IT programming books related reviews
Product: Book Paperback
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: 5/5
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: 5/5
I needed to link to this book for a blog entry, and I was looking for my review of this book when I realized I never wrote one. I can't believe it, since I use this book nearly once a week to jog my memory on some of the more esoteric SQL problems I need to solve.
I didn't find the math as challenging as others, and not because I have advanced mathematical skills (I don't). The set theory is fairly straightforward and actually simplified, attempting to re-orient your thinking away from procedural code and more towards discrete structures. Believe me, reading the original Chris Date papers or Dr. Codd research on database theory would represent real mathematical challenges.
As there are many kinds of readers with different skill levels, it's possible the book holds no suprises for some. However, as someone who has used it frequently, I can't say I've seen many errors or typos in it. I don't code the examples directly into my database, either, because I translate the concepts directly into actual work-related problems.
I've found it to be an essential guide for experienced SQL developers who are looking to keep learning in a practical manner, but intuit that there is something more to SQL than the mechanics of syntax. Really changing your thinking to set-based rather than procedural problem solving is what the book tries to achieve, and it succeeds. This text is an unqualified, solid recommendation for anyone looking to evolve into a senior SQL developer.
Fred
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Dreamweaver MX: PHP Web Development
Publisher: Peer Information
Authors: Bruno Mairlot, Gareth Downes-Powell, Tim Green
Rating: 1/5
Title: Dreamweaver MX: PHP Web Development
Publisher: Peer Information
Authors: Bruno Mairlot, Gareth Downes-Powell, Tim Green
Rating: 1/5
I haven't finished the book yet -- and probably won't. It is absolutely the most dreadful development/learning book I've come across yet (in almost 30 years of playing with computers). Some instructions are missing steps. Others are plain flat-out wrong. Finally, the authors make way too many assumptions about users' abilities and machine-specific setups. Do yourself a favor and find another book.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Php Fast & Easy Web Development (Fast & Easy Web Development)
Publisher: Premier Press
Authors: Julie C. Meloni
Rating: 1/5
Title: Php Fast & Easy Web Development (Fast & Easy Web Development)
Publisher: Premier Press
Authors: Julie C. Meloni
Rating: 1/5
I purchased this book to get a feel for PHP, and it did a great job. It is not real in-depth coverage of the language itself, but there are plenty of down and dirty examples of code and how to get things to work quickly. There is a section on installation and configuration, and it assumes that everything installs smoothly (no "what if this didn't work?"). If you have some specific things you want to do with PHP and don't want to learn the whole language right off the bat, this is a great place to start.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Professional SQL Server 2000 Programming
Publisher: Wrox
Authors: Robert Vieira
Rating: 1/5
Title: Professional SQL Server 2000 Programming
Publisher: Wrox
Authors: Robert Vieira
Rating: 1/5
If you need to understand the FUNDAMENTALS of SQL Server 2000 then read this book. Also if you are preparing for the MCP 70-229 exam, this book is a required read. Mr. Viera has done an excellent job.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: SQL Server The Complete Reference
Publisher: Osborne Publishing
Authors: Gayle Coffman
Rating: 3/5
Title: SQL Server The Complete Reference
Publisher: Osborne Publishing
Authors: Gayle Coffman
Rating: 3/5
This book is written for the user that is familiar with SQL server. It is especially focused on showing users of previous users of SQL Server what is different in SQL Server 7. Good reference manual
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP Fast & Easy Web Development, 2nd Edition
Publisher: Muska & Lipman/Premier-Trade
Authors: Julie C. Meloni
Rating: 5/5
Title: PHP Fast & Easy Web Development, 2nd Edition
Publisher: Muska & Lipman/Premier-Trade
Authors: Julie C. Meloni
Rating: 5/5
