2 comments about GO! with Microsoft Office 2007 Introductory (Go! Series).

1. book was a good price, sold with the course disc, only the disc was for the 2003 course.



2. I purchased this book for my oldest daughter who is not familiar with computers. I had seen it as a textbook at our local community college. It has very easy step-by-step exercises & really shows all the ins & outs that Office 2007 has to offer.

5 comments about Head First Software Development (Brain-Friendly Guides).

1. Head First Software Development is another home run from the Head First series. I have bougth the HTML/CSS, Design Patterns, Object-Oriented Analysis & Design, and now this book. These "Brain-Friendly Guides" are such wonderful learning tools packed with great information, and so much fun to read. Keep them coming!



2. The way this book is writen is just fantastic. Wonderful book to LEARN how to develop GOOD software.



3. I've been eyeballing the Head First books for a while, specifically the Java and Object-Oriented Analysis & Design. I don't program in Java and I think I understand OOP very well. Because of this, the Head First structure looks to offer a bit less structure - so a good "read as you can" book.
   
   I got this title in a raffle. I'm glad I did. It whetted my appetite for more Head First. Not so much for the content (Which I will review further down) but because it's almost like reading a comic book. Easy, entertaining and something my busy dizzy mind could readily grasp in small chunks. I will probably get another Head First book in the future. Probably more than one.
   
   As for the content of this book, it was well laid out and for someone new to the concepts of formal software design, it was nice to see all the little pieces come together. I did have a hard time with the Java specific environment, but I guess it would be a much larger book if they covered other systems. The steps were clear, some of them a smidge corny, but most of them logical.
   
   After having read this, I was inspired to put it to use. That's when it hit me. I can't see this working unless the entire development group reads the book - or they were all newbies. Well I can see it, just not in the places I've worked.



4. Although I was initially put off by the non-serious cover and gimmicky premise, I decided to trust to O'Reilly and give this book a try. That turned out to be a great decision!
   
   Be forewarned that the real title should be "Head First AGILE Software Development," so don't expect other methodologies, but it definitely delivers. Whether you're just beginning to take the plunge into agile development, or you've been sort of trying to do it for a while but don't have a real clear picture of your goal, this is a great book for you.
   
   However, if you've been developing agilely for a while, then what you'll find here isn't much more than a refresher course or reminder of how you should be doing things.



5. I first lend this book from collage developer an have read with great enthusiasms and finally ordered my own copy of this book.
   The book gives detailed information on how to developing software from scratch, taken you by hand and leading you de hole way step by step.
   With the different way to present the information en with lot of illustrations its newer a boring read.
   
   Anders Kjaer
   
   [...]

5 comments about Foundation Actionscript 3.0 Animation: Making Things Move!.

1. This book is fantastic, and a fine addition to my Friends of Ed collection. The author does a brilliant job of explaining how Actionscript 3 works and doesn't assume you are using a particular application to put it all together. So for anyone developing in Flex or some other Actionscript app, this book is equally useful.
   
   The trigonometry and maths of it all are simplified down so you can understand it, and through this book I've rediscovered my inner geek - playing with maths for the fun of it!
   
   If you are at all interested in building your own animation scripts, grab this book and read it! It's great.



2. Good book for intermediate user. One dimensional but does adequate job in that one dimension.



3. Years ago, I got an interview for a new startup company called FriendsOfEd (and for those wondering, Ed is 'Every Designer'). I assumed it was flash designer role, but I ended up writing books as the resident in-house author.
   
   The initial book was Foundation flash 5 (released 2000), the first book for the Foundation series. Approximately 20 other books followed in the period 2000-2005.
   
   The thing is, I haven't written a book since then, but had an idea to write a new book that went through the stuff that Adobe dont cover in the standard Flash docs; scripted animation.
   
   Looks like I don't have to write that book now, because its already been done, and done well!
   
   Perhaps the only thing I would do differently is to add a book project, where the animation techniques were used in a high end Flash user interface design (thus putting the techniques in a typical design context), but thats just a difference in style... all the content I would wish to cover is in this book.
   
