5 comments about Adobe Premiere Elements for Dummies.

1. I bought this book because I found the Premiere Elements user guide less than helpful. Adobe Premiere Elements for Dummies does contain a lot of helpful information and tips, but my impression is that I'll need to read the book cover to cover rather than using it as a reference guide. Be aware that this book's screen shots do not reflect Premiere Elements 2.0. I don't know how different 2.0 is from previous versions, but this was a source of frustration for me when I was trying to find out how to "single step" through a clip.



2. I was looking for a manual for Premiere Elements 3.0 but this book doesn't cover this version. Maybe it is good for version 1.0



3. Both books that I ordered were handled in an excellent manner and arrived on the date specified. Very good documentation was provided as to the departure and arrival. I was impressed with the efficienty of the order. Thanks very much.



4. I found the book well written and quite enlightening! Unfortunately, the product Mr.Underdahl is 'teaching' us about is a faulty one at best. After following the book, word for word, I attempted to 'cut my show'. BTW, I am NOT a 'hobbyist'. The book addresses the 'Windows XP' platform and there are a few differences with the newer "Vista". Still, the book describes the many 'functions' of this software with understated humor and precision, but it doesn't address the multitude of problems one will encounter while right in the middle of a delicate 'cut' or transition. The 'error' message pops up and literally shuts down your project. I thought it was just me until I visited the 'user to user' Adobe forum and discovered that many, MANY people experience the same frustration and ultimate problems with this program. Oh yes, I as well as the others have downloaded the '3.0.2' patch...not good enough as yet another 'error' will subsequently appear and mess it up. Sorry folks, the book is fantastic but the product is not. Adobe simply wants us to upgrade for yet more money. Not acceptable. Good luck!



5. Great book for someone new to the software. It was a huge help. Excellent index for the beginner.

3 comments about Successful Business Intelligence: Secrets to Making BI a Killer App.

1. Cindi Howson has impressed me as a thoughtful and knowledgeable professional who has contributed greatly to the BI field by living in the trenches, digging into the details, and teaching others about her experiences.
   
   It is hard to find a comprehensive book on BI that is written without an impenetrable cloud of technical concepts. Ten years ago, successful BI depended on the expert execution of those technical concepts. However, BI has matured, increasing the importance of nontechnical factors for successful BI.
   
   This book tracks this trend by clarifying the current success factors for successful BI projects. Oldies and goodies are covered, such as the necessity of executive support, data quality, and business-IT partnership. However, the real contribution lies in highlighting some of the new success factors, such as:
   
   - Measuring Success: If you can not measure BI, you will not be successful. The book suggests numerous ways to measuring your BI effort.
   
   - Role of Luck, Opportunity, Frustration and Threat: We hate to admit it, but BI projects are often successful (or not) for reasons beyond our control or even our imagination. Get over it! The book suggests ways of maximizing your success by making you aware of this dynamic.
   
   - Agile Development: Do not build BI systems in the old traditional way. We all know this. But do we know a good alternative? The book outlines the Agile Manifesto to deliver early and continuous versions, embrace requirements changes, intensify person interactions, etc.
   
   - Organizational Culture: Experienced BI professionals realize that some company cultures are so messed up that there is no way to have a successful BI project. Sad but true! This book suggests the essential cultural characteristics based on the research of Jim Collins.
   
   I highly recommend this book to both BI professionals who have some experience and business executives who are new to BI. The old timers can refocus and sync with the new trends. And, the executives can focus on the real business issues, avoiding paralysis over technical details.



2. Cindi Howson's book is timely, relevant, insightful, thought provoking, and actionable. She constructively addresses the Yin and Yang perspecitives of IT Professionals vs. their Business User communities, and the fertile common ground where their successful Business Intelligence initiatives and value resides; providing current reference cases generated from her market surveys and company interviews.



3. Excellent book defining BI best practices, how BI measures processes, BI for process improvement, defining what BI is, how to set up a BI strategy with real-life case studies.
   
   I cannot tell you how many times I have referred to this book - it is dog-eared, post-it noted, and referred to many times in my daily life of working in Business Intelligence.
   
   Cindi Howson explains what BI is, what agile is, what's worked well, what hasn't worked well, and there's a survey at the back of the book that I am anxious to use. For example, I have heard the term "agile BI" several times at trade shows but I never really understood it until I read this book.
   
