend having a look at it. It is a very easy-to-follow book for any age level and is definitely worth exploring. Tova Rabinowitz has done a very nice job in supplying future and current designers with something they can tangibly use and apply into their design.

5 comments about UML 2 for Dummies.

1. This book has an apprehensible way of introducing the main principles of UML and provides a step-by-step flow delivery. It helps the novice to gather a complete view of the areas involved while supplying a sufficient level of detail without overloading at the same time. Equally practioners will find it a handy guide for quick reference and tool application verification.
   
   This book, as the whole series, is not targeted at the expert user, who demands in-depth analysis of all levels of UML. Thus, a degree of conceptual granularity a novice would feel overwhelmed with, which is successfully avoided by book. Thereby it is perfect in meeting its target of introductionary yet coherent provision of UML concepts.
   
   Experts, however, will feel more at home with the UML-Bible.



2. I took a UML class at university and was having difficulty understanding the textbooks. I bought this book to help me understand the concepts, which this book did admirably. When I showed up in class with this book, the instructor told everyone how great the book is, and he used the examples in class. Excellent book!



3. If you don't know a thing abut UML2 and would like to jump start the learning process this book is for you. Quick to access, easy to comprehend even when the material becomes rather complicated. I would recommend this book to anyone who would seriously like to learn more about UML2



4. This is a fine book and I am sure I will refer to it often but here are a few items I would like to see fixed in the 2nd edition:
   * I had to flip to the next page too many times to see the figure of a diagram as I was reading the text that introduced it. Please put the figure before the text or make sure it is on the facing page.
   * This book is mainly about diagrams but the figure-to-text ratio was too low.
   * I thought some of the UML examples were a bit off.



5. This book is pretty good it really help to understand uml. Im new in UML but this bood help to understand the diferent diagram and when is correct to use it.

4 comments about Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming.

1. In 1976 Edsger W. Dijkstra elevated programming to an intellectual discipline and taught us how to reason about what we now call "imperative programming". To illustrate his methodology Dijkstra solved challenging problems with unforgetably beautiful, yet simple and powerful example programs that are as relevant today as they were forty years ago. Since then, programming has splintered into paradigms, methodologies and suffers from baroqueness, perpetuation of obsolete conventions and other practices that restrict the full expressive power of programming "as a whole".

   In 2004 Van Roy and Seif Haridi have given us a glimpse of what programming can be like without unnecessary restrictions imposed by paradigms and other heavy baggage caused by politics, ideology and historical inertia. Using the remarkably mature implementation of the Mozart system and the conceptually clean, simple, elegant, yet powerful programming language Oz, Van Roy and Haridi show us how dogmatic heavy baggage falls away when we can look at programming as a whole and choose the best programming concepts that the solution of a problem requires. Such a program becomes simpler, more elegant and therefore less error prone than an equivalent solution that is restricted to a specific paradigm.




2. This book is a real mind-bender that illuminates paths for computer design at both the conceptual and practical levels I'd never travelled down before.

   The notion that one language can be so flexible as to accomodate both the syntax and semantics of so many different computational models, or paradigms, took some unlearning of bad programming practice before its power, elegance and potential began to sink in.

   It also explodes the myth that "pure" languages -- i.e., pure OO, or pure functional, etc., languages--have some kind of innate advantage over so-called "hybrid" languages. In fact, "hybrid" (or as the authors would prefer to call them, "multi-paradigm") languages come out of this book looking even more powerful than the "pure" ones, insofar as they allow the programmer to use the right model for each task, instead of trying to make OO fit, for instance, in places where it doesn't fit so well.

   The idea here is that each computational model represents a completely different way of approaching a domain problem. Used by themselves, each has its niche. For instance, everybody knows OO is good for domain modelling and busines objects. Prolog-type languages are good for applications that need to apply rules over a set of data. Functional languages are great in mathematical applications. And so on. What is new here is that one can program in an environment in which all of these tools are available in a single core semantics that seamlessly weaves these computational models into a complementary whole. Used together judiciously, with an eye toward program correctness, they make things possible that have long been considered very hard -- for instance, constraint programming.

