5 comments about SQL Cookbook (Cookbooks (O'Reilly)).

1. This is a great product but some of the advanced features weren't available in SQL Server 2000. I really liked the windowing and hierarchical queries in this book but those features are not available in 2000. For the most part 2000 isn't used that often anymore but if you are one of the unfortunate to have to use it there will be some compatibility problems with the examples in this book.



2. I am completely satisfied with this book.
   Instead of inventing all the time "bicycle" I can use this book in my everyday work and concentrate on more important things in my projects.



3. I found this book to be very complete. Providing solutions for multiple DBMSs was greately appreciated. I have been in I.T. for a long time and I have read many many books on all types of subjects. I often (too often) am disappointed with books I purchase. However, sometimes I am pleasantly surprised... this is one of those time.
   
   I create numerous queries using all types of tools. As such, I sometimes insert the wrong syntax into a query. This book helps to quickly correct the error. In addition, it has given me some "tricks" that I was unaware of that have helped to simplify some of my queries.
   
   It would be very advantageous to have the info in this book on a searchable site or application
   
   Buy it, read it, and keep it close by to reference to.



4. I am a certified DB2 / Oracle DBA and a programmer. Even though, I can get through some of chapters very fast, I certainly have enjoyed reading it so far. One thing I like the most is to see how a problem is solved in many different databases including DB2, Oracle, MS-SQL, MySQL, and PostSQL!



5. Content is excellent, with good examples. I was able to solve a prloblem the very first time I used it. The issue I have is more with Amazon in that I ordered this book in a shipment of 4 others, so it was over a month before I cracked this one open. To my dismay, the binding is not glued on and the book is falling apart. Amazon customer service has not even responded to my three emails asking for resolution.

5 comments about Programming Python.

1. This is my second-favorite Python book, coming in a close second behind Python in a Nutshell. Programming Python does a nice job of covering the "how" of Python, and an even better job of covering the "why" of Python. Some may give this the semi-pejorative label "advocacy," but I'd say it's acceptable when you're preaching to the converted (i.e. purchasers of Python books), and remember also that this book dates back to a time when Python advocacy was actually needed.
   
   Reading this book taught me a lot about how to write "pythonic" code -- code that not only works, but is idiomatic and follows the best practices for Python (and software engineering in general).
   
   Another great thing about this book is that it's also actually enjoyable to read. I found myself reading this one cover to cover, rather than getting in and out as quickly as possible, which is the norm with most of the programming-language references I own.



2. Programming Python by Mark Lutz was surprisingly high level. Unlike the other O'Reilly "Programming ...." books (like Programming Perl) it gives only complex examples. The reader is assumed to have considerable experience with Python to begin with. In that perspective, it is an excellent book, but it will disappoint the newcomer who expects something starting from the from ground up.



3. I bought this book a few years ago, and I think I have finally given up getting anything of use out of it. It has been with me through my entire Python learning experience, so you might think there would be a point at which I would have found it useful, even if that may not presently be the case. Unfortunately, I can say that this is easily the least useful Python book I own. In fact, out of the 6 or so Python books I own, it is the only one I wouldn't miss a bit.
   
   It's just that it never seems to have anything even close to relevant for me, when I'm working on something. I can remember several times where I thought to myself, "What's a good way to solve this problem in Python?", or, "Where can I get some background on why Python does things this way?". Invariably I have either found the answer in one of my other Python books, or on the web. It's not that I haven't tried to like the book, in fact each time a problem comes up, I think "well ok if the book can shed some light on this for me, I'll consider it a value", and yet after 3 years... nothing.
   
   Anyway, I don't want to be all negativity, so to anybody reading this, here are the other Python books I have gotten more value out of:
   
   The Quick Python Book by Harms/McDonald (Old, and yet, still really valuable beginning book)
   Python Essential Reference by Beazley (A great reference book)
   Python Cookbook by Martelli et al (what Programming Python seems like it wants to be, but in half the size and twice the value)
   Python Standard Library (I don't use this much, but it still has some value)
   Python in a Nutshell (I think that's the name, it's at work right now. Another decent reference)
   
   Finally, it pretty much goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. This is just my experience. I am sure this book has been right on the money for other readers, and that's great, but for me, I think I may be donating this behemoth to my local library soon.



