5 comments about Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules.

1. Took me a couple of months to work through this thick catalog of project management techniques, but worth it I think. It dates back to the late eighties, but is still relevant today. I'm glad I read it.



2. This book is quite long, but worth every page. As a programmer, one usually gets focused on that - programming. There are however, several dynamics at play at any given software development project: customers, unstable requirements, risks, teamwork, tools, etc. This book presents several fundamental principles, strategies, philosophies and mistakes and than goes to present a set of very important best practices. I highly recommend it!



3. "Rapid Development" is an excellent book that covers the software development process.
   
   While the book covers a rapid development strategy, there is great value to be found in the book's coverage of a wide range of software development topics, such as estimating, teamwork and risk management, among other topics.
   
   This book, in my opinion, represents the gold standard in software development reference books. Anyone involved in developing software should add this book to their library.



4. Like everyone else who has reviewed this book, I give high praises both to the topics in the book and to Steve McConnell's handling of the topics. Not only are the topics extremely well researched and credited, but all areas of the software development life cycle are covered.
   
   This is not just one authors pontification of "one way to do things". It completely covers the various software development methodologies and thoroughly discusses, pros / cons, strengths / weaknesses, pinnacles / pitfalls, use / non-use, of each methodology. These methodologies are all focused around delivery and perceived timeliness of delivery of software projects.
   No other book on this subject comes close to completeness or understanding of the software development life cycle and the development efforts needed in order to complete a software task.
   
   Rapid Development is required reading for all developers, IT managers, and software project managers ( even many executives could greatly benefit from this book ).
   
   If you have not read this book, you do not have as full of an understanding of the development process as you think.



5. While this book may be old, it is one of the tried and true books of project management. I recall this book being standard material for my IT classes as far back as 2000! I still keep it on my bookshelf and read occasionally. A must have for any developer or those who interact with developers in some way...

5 comments about Hackers and Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age.

1. I was entertained and greatly appreciated the view of the author but the many times I completely disagreed (due to very substantiated reasons) made me skeptical of several ideas of the author. But, the reasons for him holding those views is, in and of itself, interesting. He does have several good and controversial ideas and his experiences are quite valuable to read. Most of the time, I found myself flying high with him as he stated things that really need to be said which ran against conventional thought. Other times, I found myself raising my eyebrows in bewilderment. After all, it really is a book about his thoughts so take it as such. His book, his soapbox.
   
   The book reads well but really trails off towards the end. I found myself finishing the book just so I could say I was through with it. The opening chapters are quite entertaining. Read a few chapters that you find interesting and leave it at that.



2. In spite of the strong desire to punch the author in the face after finishing the book, there are many great truths inside. Basically why is it that most people think salaries on the same position should be the same if work results differ in orders of magnitude.
   
   Also it's funny to see an ultra-capitalist criticize the western decadent corporate structure. It's The Market for Lemons all over the place.
   
   Don't expect to find anything useful to make a dot com startup on this book. It's all anecdotes from his experience and his quasi-religious views. It's more rhetoric on Lisp than business.
   
   As another reviewer said, read first his online essays before diving into this.



3. Paul Graham is very clever (and rich - is that relevant?), however light also bends around his ego. Whether the sum of these qualities is positive is not absolutely clear to me.
   
   If you want to read the best thing that he has written, you might be better served by his book on advanced Lisp programming, which is a monument anybody can be proud of - it comes close behind SICP on my personal list.
   
   And, if you do read this book, I suggest you also look at 'The Science of Art' by Martin Kemp, which gives another perspective on the maybe slightly overweighted metaphor of the title, and the relation between theory and practice it implies.



4. The book particularly deals with the nexus between programming, creativity, social commentary, wealth-generation, business-personal-entrepreneurial psychology (his specialty!) and LISP-related stuff. I skipped the programming sections because Im not a programmer. The philosophical commentary was better than 90% of other philosophy books I've read, more cutting and more true-to-life.



