5 comments about Troubleshooting Analog Circuits (EDN Series for Design Engineers).

1. This book can be a quick read, but also has examples of problems you may or may not run into. He's written for EDN for years, and I've always enjoyed his style (and the occasional tirade on repairing VW bugs!!!)...



2. Troubleshooting Analog Circuits takes a device-centric approach. About half of the chapters focus quite specifically on a type of device, and proceed to tell you a few common ways in which that type of device can fail. The other half of the chapters are quite random and don't seem to fit together very well, although they also contain useful information.
   
   The primary theme in this book could be condensed quite simply: Don't assume anything. A recurring theme in the book is "This type of component is usually pretty reliable, but might sometimes be out of tolerance, so don't assume it's correct." Pease reiterates this same theme for resistors, capacitors, test equipment, circuit configurations, and so on. Virtually everything boils down to "x might not work, so if the system it's in doesn't work, x could be the problem".
   
   This, in turn, means the book boils down to little more than a collection of random observations which normally would remain unpublished in some engineer's notebook, but are just valuable enough to make a published book in this case, because Pease has so many decades of experience that his experience is worth a bit more than the standard spurious observation. Even so, this book is in no way a comprehensive guide on how to troubleshoot anything. It really is a collection of thoughts and tips from Pease; it should be called "Bob Pease's Book Of Tips And Tricks".
   
   Pease is also singularly obsessed in his hatred of SPICE. While he's correct that SPICE can't be relied upon for perfectly accurate simulation of anything, it's funny that he rejects its use so strongly in a book whose overwhelming theme is that *EVERYTHING* is unreliable. The accompanying photo of Pease throwing a computer off a roof is, like the rest of the book, amusing but hardly useful. In the end, this book contains a lot of information that *could* be useful, but don't rely on it as any kind of resource on troubleshooting. It has little to do with troubleshooting at all; its main audience is seasoned engineers who can benefit from a fellow engineer's experiences.



3. This was written some time ago, but all information is still real and true. Bob has a way with making learning fun. He should have been a teacher; in fact he is in this book. How about more bob!



4. Bob has written a book that only Bob can write. It may seem somewhat anecdotical. But Bob is a legend, he can get away with it. You may or may not like his style, but if you read it, you'll learn something from it.



5. Ok, it's clear Bob Pease is waaay good. And we're fine with that. The book is VERY good, very clear in all the aspects, and in all I am very happy to have it. If you read this, you will find many other books use Bob's advice and circuits. I am learning how to build tube amps, and this book almost only talks in terms of low voltage circuits, but still it's incredibly useful.
   Highly recommended if you are to build reliable circuits

5 comments about Data Modeling with ERwin (Other Sams).

1. Considering the thousands you'll spend on data modeling tools and the tens of thousands on salaries, you can't go too far wrong by spending...on a book about a data modeling tool.

   "Data Modeling with Erwin" is a hybrid between a data modeling text and one of those "MS-Word for Dummies" books which shows all the dialog boxes in an application and explains what they mean. It does a fine job in both explaining data modeling as well as walking through the Erwin's features.

   That said, I was hoping for much more "real world" tips and techniques from this book, i.e. more practice to supplement the theory. Specifically, I would have been interested in best practices for use of "subject areas," and "stored displays." Is there a defacto standard on these things? Also, I would have been interested in some simple guidelines for keeping your model (i.e. the main subject area) "clean looking" when your application has 100+ tables and more relationships. Another example: the "Reverse Engineering" section could use some guidelines on importing a model from a database (e.g Oracle) into Erwin for subsequent development. Things you should do, avoid, etc.

   Again, this book might be helpful in the long run. I don't know how it measures up with the Erwin documentation. For me, however, I'll need to pick the hive-mind of the newsgroups for more "real world" advice.

   p.s. This book also has one too many references such as "Claude Frankenstein, in his book *IE for a New Tomorrow* defines an entity as..." It gets a bit old after a while.

   p.p.s This book lacks a 'lay-flat' binding, so it's hard to read on your desktop while you're eating lunch.




2. While I have to agree with some earlier reviews that criticize the book for not being a complete reference, I found it far more useful than the LogicWorks/Platinum manuals as a guide to getting started and developing an intelligent approach to getting work done using ERwin. Ms. De Angelis has a clear writing style and does not hesitate to tell the reader how she thinks things should be done. She spends a good bit of time in explaining the fundamentals of data modeling, which is appropriate and useful for the book's intended audience. Not expensive, and probably a good investment for someone trying to get up to speed or who has used the product for a while and would like some guidance in how to use it more effectively.



