5 comments about UNIX Network Programming, Volume 2: Interprocess Communications (2nd Edition) (The Unix Networking Reference Series , Vol 2).

1. This book is a must own for every serious programmer on the unix platform. It provides an insight on various forms of IPC APIs available on the unix platform. It provides coverage of both System V and POSIX standards, there is no match to it as far as IPC is concerned. The Appendices in the end also provide a performance comparison between pipes, FIFOs, posix message queues, System V message queues, doors and Sun RPC. I have not seen another book provide such a wide and deep coverage of this topic. What more - it all comes from the GURU himself!



2. Since anyone considering buying a technical book always needs to know what it covers, here's the table of contents:

   Part 1. Introduction

   1. Introduction

   2. Posix IPC

   3. System V IPC

   Part 2. Message Passing

   4. Pipes and FIFOs

   5. Posix Message Queues

   6. System V Message Queues

   Part 3. Synchronization

   7. Mutexes and Condition Variables

   8. Read-Write Locks

   9. Record Locking

   10. Posix Semaphores

   11. System V Semaphores

   Part 4. Shared Memory

   12. Shared Memory Introduction

   13. Posix Shared Memory

   14. System V Shared Memory

   Part 5. Remote Procedure Calls

   15. Doors

   16. Sun RPC

   Epilogue

   Appendix A. Performance Measurements

   Appendix B. Threads Primer

   Appendix C. Miscellaneous Source Code

   Appendix D. Solutions to Selected Exercises

   Bibliography

   Index

   This is the third and least of Stevens' three books on UNIX programming (he also coauthored a multi-volume work on TCP). It is the not the least because it is necessarily the worst, but because it has the shortest and has the narrowest application domain.

   Having said it is the least, it remains a work of the highest quality in an industry that is notable for the huge quantity of bad books that it produces. The structure of this book will be familiar to readers of his prior two books: the lowest-level building block around which Stevens structures the book is the individual function call. For each call (or minor variations on a single call), he provides the C prototype, and then, in text, explains what the function does, what it's arguments are for, and then provides a small C program that demonstrates it in action (all of the sample programs can also be downloaded from the web). These function-level building blocks are arranged into related sets, each of which is a chapter in the book. Each chapter has a wrapper that explains the basic concepts behind the functions in that chapter, and some review exercises at the end. The chapters in turn build on each other, with the most basic ones at the beginning and the more difficult ones towards the end.

   In spite of the book's many positive qualities, one thing that this book brings to light, however, is that there is a thread-sized hole in Stevens' UNIX writings. "Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment" had a great deal of information about processes, but nothing about threads. "UNIX Network Programming: Volume 1", discussed multi-threaded socket programs, but didn't go into any depth on threading. This volume, although it discusses thread synchronization, only touches on general threading issues. Thus, the works, taken as a group, go into some of the important issues and uses of threading without giving the reader a solid grounding in the subject. As threading increases in frequency, this deficiency has grown in importance.

   Another difference between this book and its predecessors is that it deals with an area where standards are much weaker than the others; thus, the chapters often have to explain different implementations for accomplishing a task rather than building a basic-to-advanced sequence. This obviously is in no way Stevens' fault, but many readers will find that half the book, which is already the thinnest of Stevens' programming books, is concerned with API's which do not exist on their platform of interest.

   To sum up, while this review clearly shows the reservations I have about this book compared to its predecessors, it must still be stressed that Stevens' is a technical author of the highest level. If you do have a need to understand any of the subjects in this book, you won't find a better teacher from which to learn it, and that is why I am still giving the book five stars.




3. The real power of UNIX or any application for that matter is in interprocess communication. I found early on that to accomplish any large project would require the cooperation of interprocess communication. Now I find that simple administration skills also require knowledge of this interprocess communication.
   
   My first foray into the field was to use semaphores to flag processes to run at the proper time. Later I needed to use pipes for a front-end in communication to SNA. Again I found IPC's could help inform and control processes that were in canned packages and not accessible any other way. The list of useful tools can go on and on. I also had to find the NT equivalent as it became popular.
   
