5 comments about Inside Com (Microsoft Programming Series).

1. This book begins by assuming the reader knows little more than basic C++. In the second chapter it introduces some simple C++ classes about which the reader will think to herself, "okay, this is simple". From there it builds: adding incremental changes to the original C++ code, gradually making it more useful, explaining each change as it goes. By the end of the book, the original example has grown up into a full fledged COM component, written completely from scratch. No wizards, no templates. At this point the reader will not only be able to recognize the elements of a COM component, but more importantly, she will understand *why* COM works the way it does. The mystery surrounding the ATL and Visual Studio wizards evaporates, and the developer can see them for what they really are: simple shortcuts.



2. This is an excellent COM starting book. The author progressively builds knowledge and uses a C++ style that does not require you to memorize by heart the function, macro or template presented in page X or in windows.h. This simple, no distractions approach facilitates focus.
   
   I praise the COM reading list posted by another reviewer ("A reader"), the only book I would add to that list is "Inside Distributed COM" as this book covers the network aspects of COM like no other.
   
   Finally: Do not understimate COM's longevity... It will be with us for a long time and is stable so your investment will payoff.



3. I have been using COM for a while, then finally decided to dig further into its design paradigm and some implementation details. This book assumes knowledge of C++ and a lot of understanding of polymorphism. If you don't understand polymorphism, then it will be very hard to understand this book - but if you do, you will really enjoy reading it.
   
   This is one of the best technical books I have ever read - not just on COM. It does NOT beat around the bush. This is one of those books that can be read cover to cover - concepts are built gradually and one layer upon the next. Of course, this means that you must pause to fully understand a chapter before proceeding to the next.
   
   This book is a perfect balance - it neither goes too much into the code, nor does it hover at a high level. I think Dale Rogerson has a knack for writing!
   
   On the con side - the jokes and anectodes can sometimes get to you :)



4. This is much more than a COM book. The book spends a lot of time in the first half talking about the more general concept of interfaces, which is more of a software design topic. Then he shows how to implement those interfaces using C++ abstract classes and gives a very good discussion of inheritence, polymorphism, and virtual function tables. Everything is done in pure C++ so you can see what is going on. No wizards or macros to hide the details. The diagrams were very helpful.
   
   Even if you choose to not use the COM architecture for your software the discussion of interfaces will help you write software of much higher quality. Seeing how the interfaces are implemented and the discussion of inheritence and virtual function tables gave me a much better understanding of the C++ language.
   
   The key to understanding COM is understanding interfaces and this book does a very good job explaining them. Eventually when the author gets into the Microsoft specific COM library you can see how those chapters build on the earlier chapters. You can see how a program can evolve from a set of inflexible C++ classes, to some compile-time flexible C++ classes that use interfaces, to run-time flexible components using DLLs, and finally a full blown COM component.
   
   Near the end of the book it is not as thorough with the examples but that is because the topics presented there are too large to fit in a single chapter. The first 8 chapters are worth the price of the book.



5. This book is probably the best COM introduction book for C++ programmers. It walks you through the basics such as the IUnknown and the IDispatch interfaces, the different types of COM servers and the threading models. Everything is explained in clear writing style.

5 comments about SCJD Exam with J2SE 5, Second Edition (Expert's Voice in Java).

1. Most of the time people who are preparing for SCJD will buy this book but it is good beyond that. Second edition give you practical example on actual project. It is kind of parallel to what you are doing in SCJD. Author is active member on javaranch and gives very useful tips to all post in SCJD forum. I think people who want to improve Java skills on application side should look into this book as well.
   
   I am using it for SCJD exam. Good luck to all.



2. It is one of the best books on latest version of SCJD J2SE5. It gives you insight of project and way to complete your SCJD project with confidence. You should buy if you are preparing for SCJD like me.