   This book is a must-read for those working in BI, managing BI, or those who need to strategize based on BI results. It is a fantastic book!

5 comments about Pro C# with .NET 3.0, Special Edition (Pro).

1. Many of us IT professionals by these thick books for use as reference, without intending to work our way from cover to cover. As I read this book, it became clear I needed to read the entire volume. It is well-written, and stays on track and focused. I have learned many useful things that I will be able to use in my daily tasks.



2. I have 4 books about .Net framework 2.0 and I even have a book about Windows Workflow Foundation, so I bought this book "judged by the cover" and title "Pro C# with .NET 3.0"
   The truth is that only 17 percent of the book (194 pages of 1151) is concerning 3.0.
   That's not good enough.
   The reason for the 3 stars, is that the book is a very well written 2.0 book, but buy it only for that, and wait for the framework 3.5 books, with an greater insight the new technologies, to come.



3. Clear and well presented book. Easy to read and seemingly covers most aspects. Experienced programmer but starting first C#.NET project and certainly best book I have purchased on this subject



4. Andrew Troelsen is an excellent author and knows how to explain things. The book covers in a detailed way the phylosophy of .net and the C# programming language. This is it's strength.
   On the other hand, I do think that the later chapters are misguided. We have a chapter about .net remoting, another one on Windows forms, and then a short introduction to the .NET 3.0 stuff like WPF, WF and WCF. Well, I bought the book for the 3.0 material. Why didn't they call the book:
   
   "Pro C# 3.0 with short intro to .NET 3.0"?
   
   Best regards,



5. This book allowed to literally give away 3 rows of programming books. Apress always does a good job on their publications. This book is really all an experienced C# programmer needs in his library (aside from a good ASP.net) book for web design techniques

5 comments about Programming 16-Bit PIC Microcontrollers in C: Learning to Fly the PIC 24 (Embedded Technology) (Embedded Technology).

1. I have thouroughly enjoyed reading and using this great publication. It is absolutely the best introduction to PIC24 in particular and C30 as well. This book makes a great companion for the Explorer 16 development board from Microchip.
   I look forward to a follow up edition with a few more projects and peripheral code segments.
   
   Very Well Done Lucio



2. I already had a problem to solve in my mind when I statred to read this book. The book worked out for me in two ways: First, the topics of the book cover my problems very well, and secondly the code in the book worked well as I tested them project by project as a learning process. Also, I agree with the points other reviewers made before my review. So, no need to repeat them. I am not an EE and new to microcontroller. To understand a topic of the book I still need to cross-check some sections in the data sheet of a PIC24 and its corresponding C header file. This slows down my reading, but turns out to give me a better understanding. I completely recommend this book.
   
   David W. at Ferndale, MI, USA



3. I've bought several books on microcontrollers, and most of them have been poorly written. This book is exceptional: the writing is clear, it has been professionally edited, and the audience focus is clearly stated. It contains a lot of valuable background that only someone who works at Microchip would know.
   
   I have to take off a star because the book does not mention the numerous hardware problems these microcontrollers have. All microprocessors have some issues, but the errata for PIC24F parts is unusually lengthy. Jasio neatly sidesteps the hardware minefields, for example by using an SPI communication protocol rather than the more elegant I2C. Don't get me wrong: I'm a big fan of these parts, and I think everyone who designs with microprocessors should look at them seriously. Still, I can't believe that someone could write a book like this and not mention the errata.



4. I WAS REFERRED TO AMAZON.COM TO PURCHASE THE BOOK. TRUSTING MY FRIEND WHO REFERRED ME THAT THEY ARE A REPUTABLE COMPANY, I TRANSFERRED THE CASH FOR THE PURCHASE. AMAZON CONFIRMED HAVING RECVEIVED THE CASH AND PROMISED TO SHIP THRE BOOK IMMEDIATELY. THAT WAS MORE THAN A MONTH AGO.
   
   I HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE BOOK YET AND HAVE CHECKED WITH ALL THE SHIPPING COMPANIES IN SOUTH AFRICA (BEARING IN MIND THAT AMAZON.COM IS UNABLE TO PROVIDE A TRACKING NUMBER). THE BOOK HAS POSITIVELY NOT ENTERED INTO THE COUNTRY THROUGH ANY OF THE ENTRY POINTS.
   
