4 comments about JavaScript Bible.

1. The content of this book is Excellent, the wait was worth it. I'm glad someone finally consolidated all the JavaScript information into a publication, which brings me to a criticism, not about the content. The print is too small. I believe it would have been better to turn this into a two book publication and make the print bigger (and blacker), the paper could also be whiter for better contrast and a heavier weight. Yes it would have been more expensive, but you wouldn't go blind trying to read it.



2. Just got started and got to Ch 3 and ran into a snag...page 22...lines 19 and 20 are duplicate as such:
   
   

   Let's Script...

   
   

   ---

   
   
   Thus, you see there is no closing tag for "

   ---

   " yet the book states it complies with DHTML that all tags will be closed. Also, the "Let's Script" appears twice if you use the book example.
   
   Additionally, the enclosed CD-ROM for "ch03.script1.htm" link is wrong as it should be "ch03.script1.html." If you are new to JavaScript, the work around is to access "My Computer," then your DVD/CD drive and "Content," then "Chap03," then "script1.html."
   
   I think the editors and proof readers assumed .htm was the norm and overlooked "script1.html."
   
   First script, first impression...not looking too good.
   
   I'll keep you posted as I advance through the book.
   
   Additionally, I tried to communicate with Wiley Publishing, Inc...but got caught in a loop as I posed a question to them and unknown to me they only allowed 80 characters, but I went over the limit and in their text block they allowed me to keep typing.



3. I have a few javascript books already, but they are out of date. I bought this book, which claims to be published in 2007, to learn to be more DOM and W3C compliant. However, from reading this book so far, I find that the material in it are as outdated as my older books. For example, the book still encourages the use of the "innerHTML" method, which is neither a W3C recommendation, nor is it encouraged anymore. Furthermore, the book shows you to convert a "number" type to a string by doing this:
   
   var num = 100;
   num = "" + num;
   
   That's just silly. What happened to the toString() method? How about doing this?
   
   var num = 100;
   num = num.toString();
   
   Also the book doesn't encourage separation of structure from functionality. The book's examples have javascript all mixed together with the markup. This is clearly not the modern, correct, and recommended way to script a web page.
   
   So far, these are the gripes I have about this book... and I'm only on chapter 6. It makes me feel like I don't want to finish this book, because I might adopt these outdated methods of scripting.
   
   I do not recommend this book.



4. books on changing technologies are always out of date by 6 months to a year (a book this size is probably closer to a year). i Google when i need the latest info, just like the rest of the planet apparently.
   
   i understand other reviewer gripes about this book, but it is still the best printed resource available. the book weighs in at a hefty 35 chapters and 5 Appendices in about 1200 pages (and yes the print is small). i found the information well organized, with a decent layout and a useable contents and index. this book tries to serve both the novice and the professional, and frankly does a pretty good job. a book this size obviously has errors, but nothing i would categorize as lethal (it's not a cookbook but has some decent template scripts to get you going). no one could write a book this size and comprehensive from scratch, this book is clearly an evolution and uses "revised" content from previous editions. i got the feeling reading this book that the authors write real code for real world apps. i thought about docking a star because it is has so much information. i seem to have got conditioned over the years to have a slight sense of dread when i have to open a large book to look something up. However, IMHO, the real value is searchable CD version of the book, hence back to 5 stars. this has 23 Bonus chapters! yes that's 23 bonus chapters which add over 500 pages. a nice touch was having references to the CD version (marked with a BC prefix) in the index of the print edition.
   
   from a purist point of view some of the recommendations are wrong, but from a pragmatic point of view no one is going to be impressed with your W3C compliant script that runs 10-20x slower than the non-compliant one (and that's not just in IE).
   
   inevitably a little dated but still the most comprehensive javascript book available.

5 comments about Foundation ActionScript 3.0 with Flash CS3 and Flex (Foundation).

1. Like most of the friends of ED books on Flash and ActionScript, this book by Steve Webster, Todd Yard and Sean McSharry is a good book for the novice. Most beginner's books on ActionScript cover just the basics such as variables, loops and functions and don't go much further. However in this book, the authors go one step further and help the readers to extend their ActionScript skills for both Flash and Flex.
   
   The authors first discuss the development process for building an ActionScript project and dissect a simple bouncing ball example. The next chapter covers ActionScript fundamentals including variables, data types and constants. As you move on to objects, classes, inheritance and other aspects of OOP, you take a look at a sample iPod project.
   
   The most interesting topics for me are the visual aspects of Flash. The authors cover everything from the Display list to movie playback. But they don't stop there. Next, they delve into the Graphics class and the drawing API. As you build a drawing application, you learn the essentials such as how to use ActionScript to draw line strokes and shape fills.
   
   Next, you learn the aspects necessary for building interactivity in Flash including events, listeners and the event flow. You apply this knowledge of event handling to build a video player and along the way learn about displaying and controlling video in Flash. Moving on to audio, you build an MP3 audio player.
   