5. Hackers and Painters is a good read. I enjoyed learning about the author's perspective on programming trends. I really enjoyed learning about his enthusiasm for Lisp. This book is not a how-to, but a collection of essays describing the authors views, opinions, and experiences with various programming topics. I definitely recommend it.

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

1. Cooper's book is by far the best introduction to Ruby I've read as well as to programming in general for beginners. He strikes (for me, at least) the right balance of showing how-to as well as the rationale behind it. It is neither too shallow nor overbearing, but steadily builds on previous lessons, always careful to point out where to find further/more up-to-date documentation.
   
   Cooper's writing style is concise and clear. Examples are explained well. After having worked through books on AppleScript and Objective-C I wish they had been written by Cooper as well.
   
   5 stars!



2. I had heard quite a bit about Ruby, so I thought I would see what it had to offer. I went looking for an introductory book and found this one. I was hooked before the end of the first chapter. The author has an engaging writing style, and has done a great job of introducing the language and the community. The book is logically organized and presents the material in an easily comprehensible style. This is a great book for getting started with Ruby.



3. I have dabbled in programming, but never really rolled up my sleeves to learn a language... until now. Both ruby and python seemed like great choices, and I looked for materials to play with them. Both offer some very nice features and the ability to get up and running with something useful and fun easily, yet offer plenty of room to grow. After a short evaluation period, I think I just like the "feel" of ruby better, but that's totally subjective. After settling on a language, I looked for a book.
   
   I checked out Chris Pine's "Learn to Program", and of course _why's Poignant Guide to Ruby, and then this book. This one is, by a large margin, my favorite. Both Chris Pine's book and _why's guide have their moments, but in my opinion Cooper's book has a considerable edge in clarity and usefulness. It explains complex concepts in clear prose and then by example. I feel that I can tackle useful problems after having read the book. It seems to hit the sweet spot for being clear but not condescending, complex but not overwhelming. The examples are very applicable to many real-world problems.
   
   This book is more of a tutorial than a reference, which is exactly what I needed as a new programmer. In addition to being a great ruby book, it's also one of the best "tech" books I've ever purchased. It's rare to see this level of quality in technical writing. I really hope Mr. Cooper continues to produce programming books.



4. I wanted to use ruby on rails for my web applications, but after some failed attempts I decided to learn a bit of the ruby programming language first. This book guided me to the language, even if you are new programmer I completely recommend it.



5. Beginning Ruby is one of the easier books to following Ruby, and get a decent understanding Object Oriented Programming (OOP). If you don't want to fork the money over yet for this book like I did not knowing if I would understand (I just now have grown a big enough interest into programming to want to study), then I would suggest grabbing the book called Learn to Program from Pragmatic Programmer Series. In that book he runs through basic ruby syntax, and programs that actually function more or less like a BASIC application would. Once you finish the short yet insightful Learn to Program book, this book becomes even easier to follow. Once you make your way through this book though, you will want to more then likely purchase the Pragmatic Programmer Ruby book (The Red Pick Axe Book, which the 3rd version is due out in October). But from a novice programmer perspective, this is an amazing book and is always by my side.

5 comments about The Rails Way (Addison-Wesley Professional Ruby Series).

1. Excellent overview of Rails. Best for someone a bit past the beginner level.
   
   Requires a good understanding of the Ruby language, basic Rails concepts (available in more than a few web tutorials) and how the Web works. (Servers, clients, statelessness, client-host communication protocols.)
   
   Brilliant layout. Teaches how to really do things the Rails Way.
   
   The "Rails Way" is several orders of magnitude more productive than almost all other systems. It's true high-level programming at the conceptual level. Example: I need a database with several tables all inter-related on key fields. Using ActiveRecord it can be set up in minutes. This includes foreign key relationships, 1:Many:1 setups and all the forms to Create, Read, Update and Delete them (CRUD). In addition I can make changes to tables. Test the changes and roll them back if I please. Then roll forward in a different design.
   
   Makes the "try, try, try again" process a snap. Try all the tables, forms and layouts you please. Then go with what works best.
   
   All this without once writing my own SQL code, writing HTML forms code (Amen!) or guessing just where to put the business rules code.
   