3. This book gives you all information you are serching for to start your project. This is one of the best book available right now for Developer exam



4. The SCJD assignments are somewhat vague and misleading. While part of the exercise is to work through imperfect requirements (as those you will find in the real world), a good set of 'must' requirements needs to be met. The Sun Certified Java Developer Exam with J2SE 5 book fills in the gaps for common questions a SCJD candidate may have on areas such as packaging, logging and Javadoc. More importantly, the authors walk through a sample project detailing key areas of importance to your SCJD assignment; including RMI, Sockets, serialization, Swing, threads, design patterns, value/transfer objects and more.
   
   If you are going to do the SCJD assignment, you should purchase this book. You will find yourself developing the assignment the 'right' way and you will also find yourself working many of the author's suggestions into your workplace.
   
   The code for the sample project is provided online for reference purposes.



5. Even if you decide not to seek Java Developer Certification you owe it to yourself to read this one. You won't find any better coverage of threads and RMI anywhere.

4 comments about The Book of Qt 4: The Art of Building Qt Applications.

1. I recently had to translate a C++ application from the now defunct Borland C++ class libraries to QT4, so I had some on-the-job training with QT and was very impressed by the elegance and depth of Trolltech's design. But I needed a general book to round out my knowledge, and this book filled the gaps well. It's well-written and clear.
   
   Also hats off to NoStarch press. It's a beautifully designed book, which makes reading a good book even more of a pleasure.



2. I've just started to look at this book. It appears to have the information I need about QT4.



3. 
   The Book of Qt4 is an excellent recommendation for any interested in using QT to build GUI applications, and for advanced computer libraries catering to programmers and designers. Chapters cover all the tools for creating dialogues, data visualization techniques, handling databases and events, and more, offering tips on developing user-friendly applications and providing black and white screen shot examples throughout. It's an excellent guide for any QT programmer, and for collections catering to them.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



4. This book is a fairly standard tutorial on building user interfaces. It covers the basics, and should be sufficient to get most C++ programmers up to speed. However, there are quite a few points in the book where the author hand-waves his way through a process. This can make following the tutorials somewhat confusing and gets in the way of the general understanding of the process. In addition, either because of platform differences or poor testing, some of the examples do not work properly. For example, in the cuteedit2 example in Chapter 4, the buttons for the discard changes dialog have their meaning reversed. On the surface it is hard to tell if this is a bug in the book or in the OS X implementation of QT 4. Finally, many key ideas a mentioned almost in passing (like the use of the tr() function to aid in translations), making it imperative to carefully read every word.
   
   This text pales in comparison to the Hillegass text on Cocoa programming, which could be considered the gold standard of UI programming tutorials. In general, you will be able to get yourself started on Qt programming with this text. However, the lack of quality control will make the experience a little less pleasing than it otherwise could have been.

4 comments about Teach Yourself VISUALLY Photoshop CS2.

1. Easy to read and follow, but skims the surface of the program. There is so much more to learn, so many tools and functions that it never even covers, especially some of the stuff that is new to the CS2 version like placing type on a path.



2. This book was great for me. I am a web application developer (database and code not graphics) and all I need to know is basics and I don't want to spend hours, days, years to learn it. This book is quick and concise and gets you going without having to wade through exhaustive text. If you are a graphics artist that does photoshop all day, every day, then get a book that is intended for learning that depth of knowledge. If you are a typical person that just needs to create or edit stuff for occasional professional use or just at home, this is a great book.



3. If you already know how to use another photo-editing program and you're transitioning to PhotoShop, this might just be the book for you. It has a rather clever and innovative way to show exactly where on a cluttered screen the item under discussion is, and it also has some decent "quick tips". The examples are also pretty good. However, I don't see how anyone can claim to write a book that will "teach" you a software program if it doesn't give you exercises to work your way through; Photoshop is way too powerful and complex to learn without also practicing. It also doesn't explain why you might want to use any of its myriad features/effects/filters. But as I said, if you're transitioning from another program and you already know what any photo-editing program should do, this could be an excellent choice.