   Mozart-Oz, the underlying technology, is a strange language when you first look at it. It's hard at first to get used to concepts like "higher-order programming" or "by need execution" or "lazy execution" if you are the programming grunt in the field of most modern IT shops, forced by bosses to code in your standard fare -- Java, C#, VB, etc. If OO in Java is like the hammer that makes everything look like a nail, in Mozart-Oz you have a language that is like walking into Ace hardware store, a swiss army knife of a language (conceptually speaking) that challenges you to become a highly skill code craftsman, not just a programmer.

   But, if only for the personal growth you will experience grappling with the concepts in this book, I recommend it very highly even to "non academic" programmers (like myself) as well as to any advanced student of computer science. It may be painful, you may scratch your head in places where the concepts just seemed to leap over your cranium, but if you are patient, do the exercises (and at least think about what it would take to tackle some of the research projects), you will grow.

   Unfortunately, you may find the languages you work on to be rather confining, and maybe even boring, after you get a whiff of what multi-paradigm programming can do. More likely, however, is that you will grasp very clearly how the language you code in today works, and that can only make you a better software engineer. So do it-buy this book!




3. Modern programming has become fragmented into a variety of computational models (OO, functional, imperative, etc), and a variety of languages supporting those computational models. Neophyte programmers are typically introduced to just one of these models, and only learn the other, "less natural" models later. With CTM, Van Roy and Haridi take an alternative approach. They teach programming as an integrated discipline, and demonstrate the underlying links between the different computational models. By the time the reader is done with the book they will have a much better understanding of the discipline of programming, and will be well-equipped to decide which model is best suited to the task at hand. Reading CTM is an extremely worthwhile experience for anyone wishing to achieve a deep understanding of the art and science of programming.
   
   CTM has been compared to Abelson and Sussman's "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs". They are similar, in the sense that they both provide the reader with a deeper understanding of programming than most programming texts. However, the content of both books is quite different, and it is definitely worth reading both.
   
   Another book that I feel makes a good companion to CTM is Hoare's (sadly hard to come by) "Unifying Theories of Programming". It covers a lot of the same material as CTM, but in a much more theoretical sense. Where CTM is concerned with practical programming, Hoare is concerned with mathematical underpinnings. The two complement each other nicely.



4. This book is fantastic! It's like a more "fleshed out" version of Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs - 2nd Edition (MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science). It uses a neat (if somewhat weird) language called Oz, which has a number of interesting features, which are used to demonstrate the concepts of the book. Much like SICP, this book is a real masterpiece, elegantly composed and explained.

5 comments about An Introduction to Programming With C++, Fifth Edition.

1. A very good teaching book for students having the first contact with programming.



2. Okay, I'm baffled about the reviews that rave about how clearly this book explains things, because I'm a straight A student and the author has completely lost me. If you are trying to attempt to teach yourself a programmng language, this isn't the book. How do I know? Because even though I'm taking a college level class, that's practically what I'm doing - the professor isn't going over anything. I guess we're supposed to absorb it from osmosis, but it won't happen with this book. I'm reading chapters twice, and still not getting it. So, here I am, looking for something that will help me learn this stuff because this is a required class and I need to pass it...



3. Its ok, I suppose. I was not very impressed. Rather sloppy, alot of the examples did not compile properly. If you want to get away from Programming for Window, avoid this book, because it teaches using MS VisualC++



4. I bought this book for an online C++ programming class. It does have some info at the end of each chapter on programming in .NET which is cool but otherwise this book is hard to read. The author repeats herself again and again. The topics covered are very basic and introduced very slowly. This may not be a fair review since I have programmed in C++ before. But if you don't have to buy this book, there are many others out there that can teach you much more concisely. This is a text book and has lots of questions and problems at the end of each chapter.



5. I am taking an online course through the local community college, and this is their textbook for 2 semesters! I thought this was book was bad my first semester, but it has only gotten worse the second. The author repeats, talks in circles, has trouble making the valid point. When I read I want the point right there, not going around and around. Although the author has provided lots of exercises, she lacks any information on how to complete some of those exercises throughout the chapters. This book might be better if you had in-front-of-you instruction, but this is horrible for an online class or teach yourself. As another reviewer I am an A student, but I struggle in this book to understand the author's concepts. I have bought another book to help understand the C++, now I'll need another for the Visual .Net. It appears our instructor wants the exercises for the .NET done but again this book is extremely limited on providing the information needed to complete the exercises.