   One of the most important aspects of any programming language is the ability to streamline a project or projects with reusable code. In Flash, that means components. The authors cover components starting with building a framework for UI and video components to skinning the finished components.
   
   Now you are ready for advanced topics such as regular expressions, XML and E4X parsing. Over the last few chapters, you build an RSS reader application in both the Flex 2 SDK and Flex Builder 2. Then, you expand the functionality of this RSS reader with ActionScript.
   
   Steve Webster works as a developer at Yahoo and has contributed to several Flash-related books. Todd Yard is a software architect at Brightcove in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has contributed to several Flash-related books. Sean McSharry is an Adobe Certified Flash Developer and Designer and a prerelease tester for many Adobe products.



2. Boy I was loving this book until chapter 7.
   
   The Video project in that chapter is pretty complex, although the author (Sean McSharry - author of Chaps 7 & 8) keeps telling you what a simple example it is. Sadly, in chapter 7 there are several typos and some that I *think* are typos but can't be sure of. The downloaded source didn't work either. I switched the publish settings from 'Adobe AIR Player' to 'Flash Player 9' and that worked while I was at work. However, my files that I've created while at home (my 2nd attempt at getting this to work)are not responding to the same fix. I've spent hours looking at the book and my code and his source with no luck. There is a book site with an errata, but there isn't really anything there that helps with this issue.
   
   That's the bad news. The good news is that up until that chapter, I was following everything and everything worked as it was presented in the book.
   
   That said, if you want to pick this book ONLY to gain understanding of the capabilities of Video in AS 3 (I don't know why you would...maybe you like to throw money away at a whole book for one chapter, what do I know?)- I'd skip this and find some good tutorials online on the subject.
   
   I'm in this book till the end as I'm using it to prepare for my Flash CS3 cert and I feel like, in general, it's helping me. I also tore through Friends of Ed's Foundation Actionscript for Flash 8.
   
   Bottom Line: Flawed but worth the money if you want to put the effort into it.



3. This was not your typical dry reading tech book. The author did a great job of mixing humor into the writing, so that you did not feel like you were trudging through just to get to the end. To me, it helped the concepts stick in my head a little easier/better.



4. I've benefited a lot from the user reviews on Amazon.com so I figured I should contribute and give back. I have no association with the authors or the publisher. I purchased this book after reading the reviews on Amazon. I am a programmer with
   
   experience in Java, PHP, C#, JavaScript, ASP, Visual Basic, MySQL, Oracle, Sybase, MS SQL Server, and now ActionScript 3.0!
   
   "Foundation ActionScript 3.0 with Flash CS3 and Flex" by Steve Webster, Todd Yard, and Sean McSharry is a very good book. It is definitely worth the price. The authors provide interesting facts that make the book interesting to read. For
   
   example, did you know that ActionScript 3.0 is based on ECMAScript Edition 4? This fact is not going to make you a better programmer but they do make the reading more interesting. The authors have a good sense of humor. They inject
   
   some funny lines to make the reading less boring. Let's face it technical books can be very dry. The humor makes the reading a lot less dry. Here's a sample:
   
   "So, far you've created an IPod class and creaetd an instance of it, but we've already discovered that it's completely useless as it is. It's like an annoying socialite factory capable of churning out an endless parade of celebrity wannabes who are
   
   famous just for being famous, despite being completely devoid of both substance and talent...."
   
   "Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes -- properties."
   
   This book targets novice ActionScript 3.0 programmers and designers. There seems to be two camp of Flash users: designers and programmers. You can do quite a lot with Flash using only the time line, scene(s), resources in the Library
   
   (movies, graphics, buttons,...), and some simple scripts. However, the real power of Flash is harnessed with the use of ActionScript 3.0. This book is targeted to those individuals who want to move beyond just using the Flash IDE to lay out
   
   their Flash project.
   
   I have one warning. The book covers Flex 2. Flex 3 was recently released. I'm sure the concepts are applicable to Flex 3 but the newer features of Flex 3 are obviously not covered. Hopefully a new editon of this book will cover Flex 3. If you
   
   plan to use Flash CS3 to program ActionScript then this is a mute point. The authors state that the book is geared more towards Flash CS3 ActionScript 3.0 programming with bonus coverage of Flex ActionScript 3.0 programming. Flex 2 does
   
   support ActionScript 3.0.
   
   I highly suggest you read the help files that come with Flash CS3 before you read this book. You should know about timelines, frames, movies, scenes,...before you read this. Get the basic concepts out of the way first.
   
   I know I will be looking at other Friends of ED books after reading this book. I will be a life long fan of Friends of Ed if any other there other books are as good as "Foundation ActionScript 3.0 with Flash CS3 and Flex".
   
   
   Chapter 1 walks the user through the creation of a simple application to demonstrate the power of ActionScript 3.0. This is a demonstration chapter and not a detailed tutorial based chapter. Type in the code and watch the movie execute. The
   
   author promises to clear up any questions later.
   
