3 comments about GPU Gems 3.

1. It seems to me that this edition of GPU Gems is a step up from Volume 2. The articles are much better illustrated with more pseudocode and with the background mathematics better explained than in the previous edition. Like the other books in the series, there is not enough complete information to write an application from start to finish, but if you have a background in computer graphics it should be enough to get you started. However, the entire book assumes that you are already a professional graphics programmer well-versed in some higher-level language that also has a good grasp of advanced mathematics and even some physics. For example, a knowledge of partial differential equations is required to completely understand the chapter on real-time simulation and rendering of 3D fluids. Other chapters require a background in digital signal processing. It is also assumed that the reader is famililar with graphics API such as DirectX or OpenGL and their associated high-level programming languages - HLSL,GLSL, or Cg. Therefore it will probably be the rare individual that will be able to fully comprehend and utilize the entire book. I would recommend this book for the professional graphics programmer to add to their reference library. The following is the detailed table of contents and the contributors in each case:
   
   Part I - GEOMETRY
   Chapter 1: Generating Complex Procedural Terrains Using the GPU
   Ryan Geiss, NVIDIA Corporation
   
   Chapter 2: Animated Crowd Rendering
   Bryan Dudash, NVIDIA Corporation
   
   Chapter 3: DirectX 10 Blend Shapes: Breaking the Limits
   Tristan Lorach, NVIDIA Corporation
   
   Chapter 4: Next-Generation SpeedTree Rendering
   Alexander Kharlamov, Iain Cantlay, Yury Stepanenko - NVIDIA Corporation
   
   Chapter 5: Generic Adaptive Mesh Refinement
   Tamy Boubekeur, Christophe Schlick - University of Bordeaux
   
   Chapter 6: GPU-Generated Procedural Wind Animations for Trees
   Renaldas Zioma, Electronic Arts/Digital Illusions CE
   
   Chapter 7: Point-Based Visualization of Metaballs on a GPU
   Kees van Kooten, Gino van den Bergen - Playlogic Game Factory
   Alex Telea, Eindhoven University of Technology
   
   PART 2 - LIGHTS AND SHADOWS
   Chapter 8: Summed-Area Variance Shadow Maps
   Andrew Lauritzen, University of Waterloo
   
   Chapter 9: Interactive Cinematic Relighting with Global Illumination
   Fabio Pellacini, Dartmouth College
   Milos Hasan, Kavita Bala - Cornell University
   
   Chapter 10: Parallel-Split Shadow Maps on Programmable GPUs
   Fan Zhang, Hanqiu Sun - The Chinese University of Hong Kong
   Oskari Nyman, Helsinki University of Technology
   
   Chapter 11: Efficient and Robust Shadow Volumes Using Hierarchical Occlusion Culling and Geometry Shaders
   Martin Stich, mental images
   Carsten Wächter, Alexander Keller - Ulm University
   
   Chapter 12: High-Quality Ambient Occlusion
   Jared Hoberock, Yuntao Jia - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
   
   Chapter 13: Volumetric Light Scattering as a Post-Process
   Kenny Mitchell, Electronic Arts
   
   PART 3 - RENDERING
   Chapter 14: Advanced Techniques for Realistic Real-Time Skin Rendering
   Eugene d'Eon, David Luebke - NVIDIA Corporation
   
   Chapter 15: Playable Universal Capture
   George Borshukov, Jefferson Montgomery, John Hable - Electronic Arts
   
   Chapter 16: Vegetation Procedural Animation and Shading in Crysis
   Tiago Sousa, Crytek
   
   Chapter 17: Robust Multiple Specular Reflections and Refractions
   Tamás Umenhoffer, BLászló Szirmay-Kalos - Budapest University of Technology and Economics
   Gustavo Patow, University of Girona
   
   Chapter 18: Relaxed Cone Stepping for Relief Mapping
   Fabio Policarpo, Perpetual Entertainment
   Manuel M. Oliveira, Instituto de Informática--UFRGS
   