4. One thing I really wish O'Reilly would have made clear on the cover is the version of Python which was current at the time of publication. In this case, it's 2.4, so if you're looking for information on things like function decorators or the new generator abilities that 2.5 brought along, you're going to be as disappointed as I was.
   
   Aside from the fact that some of the information is dated, it's still a good overview of practical solutions to realistic problems which can be solved in the language. It does tend to spend way too much time developing TkInter GUIs (which I do not personally care about one bit) and overusing the usual array of extremely unfunny Monty Python references (which I personally stopped caring about around 1984). If you cut out both of these things the book would probably require about half as much paper per copy, and it'd be a good deal more digestible to boot. There's also lots of Windows-specific silliness and the author continues to operate under the assumption that OS X does not exist (every mention of the Mac platform refers to information that hasn't been accurate for nearly 10 years at this point).



5. This is not a terrible book, but I don't know what it's good for. The code examples are too long. This reminds me of the old programming tomes from the days before CD-ROMs and the Internet, where all details had to be shown in print. There is just too much code. If you find a chapter that matches exactly what you are trying to accomplish, then maybe this book is good for you. It is vastly improved in readability over the first edition, but The Python Cookbook is a much smarter purchase (even though part of that is available online).
   
   If you are just trying to learn Python, then Lutz's other book, Learning Python, is an excellent choice.

5 comments about MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-528): Microsoft® .NET Framework 2.0 Web-Based Client Development (Pro Certification).

1. I have read several ASP.NET books since I have been using .NET technology 2003. I had more deep understanding about ASP.NET from reading this book than any others. Of course, it's not perfect, but you will learn lots of things from the book. A+++



2. There's not a lot of good resources out there for studying for this test, but this one did help get me what I needed to know to pass it.



3. Apart from any exam-prep, this is an excellent book for learning and using ASP.NET. I have several ASP.NET books and this is the one that more often than not answers my questions. The organization and explanations are very practical and clear. If you are trying to learn ASP.NET then this is an excellent resource.
   
   As far as the exam - I have not yet taken the exam. I have taken some sample tests (not the easy ones that come with this book). I can say that just breezing through this book once will not prepare you to take the test. If you want to pass the test you will need to pretty much memorize this book, and also study other books. I recommend Programming Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 Core Reference, Programming Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 Applications: Advanced Topics, and Microsoft ADO.NET - all good books also by Microsoft Press. You will also need to understand object-oriented .NET programming - using classes, etc. Of course, the more practical experience you can get with ASP.NET the better. If nothing else, start a hobby website or get some other project.
   
   I don't remember a lot of egregious typos and errors, although I have not read 100% of the book nor tried out most of the sample code, etc. I bought this book summer 2007 so maybe I have a revised, cleaned up versions.



4. This was my first training kit book. I was preparing for 70-528 egzam using it. Now, after passing it (928 points) I can say, that this book contains some gaps (i.e. templated custom controls). Use another resources (msdn) to pass an exam too.



5. Using this book and the CD that comes with it, I passed this test in just 3 weeks. If read from front to back, everything you need to pass is here.
   
   Glen Johnson's half of the book was particularly sharp. His experience as a professional trainer were clearly evident; he's extremely easy to follow. Tony Northrup's half was not concise. I learned more from the end of chapter lessons than from his written contribution.

5 comments about Stylin' with CSS: A Designer's Guide (2nd Edition) (Voices That Matter).

1. I love this book! It is easy to follow, the examples are simple yet thorough, and I "walked away" with the best understanding of CSS I've had (this is book 3). To that, as a bonus, this book is less than a third the size of the other two I've read. Even the page layout is superb. There is plenty of margin area for our notes, something I fill books with. Full color, good kerning and leading, I could go on. This is a great book. I just bought "Codin" and I am "chopping at the bit" to start it. Thank you Charles.



2. As the title of my review states, this book provides - with its conversational tone and very clear writing - a delightful nuts-and-bolts take on important aspects of CSS coding. It really feels as if the author is at your side, even anticipating your questions along the way.
   
   It helps if the reader has read at least one primer on (X)HTML and CSS before starting this book. A mark-up/presentation language newbie can certainly benefit from this book. But with an introductory text behind him or her, the reader can really appreciate the best-practice advice Charles Wyke-Smith has on offer here.
   
