5 comments about Microsoft Office Access 2003 Inside Out (Microsoft Office Access Inside Out).

1. Viescas certainly deserves his status as a Microsoft Access database expert. He packs a lot of information into this book and, at over 1200 pages, there's a lot of room for packing!
   
   The book is very well organized and walks you through the many aspects of developing an effective database and using Access' many features. It's also well indexed so you can find what you're looking for when you need detail.
   
   Given these positive aspects about the book, it's truly a shame the writing's so bad. If something can be described in 10 words, Viescas uses 100. Here I put the blame on the editors. Writers are frequently over-verbose and it's the editor's responsibility to ensure writing is concise and clear. Perhaps the editors were intimidated by Viescas' database knowledge and were afraid to cut anything out; perhaps he's given such high status by the publisher that the editors had no clout. Whatever the case, the writing's a detriment in that it makes it very hard to read.
   
   One example where Viescas gives his IT background precedence over his writing background is his naming of the database elements. He gives all elements (such as tables) long, drawn out descriptive names. This results in sentences like 'you might be tempted to start a new query on tblContacts and add the tblCompanies, tblContactProducts, and tblProducts tables.'
   
   While anyone doing major database development knows naming conventions are VERY important, applying the most detailed of these conventions in a manual aimed at explaining concepts is nothing but confusing. Viescas should have used very simple element names in the text, then added a chapter about use of proper naming conventions in your development.
   
   Additionally, the naming concepts he applies are his own - not any 'standard' that readers might be familiar with. In fact, he waits until page 372 to include a sidebar explaining what the little prefixes he uses indicate. Until that point, they're nothing but annoyances to the reader. After that, they're explainable annoyances.
   
   Again, with all the valuable, well organized information in this book, it's really a shame the writing is so poor. The difficulty in this type of book should be gaining understanding of the concepts - not trying to make it through the poor writing.



2. This book is incredibly helpful to the relatively experienced user. There were quite a few things I was having a great amount of difficulty understanding, but this book explained things in such a way that I now understand and have since completed my databases I was creating for work. Not recommended for the beginner user.



3. I have been tasked with developing a new database for tracking and reporting city inspection data, permits, citations, etc. I had limited previous experience in using Access. I did take a one-day class in access programing, which gave me a leg up on getting into some programming. The Beginner type Access books that I previously used did not provide enough depth to help me develope the database. So, I was looking for a more advanced reference book. The great reviews for Access 2003 Inside Out encouraged me to give it a try. But, after daily using the book for the past several months, I found that it was not very helpful. The Microsoft website help function provided much more understandable help to me than is book. Perhaps if I had time to read the book from cover to cover to get a comprehensive view of how everything works, this book would be useful. Perhaps it is a good comprehensive reference book for people who have more experience with Access. But, for me, who had limited prior experience, it was not very useful.



4. PROS:
   - Thorough read on the essentials of Access 2003 and building databases in Access.
   
   CONS:
   - The author is dry.
   - Other parts of the book dealing with VBA and SQL Server (.adp files) frequently assume more information than the reader is introduced to making it necessary to have multiple reference sources to understand what the author is talking about.
   
   OVERALL:
   - A really good book for someone with prior Access knowledge who would like to have a through understanding or fill in missing gaps to complete their understanding of working with MS Access 2003. However, it is not a good book for a beginners understanding or gap filling knowledge of SQL Server, ADP files or VBA, which is ½ of the book
   
   - A questionable book for someone with no Access experience because the volume of information is overwhelming.
   
   - This IS NOT a reference book!
   
   SUMMARY:
   The book is over 1,000 pages long. Not that it should matter but it is kind of bothersome that the author's picture is in the book at least 30 times; what's up with that?
   
   The biggest drawback to the book is that the author jumps into deep material without providing enough clarification and background information about what he is discussing prior to starting a discussion.
   
   The section on VBA can only be read if you have other reference material in front of you that defines words and terms that are being used to tell you about VBA. In this regard, the author fails the reader and may as well have not written the last half of the book because there is too much information to introduce to do a good job discussing the primary points without having to assume the reader is familiar with all the extended topics that are involved with learning VBA as written by the author.
   
   Overall it is a good book but certainly did not meet my expectations given the reviews written on this board.