   Chapters 2 and 3 get into the grit of ActionScript 3.0's syntax and object oriented programming. These are the hardest chapters for a person not exposed to OOP. If you have C++, Java, C#, or worked with OOP before then this chapter is a
   
   quick review. Don't skip the chapters, though, if you have previous OOP experience. For example, the implicit getter/setter methods are not available to Java. C# and Visual Basic programmers will be familiar with this syntax.
   
   Chapters 4 throug 11 are mini exercises that introduces the reader to ActionScript 3.0 in action. Each excercise is well written. You can also download the source code if you don't want to type in the code examples. I suggest you actually
   
   type in the code. It reinforces your learning. Take time to read the code and actually understand it. Your knowledge about ActionScript 3.0 will be vastly different by the time you complete the chapters.
   
   You knowledge will then be put to the test in chapter 12. Actually, your knowledge will be re-inforced as you build an application that ties all of lessons you completed in chapters 4 through 11.
   
   Chapters 13 and 14 will quickly introduce you to Flex 2. I will probably purchase another Friends of Ed book for Flex 3 and ActionScript 3.0 programming.
   
   I love this book. If you want to learning ActionScript 3.0 from the view point of Flash CS



5. I find that one of the hardest things about picking up a tech book is determining the book's target audience, i.e. what do the authors assume you already know? Personally, I've been a programmer for the last 10 years and have been tasked with learning ActionScript as part of a new project. When I started looking at books on the subject, I couldn't find very many AS books that were aimed at developers only without going to a reference manual. I suppose this is a function of AS being intimately related to Flash, but that's just where I was coming from. In the end, I picked up this book because it covered AS and Flex, which I am also picking up.
   
   Before I say anything else, its important to realize that ActionScript 3.0 has a massive API, so it will be almost impossible to do lots of work with it without using a language reference. Anyone learning AS should be prepared for this.
   
   Overall the book is a good one. It does a very solid introduction of the language, including a good overview of object-oriented programming. Maybe it was because I already understood 90% of the concepts, but I found most of AS pretty easy to pickup. Most of the examples are from Flash, which makes it a tad confusing at times if you don't already know Flash. Most of them are not that difficult, so its not insurmountable, however. I had to ask a few questions of some friends who are flash guys to make a few things make sense, but thats not the end of the world. Flex is really only touched on at the end of the book, and its Flex 2 at that.
   
   So, here's my .02 on the target audience issue I mentioned. I would recommend this book to any Flash developer looking to learn ActionScript, or to a programmer from some other OO language (like Java) that knows some Flash and wants to learn AS. It will definitely get you going in the right direction, and when combined with the reference I mentioned will give you a solid foundation. If you are a developer looking to learn AS and/or Flex, I wouldn't recommend this book. There are better books out there that don't require as much Flash knowledge. Its a good book, just not the right one for me.

4 comments about Microsoft VBScript Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft)).

1. I needed a quick way to ramp up on VBScript for work and have a lot of programming experience so did not want a dummy type book. Great coverage of basics on the language. Only beef is would have liked to see more on how to use ADO and DAO with databases like Oracle and SQL Server.



2. This book (IMHO) is good if you already have programming experience and want to learn VBScript. It is NOT a good book if you're an absolute beginner. Although the first couple of chapters are for 'beginners', it really doesn't explain the basics of programming. I suggest familiarizing yourself with VBScript (or any other language) before you read this book.



3. Great Service Fast Shipping. Book shipped faster than the web site advertised. Great packaging - book came out of the box as if I just pulled it off the shelf. Matter of fact, I reviewed the book at Books-A-Million, determined that I wanted the book, came home, and ordered it on Amazon for almost half price!!!!!!!!



4. I bought this book to get an idea on how to use VBscript in the MS network that I manage. It was great to have found this book because it gets to the point and was not filled with fluff. This book is a good stepping stone for VBscript but, you should consider learning some VB before tackling it. A little VB or even Office VBA knowledge can help you breeze through the book and its examples. Overall the book was great and I recommend it to learn the foundations of VBscript.

5 comments about Getting Started with MATLAB 7: A Quick Introduction for Scientists and Engineers (The Oxford Series in Electrical and Computer Engineering).

1. This book is extremely helpful for novice MATLAB users who need to generate results quickly. It is concise and easy to navigate.



2. This book is a true joy to read. It is well-organized, well-written, and provides the most clearly illustrated (through examples and figures) introduction to MATLAB I have found. More importantly, it is specifically geared to scientists and engineers e.g. those seeking to exploit MATLAB's numerical methods capabilities either for teaching, learning, or researching. Each chapter contains relevant and useful exercises from the material and provides complete answers for you to check your work right away. The sections on graphics and publishing are very nice and demonstrate how MATLAB is a full-service software tool. The second half of the book provides an excellent overview of "Applications" - basically, numerical methods using MATLAB. The book focuses on the built-in functions for root finding, quadrature, ODEs, etc. but not the details of the algorithms themselves (here it refers you to a numerical methods textbook). This should be the first book any scientist or engineers buys when starting to learn MATLAB. The MATLAB Guide by Higham and Higham (2nd Edition, SIAM) should be next . . . Enjoy!