4. Instantly, I was able to use photoshop. Get this book. It will be a quick read. It explains on one or two pages, each task you wish to perform. Once you master the material in this book, you can progress to more elaborate procedures and more technical books. The perfect beginners book.

5 comments about Mathematica Navigator: Mathematics, Statistics, and Graphics, Second Edition.

1. This is a GREAT reference book. You won't learn how to program Mathematica from it. You will learn an amazing amount about how Mathematica works by reading it. If you don't believe me, check out it's thorough explanation of cubic splines. It's better than the Mathematica Help. It also comes with the complete book which can be installed in the Mathematica help system.
   
   There is, literally, a wealth of information to work with in this book.
   
   I would also strongly recommend getting An Introduction to Programming with Mathematica, Third Edition. This is a first rate "course in a book" for programming.
   
   There are other books which are good. Between these two books, you will have an amazing arsenal to work with!
   
   Paul



2. Very well written and full of useful information to start learning Mathematica. It covers all the foundamentals.



3. I agree with many of the other reviewers - this book is great. I recently got Mathematica and found the imbedded Help browser a little cryptic at times. I purchased Mathematica Navigator after reading many of the reviews here. I haven't read the book from cover to cover, but instead use it as a reference after having read chapters 1 through 3.
   
   I'm studying Matrix algebra, so I skipped to Chapter 18 and worked through the examples without any problem, save a small error on page 467 where an upper case P was typed in lower case.
   
   Highly recommend for anyone wanting help making the most out of very powerful software.



4. I liked the first version so much that I bought this second edition also. The first edition was based on Mathematica 3 but this second edition is based on Mathematica 5 (Mathematica 6 has only just shipped within the past 2 months).
   
   As did the first edition, this second edition comes with a cd that contains the entire book in Mathematica notebook form. The style sheets used to format the second edition cd notebooks are much cleaner looking than the first.
   
   At anyrate, I definitely recommend the second edition even if you already have the first edition.



5. Mathematica is an excellent program, with good built-in and online documentation - although many feel the Documentation Centre in version 6 is not as good as the Help Browser in version 5.2. But sooner or later you will find a problem for which the official Mathematica documentation does not help. The program can then be very frustrating, as the syntax is complicated and error messages can be very cryptic. Help online is painfully slow, as the official resource, the news group comp.soft-sys.math.mathematica (Mathgroup), is moderated, so help requests have to be approved before they will appear. (The newsgroup sci.math.symbolic is sometimes helpful and since its not controlled by Wolfram Research, posts appear immediately). Hence Mathematica users will need one or more good books - more so than with other similar programs such as Maple or Matlab.
   
   In addition to the book Mathematica Navigator by Ruskeepaa, I own several other books on Mathematica, including:
   * The Mathematica Book, Fifth Edition by Stephen Wolfram
   * The Mathematica Guidebook: Programming by Michael Trott.
   * The Mathematica GuideBook for Symbolics (w/ DVD) by Michael Trott.
   * Schaum's Outline of Mathematica by Eugene Don
   * An Introduction to Programming with Mathematica, Third Edition by Paul Wellin
   * Programming in Mathematica (3rd Edition) by Roman Maeder - I also own the first edition.
   * The Beginners Guide to MathematicaRG, Version 4 by Jerry Glynn and Theordore Gray
   
   plus a few more old books I've either had a very long time or bought very cheaply on Amazon.
   
   Given the choice of only one book, I would choose Mathematica Navigator by Ruskeepaa. It comes with a CD-ROM which has the whole contents of the book, which may be integrated into Mathematica's help system. It's not unique in that respect, as so do Micheal Trott's Mathematica Guidebooks, but they have far too much irrelevant material in them. Ruskeepaa's book sticks to important facts about Mathematica. The book covers a wide range of topics. Sometimes I wish in more depth, but the book offers a good compromise between width and depth. In particular, the information on writing Mathematica programs is far too short, so its unlikely to satisfy someone wanting to write a major Mathematica package. For writing packages, Programming in Mathematica (3rd Edition) by Roman Maeder based on Mathematica 3 is arguably still the best, although Maeder's 1997 book is very old.
   