   Well worth buying, and not just for beginner Flash users; many of the tchniques in this book go well beyond 'Foundation' level, and are recommended for intermediate/advanced users. good coverage of 3D techniques in Flash means that this book also comes recommended for advanced users looking at Papervision et al, and advanced Flex users looking to add a bit of motion-graphics into the mix.
   
   Back to lurk mode :)
   
   Sham Bhangal.



4. If you're new to AS 3 and have some kind of OOP (Object Oriented Programming) experience in your past or none at all then this book is right up your alley...an experienced programmer may find this book a little simplistic. Anyway, I've always had a problem understanding programming concepts because I could never apply them to real world applications. All through college while taking JAVA, VB, PL/SQL...etc I always felt like I never truly grasped some of the basic concepts that made up OOP. The way Keith Peters explains his examples and some of the more basic concepts that make up AS 3 is awesome. I've been able to couple his explanations with the stuff I've learned in the past to really help clarify some of these more basic OOP concepts that I could never quite grasp. Since AS 3 is a lot like JAVA, I have a really good jumping off point for doing some really cool things with this language. This book has really lit a new fire of excitement in me for OOP that was long lost back in school. I really enjoy this book and the way the author uses real world terms and normal "speaking language" to write the book. It's as if he's speaking to you in person and explaining things to you face to face.
   
   I have one CON to all of the PROS. The book needs a resource CD with the code chapter by chapter. I know, I'm lazy. But sometimes it really helps to compare my code that I may have problems finding the errors in with the correct code just to see if it's my code with the problem, the class path I have setup, an author error or maybe even something else. Regardless the book is well worth the money I spent and I'd recommend it to anyone.



5. This book teaches motion physics programming on flash! And amazingly it's an incredible resource for OOP beginners as well. The first 2 chapters will talk about the philosophies of motion and flash and set you up to learn AS3 programming and OOP! I already had knowledge a solid knowledge of OOP from C# and C++, and let me just say that this book is very concise! It cuts to the chase and gives tons and tons of examples (downloadable), very accurate and useful information! I recommended this book to my girlfriend whose a graphics designer because it was so coherent and very well written. This is a very good book. I've read over other books like AS3 Design Pattern and one other book that tried to OOP, none of them are as concise as this book is. This book IS THE BOOK you're looking for!!!
   
   Get this book if you want to learn OOP, get this book if you want to learn motion physics programming in Flash, get this book if you want to learn AS3! Clear, coherent, and cheap. This book is your one stop.

5 comments about Programming Erlang: Software for a Concurrent World.

1. I got interested in learning more about Erlang when I discovered that some of the Amazon web services use it underneath (SimpleDB). And I consider these services to be very well designed.
   
   I enjoyed the book as it gave a good overview of the concepts and capabilities of Erlang. But now I'm wanting for more -- more depth on concurrency and fault tolerance; more complete real world examples; how to use for building web apps; and of course how to use with Amazon web services.
   
   So what this book needs now is a sequel!



2. Erlang really appears to be an interesting language, and the author's enthusiasm for the subject shows - which is good. It helped me to keep going, when at times the code was a little hard to follow.
   
   The book does a good job of introducing the language. In particular later chapters give emphasis to the topics of concurrency through multiple processes, multi-cores and distributed programs. All very timely subjects for a world that is connected to the Internet, and where even laptops have multi-core processors
   
   I gave the book a 4 star rating because I feel the author somewhat forgot who his audience is.
   
   On page 5 he starts out with a description that fit me almost perfectly, and probably many other readers: "Once upon a time a programmer came across a book describing a funny programming language. It had an unfamiliar syntax [...] it wasn't even object-oriented. The programs were, well, different....Not only were the programs different, but the whole approach to programming was different."
   
   After reading the book I don't feel like the "Erlang Master" that the road map described (pg 9). While the syntax is now familiar, I still look at the Erlang code and it feels foreign. I still have to "decipher" the code instead of read it.
   
   I would have liked the book to more fully address the items from the "Once upon a time" paragraphs. Being that "the whole approach to programming" is different than the OO that many readers are used to, I would have liked to have seen a chapter (or three) on how to best get into that mode of thinking.
   
