5 comments about Programming Microsoft Composite UI Application Block and Smart Client Software Factory (Pro-Best Practices).

1. I found this book to be well worth the money.
   
   CAB on its own is a large topic, add SCSF and the amount of information is overwhelming. David's book is an attempt to distill and present enough information to shorten the learning curve, and enable someone to make an informed decision about what CAB can do for them. This book is not intended to replace the official Software Factory documentation, but it does provide a valuable piece of the overall puzzle.
   
   David's book clearly explains some of the history behind how CAB became what it is today and how real world experience is guiding CAB's evolution. There are examples which leverage David's experience with the product to supply valuable information available nowhere else.
   
   There is certainly a need for more detailed documentation and David shows in this book he has the knowledge and experience to write a volume 2 on CAB & SCSF Advanced Topics. And I for one hope he does so real soon.



2. David's book provides a necessary foundation for anyone wanting to become proficient with CAB programming. Unless you are already an experienced CAB developer or are looking for low level CAB framework details, this book will be of great benefit. A real asset in helping you understand the complexities of CAB, the SCSF and get you started toward successful CAB development.



3. If you are looking for a 3k page bible on SCSF and CAB, move along partner, because this ain't it.
   If, however, you have been wanting to work with SCSF but couldn't find a good starting point, this is your book. If you've heard the alluring call of SCSF's decoupled architecture and want to get your feet wet, this is your book. If you've done The Walkthrough and found that you still didn't understand what it really *meant*, this is your book. If you are developing in the SCSF but want to read about pitfalls, tips and tricks from someone who has already traveled that road, this is your book.
   This book begins top down by explaining the decoupled architecture and its benefits. It then dives down a level and explains how the WorkItems, Collections and Services work together to enable the decoupling. Finally it dives one more level and hits upon some key Services, Event Brokering, Action Catalog and some of the other "big" pieces of SCSF. At key points you get prudent advice about how real products are using SCSF features in deployed applications in the real world.
   
   To summarize: If you are already an SCSF god, there is nothing new here for you. If you are an SCSF neophyte, this book is a worthwhile read to shortcut the SCSF learning curve.



4. Many of us who are developing applications using CAB/SCSF could use a comprehensive "How To" book on this topic. Unfortunately, this book didn't sieze the opportunity to deliver such a book. There is *some* good information in the book, and the Introduction chapter nicely whets the appetite. Unfortunately, the rest of the book falls far short of providing the necessary guidance and examples to make it truly useful. There is certainly enough information in CAB/SCSF to fill a book with at least twice the content of this one. It makes me wonder whether the book was rushed to market or whether the author and editors just lacked the will and fortitude to write the type of book that this could have been.



5. Its not a bad book but its not exactly what I was looking for. Having said that there are not many books telling you what this does, so it becomes a must buy.

5 comments about BIRT: A Field Guide to Reporting (The Eclipse Series).

1. Every once in awhile, I get to review a book on a technology or software package I've not heard of before. That was the case with BIRT: A Field Guide to Reporting by Diana Peh, Alethea Hannemann, and Nola Hague. I'm stunned at the quality and depth of this open-source Eclipse reporting tool. Oh, and the book's pretty good, too... :)
   
   Contents:
   Part 1 - Installing BIRT: Prerequisites for BIRT; Installing a BIRT Report Designer; Updating a BIRT Installation
   Part 2 - Getting Started: Learning the Basics; Planning Your Report
   Part 3 - Connecting to a Data Source; Retrieving Data; Binding Data
   Part 4 - Designing Reports: Laying Out a Report; Displaying Text; Formatting Report Content; Sorting and Grouping Data; Aggregating Data; Writing Expressions; Filtering Data; Enabling the User to Filter Data; Building a Report That Contains Subreports; Using a Chart in a Report; Displaying Data in Charts; Laying Out and Formatting a Chart
   Part 5 - Enhancing Reports: Designing a Multipage Report; Adding Interactive Viewing Features; Building a Shared Report Development Framework; Localizing Text; Glossary; Index
   
