1 comments about Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with the Unified Process.

1. This book provides an excellent approach to OOAD. I still refer to it from time to time. As a System Analyst it has helped me through the years as a point of reference. It can be used in a classroom setting and also a real world setting, for an aspiring analyst and in the professional arena for a Professional Analyst.
   
   Personally i love it.

5 comments about Database Systems: A Practical Approach to Design, Implementation and Management (4th Edition) (International Computer Science Series).

1. I was almost put off buying this book by some of the very negative reviews. I bought the book. I have designed a few databases but that is not my main job, and I wanted to get up to speed on database design and use for a short project that I am leading. I have bought several books on the subject, and this is one of the most useful. The book is detailed, which means that if you want to go into detail you can, e.g. on what normal form is and how to use it, of the difference between relational and OO design. However, the book is designed so that one does not have to go into detail, one can get a good overview of the subject and start creating databases soon after reading it. Perhaps this book offends some tecchy purists, but most business people who need to understand databases will find this book valuable.



2. This book was required by a course I am taking, so I can not buy another one, but I think it is a great book. It has also helps you learn a database language. I forgot what it is bec I did nt use it yet, but it very helpful.



3. It should be named "how to writing SQL for MS Access, Oracle 7i and xxx" since that is all about. It is weird to me why "Design" is in the title. There is absolutely nothing covered on what is inside a RMDB, man.



4. I purchased this book for a Database Management Systems course and found it to be a very useful text-book. The concepts are easy to understand and the authors provide plenty of examples for better understanding.
   My only problem was that our course instructor used the same examples as the book in class and that got boring towards the end of the semester.
   However, overall I believe that the book is very useful and will definitely recommend it to friends.



5. For two quarters now, I have had a one-chapter reading assignment out of this book for a total of 20 chapters. This book is nearly impossible to read. The only reason you would want a text this expansive is if you planned to write your own database system to compete with MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc..

5 comments about Circuit Design with VHDL.

1. Author communicates his thoughts in very precise and concise language (I found only one minor typo). This book focuses on writing synthesizable code; that fact alone makes it a very practical reference for any engineer working with CPLD or FPGA. If one supplements this book with VHDL reference and Xilinx Web edition of ISE, it is possible to get started quickly; at least I did. Thanks Volnei.



2. I was looking for a simple book to use as the main reference for my students, who are new to the concept of the hardware description languages. I found this the best book to fit my needs. It is simple and has a good organization which takes you slowly through the main concepts of the VHDL. It greatly helped me setting the outline for the course.



3. This book does a great job of teaching you how the VHDL language works, and how to use it.
   It has many explained examples, and problems you can try.
   I agree with others that he does jump around a bit, and you will have to look back or ahead.
   It could also use a VHDL Quick Reference and a glossary.
   If the index clear should where a key word was first defined, this would work too. It does have an index, but it is not a great index.
   I used Xilinx ISE Webpack 9i - which is a free down load - the test and simulate the examples.



4. If you are searching for the best book in VHDL ever, you will not find such a book! However, if you decided to start learning VHDL, Pedroni (the author) got you. I am doing my masters and I just finished reading this book and I finished my final project for the course as well. It is my first course in VHDL. By finishing this book as I said I was able to design and implement a FULL CPU (MIPS architecture) as a final project for the course. and I am sure that if you read this book you will do a similar or better job.
   
   Regarding books, we, i.e. students, are looking for specific features:
   1- well written and easy to read.
   2- well organized.
   3- correct and clear ideas with smooth information flow.
   4- good and correct solved examples.
   5- are you going to use that book if you worked in industry.
   6- LEAST NUMBER of pages.
   