   I do think the book is a good jumping off point. It gives you more than enough to get started.
   
   However, if you are unfamiliar with languages where functions accept functions which also accept functions as parameters and return another function as a result, you may end up feeling (as I did) that you only have half the puzzle.



3. This book was recommended by a colleague and I was hesitant at first, but it really is an excellent read.
   
   After flipping through the first few chapters, taking in the examples and absorbing what it was spelling out, it really altered the way that I fundamentally look at software modeling. Joe Armstrong's style of teaching by example and breaking things down into the smallest possible space makes this book worthwhile.



4. I've been working through this book and am very glad for it. I'm not sure how else I'd efficiently have gotten up to speed on Erlang.
   
   The book does need lots of minor work, though - it still feels like a beta piece of software. There are examples / explanations that make use of not-yet (or never) explained functions/modules. The appendix describing some of Erlang's modules only claims that the set of documented modules is incomplete, but doesn't mention that the set of functions within some modules is also incomplete. Etc.
   
   Another issue is the license of the code examples. The author shows some example code for how to do certain things, such as a distributed map function (pmap). After reading the book, it's hard (at least for a newbie) to imagine a different solution than the author's. But if you go to the website containing the example code from the book, you find a pretty restrictive license on the example code. So this leaves the reader in a difficult position: the book only shows you one way to do something like pmap, and the author has a license on that code that makes it unusable to many readers. This is more than a little frustrating.
   
   Finally, the index is very incomplete.
   
   If you're new to Erlang you still want this book. But it would really be a good thing for the author to gather criticism (if he hasn't already) and go a second round.



5. I made an attempt at working through this book 6 months ago and didn't feel quite comfortable so I dropped it and instead pursued Programming in Haskell. Yesterday I decided to get back into Erlang and found it a complete breeze, powering through the entire book in a few hours.
   
   A lot of things seem to become really easy after working with Haskell, not to say that programming in Haskell is hard, just it twists and bends your mind into a different shape.
   
   Now that I'm abreast of the material covered in this book, I am leaping into a large project with great confidence.
   
   5/5, excellent book!

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

1. I think this is one of the best books you can buy to update or improve your knowledge of Excel. I feel confident that even a novice could learn how to use Excel.



2. This book was a solid introduction to Excel 2003. I have used Excel since about 2000 and found the first parts of the text to be information I already knew. Even so, I went through every single exercise and picked up a few shortcuts - mainly right click tips along the way. The introduction to PivotTables was helpful. Also, importing and exporting data is a good introduction. Toward the end of the text, as expected, the exercises get a little more challenging. The breadth of the text is good. I'd recommend for beginners. The back of the book says for Beginning to Intermediate users, which is accurate. There are very few typos in the text. Opted to buy Excel 2003 Inside Out for more advanced Excel knowledge.



3. As with many Microsoft products, this book comes very close to being a useful tool, but fails because of the lack of attention to the little details.
   
   The first place you see this in the book is the Microsoft Office Specialist Skills Standards section.
   
   Each of the skills tested for on the MOS exam are identified by their Skill Number and description, and a page number directs you to that skill. That's the theory. About 20% of the time, the phrase is mentioned on that page with no detailed explanation or there is no mention at all. That is just sloppy proofreading.
   
   As has been mentioned in other reviews, the instructions in many sections are wrong. Either there are flaws in a formula or a description of the results does not match what you see on the screen.
   
   In at least one section, the spreadsheet used to illustrate the problem is not the one that you are instructed to open for that task.
   
   The section on XML was useful simply because it seems to be one of the few available. But even here, there are flaws in instructions and a disconnect between what you see on the screen and what you are told you should be seeing.
   
   The best thing you can do with this book is go to the library and photocopy the Microsoft Office Specialist Skills Standards section. At least you will know what you should be studying and you can find it in better written books or online.



4. A great book for review, concise,and easy to read. Provides one with multiple shortcuts and practical ideas.



5. The book was in excellent condition and I received it in a timely manner. It was exactly what I was looking for.

5 comments about Enterprise Integration Patterns: Designing, Building, and Deploying Messaging Solutions (The Addison-Wesley Signature Series).