3. I found this to be a well written, easy to comprehend introduction to MatLab programming. I had programs written and running within the first two hours of reading it. Makes a great quick reference as well.



4. On top of all the positive comments here, I enjoyed the author's occasional jokes. They gave me a relief :)



5. This is an introductory book to MATLAB. It covers the basics including programming. It also has a chapter on numerical methods. Both two-dimensioanl graphs and three dimensional graphs are also discussed. At the end of the book, the author provides a brief introduction to the Symbolic Math Toolbox. If you are just beginning to learn MATLAB, you may also want to check the book "MATLAB for Beginners: A Gentle Approach".

5 comments about MySQL Stored Procedure Programming.

1. It walks you through writing, maintaining, and debugging stored procedures. It can be used as a reference and tutorial.
   I found Part IV Optimizing Stored Programs particularly useful.



2. This book has an excellent coverage of the MySQL 5.0 stored routines (stored procedures, stored functions and triggers).
   But it also provides with invaluable hints and guidelines for general MySQL practices.
   
   The book starts with PART I: covering the syntax and rules for stored routines. This part is straightforward and a very fast read. The authors tend to repeat themselves on occasion, though only when relevant.
   
   PART II looks more closely at the particular rules for stored funtions and triggers. It also offers a transaction managing chapter, which describes transactions in MySQL in general, and in stored programming in particular. This chapter is very informative.
   
   PART III discusses the use of stored routings from external programs: PHP, Java, Perl, Python, .NET. The authors establish their view of correct usage and provide with general recommendations.
   
   In general, these three parts cover the stored routines material.
   However, here comes a nice surprise: enter Part IV, which is a real gem.
   This last part of the book discusses in depth MySQL query optimizations, indexing methods, performance issues, most unrelated with stored programming.
   Why? The authors explain (and I agree with them), that most stored routines code will usually have SQL queries DML statements in them. It is their opinion, then, that to write good, efficient, stored procedures, one must be aware of how MySQL optimizes and handles complex queries.
   I am not new to MySQL, yet have learned quite a few new things from this last part.
   The book ends with a "best practices" chapter, which mostly provides summary for all issues discussed in the book, including some general recommendations for best practices in programming (which could have been left out, in my opinion).
   
   All in all, this book is certainly a very good reference for anyone wishing to write stored functions/procedures/triggers in MySQL. The authors certainly have a strong expertise on the subject, and have a lot to tell.



3. Being fairly new to MySQL (but not to programming) I needed to develop an application using PHP/OOP with MySQL and stored procedures. This book is pretty concise and got me going quickly. At the time, I searched the Amazon book offerings and also books on the shelf at Barnes & Noble. This book is the only one providing clear and concise material on the subject.
   
   I do wish the coverage would have been more detailed using PHP data objects (PDO) in combination with stored procedures that use various combinations of INPUT, OUTPUT and INPUT-OUTPUT parameters in addition to exception processing, etc. That would have been great but then, this isn't a PHP book. Too bad most PHP books seem to focus more on the basics of the language and don't delve into the weighty matters of real-world commercial application development.



4. The good: I found to book to be generally useful. The approach the book takes is good. Lots of examples are provided along with a good amount of explanation.
   
   
   The not-so-good: There seem to be quality or editorial issues with some of the examples. When I run them through the query browser in MySQL version 5 I have problems with some of them. For example Example 2-7 calls another procedure new_salary, which doesn't seem to exist by that name in the book or on the website. This makes it much more time consuming for a newbie to actually run and digest the examples than it should.



5. I have been working with MySQL for several years as a database back-end for Java, Ruby and C# programming projects. After upgrading to version 5, I have been meaning to look into MySQL's support for stored procedures.
   
   The MySQL Stored Procedure Programming book was my first read on the subject and I found it quite useful. It covers not only stored procedures, but also functions and triggers, collectively called 'stored programs' in the book. While there are many books on MySQL, this book is dedicated to the stored programs domain and provides a lengthy treatment of the subject.
   
   During the introduction, the authors provide a veritable laundry list of MySQL resources including many books and websites. The basic tools for creating stored programs in MySQL are visited and help set the groundwork for a 'read, type in the example and run it' feedback loop. Throughout the book, the examples are clear and easy to follow.
   
   The introduction is followed by a brief tutorial, highlighting stored procedures, functions and triggers. What follows is two sections of chapters, over 200 pages in length, diving into the details of the stored procedure language fundamentals, blocks, conditional statements, iterative programming, error handling, the creation and maintenance of stored programs, transaction management, MySQL built-in functions, stored functions and triggers.
   
   The next section of the book is of particular value to software developers that use MySQL in their applications. Over 150 pages showing you how to use MySQL stored programs from PHP, Java, Perl, Python and .NET. The Java section even shows the basics of using stored procedures with Hibernate and Spring.
   