   BIRT stands for Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools, and it runs on the Eclipse platform. Running as a plug-in or using the Rich Client Platform, BIRT will allow the user to create reports from various data sources like JDBC-enabled databases, text files, and XML files. The authors start out with the basics on how to download and install the software (it's dead simple). Then using a few tutorial exercises and plenty of screen prints, they walk you through the basics of connecting to a data source and building a report. The features available in BIRT seem endless, and I was completely amazed at the quality and depth that the software offers for both simple and complex report generation. Throughout the entire read, I kept thinking about a number of applications I wanted to try this out on. Normally to get something of this magnitude, you have to buy reporting packages that cost thousands. Peh, Hannemann, and Hague have completely twisted my world view when it comes to reporting. Great job!
   
   The only thing that wasn't covered too much was how to roll this out to an end-user base without having to make your audience experts in Eclipse. It seems as if there must be some way to package these reports up to shield the user from the internals. There's a follow-on book that covers integration and extension of BIRT, and I'm hoping that deployment is covered more there. But that in no way takes away from the value and quality of what the authors did here...
   
   This is subject matter that has me excited for some potentially cool applications. If things work the way I hope they will, I'll owe a debt of gratitude to this book...



2. Purchasing this book is a great way to reward the authors and publishers. While this may be a noble cause, it is not necessary for you to understand BIRT. The software is so powerful and easy to install and use, that a user guide is not necessary for most developers. After installing BIRT you'll find most of the contents of this book in the Help documents under "BIRT Report Developer Guide -> Field Guide To BIRT". Here's how the TOCs line up:
   
   Book TOC only:
   Prerequisites
   Installing
   Updating
   Planning your Report
   
   Book TOC and Help TOC:
   Learning the Basics
   Connecting to Datasource
   Retrieving Data
   Binding Data
   Laying Out a Report
   Displaying Text
   Formatting Report Content
   Sorting and Grouping Data
   Aggregating Data
   Writing Expresssions
   Filtering Data
   Enabling User to Filter
   Reports with Subreports
   Using a Chart in a Report
   Displaying Data in Charts
   Chart Layout / Formatting
   Designing a Multipage Report
   Add Interactive Features
   Shared Development Framework
   Localizing Text
   
   Help TOC only:
   Scripting in Report Design
   JavaScript Event Handlers
   Java Event Handlers
   Scripting Reference
   
   If you would rather read this information on paper than the help documents, I recommend this book. If you can install it and use a help page, don't bother.



3. So Eclipse is migrating slightly... Hitherto, much of Eclipse was used by programmers. Mostly Java programmers, at that. A very nice development and runtime environment. But this book shows that some Eclipse developers want to extend the scope of who can use Eclipse.
   
   The extensive reporting abilities in this book can be implemented by someone who wants to write a report, that will have tables or graphs derived from some data source, typically a database. Unlike most previous books in this Eclipse series, there is less need for the reader to program. BIRT is more akin to a layout or declarative language, like HTML. Not everyone has the aptitude or inclination to be a programmer. And just as HTML is considered easier to understand than C, say, so too is BIRT to outreach to a broader crowd.
   
   However, BIRT is not quite a complete declarative approach. There is indeed scope for programmatic customisation, using scripting languages. Though the only such language described in the text is JavaScript. Most BIRT users won't have to go to this extent, but it is available for special needs.
   
   Unlike other reporting packages, BIRT's output is written as an XML file, with a particular set of XML tags. Instead of being in a proprietary binary format. Much easier to fit into other processing for some extended workflow, if desired.
   
   The blurb on the back cover is a little intriguing. It says that the authors have a combined 165 years experience in various technical fields. But with 3 authors, that amounts to 55 years each?! Really? Is there some double counting going on?



4. "BIRT: A Field Guide to Reporting" is a great tutorial for learning how to use BIRT. BIRT (Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools" is described including its relationship to Eclipse. After covering how to install BIRT, the book goes into great detail on how to use the report designer.
   
   The target audience should be familiar with HTML, SQL and JavaScript as stated in the introduction. The book describes functions used, but you are expected to know the basic syntax.
   