   NUMEROUS E-MAILS SENT TO VARIUS E-MAIL ADDRESSES AT AMAZON.COM FAILED TO PRODUCE ANY RESPONSE FROM THEM. I DESPERATELY NEED THE BOOK, AND IT SEEMS AS I WILL HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER SUPPLIER WHO CAN DELIVER BEFORE THE BOOK IS SO OUTDATED THAT I WOULD NOT WANT TO READ IT ANYMORE.



5. This book pretends to be a programming book on the PIC24 16-bit microcontroller family from Microchip. And if it were only that, it would easily earn a 5 rating. But the author has gone way beyond his calling. He turned this into a real insider's view of what gcc is doing under the covers with this MCU. This is better than good because there are so few good books on embedded C programming, and none of them do a good job of showing both sides. As a C programmer you normally don't care what the computer is doing under the covers. But as an embedded C programmer this is critical information! So I'd like to give this book a 10: 5 for PIC24 coverage and 5 for under-the-cover info on what gcc is doing. Even if you don't use the PIC 24, you need this book!

3 comments about Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft SQL Server T-SQL in 10 Minutes (Sams Teach Yourself).

1. Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft SQL Server T-SQL in 10 Minutes (Sams Teach Yourself)
   by Ben Forta
   
   Short Review:
   If T-SQL (Transact-Structured Query Language) is foreign tongue to you, after reading this book, you will speak T-SQL. This book is SQL Server version of best-selling book Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes. This book teaches what a SQL developer must know methodically, systematically, and exactly. Anybody who are new to SQL Server and wants to learn most of T-SQL which can be implemented in short time in their application - BUY this book immediately.
   
   Detail Review:
   This is the one book I was awaiting eagerly. I claim that I am very experience Database Administrator and Database Developer, however, I have learned something new from this book of acclaimed author Ben Forta.
   
   This book is focused on T-SQL only. It begins with simple data retrieval and continues to develop complex topics. It addresses various topics that are enough to get some work done with SQL Server as well explains concept in depth. SQL Server 2005 is a very complex, feature rich product. This book does a wonderful job of explaining the various features with out going to too many details that majority of the users will not need anyway. This book covers all of the important aspects of SQL Server 2005 without clouding the information with tons of examples that are not for every user.
   
   Author has divided the book into short comprehensible chapters along with to the point examples and explanations of the concepts. If you see "Table of Contents" of this book, you will find that this book covers many areas. I will talk about few of my personal favorite chapters of this book here to demonstrate, what this book does is best at.
   
   Chapter 5: Sorting Retrieved Data
   If you want to sort in descending order on multiple columns, be sure each column has its own DESC keyword.
   When you are sorting textual data, is A the same as a? And does a come before B or after Z? In dictionary sort order, A is treated the same as a. If you need an alternate sort order, you can not accomplish it with a simple ORDER BY clause.
   It is not required, and it is perfectly legal to sort data by a column that is not retrieved.
   
   Chapter 10: Using Data Manipulation Functions
   It is far safer to always use a full four digit year so that SQL Server does not have to make any assumptions for you.
   When comparing dates, always use DATEDIFF(), and do not make assumptions about how dates are stored.
   
   Chapter 15: Creating Advanced Joins
   It is worth noting that table aliases are only used during query execution. Unlike column aliases, table aliases are never returned to the client.
   Self joins are often used to replace statements using subqueries that retrieve data from the same table as the outer statement. Sometimes these joins execute far more quickly than do subqueries.
   
   Chapter 22: Programming with T-SQL
   This is my most favorite chapter. Experienced programmers will find this chapter most interesting.
   
   To discover the secret of SQL, this is the book you need to read, extremely well written, easy to follow and most importantly to the point. This has got to be the smallest SQL book in existence with highest amount of quality content. A really MUST have book.
   
   Rating: 5 stars
   
   In Summary, A MUST read.
   
   Pinal Dave
   Principal Database Administrator
   (http://www.SQLAuthority.com)



2. I am brand new to SQL Server and have been reading a handful of large SQL Server for beginners type books, but I kept getting hung up on all the T-SQL commands. No book seemed to explain it clearly, or they'd suddenly introduce a series of mind-numbing code without explanation - assuming you knew it. Fortunately for me, I stumbled on this gem of a book. It is well laid out, concise, and there is no filler. It starts with the absolute basics and works on up through to more complex T-SQL scripts (stored procedures, cursors, triggers etc.), but by the time you get there - you're more confident with this stuff. I'd highly recommend this book if you want to learn T-SQL.