5 comments about Visual C# 2005 How to Program (2nd Edition) (How to Program).

1. This is an excellant book on C# for programmers and also for those who don't know any programming.
   Deitel books are recommended for everyone. I trully enjoy their books.



2. Visual C# 2005 (2nd edition) is an excellent book, while it is very lengthy, the book covers most of the topics with an extreme amount of detail. While the main focus of the book is C#, coverage of XML and ASP is also included. The review questions at the end of each chapter made this book have a text book feeling commonly seen in a classroom, but this was highly useful. This book is not meant as a quick intro into a programming language, but rather an intermediate or deep study of C#.



3. The best way to learn C# or any programming language is to type out and debug many programs. This book provides many examples for the same. Although I find this book too wordy, I recommend to read the book to get the best out of it.



4. I like the how to program series from Deitel, I own several books including the Java third edition and the C++ second edition. my favorite is the java because has a neat cyberspace add on. The book is ideal for a Java programer who likes to learn Visual C#, the languages are similars making the transition smooth. The book offers numerous code examples and it is easy to download the software from microsoft for free. To my taste I would rather prefered the GUI interface introduced earlier than chapters 13 & 14. it makes the first 12 chapters arid using console interaction only. Overall is an exellent book as the whole how to program series is.



5. Deitel books are great because they come in full color (a great pedagogic help), this one doesn't, this book is worthless without color, Thers is no value added in it, no diferentiation, you can use others instead.

5 comments about Programming Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

1. This is currently the only book that covers programming Microsoft Dynamics NAV and that for most people will be a good-enough reason to buy it.
   
   The book is intended to help reduce the time needed for non-NAV programmers to become productive with NAV's unique programming language and development tools. From its coverage of terminology and basic concepts to advanced topics and techniques, this book is not just for the NAV-newbie; there is enough advanced content and good advice to prove useful for the seasoned NAV developer too. According to the preface, the book is also intended to help managers and those considering purchasing or enhancing the product to become familiar with the level of customisation the product can provide.
   
   David Studebaker has been programming NAV since 1996 and, with over 40 years IT experience, he is well-qualified to write this book. He is currently a principal of a company that provides development, consulting, training and upgrade services for NAV resellers and firms using NAV. It is rare to get the opportunity to work with someone with such experience and this book may be the closest you'll ever get to having a true veteran provide mentoring and advice.
   
   Overall this is a good book, but it could have been a lot better. The publisher claims this is a "Fast-paced and to-the-point... [book with] ...clear explanations and practical example code." However, I found some of the early chapters rambling, slow and tedious with more than a handful of mistakes. The chapter on fields in particular contained a number of basic errors that should have been picked up by the proof reader or reviewers. At times I felt as though I was the first person to actually read this book.
   
   Whilst David is clearly a very experienced NAV developer, he is not a great writer, so do not expect an easy read. Some explanations are long-winded and prone to tangential wanderings. It seems that, subconsciously at least, David is aware of his propensity to ramble when, after a 5-page-explanation of the "Date Formula" data type including a programming example, he writes: "It may seem that we overemphasized this experiment. But you got to see a lot more here than just date calculations." A good editor could have helped us all at this point.
   
   I really wanted to like this book and essentially I do. The content is undoubtedly good, so do not be put off by my criticisms. In value-for-money terms this book is exceptional: try to see how much consultancy or training time 60 US Dollars will buy you!
   
   David has done a great job in completing this book and has obviously invested a lot of time for what must be a tiny market. If you work with NAV you should buy this book.



2. This book is aimed at people with some programming and business background, who plan to find their way into a NAV System. This is a challenging task, because NAV works somewhat differently to other ERP-Systems, and the author has done a good job in easing the way into a very complex application.
   
