5 comments about On Time Within Budget: Software Project Management Practices and Techniques, 3rd Edition.

1. I used On Time Within Budget at a post grad course last year on software project management (we switched mid-course from the 2nd edition to the 3rd). After the course I brought it to the attention of our Software Process Office at our company and in July it was adopted as the standard text to be used by all our project managers. In the last 4 months we have introduced risk analysis, standard status reporting, and stepwise estimation. We are planning to start preparing for an SEI assessment early next year. Everyone's guide is the Bennatan book (we are also now using the IEEE standards and the SEI CMM guideline books).
   I don't think our company would have taken all this on without this book. It doesn't only suggest what to do it also explains why.



2. As a previous reviewer wrote, I was truly dismayed at the level of technical expertise tha the readers of this text are assumed to have. The book definitely contains several gems, but non-technical managers would be better off finding other sources that are more geared for their skill base.

   For example, I enjoyed Chapter 9 which described the major development standards on a relatively high level. However, the exercises at the end of the chapter dealt into the intricacies of the standards, which was not a level of detail achieved within the chapter text.

   Also, many of the other exercises within the chapters seem more related to system design than to schedule and budget estimation, which I assumed would be the crux of the book.

   So, this book may be best read by technical personnel moving into a management position, but for non-technical personnel I would recommend finding another source of information.




3. I don't usually write reviews but I was prompted to do this one because I strongly disagree with a preceding review. I am an EE senior manager and software development had always been a mystery to me until I got hold of On Time, Within Budget. I particularly found the following chapters helpful: Chapter 1 which includes reasons for project success and failure, Chapter 2 on risk management and how to reduce the cost of risk events, Chapter 5 on the management of software engineers, and most especially the Epilogue on pulling it all together, which provides a great overall perspective.

   This book is full of real-life examples; it was clearly written by someone who has been down in the trenches. This adds credibility to the methods described.

   I have learned a lot from the book and I use it as a reference regularly.




4. We (26 person team) just finished a 2+ year project using On Time Within Budget as our process guide. Bottom line: the project came in 7 weeks late -- not bad for a company used to 6 to 12 month schedule overruns. We'll do better next time with more experience on the methods described in the book. Advice to others: the chapters on estimation, standards, and risk analysis are great. The chapters on software teams, quality assurance and testing are good pointers to what we needed to know, but we also used other books on these subjects to fill in more details that we needed. Most everyone liked the epilogue (pulling it all together). This book helped to pull us out of the dark ages into modern software project management. Strongly recommended!



5. If you have never been a project manager, and suddenly you need to learn rules of the game, this is a book I would recommend you to use as a reference material. It is easy to read, has real life examples and various templates related to project management are presented in this book. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Beginning JBoss® Seam: From Novice to Professional.

1. Don't let this jobfactor happen to you...
   
   1) the HelloWorld example doesn't work. It's very poor and is missing much detail (WAR or EAR? no ant build script? why is the code for interface file missing? why is this entire example not in the code download? no xml file discussion whatsoever like web.xml or faces-config.xml? seam.properties file is required but no discussion in the HelloWorld example) Off to a poor start.
   
   2) The author uses "but I'll cover this later on in the chapter" way too many times. Hard to follow.
   
   3) Not enough details in SEAM and covers JSF and EJB3 too much. The book needed to be a LOT longer to cover the details necessary. There was no coverage on seam-gen. No coverage on best practices.
   
   Save your money and purchase Yuan and Heute's JBOSS SEAM book.
   
   Why didn't Gavin King write a SEAM book? There is a chapter on SEAM in the new Java Persistence with Hibernate book, it's pretty good.