   After that, you'll be greeted with a 110 page medley of options to help you optimize your MySQL stored programs. The subject of tuning your SQL is addressed over the course of three chapters, from basic through advanced tuning topics. Additional optimization techniques such as reducing network traffic with stored programs, optimizing loops, recursion, cursors, trigger overhead and more are found in the final chapter of this section.
   
   The book closes out with a chapter on best practices in MySQL stored program development. MySQL Stored Procedure Programming has earned a space on the MySQL shelf of my technical library. It's a fine book that will help you take your MySQL programming experience to another level.

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 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!

5 comments about The Artist's Guide to GIMP Effects: Creative Techniques for Photographers, Artists, and Designers.

1. The GIMP is an image editor whose power and easy use rivals the industry standard Photoshop - and is a popular free software item. While The Artist's Guide to GIMP Effects could've been explored in our Computer Shelf area, it's reviewed here to alert every artist working with computer images. It shows how to use the GIMP's powerful features to apply to ads, photos, and business pursuits, and comes from an author who has used GIMP since its first public release. From specialty photographic techniques available within the GIMP model to advanced web design features for special effects, no photo artist using the computer should be without THE ARTIST'S GUIDE TO GIMP EFFECTS - and any collection strong in Photoshop-type books needs it.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. Should have purchased this book months ago. Not for the absolute beginner, but a must have for the advanced beg or int user who wants to learn more about using gimp.



3. GIMP, or the GNU Image Manipulation Program to give it its proper name, is a graphics-editing program broadly similar to Adobe Photoshop in terms of functionality. The GIMP is an open source program that can be freely downloaded and installed on most computers, including maps. But on the downside it doesn't come with a manual, so figuring out how to use GIMP can be tricky.
   
   But 'The Artist's Guide to GIMP Effects' isn't simply a book explaining what all the different tools and features do. Michael Hammel pitches this book quite a bit higher than that, focusing instead on how to use GIMP to perform a variety of useful and common tasks. From trick photography to building graphics for web sites, Hammel leads the reader expertly through nicely illustrated tutorials. The end result is more than simply a better understanding of the program, but a richer appreciation of what the program can be used to do.
   
   There are six chapters, the first of which introduces many of the basic concepts. Although there is some attention given to where the relevant tools are found and how to use them, the focus here is on what they do and why you need them. Fundamental to success with any graphics program is understanding how different tools work when applied together, and Hammel finishes off this chapter with a set of multi-function tutorials that underline this point.
   
   The second chapter concentrates on manipulating photographs. These include softening images, adding motion effects, and creating reflections. In each case the process is taken step-by-step, with clear text and relevant screenshots. At this point it's also worth mentioning something about the layout of the book. No Starch has really done a good job here. The book is wider than it is tall, and each page holds two columns of text. The flexible binding lets the book stay open at any page. As a result, it's an easy book to use alongside the computer.
   
   The next chapter is about creating artwork for web sites. These include things like tiles for web page backgrounds, buttons, tabs, and menu bars. The first tutorial in this batch is all about creating glossy, gel-like buttons of the type Macintosh users will be familiar with. One of the later tutorials looks at the ubiquitous rollover buttons, though from the perspective of creating the actual artwork required rather than the necessary JavaScript or CSS coding. That said, if you use a WYSIWYG web page layout program like Freeway, you probably won't need to manually any of that sort of code to your page anyway; all you need are the graphics.
   
   Like all the other chapters, the web design chapter finishes with a collection of useful tips. Some of these should be required reading for any web designer, and it's great to see the author lay them out fair and square.
   
   The fourth chapter is very unusual but actually makes a lot of sense. It's a chapter devoted to creating advertising. While no substitute for a degree in marketing, there's some great stuff here for anyone who needs to produce things like packaging and posters. Small businesses attracted to GIMP by its low cost will likely find this chapter worth the price of the book alone. On the other hand, some of the tutorials in this section are only incidentally useful for advertising purposes though, and could be just as relevant to anyone creating computer artwork. Again, there's a wrap-up section with a slew of useful tips and tricks.
   
   Chapter five brings text into the mix. This chapter kicks off with some tutorials covering things like neon, metallic, and gel-like text, among other typographic effects.
   
   The last chapter is specifically for software developers, and illustrates the ways in which GIMP can be used to design and prototype application interfaces. While a clever and potentially useful chapter, what was obviously missing from this section of the book was something on designing icons for programs. The book then rounds off with a detailed index.
   
   For $45 this isn't a cheap book, especially when you consider that GIMP itself is free and comes with its own online guides and tutorials. The question is whether having things laid out clearly and logically in a nicely illustrated book justifies the cost. In the opinion of this reviewer at least, the answer is yes. For the GIMP user looking to go beyond simply cropping and resizing digital images, this book is highly recommended.



4. If you don't know what GIMP is, it's an alternative to Photoshop that allows you to do the same things (essentially) but is free.
   