   all these requirements are met in this book. within less than 400 pages you will learn, how to implement any digital system. If you read this book, you will not learn digital filters design (FIR, IIR) or neural Networks (NN) design. However, if you know how to design them, this book presents some examples about how to implement FIR, IIR and NN using VHDL.
   I highly recommend reading this book as a start up, and for sure your next step (I mean after reading this book) will be working in industry. you will need no more books to learn VHDL. instead, you will need to review digital systems' designs and start implementing them using your skills you have from this book.
   IN CONCLUSION:
   "THIS BOOK IS ONE OF THE BEST VHDL BOOKS, AND IT IS A 5-STAR BOOK FOR SURE"



5. This concise and interesting book provides a detailed approach to FPGA-based digital circuit and system design using VHDL. It presents the basic concepts in organized and progressive phases. The textbook covers the constructs of the VHDL programming language with a large number of implementable examples. A multitude of complete illustrative examples are also included.
   The second part of the book discusses other important features of the design aspects using VHDL such as components, functions, and procedures. The book is intended for computer and electrical engineering students and practicing engineers. See alsoDigital Electronics and Design with VHDL

5 comments about MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-526): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Windows-Based Client Development.

1. The purpose of the book is to prepare you for the certification exam. For me it didn't meet that requirement.
   
   The book does have a section for each of the objectives Microsoft has defined for the exam. But is FULL of errors (typos and concepts too!!), lacking good examples, concepts are defined vaguely and there is A LOT left out.
   
   I took the exam and passed but I don't feel it was because of the book. I had to do additional research on each topic because the book wasn't enough. And in the exam there is definitely much more than the book covers.
   
   The 2 stars are because:
   
   1. The CD that comes with the book. The practice tests are very helpful to prepare for the exam, not only because they are exam-like questions but because you see some topics that weren't even mentioned on the book.
   2. Considering is the only preparation guide for this exam, it at least guides you very briefly on the topics of the exam.



2. After reading this book and passing 70-526 exam, I found the book has 3 problems at least.
   
   1. The book might cover all topics against the exam but doesn't include all necessary information for you to pass it. For example, a question in my real exam asked a question about Thread Monitor. However, the book doesn't mention anything about Monitor.
   2. The book has at least 2 different writing styles.
   3. The book can't include enough pictures to illustrate what controls it is talking about, how controls are related to one another or how they interact. This leads that sometimes I lost what the book tried to tell me.
   
   It is impossible for you to pass the exam with a high score only by this book.
   You might pass the exam with fears by the book.



3. This book at the core is filled with good information. However it is filled with a rather ridiculous amount of typos and minor errors.



4. I always use the MS Self-Paced kits for my certification exams. So far I have passed the exams. This particular book was annoying in that there were quite a few editing mistakes and the errata website only had information for the first half of the book. As usual, the index and glossary were useless for me in most cases. Nevertheless, the mixture of facts with practical exercises made it possible to absorb the material with a minimum of pain.



5. This time only short review. All has already been written. The book is suitable not only for exam but also for beginners. It is thoroughful guide how to develop windows based applications. As usually working examples on concluded CD makes this book two times valuable. After reading and playing with samples you will certainly know all the important aspects of development.

2 comments about Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 with SP1: Tony Redmond's Guide to Successful Implementation.

1. Have Tony's 2003 SP1 and 2007 SP1 books. They were recommended to me by a former co-worker of his. Tony cuts out all the BS and get right to it. Few IT books capture my attention and leave me awake but Tony's words make it all easy to understand. I really enjoy the SCR section that is new to this edition and the Exchange world, he got really in depth with the dynamics and it shows that he knows how to make it work properly.
   
   In the beginning he stated that to cover all the new technology to E2K7 he would need a thousand more pages, and I am hoping he delivers another edition. Thanks Tony for making the new "complex" Exchange very understandable and giving real world best practices.
   
   -Justin Vashisht



2. Intersante información relacionada a casos practicos, es una guia completa para implementaciones y migraciones exitosas de Exchange 2007. Excelente compra para los que lo están evaluando, excelente libro a pesar de no contener mucho sobre Mensajería Unificada.

5 comments about LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT: The Mayan Adventure (Technology in Action).

1. AB FAB! I'm really trying to addd something to the reviews posted already. So much goodness has already been posted about this wonderful book.
   