   It's MVC in the fast lane. (That's MVC on steroids.)
   
   While the concepts and methods to productivity are tantalizing. The book could have used a bit more explicit project coding. Like a full and complete auctions web site or a blog.
   
   Nonetheless, this book is a delightful journey. What a trip!
   
   Critical ingredient: Making sure I understand the "Rails Way." Once it sinks in it is truly amazing. Do it the Rails Way and the helper methods make forms and screen handling a snap.



2. This seems to have comprehensive coverage of rails/ruby, but may lack the Rails 2.0 coverage I expected. It feels a bit like they threw in some 2.0 updates in order to be able to put "Covers RAILS 2.0" on the cover. Please correct me if I'm wrong!



3. I got this book for a Ruby on Rails class. The class was using Rails 2.0 and this is one of the few Rails books out there that covers Rails 2.0. That was its main highlight. It feels like more of a reference manual than something to learn from. It does seem comprehensive, but it's only good for learning Rails if you already know Rails. It jumps headfirst into complicated topics without explaining why or what for or giving any background. But if you basically already know Rails and just need to look some things up, this book will occasionally be useful.



4. Good reference book for the beginning user. May confuse those that are learning on rails 2.x.



5. This is *the* rails book to get. Even if you're an experienced Rails developer, you'll find loads of great information and advice. The real-world examples are really helpful. Includes an excellent tour through the framework itself. This is one of the few Rails books that covers testing well. Obie is obviously a Jedi.

5 comments about CLR via C#, Second Edition (Pro Developer).

1. Most of what needs to be said about this book has already been said. But I feel a need add my two cents, if only to toss another five stars out there.
   
   Really, this one is an example of what a good technical book should be. It's style is both understandable and unpretentious and it covers topics with depth and clarity. The overall organization is such that it never seemed like that terms, ideas, and concepts were being used that had not been introduced previously. Reading this book was a true pleasue and I know I will be referring back to it many times.
   
   The book provides a developer's view of the internals of the .Framework and its CLR. It's more than you need to know to hammer out a lot of code. But if you want to build really good apps - or just want to know what .NET is all about - buy the book, read it, and keep in at hand.



2. I'm more of a Java and Ruby developer, but I found this book fun to read anyway. It's a great read to understand how languages interact with core libraries and how it all fits together inside of a virtual runtime environment. Very well done.



3. I love reading Richter's books. When you think that there's no room left for improvement you get a title like this one. Wow!
   Where other books present the subject matter this one gives you knowledge. Improves on the previous one.
   Covers new topics like generics or nullable types. Just can't wait to see what Richter will do with linq!



4. The book is oriented toward experienced programmers. It provides an introduction to the CLR and describes some intermediate topics in detail. Advanced topics are mentioned, but the coverage of advanced topics (such as CLR hosting) is shallow.
   
   If you are an experienced programmer who is new to the CLR and C#, this is a great text. If you already understand the CLR and are looking for more information about advanced techniques, this book is probably not for you.



5. If you want to know what is going on under the hood, thn this is THE book.
   Every chapter is very in depth with good examples. Definite YES for the geek inside you. 5 Stars.

5 comments about Writing Effective Use Cases (The Agile Software Development Series).

1. Alistair Cockburn has a gift for writing. His explanations are very easy to follow and the writing style makes it seem like you are reading novel. I tried a number of books on use cases and this is by far the best. It contains a number of different styles. I used this book as a basis for developing standards for the company I work for.
   
   I haven't seen any other book on Use Cases that is as comprehensive. Even the authors of UML don't do Use Cases any justice!



2. This is a great book for anyone involved in software development. Use cases are not only a great tool for designers they are a great tool for anybody involved in the development process.
   
   The book has three main sections:
   Part I: The Use Case Body Parts
   This section dissects every piece of the Use Cases. He does so in such a manner that it all makes sense. Each and every section is well explained. This is not as common as it should be in technical books.
   
   Note: There are some exercises at the end of each chapter.
   