   As expected, the book covers how to use each of the features of BIRT. They are all described with step by step instructions. There are also a few tutorials walking you through the process from start to finish. I liked the "how to" style for tasks.
   
   The book includes tips on how to plan a report and what to consider. It also includes common code snippets that you may want to use and lists available functions.
   
   I was particularly impressed with the abundance of screenshots and the excellent glossary. If you are thinking about using BIRT, this book is a valuable addition to your library.



5. The book arrived in a timely manner. It was just what I needed. It help me develop reports and graphs that impressed my boss right away. Birt will be very competitive to high cost vendor solutions for business intelligence reporting. Right now it is a sleeper, best kept secret.

5 comments about Machinima For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).

1. Somebody gave this book two stars because he thought it lacked coverage of Second Life. Oops, he was wrong. Even if he was right it's a stupid thing to attack the book about. So here's another uninformed opinion to balance out his.



2. Finally! A book discussing the many aspects of Machinima for a "dummy" like me! ;) I've been looking all over the corners of the web for advice and tips for filming, editing, and creating Machinima, but now I can just look at this book for easy reference. The book kept me pretty interested throughout, and I felt that the writers really worked hard. (I read their blog..) :)
   
   The book details the aspects of Machinima in a variety of games; some I never even heard of before! There are enough tips, hints, and advice in this book to allow any person, beginner or novice, to feel confident enough to enter the world of Machinima. Oh, and the attached DVD was an incredible bonus! I never even heard of "Moviestorm", but it came free (yes, FREE) with the book. This is one book that any "Machinimaker" needs, no matter your skill level! :)



3. This book is the perfect guide for anyone interested in making films. Not only does it reveal the world of machinima, but the authors have provided a very informative and useful guide to the world of filmmaking. This could very easily be the classroom for students who want to explore film production as well as open up the new possibilities of film to the seasoned pro.
   
   Machinima for Dummies is simple to understand, entertaining and if you only want to get one book on Machinima - this is the one.



4. I'm pretty much a beginner to this topic, and I've found this is precisely the book you need to get if you want to learn how to make movies on your PC... I've found answers to every question I've ever had without all the jargon (and understandable definitions of jargon I've heard). It even gives advice on getting organized and how to go about creating a story... and with the included DVD (which has a little machinima program called "Moviestorm"), you can get started right away, and for free. Time for creative fun!
   
   Highly recommended!



5. This is just a excellent overrview of Machinima - way above the norm for Dummies books. The depth and breath is very impressive.

5 comments about Usability for the Web: Designing Web Sites that Work (Interactive Technologies).

1. When I'm working and need to grab a book to take into the bathroom, it has typically been something light and definitely not work-related. The Stranger, maybe, or a Bathroom Reader. However, ever since I bought "Usability for the Web", it's been my bathroom book. I've already read it cover to cover, but opening it to a random page and reading for 10-15 minutes (or, what the heck, even 45 minutes) always gets me thinking of ways to improve what I'm working on. As other reviews have stated, there is nothing groundbreaking about this book. However, this is the ONLY book you will need on web usability. In fact, this book effectively replaced my books on usability, design, and architecture. All of which I read, and mostly enjoyed, but few of which I will ever pick up again.

   The design of the book is also very nice, easy to read and with full color throughout.

   Finally, responding to one critique, the authors DO reference outside sources throughout the book. There is also a section at the back which includes additional references.




2. Unlike Jakob Nielsen who uses his personal opinion to judge web usability, Tom provides excellent explanation every aspect of usability based on the scientific research. This is the best book to learn and know about web usability. - LT



3. This is one of the best books ive ever read from any category. The author's flow from chapter to chapter is excellent. He describes in very good detail the pitfalls that many websites fall into by sacrificing appearance for usability. He makes his convincing case why the central focus of websites should be usability which is indeed rarely emphasized. The book elaborates as to the various stages you should involve users and various members of your design team into your development. Definately a keeper.



4. This book is great and very informative, however the only thing I would change (perhaps for a second edition) would be to make it spiral bound so it could lay flat while I am using it at work, which would also make it easier to photocopy the different checklists (very helpful!).