5. Microsoft Access is a well written book, it has greatly help me understand how the program work.

5 comments about Reversing: Secrets of Reverse Engineering.

1. This is one the few books that goes into details of reverse engineering. A lot of the steps described I went thru myself, not using Ollydbg but with IDA Pro which is the perfect tool for this.



2. This book takes a tutorialistic approach to reverse engineering. It assumes you have a working knowledge of assembly language and C/C++. The author briefly introduces you to some of the programming languages in use, Windows Internals, gives an overview of some of the tools available, and then proceeds to walk you through some example reverse-engineering. The author spent alot of time covering Windows internals. The overview of Assembly language could have been a little more thorough before going into reverse-engineering, instead most of the appendix is devoted to this. More time introducing the debugging tools and the use of it's features instead of the brief overview would have been helpful too. Despite these shortcomings the book is very educational. If you are not up to speed on C/C++ and assembly would recommend reading Assembly Language Step-by-step: Programming with DOS and Linux (with CD-ROM) and The C Programming Language (2nd Edition) before reading this book.



3. This book is a dense collection of information about various aspects of reversing.
   
   There are a few factual errors, and so, while this book can be used for bed-time reading, I wouldn't count on it as a reference.
   
   Before people pounce on me for mentioning 'factual errors' and not substantiating them, let me draw their attention to the description of calling conventions in this book. This book mentions that cdecl and stdcall pass arguments in different orders (i.e left to right for cdecl and right to left for stdcall). This is just plain wrong. I wonder how this important detail could not be caught during editing, and technical review.



4. The book is put together very well and provides adequate explanations on the majority of everything it touches on, but if you've already been reversing for a while and want more in depth knowledge and/or advanced methods for reversing check elsewhere. For the audience it was written for, its great, if your a newbie to reversing it would be a good addition to your library.



5. This book includes a great deal of effective and practical techniques related to the subject. While reading this book it soon becomes very clear that the author is a highly experienced professional in the field. He does a wonderful job presenting the many relevant topics presented in the book. If developers want to discover vulnerabilities in their own applications, this book will give some excellent pointers. Security professionals will very likely draw some great benefits from it as well. This book is loaded with information which is generally easy to read, (more so if you are familiar with some high and low level programming languages), and remains right on topic. This book is definitely a "must read!"

5 comments about Pro CSS and HTML Design Patterns.

1. This book is a nuts and bolts CSS/HTML reference book, that you'll be pulling off the shelf frequently, when editing stylesheets and web pages.
   
   Each entry is presented in this clear, practical and timely format, that allows skimming straight down to the section you want (borderless table format, not inline paragraphs):
   
   Problem
   Solution
   Pattern
   Location
   Limitations
   Advantages - (Some entries)
   Disadvantages - (Some entries)
   Example - (Some entries)
   Tips
   Related to - (Some entries)
   See also
   
   It doesn't waste your time with 1001 details of each tag, yet does give you the essentials you need to know about each tag (some entries have screenshots of the examples, mostly in Firefox, but some in IE7), so you can get to work quickly -- and not get bogged down by the hyped cheerleading, that fills many of these CSS/XHTML books these days.
   
   Would've given this book 5 stars if the author spent more time with cross-browser support other than a few tip suggestions, especially with IE 7, as it uses conditionals instead of hacks to get around the box model SNAFUs. Cross-browser troubleshooting is essential, and not an after thought to be addressed with about 20 words -- more time is spent debugging than actually writing code, and it needs to be addressed accordingly.
   
   Overall, this is the best CSS/(X)HTML reference book I've found to date. It's due to the presentation format above, that doesn't have you trying to find some remote reference in microprint, in a sea of 500+ pages!



2. I often rely on readers reviews before making a purchase so I thought it appropriate to give feedback on this book.
   I am a self-taught programmer who needed to take my CSS knowledge to the next level. This book clearly sets the bar high and helps me get over it almost daily. The models depicted are extremely accurate and on point, and foster a wealth of ideas that extend to some really nice models. Mr. Bowers research and implementation on cross-compatability between browsers is nothing short of excellent (a big learn for me). The style in which the book is written makes it easy to follow and learn from, as well as reference. As a new programmer, I am extremely pleased with this book as it has taken me to the next level of CSS.
   I would recommend this book to anyone who, like me, has a general knowledge of CSS and wants to fine tune and hone their skills in CSS.