3. This is a great book for any newbie to T-SQL. There are lots of examples and each of those is accompanied by an explanation, without assuming that you already knew something (a pet peeve of mine for many how-to books). The chapters are broken up well and each leads into the next seamlessly. It is not the ultimate reference guide, but if you are looking to learn and understand how T-SQL works, then this is the book for you.

5 comments about Beginning C ++ Through Game Programming, Second Edition.

1. This book is an amazing book if you take it for what it is. It teaches the basics of C++ programming. The games you make in this book are fun and used as instructional tools, they aren't meant for you to go off and start making WoW 2. It's a great book if you want to learn the basics of C++ but in a more entertaining method than in a standard C++ book.



2. First of all you have to keep in mind that the purpose of this book is not to teach game programming, but C++ programming. With that in mind, don't expect to learn graphics, AI or anything like that (except for some extremelly basic concepts).
   
   However, in teaching C++ it succeeds. But it doesn't go much deep into anything and it is somewhat disjointed. If you can't be motivated by anything but game programming and can't stand to learn any other way, then pick this book - if you really want to learn pick another and this book to give you some (very basic) basics on game programming.



3. Seriously this book is the best I have read yet when I first started it I was a newbie programmer but the way micheal dawson explains the c++ fundamentals keeps things fun and exciting this is one of the only c++ books you can find that isnt dry or boring think of it like being in a game industry school he has you apply your new skills in projects by the end of the project you learn what you need to learn and quick you wont want to miss this book I guarantee it!



4. This book was nothing more than another poor purchase decision on my behalf. Written towards the audiance of those who ought not be reading it in the first place this book takes on an annoying simplistic tone. Reading it is like sitting through the basic trig review before taking multi var calculus, the most complex example is a cheap command line version of blackjack.
   
   If you have any computer knowledge at all and you purchase this book I can guarantee you that it will be one of the ones that just sit on the shelf and make you look smart, never to be opened.



5. (In reference to 1st Edition) As my title suggests this book is a pretty good introduction to C++ using basic games as the subject of the examples and exercises. Its main focus is on teaching the fundamental aspects of C++ for beginners and how to use the Standard Template Library (STL). Creating games is not really the focus as much as the the chosen subject of the examples and lessons. That said, what this book does, and does fairly well in my experience, is give a good overview and introduction to C++ and how it can be used to create the basic flow structure of a game program. Console text output is the focus, not windows programming. Those with more programming experience and looking for material on 2D or 3D graphics, or event scripting and control using C++, would be better served by another text as it does not address these subjects at all.
   
   I have used this book successfully to help teach teens fundamental C++ and the basics of game programming (within the limits described). It is an easy step from here to go to basic text adventures and RPGs, and a then onto adding graphics, etc. as a more advanced topic (using other texts). This is really a natural progression for someone who wants to learn programming and games, but perhaps not for someone who wants to design games from an art or interaction perspective. More advanced topics such as AI, graphics, and scripting can really only be learned after one understands basic programming (in C++ or another language) and the basic of how game programs are structured.
   
   I have found many students do not necessarily understand what it means to "program games" or how programming relates to game design and implementation. Beginning C++ Game Programming is a good text but if you are already a programmer and/or not interested in the basic code structure of games then perhaps you should find another book.
   
   Bottom Line: Good choice for a real beginner, who is really interested in learning programming because of games, but not a good choice if you are an experienced programmer or want to make your own 2D or 3D video game "right now".

2 comments about C++ GUI Programming with Qt 4 (2nd Edition) (Prentice Hall Open Source Software Development Series).

1. Qt continues to evolve. This book gives a comprehensive description of the latest major release, 4. Why does Qt even exist? Basically because now any object oriented language that seeks broad usage needs an extensive widget library for the making of graphical programs. Java and C# are the prime examples. But of course C++ predates these by many years, and the intrinsic definitions of the C++ standards have no widgets. So Qt is offered as the [mostly] graphical extension of C++. Akin to how the Standard Template Library has data structures that extend the purely computational aspects.
   
   In some ways, the book is pretty simple if you've coded in any other graphical language. The concepts are the same. An attraction of Qt is how quickly you can write code to put up windows with several widgets, and attaching callbacks to button widgets for functionality.
   
