1 comments about The Essential Guide to Open Source Flash Development (The Essential Guide).

1. I saw one copy of this at Powell's Technical Books in Portland yesterday, and picked it up, figuring it was new. It was--just published in the last few weeks. I haven't delved into it as much I would like, but that doesn't matter here because I carefully reviewed the contents before purchase.
   
   So: why buy this book? If you're working with Flash and ActionScript 3.0 currently, you know the Flash world is a moving target that changes very rapidly, and the main reason for this is the addition of open-source tools and "classes." This book gives us a needed status-check on what's currently available, how to get it and how to use it.
   
   In my case, I was mostly interested in Papervision3D, the Google add-on that has rapidly gone from cute curiosity to must-have in every Flash developer's bag of tricks. However, you don't really need this book for Papervision3D--there's plenty of documentation available online.
   
   Likewise, if all you really want to know is how to implement SWFObject (a popular add-in that lets you update a Flash element by updating your html or external text file), or how to make Flex work with XML, you may not need or want this book.
   
   But if you like to read about some fun new stuff that's available and that you might like to explore--all of kinds of mashups, FUSE, HAXE, Red5 video--then grab this book right away. It's readable, fresh, and informative--like most Friends of ED books. Also like most other Friends of ED books, it will rapidly go out of date as the moving target moves on!

5 comments about The Definitive Guide to symfony (Definitive Guide).

1. Well written and understandable for such a large chunk of software. You can be the judge yourself, of course, by reading it online before you buy the hard copy. I'd definitely recommend having the real thing if you're just starting with symfony though.. you can't dogear or bookmark the online version.



2. The books contains all the information you can find in the online manual on the website of the symfony project.
   If you know this before (and I did), the book has the same quality like the online manual, in my opinion a very good one.



3. I'm a freelancer that was in search of a framework that would allow me to expeditiously develop applications for my clients, without sacrificing reliability. After researching several PHP-based MVC frameworks, I landed on symnfony due to its comprehensive set of features, strong OOP support, PHP5 utilization, and (very importantly) the great documentation. Yes, this book is available in web format online - but I'm very glad I made the purchase so I could learn the framework as I traveled, and it's much easier to use as a reference (I have it sprawled across my desk as I type this review). If you're looking for a great framework, I'm convinced symfony is it. And if you're looking to learn symfony, and have a resource as you build your skills, this book is what you'll need. The only caviat is, if you have no Object-Oriented programming experience, I would recommend you pick up "Objects, Patterns, & Practice" by Apress before learning symfony.



4. This book is really the definitive guide. It covers everything you need to know to build a web 2.0 application with symfony. It is written by the people behind symfony, so the book is extremely detailed and has a great format that makes it easy to understand. Well done.



5. I ordered this book to serve as a reference for my symfony work. It has been an excellent reference guide to symfony, though it is not meant to be a "Introduction to.." or "Getting Started" book. I highly recommend if you work or have a solid background in symfony and need a handy desktop reference manual.

4 comments about Pro Web 2.0 Mashups: Remixing Data and Web Services (Expert's Voice in Web Development).

1. This is the type of book that you can either skim and get ideas from or sit down at a computer and work through all of the examples. The material is presented clearly and thoroughly illustrates different types of mashups. The book discusses how to use Yahoo Pipes and Google Mashup Editor, their respective map API's along with manipulating Flickr properties and API's. Integrating feeds and blogs into mashups are also described. Though not required, a reader would understand more of the book with some background in languages like javascript, php, and of course xml/html.



2. Kudos to the author and publisher for this release.
   This book is a tour de force of the subject of Mashups.
   
   I was looking for a good book on this subject so that I could introduce it to students as part of an extra-curricular technology program in NYC and this book is perfect.
   
   In a sentence, Mashups are created by taking data from one or more sources and making something new and useful from them.
   
   In my opinion, the subject is very important because there is a vast amount of data that is available now. Today the challenge is not just finding data but putting to use. This book shows you how to do that.
   
   The author's writing style is excellent, mixing theory and applications. The book is filled with hands on examples as well as references for research in each of the areas.
   
   I believe that this book can be read by anyone interested in the subject, regardless of their technical background. For those that want to create Mashups without programming, this book shows you how. For those that want to delve into programming, everything that you need is covered including AJAX, PHP, various data formats and how to parse them, various Javascript libraries and more.
   