   My sons are very young and I cannot wait for them to have this book to read and enhance their knowledge while having fun in the process. Melting together reading, technology, problem-solving, and programming could not produce a better combination for building a great education.
   
   I know that this book has gained some significant recognition in the LEGO MindStorms world and the education field. LEGO Masters and Edu Teachers all agree it is a very good book.
   
   If you are looking for a book that will entertain and teach your MindStormer (young or old) in a very pleasing way...this book is a fantastic starter.
   
   Chris
   MDP, MCP
   USA - NASA



2. This book is a wonderful introduction into program and design with the NXT, and yes, we've been using the RCX as well. The book is well laid out. The story is engaging and gives the tasks purpose.
   
   I really like the templates provided in the book. It gives anyone a method of organizing their thoughts, so they can go ahead with the building and programming and know they're headed down the right path.
   
   I bought this for my children because I have no interest in robotics or programming, and I've enjoyed it as much as they have.



3. I bought this to introduce my grandchildren to science projects. Their ages are 7 and 10. We have no special contest or competition to enter. Not sure exactly what I expected but I was not disappointed. This has awesome potential for learning. Actually, my grandkids were impressively advanced in what they could accomplish. The suggested robot to build was fairly complicated. My 10 yo took charge, with the 7 yo taking his turn. When completed I could not get close to the control computer. They took over!!! The kit could use some better instructions. I recommend one of several additional books to get a better feel for it. Next we will try the programming. Good way to spend lots of quality time with your kids. Just make sure you have big blocks set aside! Love it!



4. did you really write this book have not read it yet but it's being shipped to my house.



5. The value of this book is not in the number of documented designs, but how it teaches you the process to come up with your own designs. It even does it in a much more entertaining way then my engineering classes did. Understanding the design process allows you to create any number of robots that do what you want them to do and this is an invaluable life skill. That is what this book teaches you. It allows you to try to come up with the solutions on your own, or build the solutions the author came up with. My son and I plan on going through the book a second time and using the processes taught come up with our own solutions. This book is definitely worth having.

5 comments about CMOS VLSI Design: A Circuits and Systems Perspective (3rd Edition).

1. This edition is as useful as the earlier editions. Besides providing insight on almost all the topics of VLSI, the third edition also addresses several issues related to the sub-micron technology.



2. I recently taught a senior undergraduate/first year graduate introductory course with VLSI with this book as the text. I found this book to be confusing and frustrating to the students. In order to lecture on VLSI topics in what I thought was a logical order, I had to jump around in the text book. My main complaint is that the book is organized more like an encylopedia and not like a textbook. As such I think it makes a very good reference for those with previous training or experience in the VLSI field, but confusing and unhelpful for those learning the field for the first time.
   
   Oddly, the second edition of Weste (Weste and Eshragian) is far better organized and much more coherent in its development of topics within VLSI. I found myself often going back to the second edition when I was preparing lectures.
   
   A second complaint is that the book introduces logical effort as a primary topic early on in the discussion of switching delays, in my opinion at the expense of discussion of the fundamental circuit mechanisms in switching delay (which again are discussed in detail in Weste 2nd Ed). The emphasis on logical effort continues throughout the text. Again, a choice that is reasonable if your audience is experienced engineers but not for an introductory course.
   
   I will probably change texts for next year, most likely to the text by Rabaey et al, which appears to be much better organized for an introduction to VLSI. In sum, Weste 3rd edition might make a good text for a second or third course in VLSI, or a good reference for practitioners in the field, but not a good text for a first course in VLSI.



3. Good book covering CMOS VLSI design. Excellent turtorial on Verilog in the appendix.



4. Comprehensive treatment of the subject, very clear and easy to understand. Also has advanced topics.



5. After just going over the first few chapters, have found that book does live up to it's title. It's a good book to have handy when designing basic chips.

5 comments about Creating Your World: The Official Guide to Advanced Content Creation for Second Life.