   Can't wait to read the author's "Codin'" book.



3. What a great book and easy read. The author assumes nothing and explains everything. I am more of an audio learner and reading this book was like having someone talk to me.
   
   I read it cover to cover, taking notes and highlighting items to come back to when I'm at the screen working on my site. It's doubtful that I have ever before read a technical book so quickly (if ever in entirety).



4. I looked at this book over at B&N and it got me hooked. Especially the chapter on how to do some basic page layout. I could not believe how simple it could be! The author really got me very interested and that eventually led to me buying this book. I'm glad I did. :-)
   
   If you're a Java developer like me or a CSS beginner, this is a great book to get you started. It's really easy to read. Complex concepts are explained in an easy to understand fashion. And the author follows and breeds best practices. These and many others, make this book excellent.
   
   The book is broken in 7 chapters.
   
   The 1st chapter explains the basics of HTML, the different standards and how the page is structured. Simple chapter, but it's important to understand the basics.
   
   The 2nd chapter, How CSS Works, is really a CSS 101. Basic stuff as well, but as in the first chapter, this is a fundamental knowledge.
   
   Chapter 3 is more of a reference guide on how to style fonts and text. Some very useful info.
   
   Chapter 4 is where the interesting stuff starts: positioning elements. An excellent overview of the box model and some good information about floating and clearing.
   
   Chapter 5 is the best chapter in the book. It goes over several ways to create page layouts. Want to create a 2-column layout? A simple example is shown. How about a 3-column layout? 3-column liquid layout? With the techniques presented by Charles, you can create any type of a layout and you will actually understand what's going on. Really neat stuff.
   
   In chapter 6, focus is on styling tables, forms, and menus. The author basically presents some techniques on how to style tables for tabular data, and explains the technique on how to create CSS menus. Good chapter to dive in when you're involved with these.
   
   Chapter 7 summarizes the overall process of building a real site.
   
   I learned several new techniques and tips from this book. I love how the book makes complicated things simple: this is my type of a book. Also, Charles has a good way of making sure these things come across and stay in your head. Not a simple thing to do, but he did a great job.



5. Stylin' with CSS: A Designer's Guide (2nd Edition) (Voices That Matter)RE: Wyke-Smith's CSS Book: I've come to appreciate this book so much that I don't know where to begin in recommending it. I had read (studied) several books on how to mark up and style web pages, but not until I began reading this one did lingering questions finally get answered at the very outset. For Example, Chapter 2 "How CSS Works" masterfully gives you such insight into concepts like inheritance, the cascade, sequences, precedence, specificity, etc. that it inspires new-found confidence you can implement web design with precision. The author rightfully states "Truly understanding just a few techniques can turn a struggling newbie into a competent CSS journeyman." (THESE INSIGHTS ARE A GREAT TROUBLESHOOTING AID.) He teaches you how to exploit the latest W3C Standards so you can produce sleek and powerful styling. In 300 pages he describes, and abundantly illustrates in color, a wide range of the latest techniques helpful to experts as well as to beginners.(Read back cover for range of topics.) I found it hard to put this book down, and carried it everywhere. Once, I spilled coffee on it in a restaurant, but the paper quality is so good a few hours exposure to the sun restored it like new. Try comparing this book with others and you will see why I recommend it enthusiastically.

5 comments about Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management (Theory in Practice (O'Reilly)).

1. §
   Perhaps only a little off-key since I am not a project manager -- altho my professional life is made much easier by working with some dedicated ones.
   
   I did not read the previous edition as the other reviewers did. In fact, I was not really intending to read this edition straight through. I was going to give it a good skim for those aspects of project management that intersect my own world as a Web application interface developer.
   
   I have to say that Scott Berkun is a real teacher because I found the *whole* book to be relevant to my work -- and it was fun to read in the bargain.
   
   This book is not in color and does not contain lots of fancy images. The illustrating and illuminating is done verbally. For once, this was enough for me because Berkun finds a way to make things both practical and vivid. From the text, it is reasonable to assume that his public talks are worthy events.
   
   This is definitely a book to read for people who may not be project managers but who sincerely want to build their teams by understanding this important role better.
   
   §



2. Scott writes good books, from his own experiance (credible) and they are fun and easy to read. I learn something with every book. Read them all.