   A simple sample application for a fictitious company is developed throughout the book. All objects ( Tables, Forms, Reports, Dataports, XMLPorts, Codeunits, MenuSuites) are first explained in their basic functions and properties, and later in more detail to implement the more advanced functions for the addon. A few of the major management codeunits which offer callable functions which every developer will look for sooner or later are covered, and by studying the way these codeunits are used the NAV newcomer will soon be able to write his own functions and subsequently his own enhancements.
   
   Yet no one should be led to believe that after reading this book you can be let loose on any NAV System to do whatever you like. It takes a considerable amount of time to learn to estimate what impacts your coding will have in the long run, and even after several years there is always something new to learn, to fix or to optimize practically every day in an application that is making rapid strides forward. This applies even more so if you plan to work on many different databases which may have been extensively customized. But if you work your way through this book, and also take a good and hard look at the recommended internal documentations and white papers available, you will get a rough idea of what is lying ahead of you.
   
   Of course there are quite a number of advanced topics on which you will find only a brief introduction in this book, such as the possibilities of interactions with external programs, the use of the NAV application server or automation objects (e.g. exporting/importing data to/from Excel).
   
   A very useful comparison of the differences between the native server and SQL Server is also included. Locking, Deadlock and SQL Performance issues are discussed to some extent, but not to a degree that code examples of "do's and don'ts" are included.
   
   There are some minor issues which I have found:
   
   Page 246 : Although temporary tables run on the clients RAM only, all record variables in this table which are not temporary can insert, modify or delete data in the database. A seemingly harmless validate in a field trigger can lead to unexpected sideeffects. This is not mentioned.
   
   Page 142/152 : The form triggers and form control triggers are listed ,and the author states that it should be avoided to write code in these triggers. Although this is basically true, the newcomer will find lots of code in standard forms, and will have a hard time in understanding the form and table interactions at first. Every card form needs a code line to remove the filter on the primary key, otherwise the user cannot move to the next record when the card form is called from a list form. This is not explained. Rather than removing code unnecessarily, this should be modified, as the new page object which will be introduced with NAV 2009 will have mostly an equivalent to the old form triggers as well, so it is advisable to only call functions in codeunits to avoid maintaining two similar functions in two objects.
   
   Page 237 : It is not mentioned that a customer without the application designer granule, which small-size companies usually do not purchase, cannot import objects in .txt format. It is stated that only experienced developers should use the 2 merge options when importing .fob objects. In my opinion, this should be avoided at all costs unless any fields in the standard range have to be added which can't be created with a normal developers license when the object is of the .txt type. Then you have no choice and should perform a manual merge of the code afterwards to ensure that the code lines have not been messed up.
   
   Page 121 : The examples for date and boolean for the AND operator are repetitions of the Not Equal operator examples.
   
   Page 301 : Some examples of the FORMAT function would be useful. If you look for this in the index, you will find it under D (data conversion functions), not under F.
   
   Page 345 : It is stated that Codeunits 80/90 post journal data into a ledger, but these Codeunits post Documents by transferring the data to journals, which are then posted by Codeunit 12 (G/L Ledger)/22 ( Item Ledger) etc.
   
   Page 439 : It is stated that an executable upgrade is a one-way process. Actually, there is a backdoor if it fails, you can create an empty database with the old client, and then restore a .fbk backup which was created before installing the new executeables. A full upgrade, on the other hand, really is a one-way process.



3. This is a 460 page book (11 chapters) that covers the needs of developers that are starting to approach the NAV development to developers that are experts on NAV development but want to know more. It starts to introduce the Application Design concepts inside NAV, then it goes more in-depth into every NAV object (Tables, Forms and Reports in particular). After that, the author goes in depth into the CSIDE and the C/AL code by clearly explaining all you need in order to create NAV applications (C/AL sintax, validation functions, data conversion functions, I/O functions, filtering etc.).
   
   Chapters from 9 to 11 are "the plus" of this book and they're devoted to experienced developer. They cover aspects about architecturing and tuning a NAV solution, working with external applications and other design tips.
   
   The nice thing is that a sample application for a fictitious company is developed throughout the book, so the reader can immediately learn the concepts and put them in practice.
   
   So... what's my final opinion?
   