   Part II: Frequently Discussed Topics
   It's often that one reads a technical book about a specific topic and one is left asking, "What next?" This is that section that's missing from most books. It provides valuable information on where Use Cases belong in the process, how to scale, and other topics similar to these.
   
   Part III: Reminders for the Busy
   Just in case you forget everything you read... this section provides an excellent refresher as well as additional tips for better Use Cases
   
   Appendices:
   There are answers to the exercises, glossary, suggested readings, and an explanation of UML treatment of Use Cases. Cockburn is not found of the way people try to use UML Use Cases. He does mention this before but doesn't get off course trying to explain why he doesn't until this appendix.
   
   All in all, this is a great book that should be on your bookshelf.



3. This book was recommended to me by a friend and former co-worker. Cockburn really seems to care about uses cases and has been a voice on the subject for some time. The entire field seems to be a bit confused, and the standards are vague at best. Cockburn does a decent job of helping the reader to understand the issues at hand and alerting the reader of what to look out for. It is still however, just another book about use cases and not the use case "bible" I was looking for. A book well worth reading nonetheless.



4. Without use cases there are simply to few techniques available to analyze complex products. There has been a push to write complex mega-user stories in place of use cases but in my experience this is simple a replacement in words from use case to story. Working effectively with Use Cases is the heart of the matter and we must learn to transcend simple mechanistic methods to achieve break through results.
   
   Both Stories and www.writingeffectiveusecases.com have a place in product development. Also, both are close cousins but each has a distinct strength. How do we balance the tension between performing complex analysis and understanding what users want, while driving the team in small increments of work?
   
   [...].
   Cheers



5. I purchased this book after getting a consultant job in which I had to develop use-cases for the project I was involved in. Having never worked with them before, I found this book to be very helpful and by reading through it, I was able to create use-cases that were relevant and user-friendly.
   I'd recommend it to others.

5 comments about Ivor Horton's Beginning Visual C++ 2008.

1. I was not prepared for the extra cost of Microsoft's Visual Studio 2008 Standard, Professional or Team Edition in order to use Ivor Horton's Beginning Visual C++ 2008. It would have been nice to have been informed before making the purchase that Microsoft Visual C++ Express Edition was not sufficient to work through this "beginners" book. Although I have no real problem with them requiring a certain IDE, I had only found out about this added expense while reading the books introductory pages. Perhaps this could have been displayed on the BACK COVER where it indicates "Who this book is for". Had this book NOT been titled "BEGINNING Visual C++", it may have been obvious that some initial investment in another IDE would be expected in order to work through the examples contained therein. I think it's a lot to assume that people who are in fact "BEGINNING" programming in visual C++ really desire to go out and spend extra money for an IDE they may decide to not continue using. In retrospect, serious programmers who may have already purchased an IDE would not likely be pursuing a BEGINNER's C++ book. Then again, perhaps some might. This book was written on the assumption of no previous programming experience, ( "No prior experience of any programming language is assumed" - written on the back cover). The unexpected investment of money in an IDE just to follow examples in a beginner's book can be quite inconvenient at best especially at a beginning level where someone is just starting out. A person may decide after several chapters of studying that programming is just not for them and give it up. In any event, and in all fairness, this information should be indicated on the book cover with the rest of the advertising so consumers may make an educated decision.
   
   In addition to this, I am not content with how some of the content is explained. There are certain topics which are covered in better detail than others. The chapter on DLL's is one particular area where I wanted to learn a bit more in depth information, (This was one of the main reasons that I purchased this book). I was left hanging with relevant questions due to lack of information on this important subject. This is definitely a book that I wish I had not purchased.



2. I have used Ivor Horton's books on Visual C++ since Beginning Visual C++ 4 and this latest book conforms to the very high standard set by the previous books.
   
   First of all, the book is written for the IDE(s) provided and not the other way round. This book covers the ISO/ANSI standard C++ and the Microsoft extension C++/CLI, together with the Standard Template Library, in the first 11 chapters. Windows Programming is introduced in Chapter 12 and covers both MFC and Windows Forms.
   
