3 comments about The Ultimate CSS Reference.

1. If you want a comprehensive, well written and thorough CSS reference, this is the ultimate. Really well done explanations. I tis agreat book to have if you wrestle with the ins and outs of CSS



2. A reference guide. Sure there are some great tips and explanations regarding CSS, but all in all, it's just a reference guide. All be it very comprehensive. It has references to CSS selectors that are not even available in CSS 2.1 yet, actually for CSS 3, but that hasn't been accepted by the W3C at the time of the book's writing.
   
   I have become a big fan of the Sitepoint books. I own, "The Principles of Beautiful Web Design" and "The CSS Anthology". There are other books by Sitepoint that I will be buying.
   
   This reference does help, if you forget what certain selectors are used for, or if you need a selector to help with your development.
   
   I wish it did provide more insight into tips on how to use the selectors with examples. Which there aren't many of them. But, I guess that's what the other books are for.
   
   Think of this as a dictionary for CSS.



3. 'The Ultimate CSS Reference' is exactly as the title says. A comprehensive REFERENCE for CSS styling. This book is not (NOT) a learning book or an example full book, rather a reference to using CSS. If you use CSS on a daily basis and need such a tool this is a good resource to have. My only gripe is that I don't know why the publishers decided to put this out as a hardcover. The costs could have been kept down and likely more sales would have been made if this had been released as a softcover like most of the other sitepoint books.
   
   sitepoint has long been my favorite web publisher of books and nothing has changed with this release. A solid release albeit a different one from what has been released in the past.
   
   ***** RECOMMENDED

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.

5 comments about Java How to Program (6th Edition) (How to Program (Deitel)).

1. The book provides many visual examples that help audience to absorb the concepts easier, still we need to reference Sun Java website' API though. Concepts of Object-Oriented Programming, GUI, Data Structures, Sorting & Searching, and among other basics are covered in relatively brief but clear. I think those are enough for beginners who take Java as their first course, as its purpose. The later chapters sparsely introduce more advanced features in Java such as Networking, Web Applications, Database with JDBC, JAX-WS Web Services, etc... without giving complete explanations, as if they are reluctantly added to the book to make it looked thicker and heavier. If you are a beginner, you might not need to cover these features, but if you are going to advance, you might likely encounter dead-ends or summarily discussions.



2. I wish I had started Java programming with this book. It's written for those who prefer a thorough and methodical learning approach (less "whimiscal" than "Head First Java" and less "philosophical" than "Thinking In Java". The book covers general programming and basic Java language concepts. It is long but not lengthy. The book teaches practical programming skills in a no-nonsense fashion. You can learn Java from the ground up with this book and the free Java tutorials and JDK/API from the Sun website. I already work with Java for some time, so I did not learn anything new from this book, but I still appreciate the didactic approach. The only thing I found annoying is that each and every code example (which are excellent by the way) is explained tediously in natural language. This adds bulk to the book and is IMO unnecessary, because the code is self-explanatory. Hence, four stars instead of five.



3. JAVA HOW TO PROGRAM 6TH EDITION
   If you are serious about learning Java, then you must have this book.
   This book is a comprehensive study of Java.
   You have to read each line carefully and do the exercises. You will have to go back to many sectioins that you studied already in this book and read it again. At some points, I decided to go to other books that might make it easier for me to learn Java, but I always go back to this book.
   The book has a large variety of examples and exercises. When you finish
   this book, don't get rid of it. You will need it when you are writing
   Java Code.



4. Pros:
   =====
   Good material. Great organization. Good examples. In Color. Love the writing style.
   
   Cons:
   =====
   Print is to small. This should possibly be spilt into Vol 1 & 2 or the format enlarged to make the material more readable. Yes, I know it would cost more but the additional paper would be worth the cost.



5. nice book. EASY TO UNDERSTAND / FOR LEARNING THE BASICS.
   
   FOR BEST RESULTS, USE WITH AN ONLINE REFERENCE WEBSITE.
   
   YOU`LL BE FINE

No comments about Sams Teach Yourself ASP.NET 3.5 in 24 Hours, Complete Starter Kit (Sams Teach Yourself -- Hours).

1 comments about SAS Certification Prep Guide: Advanced Programming for SAS 9.

1. There are some half-printed pages. I have to guess when I read. The worst thing is that one half-printed page is for a quiz, so I couldn't do the practice quiz.
   
   If I return it, who will pay the postage? and it will take at least 10 days I can get another one. But I need the book urgently.
   
   What should I do now?