3. This is an outstanding book that speaks in a very practical way to the thorny problems that all projects face.
   
   Many project management books are either theoretical or case-study based. Both approaches are valid and valuable, but Scott takes a third approach. He offers up a series of lessons and practice around the various classes of problems project managers run into -- especially people problems. "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy" (von Moltke) -- and Scott recognizes that the enemy most often is not entropy or planning software or supply-chain delays. Rather it is the spate of well-meaning folks who populate real-world projects and bring their various agendas into play. He shares useful and practical ideas about "winning over the enemy" where you can and working with and around them when you can't.
   
   The book isn't entirely about people issues, of course, but the title "Making Things Happen" is indicative. How do you, as a project manager, work proactively not to keep your project from failing but rather to drive it to succeed?



4. In the field of project management, 'Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management' is one of the finest books I have ever had the chance to peruse. From gathering ideas to managing teams and schedules, everything and anything is in this book that is a MUST BUY for all project managers or group leaders that want to update or learn new techniques for creating widgets in the real world and doing so efficiently and successfully. I think a chapter overview would be helpful to help the reader get an idea of the wonderous content contained within:
   
   01. History of Project Management
   
   I - PLANS
   
   02. Schedules
   03. What To Do
   04. Vision
   05. Ideas and how they come about
   06. What do to with your great idea
   
   II - SKILLS
   
   07. Writing good specifications
   08. Good decision-making
   09. Communication and relationships
   10. Process, Email, Meetings - Don't waste people's time
   11. When things go wrong
   
   III - MANAGEMENT
   
   12. Leadership & Trust
   13. Making things happen
   14. Middle-game strategy
   15. End-game strategy
   16. Power and Politics
   
   I was originally going to Highly Recommend this book but I think it's so fantastic I'm going to up it to HPR. If you are any way related to making progress at your job or possibly even life this can be useful, this book is a must read... NOW.
   
   ***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION



5. Making things happen fills one of the gaping holes in MBA education. I learned quite a bit through trial and error over several years post MBA but this book would have been a welcome addition to any of my courses. If you have any reservations about managing projects, working in and leading teams, or generally being effective, get this book, read it cover to cover, and put all the great tips and insights to work ASAP.

5 comments about The Art of Multiprocessor Programming.

1. This is a great, lucid - and PRACTICAL book on concurrent programming in general. It's equally applicable if you're programming for a multi-core CPU ... or if you're simply programming threads ... or even if you're programming a cluster.
   
   Half the book is about "theory" (written in a thoroughly engaging, easy-to-follow style), the remaining half about "practice": various tips and tricks obviously learned from hard-earned experience.
   
   There's also a great discussion of "transactional memory", which I'm sure is going to become increasingly important - and increasingly mainstream.
   
   This book is a welcome addition to any practitioner's bookshelf!



2. Took the class from Herlihy that goes with this book. He's an extremely intelligent and knowledgeable man, and the book is invaluable. I will be using it many times in my future computer science career. Lots of valuable reference information, algorithms, proofs of correctness (critical for parallel systems!), and key core concepts that help you think about multiprocessor problems in new ways.



3. The content is perfect and deserves 5 stars and I agree with the 5 stars comments, but the code deserves the only 3 stars as there are a lot of flaws in it - the code even contradicts its description( both in the book and in the code downloaded from a site ). For example, at chapter 8.3.1 the Readers-Writers ( i.e. multiple-readers-multiple-writers as the name suggests ) implementation is actually a multiple-readers-single-writer as the WriteLock.lock() method doesn't protect from multiple writers( there is a mention about a single writer in the text but the paragraph name suggests multiple writers ). The code at 8.3.2 is just misleading and doesn't match the description - again the WriteLock.lock() is flawed - it frees the lock if readAcquires != readReleases thus allowing the ReadLock.lock() method to acquire the lock and increment the readAcquires counter which results in the writer starvation and lost of fairness( should be FIFO ) and again there is no protection from multiple writers but the "Readers-Writers lock" name suggests that it should be. And as the last blow the code in 8.3.2 suffers from the lost-wakeup problem described two pages before - the WriterLock.unlock() method doesn't wake up the readers waiting in condition.await(). But there is a rehabilitation for the authors - the description for the code doesn't contain the flaws mentioned above - it is absolutely correct! The Chapter 8 drove me mad by its discrepancy between the text and the code!
   So, I got suspicious about the code in the book but not about the description.
   I rated the book 4 stars as the content and description( including pictures )is brilliant but the code is sometimes wrong and misleading ( I think it was copy-pasted from the old authors's works ), if the code had not contained such bizarre flaws I would have rated 5 stars as the content is really perfect and shows the authors expertise in the field.