5. This book contains a lot of usable usability practices that really works! You can get literally all the details of usability testing practices in this book, as well as how to run them. And good amount of pages are spent for user needs analysis and task analysis as the first steps explaining Web site engineering approach.

   When reading this book, my first impression was that many worksheets, checklists and forms were included throughout this book:
   - Client Interview/Web Site Information Worksheet
   - Goals checklist
   - Sample of Web survey
   - Focus Group Preparation Worksheet
   - Information Architecture Review Checklist
   - Mockup Checklist (in Envisioning Design)
   - Mockup Style Review Form (in Envisioning Design)
   - Writing Guidelines Checklist (in Web page writing)
   - Form for Brainstorming Icons
   - Form for Testing Whether an Icon Is Recognizable
   - Problem Report and Resolution Form (in Pre-Launch)
   - Problem Summary Report (in Pre-Launch)
   - Postproduction Checklist
   - Web Site Final Approval Form
   - Minimal Maintenance Checklist
   - A Detailed, General-Purpose Checklist (for Inspection)
   - User Testing Preparation Worksheet (for Evaluation)
   - Typical Testing Script (for User Testing)
   - Consent Form (for User Testing)

   These materials are really helpful in conducting actual usability testing to get effective results. And many concepts are also categorized, organized, and explained in a lot of tables.

   In engaging Web usability testing, the most important thing is to understand your audiences. This book contains very specific way of putting them into action using scenario approach. The most impressive approach of this book is in enumerating user characteristics as seven user navigation models:
   1. Omnipotent model: Because people have perfect knowledge, they donft err in any way.
   2. Most rational model: People click interesting links only.
   3. Minimum effort model: People behave in ways with least mental efforts.
   4. Mental map model: First, people build their mental map according to the Web site structure. They donft use navigation in that site which doesnft fit with their mental map.
   5. Repeat fixed ways: People like his own way. They repeat their fixed ways irrespective of their inefficiency.
   6. Get nearby information: When handy resources are found nearby, people use them and donft go outside.
   7. Cost-performance approach: Best strategy will be determined by this cost-performance approach.

   One more important practice to develop a Web site that really works is to consider the gInternational Differencesh such as languages, units, symbols, currencies, date & time, and conventions. These points are correctly addressed in this book to make your Web really workable in the international grounds as well.

   This book is a really remarkable work from the point of usability practices. Don't miss this book!

5 comments about CSS Web Design For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).

1. This book is pretty good for getting you introduced to CSS. It makes it fairly easy and fun. I started building my new web site just before I started reading this book and I used the info in it to add CSS features. It helps a lot to learn CSS if you practice it on your own web page while you're learning. Some of the code has errors in it, which took me a few minutes to figure out and fix. If you're smart, you should be able to figure it out without too much problem. If the author makes fun of W3C, he's probably right. I heard from other sources that the W3C is much too academic and too slow and uncaring to keep up with the needs of the real world. I guess the thing I like the most about this book is that it lets me start using CSS features without getting bogged down into a huge long learning ordeal. I don't have months to learn CSS. I need to know it right away. It might not be perfect, but it works for me. I test my code in IE7, Firefox, Homesite, and Dreamweaver. If it looks correct in all four of those, then it's good enough as far as I'm concerned. Maybe I would be more critical of this book if I paid for it, but I got it for free :)



2. This is, perhaps, the worst instructional web design text I have ever come across. I came across a copy for free but I still paid too much.
   
   I am familiar with CSS but for the reader that this book is clearly aimed toward, this text would be a disaster for several reasons:
   
   Explanations of basic concepts are unclear and sometimes appear to trail off in the middle of a concept. (See "Controlling Layout with Offsetting", for example.)
   
   Extremely "un-sound" advice is given, such as using descriptive words for colors rather than hex codes (called a "bizarre RGB equivalant" Whaaa?").
   