3. I find the book extremely frustrating to use primarily because it does not provide step-by-step directions to anything. E.g., the section "Selecting the Target Server" (p. 140) shows me the "Select Target Server" dialog. BUT HOW DO I GET TO THAT DIALOG? This is typical of the book. The section on the report browser (p. 144) shows me the Report Browser window (Fig 7.6)-but HOW DO I GET TO THAT WINDOW?



4. I agree with the concensus reccomendation, this is a primer. Buy this book to get a 10,000 ft view of the data modeling plateu and a short overview of ERwin. It worked perfectly for me as I was a novice to both modeling and the CA tool.



5. This book is really an extended user manual that does provide more information than the product's own user guide, but there are very few discoveries to be made whilst reading this book. Many sections of the book are simply descriptions of the product's features.

5 comments about Applied Microsoft® .NET Framework Programming (Pro-Developer).

1. This is not the kind of book where you will immediately be copying code and being instructed to follow basic instructions to achieve a task. Rather this is a deeply rich book on the internals of the .NET architecture. I consider it required reading for anyone serious about moving towards .NET Mastery. Is it completely comprehensive? No. There are areas missing. Are these areas covered extensively in books that are more 'follow the instructions' type, absolutely.
   
   I would add Juval Lowy's new book (2nd edition) to this, and you will know more then most in my experience. For more book recommendations see my 'so you want to' list under 'Damon Carr'.



2. Excellent book.Anybody who wants to understand the underlying concepts of .Net must read this book.



3. If you want to understand fundamental topics like boxing, unboxing, or disposing better or understand what is really happening when an event gets raised, this is the best book you will find. Richter's knowledge is impeccable, and his writing style is clear. If an experienced developer wants to understand the inner-workings of the .NET framework, this is the first book he/she should read.



4. If you are a beginner in .NET ( not to be confused with a beginner programmer ) this book is excellent. Unfortunately for me, I have been using .NET for several years. SO there we're only pieces here and there that I could use. But, he goes into extreme detail on every aspect for .NET. I love the book.
   
   Its a must for at least a reference book. At the very least.
   
   And by the way I dont do practice examples, I make my own. So if there are examples I have no idea if they work or not. And a books weight has nothing to do with some examples that the author thought up, while cashing his check!
   
   Nick



5. This is the best book I could find on Common Language Runtime (CLR) programming concepts. Richter really goes into detail on garbage collection, boxing model, and other important "under the covers" topics/gotchas. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to learn more about the CLR.

5 comments about Rapid Web Applications with TurboGears: Using Python to Create Ajax-Powered Sites (Prentice Hall Open Source Software Development Series).

1. The information in this book is completely out of date only a few months after it came out. Turbogears 2.0 is going to basically replace every component of TG 1.0. So I would not recommend buying this book unless you want to re-learn everything again when the Turbogears 1.0 codebase is abandoned (it largely already has been as developers move to 2.0 or other frameworks).
   
   Turbogears is a good example of what happens when PR outruns project maturity, and fundamental decisions are abandoned late in a development cycle.



2. I use this book daily. The book is a great read and walks the reader through many of the complexities of modern web-app development in a clear and easy style. Though there are plenty of gotchas throughout the book, the errata site has most of them nailed cold. The clarity of thought and insight into the rationale behind the design of TurboGears are well worth the price of entry. In addition to covering the current state of TurboGears, the book discusses many of the future options for the project, giving it life beyond the 1.0 version.



3. I'm working on a Turbogears app. I find it a good framework. The book, however, is frustrating to work with. I rarely have time to read computer books sequentially. I generally jump around trying to find answers to my questions. I'm not finding answers... just partial examples throughout.
   
   For example, I would expect an AJAX example to have all the pieces necessary to implement an AJAX conversation with the file names clearly labeled. I would expect a diagram of how the pieces interact. What I find is little snippets of code without context and no diagrams anywhere in the book.
   
   I think the authors did a reasonable job of explaining Turbogears from their perspective. It was the editors' job to push them to explain things from their audience's perspective. This has the look of a rush job.



4. This book is terrible. The examples are incomplete and filled with typos. You will NOT learn Turbogears from this book, just how to be frustrated.



5. The book is a basic start, some of the examples have errors in them and there is a leap from examples that map to the taught content to a project called whatwhat that has much more involved code without giving proper background.