4. This book gives programmers the practical and theoretical tools they need to adapt to the proliferation of multi-core machines. It opens with six chapters on theoretical subjects. These chapters are fascinating in their own right as well as directly applicable to my daily work. I thought the most important subjects were wait-free synchronization (every method completes in a finite number of steps), lock-free synchronization (some method completes in a finite number of steps), and some computability proofs. The authors use computability to demonstrate the equivalence of several types of synchronization primitives. They also present some impossibility proofs that show you how to avoid trying to solve unsolvable problems. The computability results and synchronization guarantees combine to give you the tools to determine whether one concurrent algorithm is "better" than another.
   
   The remainder of the book is devoted to practical subjects. These chapters cover locks, a variety of data structures, work scheduling, and some miscellaneous topics. Java's java.util.concurrent package provides production-quality implementations of most of these data structures. The authors know this, and they use the data structures chapters to demonstrate generally applicable techniques while avoiding unnecessary implementation details. The work scheduling chapter is a sobering reminder of the difficulty inherent in fully exploiting highly parallel architectures. The authors show how to use recurrences to analyze the relative speedup an algorithm gains by running on P processors instead of a single processor. Combining this with the discussion of Ahmdal's Law earlier in the book we see that the essential math behind parallelism severely penalizes you for seemingly small sequential portions of your code. I also found the counting networks chapter fascinating, as I had never encountered that material before.
   
   The book also provides appendices aimed at bringing inexperienced readers up to speed. That said, I wouldn't recommend this book for inexperienced programmers. The material is challenging. If you are looking for a gentler introduction to this subject, consider Java Concurrency in Practice. Each chapter ends with a note describing the history of the material and providing pointers to the bibliography. These demonstrate that the authors have been significant contributors to this field. I do agree with the review from Vyacheslav Imameyev - some of the code samples are wrong. I think they missed "volatile" keywords in several places. I don't see this as a cookbook, so I'm still giving the book five stars.
   
   Highly parallel machines are here to stay. Programmers need to adapt to this or suffer competitive disadvantage. This is the book to read in order to meet that challenge.



5. If you've already gotten your feet wet with multi-threaded programming, but you haven't been able to maximize concurrency yet, this is the book you need. It includes thorough explanations of all the latest approaches and algorithms. And with multi-core processors becoming ubiquitous, this book will remain of lasting value.

5 comments about Python Cookbook.

1. Hi whoever invented the cook book concept should be really brilliant.I have always had a liking for the cookbook series from o'reilly and this one is a clear winner.It really comes in useful as a quick reference for any small piece of code that u are trying to do to fit in to ur application and finding it difficult for and out of box idea in code.My favorites in python cookbook are the sections on Algorithms and Programs about Programs.A must have for anyone who wishes to explore the charm called python.



2. I purchased this for my son as he requested it. It was an older version so he would not be able to use it. He ordered the newer one out. It not say what the published date was when I order it.



3. This edition (2) is significantly expanded -- and modified where Python advances warrant it -- from the previous version.
   
   If you want a book that shows best Python programming practices and gets you going for virtually any programming task this is the book for you



4. This is the only Python book I've seen to date which provides detailed and practical examples of metaprogramming idioms, and it gets five stars for that chapter way in the back alone. The chapter on sockets programming also made me laugh since Guido seems to be incredibly proud of what I personally consider to be one of the worst sockets libraries I've ever used, but the Twisted guys have already sorted all of that nonsense out for us, so what the hey. Lots of cool stuff in here you probably haven't even thought of trying--like accessing the result of a list comprehension from inside the comprehension itself.



5. I like this book for two reasons. 1) If I need to get an idea on how to do something that is not necessarily obvious then it is a good place to look 2) If I have done something and want to see how others may have approached something similar then it is a good gauge on my own 'sanity check' - did I convolute some simple (or complex) logic into a working python script that could be handled in half the space and more elegantly (it has been known to happen) or did I come up with a comparable, better, or unique solution than presented (it has also been known to happen - just not as much as the former). In truth, I often find that I view a solution as 'better' because of the particulars of the application I am working on in which case some subjectivity of usefulness and elegance is based on an inherited aspect of my code and not on the abstract usefulness and elegance which much of the code snippets and explanation presents.
   