1. This is a fantastic book if you are looking for patterns to base your messaging designs and architecture around. The way this book goes about explaining some of the asynchronous messaging patterns seemed to provide a great deal of benefit to developers and designers who were stuck in the synchronous way of doing things. Great explanations and illustrations, would recommend to anyone researching EAI or ESB technologies or just a more structured, efficient way of messaging in general.



2. Upon recently changing jobs and focusing on messaging design and architecture, I was steered toward this book by my peers. Without getting into too much detail, before joining my new team, I had never heard of patterns (came from a product support area), much less asynchronous messaging design. Needless to say, this book has been invaluable in my learning process as well as conveying our direction to others.
   
   This book is written in such a way that it is very intuitive. Diagrams help support the concepts and code examples as well.
   
   I would highly recommend this as a must read/reference guide for anyone designing messaging solutions.



3. This is the best book I've found that helps to organize the integration space within the industry. This book has helped to organize my thoughts and communicate with others effectively on how to leverage integration patterns. I highly recommend this book to help obtain a foundational understaning of the integration space.



4. Many books have been written about SOA, but most of them are just about the theory of SOA. It's important for Software Architects and Software Engineers to understand the theory, but just knowing the theory is not enough to develop system utilizing SOA principles.
   
   This book fits nicely to bridge the gap between theory and practice. It contains not only the theory behind the patterns that can be used to design a loosely coupled, scalable system, but also the code in Java and C# on how to implement the pattern to build the system.
   
   If you are serious on building a loosely couple system and strongly believe on the powerful of messaging system to accomplish this task, then you have to read this book from the beginning to the end, it will help you to design the system without reinventing the wheel.



5. I am an occasional buyer of reference works on software technologies I need to get familiar with, and I teach an evening section at a local area college in object oriented analysis and design. After reading this book, I am actively trying to construct a proposal for a new course based on its contents ... it's that good.
   
   Quite simply, Enterprise Integration Patterns blew me away, on both a technical and pedagogical level. On the technical level, it's all here (except for "aspect" patterns like security, robustness and scalability which would each have really required another book). All the patterns necessary to successfully support asynchronous messaging between groups of remote applications ... which is the basic situation facing anyone trying to do a mashup of web services and / or construct business processes by integrating internal services via an ESB. Even the Process Manager pattern is here.
   
   On a pedagogical level, the material is complete, very easy to read, well illustrated, and above all, well organized. Even a first look at the inside covers reveals this. The front has each of the 60+ patterns listed alphabetically, with its respective icon and 2 sentence paragraph. The back has the patterns (name and icon) clumped into 6 hierarchical "pattern buckets" (Message Endpoints, Message Construction, Message Channels, Message Routing, Message Transformation, and System Management), linked together in a single diagram, showing where the buckets fit when Application A is connected to Application B.
   
   And on both inside covers as well as every place in the text where a pattern is mentioned (quite a bit since patterns are extensively contrasted with each other), the page number where it is defined is given with its name. This makes it very easy to use this book as a reference, because all the patterns it contains are cross-referenced in so many ways.
   
   After an excellent introduction the first chapter explains what a pattern is, what the domain of integration patterns are, and introduces the Widget Manufacturing Company, whose problem grows as tools to handle those problems are introduced.
   
   Bottom line ... I read this book during the two legs of a round trip flight from Chicago to San Francisco, took copious notes within the pages of the book, and walked off the 2nd plane feeling that I had seriously increased my understanding of the entire topic of how to integrate loosely coupled applications.
   
   Not bad ... plus since I snagged an upgrade on the return flight, I can also report that two glasses of wine did not interfere in the slightest with the learning experience. The book is THAT good.

5 comments about ActionScript 3.0 Cookbook: Solutions for Flash Platform and Flex Application Developers.