   The book is laid out in four parts:
   
   1. Remixing Information Without Programming
   As the title suggests, the chapters in this section require no previous programming experience. The author walks through some specific examples, introduces terminology and analyzes how sites like Flickr and del.icio.us work so that you can get the most out of them. Tools such as Yahoo! Pipes (a browser-based visual application for Mashups and Remixing) are explored. Following along with the discussion the reader can put together a Mashup or Remix by simply understanding the concepts and using tools, but not having to delve into coding.
   
   2. Remixing a Single Web Application Using Its API
   For the person who wants to code, this part of the book jumps right in discussing the Flickr API, PHP usage, XML processing and more. From there the discussion moves to other APIs and using AJAX/Javascript widgets.
   
   3. Making Mashups
   This section starts by delving into the ProgrammableWeb website. Showing how to find what resources are available, studying existing Mashups via which APIs they use and how to go about creating new ones. From there XMLHttpRequest and Javascript libraries such as YUI are covered and a step-by-step example is given using the previously discussed techniques. Lastly, the author addresses issues around implementing Mashups on your site including standards, accessibility and your own API. I was glad to see these topics covered as sometimes in the haste of getting something online, they can be overlooked.
   
   4. Exploring Other Mashup Topics
   This final section of the book covers a large range of interesting topics such as Map-based Mashups, Social Bookmarking, Calendars, Online Storage, Desktop and Office Suites, Embeddable Data Formats and Searches.
   
   As you can see, there's a lot of information covered in this book. In my opinion, everything that one could want on the subject and written in such a way that you want to keep reading, exploring and creating your own Mashups.
   
   I highly recommend this book - so far, it has been my favorite read of 2008!



3. If you have an interest in learning about mashups, this is a book you don't want to miss. Whether you're just starting out or have some understanding of the subject already this book will dramatically increase your understanding of the subject.



4. An excellent, up-to-date (2008) book on mashups including: a workmanlike overview of the components with real exercises, details of the services, list of leading websites supporting mashups with specific interactions/examples of several, resource links, etc. A common thread through the book is using Flickr services, which makes sense as a learning exercise -- theirs is a widely used and robust set of features and services. While I could actually care less about interacting with Flickr, it was a good learning tool, and if by chance you do want to use Flickr in your mashups, then order the book right now.
   
   One point, though, is that while the author tries to speak to all levels of web developer, that doesn't succeed so well -- the topic is really pretty advanced for beginners. Though anyone can glean useful knowledge, this is really a book for mid-level and above developers. If your exposure to websites is limited to Photoshop and Dreamweaver, this is probably not the best book for you.
   
   I use (mostly) PHP now (formerly Java and before that C++ and before that you don't want to know), and there were a lot of PHP-specifics (though not exclusive), which I appreciated. The scattered resource links were invaluable. I tend to be submerged in my own field, and don't have the time to keep up with every trend, and this book pointed out several sites/tools that are apparently widely known and used, but with which I was unfamiliar.
   
   Excellent job.

5 comments about Foundation Flash Cartoon Animation (Foundation).

1. not only did i read the book cover to cover i went back into the book and downloaded the source files and worked through the tutorials. this book is perfect for organizing and creating flash animation at a professional level which is a key foundation for any up and coming flash animator. this book teaches you industry secrets that are priceless if you are pursuing a flash animation career. thanks guys. the best flash book i have come acrossed in a long time.
   josh johnson



2. There are many books about cartoon animation in Flash. What sets this book apart from the rest is the approach the authors have taken to make this book much more than just another step-by-step book about drawing and animating characters. Foundation Flash Cartoon Animation is for the animator who needs to stretch beyond the mechanics of the Flash tools and perfect the decision-making process necessary to become a productive animator. One of the biggest questions that is answered in this book is when to use Flash and how to use it most efficiently. The next question is what tasks are beyond Flash's capabilities and when to turn to another software such as After Effects.
   
   The authors assume that the reader has a basic knowledge of Flash and the principles of animation. Because of this, you will find only a few step-by-step examples. What they do cover thoroughly is every phase of the production process for cartoon animation from planning, storyboards and animatics to post-production and delivery. The approach for this book is to examine working examples which can be downloaded from the publisher's website.
   
   If you have ever created a complex character animation including lip synching and facial expressions, then you know that your character must be divided into a large number of individual animated parts. This is why the authors dedicate a whole chapter to organization and using the Flash library system to build character libraries. As you progress through the process from head comps and onward, the authors show when it is best to draw from scratch and when to use Flash symbols. Storyboards and animatics are next in the production process and the book covers several decisions that must be made such as choosing between traditional, hand-drawn storyboards and the digital method in Flash.
   