   Now, if you want to go down the traditional game Programming route, then Win32 and Standard C++ is what you will need, together with DirectX or OpenGL at a later stage. The book covers all the C++ you will need for that. However, should you want something for business applications, together with a graphics capability and a rich GUI, then that is covered also with Windows Forms and, although I have never used it, presumably Visual Studio Express is perfectly adequate for this exercise.
   
   A problem emerges if you have used and want to continue using MFC, since these classes are not part of the Express version. Presumably, Microsoft considered that those who would want to use MFC have done so in previous versions of Visual Studio and would simply upgrade to, at least, the 2008 Standard version.
   
   The fact remains, however, that this book covers Windows Forms, and all that you could do with the MFC can be done as well, if not a lot better, with Forms. And since the Express version contains Windows Forms, it is difficult to imagine there being any problem with reaching project objectives.
   
   Having said that, I would like to conclude by saying that this is a truly excellent work, and it is very difficult to see how this beginning text could be improved upon, even by Wrox standards.



3. Any serious programming will require more than the free edition of C++! This is a great book to learn the language comprehensively from the bottom up - I have recommended it to several colleagues and none of them have been disappointed to date - well done again Mr Horton...



4. Just read an interview with Bjarne Stroustrup, the inventor of C++, where he studiously avoided talking about C# as much as possible. Understandable, perhaps - in my opinion most (not all, but most) programming projects for Windows systems would benefit greatly from using C# instead of C++.
   
   Not that the above observation has anything to do with "Ivor Horton's Beginning Visual C++ 2008"; I just felt the urge to pass along that opinion in case the reader of this review has not yet decided whether to start learning C++ or C#.
   
   For those who are interested in learning C++ for use with Windows, I can recommend this book. It is well written and covers everything you need to know to get started. In fact, at 1356 pages (not 1392, as currently listed at Amazon) it covers much more than most people need to know.
   
   In Visual Studio 2005, and continuing in Visual Studio 2008, Microsoft introduced a new dialect of C++ called C++/CLI. The great advantage of C++/CLI is that it allows you to integrate "managed" programming (programs that run on the .Net Framework) and "unmanaged" or "native" programming. This is a unique ability of C++/CLI, and for this kind of programs C++/CLI can run circles around C#.
   
   Ivor Horton's book provides a good introduction to C++/CLI, with most chapters being divided into two parts; the first part about classical (ANSI/ISO) C++ and the second part about C++/CLI. However, as a beginner's book, it does not get into the really exciting managed/unmanaged "interop" parts of C++/CLI. For that you will need a more advanced book, for example Expert Visual C++/CLI: .NET for Visual C++ Programmers (Expert's Voice in .Net) - and some experience in creating both managed and unmanaged programs.
   
   On the other hand, if C++/CLI is of no interest to you, then you can easily ignore those parts of the book.
   
   Turning to more general comments, this book is well written and does a good job of describing all of the (sometimes messy) details about C++. There are many programming examples, all meticulously explained. The source code for the examples is available on the publisher's web site. There is even an online service - at one point I mistakenly thought I'd found a bug in one of the examples and I reported it as errata. In response I received a kind message from Mr. Horton himself telling me why I was wrong.
   
   I liked the occasionally humorous tone of the book too, and was especially intrigued by Mr. Horton's reference to a book called "Paneless Programming" from 1981.
   
   There are no major negative aspects, but I did find the fairly large number of typos somewhat irritating. Another surprising experience was that the index, although huge at 38 pages, was missing obvious entries such as "enum" and "typedef". Occasionally material was presented in a slightly illogical way, being (prematurely?) mentioned briefly in one chapter and then finally described properly in a later chapter.
   
   As mentioned by other reviewers, in order to do the MFC parts of the book you need to have access to one of the non-free versions of Microsoft Visual Studio 2008.
   
   This is a very good introductory book about C++ and C++/CLI for Visual Studio 2008.
   
   Rennie Petersen



5. This book was great for helping teach how to create a gui from just the windows.h files. It also went through creating one with other headers but those headers are only in the full visual Studio 2008 profesional. I enjoyed it. It will be helpfull to other intermediate programers to even advanced ones. To the ones just starting out it is alright but not the greatest.

