5 comments about Introduction to Database Systems, An (8th Edition) (Introduction to Database Systems).

1. Date's seminal work is critical to understanding databases - a step mostly forgotten by those who believe every concept can be taught using commercial products with brain-dead examples in under 24 hours. Date teaches the logic and theory that underlie all successful practice. You can probably buy a different book and create a mock database faster, but you will neither understand nor be able to use it well. Do yourself a favor and read this first to understand what a database is; only then can you judge the value of other books.



2. I read this book for training as a senior DBA consultant and enjoyed CJ Date's excellent treatise on databases. This is the ultimate book on database theory. Like another reader commented its not how to get OCP/MCDBA whatever certifications but actually will make life better in the long run as a serious DBA pro. I now actually understand the basis of complex database topics such as cursors, data models, and concurrency/locking topics that previously are skimmed over in other books and training guides. Best book for a beginner and yeah its a bit dry and academic but CJ Date writes clearly. A MUST FOR SERIOUS COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENTS!



3. I suppose there are two potential audiences for an introductory database book. The first audience consists of developers who need to know the very basics about databases to design and implement a database computer application. For that group I would recommend Date's book, but only upon having sufficient "computer science maturity": i.e. having taken one year of programming, and possibly a course in discrete mathematics and/or data structures and algorithms. Without this maturity much of what Date writes will be very hard to appreciate if not comprehend. True, he gives numerous examples that are quite understandable, but he also spends many paragraphs discussing somewhat abstract issues to the novice that will make him or her want to skip ahead. A good example of this is the notion of thinking of a table as the current value of a relvar, or the importance of closure in the relational algebra. The paragraphs he spends on these subtle importances will frustrate the uninitiated reader.
   
   For someone who does not believe that he or she has the maturity to handle this book, and simply wants to develop an application that requires a database, I would recommend buying a more "down-to-earth" book possibly covering the RDMS that will be used. For example, if it is MySQL, then one might want to purchase
   Welling's "MySQL Tutorial" (ISBN: 0672325845) for a much gentler and user-friendly introduction (or better yet the PHP and MySQL web development book if a web application is desired).
   
   The other audience for this book are the professionals who are in charge of managing a database and/or using a database server for an industrial-strength application. In this case, Date's book is mandatory reading. May be not all of it, but certainly Parts I-IV. Reading these parts will give the professional the needed perspective on all the considerations required for successfully using or managing a database system.
   In the world of database systems, Chris Date is one of the few authors who understands the importance of every minute detail involved with successfully using and managing databases. He proves that in this book, in a style that is not only academic but also quite useful and practical (especially his chapters on the relational algebra and calculus).



4. This is one of the better books on the theory of database systems design. It is not meant to be a book on applications, rather it is a commonly used textbook in upper level undergraduate and graduate classes on the subject. However, this latest edition has reorganized the material somewhat and has added to its sections on XML and SQL in an attempt to show the theory through more real-world scenarios.
   
   The book is divided into six parts. The first section sets the scene by explaining what a database is and why database systems are generally desirable. Next a general architecture for database systems is presented that serves as a framework upon which all subsequent chapters are built. Next is a broad overview of relational systems and finally there is a chapter that introduces SQL and explains how it works and why it is not a perfect language.
   
   The second section, on the relational model, is rather long. This reflects the fact that the relational model of database systems is the foundation that makes the field a science. The author does a good job of presenting the theory along with examples of this theory as practiced in SQL. However, remember that the SQL examples are to illuminate the theory, not vice versa. The author does an exceptional job of explaining the relational calculus.
   
   The third section is dedicated to database design, and specifically relational database design. The database design problem can be stated very simply: Given some body of data to be presented in a database, how do we decide on a logical structure for that data? This section does an exceptional job of explaining and illustrating one of the more difficult concepts in database design, that of normalization and normal forms. Database normalization is a process that eliminates redundancy, organizes data efficiently, reduces the potential for anomalies during data operations, and improves data consistency.
   
   The fourth section, on transaction management, will be familiar to those who are involved in operating system design. This section includes methods of protecting the database against non-deliberate threats such as a system crash in the middle of program execution that leaves the database in an unpredictable state, two programs concurrently executing that interfere with one another's operation therefore producing incorrect results, and updates that might change the database in an invalid way.
   