   Chapter 19: Deferred Shading in Tabula Rasa
   Rusty Koonce, NCsoft Corporation
   
   Chapter 20: GPU-Based Importance Sampling
   Mark Colbert, University of Central Florida
   Jaroslav Kr¡ivánek, Czech Technical University in Prague
   
   PART 4 - IMAGE EFFECTS
   Chapter 21: True Impostors
   Eric Risser, University of Central Florida
   
   Chapter 22: Baking Normal Maps on the GPU
   Diogo Teixeira, Move Interactive
   
   Chapter 23: High-Speed, Off-Screen Particles
   Iain Cantlay, NVIDIA Corporation
   
   Chapter 24: The Importance of Being Linear
   Larry Gritz, Eugene d'Eon, NVIDIA Corporation
   
   Chapter 25: Rendering Vector Art on the GPU
   Charles Loop, Jim Blinn - Microsoft Research
   
   Chapter 26: Object Detection by Color: Using the GPU for Real-Time Video Image Processing
   Ralph Brunner, Frank Doepke, Bunny Laden - Apple
   
   Chapter 27: Motion Blur as a Post-Processing Effect
   Gilberto Rosado, Rainbow Studios
   
   Chapter 28: Practical Post-Process Depth of Field
   Earl Hammon, Jr., Infinity Ward
   
   PART 5 - PHYSICS SIMULATION
   Chapter 29: Real-Time Rigid Body Simulation on GPUs
   Takahiro Harada, University of Tokyo
   
   Chapter 30: Real-Time Simulation and Rendering of 3D Fluids
   Keenan Crane, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
   Ignacio Llamas, Sarah Tariq - NVIDIA Corporation
   
   Chapter 31: Fast N-Body Simulation with CUDA
   Lars Nyland, Mark Harris - NVIDIA Corporation
   Jan Prins, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
   
   Chapter 32: Broad-Phase Collision Detection with CUDA
   Scott Le Grand, NVIDIA Corporation
   
   Chapter 33: LCP Algorithms for Collision Detection Using CUDA
   Peter Kipfer, Havok
   
   Chapter 34: Signed Distance Fields Using Single-Pass GPU Scan Conversion of Tetrahedra
   Kenny Erleben, University of Copenhagen
   Henrik Dohlmann, 3Dfacto R&D
   
   PART 6 - GPU COMPUTING
   Chapter 35: Fast Virus Signature Matching on the GPU
   Elizabeth Seamans, Juniper Networks
   Thomas Alexander, Polytime
   
   Chapter 36: AES Encryption and Decryption on the GPU
   Takeshi Yamanouchi, SEGA Corporation
   
   Chapter 37: Efficient Random Number Generation and Application Using CUDA
   Lee Howes, David Thomas - Imperial College London
   
   Chapter 38: Imaging Earth's Subsurface Using CUDA
   Bernard Deschizeaux, Jean-Yves Blanc, CGGVeritas
   
   Chapter 39: Parallel Prefix Sum (Scan) with CUDA
   Mark Harris, NVIDIA Corporation
   Shubhabrata Sengupta, John D. Owens - University of California, Davis
   
   Chapter 40: Incremental Computation of the Gaussian
   Ken Turkowski, Adobe Systems
   
   Chapter 41: Using the Geometry Shader for Compact and Variable-Length GPU Feedback
   Franck Diard, NVIDIA Corporatiion



2. The third version of the GPU Gems serie is also the best version i think. Every topic is up-to-date and gives the reader a lot to think about. I have read the whole book (some of the chapters i just skimmed through) and i must say that this book is good! The reason i only give it 4 stars is the disc that comes with it. Not every chapter comes with example code (only executables and/or videos)! To be able to take fully advantage of the book you have to know, among other things, 3D programming using Direct3D 10 already. The "Intended audience" should know the fundamentals of DirectX or OpenGL. I think it takes some more than just the fundamentals to be able do something good other than just copy-paste the code from the disc.
   
   It's a good thing to read this book even if you are not an excellent programmer already. You will learn things that you will find hard to learn from somewhere else. Read the book to update yourself to the new generation of rendering.
   
   Students; If you are looking for topics for bachelor or masters thesis, then this book has a lot of good examples, in theory, of what you can do to improve the techniques.
   