3. There is some useful information in this book, but the author's rigid adherence to the format works against the presentation of it. I find that Andy Budd's book (CSS Mastery ...) is a much better book. They seem very different but I think that many developers will read them needing the same information.
   
   Further, as is becoming more and more the case with new apress titles, the copy editing is substandard. It's a pity, as apress had such a good reputation for quality books, and this kind of thing is hurting them.



4. Hi
   
   I have read about half the book and I find it very interesting and very practical. The book gives you patterns and approaches to solve the problems which designers confront daily. The index is also very helpful at the back, which points me straight to the solution of the problem which I am seeking. When compared to other books, this gives more than what every other book is giving, which I have seen. Generally all CSS books give various properties of the html elements, its possible values etc. While this book, has a different approach. This book discusses the affect of changing these element properties based on the context where the element is placed. It has very good discussion of the box model concept and positioning concepts.
   
   Till now, I have loved this book and has become my reference for all my css needs.



5. Those who understand CSS will find a trove here. One may trudge through other one true holy grail bulletproof designs. They have their place.
   
   Then, leap, at last, into this book. It's been sitting on your bookshelf, perhaps, undeservedly ignored, for a week? You peruse. You find the page for your problem. You read, carefully. A light bulb! "Of course," you may think! Or, "He's telling me, what I SHOULD have known!"
   
   Yes, but, everybody needs SOMEONE to gather these essential prods. Here they are, distilled, a fine essence. Rock solid. No fluff. Problem, stated clearly; solution, stated plainly; sample code, crisp. Just what you need. Terse. Precise.

5 comments about UML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language (3rd Edition) (The Addison-Wesley Object Technology Series).

1. I do well appreciate how those who believe the earth is flat must feel. I believe the people have lost their senses in their enduring alacrity over the aptly-acronymned OOPS. I have read a number of books on OOPS and worked with OOPS languages, and I continue to believe it is nonsense. The gullibility of my fellow humans has most surprised me.
   
   1/3 of OOPS is logically without foundation: "Everything is an object", the notion that object-oriented procedural systems suffice for reuse, and the notion that object-oriented procedural systems are necessary for reuse, for example. The remaining 2/3 is just old ideas, such as various diagrams, modularity, and control over others, parading in new lingo.
   
   For all their talk of reuse, the champions of OOPS are the ones who sought to discard previously existing software and to rewrite the entire corpus in the style of OOPS. OOPS developers have brought error messages to new levels of incomprehensibility. OOPS is an obstructionist vanity that continues to impede more than it helps systems development and maintenance.



2. This is a good book to have as a reference and to get an introductory understanding into UML. Many engineers at the company that I work at have this book and also at previous companies that I've worked at.



3. With just about 200 pages, this little big book covers the most common features of UML in a clear, crisp and fun way. No other book has given so much to so many in so few pages.



4. This is a handy reference book for UML diagrams. I like the quick summary on the inside covers, useful when you want to a quick reminder of which UML diagram is the one you want to use. I find it helpful that instead of spending pages and pages describing some of the hardly used notations, it actually concentrates on describing the essentials and the typical. If I then find I need more information on a certain diagram, I just go find it in the internet. It is not an in-depth explanation of object modeling.



5. This book is not the ideal UML book for the business analyst (and I now work as one). There is reference to OO programming concepts that will probably always be lost on me. However, it is the ideal overview of the UML for starters, and I suspect I will be using it as a reference for quite some time to come. Enough detail to do some serious work with, concise enough to allow me to find what I need. After reading this book I was curious for more and ordered four more books from the Object Technology series. Hope they are equally good.

5 comments about Designing the Obvious: A Common Sense Approach to Web Application Design.

1. No non-sense approach in putting the detail by the author. Good read for the people developing web applications for generalized users.
   
   downside, author quoted examples from 37signals, apple and google - sublimely bashing microsoft when ever possible. From my standpoint I dont care if apple wins or microsoft wins, except when I pay for a book from an independent author to provide a unbiased view, should not feel like someone that works for apple or google wrote this book. If thats what I want, I would have bought book from those authors.



2. Not essential reading, but a really good little book. If you diligently follow companies like 37 Signals or other smart web application development practices, you've probably already thought of most of this. But it's nice to have it in a single, well-written, volume. One problem is that the author talks about "common sense" and "obviousness" as if they were universal, when they're not. It would have been nice to have some evidence from, say, the science of human visual perception to support some of the claims made here.