   UNIX is still out there in many forms and if one is to survive in the field an understanding of interprocess communications is imperative.
   
   The Abbreviated Table of Contents:
   Part 1. Introduction
   1. Introduction
   2. POSIX IPC
   3. System V IPC
   Part 2. Message Passing
   4. Pipes and FIFOs
   5. Posix Message Queues
   6. System V Message Queues
   Part 3. Synchronization
   7. Mutexes and Condition Variables
   8. Read-Write Locks
   9. Record Locking
   10. POSIX Semaphores
   11. System V Semaphores
   Part 4. Shared Memory
   12. Shared Memory Introduction
   13. POSIX Shared Memory
   14. System V Shared Memory
   Part 5. Remote Procedure Calls
   15. Doors
   16. Sun RPC
   Epilogue
   Appendix A. Performance Measurements
   Appendix B. Threads Primer
   Appendix C. Miscellaneous Source Code
   Appendix D. Solutions to Selected Exercises
   Bibliography
   Index
   
   One final note is that with systems dispersed globally Remote Procedures Calls are taking precedence in Interprocess communications.



4. I cannot fathom a guess as to how many times the books in this series have saved my in project work over the years. The only drawback with this series is that some publisher should endeavor to keep them up to date. Serious Unix system programmers must have copies of the complete series.



5. Programming UNIX or Linux networks is a piece of cake with these books. You need the set, Vol 1 & 2.
   
   As a professional programmer of 20 years I use the book as a refernce for all my new programs. I have used the books to break into the world of VoIP and audio CODEC network programming.

3 comments about New Perspectives on Creating Web Pages with HTML, XHTML, and XML, Comprehensive, Second Edition (New Perspectives (Paperback Course Technology)).

1. One of the best books on the subject I've encountered in the last thirteen years of working with the internet. The tutorials are excellent - in that they appeared to be well debugged prior to publication. They do an excellent job in preparing a student for any of the four cases found at the end of each section. The only weakness encountered was that there was no comprehensive reference table of tags and associated attributes.



2. What originally attracted me to this text was that the code examples use valid XHTML. Unfortunately, the book is obviously a rewrite of an older book written with 1995-era design and structure approaches. Formatting attributes within the HTML tags have merely been replaced by inline styles, defeating the purpose of having a style sheet in the first place. Not until Tutorial 7 is there an external style sheet. There is even a chapter on how to design a site with tables; i.e., the old school way, and one can sense the author's comfort throughout that chapter. While it's good to be familiar with that approach, since one will run into such sites and have to work with them, to have such a large portion of the text devoted to it seems inappropriate in 2006 (this edition's printing). When HTML elements are employed in a modern fashion, there is some faltering, such as the label tag for an input element being followed by a break tag instead of setting its display property to block in the stylesheet, thus requiring as many break tags as there are labels. And as with many of the Course Technology books, the page numbers restart with each major section: the HTML section ends at HTML 578, then there are some additional cases (HTML ADD 1, HTML ADD 2, etc), then XML ends at XML 224, then there are appendices HTML A1 through HTML J16, then an XML appendix, then Ref 1 through 27 (reference section). At least the index indicates both the HTML and XML sections. One could complete this very thick book and be an expert at creating web sites the way we used to do it in the mid-nineties, the only enhancement being that the sites would be valid. I do think that many of the exercises could be reworked to be quite valuable, and I should mention that much of the instructional text is well done. The book is printed on very thin paper, as are many of the Course textbooks, but there is color throughout. I would not recommend this text to anyone considering adopting it as a class text.



3. This is a typical course technology book with sections that go on forever leaving the students to wonder about what they just created and how could they ever do it on their own. Do your students a favor and skip this book.

5 comments about JavaScript for the World Wide Web, Fifth Edition (Visual QuickStart Guide).