   Pros/Cons
   + Covers new and good techniques
   + Easy to read, excellent!
   + Disc has some good and useful stuff
   
   - Some techniques will be hard to implement if you are no expert because the chapters (not all!) are too shallow (writer assume that the reader knows a lot already).
   - Some chapters come without (full) source code
   
   
   Maybe this was not a precise review of the book but i tried to describe my view. Buy this book, it's really good and as a serious developer you should have this book on the shelf!



3. Though I had no time to read most of the articles, I can say that this book is even better than GPU 1/2. It is still more narrative than educational (comparing to ShaderX series), but nevertheless I got useful material from it.
   For example, the methods for ray-marching (multiple robust reflections and refractions chapter) are going to be used in our company.
   I would recommend it for all professionals in 3D graphics, image/video processing and GPU (GP GPU) computing.

5 comments about Perl Cookbook, Second Edition.

1. As a programming cookbook, this book presents a bunch of problems that you, as a Perl programmer, may encounter in your everyday development work and then shows you both the code that solves the problem and a lengthy discussion on how the code works. So far none of the problems has applied to my everyday Perl development chores, but by simly reading through some of the more interesting problems, I've learned a great deal more about Perl than before.
   
   So this book works well as a learning tool for someone who already knows Perl but is still intrigued by its vast arsenal of powerful features -- and arcane usage. Any serious Perl programmer can be helped by this book, whether he or she finds the examples in the book directly applicable or not.



2. Once you've learnt the syntax of a language, you want to learn the idioms, and how it's used most effectively. And given Perl's famous 'There's More The One Way To Do It' motto, you'll need all the help you can get. Perl Cookbook is that help.
   
   Neither a reference nor a tutorial, if you've ever read another cookbook, you'll know what to expect -- after all, this is the daddy of them all. Themed chapters, consisting of short tasks that most people will find handy e.g. trimming white space from a string, or populating a hash. What makes Perl Cookbook so valuable is not just finding out how to do it, but finding out what the most efficient and idiomatic way to do it is. This is where you'll see the Perl way of doing things in action, and it's an immensely valuable learning experience, even if you never need to do exactly any of the things in the book.
   
   For me, the most vital material is the earliest stuff, which takes you through how to use the string, array and hash, the guts of any Perl program. The final half of the book explores Perl's libraries for the use of databases, and a lot of network and web-related stuff, from simple socket programming, to CGI, and the use of mod_perl.
   
   This is a cornucopia of Perl lore, firmly established in the Perl Canon, and deservedly so. You want it on your bookshelf if you want to really call yourself a Perl programmer.



3. Very useful, well worth it. Getting a book like this and having it save you the time of working out how the (yes, come on, admit it, a lot of perl syntax etc. is quite arcane) actual program should be set out, formatted or whatever, is fantastic. Several times this book has done that for me, so one of the best computer book purchases I have ever made.



4. yummy perl recipes; easy to prepare! very helpful for working with date and time data.



5. Most O'Reilly Perl titles imply you'll learn something useful. Only Learning Perl and the Perl Cookbook fully come through in that regard.
   
   The Perl Cookbook features some very practical solutions to some very practical problems (in Perl).
   
   I find myself coming back to this one again and again - more so than Learning Perl, Programming Perl, Programming the Perl DBI, or Perl Best Practices. This is The One. The book to use to learn the Right Way to perform quite a large number of useful functions or tasks in Perl.

5 comments about Programming Windows, Fifth Edition.

1. This is truly a great reference book for all 'real' programmers that are capable of coding in c /c++, as it is assumed that you already know how to do so. There is no VB crap and other such slow and useless languages mentioned. The shear simplicity and power of low-level programming is demonstrated with clear concise examples that compile to 32k executables that are NOT dependant on 3rd-party dll and VB runtimes etc. Only assembly can produce tighter code. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is serious about programming on the Windows platform. If you want a point and click solution - go use VB like the rest of the fools only to be disappointed in the end when you want to do anything outside of the box.



