5 comments about 3D Game Engine Design, Second Edition: A Practical Approach to Real-Time Computer Graphics (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Interactive 3D Technology).

1. This book is not about "Game Engine Design" -- it's about algorithms that you may come across when writing a 3D game engine. There's very little treatment of "engine design" in this book.
   
   Even though the title is misleading, it's still a great book if you're looking for a reference on 3D game engine algorithms.



2. Are you a professional or student working in game development? If you are, then this book is for you. Author David H. Eberly has done an outstanding job of writing a second edition of a book which focuses on the design of the scene graph management system and its associated rendering layer.
   
   Eberly, begins this book by discussing the details of a rendering system, including transformations, camera models, culling and clipping, rastering, and issues regarding software versus hardware rendering and about specific graphics application programmer interfaces in use these days. In addition, the author discusses rendering from the perspective of actually writing all of the subsystems for a software renderer. He also takes a look at the essentials of organizing your data as a scene graph. Then, he focuses on specifically designed nodes and subsystems of the scene graph management system. The author then looks at some general concepts you see in attempting to have physical realism in a three-dimensional application. Next, he discusses a lot of mathematical detail for much of the source code you will find in Wild Magic. Then, he takes a brief look at the basic principles of object-oriented design and programming. The author continues by discussing memory management. Finally, he takes a look at a handful of sample shaders and the applications that use them.
   
   This most excellent book is very much enhanced, describing the foundations for shader programming and how an engine can support it. Perhaps more importantly, the book is the most comprehensive reference available for the development of shader-based 3D graphics engines!



3. This book is fantastically comprehensive, though I bought it more for the CG algorithms than anything else.
   
   My biggest gripe is with the pseudo-code. My C++ is not great, but I can get by - I found the code in general under-commented for a textbook. If you were writing software, it might be fine, but the purpose of the code is to explain the algorithms, and to work in concert with the text, which it does not. Furthermore, I found the text did not fill in the holes - I was left to try to figure out what Eberley was doing by going through the code. Possibly if I had read the whole thing through from cover to cover things would be clearer.
   
   If you're just looking for an algorithm reference, you could do better.



4. This book gives you an excellent foundation upon which you can begin building a game engine. It covers all of the essentials (matrix algebra through artificial intelligence) wonderfully. It isn't so much a cookbook that will show you, step-by-step how to build a game engine, it gives you all of the tools to do so though.



5. I expected a book that would discuss game engine design in a fairly straight-forward manner. A book that started off with a discussion of the basic principles, and then moved on to the complex details would have been easier to follow.
   
   This book was not initially what I expected, due to the fact that it is very math-oriented. Within minutes of starting the book I was faced with mathematical proofs.
   
   However, the book is very thorough, and covers a diverse range of topics. Included with the book is the WildMagic engine, which is an implementation of the material discussed in the book.
   
   I would recommend it as a reference for somebody who is already familiar with game development, and who is not daunted by fairly complex math. I would caution beginners wanting to learn about game engine design to stay away.

No comments about Schneier's Cryptography Classics Library: Applied Cryptography, Secrets and Lies, and Practical Cryptography.

5 comments about WordPress 2 (Visual QuickStart Guide).

1. Like all the Quickstart books, this one cuts to the chase and makes it easy to get your blog running.



2. I agree with many of the other reviews that I have seen here. I usually don't right a review and I usually give most tech books the benefit of the doubt. I gave up on this book in Chapter 6. The first 5 chapters are nothing more than going through every page of Worpress admin and reading the input field. With no real explanation of what items do. I have been looking for a worpress book for a while and this was the first one I came across I was very disappointed. With that being said I will keep looking for a good wordpress book but in the mean time I will probably be better off just getting a good MySQL + PHP book.



3. Has useful stuff but misses important stuff, for instance: it says that someone can have a profile of subscriber [easily discerned from wordpress documentation] who can only read, but doesn't tell how to make that real. Everyone can read unless something is done to restrict site, so what did he tell us? Worthwhile book only because so little else exists.