5 comments about PCI Express System Architecture (PC System Architecture Series).

1. It's huge, and slow going, but the book is quite detailed and generally clear explaining the concepts.



2. I have 2 PCEe books and this one is the best one. I don't have any experience on PCI and PCI-X. This books really have a lot of basic stuff which is very good for PCIe beginners.



3. this book was written before the pci express standard was ratified so much of the information is speculative. nevertheless, it is well written and complete.



4. The book is well organized. The illustrative examples are very helpful. The contents of the book follow the specification very well but much better organized.



5. Mindshare book was designed for easy understanding and learning. This book carry on the tradition. The first chapter compare PCIe against PCI and PCI/X, it provides an important perspective.

5 comments about The Complete Manual of Typography.

1. This book belongs in the pantheon of well written, well presented expertise. If you liked Bringhurst's gem of a book, add this one to your library. The organization, writing and examples are exemplary. Felici's sense of humor is a treat. His sense of fit a balm to the weary.
   
   If you are type & text junkie this will soothe your jones. If you care about type this will make it clearer. Even if you are an oldster with plenty of practice this book will add something to your arsenal. At the very least you will find how to explain all that H&J arcania more clearly to others.
   
   And, as a last thought, I appreciate the restraint in the design of the book. It serves the subject well.



2. Although I'm not an expert and therefore cannot comment on whether this really is a complete manual, I can say that the book is very good. It's full of helpful examples (nicely placed in the margins) that help the reader develop good typographical intuitions. It is extremely accessible, even for a non-specialist, and from all that I can tell, it is quite comprehensive.



3. I am only half way through this book (so much in it I have to take it a few pages at a time). The history of type is covered (and should be read to learn vocabulary...but has a great glossary if you just want to learn terms in other sections as you go along...21 pages of glossary.)
   
   Seems like 1/4 of the book is history and the architecture of font AND typeface (yes...the book is so in depth it tells the difference between the two). The final 3/4 is on typesetting good and bad, how to do it with various computer programs (though no program is emphasized as each program will be good at one thing and bad at another and he wants to keep it as generic as possible so you can apply equally). It is written in a fairly straightforward language and you only have to scratch your head a couple of times (Plenty of Visual Examples are included). In fact, seeing how they do typesetting of this review is already causing some agrivation now that I know just a few things to look for. .
   
   As I read in a magazine I use for graphic design...the best advice a graphical designer for what to have a great knowledge of is Typography. Even if your desing work is middle of the road your typography will give it a more cohessive look and feel and is probably the top number one thing to master...and I am beginning to agree. The book is set up to be used as either a reference guide or a textbook...your choice. I recomend this book as your first choice. Another book is "Logo, Font and Lettering Bible" by Cabaraga...if you are into designing, letters, logos and symbols.



4. I found this to be a really good book. It covers everything you need to know about typography. From the basics and generalized topics, to the nitty gritty. So if you are looking to have a better undertanding of typography, I highly recommend this book.



5. Choose this one!! Yes, this was a textbook for my typography class, but I see it more as a book recommendation from a friend because it is absolutely something I would pleasure-read for myself. In fact, I am going to read the chapters my teacher skipped, just because the topic is so fascinating and Felici presents it in such an appetizing way. This is by far the best textbook I have had this year, and I highly recommend it to even a casual user of design software. It is a quick read, and you can easily select just the chapter that applies to you (although I would bet once you read the chapter you won't be able to stop yourself from reading the rest). He clearly presents the aesthetic principles of type and design, as well as simple ways to achieve those goals without being a programmer or design wizard. Even a brief exposure to this material will make a noticable difference in the quality of your work. I am very impressed, and hope to see more from this author in the future! Choose this one!!

5 comments about Project Arcade: Build Your Own Arcade Machine.

1. I like the book. but i wish to warn buyers about outdated parts. in the book and on the cd it lists many links. but many of the website have gone down and are dead. in the description for the book it says it gives details on making controls, but some cases it just gives links. some of are dead. but it does give good info on emulator, encoders and many other things that are hard to find on the web. but i think the man should have cut some parts short and added controle construction.



2. This book covered so much more than what I was expecting. If you have never built an arcade cabinet before then I would recommend this book if only to see how many different ways it can be done.