2. I have to say I was dissapointed in this book; not because of *how* the material was presented, but because of the *type* of material presented. It says "the definitive guide to the Win32 API" printed right on the cover, but the selection of topics seems limited only to those which deal with output and presentation (text, fonts, graphics, bitmaps, sounds, etc). Personally, i was looking almost exclusivly for the more "under-the-hood" API functions, which almost no mention is made of.
   For example, there is no mention of memory management, manipulating files on the hard disk, serial and parallel ports usage, processes, debugging/kernel, and console-mode functions, just to name a few. Multi-threading, DLL files, and TCP/IP are included at the end, seemlingly only as an afterthought. To give you an idea, the chapter about the "Palette Manager" is over 170 pages long; the chapter on DLL's is only 30.
   Also slightly annoying was the large amount of printed code in the book (my personal pet peeve). Many times, you'll find complete programs that span ten or more pages, with little explanation to accompany them. This seems completly unnecessary, especially considering the stout size of the book to begin with (1500 pages!), and the fact that all the code is included on the CD anyway.
   So if you're looking for a in-depth book about the more 'visual' aspects of Windows, then this could be your book. But if you're looking for more low-level stuff going on behind the scenes, not even one page of this will be worth the shipping you'll pay.



3. This is by far the best book on the windows API, even today is really worth it.



4. I bought this book because MS keeps trying to hide information about how to make basic Windows apps in favor of pushing flavor of the day technologies like MFC and .Net. I remembered that this is the huge tome that all the Windows programmers from the 90s used to lug around so I bought one. I didn't want a book that would allow me to write "hello world" and then leave me stranded. I wanted to be able to port games (or applications) from other platforms in a way that will work across the entire Windows family. I also wanted to be able to make Windows code that could compile with GCC.
   
   If you want to make a simple Windows app, or port a basic app from Linux or Mac to Windows, this book is a key component to doing it quickly, with a minimum of fuss. If you want to make a Windows app using Dev C++ or another open source development kit for Windows, this book is a must have!



5. This book is very well written and the author does a great job explaining every topic that he covers thoroughly. His answers are full of relevant content and he leaves no room for ambiguity. Do take note that this book is dated, but you will not likely find its equal anywhere in its own class of books. If you want to learn about, or become really familiar with the Windows 32 API, this will give you a good reference provided that you refer to msdn for the updated changes to the API which have taken effect since the publication of this book. I won't detail all the helpful topics which are covered as they are already mentioned in other reviews. I had no real problem compiling and running most of the example programs that were contained on the CD included with this book. I used Microsoft Express Visual C++ 2005 and 2008 versions IDE. These IDE's have an option that will convert the syntax for you when applicable. I was not able to compile any of the program examples for chapter 22, Sound and Music. If you are learning to write programs using the Microsoft foundation class library then this book is probably not much help to you. There are other great books available to consider for learning MFC's.

5 comments about Beginning ASP.NET 2.0 E-Commerce in C# 2005: From Novice to Professional.

1. It is cover a lot of great part of asp.net 2.0. It is easy to understand and implement. Some code is very profession and hard to understand. Most of them cover SQL,ASP,WEB service,security issue.I will say it is the cool part of ASP.net. You can see author spend a lot of time to collect the beauty of asp.net. You will like it no matter how many time you read the book.



2. This book covers it's topic E-Commerce very well. It also takes advantage of the new features found in ASP.Net 2.0 including some of the new ADO features. If you are getting ready to setup an E-Commerce site I highly recommend this book. I also recommend it for beginning developers wanting to know more about ADO and database design.
   The authors have a great approach to design that anyone doing E-Commerce would do well to follow. Better yet they mention the pros and cons of different approaches and explain why they chose their approach. I've been thrilled to learn some new strategies to improve performance that I hadn't considered before as well as some new features in ASP.Net and ADO 2.0 that I wasn't aware of.
   The only negative, for me, is the database as well as ADO basics this book spends many pages covering. However there's plenty of worthwhile content to justify the price. So if you are familiar with database design and have a working knowledge of ADO you can just skip past those pages. I do recommend you skim thru them though as, like me, you may learn some new 2.0 features you weren't aware of.
   The book covered all my E-Commerce questions: catalog design, how to scale up/performance considerations, SSL, Security issues, credit card processing, and costs involved. They even point you in the direction of a few recommended credit card processing businesses. Best of all they approach the site creation in such a way you can quickly get up and going and then later on focus on fine tuning payment options and really making the site standout with features.