   I was impressed and surprised (in a good way) on the depth of tutorials in this book. I was really looking for something that would give me a good overview of using GIMP from the top, and was surprised at how many things you can do creatively that I hadn't even thought of. My only criticism is the paper used is flat and it would be nice to have something a little glossier for the images. The images are in color, which is nice though. I've used photoshop and now GIMP from probably a pretty basic level (I'm not a graphic artist) for album coverwork for compilation CD's for myself and friends, posters, and just playing around with abstract art to frame and hang on my own wall. I've been impressed with GIMP as an alternative to Photoshop and I think this book is a great companion to help me get the most out of it. If you've tried GIMP, which is free to download, and want to get more out of it, I would recommend this book.



5. In my opinion, there can never be too many books like this one by Michael J. Hammel. This project-based book has great examples of how the graphic designer can use the GIMP software to get the job done. Each tutorial in this book is an individual project, allowing the reader to pick which tutorials best meets his or her needs. But read them all. Each technique is not presented in a vacuum. Hammel discusses these techniques in a way that prepares the readers to reproduce the results in their own projects.
   
   Besides being a project-based book, I also liked that Hammel did not waste the reader's time, and his own, discussing every detail about each panel, menu command and keyboard shortcut. Instead, he commits those pages to more information that you can really use. Don't get me wrong, he does give a short overview of the GIMP workspace in order to orient the novice to the software. But he does a good job of giving the readers only the information that they will need for the rest to the book.
   
   So what does Hammel cover in this book? He writes each project-based tutorial from the point-of-view of the graphic designer. He begins with a short description of the design criteria for the project and ends each tutorial with suggestions for other projects where the reader might apply these techniques. He divides the book into six chapters and each chapter covers a different area of graphic design. Once he covers the basics, he moves on to techniques for the photographer, web designer, advertising designer and UI designer. Throughout each chapter, he discusses how type applies to the project and he also devotes a chapter to type effects.
   
   For the photographer, he begins with some simple techniques for adding steam to a photo and creating a vignette. Then he covers more advanced techniques such as simulating depth of field. Have you ever wondered how graphic artists get type to look so good on top of any background? Hammel shows you how this is done, along with some other nice text effects. Also, he has one of the best techniques for converting a photo into a sketch that I have seen so far. His technique goes beyond the usual examples that you find in books and on the web.
   
   Moving from photography to web design, Hammel states that "color is king" on the web today. Only just a few years ago, books were preaching just the opposite. But now with the better monitors, Hammel can share some of his techniques for creating mood, simulating 3D and reflections, and "popping" an image. He also has some great techniques for creating folds from texture and gradients and for creating the popular Toon style.
   
   With the advent of widgets and other ways to create your own desktop applications, graphic designers are being asked to design user interfaces (GUI) for these applications. Hammel devotes the last section of his book to take you through the design process for creating a UI for a video player. He starts with the face plate and designs each part of the UI individually. However, these same techniques could be used to create environments for digital games and other design applications.
   
   Hammel has been working with GIMP from its beginnings in 1996. He has authored and co-authored many GIMP related books and articles.

5 comments about The Algorithm Design Manual.

1. Nice to have this book handy if you need to design efficient algorithms for your programs. This is more of a reference than to teach you what algorithms are out there, so you better know them before using this book. That said, this book is quite unique since it differs from a typical algorithm book on the market. Skiena has done a great job in presenting the material. I find this book really handy, definately recommanded.



2. There are many reasons I like this book more than other Algorithms books I own (e.g. Sedgewick). One is that Skiena's book comes with an HTML version, so it's easy to keep it with you at all times (e.g. on your laptop, at work, and at home). Another is the "war stories". I found that I wanted to read the war stories first, rather than the technical content. Another is that the book points you at existing implementations, which really is what you'll eventually need to look at if you're going to use or write any code.
   
   Overall, I found that when confronted to real world problems, the "Algorithm Design Manual" was a better resource than other Algorithm books. This is why I'm recommending it to software engineers out there. It seems to be written for people working with algorithms to solve problems, rather than as a support for an academic course.
   
   On the negative side: I find the resource catalog to be exhaustive but somewhat shallow. As I'm getting older and slower, some things are not as obvious as they used to be. For example, I was quite unable to derive how to use Voronoi diagrams to perform nearest neighbour search, although it is supposed to be "a simple matter".



3. I found this book extremely practical, especially for professionals that don't have everyday the occasion to be confronted with real algorithmic problems (I assume that most of the industry-related software programmers / designers / analysts are in this category), thus beeing in need to have a reference at hand "just in case" :-).
   