1. Believe it or not, this book is an acutal textbook for a course I am taking in college. I was hoping for a book better than this for a college course.



2. The authors are not very good at explaining things, even relatively simple things such as the prompt() method or the dot syntax. It could be much clearer and they could do it with fewer words. The authors take a rambling tone that doesn't quite give you the information you need. You can't depend on the authors to give you meaningful explanations. You have to experiment and try different things.
   It's possible to learn JavaScript with this book, but it will take much more time than is necessary. In five editions, why couldn't they have improved this book? What are they doing? Other Visual Quickstart Guides are the same way. I hope the Visual Quickstart Guides go out of business and some other company takes over the market share. They've been cavalier toward their customers and don't deserve to be in business much longer.
   Other books like JavaScript: The Definitive Guide by Flanagan, and JavaScript: The Complete Reference by Powell and Schneider are better at explaining the language even though they are considered to be more advanced books.
   The same authors have published JavaScript & AJAX for the Web, which has almost the exact same content only it has a couple of AJAX chapters thrown in. Check out the review by another customer (at this point it is the only review). His critique is very similar to this one.
   On the positive side, the authors manage to get most of the information across and the content is relevant for the majority of users.
   If you choose to buy this book, use it as more of a guide and do not depend on it. Purchase other books to supplement it.



3. This is useful as a reference book or to learn JavaScript. I do not use it often, but when I need it I am very glad to have it on my shelf. Good examples.



4. This book was well packaged for delivery. I like it for the clarity with which the authors present the various lessons.
   
   I hope to derive a lot from it and to add to my skills.
   
   I am still going through it and so far it has been very exciting. Thank you for the good business. A value for the money.



5. It's downloads don't work, and the book requires that they be used.
   the examples will not run as written in the book.
   They do not conform to the w3schools standards.
   it cannot be used outside Microsoft products.
   Like Firefox.

No comments about Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principles (6th Edition) (GOAL Series).

5 comments about Yahoo! SiteBuilder For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).

1. Ever since Yahoo acquired Geocities, it has aspired to be a major web hosting site. To this ends, it has striven to help users make web sites. Wagner describes how Yahoo's SiteBuilder simplifies a lot of messy details and, hopefully, lets you concentrate on the actual design.
   
   Maybe the most important aid is the numerous templates. For such subjects as a birthday, education, electronics or music. If you are new to HTML, these can greatly help you put up pages. More experienced users might want to start from scratch, however. While the site's templates are well done, the sheer fact that each is used by many hosted sites means that inevitably if your site does likewise, there will be an element of cookie-cutter-ness.
   
   Along the way to describing what SiteBuilder can do for you, Wagner also offers useful and quite general guidelines for site design. These are independent of actually using SiteBuilder. An added advantage of the book.
   
   The advanced section of the book, that deals with using JavaScript in your pages, gives a synopsis of that language. If you are serious about using JavaScript, consider also getting another book, devoted to it. (Like "JavaScript for Dummies".)



2. I needed to set up a web site faster than it was going to take me to learn Dreamweaver. Yahoo! SiteBuilder for Dummies successfully walked me through the process of setting up a site at Yahoo! in less than half a days time. It's well written, clear and broken down into distinct components so you can go directly to the material you need without wading through all sorts of stuff that's not relevant to you.
   
   It did the trick for me, I hope it does for you.



3. I would not recommend this book. It was really not helpful for us. We currently have a yahoo store with over 6000+ items and this book is really geared for stores with 50 or less items. The attached software was not useful. However, I would recommend another book: "Starting a Yahoo! Business For Dummies", by Richard Snell. The Snell book is much more useful and full of informative advance stuff for starting and improving your Yahoo store. David Mark, Cmdstore



4. I read the book in sections because I just couldn't stay focused. My mind was racing. The book is really helpful. I am using sitebuilder so half the stuff wasn't as useful, but the other half was really worth it. He really knows what he's talking about.