4. This book provides an adequate overview of Wordpress, with plenty of screenshots to illustrate steps to take. It's a book though for people already equipped with familiarity with the basics of blogging and web coding, not for beginners with no exposure to HTML or PHP. Lacks clear explanations of terms that Wordpress users should be familiar with and omits step-by-step instructions of the two most important tasks anyone who uses Wordpress to publish and maintain a blog should be prepared to complete: 1) backing up your Wordpress files and database, and 2) install the latest version of Wordpress. Help with performing those two tasks was why I purchased this book. I was so disappointed that it contained no instructions to help me with these essential tasks. This book works as a supplementary text.



5. I found the book clear and very easy to follow. The pictures might be a bit bigger. But compared to WordPress for dummies, which focuses less on WordPress on your own server, I found WordPress 2 great. I can follow what is going on and what to do. That is what I sought. It makes everything (or almost everything) quite understandable.

3 comments about Pro SQL Server 2005 Service Broker (Expert's Voice).

1. Pro SQL Server 2005 Service Broker is about 500 pages and covers many advanced topics and real world examples. It's by far the most comprehensive book in its category. It covers all aspects of service broker technology from concept to architecture and Design, how Service Broker should be used, and what decisions have to be made to design and build a Service Broker application successfully.
   
   Whether you are new to Service Broker Technology or an advanced user of SQL messaging and Service-Oriented Architecture, this book provides a step by step guide to the Fundamentals of Message Based Processing for beginners or Advanced Service Broker Programming to accomplish Real World Application Scenarios for more advanced users.
   
   The final chapters unravel the mystery behind Service Oriented Database Architecture focusing heavily on the security and Infrastructure Aspects of a Service Broker Application.
   I highly recommend this book as a must have for anyone interested in designing effective and scalable Service Broker Application.



2. In a nutshell, the book "Pro SQL Server Service Broker" is certainly worth 5 stars. If you are remotely contemplating service broker, or even if you want to learn about it to get fresh ideas just in case: this book is a sure bullet in your shooter.
   
   As the name implies, it is a really a professional book written by a professional developer and mentor presenting a comprehensive coverage of the subject matter.
   
   Klaus addressed the subject in an excellent structure, starting with basic initial information then progressively exposing more and more complex stuff that enriches the readers' knowledge.
   
   Klaus showed two very critical traits required to present such excellent work: first, he exhibited a mastery of the technical skills explaining all the concepts in a lucid and easy-to-follow fashion with smooth transitions between subjects. Second, he proved to be a very good instructor and mentor.
   
   You can view these traits clearly throughout the book as it flows through a practical hands-on by-example approach that is supported by almost-complete source codes of the examples given. The full source code of all the examples and application are downloadable from the publishers' website.
   
   Klaus prepared the stage in chapter in a swift but quite good (quick and dirty: Clint anyone?) introduction to the subject matter of the SQL Server Service Broker. He concluded the book by great real-life style in two hefty chapters. The first chapter discusses SOA and SODA concepts in the context of distributed service broker implementations, the second presented some issues and applications you can implement by resorting to SQL Service Broker using a DIY style to showcase several real-life scenarios. The last chapter of the book even presented information related to administering Service Broker.
   
   For those VB developers (like me) out there, go and grab a book about C# and learn it (I did that a couple of years ago), at least just to make use of the wealth of resources that you may find only in C# including this book!
   
   Shame my own project was "put into sleep" before I had the chance to put what I learned into the practical world. But then again, I benefited all the same, as I read the whole book, cover to cover and it was a pleasant and very interesting ride.



3. the explanations and examples within this book give confidence to implement service broker solutions, something never availible in in Books on line.....

5 comments about Flash 8: Projects for Learning Animation and Interactivity (O'Reilly Digital Studio).

1. As the title states, this project-based approach to learning Flash 8 covers everything from becoming familiar with the interface to using both vector graphics versus pixilated images to the power of writing action script.
   
   For the beginning Flash 8 user, this book starts from scratch on how to draw objects. It begins by having the reader draw a simple box; by then end of the third chapter, what started as one object has become a movie, complete with alpha effects, motion effects, and even a first stab at action script. The remainder of the book builds off these core aspects of Flash. As a beginner, the book made it easy to follow through the step-by-step processes required to make Flash 8 work as desired.
   