   Good idea book, keeping in mind that the authors are trying to encapsulate some wisdom to be applied to a very wide set of problems.

5 comments about ActionScript 3.0 Cookbook: Solutions for Flash Platform and Flex Application Developers.

1. For those of us who have experience in many programming languages (C, C++, C#, JAVA etc.) who were introduced to flash and to actionscript (2.0/3.0) - I HIGHLY recommend this book as your first choice! - it'll get you up to speed in a matter of a week or two!
   I highly recommend taking some time aside and read it thoroughly. This is the best cookbook I've ever read. Very clear, well organized, easy to understand - you name it! In fact, I don't know whether to consider it as a cookbook - as it is by all means an excellent learning textbook as well!!!
   If you wanna be an actionscript 3.0 stud - start with this book.



2. I've been a fan of programmer's cookbooks ever since the famous Perl Cookbook ages ago. It's a great way to get into a language and do away with any nagging thoughts that maybe you didn't solve a problem well.
   
   This specific cookbook falls short, though. I tried to read it cover to cover as well as individual chapters, but I found it oddly balanced. For example, the authors waste three recipes on about 10 pages about generating a random number (which is just one command!), and then describe event handling (the big thing!) on half a page. I also find it strange to read about trigonometry in a programmer's book, and I don't think recipes work very well for explaining basic language features (such as how to create a new object, or how to "trace a message").
   
   Mostly though, the book is outdated with the release of flex2/3. Yes, Actionscript 3 is still current, but you don't roll your own buttons as subclasses of sprite anymore!
   
   In short, I give it three stars for content, and subtract 1 for being outdated. If you want to read about Actionscript 3, Adobe has a very nicely outlined pdf online, which is an easy read compared to these confusing and stale recipes.



3. This book is about ActionScript ONLY. when I bought it, I was hoping to find cookbook solutions for Flash and/or Flex IDE and all the step-by-step color illustrations and the cool visual effects that you can implement with those IDEs. That is not really what this book is geared for. So when I first started this review, I really wanted to give it a less-than-5-star rating, but I realized I can't do that in all fairness, because it does serve the purpose it portends. If you want an unadorned, pedantic, O'Reilly-ish how-to on ActionScript, this their ilk. If you want something with easy-to-follow illustrations on the Flash/Flex IDE and flashy visual effects, look elsewhere. Buyer beware.



4. In theory this book could have been very good. There were a few things that I did like about it. I liked the problem, solution, discussion approach to learning ActionScript. The book covered all of the topics I was interested in. It used real world examples to demonstrate the points.
   
   The reasons I gave this book a poor rating were the fact that it was written for Flex developers and all examples used the Flex tool to build (not very good for me who uses Flash), and they continually gave examples and explained how to solve problems using their predefined, custom classes. The pages would have been better spent showing us how to build these useful Classes ourselves, instead of teaching us how to use them. Luckily for me, I was already versed in ActionScript and could easily understand that these Classes were not part of ActionScript. If I were not, I think it would have been rather confusing to try to pick out their custom classes from what comes with ActionScript 3. I'm trying to learn ActionScript, not the custom Classes the authors have created.
   
   If you are new to ActionScript and not a Flex developer, do yourself a favor and buy a different book.
   
   _t



5. very simple recipes. for any intermediate to advanced programmer this book is not recommended.

5 comments about Special Edition Using Microsoft Expression Web 2 (Special Edition Using).

1. By trade I develop ASP.NET applications. However, we do a lot of our design work using tools like Dreamweaver. Recently we started working with Expression Web because we're a Microsoft shop. Naturally, we decided we needed to get a good book to get up to speed, so we chose Jim Cheshire's book on Expression Web based on the reviews. It was a great choice for us!
   