5. I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to attempt to bring an old fool like me into the world of computers. I enjoy my machine and am trying to learn as much as I can about how to use it, so getting a book like this is very helpful. Thanks for putting this material at my disposal.

No comments about Unlocking Medical Terminology.

5 comments about Applied Mathematics for Database Professionals (Expert's Voice).

1. Writing a book is no easy task. Completing a book when your co-author and friend passes away early in the process, must be a monumental task, this is what Toon Koppelaars achieved with this work.
   
   I ordered this book expecting it to contain examples of using statistics, probability and data mining algorithms as applied to databases. In retrospect, I am not sure why I made that assumption. It is actually about formally specifying database designs using logic and set theory. This book is reviewed and endorsed by C. J. Date and features a foreword by him, which would be high praise for any book on the subject of databases.
   
   It is split into 3 parts and 12 chapters as follows:
   1. Logic: Introduction
   2. Set Theory: Introduction
   3. Some More Logic
   4. Relations and Functions
   5. Tables and Database States
   6. Tuple, Table, and Database Predicates
   7. Specifying Database Designs
   8. Specifying State Transition Constraints
   9. Data Retrieval
   10. Data Manipulation
   11. Implementing Database Designs in Oracle
   12. Summary and Conclusions
   
   If you've studied mathematics (or a tertiary subject with a mathematics element to it) you will most probably be familiar with the sections on set theory and logic. If you have not then they provide an as excellent introduction to these topics that you are likely to find anywhere.
   
   This book makes the following claims and I have made my comments against each one:
   
   "This book will help you":
   * "Become a better database designer. You'll make fewer mistakes, and your designs will be more flexible in response to changing data needs." I agree 100% that having a good, if not intuitive, grasp of logic and basic set theory will help you to create better DB schemas.
   * "Use the expressive power of mathematics to precisely specify designs and business rules." I am not sure how useful this is, and I have a mathematics background. I personally feel that having another notation to express the database design seems to break the DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) principle.
   * "Communicate effectively about design using the universal language of mathematics." Personally, I do not think this applies unless you are at the top of your game and/or have a theoretical bias and you are communicating with someone similar.
   * "Develop and write complex SQL statements with confidence." Absolutely agree. I am often surprised at the number of software developers that do not have a thorough grasp of logic.
   * "Avoid pitfalls and problems from common relational bugaboos such as null values and duplicate rows". Probably, but then 3NF will go a long way to achieving that.
   I would be the first to agree that a good, basic mathematics grounding is desirable if you want to confidently design databases that scale well and are modelled correctly.
   The mathematics that you learn in this book will certainly put you above the level of understanding of most database professionals. But I am not convinced that alone will enable you to better understand the technology and be able to apply it more effectively. It will help you to avoid data anomalies like redundancy and inconsistency, which are not uncommon problems in the world of databases!
   On the whole, I enjoyed reading this book, but I'm not sure if I learnt anything I could immediately put to use when designing and refactoring databases. I did not put a great deal of effort into learning and understanding the formal database specification language described in this book purely because I could not see an immediate benefit when balanced against the effort required to learn a new notation, and I may well have overlooked something crucial that would indeed enable me to create better database designs.
   
   http://mitch-wheat.blogspot.com
   
   Disclosure: The Perth .NET User Group is a member of the Apress User Group Program. Apress make copies of their books available for user group libraries, and the copy reviewed here was kindly donated by them.



2. Finally, a book has come along that is not a simple restating of the manual. This is not a book that will tell you how to install a database or how to write RMAN scripts.
   
   This book deconstructs all of what it is to be a database. This book is like a vivsection on the "brain" of an RDBMS (specifically, but not exclusively, Oracle).
   
   Why this book succeeds is because it walks you, step-by-step, through the simple (yes simple) and well defined (yes, you don't really have to guess) logic that the database uses for EVERY request made of it.
   
   It is a must-have for anyone serious about truly understanding why databases work the way they do. Have you sat in any of those meetings where people guessed or even voted on how they thought the database worked? It's so silly.
   
