IT programming books related reviews
Title: Google Hacks
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Tara Calishain, Rael Dornfest
Rating: 5/5
Google is currently the most popular Internet search engine. While almost every Internet searcher is familiar with basics of Google searching, there's far more to Google than meets the eye. Google Hacks tells individual Web searchers and Web site programmers how to best take advantage of Google's tremendous amount of searching power and flexibility.The first three chapters (Searching Google, Google Special Services and Collections, and Third-Party Google Services) are targeted at the end user. They present a wealth of detail about how to access Google features most users didn't know about (myself included): wild cards, date range searches, spell checking, phone book, translations, and more. You'll learn Google has special directories of images, newsgroups, and mail-order catalogs. (I made sure to NOT tell my wife about the on-line catalog feature!)The balance of the book is for web site programmers. They get plenty of tips and tricks about how to incorporate Google search technology into their web sites. While many of the tips are not for novice web programmers, most intermediate webmasters can spruce up their sites with the tools presented in Google Hacks.The production quality is typical O'Reilly, and that means good! Clear screen shots, and crisp dark type make this read easy on the eyes.If you want to learn how to exploit Google searching, or want to add Google search features to your web site, Google Hacks 100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tools is a good place to begin the learning process.MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5<P
Title: Joe Celko's SQL for Smarties: Advanced SQL Programming (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems)
Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann
Authors: Joe Celko
Rating: 1/5
I know Joe Celko, because of his sense of humour.We are bored about teachers and professors having great theorical views and poor practises. Do you need to have a constant look over your car engine while driving ? If yes, you may cause many accident, and I would'nt come with you in your car !Designing databases and using it, are two different concepts and when the primer is well done the former will automatically be a simple matter of "how to" and not a "technic" reserved to high leveled engineers ! That is, I think, just the way Joe Celko try to teach SQL to us. That is the way I teach and practice SQL and I just want to have larger view about what SQL can do, and this book answer fully to my request !Thanks Joe for all your books about SQL and databases, you are just the writer that had miss in the many passed years...
Title: Pro SQL Server 2000 Database Design
Publisher: Apress
Authors: Louis Davidson
Rating: 4/5
How much do you already know about designing and implementing a SQL database? That is really two questions. The first refers to applying a well trodden theory of SQL design to your application. What tables should you conceptually extract? How should these be interrelated by judicious choice of primary and foreign keys? What are the germane attributes in each table? All these issues are explained by Davidson in the first part of the book. He goes well into discussing how to normalise data, and the numerous normal forms. He does this at a level independent of SQL Server. So even if your database is dB2 or Oracle or whatever, you should be able to profitably gain something from his teachings.But having designed your database, now comes having to implement it. The second part of the book. Here is the SQL Server specific material. The details specific to its implementation do matter. But you know what? A fair amount of the examples use mostly standard SQL commands. In your application, you should probably strive to do likewise, to the maximum extent possible. It minimises the amount of inevitable lockin to SQL Server. There are also sections in the second part that apply to any relational database. Like his description of best practices, in chapter 13.Davidson presents a useful balance between design and implementation. A favourable contrast to texts that predominently deal with only one aspect.
Title: Sams Teach Yourself PHP in 24 Hours, Third Edition
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Matt Zandstra
Rating: 5/5
I thought this was an excellent introduction to PHP programming. The author really covers a broad swath of PHP, with as much depth as 400 pages will allow. If you're looking for more depth, pick up a book that's meant to be more in depth; if you're looking for a clearer introductory text, you'll have a hard time finding ont. This book is clearly written, has good working examples, and is extremely well-organized. I have a few other PHP books lying around, but I still come back to this book as a reference almost every day.
Title: MySQL/PHP Database Applications
Publisher: Wiley
Authors: Jay Greenspan, Brad Bulger
Rating: 5/5
This book is just great to quickly get a grip of simple to intermediate applications using mySQL and the powerful "web language" PHP. This book is not for beginners in web development or programming, though. If you are a web programmer that really need serious in-depth knowledge about PHP og mySQL, this book is not for you either.
Title: SQL Tuning
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Dan Tow
Rating: 5/5
If you are a DBA or developer, working daily with databases that support SQL, you need this book. It covers in better detail than any other book I've seen, all the behind the scenes aspects of SQL. What happens when you join, union or correlate queries? How do you know you're hitting your indexes? What new indexes do you need? Unlike most IT reference books, this one should be read cover to cover but it holds up well as a quick reference on a topic as well. Together with O'Reilly's SQL pocket guide by Jonathan Gennick, you have a formidable tool for creating and refining good SQL statements.
Title: PHP: Your Visual Blueprint for Creating Open Source, Server-Side Content
Publisher: Visual
Authors: Paul Whitehead, Joel Desamero
Rating: 5/5
As an developer wanting to learn additional languages and distinguis between the syntax differences of web-coding languages, I was particularly happy to find a book that served as a true example-based reference guide. Ironically, I've not even "cracked" the CD packaging!Whether you need to install and configure Apache, install PHP or use it to code, install MySQL or use it in your PHP scripts, this book walks you through it all. There's even a handy comprehensive PHP functions reference in the back of the book. Personallly, I liked this book better than the one for dummies.I would definitely recommend this book for anyone wanting to know more about PHP.
Title: Transact-SQL Cookbook (O'Reilly Windows)
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Ales Spetic, Jonathan Gennick
Rating: 5/5
I've read this book and I'm recommending it to all my friends. This book contains concise explanations of many important topics. Anyone who would like to learn about the concepts should read it since it covers almost all levels of understanding from the overall picture to the nitty-gritty details of Transact-SQL. Examples are clear and well structured.
Not for beginners and probably not for hard-core gurus. For me, a programmer with no good mentor to learn from, this book is very useful. Overall, this book has everything you need to master TSQL programming on your own.
Title: SQL Server 7 Data Warehousing
Publisher: Osborne Publishing
Authors: Michael J. Corey, Michael Abbey, Ian Abramson, Larry Barnes, Benjamin Taub, Rajan Venkitachalam
Rating: 5/5
I found the book very informative and helpful. Specifically, the chapters on OLAP and Data Warehouse design were very beneficial. This book is an excellent resource for both IT staff and management when implementing Decision Support Systems on Sql Server 7.
Title: SQL Server 2000 Fast Answers for DBAs and Developers
Publisher: Glasshaus
Authors: Joseph Sack
Rating: 5/5
I found this book to be wonderfully helpful in all phases of SQL Server info . I am so happy to have this great reference in my library.