   The fifth section, entitled "Further Topics", tackles a number of subjects that could be the topic of a complete book by themselves. This includes protecting databases against deliberate attacks, building optimization into databases so that they work more efficiently, handling missing database information, object-oriented concepts, and logic-based databases.
   
   The final and sixth section of the book adds information on a subject that has been missing in past editions - that of object-oriented databases. This section includes some relevant information on the use of XML in database design.
   
   I learned database design theory from the sixth edition of this book ten years ago with no prior database design experience. I found that edition to be a clear and adequate textbook but lacking in the discussions of alternatives to the relational model which has been corrected in this eighth edition. I highly recommend this book to students and professionals who are interested in learning about the theory of modern database design. All chapters begin with an introduction and end with a summary, exercises, and bibliography, so to prevent from being repetitive I do not show those sections in the table of contents shown below:
   
   I. PRELIMINARIES
   1. An Overview of Database Management
   What is a database system?; What is a database?; Why database?; Data independence; Relational systems and others;
   2. Database System Architecture
   The three levels of the architecture; The external level; The conceptual level; The internal level; Mappings; The database administrator; The database management system; Data communications; Client/server architecture; Utilities; Distributed processing;
   3. An Introduction to Relational Databases
   An informal look at the relational model; Relations and relvars; What relations mean; Optimization; The catalog; Base relvars and views; Transactions; The suppliers-and-parts database;
   4. An Introduction to SQL
   Overview; The catalog; Views; Transactions; Embedded SQL; Dynamic SQL and SQL/CLI; SQL is not perfect;
   
   II. THE RELATIONAL MODEL
   5. Types
   Values vs Variables; Types vs Representations; Type Definition; Operators; Type generators; SQL facilities;
   6. Relations
   Tuples; Relation types; Relation values; Relation variables; SQL facilities;
   7. Relational Algebra
   Closure revisited; The original algebra: Syntax; The original algebra: Semantics; Examples; What is the algebra for?; Further points; Additional operators; Grouping and ungrouping;
   8. Relational Calculus
   Tuple calculus; Examples; Calculus vs. algebra; Computational capabilities; SQL facilities; Domain calculus; Query-By-Example;
   9. Integrity
   A closer look; Predicates and propositions; Relvar predicates and database predicates; Checking the constraints; Internal vs external constraints; Correctness vs consistency; Integrity and views; A constraint classification scheme; Keys; Triggers (a digression); SQL facilities;
   10. Views
   What are views for?; View retrievals; View updates; Snapshots (a digression); SQL facilities;
   
   III. DATABASE DESIGN
   11. Functional Dependencies
   Basic definitions; Trivial and nontrivial dependencies; Closure of a set of dependencies; Closure of a set of attributes; Irreducible sets of dependencies;
   12. Further Normalization I: 1NF, 2NF, 3NF, BCNF; Nonloss decomposition and functional dependencies; First, second, and third normal forms; Dependency preservation; Boyce/Codd normal form; A note on relation-valued attributes;
   13. Further Normalization II: Higher Normal Form
   Multi-valued dependencies and fourth normal form; Join dependencies and fifth normal form; The normalization procedure summarized; A note on denormalization; Orthogonal design (a digression); Other normal forms;
   14. Semantic Modeling
   The overall approach; The E/R model; E/R diagrams; Database design with the E/R model; A brief analysis;
   
   IV. TRANSACTION MANAGEMENT
   15. Recovery
   Transactions; Transaction recovery; System recovery; Media recovery; Two-phase commit; Savepoints (a digression); SQL facilities;
   16. Concurrency
   Three concurrency problems; Locking; The three concurrency problems revisited; Deadlock; Serializability; Recovery revisited; Isolation levels; Intent locking; ACID dropping; SQL facilities;
   
   V. FURTHER TOPICS
   17. Security
   Discretionary access control; Mandatory access control; Statistical databases; Data encryption; SQL facilities;
   18. Optimization
   A motivating example; An overview of query processing; Expression transformation; Database statistics; A divide-and-conquer strategy; Implementing the relational operators;
   19. Missing Information
   An overview of the 3VL approach; Some consequences of the foregoing scheme; Nulls and keys; Outer join (a digression); Special values; SQL facilities;
   20. Type Inheritance
   Type hierarchies; Polymorphism and substitutability; Variables and assignments; Specialization by constraint; Comparisons; Operators, versions, and signatures; Is a circle an ellipse? Specialization by constraint revisited; SQL facilities;
   21. Distributed Databases
   Some preliminaries; The twelve objectives; Problems of distributed systems; Client/server systems; DBMS independence; SQL facilities;
   22. Decision Support
   Aspects of decision support; Database design for decision support; Data preparation; Data warehouses and data marts; Online analytical processing; Data mining; SQL facilities;
   23. Temporal Databases
   What is the problem?; Intervals; Packing and unpacking relations; Generalizing the relational operators; Database work design; Integrity constraints;
   24. Logic-Based Databases
   Overview; Propositional calculus; Predicate calculus; A proof-theoretic view of databases; Deductive database systems; Recursive query processing;
   