   The only significant fault I can find of Ruskeepaa's book is its age. Mathematica 6 is a really major upgrade from 5 with many functions now built into the kernel which previously needed to be loaded from packages. Many functions or options have been deprecated. As such, some of the information is no longer accurate. But given at the time of writing (December 2007) there is no book on Mathematica 6 published, I think Ruskeepaa's book, which is based on version 5, is the best Mathematica users can get. However, if by the time you read this, someone has published a book on Mathematica 6, then it might be worth buying that instead.
   
   I would have given this 5 stars, but it is getting a bit dated now.

5 comments about Essential CVS (Essentials).

1. This is an excellent introduction if you are new revision control or CVS. The configuration and command reference sections are helpful if you are an experienced CVS user. The author clearly knows her subject well and offers plenty of tips and war stories throughout the text.
   
   The book focusses primarily on Unix CVS servers, so if you plan to run on a Windows server, you will have to do a little more digging. Otherwise, this should be all you need install, configure, use, and even build CVS.
   
   Madhu Siddalingaiah



2. Jennifer Vesperman's ESSENTIAL CVS 2nd Edition is a complete reference and guide to managing large numbers of documents. Any company which faces repeated modifications and updates of documents knows the challenge of keeping track of changing versions: CVS makes this job a snap, and ESSENTIAL CVS simplifies the process with a quickstart guide, advanced coverage for technical management programming from release tagging to branching, and a quick reference card for ongoing use. Computer collections will find it a winning pick.



3. Every developer and person interested in using version control should have this book on their shelf. This nice, consolidated book provides a clear overview of the core functionality contained within CVS.
   
   From administration to daily usage, this guide will provide you with just what the title promises: the essentials.
   
   The core competencies of this book are rooted in base usage and base administration. I agree with other reviews stating that things such as branch merging are not covered in a manner to call this the "definitive guide", but they are straying from the point of the book! The book is rooted in the essentials, the common tasks, etc. etc. etc. I was not expecting it to cover issues such as that which would obviously take another 100 to 200 pages to explain thoroughly.
   
   You need to keep in mind that this is THE book to start or settle down with. It will provide you will all the answers and information you need to your everyday tasks as well as point you to references where more information can be obtained.
   
   This is yet another shining example of O'Reilly's dedication of excellent publications.



4. Are you a software developer tracking different versions of the same code? If you are, then this book is for you. Author Jennifer Vesperman, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that is current for both the stable and feature tracks of CVS.
   
   Vesperman, begins with an overview of CVS. Then, the author explains how to build and use a basic CVS repository with the default settings and a minimum of extras. Next, she explains the everyday CVS commands and concepts. The author also explains tagging and branching, including why and when to tag or branch your project, tagging before releases, and using branching to create a bug fix version of a project. She continues by explaining the systems used in CVS to permit multiple developers to work on the same project without loss of data. Then, the author discusses repository management and the modules in the repository. Next, she covers the tools used by project administrators. The author then discusses security considerations, methods of remote access, and how to set up each method. She continues by providing examples of things that can go wrong when using CVS and how to fix them. Then, the author provides a list of CVS commands. Finally, the author covers CVS administrative files.
   
   This most excellent book is complete and easy-to-follow reference that helps you apply order to the task of managing a large quantity of documents. Perhaps more importantly, this book has been expanded to explain common usage's of CVS for system administrators, project managers, writers, and anyone else who has to manage files that change often.



5. This is a good book if you are looking to establish version control with CVS. It covers the most common usage and the advanced usages are presented in an understandable format.