1. I got quite alot out of this book. There are a lot of resources that you wont find in world. Templates, textures, tutorials, and advice. All of it good. I just wish that there was a little bit more detail. It seems that no matter how much I learn from books, websites and in world I am always still behind the eight ball. So buy it YES for sure but be prepared to go right back to your search for more knowledge. Hopefully someone will write a tome on just the art of building and designing Structures someday soon.



2. Finally, a one stop book that tells me everything I need to know to improve and expand my experience with Second Life. While the Second Life tutorials online are okay this books clearly explains both the simple and complex options for customizability and expansion with excellent examples and sample code that is effective and clearly stated. If you are looking for the ideal reference for beginners and experienced users you can't get much better than this book.



3. This is a very useful book for people who have gotten used to the basics of Second Life. It gives helpful information on a variety of areas. I have recommended it personally to a number of people and am about to buy a second copy for my office.



4. Got to admit this one is a whole lot better then the first. Pass on the first and buy this one



5. If your into Building Things, Aimee Weber's "Creating Your World: The Official Guide to Advanced Content Creation for Second Life" would be a good choice. She and her co authors reaquaint you with the Editing box and have a breif introduction to Scripting. There are numerous tutorials and links to cool things others have done. The book comes with a free CD with the Tutorials and some extras but some of the contents match that of Second Life:The User's Guide.
   
   I found the tutorials very easy to use and learn.

5 comments about Joel on Software: And on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those Who, Whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity.

1. I bought this book for my husband who mostly sits 24-7 coding and even if he sleeps then he dreams in code.
   
   This books is actually archive of Joel's messages (can i call it blog) on his website.
   
   Easy and sometimes funny to read, also technical but at least smth apart.
   
   Will buy other books from Joel also



2. Joel Spolsky's collected essays and blog entries mostly remain fresh enough even after several years (some go back to 2000 and 2001). Many of the good ideas he presents are still valid because they are still true and they remain challenges for many people and organizations today.
   
   The more dated parts relate more to specific technology, such as COM and early browser versions. That's usually ok, as the specific references serve more as hooks for making a point. Plus, agile methodologies have made significant progress since Spolsky published. He gets a few digs in against Extreme Programming. I was unfamiliar with his blog before this book, and one thing nice is that his insight and spunkiness make we want to sample his blog going forward.
   
   I especially agree with Spolsky on most of his "Joel's test", the need for modest specs (disagree on use of humor in specs), daily builds, fine-grained scheduling, the need to understand fundamentals of what's going on in your system, independent testers, scalability and understanding your market. That's a pretty good collection of topics.
   
   Sorry, but at this point the book made for a good read from the library, as opposed to a purchase.



3. Sometimes blunt, yet always pragmatic, Joel's writing is crisp and to the point. It should be required reading for IT managers and developers building software apps. The Joel Test has also become the de facto litmus test used by programmers to rate software organizations.



4. 
   Joel on Software is a collection of Joels blog posts. There are maybe 40 posts and the book is about 350 pages. Making all posts independent makes it easy to pick up the book every now and then, read one, and move on.
   
   Joel has an opinion on everything and a fairly strong one. He is an excellent writer and is able to convey his opinion often in a humorous way. I very often completely disagree with his opinion, but that did not make the book any less valuable. He writes his opinion and clarifies the argumentation. He writes it in such a way that I find it worth reading.
   
   There are too many posts to summarize. Some of the really great ones are, "the joel test" which he explains how you can be a better programming. "Daily builds are your friends" in which he covers the importance of daily builds. "The law of the leaky abstractions" is a true classic explaining that our industry keeps abstracting but that non of these abstractions is absolute so therefore the total amount of knowledge a person needs to know will increase. "Two stories" which describes the difference between two companies in their culture. And it goes on and on.
   
   I really recommend to get Joel on Software (or his new More Joel on Software) and just, every now and then, read one of the posts and reflect about his opinion. Great work.