2. I have to admit that I do not write reviews, but this book compelled me to do so. I have read a fair share of computer books in the last fifteen or so years, I'd have to say that this book is one of the worst. Luckily for me, I was familiar with most of the concepts described in it, otherwise, I would be quite lost. This book is on Seam, but the first 100 or so pages are on other technologies. This might be good for some, but I expected to get a Seam book. The number of errors, typos and omissions in this book are innumerable. English is horrible too (has an editor actually read it?). Good percentage of sentences start with "So....". Code examples sometimes list imported classes, and sometimes don't. This makes it very hard to understand where these classes/interfaces/annotations come from. The book is full of statements without a logical path to them. The title says: "From Novice to Professional". Well, this is a bold statement and the the book does not hold up to it. I certainly would not recommend it to a novice, as Seam concepts are not explained well, and would not recommend it to a professional, because it just does not provide answers and does not go deep enough for those trying to dig the Seam. The explanation of a SLSB life cycle and other EJB3 concepts are unintelligible. The only positive thing about this book was time on the market, but as I have read the Michael Yuan's "JBoss Seam" book, online documentation and EJB 3 specification, I'd say that this book was completely useless for me.



3. You wont know if the author is really talking about Seam and EJBs until at least chapter 5.



4. I had high hopes for this book as I like Apress publications, but I was disappointed in this offering. For the record, I am an experienced programmer with years of J2EE (now Java EE) work under my belt. I had not previously used Ejb3 or Jsf when I started reading this book so I did have some catch up to do to fully utilize Seam. I have used hibernate (2 and 3) on several projects and have a pretty decent knowledge of it as well as Ejb, Struts, Tiles, and the Commons Validator. I have witnessed projects using good technology fail and projects using poor technology succeed based on the application of said technology so please direct all flames on these choices to /dev/null.
   
   I found the intro chapters on Jsf and Ejb3 decent and not out of place. The author does qualify those chapters as 'just the basics' so that is not a problem. I did have to use other sources to supplement that info as I had questions not addressed but then again, I was okay with that.
   
   What I did not like was that reading the actual seam content was tedious, laborious, and left me with an empty feeling, but not because the material was that difficult. I felt that some topics were glossed over with the intent of 'covering' without really providing anything useful. Chapters 5,6, and 8 are roughly 105 pages long and constitute the meat of the seam content that I was interested in and it was not enough in my mind to carry it over the finish line.
   
   As some of the other reviewers noted, there are mistakes in this book that could have and should have been caught during the editing phase. Overall, it was lackluster. I recommend that if you are interested in learning about Seam, just check out the online docs. They are organized in a more linear fashion and I found them much better. I have not read the Yuan and Heute book but I would certainly compare that TOC with this book before purchasing 'Beginning JBoss Seam'.
   
   I would welcome a second (and larger) edition with some of the holes filled in that could work in tandem with the online docs. For example, use the booking example (or another example) and explain some aspect of it better than the docs do.



5. As another reviewer commented, this book seriously needs editting. Bad grammar, and odd/confusing turns of phrase. It also doesn't dig deep enough into the details of how Seam gets things done, leaving the reader to assume things were hooked together via magic.
   
   It's also already out of date with the current Seam release.

1 comments about ADA PLUS DATA STRUCTURES.

1. As a freshman at an upstate New York state university, this was the textbook for the second sequential computer science course. Of course, the choice was obvious: McCormick being a former professor at the school. At that point, I was a beginning programmer, having already taken basic programming classes. This book, however, is responsible for my now-firm grasp of data structures and algorithms. Both dynamic and static structures, complex and simple, this book is the primer for an understanding of data structures in Ada.

   As an Ada textbook alone, it has its faults: it assumes the reader has a knowledge of the programming language, but from that point teaches a method of programming that enforces good stylistic patterns and strong code. Now, when it comes to algorithm layout in my position as a design engineer, I turn to Ada first for a comprehensible design structure, and then port it to other languages as necessary.

5 comments about Pair Programming Illuminated.

1. I started a bit skeptical about pairing until I read this book. After completing the book I realized that I was thoroughly mistaking about my premature conclusions and comments on the topic.
   
   This is a very thorough, interesting and entertaining book. After reading it from cover to cover, I realized that pair-programming is not only a good thing-in many instances for most software processes-but that it addresses a problem that many individual in our field suffers from-and I am a prime examplar of a programmer with some form of the symptoms of that problem:

   General lack of social skills, or interest, for interacting, communicating and working in teams to create "good" large software... as well as sharing our knowledge without prejudice and with humility. Not too mention dealing with our not so small egos...