No comments about MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-502): Microsoft® .NET Framework 3.5 Windows® Presentation Foundation.

5 comments about Beginning ASP.NET 3.5 in C# 2008: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition (Beginning from Novice to Professional).

1. First Edition of this book 1-59059-468-1 was a step by step tutorial of how to build sites. At the end, you get a decent working model of a balloon website. Thus, the title Novice to Professional. This book doesn't do this. The book is more laid out like other books. Chapter by Chapter, it covers a big topic like State Management, Error Handling, and others. This book is just like other books out there. I am bit disappointed that the publisher thought that previous book was not in an optimal format. There is really nothing wrong with the content or the information. This just isn't the Novice to Professional Book. It's as if you were reading the Harry Potter. On first edition, you know how Harry Potter is like. On second edition, he is gone or he doesn't do the magic tricks anymore. Instead, he cooks or sings. This book is like that. I can see Harry Potter Singing and Cooking. But that's not the Harry Potter series. He does magics...
   
   This book is good but it's not in the original format.



2. I have purchased (what feels like) hundreds of computer related books from Amazon.com (including other ASP.NET books), and this is the first one that I have ever felt the need to comment on.
   
   This is just a great book, in my opinion! I found the book to be very easy to read, and logical to follow - Matthew MacDonald's writing style is very effective in communicating technical information in a way that made it easy for me to understand.
   
   I've been developing Windows client applications (VB/C#) for close to 10 years, and have "played around" with ASP.NET 2.0. I knew how to make some basic web apps work, but didn't really understand what was going on underneath the covers. I had a lot of questions that were answered and now have a lot more confidence going forward with creating ASP.NET apps.
   
   As I mentioned, I had purchased ASP.NET books by different authors (for 1.1 and 2.0). Maybe I never gave those books a chance, but this is by far the best that I have come across.



3. Usually technical books are very booring to read. I buy many books as I tend to easily get trapped with reviews about book. But this book is one of the best book on C#. Every chapter is in detail and all it needs to get concentrations is to start reading it. The examples and the flow of topics are well planned. This is the book one should have if you are in to C#.
   This is my first review on any book although I have purchased many books from many website. I felt a book which is soo good needs to be acknowledged.
   Mark my words...this book is worth buying ...!!!!



4. I don't read many 900 page books cover to cover.. It's an accomplishment for both finishing this tome, and for the author of this great read.
   
   The first sections gets you up to speed on C# quickly.. You should know some programming before diving in. Then each area of ASP.NET is covered at a healthy pace. Useful samples, and explanations and recommendations throughout. He first covers the manual ways of doing things, then goes into the slightly narrower scope of productivity shortcuts that turn days of development into hours. He's given me a new respect for it.
   
   There are so many books on each tech subject, it's hard to know where to go. You find a few authors you like, and read their books. I'll pick up another one of his books soon.
   
   Great read, highly recommended.



5. ASP.NET 3.5 is the latest version of the .NET Framework from Microsoft. C# is the defacto standard programming language for Microsoft programmers. Although there are more VB.NET programmers out there, C# is considered the more "professional" language and hence forth there are more job opportunities for C# programmers.
   
   This book is huge (800+ pages) and really covers everything you need to know about C# and ASP.NET 3.5. Of course there maybe a few database topics it did not go into detail as much, but for the money it can't be beat. The author (Mathew MacDonald) really explained all the topics very well and assumed no prior knowledge of .NET knowledge. You really can be a `novice' and learn a lot from this book.
   
   The great thing about the .NET framework from Microsoft now, is that there are so many free programs to learn before you invest any money (apart from the book of course).
   
   The author explains the C# language first (great choice and wish more authors did it that way), in the first few chapters before getting into web forms and ASP.NET objects. C# is a professional language and definitely should be learned first before getting into anything else.
   