5 comments about Bundle of Algorithms in Java, Third Edition, Parts 1-5: Fundamentals, Data Structures, Sorting, Searching, and Graph Algorithms (3rd Edition).

1. First is Knuth, second is Corman that brings the art of algorithms closer to earth. Then is Sedgewick. This book provides very good balance between theory and practice and lets the practitioners know that programming is a bit more than just writing "if" and "for" and that the art of algorithms is not only art but also science. This book evolved from early editions (Algorithms in C, 1990) and keeps the standard. These two volumes is the must for every serious programmer.
   
   Cons: Java code is a bit "C-ish" and makes it clear that it is easy to write C program in Java. In addition, section Geometric Algorithms from 1990 edition and other material following this section is missing in newer editions. Maybe this material will be included in Volume 3, that as rumor says, is in preparation.



2. This series is a treasure to keep. The book is filled with great diagrams and very easy to understand language.



3. These text(s) do for the software engineer what Cormen's book does for the scientist. To be knowledgable with algorithms will greatly seperate you from a novice.
   
   Very good examples and using Java is very smart because most OO programmers can easily understand the language (C# is practically identical).
   
   For those who struggle with the Cormen book, (Like I did) it would do you well to get this book. You will refer to it time and time again in your career as a software developer while the Cormen book collects dust on the shelf.



4. This book is a total mess, I don't know if it's the author or the publisher but is written in a style that got me really frustrated.
   
   The author has the bad habit of start explaining a thing a little bit (not enough to fully understand it) then say something like "we will cover this topic in depth in chapter 7", and you are in chapter 2. This sort of jump back and forth is completely frustrating, the book doesn't seem to have any kind of flow. The same technique is used inside a chapter too, you start reading about something then the author start diverging in the middle of the topic to come back after few pages.
   
   The code samples are a total mess, it's just really bad. I mean common, read any introductory book in software development and you get warned in the first chapter not to name your variables i,j,v i1...just give them a meaningful name.
   Every time I read sample code in this book I had to spent at least 20 minutes deciphering what the variables are suppose to be, why the author define variables that are not used at all or they don't have any kind of effect on the end result (yes, I did found a whole bunch of these). If you don't know Java or don't care to follow any of Java standards fine, write C code or something, at least I will be prepared to read obfuscated code.
   
   I give this book 2 stars, it has after all a lot of information in it, even if it is scattered all over the place



5. Great book on Datastructures. Much verbose than the other books. But the java example in this book are horrible, particularly the variables used. Just letters are used as variables, instead of appropriate names, making it very hard to follow the example.
   
   So overall, I would suggest buying Adam Drozdek's algorithm book.

5 comments about SCJP Exam for J2SE 5: A Concise and Comprehensive Study Guide for The Sun Certified Java Programmer Exam.

1. This certification study-resource from Author: Paul Sanghera is a great tool for quickly getting up to speed in java with a view to taking the java programmer exam! As someone who recently succeeded at the SCJP 1.5 exam, i can vouch for this book. The following review is thus for those interested in preparing for the exam and not quite sure whether this book is the right tool for the job.
   
   As a green-horn in Java, I found the following 2 exam-study resources very useful in learning how to program in java, and taking the Sun Certified Java Programmer for J2SE5 certification:
   (Book 1.) SCJP Exam for J2SE 5. - (SCJP E5)
   (Book 2.) SCJP Study Guide. - (SCJP SG)
   
   Note: (due to review real-estate constraints, i shall limit this review to (Book 1) ie: [SCJP E5 (Sanghera)] -( the current book in question). you'll find a (Book 2) review on the customer review page for : SCJP SG
   
   Like most new-comers to java, I wanted to get-up to speed in java rather quickly. Therefore, the (SCJP E5) book from Sanghera was chosen as the first reading-reference, as it seemed concise, compact & condensed. However, if i had to do things-over, and choose which one book to use in order to scale the SCJP 1.5 exam -(whilst learning the Java language as well), I'd pick the [SCJP SG] from Sierra & Bates.
   