   The book is about CSS. About cascading style sheets, that is, standards compliant design, and yet at every turn the author is advising the reader to use proprietary code. One of the most central issues of web design is the awareness of the number of different browsers used and cross-platform issues, and yet at every turn the author seems to be portraying a web where everyone uses IE and where IE is some kind of gold standard of how a browser should behave (cough). This flies in the face of the entire basis of CSS.
   
   I saved the best for last, the part where my eyes nearly fell out of my head, page 79, and I quote: "But my advice is to just assume that pretty much everyone who'll see your Web page uses IE. Why? Because most everyone *does* use IE.
   
   Where can I go from that? I have never felt so compelled to write a review. For the experienced designer, the book is funny enough to laugh about over lunch. For the novice designer taking this as a source of reliable information, the book is an unmitigated disaster. Stay away.



3. I actually took the time to find this title on Amazon just to write a review (and hopefully save people money).
   
   I'm not a professional designer, I'm not even a very good hobbyist designer.
   I only know what I need to know to get the result I want on the page.
   So I figured it might be time to actually understand what I'm doing and not copy and alter existing code, and this is the first book on CSS I read.
   And it was not at all helpful.
   I learned a lot more from occasionally googling to an online free tutorial, and looking at the source code of free CSS templates that I liked.
   
   This book is a very basic intro into CSS, pretty much only targeted to IE users (because, who uses anything else, right?! *hmpf!*) and I really struggle to try and find something nice to say about it after plowing through it all for 4 hours.
   
   And if you're using Dreamweaver this whole book can be summarized in 5 pages
   (or heck, let me try 1 line: open the CSS Rule definition box, adjust the value, and see what it does).
   
   This book did not explain things clearly, and there was a lot of useless information to sift through.
   For example: who on earth would want to use those very very ugly default image borders/bullets/horizontal lines in the first place (and the book says nothing at all about customizing those, which I think should be possible with CSS?? )
   
   Also I really want to mention the website layout/design samples in the book,
   text over a too busy background so that it becomes very hard to read: Bad!!
   
   So, in short, stay away from this one, even if you can get it for free you're wasting your time.



4. It has some interesting examples, but it got into unnecessary explanation of the thousands of ways to address a tag, a bit annoying. Then I got to page 91, where the author tries to explain the difference between "relative" and "absolute" positioning of elements. Here I encountered one of my biggest pet peeves. I will let you read it yourself:
   "Of course, as Albert Einstein pointed out, everything is relative except the
   speed of light. So, when we speak of "absolute" positioning, it merely means
   that we're being somewhat "less relative." What do I mean by this?
   You actually cannot sit still, no matter how hard you try. When you think you're
   sitting still, you're still moving at about a half million miles per hour as the solar
   system spins around the galaxy. In fact, you're moving through space in a rapid
   and complex corkscrew path. Even while you're quietly asleep, you're still flying
   aboard the rotating earth, orbiting the sun, spinning around the galaxy. And the
   galaxy itself is hurtling through the universe. So you're moving really fast in a
   dozen different circles all the time. Luckily, so is your bed and everything else
   in your room. They're all at rest, relative to you, but not relative to light."
   
   What? Did he really..? I am staring away like Jim from The Office, into an imaginary camera right now.



5. This was the first "Dummies" book I ever bought and is likely the last. The author has a clear bias against internet standards and is prone to go off on rants about committees and their supposedly bad decisions that make life hard for him. If he had simply stated his positions at the beginning of the book, it would have been fine, but the continual diatribes, many of which are ill-conceived and/or illogical, throughout the book are distracting.
   
   Don't buy this book. Get the O'Reilly book on CSS. It is much more helpful and doesn't have any of Mansfield's bias.

5 comments about Network Security: The Complete Reference.

1. I'm working in Information Security, and I was looking for a good security book, fortunately my decision was the best. This book is very complete and not only explain the concepts of network security but Information Security in the general context. The topics are technical as well as administrative. Explain how the security should be implemented and assessed or audited. I really improved my knowledge and my productivity in my job.



2. Network Security: The Complete Reference is simply an awesome security book.
   
   It has just about everything you need to know when it comes to infosec.