1. For those of us who have experience in many programming languages (C, C++, C#, JAVA etc.) who were introduced to flash and to actionscript (2.0/3.0) - I HIGHLY recommend this book as your first choice! - it'll get you up to speed in a matter of a week or two!
   I highly recommend taking some time aside and read it thoroughly. This is the best cookbook I've ever read. Very clear, well organized, easy to understand - you name it! In fact, I don't know whether to consider it as a cookbook - as it is by all means an excellent learning textbook as well!!!
   If you wanna be an actionscript 3.0 stud - start with this book.



2. I've been a fan of programmer's cookbooks ever since the famous Perl Cookbook ages ago. It's a great way to get into a language and do away with any nagging thoughts that maybe you didn't solve a problem well.
   
   This specific cookbook falls short, though. I tried to read it cover to cover as well as individual chapters, but I found it oddly balanced. For example, the authors waste three recipes on about 10 pages about generating a random number (which is just one command!), and then describe event handling (the big thing!) on half a page. I also find it strange to read about trigonometry in a programmer's book, and I don't think recipes work very well for explaining basic language features (such as how to create a new object, or how to "trace a message").
   
   Mostly though, the book is outdated with the release of flex2/3. Yes, Actionscript 3 is still current, but you don't roll your own buttons as subclasses of sprite anymore!
   
   In short, I give it three stars for content, and subtract 1 for being outdated. If you want to read about Actionscript 3, Adobe has a very nicely outlined pdf online, which is an easy read compared to these confusing and stale recipes.



3. This book is about ActionScript ONLY. when I bought it, I was hoping to find cookbook solutions for Flash and/or Flex IDE and all the step-by-step color illustrations and the cool visual effects that you can implement with those IDEs. That is not really what this book is geared for. So when I first started this review, I really wanted to give it a less-than-5-star rating, but I realized I can't do that in all fairness, because it does serve the purpose it portends. If you want an unadorned, pedantic, O'Reilly-ish how-to on ActionScript, this their ilk. If you want something with easy-to-follow illustrations on the Flash/Flex IDE and flashy visual effects, look elsewhere. Buyer beware.



4. In theory this book could have been very good. There were a few things that I did like about it. I liked the problem, solution, discussion approach to learning ActionScript. The book covered all of the topics I was interested in. It used real world examples to demonstrate the points.
   
   The reasons I gave this book a poor rating were the fact that it was written for Flex developers and all examples used the Flex tool to build (not very good for me who uses Flash), and they continually gave examples and explained how to solve problems using their predefined, custom classes. The pages would have been better spent showing us how to build these useful Classes ourselves, instead of teaching us how to use them. Luckily for me, I was already versed in ActionScript and could easily understand that these Classes were not part of ActionScript. If I were not, I think it would have been rather confusing to try to pick out their custom classes from what comes with ActionScript 3. I'm trying to learn ActionScript, not the custom Classes the authors have created.
   
   If you are new to ActionScript and not a Flex developer, do yourself a favor and buy a different book.
   
   _t



5. very simple recipes. for any intermediate to advanced programmer this book is not recommended.

5 comments about Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code (The Addison-Wesley Object Technology Series).

1. This book is required reading for anyone who is serious about software development. If you want to go from good to great then do yourself a favor and get this book.



2. This book is just a real easy read, with lots of good information. You can pretty much flip to any page in the book, read, and learn something. You don't have to read chapter by chapter - it's just real easy to jump into.
   
   Lots of tips seem self-evident, but I doubt they would be to rookie programmers. It's definitely a book new programmers should get their hands on early.



3. Refactoring is the process of changing a software system in such a way that it does not alter the external behavior of the code yet improves its internal structure. It is a disciplined way to clean up code that minimizes the chances of introducing bugs. In essence when you refractor you are improving the design of the code after it has been written.
   
   When I first got this hardcover in December 2000, there were no integrated development environments (IDE) that would have easily allowed applying refactorings like Extract Method or Inline Method. Now, in 2008, any IDE like Delphi allows to refactor in one click. So now this book is even more valuable than it was at a time of first publication.



4. I was referred to this book from a colleague after a quick discussion on "Replace temp with Query" in our projects code base.
   