   VI. OBJECTS, RELATIONS, AND XML
   25. Object Databases
   Objects, classes, methods, and messages; A closer look; A cradle-to-grave example; Miscellaneous issues;
   26. Object / Relational Databases
   The First Great Blunder; The Second Great Blunder; Implementation issues; Benefits of true rapprochement; SQL facilities;
   27. The World Wide Web and XML
   The Web and the Internet; An overview of XML; XML data definition; XML data manipulation; XML and databases; SQL facilities;
   
   APPENDIXES.
   Appendix A: The TransRelational(tm) Model
   Three levels of abstraction; The basic idea; Condensed columns; Merged columns; Implementing the relational operators;
   Appendix B: SQL Expressions, Table Expressions, and Boolean Expressions
   Appendix C: Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Symbol
   Appendix D: Online storage structures and access methods, database access: an overview, page sets and files, indexing, hashing, pointer chains, and compression techniques



5. I cannot believe so many people gave this book such high ratings.
   
   Date has no clue on writing structured English. The man has more than 4 clauses per sentence and this is not including the clauses in the brackets.
   
   Publishers need to pay more attention when editing.
   
   Only logically conclusion is that Date thinks in SQL and hence his English looks like SQL.
   
   Waste of money.

No comments about Beginning XML with C# 2008: From Novice to Professional (Expert's Voice in .Net).

2 comments about Visualization Toolkit: An Object-Oriented Approach to 3D Graphics, 4th Edition.

1. This is the recently updated version of this classic book on visualization that has some people confused due to its name. Because it is named "Visualization Toolkit" you might believe it to be a tutorial on VTK 5.0. This is not the case. This version is updated to take advantage of VTK 5.0's capabilities, but it also functions as a very accessible textbook on all kinds of visualization algorithms and their implementation using VTK. In my opinion it is better than textbooks on the subject of information visualization because of its practical stance and number of examples. The table of contents is as follows:
   
   1. Introduction
   2. Object-Oriented Design
   3. Computer Graphics Primer
   4. Visualization Pipeline
   5. Basic Data Representation
   6. Fundamental Algorithms
   7. Advanced Computer Graphics
   8. Advanced Data Representation
   9. Advanced Algorithms
   10. Image Processing
   11. Visualization on the Web
   12. Applications
   
   The sections on object-orientation and basic computer graphics are somewhat abbreviated, so you should already know this material before reading this book and use these sections just as reference and as a refresher. The chapters devoted to algorithms and to visualization are the best chapters. There are programming exercises at the conclusion of each chapter to give you some practice using VTK. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the algorithms of visualization and their implementation using VTK 5.0.



2. I was disappointed with this book. I'll be honest and say that my intentions were to learn VTK. But I knew going into this book that I would not be learning specifically VTK, rather how to visualize data.
   That said, this book seriously lacked in examples. I had hoped to at least gain a basic understanding of VTK from it via examples, but alas, nothing. The book is almost straight theory. While I understand the intentions of this book are not to teach VTK, I don't see you how you can teach Visualization without at least giving the reader some examples, examples which I wrongly assumed would be in VTK.
   
   The theory is all good, but as a reader this book gave me no indication of how to implement any of it.

5 comments about Foundations of Security: What Every Programmer Needs to Know (Expert's Voice).

1. Our collective security against threats such as phishing, denial of service and online fraud in general depends not only on our own actions, but also on those of others. While other users may affect your security by their actions (or lack thereof), the most important person in terms of your security is the software developer. This is a book written to help software developers identify common problems and create security-conscious designs.
   
   This easily accessible book describes common problems in an instructive manner. It explains what will and what will not work, reviews good design principles, and offers an overview of commonly used cryptographic techniques. If every developer lived by the guidelines of this book, we would be in a much better shape than we currently are.