   Starting at chapter 5, the author starts to explain what a web form is and how ASP.NET works. Covering everything from how sever and web controls work, to the web.config customizations, WAT, web control classes, etc. The following chapter focuses in detail about web controls (what ASP.NET is really all about) and probably is the meatiest of all the chapters. The chapter 7 goes into state management which is a very important and goes hand-in-hand with how web controls work.
   
   Error handling (chaper 8) and deployment (chapter 9) is next on topics covered and then in the next sections of the book the author goes back into web controls with lots of examples of using the validation controls and master pages. Master Pages have grown a lot in this version and it is the core of how you will design you own ASP.NET 3.5 web site. There are 3 chapters dedicated to web site design and development and I have never seen a book with so much detail on the subject. Well done!
   
   The rest of the book goes into database topics such as SQL, ADO.NET, Data Bindings, etc. I can't describe how impressed I am with how many topics are covered in this book and how well they are covered. You really only need this book for 80-90% of you ASP.NET development work.
   
   A great buy!!!

5 comments about Professional SQL Server 2005 Integration Services (Programmer to Programmer).

1. While this text does contain quite a bit of information about SSIS and its functionality, it does not do a good job of relating or building an overarching conceptual framework for understanding. Specifically, I appreciate a learning text that simultaneously teaches the "how to's" along with a vision of "why" things are done as they are. This latter consideration is extremely helpful when we leave the domain of canned examples and venture forth into the real world.
   
   I suspect that when a team of authors assembles a text, as in this case, we get the benefit of vertical expertise but miss out on the encapsulated/synthesized wisdom that a single author conveys as he/she walks us through a detailed technology tool.
   
   After 7 chapters in this text I switched to Microsoft Press': "SQL Server 2005 Integration Services, Step by Step" - for which I have written a more favorable Amazon review.



2. SSIS only supports scripting in VB. But whenever there's a custom component or any code outside the mandatory VB realm, the book only presents a C# example. Even the WROX website does not provide VB code. So if I want to code my custom data flow task, or follow their wmi example, I MUST know C#. I can follow along okay, but I don't like having to interpret/rewrite your code samples to be able to use them and extend upon them.
   
   The general information is good, but don't think this book will leave mold you into an SSIS Expert. I only bought this book because I first bought the WROX "expert" ssis book, which started by saying they assume you have substantial knowledge of ssis, such as provided by this book.
   
   All in all, the book is a decent introduction to SSIS. I didn't suffer from the 10 author continuity loss as others did. I just want my examples in VB, especially for a product that only speaks VB for many functions.



3. If you're needing an SSIS primer, this is a great place to start. There are definitely holes the "how to" part of some sections. However, you really get a good idea of what's possible in SSIS. If you want script specifics, you may need to search for it on MSDN or the web in general--but, at least you know what to look for.
   
   Buy this before you buy the Expert companion title if you're new to figuring out how things work in SSIS. I had several years of experience with DTS packages, and this book was a perfect start for me.



4. I originally intended to give this book two (2) stars, just because I was hacked off at the terrible index, but the content is worth at least three stars. The problem is locating the specific content you need.
   
   Example: User-defined package variables are often critical pieces of a SSIS package. Want to find out how to get/set package variable values from an Execute SQL Task? Well, you won't get anywhere trying to look up "Variables" in the index. Just when you think the text does not address this important issue, you browse the Execute SQL Task section and -- lo! -- there is an extended discussion on how to access package variables from SQL queries. But none of it is referenced by the "Variables" entry in the index.
   
   Brian Knight, by all accounts, is a good writer who knows his material, but any book that has ten (!) authors can't help but display a variety of writing styles and competencies. The book is adequate as a learning tool, but not as a reference. If the publisher had been in less of a hurry to get to market, Mr. Knight might have been allowed to take on fewer collaborators and produced a more coherent book. And a more complete index.



5. So far this book is great for basics. It gives a great overview of all the options you have to create a SSIS package. I had previously purchased the expert version because I had DTS experience and realized SSIS was totally different. So I bought the professional version and it's filled in a lot of gaps. It's also got nice tutorials at the end of the chapters that help you to create a basic SSIS package which is incredibly helpful for learning the new tools that are available.