   I thought I knew it all as a software developer, but reading this book, I soon came to realize that as a software developer I was leaving a legacy of code that was not at the standard it should be.
   
   This book opened my eyes to some really simple concepts, for example, when trying to understand code someone else has written (or yourself in some cases) take the time to re-factor the code (i.e. Extract Method) so that the code is understandable, since most of the work is spent in trying to understand the code in the first place. This concept of modifying code as you understand it is superb.
   
   I must say I was skeptical at first but the benefits are really starting to show. This book is written with the knowledge of Martin Fowler, and as such is written with experience of what it is like to be a developer in a commercial environment, for example, trying to explain to management the trade-offs of re-factoring first instead of "tacking on" that new feature. Something that is difficult in any environment.
   
   This book will by no means solve your problems, but it will empower you with a new found love to make the IT project(s) you work on better (i.e. not thinking of the now but the future) practice some of the smaller concepts this book presents on a daily basis and the rewards are well worth it, break those bad habits today.



5. What is better? Replacing delegations with inheritance or replacing inheritance with delegation?
   
   The answer is the ultimate answer to most software engineering decisions: DEPENDS, there is always a trade-off that has to be analyzed according to the context! This book addresses those trade-offs very well.
   
   Moreover, I like the examples in the book, good to use in class when teaching. They generate interesting discussions.

5 comments about C# 3.0 in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)).

1. Pure awesome - if you're a good programmer already and want the skinny on what's new (or even great explanations on what you already think you know), spend the $10-$15 and buy this book. I love it and I buy every version they put out. There just aren't enough people like Joseph and Ben writing tech books!



2. The "In a Nutshell" series has long been my favorite's. I am glad they did C# again with .NET 3.0. The format of the book changed quite a bit with a much better format and lenghthy explainations and demonstrations. I truly hope they redo ADO.NET in a nutshell as that was my favorite as well.
   
   This book is all you really need on C# and .NET framework. [I have many others, but always find myself coming back to this, and for good reason]



3. great book, a must have! if you do not have this book you are not a C# developer! =)



4. This book is a really great combination between a tutorial and a reference book. What I like the most about it is that it not only explains you how to use the different elements of the C# language and the .NET Framework core namespaces, but it also explains to you how they work in the inside. This gives you a notable insight when you try to understand a strange side-effect in your code.
   
   All explanations are made very clearly and it is very easy to read. The different chapters of the book are arranged by topic, so it is easy to use it as a reference when you can't exactly remember something. It can also be read from cover to cover.
   
   It is, however, not recommended for beginners (as it is stated in the introduction); if you are looking for a programming tutorial this book is not a very good idea.



5. This is a must have reference book. If you are new to C# maybe you should try first an introductory text (such as the "Visual C# 2008 step by step", or the "Head first C#") but keep in mind that introductory books usually have things spread around ... and as such this "nutshell" text is still essential (not only as a reference, but also for filling-in any gaps/details the introductory books might not mention).

5 comments about Software Requirements, Second Edition (Pro-Best Practices).

1. This book is a classic. Well written and to the point. It helps resolve what requirements are and should be. I have done requirements for 30 years and I learned a lot! Wish it had been out sooner in my career.



2. Needed to understand and learn how to get software requirements. Very informative and helped me fit into my new role at the time.



3. I work for CDW and this book came highly recommended. It did not disappoint as it is clear, well written, and organized in a logical format. I have been writing requirements for many years and this is by far the best overall book on the subject that I have read. The suggestions for labeling and writing requirements alone make it worth the price of admission.



4. Absolutely happy with it. Having recently completed a project this book gave me the opportunity to look back and think about things I could have done /planned better.



5. 
   I have had this book for some time and recently realized how often I use it as a reference when I am trying to figure out a way to document or model a feature. This book is well worth the price, I have definitely benefited from keeping this book near my desk.
   
   Although this book is not to replace books dedicated to topics such as Use Cases, technical writing, UML and modeling, change control, or test case development it is a great place to see them all work together in context.
   
   Don't forget to visit the `Requirements Engineering" section of the authors' site. There you will find the samples from the book and other useful articles.