3. A true bible for network security. Also covered are items on risk management, network security policies etc. The book includes simple to advanced topics on network security



4. This book wasn't required, but suggested for one of my classes. I am so glad that I bought it. I'll be referencing it for years. So much info in it. Why is it so cheap?



5. I bought this book for a class but will definitely keep it afterwards. A lot of well organized information on computer security, from policy to implementation.

5 comments about Memory as a Programming Concept in C and C++.

1. It's always no hurt to read some fundermantal material written by a dumb-proof way by a professional. This book is one of kind.
   
   The only regret is that I'd like the book size to be doubled. Maybe assembly language book will cover the material which is missing from this book.



2. I agree with the other reviewers. In general this is good book. It bridges the gaps between many computer science disciplines. Especially OS and programming language. It also touched a little bit on computer architecture and linking process. The text was written in a a very clear way. However, I do have two complains. The author didn't spend enough effort on the relatively more complex and advanced topics. Eg, linking process for C++, advanced topics in memory leakage detection and prevention. On the other hand, author spent too much energy describing linked data structure in terms of serialization. I personally don't think its relevance is higher than the advanced memory leakage issues. For seasoned profressionals, this book can be used to refresh your knowledge. It is a beginner level to intermediate level book.



3. An older book that could be helpful to readers interested in this book is "Inside the C++ Object Model" by Stanley B. Lippman. It was written in 1996. It shows things such as the layout of C++'s organization of (pointers to) virtual and inherited methods.



4. as a C programmer for 3 years now i'm still learning and as you go along you realize how much C is really about memory. This book only served to reinforce that. the examples were great and even the example code he has in there, the only reason i gave it four stars is because the book wasn't bigger. I loved this book and gladly recommend this to any C programmer, budding or veteran.



5. First I would like to state the reason I gave it 4 stars. In my opinion, 5 stars should be very hard to reach. Maybe I would give this 4.5 stars if it was possible. Anyway, I'm a self taught VB 6 programmer with a working knowledge of the Windows API. First year CS student, though I've read many a book on C and a few on assembly. I have a large CS library and this is the first book of it's kind that I've found. It is a little pricey if you compare book size to other, larger CS books, but I don't think it is overpriced. The material is great, though I wouldn't say it is a beginner level book. I had trouble grasping enough of the material that it causes me to think either I've still got a long ways to go in learning (more so than I thought at least), or it is just not for the beginner.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone who is serious about a programming career, regardless of the language. The book's relatively small size should not be a negative factor. It is not densely packed with information to the point where interpretation is needed, instead it explains in sufficient detail without dumbing it down by over-repetition and such used by some other CS books. It is aimed at C/C++ programmers, so being familiar with those is a prerequisite, obviously. Like another reviewer said, there seemed to be a little too much discussion on, say, serialization of linked data structures, an important topic with regards to memory yet I felt a little more emphasis could have been placed elsewhere.

1 comments about FileMaker Web Publishing: A Complete Guide to Using the API for PHP.

1. If you are just starting out using FileMaker with the web it's a must read. It shows several outstanding techniques for setting up pages.
   
   This is a very good book for beginners in FileMaker and PHP. It puts down a good foundation for starting but like so many other books it starts out with several chapters explaining the extreme basics so you are half way through the book before you get to the meat of the topic. Once the books starts getting in to the functions of PHP with FileMaker it stops just short of a little more involved explanation. I don't mean for that to sound like a rip on the book, but would like to see a little more advanced book on this subject.
   Like I said I think this was a very well written book and covered the topic well I was just hoping for something a little more advanced.

5 comments about Microsoft Visual Web Developer(TM) 2005 Express Edition: Build a Web Site Now! (Build a Web Page Now).

1. I have just completed the excellent tutorials in "Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition: Build a Program Now!" by Patrice Pelland and was looking forward to more of the same with this book. But this is not a tutorial.
   
   I had expected that we would be guided from scratch to building the sample website, but instead it is only provided in the complete version, which you can look at to see how things look when they are completed. I had expected to be taken by the hand to create the website.
   
   Instead, you learn all about creating empty websites in various locations, copying them, adding or editing text, etc. But the author keeps saying "you can do this or that" rather than having you actually do something specific.
   