2 comments about Synthesis and Optimization of Digital Circuits.

1. Initially I was surprised to find no reviews for this book, considering the fact that it is widely used as a text in the schools. This book was a recommended text for my graduate course in "Electronic Design Automation". I have read the text, as well as, solved few problems in the exercises. Based on these qualifications, I think this book is very good. It starts with the basics and goes onto explain the advanced algorithms used in design automation. It gives a comprehensive coverage of the subject. For avid problem solvers, the exercises present a challenging oppurtunity. I highly recommend this book for any student of digital circuit design. But, advanced readers may find some topics (especially, formal methods) missing in this book.



2. De Micheli's book is the most complete reference I know for the aspiring tool-builder,or for the tool-user who wants to know more of what's inside the design and synthesis tools at her desk.
   
   The first hundred pages or so lay out mathematical basics. Graph theory pervades later discussion, so it gets a thorough review in this early section. There's also a little about boolean logic - not the kids' stuff, but a variety of representations, plenty to get the reader's mind set into mathematical orientation of the rest of the book.
   
   Part II, chapters 4-6 are, for me, the real meat of the presentation. They deal with the higher, architectural levels of synthesis, with a strong discussion of scheduling of shared resources. This book predates modern system-on-chip design, so it doesn't get to the level of on-chip busses and networks. The datapath and resource management issues are just as important today as when this book was written, though. And, even if it omits references from the ten-plus years since its writing, it gives today's reader a solid preparation for creating tools on the cutting edge of system synthesis.
   
   The remaining chapters, although thorough and competent, are not in the center of my interests. They deal at length with decomposition of logic and control into gate-level constructs. De Micheli's discussion goes far beyond freshman logic design since, as he points out, "Most classical methods are not practical for circuits of usual size." Chapter 10 goes beyond classic and/or decomposition, and well into the quirks and limitations of real cell libraries. FPGAs are mentioned only briefly - understandable, since they had not acquired the importance given them by the decade-plus of technology shifts since the book was written. A modern successor to this book would probably have a lot more to say about FPGA-based implementation, and would probably address placement and routing issues that De Micheli had no need to address.
   
   Despite its 1994 copyright date, this book is still current and relevant. It gives its reader a broad and rigorous start on industrial-strength synthesis. I recommend this highly to anyone seriously involved in creating tools for logic and system design.
   
   //wiredweird

5 comments about COM and .NET Interoperability.

1. most of the books about Interoperability bettwen COM and .NET for the programmer who worked with COM for a long time,but what will happen if you are learning .NET now and you don't know anything about COM (because you are new to programming world),so this book (the only one in the market) for the new developers and for expert developers too,it's easy to understand as all Mr.Andrew books,for me if they sell the book for 200 $ i will buy it,because of the way of explainning the subjects,if you want something about COM and .NET and how they work together FOR YOU without pain then go to the nearest bookshop and get this book now.



2. FIRST,LET'S SAY THAT MR.ANDREW DO A GREAT JOB IN HIS BOOKS,DO YOU IMAGINE HOW MUCH MONEY HE SAVE IT FOR YOU WHEN YOU READ HIS BOOKS ?
   THE BOOK BEGIN WITH OVERVIEW ABOUT COM AND .NET TOO AND IT'S EASY TO UNDERSTAND TOO,THE BSET THING IN HIS BOOKS THE CHRYSTAL EXAMPLES TO EXPLAIN WHAT HE WANT TO SAY,
   MR.ANDREW IS THE BEST AUTHOR IN THE WORLD AND A LOT OF MY FRIENDS SAY THAT TOO BECAUSE HE KNOW WELL WHAT HE'S DOING,



3. The very first book of his I bought about three years ago was COM and ATL3.0. The thing I liked about that book was the way the author explained the difficult concepts of ATL and COM in plain english.

   He does it again with this book. The book covers all the aspects of Interop services with examples, and explanations are clear and to the point. I was looking for a book that will help me get started on Interop services quickly and this book helped me tremendously.

   Great Job Andrew...




4. This book is definitely a good starting point. It covers most of the topics, a newcomer would like to see and enables both, the .NET programmer and the COM programmer (which is most likely a VB programmer) to find a way into the material.
   What is missing from my point of view is a section which describes the problems that a typical user/writer of legacy code (which COM definitely is from Microsoft's perspective) will have to overcome before he can reuse COM components in the .NET framework and write COM-usable components within .NET.
   Here it relies a bit to much on Microsoft's perspective, which is that "the Framework" will do everything for you.
   This is however only partly true and many programmers have gone through hard times.
   When you start with COM interop, it all seems to easy... but be assured, Microsoft has a lot of work to do for programmers to make it work seamlessly.