   This book will not help you get certified with any database. Certifications are vendor specific and cover a lot more than the narrow focus of this book. So you'll be disappointed if you expect a broad database education.
   
   The narrow focus of this book is laying out the internal rules of the database's "thought process." If you understand the power of that narrow focus, this book is for you. If not, keep it on your wish list and I'll bet you'll come back to it someday.
   
   I have made this book mandatory reading for my Oracle and SQL Server DBA's (the only databases I currently have DBA's for).
   
   While it is in no way a complete database education, I think no database education can be complete without it.



3. This book from Lex de Haan (RIP) and Toon Koppelaars is a very welcome addition to those relatively few technical volumes to date that attempt to apply the rigours of a sound theoretical mathematical framework to the Relational Model, and the varied and various manifestations thereof.
   
   This well written and well structured book takes the reader gently through rudimentary relations and sets in Part I, to the more complex database-related aspects in Part II, and finally culminating in Part III where the theoretical is applied to the practical - in this case through Oracle, but will equally apply to any of the major Database Management System (DBMS) vendors.
   
   Although the reader is taken `gently' through the learning process, I believe that any experience in Formal System Specification would be a great help to the reader, similarly with any degree of knowledge of relations and sets. With no knowledge of either of these then the curve may not be so `gentle', but what can be assured, however, is that the exercises are well enough designed to bring the knowledge levels up appropriately as the book progresses.
   
   Conversely, what probably isn't of great assistance is a high degree of proficiency with SQL, with its manifold attendant shortcomings and deficiencies. The difficulty here arises where the reader will tend to approach it logically from an SQL perspective (with the perhaps now instinctive mental workarounds), where this book approaches from a much more logically complete, theoretically sound, and neutral angle.
   
   That said, however, there is much of value in this book for the seasoned SQL practitioner, if only to alert as to how incomplete the current DBMS offerings are, how this (potentially) compromises data integrity on several levels (tuple, table, database), how to avoid those same shortcomings, and on how to exploit the maximum declarative constraining from those same DBMSes in their current incarnations. For the not so seasoned, it will lay a solid, sound theoretical basis that will serve very well throughout a career with databases.



4. This book definitely isn't for those who dabble in writing SQL code. However, if your job requires interacting with SQL, that is, set-based language, this book should be on your shelf. It certainly is on mine.
   
   You won't find any simple list of instructions, or pithy "best practices", but more a fairly complete explanation of set-based mathematics and logic, and how this applies to the SQL (generic SQL) language. There's also an excellent discussion of 3 and 4 state logic and the universally misunderstood concept of NULL.
   
   I can't recommend the book enough. It may take you years to really work through it and absorb the content, but it is worth it if databases are your career.



5. This book is no easy read. Yet, or even because of this fact, it is unrestrictedly recommendable for everyone who professionally deals with databases. It offers a thorough introduction into the basic mathematics on which the relational database model is based. The committed reader is put into the position to base his database design on a well founded level and effectively describe and communicate design questions and business rules.
   
   In any case should the reader take his time to work his way through the whole book. It is well worth it!

5 comments about Programming ASP.NET, 3rd Edition (Programming).

1. A good book to use both as a learning guide, and as a reference. Though some of the code examples could have been tightened up a little bit, they do a nice job of starting at the very bottom/core of ASP and working their way up -- teaching you how to use ASP to create quality applications instead of glue and popsickle stick nightmares.



2. [...]This edition has no VB.NET code and assumes knowledge of C#. All the examples are in that language.
   
   I bought it because of positive reviews and publishers description that stated the book had all examples in both languages,[...].
   
   It may be a fine book for those who know C#



3. This book is a C# book. The reviews here, along with Amazon's own review, are referring to one of the previous editions where VB.NET code samples were included.
   
   When deciding to buy this book, or not, be wary of the reviews that were posted before the publication date. I can see that this situation has already caused others some grief.