2. While some of the good security books for software developers need to be updated, this is, in my opinion, a much needed new security book for programmers. It is clear yet not too formal with good examples. Even if you have done a bit of security programming, chapters 7 and on are definitely worth the read.
   
   Although this book doesn't have all the answers (e.g. no comparison of web programming languages), web programmers will not be disappointed and my guess is that most web programmers need to read this book.
   
   The authors work at Google and are dealing with some of the nastiest problems the Internet has to offer. They are very good communicators, have written some of the best recent papers and I'm glad to see Neil Daswani just started a blog on blogspot.



3. An excellent book for new programmers. The first part of the book provides a very good overview of security concepts. Chapters 5-10 detail different attacks and their defense. At 290 pages, the authors don't waste the reader's time. Information is well covered with enough detail for most readers.
   
   Throughout the book the authors present code examples on exploits and their defense. Even through the examples are written in different languages, the authors explain the code clearly. The reader doesn't' have to be familiar with the particular language. I haven't written anything in Java in over six years, but had no problem understand the Java examples.
   
   If you are a new programmer or haven't read a book on security recently, this would be the book.



4. Having an English major as one of the authors makes a big difference. The expertise from the other two reknown authors is communicated in simple, easy-to-understand language.



5. I found this book as a collection of google-able basic material. The book provides zero guidance to a programmer on the basics for how-to implement security in code not just alphabet soup because "the devil is in the details". I wrongly picked this book and now it just fills an odd spot of our IT library as this book has no relevance to a Microsoft or Java programmer or Web 2.0 (J*Script) programmer. With Security taking mainstream in every aspect of programming and every component of IT stack - this book did not provide any confidence to an average developer aspiring to securing SOA or J2EE/.NET application. As a whole, the book reflects poorly on the technical content maybe I am not the intended audience of this book.

5 comments about ASP.NET 2 For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).

1. I am a software developer with 24 years experience, and have been doing .Net Windows Form database programming for the past 5+ years.
   
   As I am new to web development and will soon be working on an ASP.Net 2.0 project, I've been checking out the available books on this topic. I happened to look through this one at Borders, although I normally steer clear of "Dummies" books (guess I must be getting desperate..)
   
   This seems to be one of the best books available for getting a gentle introduction to the subject. The Microsoft Step-by-Step book for ASP.Net 1.1 also seemed fairly decect (although roundly trashed in the Amazon reviews) but it's 2.0 replacement is a bit of a gangly mess unfortunately--they should have stayed with the original format, and possibly author as well.
   
   For a Windows programmer, web development in general sometimes resemble a "Bizarro" world: familiar, but different in initially strange and myserious ways. This book does a really good job of familiarizing you with the terrain, and I would highly recommend it as a first step into the ASP.Net realm.
   
   Of course, everybody's taste in books is different, so check it out first at Borders before ordering..



2. Only having truly scanned through and hit the highlights of this book thus far. I already see many familiar concepts broken down into much simpler terms which allow me to quickly grasp the meat of the ASP language and paired with my new understanding of C# feel as though I will be able to use this book as a reference for a long time to come. The CD examples are also very good for visual and hands on learning.



3. I think Dummies books are hit-or-miss. I always start with them, when embarking on something I am a dummy at. About half the time, they put you off to a good first step. That's not a bad record at all.
   
   I'll always be grateful to the Dummies series, which got me started writing code with the help of Wallace Wang's Visual Basic 6 for Dummies.
   
   This Dummies book is the best one I have read yet. But I like it for reasons that may not serve every customer of the book, so be warned. What makes this book such a gem is the author's ease at conveying the basics (and then some) of the V(isual)B(asic).Net language and framework. His ability to present concepts like objects, classes, functions, sub-routines in a simple manner using simple language is like nothing I have ever read. And I have a TON of reference manuals on my shelf. Truly, I have never REALLY understood what a "class" is, how to think about it in a way that my mind honestly gets around the concept, until reading this book. And I have been a fairly serious amateur programmer now for nearly a decade!
   
   This book is without question a better primer on the Visual Basic language than Bill Sempf's Visual Basic 2005 for Dummies. Crazy, but true.
   
   Still, it should be noted: ASP.NET works with lots of different programming languages. If you are a C# person, this book is probably going to seriously irritate you.
   