   Moving from the planning stages to character creation, the authors discuss the technical and organizational issues such as Flash file structures and project architecture. They take a look at several working examples to give the reader a comprehensive overview of this topic. One of the most helpful aspects of this book is how the authors help you decide when Flash is not enough to get the job done and how to expand Flash's capabilities with plug-ins. They discuss several of their favorites, how to find more on the web and when to make your own.
   
   One of the most important decisions that an animator will need to make is the choice between traditional frame by frame animation and tweening. The authors share their four step process for frame by frame animation and then discuss tweening and how to avoid common mistakes.
   
   I mentioned earlier that the authors discuss the use of a dedicated motion graphic software such as After Effects to take your Flash project to a higher level of quality and sophistication. They discuss some of the advantages to using After Effects for editing and composition such as complex camera movements and 3D effects.
   
   Flash has been plagued by one major drawback since its conception a decade ago and that is the extreme "digital" look of the vector artwork created in Flash. The authors share several tips and suggestions for enhancing your Flash project to achieve a more "hand-drawn" appearance to your animation including line styles and color choices. They also cover the digital equivalents for traditionally hand-drawn special effects such as distortion, drag, fade in/out and blurs.
   
   This book was a joint effort of several authors. Tim Jones is an Emmy Award-winning producer and writer and head of production at ANIMAX Entertainment. Barry J. Kelly is an Emmy Award-winning editor and artist and is also a member of ANIMAX Entertainment. Allan S. Rosson is animation director at ANIMAX Entertainment and has over twenty years experience as an animator. David Wolfe was an animator at ANIMAX Entertainment and is now with Cartoon Network Studios.



3. This book is a must for everyone who is tired of animating on paper and wishes to digitalize their work completely in Flash or After Effects. The book covers many great aspects including; making shortcuts of your workflow with user made extensions, brilliant tips & tricks and personal advices how to make life easier for the animators.
   
   This book is also amazing for those who already have knowledge of Flash or After Effects, but wish to enhance their skills or take their production to the next level.
   
   After reading this book, my animation workflow and quality improved.
   
   Best recommendations from here.
   
   
   -Alex Volkov (Flash Animator)



4. If you're looking for a book that teaches you how to draw in Flash, this is not the book for you. It will, however, teach you the nuts and bolts of animation, the technical information necessary to make animation less time consuming, which is a must-have imo.



5. I found very helpful the guides given by the authors. I was trying to figure out how develop a short cartoon animation in a correct way and after I read this book I found the answers. Thanks!

5 comments about Use Case Driven Object Modeling with UMLTheory and Practice.

1. This book puts the whole business analysis process into perspective with a practical guide for how to go from step A to step Z. I am new to the ICONIX process and am very impressed with how ICONIX eliminates the burden of learning all the steps of UML and instead teaches in detail just the essential components of UML, so you can quickly develop the use cases, requirements, test cases, and coding specifications. The book is written with the business analyst in mind by highlighting the theory, but concentrating and demonstrating the practices with straight forward guidelines and examples. The Enterprise Architect modeling tool, which we are learning how to use, is referenced occasionally and is shown to be a very useful tool for the business analyst. This is one of the finest IT books I have ever purchased.



2. This book does everything it promises and more. While reading this book you will learn a design methodology that will help you in every project you work on. What you won't learn is a framework that does all the work for you. You also won't learn to rely on someone else's code. Instead you will learn how to really think about your project from the initial design to the final solution. You will learn how to properly document the requirements and the user interaction with the system. You will learn how to be a Software "Developer" not just a Software "Programmer". Some will say there is no difference, but others that have read this book will understand the work and thought process that goes into real development of a software solution.



3. This book was extremely helpful because it takes the reader from Use Cases to code development using a real-life "sample" system (an internet book store) to describe the steps. The ICONIX Process is used in this book and the goal of the book is to get from Analysis to Code using a minimal, yet sufficient core subset of UML. Each step is broken down into detail and examples of how to do each step are provided and explained. Built into the "sample" project are mistakes (ones that are commonly made in real life) and the book shows those mistakes as well as the corrected versions. In addition, the book discusses the Enterprise Architect (EA) tool, which our company is evaluating, making the examples provided even more pertinent. The only thing that would have made this book more useful would have been appendices or detailed examples of using the EA tool with the "sample" project. It would be great if one could obtain the sample project in a *.EAP file where folks that have the EA tool could load the sample project to understand how the project was actually laid out in the EA tool. This book is very well-written and, as a bonus, has some decent humor throughout keeping the reader's interest. If you are using EA and Use Case Driven development, this is an excellent book for you.



4. Since 2001 I had a lot of courses on UML modelling at the university and in inhouse company workshops. But none of them gave me the real power to write use cases so that I can easilly extract an object model from it. I always had problems to bridge the use cases to sequence diagrams and class models.
   