3. 'Beginning ASP .NET 2.0 E-Commerce in C# 2005: From Novice to Professional' by Cristian Darie and Karli Watson is one of the most unique and important books out there for anyone that is developing an E-Commerce site with ASP.NET 2.0. Starting from scratch, the authors step by step show you how to get a site running and WORKING well and efficient. Packed with 650+ pages of material, the authors break the steps down in logical parts, show how they go about the work to be done, and then provide the code which does the dirty work. Not only is it helpful, but it's a joy to follow the steps as so much of the curtain is pulled away to show the developer how to get the job done. This is easily one of my favorite Apress books that I have seen. One of the nicest things about the Apress line of books is the fact that they write and publish books that no one else seems to and this is a perfect example of this. I'll close with a chapter overview for your inspection:
   
   01. Starting off
   02. Laying Out the Foundation
   03. Creating the Product Catalog: Part I
   04. Creating the Product Catalog: Part II
   05. Searching the Catalog
   06. Improving Performance
   07. Receiving Payments Using PayPal
   08. Catalog Administration
   09. Creating a Custom Shopping Cart
   10. Custom Orders
   11. Making Product Recommendations
   12. Adding Customer Accounts
   13. Advanced Customer Orders
   14. Order Pipeline
   15. Implementing the Pipeline
   16. Credit Card Transactions
   17. Integrating with Amazon
   
   Tack on 2 appendixes to the end and you have a MUST-HAVE book for anyone that is looking to achieve the same goals that this books does!!
   
   ***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED



4. It's an excellent book, the book teaches you how to develop a site in three layers (presentation, business and data) in my ishe goal of this book.



5. Dos ultimos livros que tenho comprado, assim como os da serie Head First da O'Really este livro superou muito as minhas espectativas.
   
   Como um livro de tutorial foi maravilhoso e me trouxe muito conteudo !!!
   
   Realmente vale a pena !!!

3 comments about Web Publishing with PHP and FileMaker 9.

1. This book is an excellent introduction to HTML, PHP and the FileMaker API. Jonathan has an easy-to-read style. I found it to be a quick and informative read. I enjoyed how he can cover a topic in sufficient depth without the material being too long. This book focuses on the code in a text editor (rather than a visual editor), which is the best way to truly master the subject. Each chapter covers a specific topic so you can read it cover to cover or just focus on the material that is of interest to you. Well done Jonathan!



2. FileMaker and PHP are absolutley the way to go, and this is
   THE BEST BOOK to get for Filemaker web publishing.
   As a "non-programmer" who has struggled in the past trying to bring a database to the web,
   I found the examples in this book easy to follow and understand.
   It definately took me to the next level.



3. Over the holiday break I had some time to read (a better word might be "consume") Jonathan Stark's book "Web Publishing with PHP and FileMaker 9." In a little more than 250 pages, Jonathan manages to do the impossible: He explains how to put the FileMaker API for PHP to use.
   
   The book is divided into four logical sections. The first section provides background information for those new to the world of Web publishing, including an introduction to HTML and PHP. After reading this section, you won't be an HTML expert, and you certainly won't be a PHP pro. But you will have a good understanding of the technologies involved in Web publishing and development, and how those technologies fit together.
   
   The second section of the book provides a foundation for the examples that are used later on. The section includes a chapter on how to setup a FileMaker database (creating fields, working with the database, performing finds, and so on). I'm sure that the majority of readers will find this section to be unnecessary and might be tempted to skip it. However, the chapter does cover one key topic that you should take a few minutes to check out, and that is an explanation on how to setup a FileMaker account (and grant it the correct privileges) that PHP can use to connect to the database.
   
   The second section also covers installation, deployment, and configuration of FileMaker Server, as well as the new PHP Site Assistant. Jonathan makes a recommendation -- and one that I heartily agree with -- that if you do not absolutely need your own server, then using a server provided by a Web hosting provider is an ideal solution. However, if you do have your own server, you'll find this information to be of great use.
   