   When we decided to move to Expression Web 2 (we're big AJAX fans!), we obviously went with Cheshire's book, and it was a great decision. (Actually, one of my co-workers chose a different book on Expression Web 2 that had a similar review score, but he's often in my cube borrowing my copy of Cheshire's book. :-)) Not only does this book contain really great coverage of the new ASP.NET features, but it also has great information on all of the other features in Expression Web 2, including PHP. I really wasn't expecting that since Cheshire is an ASP.NET expert and apparently works on the ASP.NET team at Microsoft!
   
   If you are at all interested in Expression Web 2, you really owe it to yourself to get this book. Don't mess around with the imitations! Cheshire produced the highest rated book on the first version of Expression Web, and this book is certainly not a disappointment. I love it!
   
   Sarah



2. I bought this book to get a handle on the new features in the product. I found it to be an excellent guide. The instructions were very clear and didn't talk down to me. They also didn't flood me with "techie talk" that I don't understand. It was just a nice balance of both. Best of all, all of the examples work exactly as they are presented. I purchased the On Demand book too, and it didn't succeed in that regard.
   
   They say that this book is the only book you need on Expression Web 2. I agree. After reading this, I wish I had bought the first book by this author instead of the one I got a year ago. I highly recommend this book.



3. Beware if you are trying to learn Expression Web (EW). This book is not for you. This is for someone who has been doing web designing (or developing) for a long time using other tools. It is not for those who are just learning. He deals with all kinds of technical stuff right at the beginning and doesn't explain. He refuses to tell you WHY you might want to perform such and such a function he's only interested in telling you HOW. His examples will include making code changes to CSS sheets before he even discusses CSS sheets. He doesn't even discuss creating text on a web page until well after page 100.
   
   If you are looking to switch tools and use Expression Web, so you're already familiar with setting up a web page, or a web site, and using CSS, then this book might be good for you. But if you are looking to learn from the ground up, go somewhere else. He mentions himself in the book that this is a book to be used as a reference manual and not to be read sequentially. But to use it as a reference manual, you need to know enough to ask the right questions and then look up the answers. This book will do nothing to help you to ask the right questions.



4. This book is so disorganized that it is difficult even to review it. There is no logical progression. The book starts with how to publish a website which is the last thing you do in creating one. The rest of it is a series of loosely related topics. If you end up buying this book, I would suggest starting in the index because it is probably going to be your most direct way of finding what you are looking for.
   
   
   
   



5. This book is very well written and composed. The beginning of the book sums up the basics, letting you know what will be covered. From then on, each chapter is full of nearly all of the information you need in order to complete each individual task. The chapters are neat, organized, and very precise. Each chapter tells you what it is about, then tells you how to do it.
   
   I bought this book (Special Edition Using Microsoft Expression Web 2 (Special Edition Using)) the same day that I bought Microsoft Expression Web 2, and it helped me tremendously. (I bought the program -and- the book on Tuesday)
   
   If you are reading this and contemplating buying this book over any other, my vote is that you buy this book. Like I said, it is clear and direct, and explains everything you need to know. What little bit of information that isn't covered is some of the extremely basic concepts that a quick google search will resolve.
   
   Hopefully this review has been helpful...
   
   Again, 2 thumbs up to this book!
   
   -Randal

2 comments about Introducing Microsoft Silverlight 2.0, 2nd Edition.

1. I do recommend Silverlight 1.0 Unleashed as the best Silverlight reference so far. However, Introducting Silverlight does have a couple things that I haven't seen in other books:
   
   - A whole chapter--albeit a very short one--is devoted to Silverlight ink support. It has a useful sample to pull together concepts from the SDK.
   
   - The author also showed a little of his developer evangelist motivations by including a quick look at integrating Silverlight into non-Microsoft platforms: Java (JSP) and PHP with MySQL. The example was basic, but it did add a welcome extra dimension to the book--and quite interesting to see the ease/portability of Silverlight.
   
   This book probably won't be your end-all reference for Silverlight 1.0 (I do prefer the free SDK over this title), but it does make a for a good read-it-and-resell-it book.



2. This book has a great introduction of Silverlight 1.0, and had a nice flow of documentation that made the book a fun read. The book covered the silverlight platform well, and illustrated a few examples of how Silverlight can work in conjunction with a few other technologies like Asp.net and PHP.
   
   The book had very good code samples to illustrate specific points of Silverlight 1.0 technology, and additionally included a good primer on the upcoming Silverlight 1.1. Overall I think this book is a great resource to get up and running on Silverlight in a short period of time.