3. This book is to web application design what Steve Krug's Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition is to website design. Many of the same concepts are echoed, the style is fairly engaging (if you can bear the occasional coy "dear reader" kind of aside), and the publishing format is similar.
   
   I agreed with much of what this book said. For example, the author advocates:
   * Accommodating the users' mental models instead of forcing them to learn new concepts/skills
   * Turning "beginner users" into "intermediate users" as quickly as possible
   * Building applications that do one thing, or just a few very closely-related things, very well -- rather than ones with loads of add on capability
   * Understanding users, but doing lots of (iterative) testing (incorporating feedback into the next version for testing) rather than a lot of research upfront
   
   I had a few minor quibbles, including:
   * Many of the illustrations seem rather gratuitous, making me suspect that they were thrown in there simply to increase the length of what is a slim volume. (A contrast with the Steve Krug book, where the illustrations genuinely add to the information content)
   * The tone was a bit arch for me in places.
   * For some of the points he made, I thought that there were better example applications than the ones the author used.
   
   Nevertheless, this is a very easy and thought-provoking read. It will only take you a few hours to read it from cover to cover, but its recommendations will stand you in excellent stead for many years.



4. old but still good. buy it used it s not woth to buy it new.



5. I love this book for it's brevity, clarity and simplicity. While everything in this book is obvious and common sense, it is still amazingly useful. You should not underestimate your minds ability to ignore and distort such obvious things, especially when we are emotionally invested in the product. Reading this book is helpful when starting or reviewing a product.

5 comments about Microsoft® Office Access 2003 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft)).

1. thi9s is a quite useful book that covers a range of detailed information. at times i find it difficult t olocate exactly what i want and i feel the book is written with an expectation that you will undestand a great deal of the technical terms before embarking on this work book.



2. I did not find this book very useful. It does not give you enough practice. It gives you files and lets you make changes but does not give indepth explainations about what you are doing. It gives you an overview of Access but not enough information to set up a simple data base.
   
   I purchased the Microsoft Word book at the same time and it is worse than this one.



3. I needed this to help me with my work and was happy with the price paid. Thanks for the fast delivery!



4. This book is not very concise and I suspect this to be because it's geared toward the beginner and it wants you to play with the demos that's on the included CD to see how everything all comes together. In other words, "Trial by Fire" training method is how you learn.
   
   It does, however, give you enough input to get you into trouble and have an adequate to professional looking database. There is one thing that it doesn't do. It doesn't STRESS, enough, the importance of Outling your ideas for the way you want your database design to look, feel, and be like. That is the most important factor you are going to have to consider, first.
   
   Plagiarizing sample databases almost, always, proves to be a "must do" in order to get your database to work like the Pro's. Maybe, plagiarizing isn't the best word to use. Oh well, too late. Have fun!



5. Have found everything within Amazon that Ive purchased to be totally what I have been looking for and the service is second to none.
   
   Plan to use this sight for everything I need!

5 comments about Working with Microsoft Dynamics(TM) CRM 4.0.

1. This is a very solid book in regards to explaining and showing how to work with the application from a technical standpoint. I think of it as a good handbook for the IT user or power user that wants to know how to setup or administer MS/Dynamics CRM 4.0. I was hoping for more of the business side but the authors state up front that this book is not built around what to do with Microsoft CRM. It's not a book about strategy and how to build your business using Microsoft CRM - rather, it is squarely intended for a technical user that is concerned with setting up and administering the application. For this purpose it is a valuable book to have on your shelf as a constant source of pragmatic expertise.



2. Working with Microsoft Dynamics(TM) CRM 4.0 is my main paperback reference book for MS CRM. What's not included here, I can find from Resource Center inside Dynamics CRM.



3. This is the first book I read about Dynamics CRM. I started using it in a test environment before getting this book and it was quite self-explanatory in many cases. But some things weren't as obvious and this book gave good insight into the inner workings of the system. Also customizations, sotfware development etc are covered.
   
   The only thing that's not great is the fact that this book is probably not enough for the MCP tests. But that's not the point of the book anyway.
   
   I recommend this book to anyone wanting to work with Dynamics CRM, be they engineers or technical end-users.