   I can't imagine someone who isn't a Visual Basic programmer getting much out of this book. And I can't imagine someone who does use the VB language finding a better start at ASP.NET programming. Or a better start at understanding basic Visual Basic language concepts as well.
   
   Hatfield hasn't written anything since this; I hope he hasn't retired, because I want him to teach me the next thing that I am a Dummy at...



4. I just happen to find this book in the library when I was looking for a quick guide/tutorial. I've read 3 books before this and so far this is the book that stands out from the rest. I give Bill 5+ stars for clearly explaining the tech stuff clearly. Nevermind the typos, that's up to the proofreading group. Kudos to this book!



5. Bill Hatfield wrote the "Dummies" books on the original versions of ASP so you would think he would be the perfect person to carry over into the ASP.NET books, right? The problem for me with this book (and his previous ASP.NET Dummies book) is that Microsoft has created this marvelous environment called Visual Studio but Bill seems to think I prefer hand coding my pages using Notepad or FrontPage. While he does give a 'nod' to Visual Web Developer Express in one chapter of the book, he pretty much ignores it and Visual Studio throughout the rest of the book and assumes that I like to mix my presentation code with my business logic code. A better buy is 'ASP.NET 3.5 for Dummies' by Ken Cox if you are ready to take the leap.

5 comments about Automated Software Testing: Introduction, Management, and Performance.

1. As an engineer involved with software QA for a number of years, I found the book to be so generalized as to be essentially worthless. The authors devote page after page to explain methods and procedures with diagrams that depict the intuitively obvious. Their ATLM (Automated Test Life-Cycle Methodology) is as complicated as diagramming the Earth's water cycle. I don't need to spend Forty odd dollars and peruse 600 pages to learn that I might be able to use some nonspecific automated testing tool somewhere along the software development process.



2. I recently joined a firm that simply wanted to purchase an automated test tool within two weeks; "it made little difference which tool". Using this book, they became convinced we should install at least three tools, on evaluation. Good thing we did: we found that only one could deal with "customized" Java applets used in their applications.

   Little did our test team know beforehand that new automated tools require evaluation: what technologies are your applications using? what levels of test planning and scripting skills will be required for each tool? what other tools may be necessary sooner or later? and, does your test tool vendor of choice market such complementary tools? And much, much more.

   "Automated Software Testing" guides readers through each step in the planning, selection, and implementation process to assure that automated software testing will be developed in a systematic manner.

   See the table of contents. You will find that for less than the cost of a testers time for two hours, your business will be investing in knowledge that will save perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of your applications.




3. This is one of THE books if you plan on implementing automated testing in your software shop. Covers everything from Lifecycle to tool evaluations to best practices. This one that is definitely on my "bookshelf on the go" that follows me to all projects. I especially appreciated the Appendix with real world stuff and references to tool manufacturers. Great work!



4. Unfortunately this book (like nearly all other books on software testing) does not teach you how to test software. Instead it only gives you information needed to manage software testing. And, like many other books of management, it is highly repetitive and redundant. For somebody needing compressed information this is the wrong book. I think it would be no big deal to reduce the number of pages to 50% and still deliver the same message. The exmamples given in the text read like from a psychology book, not like from a technical book. Despite my critique I have to admit that the annexes in the book can be highly valuable. Personally I liked best the review of the big number of test tools.



5. This book as far as I am concerned is best automation software testing book written ever.

5 comments about Beginning C# 2005 Databases: From Novice to Professional.

1. The author really explains in detail the in's and out's of dealing with databases from the C# perpective. Not only those he provides the same code which many books do, But he explains in detail what is happening behind the scene. He provides excellent examples of parallel access to the same data source through ADO.net, OleDB, and the old ODBC connections.



2. I got this book a few weeks ago. I try to jump start my leaning process of Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005.
   
   In fact, this book is a really good one. This book begins with step-by-step how to set up C# programming and database environment. I like this installation guide since I want to experiment with the exercises in this book and I want to do it right the first time. This book covers fundamental concepts of databases and related data access ADO.Net technology. The author explains very well the following concepts, connections, commands, data readers, data adapters, and data sets, etc. The diagrams in the book really help to understand the relationship between the concepts mentioned above. In addition, the author also includes topics such as transaction, xml, working with text and binary data, and LINQ.
   
   I do think the author should include the topic of CLR integration with SQL Server 2005. CLR integration allows you to create database objects including stored procedures, triggers, user-defined functions, UDTs, and aggregates, in ANY .Net languages. CLR provides much more power and flexibility than T-SQL. In addition, CLR integration has other great benefits too.
   