   Qt also has important classes dealing with other issues. Like reading and writing to the filesystem or SQL database. And multithreading. Or parsing XML. These sections of the book can be harder to assimilate. With the graphical classes, writing test code and debugging can be easy, since the graphics gives you a tight visual feedback loop. But for [say] debugging TCP client server applications, low level bugs can be very obscure to hunt down.



2. The fact that this is the ONLY official best-practice guide to QT 4 programming makes it a 'must have' for any college-level or specialty computer library serious about catering to C++ programmers. QT4 enables developers to build stronger C++ applications that run on systems from Linux to Windows without source code changes, and this revised, expanded documentary includes the latest, proven solutions for all kind of GUI development asks. This update includes new coverage of databases, XML and other programming concerns. A 'must' reference for serious, advanced programmers and computer libraries.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

5 comments about Beginning Python: From Novice to Professional (Beginning: From Novice to Professional).

1. I'm an old school VB programmer who has decided to freshen up my CV by adding Python to my skills. This book provided me with a great kick start to the wonderful world of Python and what it brings to the dynamic scripting languages table.
   The book is written so that its easy enough to grasp the concepts if you're a newbie (or old dog like me) without sounding condescending.
   Its worth a look if you are contemplating making the leap into Python.



2. This is an awesome book. I have lots of programming experience and dreaded learning another computer language as I probably know over 15 by now but this book really made learning Python fun and enjoyable. It reminded me of my early days in programming, in grade school, and how much enjoyed programming then and now. Penetration Tester's scripting language of choice.



3. After not touching any sort of programming for upwards of four years I picked up this book on a whim. Though it may not be as exhaustively thorough with respect to basics as some of the other beginners python books, I found that it still explains things well enough. It also does a really good job of surveying some of most useful modules and their specifics. It is far from an all inclusive book, however it is supposed to be an introductory book and by those standards it is excellent. I find that I still reference this book often while I am programming.



4. This is a very good Python Book. Simple for the novice and, at the same time, complete for the medium skill programmer.
   Some chapter are long and with many information that probably aren't interesting for all readers.
   However, it's a very good book that teach Python and explain to the reader some basic concepts of good programming and computer science. A must to read.
   
   Passo all'italiano. Un buon libro, facile da leggere per i principianti e allo stesso tempo completo per i programmatori mediamente avanzati.
   Alcuni capitoli sono un po' lunghi, con molte informazioni teoriche che forse possono annoiare alcuni lettori.
   Tuttavia, è un ottimo libro su Python, che riesce a spiegare al lettore anche alcuni concetti basilari di buona programmazione. Per chi vuole diventare un buon programmatore Python, un must da leggere.



5. Together with the same author's on-line tutorials, this book is a good introduction. Again, the main concepts and useful ideas are introduced in the first few chapters, but if you know nothing about programming this may become hard to follow after a while.
   The author suggests the reader to stop when it's becoming hard to follow, practice writing programs, and then come back to the book when familiarized with more programming. In a way, I find this very honest. I think this is much better than the "... for dummies" competition. The book is completed by 10 practical projects showing mainly how to implement Python for GUI, communication, file managing, and so on... I have yet to find a good introductory book on Python for science, but I have found several on-line documents complementing the book.
   
   Altogether, I recommend this for readers with some knowledge in Java/Perl and object-oriented programming languages.

5 comments about Digital Image Processing (3rd Edition).

1. This is the best, most understandable image processing book I ever read. It is the only image processing book I've ever read in which I could immediately turn the concepts into code (IDL). I spent most of a Christmas vacation thinking it was a novel I couldn't put down. That's about as good as it gets for a technical book! Well done, Gentlemen.



2. I am giving this book 4 stars because it's quite descriptive and easy to follow. It covers some of the basic concepts behind digital image analysis and touches on the more general signal processing concepts, but it doesn't go very deep into the actual math. This may be what you want, but for me it was an assigned text for a 4th year undergrad course I took in college, and I found it inadequate. I felt like I could have written this book before I even started the class. At the same time, though, I think it would have been a great text for a more entry-level course.
   
   If you want a text that goes in further detail and provides some math to chew on, I have to recommend the "Fundamentals of Digital Image Processing" by Anil K. Jain. It is also sold on Amazon, and I found it to be more appropriate for a 3rd year, 4th year, or Master's level course.