   The third section of "Web Publishing with PHP and FileMaker 9" includes what I consider to be the most valuable information in the book. This section covers the FileMaker API for PHP (often referred to as "FileMaker.php") itself, and does so using an example Web application that is developed and expanded throughout the section. The application is one that most readers will be able to associate with -- an online product catalog.
   
   The section includes chapters on how to select, sort, and do finds against a FileMaker database using PHP. Another chapter explains how to alter FileMaker data over the Web, including the creation of new records and updates and deletions of existing records. There are also chapters on how to view, add, edit, and delete related data via PHP (which is accomplished using portals), as well as some very useful information on how to work with images (including images stored in container fields and those stored by reference using URLs).
   
   The last chapter in the third section describes a very interesting concept: Developing a PHP application that automatically updates as the FileMaker layouts that it is built on are updated. For example, if a field is added or removed, the PHP application automatically adds and/or drops the field as well. If you are looking for an easy way to let your FileMaker users "self-manage" a PHP application, then this chapter will prove to be invaluable to you.
   
   "Web Publishing with PHP and FileMaker 9" covers a lot of ground, and does so in a way that makes it a fast and enjoyable journey. Jonathan's writing style and "voice" make it easy to follow along with the material. His expert knowledge of PHP and FileMaker is apparent, and he does a great job of sharing that knowledge in the book.
   
   If you are looking for a good book on PHP and FileMaker integration -- whether you are new to the topic or consider yourself to be a pro -- then I highly recommend picking up a copy of "Web Publishing with PHP and FileMaker 9."

5 comments about Game Development Essentials: An Introduction.

1. I find this book to be well rounded in the history and in the aspect to the gaming and simulation world. It was not what I originally expected to read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and now can look at the gaming world a lot differently with more respect.
   
   I purchased this book because it was required for the class I am taking at DeVry University Online, but now that I have read it, I am interested in purchasing a few of the other books in this series by Jeannie Novak.



2. Just wanted to let people know there is a later version if you missed it, and you should check with instructors before buying this book and be sure it is the dated version needed!



3. It's an excellent book. The fact that she included my incredibly detailed game design document in no way influenced my rating.



4. I picked up this book as a possible replacement for the book that is currently used in my 'Game Design' course. This book is very attractive and professionally put together. It covers the material that would be essential (hence the title) when discussing the elements of game design:
   1. The history of the medium
   I found some annoying factual errors in this part of the book. Which initially turned me off but I continued to read since errors seemed to be in the sidebars which may not get the same editorial review.
   2. Who plays and why?
   This contained very interesting material for students to discuss with respect to player motivation, personality and gender. The eye-opening part for me was the view of game playing from the perspective of generations. Baby boomers, Generation X and the Millennial Generation look for different things from the games they play. (This part made me examine my own choices for games and the characters I am most attracted to in them!)
   3. The elements in a game - genres, platforms, player mode
   
   Part II is where the real gems are for people who really want to design games:
   4. The elements of storytelling
   5. Creating the characters/roles
   6. Creating the game experience, e.g. challenges
   7. Creating the World and Atmosphere (anyone else listen to the audio CD to remember the delight in playing the game?)
   
   The last part covers:
   8. The key roles/titles in the game development process
   9. The process of producing games
   10. The future of gaming
   
   The book ends with the following bonuses:
   11. A list of resources for those who are serious about actually getting into the game business
   12. List of books to read and learn more
   13. A CD with tools
   
   The key thing I value when spending time on a book is one - am I learning something new? This book offers many ideas central to designing video games. It is an excellent book for a course on the topic or for any budding game designer to pick up start the journey.



5. Ordered this book for my husband's class. Not only did Amazon have it in stock, it was $20 cheaper than Barnes & Noble (with member discount) and that's even after upgrading the shipping. Was a little worried at first that the book wouldn't come quickly cause the tracking was awful, but it arrived fast.
   A note worth mentioning: this book comes with a CD as well even though it does not say so.
   
   My husband has not used this book much for his class yet, so as for the material I am not sure. But we are very pleased with the product & Amazon (as usual) so far.