4. I am a big fan of Jesse Liberty books and rate him as one of the best and more experienced tech writers around, but this book is definitely not up to his excellent standard. To be more precise, the book starts out very well, with and introduction to the basic control of ASP.NET illustrated by many clear examples, and the only complaint I have about the first part of the book is that I would have loved to see the two chapters that he devote to webapp structure and configuration right at the start of the book. I think it would have given a clear picture of what one is doing with all those pages and controls and why things are the way they are. The second part of the book is where I was expecting to find more complete and advanced examples on how to build and configure a "real - life " web application, but here is where the book fails miserably. The chapters on ADO can be defined as confusing at best, and the remaining chapters are either a sequence of instructions fitter more to a "build a website visually for dummies" title, or missing crucial information. I have been also very annoyed by the organization of the example code. Every, and I say every example is in the format of a single website, and to make things worse these websites are not organized by chapter number but just by name.
   It really looks like the kind of book a smart and experienced tech author could write after studying the documentation throughly but having no real experience with the subject in practice. I think I understand why.. even I find myself more interested in the foundations of a technology on language structure and on general CS subjects than in the structure of the Nth API or Framwork, but still I don't go about writing books on them!
   So, a somewhat decent book, especially considering the low general quality standard of ASP books, but nothing to be enthusiastic about.



5. Just as any good large technical book should do, this gives a pretty good reference of all the basic controls and how to perform basic operations. This is also it's only fault, as it spends a lot of time on the simple controls, and not enough time on the more complex concepts.
   
   It's good for reference though, as it does contain a good amount of content to do most anything in ASP. This title is good for the beginner ASP as it covers simple to complex tasks fairly thoroughly. After you've absorbed most of this book, you might find yourself looking for more, and I've mostly found Google useful to add-in the pieces missing from this book. Overall I recommend this for any ASP guru who needs a refresher every now and then.

5 comments about Podcast Solutions: The Complete Guide to Podcasting (Solutions).

1. I started out knowing diddly squat about podcasting. I read "Podcast Solutions" by Michael Geoghegan (what's up with that name?) and Dan Klass and now I know everything. But much more important than my over-generous opinion of myself I got my podcast up swiftly, easily and on time thanks to this incredible book.
   
   They answer questions with the insight of someone who really knows all the angles, who really knows what they are talking about, who has actually done it. The book will take you through the entire process and get you up and running. And isn't that what it's really all about?
   
   I especially enjoyed Chapter 10 "Getting Heard" which offers rich detail and many astonishing ideas about how to get people to actually listen to your podcast. And isn't that what it's really all about?
   
   Finally, the price on this book is right. Just right. Enough to make you realize you're getting something valuable (which you are) and low enough that it's well within reach of anyone who's ever splurged on a cup of Starbuck's coffee. And isn't that what it's really all about?
   
   Buy the book. Do it now! Buy a brand new book all for yourself. Don't chintz out and get a used one from Amazon. There's a CD inside that you need and it will probably be missing from any used copy.



2. Yes, it's true. I'm contemplating adding a podcast to my blog. So, I bought "Podcast Solutions" on Amazon and read it, front to back. This is a very useful book, and it comes with a CD of demo software you can use for podcasting.
   
   Anyone who is thinking about podcasting should read this book BEFORE they start purchasing any equipment. One of the most valuable things I found in this book was information about the equipment you will need to get start. A large portion of this book is devoted to getting good quality recordings from your recording sessions so that it doesn't turn potential listeners off with popping, clicking, hissing, etc.
   
   One of the other great things I found in this book is podsafe music. Never heard of it? Podsafe music is music from independent artists that is licensed for you to use it free of charge in your podcasts. Check out these sites: GarageBand and PodShow. The music is really good. I'm digging it.



3. Until someone writes something really comprehensive, this is the best there is in podcasting.



4. Michael Geoghegan and Dan Klass have done a great job in this 240 page book on podcasting. A great book for any podcaster. They do a good job of taking you through all of the steps necessary to learning podcasting. The book runs the gamut of the steps you'll need to preparing your podcast, to recording and subsequently publishing your podcast on the web.The book is easy to follow and has lots of links to websites for additional reference. Overall the best book on the market for podcasting.