5. There may be times when you need to access legacy COM DLL's written in non-managed C++ or Visual Basic. This may be as a stop-gap measure until your older legacy code can be updated to .NET. In cases where performance is critical, you may have no desire to ever upgrade your C++ DLL, but would like to use C# for GUI design, rather than Microsoft Foundation Classes. If any of these situations apply, this is the book for you.
   
   This book begins with a few chapters that will bring the reader up to date on both sides of the GAP. First you are shown the fundamentals of COM objects. Second you are shown the newer .NET architecture. Only by understanding both sides will you be able to make the two effectively communicate. For experienced users, who are already familiar with COM and .NET this section can easily be skipped. The book then continues with an overview of what datatypes are available on each side, and how they cross over.
   
   The real meat of the book comes in the next two sections. Three chapters (the basics, intermediate and advanced topics) are given first for COM to .NET. Then the exact same pattern is repeated from .NET to COM. I spent most of my time with the .NET to COM part of the book, as I was using a C++ DLL with C#. The book answered all of my questions and I was able to successfully implement the application.
   
   The book provides a great deal of good information, but it is sometimes hard to find exactly what you are looking for. Each direction is covered in chapters named the basics, intermediate and advanced topics. What exactly is meant by this is not clear until you begin the chapter. I often found myself skimming all three sections trying to find an example close to what I was doing.

2 comments about Beginning VB 2005 Databases: From Novice to Professional (Beginning: From Novice to Professional).

1. It's the Best for Beginners and intermediate in VB.net05 Databases,I have read several Books previously and I Couldn't Understand well ,From Beginning to The end This Book explain step By Step all you Need For starting Programming in Databases using VB.Net 2005 and gives you a guide of Books to continue the next grade.



2. This really is an outstanding book. My background? Years of C and VB development, but no .NET; then tons of SQL Server 2000/2005 work (am MCITP, MCT in SQL Server).
   
   I specifically wanted a jump-start on accessing SQL 2005 databases from VB.NET, and this book does it. The same method is used throughout the book: (1) briefly explain a topic; (2) write some code to illustrate its usage; (3) explain salient points in the code. The examples are extremely short & simple. Each stands alone and illustrates a specific point about .NET or SQL 2005. The authors do not, as some do, create huge coding projects in which learning points are too easily lost. And, not a trivial point, each example works!
   
   If you are a SQL Server professional, you can skip or quickly flip thru some sections that focus on T-SQL, but if you are already a .NET developer you probably won't want to skip anything, because virtually every code sample deals with database access.
   
   Excellent, excellent book.

5 comments about Beginning Game Programming, Second Edition.

1. I was very disappointed with this book. There was insufficient instruction regarding the installation of the DirectX SDK. Most of the source code is incompatible with the included compiler. After manually entering the source code into the Visual C++ IDE, most of the programs would not compile. Thinking I may have made some typographical errors or overlooked some of the code, I then copied the source code directly from the included CD and became even more frustrated that this code would not compile either. Don't waste your money on this book.



2. This book has exellent information, but the author spends little time emphasizing the basics. I am about halfway through the book and i have just stopped reading it becuase it is so confusing. I am very experienced in php, and know basic C and C++, and was surprized i found it so difficult to understand. If you can catch on quick enough though then im sure the information given is great, i expecially loved the first few chapers before the code, where he explained about api's and how directx works...



3. I've had this book for two days now and am already half-way through it and the examples. Please NOTE*** Something that is reiterated throughout the beginning chapters is that this book is an introduction to GAME programming using directx, not an introduction to game PROGRAMMING. The code in this book is developed using a C/C++ compiler, and the brilliant author uses Microsoft Visual C++. As the author mentions many times, you should be knowledgable in C/C++ to really have a good understanding of the code. That being said, even his explanations of every line of code shouldn't confuse someone at least familiar with some programming.
   
   The writing style might be somewhat "cheesey" to some readers, but I felt myself so enthralled in the book that I couldn't put it down. Mr. Harbour inspires you to want to develop games.
   
   While I haven't yet reached the 3D part of the book, I really liked the explanations on Windows programming, and the eventual directx programming. One of the best "features" of this book is how the author explains what the different lines of code actually do. Too many books give you code without telling you what it does.
   