This book is an essential pre-requisite for those who want to learn PHP script for database project development. It goes over the basics and gives examples, however somewhat limit, to enhance the learning experience. I recommend this book for those with little programming background who want to learn to use PHP to interface with a MySQL database. Once you finish this book and practice a little, you will want to move on to a more intermediate reading such as PHP and MySQL Web Development by Luke Welling and Laura Thompson and/or Web Database Applications with PHP & MySQL by Hugh E. Williams, David Lane. This book gives you the essential background. The only down-side is the authors use screen shots to illustrate the code example which can be a little hard to read. All of the source code is however provided on the accompanying CD.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Official Guide to Mini SQL 2.0
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Authors: Brian Jepson, David J. Hughes
Rating: 3/5
Title: Official Guide to Mini SQL 2.0
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Authors: Brian Jepson, David J. Hughes
Rating: 3/5
Boy, was I glad when this book finally came out. Sure, there are mailing lists and discussion groups devoted to MiniSQL (aka mSQL), but what I really wanted was a well-edited, authoritative guide to the best nearly free SQL database implementation. "Official Guide to MiniSQL 2.0" is almost everything I was hoping for. It certainly is authoritative, given that mSQL's creator, David Hughes, is the coauthor. It's also comprehensive, covering not only what mSQL can do but also, and more importantly for practical purposes, how you can interface with mSQL via Java, Perl, and other languages by using existing APIs. The downside to that breadth of coverage, however, is fewer examples of complete database applications. Ironically, mSQL doesn't really need the in-depth coverage as much as do the various APIs (from MsqlPerl to DBD::mSQL). Nevertheless, "Offical Guide to MiniSQL 2.0" is an indispensable resource for anyone using or considering MiniSQL.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: MCSE: SQL Server 2000 Design Study Guide (Exam 70-229)
Publisher: Sybex
Authors: Marc Israel, J. Steven Jones, Marc Israel, Steve Jones
Rating: 4/5
Title: MCSE: SQL Server 2000 Design Study Guide (Exam 70-229)
Publisher: Sybex
Authors: Marc Israel, J. Steven Jones, Marc Israel, Steve Jones
Rating: 4/5
This book was a good way to start studying for the exam. After finishing the book you are almost ready.Maybe the following areas wasn't completly covered:Cursors (it is foccused on T-SQL syntax, other books will describe ADO and ODBC cursors as well).The topic Retrieve, filter, group, summarize, and modify data by using Transact-SQL requires even more examples and more questions. This is a huge topic.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP Essentials
Publisher: Muska & Lipman/Premier-Trade
Authors: Julie C. Meloni
Rating: 2/5
Title: PHP Essentials
Publisher: Muska & Lipman/Premier-Trade
Authors: Julie C. Meloni
Rating: 2/5
This book is a poor introduction to php / mysql.The way to programming proficiency is to understand small and simple scripts and use the lessons learnt to build your own programs. This book however gives pages of ready built scripts that take an age to work through and are too long to see easily (and I've built commercial sized php sites.)However, far worse than that is the omission of functions. It is simply impossible to ever progress at programming without understanding functions and this book doesn't even mention them.Get "PHP and MySQL Web Development -- by Luke Welling, Laura Thomson" instead. This is an excellent book, even if you are a beginner - it will give you a solid foundation in php and mysql as well as teach you sound programming techniques.Beginners may find it useful, but only on the understanding that you'll soon need another book.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Programming PHP
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Rasmus Lerdorf, Kevin Tatroe
Rating: 5/5
Title: Programming PHP
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Rasmus Lerdorf, Kevin Tatroe
Rating: 5/5
It sure tries to teach you something but cannot achieve...
As everyone mentioned before, it has countless errors and typos. But there is more than that. Book is out of focus. Examples makes no sense and not related to each other, which is very confusing.
A piece of code here and other piece is there. Every example is coming out of nowhere. It doesn't have a project. So everytime different variables, situations. Like, in one example it uses Flintstones character names ($name=Fred, $name2 = fred etc.). Next example is subjects of a class (math, science, history, english etc.), on other one it uses very random strings like ("I like paris in november", "the key is in my pants")
If you want to learn PHP, stick with "PHP and MySQL Web Development, Second Edition" By Luke Welling, Laura Thompson.