5. What is podcasting?
   
   If you don't know by now - what's wrong, have you been living under a rock? ;)
   
   A little over a year ago, I had no clue. I actually thought it was using an iPod to broadcast mp3s over FM waves to a radio (which is actually done quite often, but has nothing to do with podcasting). In fact, podcasting has little to do with iPods at all. If I had had a copy of this book a year ago, I would have know that - and a whole lot more!
   
   "Podcast Solutions: The Complete Guide to Podcasting" is just that - a complete guide. Have no idea what podcasting is? This will tell you. Know what it is, but not how to listen to them? This book will tell you. Would you like to know how podcasting started? Look no further. Ever wondered what the relationship between podcasting and blogging is? You can find out. Want to start your own podcast? Then this is the book for you! It even comes with a CD with all the software you'll need to start podcasting right away, and it doesn't matter if you use Windows, Mac OS X, or even Linux - the CD has software for all three platforms. The book even tells you how to start making money with podcasts!
   
   From recording the audio to publishing the XML to getting your podcast heard - it's all in the book. You should really pick this book up if you have any interest at all in podcasting. Highly recommended!

5 comments about HTML and XHTML Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft)).

1. If you want to learn about web design, the first step is learning HTML and XHTML. The last official version of HTML (4.1) was released in 1999. In January, 2000, the W3C release XHTML. HTML and XHTML are very similar; XHTML uses the stricter syntax of XML.
   
   I have been looking for a book to teach an introductory HTML class. Most books I reviewed were not up-to-date. I really needed a book that did NOT use deprecated tags, that used XHTML syntax, and that introduced cascading style sheets. HTML and XHTML Step-by-Step is the book I have been looking for.
   
   The book is very well-organized with plenty of exercises. The explanations are clear. It's a great book to teach yourself HTML and XHTML even if you are a completely new to web design.
   
   What is absent is a discussion about cross-browser compatibility. Being a Microsoft Press book, it only addresses IE. If you are using another browser, for example, Firefox, you will find that some of the css code will display differently in other browsers. But this is a basic book and a good web design teacher should be able to point out the differences. There are also a few syntax errors, but they a minimal.
   
   On the whole, this a great book to start with if you are learning about web design.



2. A beginner will go from nothing to intermediate very quickly. I've been working with web pages at work for a year, and decided I needed some better grounding in html
   I am using Visual Studio to make web pages and have been doing quite well, but I realized "something was missing" in my knowledge, as I was running into "walls". So I picked up this book. As the author says, "but you will be a much better Web designer--and understand what is going on in Word or FrontPage much better--if you tough it out with Notepad in the beginning.". Visual Studio is great, but I needed to "fill in the holes" in my knowledge of what' going on underneath and how I can manipulate that.
   This book works for learning and also as a reference. I hope this author continues to write other books in this manner - I will be looking for books by her.
   It's what the "Step by Step" books should be like.



3. Very good book for beginners who know very little about HTML and XHTML.



4. This is a good starting point for learning the basics. I especially like the instructive exercises. I have only one caveat: there are some typos, one of which gave me some minor grief trying to get my first web page validated at one of the online validation sites. In chapter 2 the author explains how the opening tag should look in an XHTML document, but transposes two of the letters (xlmns should read xmlns). The same mistake is repeated in the instructional exercise (step 8 of the first exercise in chapter 2).
   
   To repeat: it is a good starting point to learn the basics and the exercises provide clarity, but be aware of the typos and get a good reference work to go with it. I bought HTML & XHTML: The Complete Reference (Osborne Complete Reference Series) to go with it, and am satisfied that these two books will put me on the path to competence in creating web pages.



5. This book was extremely easy to follow and relate my personal informattion. I built an entire 13 page website within two days using only html codes.