5. In a domain where 6 months is a lifetime, this book has survived the test of time remarkably well. Joel brings to bear his experience as a programmer, program manager and software company CEO in this series of articles on the software development business.
   
   The book rambles through topics ranging from strategy to programming to project management. The strategy and project management topics are as fresh and applicable today as when they were written. The programing technology topics are relevant, but take some abstracting - "Knowing how to dig down into the details" has different details today than when the essays were originally written.
   
   Even if you don't agree with 100% of what Joel says, the book should be included in the reading list of most programmers, program managers and software company executives.

5 comments about Adobe ColdFusion 8 Web Application Construction Kit, Volume 1: Getting Started (Web Application Construction Kit).

1. For years, the Web Application Construction Kit has been the gold standard by which ColdFusion books are judged. This new edition, updated for the latest version of ColdFusion, continues in that tradition.
   
   Previous editions have been a bit daunting, so the authors this time wisely decided to split into three volumes instead of the normal two. Volume 1 introduces readers to the basic concepts behind setting up ColdFusion and beginning to write their first applications. Once the basics are covered, it moves on to show how to connect to databases and display that information, create and use forms and their data, make printable content, and set up a basic application framework - pretty much, everything a newcomer to the language would need to know.
   
   The thing that struck me, an advanced ColdFusion developer, about this edition was that many books claim to preach accepted best practices but then sacrifice them in the name of simplicity. These authors, on the other hand, practice what they preach. For years, ColdFusion developers have been stressing the need to create multi-tier applications using ColdFusion Components, and yet most introductory materials on the language have relegated CFCs to advanced courses. This book introduces them as soon as it reasonably can - about half way through - and then follows the "proper" format of using multi-tier applications from then on. So this is not another book that just shows how to create ColdFusion applications, but is rather a book that shows how to build them correctly.
   
   The ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit: Volume 1 is a book that no beginning ColdFusion developer should be without, and even the most experienced developers are bound to learn a few things along the way. It is quite simply the book that no ColdFusion developer at any level can do without.



2. this is mostly the same as 7.0 book, but for 7.0 it covers more than this one. No ajax function, have to wait until the Volumn2 to come out and it seems not coming as scheduled.(it delayed two times)



3. ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit: Volume 1 is better than "ColdFusion for Dummies" or the "ColdFusion MX Bible". The authors describe how to use coldfusion tags, databases and SQL language to build applications. The descriptions and samples are easy to understand, and good tips are given throughout the book. Even experienced developers will learn how to create multi-tier applications. Can't wait to get Volume 2 and 3 for my bookshelf!



4. Having paid $30 for this book, I expected to have more than what it had in it. It had some pretty good examples and explainations, but just didnt have enough in the book for what I paid for it. I have 4 books on Coldfusion and this is the one I probably use the least. But one reason for that is that a lot of the features they talk about in the book are new to CF8 and my website is running on CF7 so I cant deploy many of the applications in the book. But still had great practice applications I can test on my Development server and see the new features though.



5. I have been coding CFML since Coldfusion 5, and I have long used the Cold Fusion MX book as a reference in my daily work, so I was happy to get the new books to help with using some of the newer features.
   
   So this is a large jump from my book for version 6, there is a lot more in the book, but also a lot less. I went ahead and got all three books in the series, and one of the things that I found was missing was the CFML tag reference at the end of the book. I know that sometimes I do work while on the road, and so do not have internet access, but they seem to only want to have that information on-line.
   
   In my review of Volume 3, I did complain about half the book being on-line only and not actually in the print book. When you buy a book, it is nice to actually get the book.
   
   I am far from a new user of Coldfusion so I can not speak of how well it teaches the language, but as a long time user, I do find this series as a nice reference. One things that does seem to be missing is talking about which of the features are new to 8, which were added in 7, and so on. I know that in my development, I need to constantly support customers who are on old version of Coldfusion, so that would be a great thing to have with the Tag reference.
   
   Hope this helps people out there...