   Bottom line. It is a very good introductory book about ADO.Net, SQL, and C#. It is a good reference book for experienced professionals.



3. [...]In fact it gives a very clear and simple introduction to the very basics of database structure and querying with C#, but it doesn't go beyond that. It seems strange for a 500+ pages text , but most of the space is devoted to long explanations and especially to reprinting the same code over and over. What irritates me is also code formatting. In a mixed attempt to both produce more filler and to indulge on his love for encient poetry and verses the author uses this kind of formatting for basically any string he uses:
   // Set up connection string
   string connString = @"
   server = (local)\MYSERVER;
   integrated security = true;
   database = northwind
   ";
   // Set up query string
   string sql = @"
   select
   *
   from
   employees
   ";
   Now, is it really necessary to take 6 or 7 lines for a simple select query or a connection string? No if you are not writing the odissey I think.
   Compare for example the extremey compact style of David Sceppa in "[...]Core Reference" where he ha sthe opposite problems of crunching a lot of material in a single book.
   In conclusion, if you are really, really an absolute beginner who has no idea of what a table or a query is, and has never used any programming language to query a database, this book can still be useful notwithstanding the misleading title. [...]



4. Is has been awhile since I programmed with databases, so I was looking for a book to help me both refresh and advance my skill set. James Huddleston's "Beginning C# 2005 Databases, From Novice to Professional" is such a book. Having some former experience with DBs, the first 9 chapters are both a quick read and refresher. The "How It Works" were useful and very clear. The later chapters, especially 13 (Exceptions), 15 (Events), and 17 (XML) in relation to C#, were helpful. The last chapter offers a look into the future with LINQ. I would like to thank Mr. Huddleston for writing this book.



5. A good introduction to beginning databases in SQL Server Express edition. Some questions I had did go unanswered. Why would a desktop application use SQL Server express over say Microsoft Access? Are there concurrency issues with a team using SQL Server Express edition?
   
   Also, I would have liked if the author explained the connection string builders. I knew most of what the author was saying because I use OLEDB mostly, but wanted to get up to speed on SQL Server. I didn't learn much, however, if a beginner (i.e., someone who never used DataReaders, DataAdapters, etc..) got a hold of this I think it would be very useful.

5 comments about Software Product Lines: Practices and Patterns (SEI Series in Software Engineering).

1. If you have the concept of software product lines down, this is a great book, but if not you can easily get lost or confused, so it becomes difficult reading. If you want to explore software product lines, buy this book, then while you are waiting for the book to arrive read the website http://www.softwareproductlines.com to get up to speed on the concepts.

   Software product lines will become a must whether you develop enterprise software or embedded software. This is so much more than we ever discussed about software resue.....




2. simple to understand language. Nice diagrams and the content is really arranged in a nice way



3. This is the leading authority on Product Line Engineering (PLE). No other book comes close. This book breaks down the three PLE practice areas of Software Engineering, Technical Management, and Organizational Management and describes each in great detail. The book provides guidelines on each area and how to achieve institutionalization of your PLE process.
   
   The book has a great patterns catalog, Software Product Line Practice Patterns. The catalog includes The Essentials Coverage pattern, Each Asset pattern, Build pattern, Product Parts pattern, Assembly Line pattern, Monitor pattern, Product Builder pattern, Cold Start pattern, In Motion pattern, Process pattern, and Factory pattern.
   
   If you are involved with Product Line Engineering or Software Factories at all, this is a must have. You cannot do without it. If you aren't involved with Product Line Engineering or Software Factories, this is still a great read because it covers a process that should be implemented on every project. Implementing PLE makes a project reusable, predictable, maintainable, and manageable. Overall it adds measurable metrics to all the assets of a project.



4. This is a very good book on product line development. I learned a lot, especially in the area of design patterns and architectures. I would definitely recommend it.



5. This book is a wonderful compilation of academic and real world, practical views/implementations of software product lines. It's also a wonderful text to read just to ensure you have your current perspectives aligned with your overall goals (from base development & test all the way to C-level management of an organization).
   