   I recommend this book especially if you have no idea how a game is programmed. I do have a lot of programming experience, but not low-level windows programming. I had no idea how to display a window, or to 'blit' a surface. Now I do!
   
   Lastly, I've seen some people said they had trouble with compiling the source code. I haven't tried it with the given compiler, but if you download the FREE MS Visual C++ Express, make sure you aren't using a UNICODE character set, then you shouldn't see any problems.



4. Jonathan S. Harbour is an excellent author. His books are very informative and very easy to read. He has a knack for taking subject matter that would put you to sleep, and making it fun to read.



5. Besides the few mistakes that make it difficult to compile code etc. the book is very good for beginners. It starts with the basics of windows programming framework then adds DirectX, onto 2d graphics then finishes with 3d. Each chapter has questions to test your knowledge and it CLEARLY states the answers are in the Appendix which ISN'T included. I have contacted them and they just state, "nope no appendix sorry". So if you are unsure of an answer your never going to know the answer. It also has a program he uses called meshview which doesn't come with ALL SDK's (maybe I have a newer one that has it removed). So the whole section on optimizing mesh's is worthless to me (I have searched for it on the SDK ON THE BOOK's CD!! and online to no avail) Things like that throughout the book make it just a so so book to me. Anyhow don't expect a complete 100% thorough book.

5 comments about MCAD/MCSD Training Guide (70-316): Developing and Implementing Windows-Based Applications with Visual C# and Visual Studio.NET.

1. I used this book as my only C# book and passed the test on the first try. This book is comprehensive in coverage and exercises, and it took me several months to get through it, although a more dedicated study program could have reduced the time. This is a very hands-on book, with a lot of walk-through examples and exercises. After reading it while using C# professionally, and doing the review and exam questions until I could answer them correctly, the test was a breeze. I would recommend this book, as it did an excellent job of preparing me for the exam.



2. DON'T BOTHER WITH MICROCRAP BOOKS!! I studied using the Microsoft Self-Paced Training Books and didn't come close to passing.
   
   Bought this book based on reviews and studied from cover to cover. I PASSED!! This covers all subject matter and little intricacies of test material and test taking. There were small issues with the questions in the book.
   
   Suggestion: Take tests at Microsoft site to determine areas you need to work on, concentrate on studying those areas, go retake the tests, brush up on other areas you are good at to increase knowledge. When you feel good enough, go take the test!!
   
   I don't think the PrepLogic CD is worth anything. They have code errors in their content, applications are difficult to work with, and questions are trying to be too tricky ( not concentrating on content ).
   
   Going to buy the other Kalani books to pass the other certs.



3. This book desrevd two stars becaiuse it is specially organized for exam, compared to all other books, therefore trying to cover every topic.
   But (but!!!!!!), this book explains so terribly, and you will get so confused, that you will even forget what you knew before.
   I bought this book to save my time on preparation. But, the author usually gives very very short explanation about the particular class, and just gives very wordy 2 pages long example: the remaining part to be self-understood. I read one page of the book 5 minutes, and spend remaining 2 hours in MSDN, to find out how the code the author gave works. That is really exhausting!!!! Somebody could wonder, that there are no perfect books, and why am I so angry. The reason is, I think this book and other related books by the author were written in hurry, not concerning about how end users would understand it.



4. Good Book
   
   I bought the electronic (PDF) edition and found it very helpfull.
   
   My Comments is more based on the PDF format.
   #1
   I liked the idea of downloading the book and having copies on more than 1 device so i can read wherever i am (at home / work / etc).
   
   #2
   I liked the idea of downloading the book instantly form Amazon so i did not have to pay delivery and customs - since i am in AFRICA stuff takes weeks to get here.
   
   #3
   I think there should be a web site where i can get hold of the contents of the CD if you buy the electronic edition. I would like to have the testing / prep exams as well. The price for the book and the PDF does not differ that mmuch..... (You pay for the information not the paper...) so i think its fair if i get the electronic test exams for the same price.



5. Studying this book diligently for several months (there's a ton of material to cover for this exam) in conjunction with a transcender practice exam allowed me to pass the exam fairly easily. I found the examples and labs useful and not too boring with a really nice summary at the end of key concepts. I'm a big fan of the "blue book" certification guides over the Microsoft Press ones. The preplogic practice test which comes on cd with the book isn't very good - spend the extra money and get a transcender practice exam instead.

No comments about Object-Oriented Programming in Java: A Graphical Approach, Preliminary Edition.