   Not only does the book walk Flash users through the step-by-step processes, it also includes very useful sidebar notes and separate comment boxes (not to mention the wide sidebar space that just happen to be perfect for note-taking). These features are helpful in understanding how Flash `thinks' about the commands given in the projects. Also, the side notes will oftentimes refer the reader to the chapter in which a process is discussed in more detail to aid those more experienced users who have skipped around rather than reading the book cover-to-cover. Another handy feature of Flash 8: Projects for Learning Animation and Interactivity is the appendix titled "Tips and Resources," which lists some optional websites to extend Flash 8s possibilities; there is also a list of sites to practice with more tutorials.
   
   One potential downside of working through these projects comes with any book that uses the project-based approach: time. It takes time to work through the examples, even the ones that start out with some of the background work already done for you. However, this approach also gives a more thorough understanding of Flash 8 and should be beneficial to anyone who prefers a hands-on approach to learning the software. As such, it may be best suited for beginning users, but definitely has some information throughout that all semi-experienced Flash users should know.



2. The Flash 8 projects for learning Animation and Interactivity book is a good resource for beginner to learn animation. It takes you step by step using practice examples to teach you basic animation techniques. The title of the book show two issues the first one is learning animation and I think the writer covered this part very well for beginners. The second issue is Learning Interactivity, which is covered along with the animation. The chapter that causes confusion for me is the 13th chapter. As it talks about e-learning in Flash, which is a very big issue that can not covered in one chapter, even for beginners. I think this part needs another book to cover deeply and give the beginner a strong beginning step in the field of e-learning.
   Regardless the 13th chapter I see the book focused well and this helps the beginners to grasp the idea of the animation in Flash.



3. Are you a beginning Flash user who wants to bring their project ideas to life? If you are, then this book is for you. Authors Richard Shupe and Robert Hoekman, have done an outstanding job of writing a book that includes everything you need to get started in Flash.
   
   Shupe and Robert Hoekman, begin by showing you how to use Flash's vector drawing tools. Then, the authors describe how you can set up your work environment the way you feel most comfortable. The authors then show you how to use a few essential techniques to create your first animated Flash movie. Next, they show you how to give your audience some control through the use of buttons and ActionScript. The authors also show you how Flash can work with other applications to help you meet your project needs. They continue by showing you how movie clips allow you to create animations that play independently of one another. Then, the authors show you how to create an animated advertisement for the sale of a home; as well as, other experience with some of these techniques. Next, they show you how to work with sound. They continue by showing you how to add video to your projects, with and without Action Script. Then, the authors describe how you can composite bitmap and vector assets on the fly and learn how to inject a heightened sense of expression into your files with real-time filter effects. The authors then show you how to use text. Next, they focus on solving one problem: Keeping initial download times to a minimum without compromising too much quality or creativity. The authors also show you how to use a template and components to construct a three-question quiz about what you've learned so far. They continue by exploring two slightly less conventional distribution methods for Flash content. Finally, they show you a few projects that demonstrate some of Flash's less common uses.
   
   Several techniques are used in this most excellent book to help you better understand and retain the information you are given. More importantly, the preceding approach is what makes this book more effective learning tool than other books on the shelf.



4. Flash 8 Projects for learning Animation and Interactivity
   By Rich Shupe & Robert Hoekman, Jr.
   Publisher: O'Reilly
   Copyright 2006
   IBSN: 0-596-10223-2
   
   Review by: Linda Weller
   
   The books learning style is organic. They pair topics with goals. You learn by doing. Shortcuts are highlighted. Self teaching is encouraged by allowing you to expand on the projects using what you have learned. Sample files are available online or on the CD Rom.
   
   They try to spoon feed you a little ActionScript in the sidebars of the book. Then you get to the chapter on creating a form and wow your using somewhat complex ActionScript and a PHP form. I hope you have a server installed that allows PHP for this one.
   This book is filled with lots of special little tips. For example they tell you the difference between object level undo's and document level undo's. I bet you thought it was just ctrl +z.
   
   Some of the Flash 8 features that are covered are Object drawing and Merge draw and when to you each one, metadata fields to make your Flash files search engine friendly, copy to grid assistant and, the distributed duplicate assistant.
   
   Productivity tips are covered using the align panel, timeline effect assistants and the history panel. Have you ever needed to change a symbol's registration point after it is made? Go to the Info window.
   
   Usability is covered. The author's show you how to add an active content bar to your menu buttons so the user knows where they are in the menu. Also, using the anchor from the label type drop down menu which is like an HTML anchor enables the back and forward buttons to work when navigating browsers.
   