   I also realized that in some sense, I have experienced (positively) some form of pair-programming without really knowing it. At the large software company where I work, we do spend a fair amount of time reviewing code and coaching, which reminds me of some of the tactics that is proposed in the book. Further, in a recent project I personally did spend a lot of time in a "coaching" role (as the lead) with the team... and the feedback I got from members of the team was only positive.

   I am convinced now that my initial attitude and thoughts towards pairing was wrong and was based on misunderstanding and probably on recollections of "expert-novice" pairing that I had experienced a few times in the past; and which is singled out in the book as one instance where pairing might not work well. Further, my "soloist" programming background coupled with a more introverted personality does not help the matter. However, I do also realize that any decent software system (delivered in competitive business time and quality) has to be done by a team and is not a trivial endeavor-I speak from experience here. So breeding "soloist" programmers is not in the interest of the field nor is it for any company. Finally, as is indicated many times, pairing might also be a lot more fun.

   I know now what changes I will be pushing for, in my next project.




2. As the title suggests, Pair Programming Illuminated casts light on many of the frequently asked questions about pair programming. This very readable book helps you to understand why pair programming works, how to implement it, and when to consider not using it. Statements about pair programming are supported by data as well as stories by the authors and other practioners of pair programming. Buy this book if you want to understand pair programming better, implement pair programming in your team, or explain pair programming's benefits to someone else.



3. 
   A well-rounded discussion of pair programming, this book presents not only where pair programming excels, but also where the problems lie. Whether you are looking for a sales pitch, implementation advice, or statistical data from pair programming studies, the book contains useful information for project managers, technical leads, and developers alike.
   
   Part One covers general information about pair programming. It dispels some of the fear and uncertainty that revolves around the practice (myths) and highlights some of the positive aspects that can be derived (synergistic behaviors). It includes a chapter titled "Overcoming Management Resistance to Pair Programming" which lists achievable goals that any project manager would wish for. In addition, there's a short chapter on selling pair programming to reluctant peers. But the authors warn that it is probably best to use a pyramid marketing approach and just let the advocates sell it for you versus forcing it on staff. Part One closes with a list of problems to avoid when implementing pairing.
   
   Part Two explains in less than 30 pages how to implement pair programming from the workspace layout to "Tips 'n Tricks" for making it work better. If read and applied carefully, this last chapter may help the developer looking for implementation advice to save a failing pair programming attempt. That alone makes this book a worthwhile read!
   
   Part Three spans close to half of the book and walks through the various pairings that might occur when you have different technical abilities (expert, average, novice), sex, race, and attitudes involved in the process. Each of the technical ability pairings is examined with both positive and negative aspects highlighted. Relevant anecdotal information from experienced pair programmers is also included.
   
   Part Four looks at pair programming as part of a software process, in particular, Extreme Programming (XP) and the Collaborative Software Process (CSP). The chapter on XP reviews the process in 10 pages and explains why the authors believe pair programming is an integral part of the process. The CSP chapter is derived from the author Laurie Williams' dissertation and is an extension of XP and Watt's Humphrey's Personal Software Process (PSP).
   
   Part Five closes the book out with edge case information on pair programming in a distributed environment, using it in an educational setting, the continued relevance of code inspections, and more. Also included is a "Seven Habits of Effective Pair Programmers" list which couples nicely with the "Tips 'n Tricks" chapter in Part Two.
   
   You will also find useful information in the appendices. There is a Pair Programming Tutorial designed to lead people through a half-day pair programming exercise. An economic analysis of an empirical study conducted at the University of Utah looks at supporting data from both an efficiency and economic perspective.
   
   Pros
   * Covers pair programming from multiple perspectives.
   * Advises on improving pair programming sessions.
   * Contains empircal data supporting the practice.
   
   Cons
   * Part Three could have been abbreviated but is easily scanned for relevant information.



4. This book is simply excellent. I found it on the shelf in our office, so I grabbed it and read it mostly on the train commuting to work. I enjoyed reading it from the front cover to the end.
   
   This book is purely focused of pair programming, so if you have not had an exposure to extreme programming I recommend you read "Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change" by Kent Beck and Cynthia Andres first.
   