   Here's why...
   
   About the (SCJP E5) book : this book is great for beginners. i found that it brought me up to speed quickly Re: java, as well as preparing for the exam. However, unless you have previous knowledge & experience coding in java, you might need another book for deeper clarity and more rigor regarding 5 SCJP1.5 exam-objective related areas, viz:
   (1.) - Generics
   (2.) - Threading
   (3.) - I/O + Regular Expressions + Parsing
   (4.) - Packages + Jar Files & Static Imports
   (5.) - Exceptions
   
   Note that: while the 5 exam-objectives above are quite well treated in the (SCJP E5) Sanghera book, I found that the (SCJP SG) Sierra & Bates book, provided the finer level of details that i believe a beginner might further require in order to have a better grasp Re: these 5 exam-objectives cited above (AND) (the questions in the real exam do require this further finesse with those details).
   
   Otherwise, with the material in this book alone and without any hands-on experience, i reckon, a beginner might struggle a bit to pass the real exam by a comfortable margin.
   
   and this is why i cant give the book alone all 5 points of credit. (I would however award 4.5 points!)
   
   Upon completing the book, any access to good exam-revision practise material would be very useful in order to pass at the exam-level. while the (SCJP E5) book features useful questions and answers at the end of every chapter, as well as a further round of 73 questions in Appendix-D of the book; I believe people preparing for the exam would find it useful to seek out further resources for exam-question practise & revision purposes .
   
   As review-space is short, i shall include below only 2 of the exam-revision resources which really helped prepare for the actual exam (for details Re: The other key resource used, u might want to refer to the customer review posting for (Book 1): SCJP SG
   
   u might want to check these out:
   (1.) "Tiger notes" on JavaRanch. look under the SCJP FAQ section for : [Mikalai Zaikin's SCJP Tiger notes ]. You can get a paperback copy of notes similar to these on Amazon if you prefer. lookup: Java 1.5 Tiger. However, i'd advise that you use it only as a prep-extra, just to cross-check certain topical-details you may need to clarify ie: (java: "Exceptions"). I wouldn't recommend it as your sole & unique study guide.[ kittybooboo's notes ] on JavaRanch are also quite good.
   
   (2.) Turn to a SCJP Group for advice on the forums. They represent people in the same boat as those trying to prepare for and pass the SCJP exam. here are 2 such groups you can join.(Yahoogroups): Google: [" tech groups yahoo + scjp5" ]; (Another is): Google:[ "jchq + net" ] (-OR-) if you are preparing for the SCJP 1.4:( scjp 1.4 groups ) : Google:[ "uk groups yahoo + java_balk" ] ps: a good book for SCJP 1.4 is :A Programmer's Guide to Java Cert
   
   (3:) refer to my customer review posting for (Book 1) ie: SCJP Study Guide
   
   Schedule, Sit and Ace the exam in 2hrs:55mins, when you've finished with these various exam-practise questions and study-guides.
   The exam is comprised of 72 questions of which several are fashioned as drag & drop coding-scenario questions. Although, the pass mark is 59%, I think most people -(myself included!), view the exam as tough, because of its code intensive nature. I think reading, tackling & spotting possible coding errors in code-samples 6-30 lines long is tough under such time-constrained exam conditions, Plus, No credit is given for partial answers. However, on the up-side, it is do-able with the appropriate revision preparation regime.
   
   Curiously, in comparison, the previous SCJP exam ie: the SCJP 1.4 exam, is comprised of 61 questions , for which one has 2hrs to complete. Plus, the pass mark is 52%. That exam, is generally deemed to be an easier exam compared with the SCJP 1.5 exam; at least so attests certain in the user-community on JavaRanch.
   
   for those wondering, i took the SCJP 1.5 exam on March 19th 2007. the passing-score achieved was: 98% ie: (71 out of 72 questions ). The pass-mark is 59%.
   