   There is information on all the basics: making an invisible button, tweening, shape tweening and, masks. How to work with assets is discussed. They show why we use PNG format in Flash with a rather graphic example. You can access round trip editing with a program of your choice.
   
   Chapter 7 is loaded with lots of animation techniques such as using shape tweening to have a house draw itself, gradient masks, enabling bitmap caching with ActionScript on the mask and masked movie clips. There is a whole exercise to help you learn to decide when you would use scripted and when you would use timeline animation.
   
   The chapter on sound give you some great tips on trimming unused portions of your sound and using short loops to optimize your files. They even tell you of a free sound editor. You create an MP3 player and a video player with ActionScript as well as creating players using the components.
   
   All the new Bitmap caching and filter effects are discussed. You make bevel filters using ActionScript 2.0 classes.
   
   They close off the last chapter with lots of web resources and tips. For example for file optimization purposes you can go to "file--save-- compact new" this totally removes deleted files from the system and reduces file size.



5. I like this book. It's easy. It's clear. It reminds me of the wise words: "Keep it Simple Stupid!"
   
   I used this book to teach a class of teenagers about Flash and it was great. I gave it to a marketing guy who professed an interest in making some stuff in Flash and it was great. And I've used it myself. Again, great. The authors have filled the book with practical mini-projects that explain various concepts in Flash.
   
   This is a book about the basics for beginners. It covers the basics of a whole range of methods and techniques. And it touches upon more advanced concepts briefly and helpfully. All the way from the drawing tools in Flash to using some action script and bit map effects. It has a very clear explanation of what a conditional statement is, for example. And also exaplins variables and scope succintly and accurately. It also tells you how to make a roll-over button in Flash. Awesome! (Hey... remember the first one you made? I still get excited about swapping images on the fly with code, so I can dig it.)
   
   If you know somebody who has NO CLUE - and I include myself in that category at times, obviously - how to: center something on the stage (Align), undo to ten steps ago (History), make a photo move around (Importing, Tweening), have a cartoon character walk believably (Walk Cycles), display only part of a photo (Masking), make a volume knob for your own web radio station (Sound Control), let people email them from their Flash website (Form Data)... Well, then! This is the book for them.

5 comments about Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition.

1. I had done some work with style sheets, but was confused bythe terms and had no idea what they can do. This book completely changed what I can do when I design web sites. It'sa real eye-opener and a great reference.



2. Probably a bit out of date at this point. For me, this book wasn't that useful, since I generally refer to the W3C site for information about CSS. But it's a nice desk reference, and a standard tool for almost all CSS developers. There's probably a new version out by now to address all the developments that have happened in the past couple of years, I would look for that (or wait until one comes out, it won't be long).



3. This is the 'go-to' reference for me. The truly ultimate guide to CSS from one of the construct's primary innovators and authors. Mr. Meyer is the most knowledgeable person in the field of CSS, browser compatibility and all around HTML design.



4. This book is not an explanation or tutorial of how to make beautiful pages with CSS. I think the people who give it below 3 stars may have been looking for that, and instead they should try CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions. This book IS, however, a complete reference to all CSS properties and values, and also contains some valuable tips on browser behavior and bugs. If I'm coding along and forget what all the possible values are for list-style-type, this is the book I reach for.



5. Note that there are at least 3 editions of this book. Check for the latest edition if you want the latest.

5 comments about Game Physics Engine Development (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Interactive 3D Technology).

1. The book gives you step by step code on how to create a simple physics engine.



2. I found it a good read, and you can in most cases get a feel for what the writer is trying to achieve....he puts across the basic principle and then goes into a few ways of how you would compensate for such things, such as wobbling on the ground, multiple collisions etc. i.e. Introducing a few bodges etc to get a realistic look...rather than follow the maths to the letter.
   
   Its not what I'd call a basic book which usually cover a lot of spheres and single point collisions, but then its not as advanced as eberlys....its a good intermediate book...definetly worth a read if your new to physics.
   
   Happy coding =)



3. I was pleasantly surprised to find the book an enjoyable read, and easy to follow. It describes physics engine development in a straightforward manner. This book serves as an excellent introduction for those who are new to physics engine development.
   
   It may not be suitable for those who already have experience in this field, and who are looking for more advanced knowledge on the subject. I would recommend it as a primer on the subject - the book to start with before moving on to more complex subject matter.