   In an answer to a criticism of the book:
   
   Sure, the book does not go into detail about how to create a software product line... however, the book does mention WHY they excluded it: it is different on a line-by-line basis and, even then, on a company-by-company basis. You need to tailer such processes to fit your business strategies and goals and cannot begin development of a product line until you have some business objectives, etc. established. Sure, they drive each other, but many other things must be in place (as the book mentions) before you can start work on the actual product line. Once you have these things in place, your product line planning/creation should become relatively transparent.
   
   The academic examples/views are presented in base essay form with wonderful usage of references and insight into the comments made. The practical, real-world examples/views are provided in a side-bar format that allows you to easily absorb and see application of what you just read in an actual business realm.
   
   This book will get you thinking about any projects you are currently working on, future project and just how you perceive things in general. Sure, software/code reuse is important; but to what point can that be applied to an actual product line? Where do you start drawing lines? Where do you draw lines for general goals? What business management aspects must be taken into consideration vs. running a single product? All of those questions and more are included within and will give you a wonderful starting point to deriving answers that are relevant to your business.
   
   Don't come looking for answers, rather come looking for insight and staring points. What you can learn from this book can be easily applied to your software product line or to the development of a new product line. All you need to understand is that what you will be reading will help you understand and not overlook many aspects of the overall business plan.

5 comments about Digital Video and HDTV Algorithms and Interfaces (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics).

1. I was new to video and was looking for a good book and a colleague suggested this as comprehensive and easy to read book. Each chapter explains a single concept and is around 10 pages. Complexity of the subject matter gradually increases. I read one or two chapters in each sitting and took a month to complete.
   
   About back and forth references criticism: Author explains further concepts in few sentences whenever they occur. He also suggests the page numbers where more details are available. e.g. He mentions very early what resolution meant, and but refers to complete chapter on resolution. I did not need to back and forth, as the initial explanations were sufficient enough for reading the current chapter. I attempted to read few other books before this. I felt those books assumed few fundamentals and they were good reference manuals than introductory books. I had to google for few words even in the first chapters. On the other hand, this book is both introductory and also a mini reference.
   
   I recommend this book in the following order of importance.
   * If you are new computer video engineer, it is a must have book. Without reading it, it takes few months to understand the subject and you may have gaps in learning.
   * If you are a digital TV and video electronics engineer, it is good to have. It extends your knowledge and is a good reference to standards and compressions.
   * If you are moving from computer imaging background to video engineering, it is good to have. It explains concepts related to both graphics and video with similarities and contrasts and helps in easy migration.
   * If you are personal video maker and at the same time tech savvy person, it is good to read at least once. It gives good background picture and also explains every buzzword you hear in frys and online.
   * If you are general computer or electronics engineer, it is nice to have in your library.
   
   Missing details for computer video engineers are video file formats and container techniques.



2. I buy and read a lot of technical books--there are hundreds in my library--and this is one of the best in any field. An adequate technical book has to be accurate, reasonably organized, provide a good selection of material, and be understandable. A good book will engage your interest and impart general knowledge. But a truly great technical book will leave you with deep insights that make you smarter. This is one of those books.
   
   The text is lucid and the illustrations are uniformly excellent. I particularly like the layout, which leaves a column to the left of the main body text for references, notes and comments. The author deeply understands the material and conveys that knowledge beautifully. This is one of about 5 technical books I've ever come across that's hard to put down.
   
   A minor production nitpick is that the paper shear was was a bit dull when they cut my copy, leading to slightly rough edges on the left-side (even-numbered) pages, but it wasn't bad enough to exchange the book. Otherwise the binding and paper color and quality are top notch.



3. Not an easy read for beginners. If you are serious about video (i.e. work related), get this, it is recommended reading in the field.



4. This book is undoubtedly useful for any practicing video engineer and for anyone seeking to familiarize themselves with video standards and technology. It covers a broad range of topics under one cover. Depth is lacking in most parts, but then this book is not intended to be used for theoretical study. It is a handy guide to have at one's desk.
   
   My biggest and only complaint is about the way the material is presented, which, in my opinion, is highly unstructured and makes the book much more difficult to read than it needs to be. In almost every chapter, the author asks the reader to refer to the material in both future as well past chapters for details. As an example, the section on nonlinear image coding, on p.12, refers to the material in different chapters on pages, 197, 198, 203 and 257!
   
   Nonetheless, despite this writing flaw, the book is recommended.



5. This is a very useful book if you work in the HDTV industry. It is a handy tool for me, as it points out concepts that are rather new and not so easy to understand even for skilled engineers, like HDTV timing.