   I think that this book is a great resource for anyone that wants to start learning NAV development because it covers all the aspects in details and in a clear manner. It covers also some hot topics such as code optimizations that are not so common to find on books (and also on Microsoft's official MOCs).
   
   There's a good comparison between the native server and the SQL Server one, but I think that the optimization topics with SQL Server could be covered more in depth (index management, index statistics, MaintainSiftIndex, MaintainSQLIndex etc.). The same for the interaction with external programs and about how to extend NAV with other controls (for example .NET controls).
   
   About form triggers, I've appreciated that the author alerts the NAV developer on placing code on form triggers as few as possible because the future NAV versions will further constrain, or may even eliminate, the ability to insert C/AL code directly within a form (use of calling a codeunit on a form is recommended).
   
   If you're a NAV developer, I recommend you this book: it covers all the aspects you need for your work and something more. It lacks a bit on the SQL features topic, but this could be an argument for a dedicated book.
   
   (http://www.demiliani.com/blog)



4. This book provide structural and functional base of Navision.
   From other side advanced topics are not covered.
   Book structure can be better if author follow bullet
   style instead of deep in his thoughts about programming
   debugging and technic.



5. If you want to trade $50 for the convenience of having something handy to read, be my guess. Anything you can find in this book has already been in the Navision help file(s). The author probably has never actually done any programming work(s) with Navision, all he has done is rephrasing whatever written in those help files (by adding lots of his useless wordy information), and he has left out lots of usual information found in those help files.
   
   Don't buy this boook. This will be your sorry 50-dollar waste.
   Whoever recommended this book should be fired/laid off at once.

2 comments about The C++ Standard Library Extensions: A Tutorial and Reference.

1. There are many, perhaps too many, books on C++. But Becker breaks new ground. He presents what is coming down the road towards the current C++ programmer. The existing C++ standard library is good but limited. The widespread use of C++ led to recognition of useful classes that should be in this library but are not. After some years of dilly dallying, Technical Report 1 was produced. Work started in 2001. Six years!
   
   This book explains the classes in TR1. While it is not guaranteed that all of TR1 will make it into the next official standard library, most certainly will. The only real question is when that revision will be released. Given the way C++ changes so slowly, don't hold your breath.
   
   In the interim, you can make good professional use of your time by studying TR1 via this book. It's not a simple rendition of the classes. Becker devotes considerable space to explaining the usages of the new classes. Giving you the gist of what they are about. Just as importantly, each chapter has a set of exercises involving its classes. Tackling these is probably the best way to gain experience.
   
   Of the new classes, what interests you most will vary with the reader. Personally, I was most impressed with the Numerics. Huge improvements in dealing with floats and overflows (NaNs). And for physicists or engineers, there are specialised functions that will save some coding. Laguerre polynomials, Legendre functions, gamma functions, Bessel functions and Hermite polynomials, amongst others. A far richer set than what you currently get in the standard library.



2. This will become a "must have" book for C++ programmers. It is both easy to understand and authoritative at the same time. It will be useful for a long, long time, first as a learning tool and then as a reference.
   
   Implementations of TR1 are now available from Boost (free) and Dinkumware (reasonably priced), so these library components are something that a C++ programmer can start using right away. Most or all of them will also be part of the next standard, so they are sure to become ever more widely used.
   
   I like the fact the book is hard-cover, since it is likely to get a lot of use. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I still think a book like this is the easiest way to study something new, and really learn about it.
   
   I already posted one review, but Amazon seems to have lost it. I'm surprised there haven't been more reviews posted - the book deserves more.

5 comments about Apache: The Definitive Guide (3rd Edition).

1. Now you may think that there are better books out there. And there maybe. However this book is a "five star" book. I bought this book for a beginning apache class. We were able to follow the instructions and down load the Apache server from the Internet. The only problem we had was with the NIS system that was not anticipated in this book. It was a lot more important to use this book to read the flat files and see how they were related to each other. The section on Extra Modules (chapter 12) gave a way to improve the server and go outside the scope of this book. This book covered more details than I was looking for; this ways different people can use the book to target their particular needs. You can safely say:
   
   "This book has everything you need to set up an apache server."