   We started practicing XP in our development team. Our manager got several copies of XP Explained book for us. As I have already read it, I read another book about XP: "Extreme Programming Applied: Playing to Win." After that, I found this one and let me tell you, it is a real treasure. Some of the times, when I came to the office and we had the stand-up meeting, we discussed how we could make XP work better for us. There were so many things from real life that were in this book!
   
   This book is very easy to read and very true to practices of pair programming. You won't be disappointed.



5. Finally, "full disclosure". Instead of assertions that pair programming must be good, everyone should do it, and "just get going", Williams and Kessler tell us honestly that pair programming is "simply not for all" and requires continous maintenance. And they admit they "don't know yet" how pair programming might or might not replace formal code reviews. (Rather honestly, they admit that in a context where most people don't do any code reviews, pair programming could help a bit.)
   
   With that out of the way, Pair Programming Illuminated really does illuminate: explanations and examples of how to start pair programming, what to expect, and how to address problems. Practicality instead of magic. Well worth the read.

2 comments about Pro Visual C++ 2005 for C# Developers (Pro).

1. If you are a C# programmer interested in C++/CLI, look no further. I felt like the book was specially written for me :-)
   It is written in a very clear and pragmatic manner. I am glad that the author kept the book short so that you can read through all the main points and explore further on your own. Excellent book.



2. Swimming upstream is never easy.
   
   Learning C++ if your primary language is (and has always been) C# is exactly like swimming upstream: C# is, in a sense, a much simplified version of C++. So, you're going to have to learn how to do easy things a harder way.
   
   One (traditional) way of learning C++ is to grab a good book and kinda learn a new language. But it might take a while to figure out how to apply the programming knowledge you already have to the language which is new for you.
   
   This book makes the process of adjusting your existing C# knowledge to be able to do the same things in C++, far less painful and time-consuming.
   
   The book starts with a brief overview of the main differences between C# and C++/CLI (C++ 2005) syntax, and shows how to convert a simple (but not as simple as "Hello world"!..) console application from C# to C++. The subsequent chapters dig deeper into more advanced stuff you need to know about C++/CLI.
   
   By the way, the author is one of the world's leading experts in C++.
   I don't know if he has ever taught any classes, but the fact is, this book is unbelievably easy to read.
   
   Also, unlike many other books on programming, this book does NOT bore you to death by a 100-pages introduction and history of the language. A few pages of introduction... and you're already starting up your Visual Studio!
   
   I highly recommend this book.
   
   I only wish it was twice as big...

5 comments about SQL Bible.

1. If you want to *really* know SQL, this is the book. I've used this often when I had a really tricky data request.
   
   You might have to change the syntax slightly when working with different products, but the basics are all there.
   
   The trial software probably has expired, but with MySQL and SQL Server Express 2005 (two I use) being free, you can get much newer versions than the software had anyway.
   
   Other books from two and three years ago are on the shelf or were sold on Ebay. This one stays on the desk.



2. This book is very poorly written. It has a lot of technical details on three flavors of SQL implementation as well the SQL99 standard, but is totally light on general concepts. It tells you how to do something (but often in a convoluted way), but doesn't say why or for what purpose. There's also a lot of circular references which can drive the reader nuts. I do not like this book at all.



3. It took me about 3 weeks to fully comprehend the key points in this book and I have to say that this bible is a whole lot better than the standard Holy Bible. It is more logical and covers a topic that we can actually use for a long time. The CD ROM helped me gain a better better understanding of the key concepts. Only problem is that the author is too technical in his language.



4. .
   
   This is the book I reach for when I need an elegant solution to a SQL problem, and one just doesn't come to mind.
   
   Great Reference material for any and all SQL versions.



5. This book is the most amazing SQL book i have ever read. This book compares the syntax for BIG 3 RDMS vendors, which is really helpful. The book is very easy to read and understand. The examples used in the book is also very helpful. Extreamly satisfied.

No comments about Developing Software for Symbian OS 2nd Edition: A Beginner's Guide to Creating Symbian OS v9 Smartphone Applications in C++ (Symbian Press).

1 comments about Managing Software Acquisition: Open Systems and COTS Products (SEI Series in Software Engineering).