   Together with "Programming challenges" also from Skiena & co. constitutes a powerful known algorithms references, and supplied with some natural problem-solving talent, could be a succesfull preparation for something like ACM contests or topcoders.com



4. For those computer science students and programmers who are put off by the style of "Introduction to Algorithms" by Cormen et al., this book is a good alternative. Rather than just being a catalog of algorithms with code and little explanation, this book covers a much needed middle ground and contains a good deal about the analysis and design of algorithms in general along with discussions of common algorithms themselves in an accessible style. In fact, the author makes a point of mentioning in his preface that you will not find a single theorem in this book, and that the purpose of his book is to get working programmers up to speed quickly on both the generalities and specifics of algorithm design.
   The first part of the book is on techniques, and covers the basics of modeling algorithms along with "Big Oh" notation, data structures and sorting, dynamic programming, graph algorithms, combinational search, and the concept of intractibility. What makes this section of the book particularly interesting are the author's "war stories" that talk about real world applications of the ideas discussed in each chapter.
   Part two of the book, "Resources", is an extensive catalog of algorithmic problems organized by type. For each problem mentioned, the book includes a problem description and discussion, possible implementations, and other algorithmic problems that are related to this one. In the implementation section for each algorithm, the author demonstrates the kinds of questions that the reader should ask when designing his or her own implementation. The C, C++, Fortran, and Pascal code for all algorithm implementations mentioned is on the accompanying CD rather than in the book itself, which helps make the book more compact.
   This book is a very good introduction to the methods of algorithm analysis and design, and an encyclopedic reference on many different types of algorithms. Highly recommended.



5. This book is splitted in two parts.
   The first part mostly contains general advices about algorithms, performances, and such.
   The second part is more like a huge catalogue of "classical" problems and algorithms related to those, with advices about how to work them. It does not contain algorithms or pseudo-code (or very little), but is more about how to address the problem (and also contains pointers to an implementation).

5 comments about Tomcat: The Definitive Guide.

1. Chap 3: Deploying servlet and JSP Web Applications in Tomcat.
   Writing a book about a servlet container whose app deployment methods have most users puzzeled is a challenge. I dont think this book does any better than the online docs (which are bad).
   
   Chap 4: Tomcat performance tuning.
   Capacity planning, now thats one area where my knowledge general and tomcatwise is a little thin - the chapter only list the topics but provide no hints or answers. Could have been interesting but wasted my time.
   
   Chap 6: Tomcat security.
   Locking down with java policy file, unix chroot and bsd chroot, request filter - wellwritten and very usefull.
   
   Chap 7: Config files and their elements:
   Hmm a new way to run the server on lower 1024 ports without root user - why present this now and not in chap 6? A few details from previous chapters repeated - dont the authors two talk together?
   
   Chap 8: Debugging and troubleshooting:
   Only the obvious things - too thin.
   
   All in all i found the chapter on security and clustering usefull but the book as a hole seems to lack a clear structure/vision and some chapters dosent do more for me than the lousy online docs. Configuring tomcat is not easy and this book dosent help much. Never the less i like working with tomcat! :)



2. This book is hopelessly incomplete. I'm always having to augment it's contents with on-line information. I just attempted to determine the difference between "path" and "docBase" in the "Context" tag in the server.xml file but again it struck out. All page 175 says is that "context" configures the web application directory within a host. End of story. I strongly suggest that you look to another source for Tomcat.



3. All of these other reviews, including some of the popular spotlights, seem to be about the first edition with quite a few people saying they were disappointed. I never read the first edition, so I can't remark on its content. However, this second edition seems to have all the details you need to get up and running, and Tomcat is not an area of my expertise.
   
   In many cases Tomcat is a good choice for a web server, and it is well suited as a high performance production web server. It is also a free and open source servlet and JSP engine. You can use it by itself or with other web servers such as Apache httpd. The book is a user's guide for Tomcat, not a tutorial on how to write web applications. That misunderstanding might have had some readers disappointed. Thus, you don't need to be a programmer to understand the book - it is targeted more at system administrators. The following is a run down of the table of contents:
   
   Chapter 1. Getting Started with Tomcat - explains how to install Tomcat, get it running, and test it to make sure that it's functioning properly.
   Section 1.1. Installing Tomcat
   Section 1.2. Starting, Stopping, and Restarting Tomcat
   Section 1.3. Automatic Startup
   Section 1.4. Testing Your Tomcat Installation
   Section 1.5. Where Did Tomcat Come From?
   
   Chapter 2. Configuring Tomcat - shows the various places to look for information about your server, how to find out why things aren't working, and gives you some examples of common mistakes in setting up and configuring Tomcat.
   Section 2.1. A Word About Using the Apache Web Server
   Section 2.2. Relocating the Web Applications Directory
   Section 2.3. Changing the Port Number from 8080
   Section 2.4. Java VM Configuration
   Section 2.5. Changing the JSP Compiler
   Section 2.6. Managing Realms, Roles, and Users
   Section 2.7. Controlling Sessions
   Section 2.8. Accessing JNDI and JDBC Resources
   Section 2.9. Servlet Auto-Reloading
   Section 2.10. Customized User Directories
   Section 2.11. Tomcat Example Applications
   Section 2.12. Common Gateway Interface (CGI)
   Section 2.13. The Tomcat Admin Webapp
   