4. The book is a decent update to the previous version which I also have. Most of the content was written while CRM 4.0 was being developed. It kind of shows. Many sections have the spirit of things but are not 100% accurate. Specifically some of the coding recommendations run contrary to information contained in the SDK release from Microsoft. Additionally not all of the coding samples work. There are not alot of CRM 4.0 references out there and this one is not bad. I can recommend it as a good starting point to orient yourself.



5. Good condition and fast delivery. It only took 10 days before I received it in New Zealand. Will trade again

5 comments about Java Generics and Collections.

1. Generics in Java have some non-trivial aspects, and this book does a great job of explaining when you need to use what in a comprehensive and concise manner. I thought I knew Generics, now I know I didn't... If List looks strange to you, then this book is for you.
   
   Not sure why half of the book is devoted to Collections (rather than having that be a separate book), but in any case these chapters are also very well written. There are simple explanations how to choose the most suitable Collection classes for any given situation.
   
   The Collections discussion touches the issue of multi-threaded programming. I almost expect the next edition to be titled "Java Generics and Collections and Concurrency"...



2. It's a decent reference and a great read to go over generics and the collections framework. But don't get me wrong, it's nothing you can't get from just reading the Sun-provided API documentation or tutorials covering the topics.
   
   It's comprehensive, sure... but the examples lean to near overkill on each topic in some areas. In other areas, there just isn't enough information or example code to really drive home the ideas.
   
   It's average and worth the read. Not worth keeping around, though. It's one of those "read-once-then-give-it-to-a-friend" books. Like I said, though: you should definitely read this book if you're looking for more information on these topics. You'll just find yourself hitting resources online for more information in areas you are particularly interested in (concurrency w/ collections, for example).



3. This a very good book on Collections and Generics. It is very readable and very well laid out and organized. Besides treating Generics thoroughly it also treats threadsafe collections very well too.
   
   For these reasons I highly recommend this book.



4. The authors provide detailed examples of capabilities provided by Generics. There are plenty of examples to illustrate various concepts. And many more examples which put them all together to show how they can be used to write full fledged OOPrograms. Its admirable how a non-trivial topic like Generics has been explained in a simple and succinct style. The collections coverage is good, but not as great as the Generics coverage.



5. This is excellent book, i really wish i had this book 10 yrs ago, excellent verbiage and great concepts.

5 comments about Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software.

1. Domain Modeling is the backbone for any non trivial application. Most pattern books concentrate more on behavioral aspects of the application rather than talk about the design of the core domain model. This book fills this need and does it in a very commendable way.
   
   That Eric Evans is an agile practitioner and a great crafter of domain models, becomes evident in this book. He transforms the art of designing a domain model into more like a science. He illustrates his points with numerous practical examples.
   
   I use some sample "requirements capturing conversations" that Eric talks about in this book as excellent examples to illustrate the need for a domain model.
   
   This book is a must have in every architect's book shelf.
   
   Update:
   I find it very hard to read this book from cover to cover tho. Since this book is about sound design principles,it has to be much more interesting than what it turns out to be! But still there is tons of information. Hard to get that kind of information from anywhere else.



2. This book is one the few I have been reading and re-reading since it was published back in 2004. Unlike XP and Agile titles which describe the Bleeding Obvious in numerous tomes, Domain-driven design takes a deep dive into stuff that makes designing and writing software a rewarding experience: understanding the technical problem at hand and then finding an optimal solution.
   
   Too many technical books are written for people who should not be writing software in the first place. This one was written for enthusiasts and professionals alike.
   
   Note to publisher: an electronic version would be nice-to-have.



3. In my idea, it represents "The book" that each developer who wants approach Domain Driven Design methodology must have in his own books collection.



4. This book is just amazing. In this design world, there is so much to look for, and this guy just brings it all into one book. He answers the questions you have been asking. He compiled a lot of knowledge people already had into a wonderful set of ideas. Get it.



5. If your process for writing an application is to start with the database, or to start designing UI, you should read this book.
   
   There is nothing new in this book -- but you really should read it.
   
   This book details the way many architects and analysts have been creating their applications for years, and for good reason. They start by creating domain classes that help represent data in a way that is understandable to both developer and customer. Then building out the application from there.
   
   Read this book.

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...