3. This book is a lot more "Techie" than I expected. It involves taking apart and reconfiguring quite a few things to get what you need. Sure it shows where to buy the components if you wish, but then why not just buy the arcade game already made. It does show you how to build the case. I thought it would show how to take your X-Box or Playstation and build an arcade enclosure to get the arcade feel. That is not what this book is about. You take a computer and several components, plus a moniter to make an arcade game. It is very informative but not quite what I expected. It is not a 1 or 2 weekend project. Do a search for mame to see what I mean. Mame is very important to this project.



4. This is a good book.
   My only thing is most of this is on the internet and may even be more updated if you find the right websites.
   
   But it is helpful as for the beginner will help you plan things out in advance. Would be nice to have a few more illustrations like some sample wire diagrams of the controls etc.
   
   But again..it has lots of reference websites listed in the book that can also assist.
   
   My suggestion is -> don't build a Mame Cabinet if you don't have the internet...because you will need it.
   
   Seems to have covered all the basis and the added cd is a nice touch.



5. Following the Arcade scene for a few years, I've been promising myself this book once I'm ready to sit down and start building my own MAME Arcade cabinet.
   
   After getting the book and skimming through the pages, I was disappointed to find it's either information I've already discovered on my own by surfing the Internet, or the links to additional content or files are severely outdated and a number of external links no longer work. The copy of MAME they provide you is ver 0.7x (Latest incarnation of MAME is over .100)
   
   Don't get me wrong, this book is great for those who haven't already done the research and want an all-in-one book on how to do it. For me however, I gained nothing from the book.

5 comments about GIS for Web Developers: Adding 'Where' to Your Web Applications.

1. The book is a *solid primer* for understanding GIS data and its usage.
   
   It will walk you through vectors, projections, and rasters. You'll be introduced to spatial databases and OCG (with a focus on Open Source tools).
   
   This will get you going... places :)



2. Prior to reading this book, my experience with mapping technologies was limited to writing Google Maps applications and using its geocoder. I didn't even really understand what a geocoder was.
   
   Scott Davis provides a friendly, easy-going assist to learning the bizarre complexities and conventions associated with real mapping technologies. I was frankly dismayed at the state of the art, with its odd compromises and incomplete, conflicting tools. But Scott leads the reader through the maze quite effectively.
   
   If you're ready to move beyond simple markers and lines, this book shows the way to _real_ mapping applications.



3. We have a hard time as software engineers mastering our own concepts. Once we are asked to work in a non-trivial domain like geospatially-enabled environments, it is easy to get lost (pun intended). This book acts as a map to the world of maps. It shows you where you are; in this case, building web-based applications that need to visualize spatially-oriented data. It shows you where you can go without taking too many trips down unnecessary rabbit holes. In short, Scott walks masterly on the very fine line of theory and practice making it both useful and instructive.
   
   In addition to the informational content, the book is one of the more beautiful computer books I've seen recently. The decision to go with color plates for the images is key. In order to fully appreciate the power of visual contexts like this, you have to see the richness of the data.
   
   I worked on one of the first "whole Earth" environments 14 years ago and would have gone bananas for a book like this. The field has changed pretty dramatically since then with the emergence of both the Web and rich and complicated standards like those we are seeing from the OGC. This book lays enough foundation of the theory and catches you up to the new and sexy tools available to us now.
   
   We are not genetically-programmed to stare at words and tables. We are visual creatures and gain real insights when we can see relationships literally laid out in front of us.
   
   Do your customers and users a favor and add some "where" to your applications. Do yourself a favor and pick up this guide to help you along the way.



4. GIS (Geographic Information Systems) is one of the most important development technologies to be applied in the past few years. By using GIS concepts you can learn to apply geographic code to any and all applications easier and better than ever before. With 'GIS for Web Developers: Adding 'Where' to Your Web Applications' you can learn the ins and outs of how and why you will want to add a GIS presence to your application. With plenty of maps, code samples, and a look at the different GIS viewers and editors out there in the world today, this is a good book for any developer that wants to learn more about GISs and their relationship to GPSs.
   
   Good introduction to the technology.
   
   **** RECOMMENDED



5. I was not familiar with GIS system and I got this book to figure out how things work. The book turned out to be a great help for me. Since everything was very new to me I ended up spending a lot of time to learn about the PostGres database, it PostGIS extention and Geoserver. So do not take it as a complete walk through tutorial but it certainly great help when you get stock somewhere. Bear in mind that I am quiet computer savvy and familiar with linux, java and such. Overall, I recommend this book if you are a web developer that wants to deal with spatial data and his needs are beyond things that can be done simply on google Map, yahoo map and such.

No comments about Learning Flex 3: Getting up to Speed with Rich Internet Applications (Adobe Developer Library).