   Chapter 3. Deploying Servlet and JSP Web Applications in Tomcat - shows web applications composed of servlets, JSPs, and other files, and several approaches for deploying them. It ends with a discussion of the Manager web application, which can handle some deployment operations for you.
   Section 3.1. Hosts
   Section 3.2. Layout of a Web Application
   Section 3.3. Deploying an Unpacked Webapp Directory
   Section 3.4. Deploying a WAR File
   Section 3.5. Hot Deployment
   Section 3.6. Working with WAR Files
   Section 3.7. The Manager Webapp
   Section 3.8. Automation with Apache Ant
   Section 3.9. Symbolic Links
   
   Chapter 4. Tomcat Performance Tuning - some ideas on performance tuning the underlying Java runtime and the Tomcat server itself so that you service requests more efficiently.
   Section 4.1. Measuring Web Server Performance
   Section 4.2. External Tuning
   Section 4.3. Internal Tuning
   Section 4.4. Capacity Planning
   Section 4.5. Additional Resources
   
   Chapter 5. Integration with the Apache Web Server - covers the use of Tomcat with Apache httpd and talks about the several ways of making Tomcat thrive in front of or behind an Apache httpd installation.
   Section 5.1. The Pros and Cons of Integration
   Section 5.2. Installing Apache httpd
   Section 5.3. Apache Integration with Tomcat
   Section 5.4. Tomcat Serving HTTP over the APR Connector
   
   Chapter 6. Tomcat Security - details about what security is and how to improve it in your Tomcat installation.
   Section 6.1. Securing the System
   Section 6.2. Multiple Server Security Models
   Section 6.3. Using the SecurityManager
   Section 6.4. Granting File Permissions
   Section 6.5. Setting Up a Tomcat chroot Jail
   Section 6.6. Filtering Bad User Input
   Section 6.7. Securing Tomcat with SSL
   
   Chapter 7. Configuration - Using realms this chapter shows how to set up an example JDBC domain to talk to a relational database. Realms are lists of users authorized to implement specific sections of your web site. Many of the other configuration changes you can make are discussed too.
   Section 7.1. server.xml
   Section 7.2. web.xml
   Section 7.3. tomcat-users.xml
   Section 7.4. catalina.policy
   Section 7.5. catalina.properties
   Section 7.6. context.xml
   
   Chapter 8. Debugging and Troubleshooting - Ways to look for information that helps discover why things aren't working and gives examples of mistakes that are commonly made but may not be obvious. Also discusses why Tomcat may not shut down gracefully and what to do about this common problem, as well as ways of preventing abnormal shutdowns from recurring.
   Section 8.1. Reading Logfiles
   Section 8.2. Hunting for Errors
   Section 8.3. URLs and the HTTP Conversation
   Section 8.4. Debugging with RequestDumperValve
   Section 8.5. When Tomcat Won't Shut Down
   
   Chapter 9. Building Tomcat from Source - How to compile your own Tomcat in case you don't want to run a prebuilt binary release of it. Gives step-by-step instructions on how to install the Apache Ant build tool, download all necessary support libraries, and build your Tomcat.
   Section 9.1. Installing Apache Ant
   Section 9.2. Obtaining the Source
   Section 9.3. Downloading Support Libraries
   Section 9.4. Building Tomcat
   
   Chapter 10. Tomcat Clustering - Some options for running multiple Tomcat servlet containers in parallel for both fault tolerance and higher scalability, while discussing the pros and cons of various clustering approaches.
   Section 10.1. Clustering Terms
   Section 10.2. The Communication Sequence of an HTTP Request
   Section 10.3. Distributed Java Servlet Containers
   Section 10.4. Tomcat 6 Clustering Implementation
   Section 10.5. JDBC Request Distribution and Failover
   Section 10.6. Additional Resources
   
   Chapter 11. Final Words - Overview of the Tomcat open source project's community resources, including docs, mailing lists, and other web sites.
   Section 11.1. Supplemental Resources
   Section 11.2. Community
   
   Appendix A. Installing Java
   Section A.1. Choosing a Java JDK
   Section A.2. Working Around Older GCJ and Kaffe JVMs
   Section A.3. Sun Microsystems Java SE JDK
   Section A.4. IBM J9 JDK
   Section A.5. BEA JRockit JDK
   Section A.6. Apple Java SE JDK
   Section A.7. Excelsior JET
   Section A.8. Apache Harmony JDK
   
   Appendix B. jbchroot.c
   Appendix C. BadInputValve.java
   Appendix D. BadInputFilter.java
   Appendix E. RPM Package Files



4. Jason Brittain and Ian F. Darwin's TOMCAT: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE, 2ND EDITION has been updated for the latest version of Tomcat and offers a complete guide to installing the servlet container, from basics of installation to using web applications, securing Tomcat from online intruders, troubleshooting and customizing the program. Any advanced computer collection strong in Java programming needs this.



5. 'Tomcat: The Definitive Guide' is a great resource for all Tomcat programmers and administrators. Jam packed with 450 pages of material over 11 chapters, you will learn everything you need to know. Security, configuration, performance tuning, integration with Apache and building Tomcat from the source, this is a wonderful guide that should be on every Tomcat admin's desk.
   
   **** RECOMMENDED