2. I partly agree with the downstairs, but can not put it in 1 star.
   This book is OK for beginner, both on Win32 and Linux. And with detailed description (yes, it tells what is called NT Service and how to open a MMC to start a service :-) so IT JUST WORKS.
   On the other hand, there is a lot of setting with the config, this book contians a long list of explaination with the para, like a ref book. But it does gives you a few good example of CGI (C and Perl).
   Still think it is the top apache book on market



3. Hi,
   I read a few weeks ago some reviews complaining that this textbook doesn't deal with recent Java SDK like 4.1 or 5. Then I had trouble ping-ing an XP home pc, so I learned that ping works with ICMP, I thought maybe if I write a little ping-debugger I'd get somewhere near an answer, my PC linux is a Debian, I searched for some ICMP Java classes for Debian, then I found out that the latest Java SDK for Linux is 1.1. So don't put the blame on this Apache manual (IMHO) "il ne peut pas aller plus vite que la musique"



4. This book is not a tutorial on Apache. Forget about this book if you're seeking to implement the ubiquitous LAMP (Linux, Apache, MYSQL, PHP) combination. Perhaps you wish to complement your pursuit of a computer science degree with some resume enhancing practical skills. Or perhaps you're a seeking some IT certifications, or perhaps you're a hobbyist web developer - in all cases this book contains nothing that couldn't be freely found on an internet search engine. Most of the book's chapters consist of a series of Apache's features with each followed by a cryptic discussion that doesn't actually teach you anything. So unless you're a Apache expert looking for a handy reference to keep close at hand then please buy something else. Like a book that actually does the job of teaching you to do something with Apache.



5. Most of the time you can trust O'Reilly technical books. But this dog should be drug out back and shot. It's out of date, it's poorly written, it meanders all over the place. I'm pretty tolerant of technical writing as long as I'm learning what I need to along the way. But at a time when I was highly motivated to get up to speed on Apache I literally gave up and threw this on the floor in frustration. Buy any other book on Apache. This one sucks.

5 comments about Professional Web APIs with PHP: eBay, Google, Paypal, Amazon, FedEx plus Web Feeds.

1. This book asumes you are already a programmer. There is no explaination of how to but rather a look at some API's out there. If you do not already know how to work with API's you will be lost. Of course if you already knew how to work with API in PHP you wouldnt have bought the book!



2. The overviews are also excellent for concise functional descriptions that can be read by anyone with a general technical background. In sharp contrast to most technical books of this nature, this one is well organized, well written and very readable. It uses the PHP programming script/language to delve into specific implementation details, but the information can be readily understood regardless of the reader's specific language of choice. The material is presented in two sections. The first section in four chapters provides a general foundation in web services (or Service Oriented Architecture to use current technoabble). The second section in eight chapters describes specific uses and conventions for these services provided by the major companies of the New Economy, who are driving these technologies as engines of commerce. This field is an amalgam of several technologies, each with a huge supporting literature, and one of the more remarkable things about this book is the degree of editing it took to bring to the forefront those items that can immediately be used. Well worth the investment.
   
   Those working on the PayPal services should also acquire 'Pro PayPal eCommerce' by Damon Williams as an excellent companion reference.Pro PayPal E-Commerce (Expert's Voice)



3. I approached this book expecting a reasonably good tech cookbook with some code examples I could put to use. This book is that, plus more. The book gives a very good background of web APIs, plus thoughtful discussion about -why- certain items are done a certain way. For example, discussion about non-trivial security matters, and various reasons why you wouldn't want to produce a web feed (followed, of course, by how you would produce a web feed, in various flavors).
   For me, this book very successfully balanced the dual goals "give me the nuts and bolts" and "tell me the background behind it all".
   This book will not teach you PHP, so if you are a beginner, start with a more general PHP tutorial. Beyond that, I recommend this book.



4. This book does what I like in a book. Deliver great information on a specific topic without trying to be the do-all-end-all book. It focus's on API's with PHP and does a great job at doing so. Different chapters cover different API's with a catch all chapter at the end to cover additional popular API (like National Weather Service and Flickr).
   
   This is the kind of book where its just fun to play around with and see what you can come up with.