5 comments about Web Standards Creativity: Innovations in Web Design with XHTML, CSS, and DOM Scripting.

1. This is one of the best web design problem solving books I've read to date. This is a great buy and keep book! I loved it and I'm sure you will too.



2. This book arrived the day after I returned home to NJ after the "An Event Apart" conference in Boston.
   Compared to the large volume of texts that have come out before it, this was a little bit of a disappointment.
   If you're new to using CSS, then maybe it will be more helpful to you, but if you already own/read CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions, Bulletproof Web Design: Improving flexibility and protecting against worst-case scenarios with XHTML and CSS, DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model, and the like... I wouldn't bother with this one.



3. Let's start with a warning - this is not a book for beginners. To appreciate it (apart from the "coffee table" usage someone else mentioned), you have to know a lot about CSS, HTML and have decent knowledge of JavaScript and DOM. But once you're there and have a few web design projects behind you, you'll really appreciate all the nuggets in this book. The ideas presented in it, as well as the explanations (in a juicy voice that was obviously not bowdlerized by editorial policies that so many other publishers have) are simply priceless. I also highly appreciated the approach of not going into meaningless details; the text is full of URLs containing background information, additional articles, design guidelines, CSS tricks etc.
   
   To all the authors & the publisher: Congratulations !!! This is one of the Web design books I've seen ... why can't I give you 6 start?



4. Out of three CSS/XHTML books that I bought, this one was the most disappointing of all. Disappointing because it's designed not so much for practical use, it's really for placing on the coffee table to show off your web guru status.
   
   I simply wasn't inspired by the ad hoc generic ideas, presented as edgy "grunge" a la mode. If you're a web designer needing creativity ideas of this type (page 30 is a kicker), you really need to hit art school again. What's explained, you'll pick up in high school Drawing 101; hanging out at coding forums; or just googling for help.
   
   Worse upon worse, reading the book will give you a headache. I simply couldn't read it through without vertigo. The book design staff believed in high contrast color schemes, that if you're color blind, you wouldn't have to worry about reading code, you simply won't see it (or wished to ban Opt-Art)! Lime green backgrounds with pale orange type (pages 71 and 75, for example), just doesn't cut it.
   
   If you need a CSS/XHTML coffee table book, this will suffice. But if you need real inspiration and design ideas, save your money and eyesight, and find some other book (or search online for examples -- heck, the snippet code isn't much more than what's in the book, even).
   
   What a waste of money.



5. Although there are some interesting ideas in this book you should be warned about the very, very, very poor printing quality. After reading through the first 40 pages the book began to fall apart. The pages started to fly out one by one like a hair from your head when starting to develop boldness. After 50 pages it was just a pile of junk so I couldn't finish it.

5 comments about Perl Best Practices.

1. This is the best collection of good ideas to make your life easier as you maintain your code and others code. I'm in Software Configuration Management, and I have to help people pickup others code all the time. If everyone in my shop used these practices, my job would be much simpler. Get it.



2. This is a fantastic book that's valuable no matter what language you
   program in. I've been writing code for three decades and have
   programmed in almost two dozen languages and the priorities are always
   the same when writing / reviewing code: maintainability, efficiency and
   robustness. Every dictum in this book clearly advances one or more of
   these priorities. If you're like me, you'll wish you had this book when
   you started your software engineering career.
   
   For development teams, this book is an instant win. With any
   development team, there is always a discussion as to what coding
   standards to use. Perl BP can be used to short-circuit such debate, to
   the benefit of everyone involved.
   
   Of course, not everyone will be happy with the standards outlined in the
   book. Before I plunged in, I skimmed through the book and found things
   that I disagreed with: K&R braces; loop labeling; no unless statements;
   postfix if; etc. The arguments made in the book, however, are so
   compelling that I'm now gladly writing my code to conform with them.
   
   I always feel fortunate when I read a book that makes me want to change
   my behavior for the better. Perl BP is one of these books.