   This book gave me the clues (with red and bold highlighted) such
   "You can't drive object-oriented designs from use-cases unless you tie your use cases to objects."
   
   Now I have to say, I write use cases more confidetially, knowing that they build a real basis for futher object modelling. 5 stars!!



5. The Rosenbert & Stephens's Book is a great example of doing by practice, but highly supported by foundations about what is important in UML.
   The book offers a great discussion not only how use UML effectively, but how can you go through practice and coding. That's essencial if you want coding in a right way, but explore the UML notation.
   The approach with ICONIX was fantastic. You develop a e-Commerce system completely using UML, Iconix process and coding with JAVA. I coudn't found books that offer this path.
   Fantastic. Excelent aquisition.

5 comments about Crystal Reports: A Beginner's Guide.

1. Crystal Reports: A Beginner's Guide covers everything and more that I wanted to learn about Crystal Reports. The information is easy to digest and there are regular 1-Minute checks along the way. Hands-on experience, in the form of Projects, are dispersed through each chapter (the completed projects can be downloaded from the web). Answers to the Mastery Checks, at the end of every chapter, are given in the Appendix.

   My only complaint about the book is that, I feel, there is not enough hands-on experience because the projects are too simple. There are plenty of projects, but most of them are simply a number of steps and very little critical thinking. After reading Crystal Reports: A Beginner's Guide, my knowledge of Crystal Reports has vastly increased though I still have little experience with actually creating reports.




2. This book needs some serious editing
   Right now I'm on Chapter 4 and so far this book is terrible in regards to the Projects. The project instructions don't correspond with the results intended and shown. For example, the instructions say open the Customer by Country report, but then it says 'your report should look like this' and shows you an entirely different report! And sometimes the report you worked on doesn't even work for the task you're trying to learn. The author must have had his friends write the other customer reviews. Don't buy this book! It's just unfortunate though that there aren't many choices.



3. It is a beginners book as the title says, but there is a pittfal, the author should consider for future books.
   Not every chapter has a step-by-step tutrial. The user have to download the samples and use them to be able to follow the author, which defeats the purpose of learning by doing.
   Chapters 4 & 5 make are mutually exlusive, since chp 5 requires reports from chp 4, that was not a step-by-step tutorial.
   Either make it a step-by-step or don't. Just be consistent.



4. I'm afraid I have to agree with the review from "A reader from Cupertino, CA" - I, too, am on Chapter 4 and am frustrated beyond belief because my reports look very little like the examples in the book so far. In the case of the second tutorial in chapter 4, again the other reviewer is correct - it's not even the same report!

   I bought "A Beginner's Guide to JavaScript" by the same company and was thrilled with it. It was clear, concise and had a "mini-project" at the end of each chapter for the reader to complete to ensure mastery of the concept being taught. I was expecting the same thing with this book, and am sorely disappointed. The explaination of each topic is general at best, incorrect at worst, the tutorials are simplistic and don't include half the information being covered in each chapter, if indeed a tutorial exists at all.

   I need to get up to speed on Crystal Reports in a fairly short period of time, and be able to generate some fairly sophisticated reports. This book is becoming a hindrance to that goal.




5. I am coming from a VBA background learning about this new software. This book is a great resource tool for making such a transition. Mr. McAmis stepped me through the learning process in a clear and concise manner. The information was learned in progressive manner, in that, the further through the book I read, the more complex issues were handled. At the end each chapter the author challenged me with key questions to help me remember the most important issues.

No comments about Programming Flex 3: The Comprehensive Guide to Creating Rich Internet Applications with Adobe Flex (Programming).

5 comments about Foundations of Python Network Programming (Foundations).

1. Apress has two books on Python that I really like. This one and "Dive Into Python". The thing I like about this book is it delves into some deep concepts, like client/server code, but does so in such a way that even people new to Python should have no problem understanding it.
   
   I have been a programmer for about 15 years, and made heavy use of Python for the last 5 or 6 years. My brother is new to programming. Both of us found this book to be very useful and easy to understand. I recommend it to programmers of all levels.



2. This is a well presented, well paced introduction to network programming in Python. He presents programs both as interactive sessions (follow along in the comfort of home) and as scripts (programs) available to download from his web site at Apress.
   
   It serves as a good, general purpose, introduction to network programming as wall as a Python-specific network programming tutorial.
   
   I do, however, have some complaints. Although the author attempts to present information in a platform-neutral manner, it is obvious that he is much more familiar with *nixes than with Windows. There are several minor factual errors in the Windows information he presents. [I have submitted these as error reports on the Apress web site.]
   