5. Web APIs will become more and more interesting as they provide quick and easy access to data and functions from widely known web service providers auch as Google, eBay and others. However, this book can only provide an overview - "making the first API call". It is therefore useable for beginner s.
   The book is easy to read, helpful for the first steps and conatins enough scripts and examples to understand the features and see the possibilities for extension.
   All together, useful but not detailed.

5 comments about Beyond Software Architecture: Creating and Sustaining Winning Solutions (The Addison-Wesley Signature Series).

1. Perhaps I'm missing something, but it seems that while this book might provide a nice skeleton for managers straddling the line between development (techitecture) and business strategy (marketecture), the meat is simply not present. So many opportunities for REAL examples went either unaddressed completely, or worse, were answered with meaningless little 2-paragraph sidebars filled with sentences like, "then we sat down to talk about things and we decided to approach things from a different angle, blah, blah, blah." Thanks. I can't say this book was a complete waste of time but it certainly wasn't the best use of my time, either, sadly. And the coining of these ridiculous terms like "techitecture" were truly hard to take.



2. One of the first things authors are asked by their agents, editors, or prospective publishers is to present an analysis of the other books in the genre that cover the same material as their books. Here, Luke must have had it very easy. He addresses a truly unique market niche (the interaction between technical architecture and marketing) in a way that really no one has done before or attempted to do since.
   
   A book that handles both market segmentation and software product management in 300 odd pages is going to cover a whole lot of real estate and risks spreading the information pretty thin. Things important to folks in product management are not always the same things that are interesting to marketers. This facet of writing a book, target audience identification, is also frequently the subject of discussion with editors and publishes. Not having a clear target audience is where this book comes up a bit short.
   
   Luke attempts to address such a breadth of software product concerns that it's hard for any one target group (technical architects or marketers) to get really interested. Although this book might be good for an entrepreneur or someone new to the field of software product management, it is, at best, a catalog of knowledge for tarchitects and marchitects and is unlikely to include anything that they haven't stumbled across in the field. A number of my colleagues have agreed with my final assessment that this is an easy book to peruse and become familiar with, yet a tough book to dive into and love.



3. I had great hopes for this book, but for any industry veteran it is basically a repackaging of what many other "experts" have written before. The book is needlessly verbose, but yet glosses over key points with literary hand waving. The lack of significant examples, business cases, and real world process development gives one the feeling the book is merely the presentation of a thesis or philosophy devoid of concrete real world application.
   
   For someone just starting out in the industry they may glean some basic concepts, but there are so many more publications that do a better job and do it cleaner.



4. Hohmann presents a fair amount of useful folk wisdom on enterprise software architecture. IMHO, this information is useful enough to try to struggle beyond the annoyances that Hohmann needlessly creates: (a) inventing annoying buzzwords like "tarchitecture" and misusing perjorative slang like "marketecture" (synonym: vaporware); (b) politocorrectoid smarm (all people in positions of responsibility are "she" and all low-level drones are "he"); and (c) Hohmann's very high opinion of himself.
   
   I wish this book was on softcopy so that I could edit this stuff out. I'd have had an easier time reading it. As it is, I've had to take the book in small doses.



5. I'm not the kind of person who burns through business books or even likes reading them at all. I do, however, actively pursue information that will help me do my job better and more efficiently, which presents a bit of a problem when the information I need is stuck in a book somewhere. That's one of the reasons I like this book.
   
   Being fairly new to software product management, I've read a couple of books on the topic but they all seem to be very far removed from what I actually do every day. Hohmann's book is different; it actually contains information about things that I find myself making decisions about every day. It's also written in such a way that I can jump to whichever chapter covers what I'm mulling over that day, like pricing or licensing third party technologies, without feeling like I've lost context. In almost every case, he writes about topics that I'm familiar with but covers them in more breadth than I've been able to have personal experience with. I've already found myself referencing the book to help in either my own day-to-day activity or when someone else asks for my advice. Hohmann sort of treats the reader like you're smart enough to go off and make your own decisions if he just outlines your options and potential pitfalls, which is nice because that sort of how I think of myself too.
   
   Overall, he presents a very practical mix of marketing and technical information that I've found very useful as a software product manager.