   Good Luck!
   
   next stops: SCBCD, SCWCD, SCEA, SCJWSD.
   
   Cheers :-)



2. I have just passed the SCJP for J2SE 5 exam largely after preparing from this book. However, to be on the safe side it might be good idea to consider using more than one resource to prepare for this exam, because the exam is certainly not a walk in the park. I have read all the three SCJP for Java 5 study guides from cover to cover. So I would like to share my experience with these study guides in the context of both the exam and learning Java:
   
   "SCJP Exam for J2SE 5" (this book) by Paul Sanghera.
   I found this Study Guide the best among all, especially for the beginners. As another reviewer said the author has the unique approach of saying only what is necessary. He also has the skill of making difficult concepts easy to understand without compromising accuracy. The material is organized in such a manner that we also learn Java while preparing for the Exam. Because everything is explained from scratch, and there is no hopping from topic to topic, this book is especially suitable for the beginners. Here are some features in the book that I especially liked:
   
   * All concepts are clearly defined and explained by using visuals where necessary. It makes this book self-contained.
   *Tons of code examples explained in the book, which I downloaded from the book website and experimented with them to build confidence.
   * The Exam Quick Prep appendix. I went through this just before the exam to refresh all the important points quickly.
   * Exam's Eye View, Caution, and Notes throughout all chapters, which re-enforced important points.
   * An appendix that provides useful information and analysis for those who are considering updating the J2SE 1.4 certification to J2SE 5.
   If you are a beginner, this is your book. If you are an advanced Java programmer, this book will still take you through the exam without boring you.
   Bottom line: I agree with another reviewer that books like these are hard to find.
   
   "SCJP for Java 5" by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates.
   This is a good book for advanced Java programmers, but rather over-hyped. If you are planning to buy two books to prepare for the SCJP exam, this is the second book I will recommend. However, this is NOT the book for the beginners. If you do not have intensive Java programming experience, do not use this book as your first book. If you want to use this book, first study Sanghera's book.
   
   "Complete Java 2 Certification" by Phil Heller and Simon Roberts.
   If you want to buy three SCJP for Java 5 study guides, this is the third one I will recommend. It does not do justice with some of the exam objectives. Overall exam coverage is not that great, but you will learn some Java topics.



3. This was the only book I bought and I passed the cert. I found the book to be generally good. I felt a couple of the examples were poor. For instance on page 141 the finding the area of different shapes, a classic example of where one should use polymorphism, the book provides an example of overloading operators. Yes, in the sense the code is "correct" but I find the misuse to be confusing. There are a number of items including some questions in the review exam that are just wrong. That is if you type the code in and run it you don't get what the book claims that you should. These do not seem numerous and I have not found any certification material that is without this sort of problem. The reality of preparing for the test is that if someones answer doesn't make sense you have to test it for yourself. It would be nice if publishers would hire someone to go cut and paste all of the code into a compiler and find this stuff.
   
   More importantly there is not enough material on generics and there is only ONE practice exam.
   
   Having complained I should and that the text is readable and helpful in preparing for the cert. I found it to be a good starting point for my preparations.



4. In the beginning of the year, Java equals "null" to me ( I know C/C++). I decided to learn the language and take the SCJP as a measure of my learning. I tried the Deitel book but didn't like it. Then I started to read the Kathy Sierra book, but they assume you know the basics (not my case). Due to the comments of one of the reviewers, I bought this book and liked it very much. I read it twice, tried all examples, fragments and tests and then went back to the Sierra book, which is more comprehensive (it is a much bigger book), has better explanations of generics and threads and has more tricky questions. I was able to pass the SCJP exam this month thanks to these two very good books.
   I do not give 5 stars due to the presence of several typos and some other minor errors in the text. These errata are not yet in the book site, but as you are studying for the exam, you will spot then when you compile or cross-check with the SUN Java documentation. But these are a small nuisance considering the overall value of the book.