1. Managing Software Acquisition: Open Systems and COTS Products is an in-depth guide to gaining open systems and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products. Getting the right software and using it properly can save great amounts of time and cost during the life of a computer system. Business managers and staff must closely understand what is entailed in the often difficult transition from in-house, custom-made software to commercial market products. With reference models, projected cost implications, contracting strategies, and much more, Managing Software Acquisition is strongly recommended for anyone in a business who needs to upgrade their software regularly!

1 comments about Distributed Services with OpenAFS: for Enterprise and Education.

1. I think the title of the book does not do the book justice. The book covers more than OpenAFS, but covers a large laundry list of services revolving in part around Kerberos. It touches on SAMBA, single-sign-on solutions with LDAP and Kerberos, PKI (OpenSSL) as well as other integration with current technologies.
   
   Most books covering technologies on Linux/UNIX are frankly obsolete before they are published, leaving you to pull together bountiful resources online and offline, combined with google searches. This book pulls together a lot of these services, has explanations for them, and gives arms you with practical knowledge and examples on how to integrate these solutions. The alternative would be a book shelf of O'Reilly and other books, where most would be obsoleted anyhow. And this alternative would be limited, as you would seldom gleam how to integrate desperate technologies together.
   
   For UNIX/Linux or even MacOS X system administrators, system engineers, or the technically curious (hobbyist), this book is a most have.

5 comments about Professional Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET, 2nd Edition.

1. This book has an annoying trait of explaining super basic things as if you had no knowledge of computers. It tells you step by step how to add a project. Select File -> New -> etc. Which is fine if all material is covered with this detail. But it's not. The harder stuff is, or this stuff that's is impossible to arrive at with clicking, is glossed over. For instance, there's a section that tells you how to use Crystal Parameters with values entered in a textbox. A very useful thing. The explanation is laborious on how to add components on the form but when he gets to the code part, he says, "You can now use this code to set you parameter fields" No mention of where this code goes. How could they assume you've never turned on a computer before with the Select File -> New bit and then assume you know where this code goes. It makes this book useless. It's one of things that is just infuriating. Who do they think the audience is for this book? If you know VS you know how to add a project, for Christ's sake. If you know Crystal you know how to make parameters. The reason you buy this book is to see how the two work together. WTF!



2. Good reference and tutorials for designing templates and adding them to your own apps to view and print reports. Could rename it ".NET reporting in a Day" as that is all it took for me. I reccomend this book.



3. Actually I purchased this book few months back. Today my opinion is this book is not upto the mark. It is only blah blah blah. No topic is covered in detail. I needed to search web for many things after reading this book. He is nowhere discussing crystal reports SDKs in detail. We wont get any overview of crystal reports SDKs provided with visual studio.



4. The book is a reasonable resource.
   
   I was disapointed in the number of typos and errors in the code in the book. I was more disappointed in the lack of mention of these errors in the errata section of the web-site.
   
   Unfortunately this has been my experience with the last few books I purchased so perhaps that's just what to expect.
   
   The text is clear and easy to understand. It covers the basics of creating a report and covers most of the features in at least a cursory way and others in depth.
   
   Even though disappointed I think the book is a useful resource.



5. I agreed with many of the prior reviewers when they stated that the book doesn't cover many options and in some examples they are covered completely and other examples jump around and lack the same "follow through" in the lesson as the prior examples. I also found that included screenshots were not consistent as well. Often when I was expecting a screenshot because the explanation given in the text was not so clear, no screenshot existed. In Chapter 3 the author has you use an example from Chapter 2 and in the SubReports section, the correct example could not be found. I found the example stated in the text but it did not contain the example shown in the screenshot.
   
   In my opinion, when I purchase a book to learn a new software application that is 1) expensive, and 2) difficult to figure out, I expect consistency in a text this way I come to know what is expected by the person teaching. This book lacked that. If I had been somewhat knowledgeable with Crystal Reports prior to reading this text, it might be a different story altogether, but that wasn't my case. Final note, the author doesn't state what .NET code he will be using. I came to find out that its VB.NET, unfortunately for me I'm a C# programmer. I figured it out but I probably wouldn't not have purchased the book if I had known that from reading the covering or book description.