5 comments about Flash Math Creativity: Second Edition.

1. The book is great. I find the negative reviews puzzling because this book is like a $30 kit for a working spaceship, but you have to weld the wings on yourself. Big deal. What's wanting in so many Flash books are examples of the astonishing things you can do with Flash. This book shows what can be done, then hands you the code on a platter. I guess if you're more the designer type and you want to do great stuff using the math functions in Flash, you, um, er -- need to learn some math. But don't complain that every author hasn't lined up to correct your particular brand of ignorance. Read a book.



2. The Flash Math books are great. But not if you want an O'Reilly cookbook of answers to your design problems. It's all about inspiration. Being able to look at something and say "wow, that's so beautiful" and either need to make it yourself just on principal, or see that maybe one day you can use the idea yourself on all those practical things you're so worried about. If you get all juiced up creatively from the things you see around you, this is a perfect book. It's 4 instead of 5 because it doesn't come with a CD. But you can go to the website for the book and see things in action.
   
   That probably appealed to the left brain folks.
   
   For the right brain ones among you. No, this will not teach math. No it won't explain much in the math department at all. It does give the code, it allows you to experiment with what Flash will do, it might renew your interest in Flash. Kind of like watching one of the a-lister Flash kids talk at a Flash Forward conference, it might do that more than looking at a Hockney photo collage (both work for me). If you don't work that way, buy it and give it to one of your left brain Flash friends.
   
   It will be great fun for them, they will get to feel like they remember their math and are much better at it now. And it will make pretty things.



3. I appreciate the book and it helps to understand how to create nice animations by using maths.
   I think it needs more Classes writing and not only timeline.



4. This book is stunning visually and is just overflowing with inspiration. This is a book intended to show us what the Flash community has been able to come up in terms of creation and allows us to tinker around with the code. If you like to take a basic principle and see it evolve given enough time and interest, then this is the book for you. If you enjoy seeing "how" things function rather than "why" they work, you have the opportunity to tinker and toy with the variables to see exactly "how" it changes the overall look of the final piece. To get the most from this book the reader is expected to understand the basics of ActionScript as well as the techniques common in most projects. This is not intended to deter the beginner, as you will surely learn much.
   
   The book is laid out pretty straightforward. There are 15 chapters with each one dedicated to a certain individual who goes through each of his creations and iterations.Suggested reading by the people at "Friends of Ed" is to grab the source files, run them, and then read the chapters. Some of the source files are adequately commented so in some, the book isn't even needed. That is not to say, however, that this book is not necessary to understand what's going on. The book gives you quick insight to the authors' mindset and thinking, and each chapter begins with an overview of where they are from, what they do, how they have come to do this, and interests.
   
   There are actually two parts to the book. The second part consists of the last three chapters and has what you'd consider an "application" or an "engine" for viewing the creations and being able to manipulate them directly. The first part of the book is dedicated to finding a variable, which for the most part is explained in the book, changing it to your liking, viewing the results, and reviewing the code. At the end of the book there is a Tangents page which provides 54 links to explore.
   
   In case you are wondering where the math fits in, it's scattered throughout the book. However, sometimes, we are not presented with the reasons for using "128" for variable "p" to multiply by var "b" which has the value of "14". You may often be left scratching your head and asking why, but that isn't the point. Sine and Cosine are presented quite clearly in the first chapter and there is a terrific example from Gabriel Mulzer, but if you are looking to the find the mysteries behind using atan2 to get an angle, then this book will not answer that question. It is up to you to play the part of explorer to find those answers. You are presented with a wealth of methods that people use, inspiration for them, and experiments that the reader is encouraged to break. You are given a chance to use these methods to have fun and use them as springboards to access that creativity that lurks in each and every one of us.
   
   In conclusion, if you enjoy going through code with a fine toothed comb and if you want to pick up valuable techniques for doing certain things with Flash, as well as be dazzled by some of the innovators of our time, get the book. It is the perfect culmination of what Flash ActionScripting can do. I would show the table of contents at this point, but all of the chapters are named after the innovators themselves, and would provide little insight to the contents.



5. Though it's in ActionScript 2.0, this book is very good if you're into creating visualizations via programming (not only ActionScript). It shows the creative and logical process behind the code (I think that's much more important that the code itself). And it's also a beautiful book to add to your collection :-)
   
   And you can also download all the .fla used in the examples.