3. Not only the best Perl book I've ever read, it's also one of the best programming language books, period.
   
   If you've ever programmed C++ or Java, you'll know how revered the likes of Effective C++ and Effective Java are, a series of tips, suggestions, idioms, advice and commandments. This is the equivalent for Perl, except it's even more thorough and covers even more ground, from brace layout and statement formatting, to regexes, unit testing, documentation and command line parsing.
   
   There's also an exceptionally good chapter on object orientation, wherein author Damian Conway guides the reader through the use of his own Class::Std module. If you're using objects in Perl, and you're still rolling your own, you're really making life unnecessarily difficult for yourself. Class::Std provides object features reminiscent of CLOS, and makes Perl competitive with the likes of Python and Ruby when it comes to objects. Class::Std has changed the way I code Perl forever, and I know I'm not the only one. Seriously, this chapter is worth the price of admission on it own.
   
   It's hard to overstate just how much excellent stuff there is in here, there's even useful emacs and vi settings provided! And I've not even mentioned how well written it is. Damian Conway really does prove himself the master of witty examples.
   
   Perl Best Practices is just brilliant. Absolutely essential reading - don't code Perl without it.



4. One of the biggest asset in the Perl community is the people that form it. And Damien Conway is one of its outstanding members. Possibly the best speaker I've ever seen, he injects wisdom and wit in its books, which always take you a bit further in the path of Perl Enlightment. This one, of course, is no exception. Not only it teaches what you should do, but the many things you _shoulnd't_ do.
   When will we be seeing a novel by Damien Conway? Don't let Charles Stross be the only perl monger that writes novels!



5. This a great manual. Instead of being a reference like most books that you may only need parts of, every chapter has some interesting information and is applicable to daily coding. Since at this point you can learn a lot of Perl just on Google, textbook style manuals are on the way out. Best practices, though, is still very applicable. I wish I had read this book years ago looking back at my functional but awkward scripts.

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

1. I really like the book. It is simple and easy to understand. It is small so you can finish it, unlike most of coding books that are huge and imposible to finish



2. This book is a must have for any beginning to intermediate wanna-be web builders. It provides an excellent introduction to both CSS as well as XHTML using a light-hearted, almost nonchalant, approach. The author begins with the bare basics and builds on these basics with each successive chapter using examples as he goes. I found that there were a few small errors in code provided in the text, but the author very plainly states that the reader should download his code from the book's website and use that code for any examples. He makes any necessary updates to code provided in the book on his web site.
   
   After finishing this great tutorial, I began applying what I had learned to a web site I built a couple of year ago and was in need of a good update. I used much of what I had learned and found a couple of problems in implementing some of the code from his drop-down menu lessons using nested ul (unordered list) tags. However, I went to the books web site and found a form on the `Contact Us' link. I described the problem and within a couple of days the author emailed me with the resolution.
   
   Try it! You'll like it!



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



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



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

5 comments about Photoshop Elements 5: The Missing Manual.

1. This is the most comprehensive "manual" for Photoshop Elements 5 that I have seen. I looked at "Classroom in a Book" (Adobe)- good, and "The Photoshop Elements 5 Book" by Scott Kelby - better but the "Manual" is best. It is written in simple to understand terms. I would recommend it for beginners. Advanced users can use "The Manual" as a reference.



2. This book is a wonderful reference manual but it really isn't for a person who is new to PSE5. A definate must for experienced PSE5 users, but if you are looking for a quick and dirty "how to" guide then maybe this book isn't the best one for you....but you will benefit from it later when you are ready to dig deeper into the features and facilities offered.



3. This book is written so well and makes learning PhotoShop Elements much easier. If I had to depend on the instructions that came with the software I would still be in the dark. If you purchase it, you will not be disappointed.The color pictures in the book are also a welcome addition.



4. I like the book, but currently have a library copy for my reference. I have only one negative comment. When the author starts to describe an action or step, suddenly she will veer off on a tangent, leaving me wondering where the rest of the text is ....oh, there it is, 2-3 paragraphs later. She really wants you to know all she does about Elements. I will be purchasing my own copy shortly regardless as I do think it is probably the best on the subject



5. This book is the most complete manual on a very useful program. I have yet to encounter a question this book does not fully answer.