   The author of the VB book, Patrice Pelland, planned small projects that lead you through almost all the different bits of the program you need, and provides links to even more information. I think Microsoft should ask Pelland to write a new edition of "Build a Web Site Now!"
   
   I have given the Web Developer book 2 stars, because it can probably be used as a good reference if you know exactly how you want to create your website. But it is useless for a beginner.
   
   I also bought "Beginning Visual Web Developer 2005 Express" by Paul Sarknas, which is much more detailed, but does provide small examples to work with. It doesn't look ideal either, but I'll give it a try.
   
   A little addendum: I finally bought VWD for Dummies, which is the perfect book for a beginner. Alan Simpson takes you step by step through the process of making a website in the order you would do things, including creating a blank website while you are planning, so that you can specify "member only" pages and otherwise create the navigation immediately.



2. This book is a disgrace. It is a mish mash of information which is all probably ONLY useful to those who have experience in creating websites using this tool. As a beginner to Visual Studio this is an absolute disappointment. Despite the fact it purports to take you through the entire process it does NONE of this, merely giving you the completed site and letting you work it out on your own. In the front of the book I read that the execises would lead you through the process..WHAT A JOKE!
   
   Dont buy this book, unless its a going away present for someone you have fired or your ex!



3. What some people seem to fail to mention is that there is a free version of this available from Microsoft. All you need to do is register your copy of Visual Web Developer (Express Edition is free). However, this book's title suggests that it will walk you through the process of Building a Website in a short amount of time. Instead of Enabaling the reader to build the site, this book shows some tips. However, the book never really claims to be anything more. In fact, in the "Wbo Is This Book For" section, the book says it is for people who have used the program to build a few websites, but found it difficult. It is not for absolute beginners, and does not touch on VB or C#, but it never claims to. Because both this and the similar Visual Basic: Build a Program Now! are free, and with extra content as an e-book, I reccommend getting those versions, and not buying this. Download this book, and use it to learn a little while you wait for your copy of some other VWD book (I reccommend VWD for Dummies, one of the few good For Dummies books in my opinion).



4. The cover looks great, that's why I bought this book. I was thinking of publishing a book and really liked the form factor of this book.
   -Don't judge a book by it's cover.--
   Yeah I knew that, and I actually read this book after reading an O'Reilly book on ASP.NET and a Wrox book on ASP.NET. In essence the MS book covers the same topics as those other two books with much less detail and more colorful pages. The section on data bases is not very helpful for an independent web developer. The MS Now! book on C# has a great introduction to databases if you are interested in that.
   Also my printing was missing at least two chapters, and it didn't look like a printing blunder.
   Ok, don't buy this book if you want a good ref, but if you are not into books get this one, and look up everything online.



5. I'm sorry to say that this book is the weakest in the "Build it NOW!" series. A few weaks ago, I worked my way thru an excellent book titled, Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Express Edition: Build a Program Now! (Pro-Developer), which teaches concepts as you build several projects in a very hands-on step-by-step tutorial. I was expecting a similar experience from this book, Microsoft Visual Web Developer(TM) 2005 Express Edition: Build a Web Site Now! (Build a Web Page Now). I was disappointed. I just finished the book last night. It left me feeling like the author was rushed to get the book to press, only led me thru the general concepts of implementation, but didn't complete my experience by walking me thru specific steps to build a finished working project. The back cover on the book misleads the purchaser into believing it is the same as the other "Build it NOW!" books - IT IS NOT!!
   
   On the positive side, this book is a pretty good introduction and overview to the features of the tool Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition. There are several examples in the book which are a high-level overview of "how to" perform general tasks in the tool...but as I previously stated, this book will not lead you step-by-step to build a final working project. This is sad, because there is a sample web site included with the book, called ContosoMagic, which is a Magician's Web Store. Unfortunately, the book makes little reference to this sample code and not until half-way thru the book is it mentioned at all. As a purchaser of the book, I expected the book to walk me thru step-by-step building the ContosoMagic web site, similar to the other "Build it NOW!" books. I was disappointed.
   