4. This book is very thorough and has clear explanations with examples of source code. Very helpful in learning the systematics of a game physics engine.



5. is a very best practical reference to development a physic game engine. Another books, too many mathematics, other, very simple, this it is a book halfway among mathematics and practical code.

2 comments about Beginning Java™ SE 6 Platform: From Novice to Professional (Beginning from Novice to Professional).

1. This is not a book for people, with no prior experience, to learn Java.
   
   I recently purchased this book under the impression that it was a book for those that are wishing to learn Java. Though, upon looking into the book, I realized that was not what I had purchased. Here is a quote from the book's introduction:
   
   "Welcome to Beginning Java SE 6 Platform. Contrary to its title, this is not another beginner-oriented book on Java. You will not learn about classes, threads, file I/O, and other fundamental topics. If learning Java from scratch is your objective, you will need to find another book."



2. This books - provides a jump start on the latest and greatest that has been added to Java 6. This book is not for beginners. Even experience people would learn a lot about what Java 6 is all about - what are the different enhancements made, what important bug fixes have been made to Java 6. The best thing is the author provides a lot of URLs of places to browse for more indepth details for the more curious minded people.

5 comments about Exploiting Online Games: Cheating Massively Distributed Systems (Addison-Wesley Software Security Series).

1. This book is a must read for anybody interested in online games or software security. Non-technical readers can skip over the detailed code for exploits, and will still gain an excellent overview of the problems that online games face. Those interested in understanding the problems in detail will undoubtedly enjoy the code as well.
   
   One of the main problems discussed by the book is that online games include a lot of game logic on the client side to provide a responsive and enjoyable experience for players. However, the problem from a software security perspective is that attackers can modify the client-side logic to change some of the rules of the game to their advantage. Of course, client-side trust issues are a widespread problem in software, and are not limited to online games alone. The book discusses many other problems with online games (and massive distributed systems in general) as well.
   
   This book has at least two advantages over many other software security books. Firstly, it should appeal to a wider audience that includes millions of online game players, thus increasing general awareness of software security issues. Secondly, it does not shy away from providing full source code for actual exploits, which should help software developers better understand what their software is up against.



2. I really appreciated the detail the authors went into in order to explain how to pull off certain exploits. It was obvious that they had really tried them all hands on.



3. I thought the book would contain more about FPS cheating and less about WoW. It's 90% about WoW. I don't work on an MMO so I got bored fast.
   
   Not a horrible book, but not great either. I preferred Hoglund's Rootkit book since it had more generic approaches to subverting win32 processes.
   
   If you work on an MMO, you should probably pick this one up.



4. By the way, you can read more in my book . . .
   If you want to know more, buy . . .
   Discuss further in my book and every other book printed by my publishing company . . .
   
   This book is a mess of poorly explained code snippets and self promotion. Also, it focues 90% of its hacking on WoW. If you don't know anything about World of Warcraft, then you will be completly lost. I have /timeplayed 1000 hours, so I could follow all of the WoW references, but unfamiliar readers will not understand large parts of the book.
   
   Half of the work in this book is just cut and pasted from code scattered on the internet. If you don't know C++, how to exploit the Windows OS, or modifying memory, these walls of code don't make much sense.
   
   This is the first book I have ever returned. The constant self promoting and lazy cut and paste code just frustrated the hell out of me.



5. Online games are, as the term implies, video games played over the Internet. Many of them have associated online communities that reach well beyond the closed world of traditional single-player home games. The most popular, World of Warcraft, boasts more than 10 million players worldwide.
   
   While the world of online gaming is built to entertain, its creators and players fight the same IT threats as business-oriented networks. Today's 12-year old who is hacking World of Warcraft simply to cheat at the game could, in a couple years, be targeting corporate networks to more nefarious ends.
   
   While the game attackers' goals are different, this book demonstrates the lengths to which they are willing to go to access a system. Those tactics are likely forerunners of software and network security challenges to come in other online arenas.
   
   In Exploiting Online Games: Cheating Massively Distributed Systems, authors Greg Hoglund and Gary McGraw offer a look at those threats. The book's 10 chapters provide a comprehensive overview of everything from game hacking 101 to reverse engineering.
   