3. This book feeds the readers all the basic concepts of Image Processing. Very easily understandable and lucid in explanations. I would rate it one among the best EE books published so far.



4. The preface of this book starts with a quote:
   "When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing".
   And once you start reading the book, you realize how much the book lives upto this. Everything is written clearly and importany points are stressed again and again in each topic until you become fully familiar with them. Topics are written with implementation in mind, as you can get started with writing your own code instantly.
   The book makes the subject as interseting as it gets, and although some existing basic concepts of mathematics and statistics are quite helpful while reading, but you dont even have to be familiar with Digital Signal Processing to fully understand the contents.
   Finally, I'd like to say that out of the few poeple that fully understand a concept, fewer have the gift to deliver their knowledge to others, and the authors of this book have that gift.



5. (This review refers to the second edition of the book)
   
   This book is a simple and very well written introduction to Image Processing. This book starts off with the very basics of the subject. In fact the introduction is a bit too long and may be boring for some. The book contains many examples from different real world applications. In most chapters this book covers only the very basic techniques, so readers who want to study more advanced concepts will have to look elsewhere. For example, this book does not cover Canny edge detection which is probably the benchmark edge detection algorithm. The chapter on wavelets was refreshing; it concentrated more on how wavelets can be used for image processing and less on the math. The chapters on enhancement, restoration and color are elementary. The chapter on compression was quite good. The book ends with a few chapters on segmentation and pattern recognition. Overall, its a very good introductory textbook well suited for senior undergraduate/first year graduate students.

5 comments about Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example (C++ In-Depth Series).

1. I have purchased about 15 books on C++ and this was hands down the best. As the description says, it is more top down than bottom up. There are thousands of features of C++. You might even use some of them in a program. This book gets you programming immediately using the more important and commonly used C++ functions and explaining in actually pretty gory detail what they do and how they do it. I found it utterly approachable and useful from the first page on.
   
   You can always by a reference to look up more features as you need them. I really liked this book and I think its approach is actually seminal. This is how teaching programming should be done.



2. They have got magic lamp to capture C++ gene in a very small book. You need to have some programming experience before you start since it goes from 0 to 80 mph in 7 seconds (chapters) like a sports car. And surprisingly you catch every thing on your way. They read your mind and explain it before you draw wrong conclusions.
   They do not spend useless time on "Primer" details though it starts from basic programming constructs. Try it...



3. This is a great place to start. Iterators, templates, then pointers... That's a different approach. Each topic is explained well, though the author gets bogged down in the details of his ever expanding example. Never-the-less, templates are my friend. I can build my own with the power of pointers and convenience of iterators.
   
   You'll inevitably need authoritative books on C++, OOP, and MFC to do anything useful in Windows. But this is a great intro to the C++ language and STL.
   
   Cheers!



4. First of all, I'll say what's good with the book. The author's way of writing demands that you learn C++ terminology quickly. This, infact, annoyed me because the terminology does not interest me, and I was more interested in the concepts, but by forcing me to follow the wankish terms, I am better able to understand other programmers. The book is also good at not dwelling on the same subject endlessly for the most part. However, I think some of the concepts should have been explained more while others were needlessly over explained, but that may not be the case for a different reader with different strengths and weaknesses.
   
   Now comes the bad. The student grading project, which is changed throughout many of the chapters is horribly boring. It is harder to focus on what you're reading when what's being explained is so incredibly trivial and unimpressive. The biggest beef I have with the book is the exercises. Ofiten times the hardest part with the exercise is figuring out what the exercise actually wants you to do. Also, some of the exercises require knowledge not yet covered in the book, and sometimes even things never covered in the book at all. To top it all, the authors provide no answer sheet to the exercises to even check your solutions. The exercises are simply not thought out and are poorly explained.
   
   I got the book to learn from, and if the exercises demand I learn stuff outside it then it's not being useful. The book is the first in its series, and the first few chapters of the book are aimed at complete beginners, so the expectation of prior knowledge is a little absurd.
   
   As far as the criticism from some of these surprisinginly positive reviews go about not knowing what input to give the student grading program: By the time you enter all the code, you were explained how all of it worked part by boring part. If you truly knew how it worked then you should know what input it expects. Pretty obvious, really.



5. I do not understand how some people can give negative reviews for this book. This book is MUST have in case if you want to get basic to intermediate level of C++ programming.
   
   I wish they publish something for advanced level programming.
   A+