   My opinion - the book is a good first draft of what could be an excellent tutorial if it was edited to the completion of the other "Build it NOW!" books. As currently published, the book may leave you feeling empty.

3 comments about Practical Ruby for System Administration (Expert's Voice in Open Source).

1. If you've encountered Ruby primarily through Rails and know it chiefly as an elegant tool for writing web applications it's easy to miss its longer history as a tool for systems administration. Before Rails made Ruby the language-du-jour sysadmins bore much of the responsibility for keeping it alive, with the result that it has a suite of libraries helpful for server monitoring and a range of other administrative tasks.
   
   Author André Ben Hamou is clear that his book is not an exhaustive guide to using Ruby for systems administration. Rather than try to cover every possible context he provides an introduction to the language and some of its key libraries intended to give a feel for how it might be used and why it leads to succinct and expressive solutions. A number of the more important libraries for working with network protocols and files are covered, and there's a good introduction to rubygems and how they can be used and created.
   
   Having not done much work with Ruby on the command line I found the first couple of chapters, which cover command-line switches that can help with one-liners for file processing, particularly informative, though I suspect I'll be referring back to them for a while until the different options take hold. As with the book as a whole those chapters are clear and to-the-point, helped by a presumption that the reader has a good understanding of the problem space and some experience with using scripting languages to simplify their life.
   
   Don't go into this book expecting to come away ready to work as a sysadmin. That's not its intention. Nor is it a comprehensive guide to ruby, and you'll probably still want a good language reference to go with it. But it provides a number of helpful hints and a good sense of how robust scripts can be built quickly and simply with ruby, and there are likely to be a few helpful tricks for most readers.
   
   Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book for review by the publisher.



2. I thought this book would be great for me since I am a Unix administrator still relatively new to Ruby. I was right. This book covers a wide variety of topics, from ActiveRecord, to parsing XML and several other normal administration tasks. (network programming, ssh, monitoring) The depth of the coverage is more than adequate in most places. I learned quite a bit about using Ruby to automate some tasks, and of equal importance, I learned about the infrastructure behind ruby. He reviews performance, documentation, rake, rdoc, gems and more.
   
   The book is a great length for system admins who are not hard-core developers, but looking to expand their skillset and get some real benefit quickly. The coverage of XML-RPC, and ActiveLDAP, I have already put to use.
   
   Besides having some really strong content, the delivery in this book is great. The author commonly sounds like a system admin just talking to his buddies at a bar. The quotes and fun sayings are numerous throughout, but this was my favorite.
   
   When talking about the confusing terminology use with ldap, (cn, ou, dc etc) he takes a two step approach.
   1. Use Wikipedia
   2. (Direct Quote) "Whenever anyone suggests continuing use/support/deployment of LDAP solutions, laugh in their face with such explosive force that your response may be easily interpreted as an act of war. "
   
   Disclaimer, the author thoroughly covers LDAP, and clearly understands it, it was just funny.
   
   I laughed out loud reading this book no less than a dozen times, which is rare with a technical book. If your interested in Ruby, check it out. You won't walk away an expert, but you will have a better understanding of Ruby and its usage.



3. This isn't a bad book! There is coverage of LDAP, database processing with ActiveRecord, XML parsing and a number of tools that sys admins and developers who administer their own dev environment routinely use. The section on network monitoring as well as the Chapter on single liners for Ruby Sys Admins are worth the cover price for the book. However, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of coverage in some areas where the author introduced a basic concept at a level too basic for experienced users and then palmed off the user to a reference site for some more reading. There isn't a problem with this approach it is just that it happens a bit too much throughout the book. Perhaps the coverage was a bit ambitious and some of the more in-depth material was left out?
   
   Anyway, that's pretty much the reason for me not giving it 4 stars. However, do take a look at the one-liners, they are definitely going to save you time!
   
   Oh, the actual writing style is quite fresh and informative. You are not likely to get bored with this one... Overall I am still happy to have got my hands on it, but it wasn't exactly what I was led to believe from reading the other reviews.