   The authors explain in depth why and how online games are a harbinger of software security issues to come, and manifest some that already exist. They describe how gamers have created billion-dollar virual econ-omies, how to build a bot to play a game for you, why players cheat, and even how game companies invade players' personal privacy.
   
   Most important, the authors describe how game creators overcome a security issue only to have it defeated by the hackers. Sound familiar? This never ending "Spy vs. Spy" scenario is obviously frustrating to the game creators and underscores the critical importance of building effective application security into the fabric of the game.
   
   Both Hoglund and McGraw have written extensively on the importance of software security. The sooner you and your software developers read their most recent book, the better off your software infrastructure will be. Your software is critical to your organization; protect it as well as the gamers do.

5 comments about Microsoft SQL Server 2005: A Beginner''s Guide (Beginner's Guide (Osborne Mcgraw Hill)).

1. I found this book to be ok as a general overview, but found a puzzling mix of too much information in some parts, and not enough in other parts. Overall, it tended to be a "slow read," even for a programming book, especially if you have any background in SQL Server or Oracle.
   
   One thing that I did not like about the book at all was that the tables lacked data for the examples. Too many queries returned no data, when they just as easily could return rows with just a few more rows in the tables. I realize that these are supposed to be simple tables, but I understand examples a lot better with actual data, not "in the sample database, there are no...."
   
   Another shortcoming is that there is a lot of "this will be explained ten or fifteen chapters from now." If a concept is introduced, it should be at least partially covered. If the author was worried about the length of the book, he could have not had so much repetition of trivial information, which I found scattered throughout the book.
   
   Overall, this is a book that could be better organized. It never really becomes a reference book, nor a design book. However, if you don't mind skipping around from chapter to chapter, it can be used as a semi-useful reference.



2. This book provides a solid introduction to SQL Server 2005. The coverage is comprehensive. (Very few books attempt to cover the relational database engine with Transact-SQL, database administration, performance tuning, Analysis Services and XML in one volume and this one does it successfully.) The writing is clear and I did not have any problems to understand all topics discussed in it.
   My IT department also used the book to learn how the implementation of stored procedures and UDFs can be done using C#. The coverage of this topic is not too deep, but the existing examples and the given description allowed us to implement several routines and to evaluate the use of CLR for our department.
   My opinion is that this book is not for complete beginners. But, if you have some knowledge of relational database systems and wants one book as a source, I can recommend it to you.



3. Looking for a book to use as a training guide. First of all, this book was written using a BETA version of SQL Server 2005. Many areas changed from beta to full release of SQL Server 2005, therefore already a big worry about this book. Secondly, for a beginners book to only talk about installing SQL Server in Chapter 16 (part III of the book!!!) is poor and shows a book thrown together in my opinion. It looks as if this is an update of his previous book (?) where there is text clearly about SQL Server 2000 with an "add on" sentence saying how SQL Server 2005 has changed this. For beginners this is confusing. They dont care about SQL Server 2000 or if they did they would buy a SQL Server 20005 Beginners Guide.
   Other examples are where the author gets quite technical but then new functionality (such as the APPLY operator) "is outside the scope of this book". However deep security areas that are discsussed are "inside" the scope of this book.
   I would recommend you either wait for the rewrite or even better, update of this book that uses the correct version of SQL Server 2005, or look elsewhere. I sent this book straight back. Sorry



4. What I like on this book is that it is very comprehensive.
   All components of SQL Server 2005 are described in it. The description of each component is clear. Besides a couple of sentences, I did not have any problems to understand the content of this book. I found some small typographical errors, but as a whole I think that this is a very gook book.



5. I've had a terrible time learning SQL Server programming from this book. I've got lots of Oracle experience, so picking up T-SQL should have been fairly easy.
   
   My main complaint is that the book is horridly edited and organized. For example, at one point I found that the author was using the "GO" command in his scripts, and I didn't remember reading what that meant. I went to the index and found where "GO" was introduced. It was a in a "Tip" box more than 20 pages back -- explained in brief, with no example, completely out of any context, and "GO" didn't appear in any scripts until 20 pages later. Now why would the author do that? This book is full of things like that.
   
   He struggles a bit with English, too. For example, he says a function is "threefold" if it returns one of three possible values. The language doesn't prevent learning from the book, but it makes for a jarring ride.
   
   I've pushed my way through the book and I'm better off than when I started, so I'll give it 2 stars instead of 1. But man, am I frustrated.