5. your reading this based on my rating '1' stars.
   
   The book starts off good and explains OOP (abit) but the ending chapters which is the important stuff is like a "quick cram", you know, if your buying this book to get your SCJP - well, you need to know java, because in the interview you will be asked questions and your general knowledge of java will only do.
   
   if you know java GREAT - buy it, read it and after a few weeks of 'reading' - take the exam. CONGRATS
   
   BUT -- Please save yr/self the time which is the most important, to click the 'back' button on IE7 and search for a more complete title.
   
   just my input

1 comments about Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007: Comprehensive Concepts and Techniques (Shelly Cashman).

1. My product was just as described and forwarded quickly. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this seller!

5 comments about Sams Teach Yourself ASP.NET 2.0 in 24 Hours, Complete Starter Kit (Sams Teach Yourself).

1. Scott Mitchell is a very good author and has a great deal of ASP knowledge. This book took me from knowing absolutely nothing and a few days later I was creating a Web application for my company (and it actually works). The data explanations are very good.
   
   The book does not detail ALL the web server controls, but a good majority of them. The details that it does lack you can easily pick up from the author's web site.
   
   I also have the ASP for dummies book, but it does not compare to this one.



2. shipped and arrived really fast and the other 2 books i had ordered, it turned out i didn't need them and amazon took them back without any problems and i got my refund. this book is great!! thanks amazon!



3. I don't often review books but I felt I had to on this one. Coming from a classic ASP background I think this book really helped me get my feet wet in ASP.Net 2.0. It had easy to understand examples on using the IDE to accomplish a lot of the common things you would normally do while developing.
   
   Granted, the book does not get deep into best development practices or higher level concepts such as Data Access Layers and different types of databases and methods for accessing them. What it does do, is give you a very good starting point if you've never done any .Net development.
   
   After you absorb this book and understand what you can do, you can move onto a more full featured ASP.Net book that covers a lot more.
   
   I actually emailed the author and asked what book he would recommend next and he pointed me in the right direction. Overall a good book to start with.



4. This is as close as I ever hope to come to a perfect how to do it book.
   If you know anything about programming with almost any GUI IDE, this book (alone)will teach you how to build complete, functional, real-life, non-trivial, database, web sites and applications.
   
   It requires no extra purchase. It does have examples for Access mdb files, Microsoft SQL databases and MySQL. Except for Access, the other databases are no-cost free downloads.
   
   It uses and includes the Microsoft Visual Web 2005 Developer IDE.
   
   If you are not familiar with SQL it will get you off to a useful start but you will soon need some additional help there. I recommend Beginning ASP.NET 2.0 Databases by Damien Foggon.
   
   It will not teach a non-programmer anything useful.
   It is NOT a "You can" book that tells you what can be done but not how to do it.
   It is NOT copied from the help files.
   It will not teach you HTML, XML, or any other *ML. It will show them and explain what they are.
   
   Unfortunately ( Its only failing in my opinion. ) it does not show you how to publish the web sites you create. The author would argue that that is a topic for another book and I can't really argue with that opinion.
   
   It does start at the beginning with how to use the IDE. It provides examples of every step required to create complete web based sites/applications with database support. including how to use and customize all the commonly used windows controls. It also includes user access control.
   
   It is especially good for a VB programmer who wants to move from client side applications to web based browser/dot.net applications.
   
   Way to go, Scott!



5. I'm only about 1/3 of the way through this book (I just finished hour 8) and am already frustrated with it. It seems to be a book all about how to use Visual Web Developer, not about how to program for ASP.NET. It relies completely on the tool to generate all your code, and rarely shows you the resulting VB.NET code, only the HTML that gets generated once you execute it. If you want to learn how to program in the ASP.NET world, you're better off with a book on VB.NET or C#.NET, as this book doesn't cover it well.