   Fortunately none of these disrupt the actual presentation. Experienced Windows programmers will be able to correct the mistakes on-the fly. As a minor example, Windows programmers know they can type "script.py" to run a python program even though Windows doesn't honor the #! line at the beginning of the script.
   
   My other complaint has to do with the use of PyDNS to discuss DNS issues. As far as I can tell PyDNS is dead, or at least it is dying. dnspython would have been a much better choice. However given that the book is three years old, I can't really fault the author for picking the wrong package -- it's happened to all of us at some point in our careers.
   
   And a truly minor quibble: he starts with an example of downloading a file using the gopher protocol. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a gopher server now days



3. It has everything you need to know about Networking Programming in Python. Easy to understand also. It can be made more detail and more advance for profesional use.



4. I'm giving this book 5 stars because I found it more useful than many books. There are some flaws, but overall I am happy that I own this book.
   
   This book uses a teach by example technique as discussed in other chapters. It is oriented towards application developers that find themselves in need of python networking rather than networking people that need python.
   
   The book is overall clearly written and the examples are generally interesting. The author shows an advanced understanding of most of the subject matter. Chapter strength is fairly variant. On the other hand, it's pretty likely that you do not have knowledge of all the topics in this book and will learn something interesting by reading it.
   
   Cons: The chapter on HTML tag matching felt really weak. They tried to treat HTML as a regular language by using state machines to match it, when it's clearly context-free, then he started to add a stack but he had already lost my interest as the examples got fairly unwieldy.



5. I have no background with Python and limited understanding of networking. So my comments are from a rookie. So here they are:
   
   1) Readable: technical enough but gets right to implementable examples. You can jump around in the book and find what you need with out having to read the whole thing.
   2) Applicable: I used examples from the book to gain an understanding of my Linux system and my home network.
   3) Python is free so use it.
   
   That is all.

No comments about Pro PerformancePoint Server 2007: Building Business Intelligence Solutions (Pro).

5 comments about Beginning J2ME: From Novice to Professional, Third Edition (Novice to Professional).

1. If you need a no-nonsense, down-to-earth, non-philosophical guide for how to write Java applications for mobile/cellular phones, this is the best book you can buy today. It's very concrete, with lots of working examples etc, and leaves out the fluffy stuff that's so typical for computer books nowadays. The book is an especially good starting point if you are into applications (communicating or non-communicating), but the APIs for writing games are also covered. I hadn't programmed in Java before (yet C and Visual Basic for many years), but I had no problems developing mobile applications after reading this book. Being such a concentrated book means it also works as a reference for when you need to look things up. All in all, this book is for real developers and strongly recommended.



2. this book is very easy to read..good technical explanations.,
   easy to understand JME model concept..
   
   reallity from beginner to professional..
   very sugested..



3. I was still fairly new to Java, but noticed that there was a J2ME study group near me.The bokk helped me both with Java knowledge in general as as well as J2ME in particular
   Jana
   Leader, San Gabriel Valley Java Users Group



4. I have always been under the impression that when buying a book of technical nature, one is supposed to purchase a piece of an author's hard-earned, over-the-years experience, otherwise it's just paying for a documentation reprint. Such an experience can be conveyed to a reader in at least two major ways: (1.) a very well-organized, thought-through and consistent presentation of fundamental - yet often complex - concepts (e.g., "Head First Java" by Sierra), or (2.) an in-depth, unique perspective on advanced topics not to be found anywhere else (e.g., "Effective Java" by Bloch). Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, this book delivers neither. As an example of the lack of the former: the discussion of J2ME Configurations and Profiles is almost as muddy and inconsequential as the specification site itself. As an example of the lack of the later: the entire Performance Tuning chapter, a subject I would expect to be critical for success with a mobile platform is about 10 pages, entire page -sized screenshots included. Topics such as real-world compatibility of J2ME across different vendors' implementations is almost not mentioned at all. So, what's left? Basically, a few hundred pages of short, introductory chapters on J2ME APIs, reading pretty much just like Sun Developer Network Reference technical articles or implementation-oriented CodeProject pages. Don't get me wrong, the book authors' hard effort is clearly visible, but you can as well google for "J2ME Record Store tutorial", a "J2ME Bluetooth API tutorial" and so on.



5. Never programmed in java beyond the Hello World type application and bought this book. This along with one that covers learning the syntax of java and I have written two useful apps that I have on my phone.
   
   I have something pretty complex as my ultimate goal (although text based - not a game) and feel confident this gives me enough to accomplish that goal.