IT programming books related reviews
Product: Book Paperback
Title: The Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Performance Optimization and Tuning Handbook
Publisher: Digital Press
Authors: Ken England
Rating: 5/5
Title: The Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Performance Optimization and Tuning Handbook
Publisher: Digital Press
Authors: Ken England
Rating: 5/5
I would say this this is one of my favorite SQL Server books and I have alot. If you want plain english internals, query optimization, information on locking and the things to think about when you are designing a new system or improving an old one, then Ken England has the book for you. I agree with another reader that this book reads like Ken is in the room talking to you. What is my favorite part...the part on the default data cache which if you are a Sybase DBA or a guy from way back this is something that they teach you right away and you would configure yourself along with the stored procedure cache. In SQL 2000 they are integrated and have been for a while but Ken does a real nice job of explaining them so that you can understand the need for memory how things come in and out of memory etc. I also like how he gets you to ask yourself the same questions that he asks himself, " Is this going to cause a locking problem in the future." I would say that If you want a book that is down and dirty to the point for every DBA to learn about and understand sql server and how to optimize it, look no further all of the essentials that you wished that you had known years ago are here. While there are other good authors out there like, Kalen Delaney, Rob Vieira, Mike Otey, Ken Henderson, etc.. This book is in the catagory of.. You need to have it and know everything in it. Any DBA worth their weight would own this book.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Core PHP Programming: Using PHP to Build Dynamic Web Sites (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Pearson Education
Authors: Leon Atkinson
Rating: 1/5
Title: Core PHP Programming: Using PHP to Build Dynamic Web Sites (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Pearson Education
Authors: Leon Atkinson
Rating: 1/5
The index in this book is appalling. The index is 95% function listings. How do I do search and replace on strings? If I don't know the name of the function that does it (the very reason I checked the book), then I'm out of luck.Also amusing is the egregious cut'n'paste error on the page explaining the CD-ROM, where they refer to the licensing for the Core Java Web Server CD-ROM. Ooops!
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Professional PHP Programming
Publisher:
Authors: Jesus Castagnetto, Sascha Schumann, Harish Rawat, Chris Scollo, Deepak T. Veliath
Rating: 5/5
Title: Professional PHP Programming
Publisher:
Authors: Jesus Castagnetto, Sascha Schumann, Harish Rawat, Chris Scollo, Deepak T. Veliath
Rating: 5/5
As an experienced programmer, I found this book really frustrating. While it covers lots of other web-related subjects like SQL, LDAP, XML, etc., there's *no* reference manual, and no formal description of the language. If you have a very precise question (e.g.: how do you pass arguments by reference), you have to look at all the examples. Well, some useful information can be found, but you really have to look hard. What's more, the indexing is a joke.No, the title is a con. This is not a book for professionals. A more appropriate title would have been: "Building Web-Enabled Applications for Beginners" or something like that. It's not a bad book per se, but it is aimed at beginners and the title and the publisher's description fooled me into buying it.Experienced developers, stay away from this book!
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Oracle SQL Interactive Workbook (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR
Authors: Alice Rischert
Rating: 1/5
Title: Oracle SQL Interactive Workbook (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR
Authors: Alice Rischert
Rating: 1/5
If you want to learn Oracle SQL, then go ahead and buy this book. The learning modules are short and bite-sized which facilitates the learning process. The best aspect of this program is the hands-on learning process. When you finish this program you will indeed know Oracle SQL. This is the best book available for learning Oracle SQL.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2000 Programming Step by Step
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Rebecca Riordan
Rating: 5/5
Title: Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2000 Programming Step by Step
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Rebecca Riordan
Rating: 5/5
Any time someone writes a great book, you're always tempted to wonder if it was just dumb luck. But Rebecca has once again proven that she can not only use an effective writing style to get a message across. She can also leverage her vast knowledge of databases and the SQL Server product to produce a compelling way to get people into the product.I usually do not get excited about "step by step" books, but I made a promise to myself that I would look at this one. In the end I could not put it down until I had gone all the way through it. Her command of not just the subject matter but of the book's target audience and how to keep them interested and entertained while they are learning truly stunning. By the end of the book, you will know more than most of the people who claim to be SQL Server experts, but you will have learned most of under anesthesia since the pace of the book is not too daunting at all.Kudos to Rebecca! Her first book gave people the knowledge of how to design databases properly, and now her second book will take you through the important information about the world's most compelling database product!
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Beginning Visual Basic SQL Server 7.0
Publisher: Wrox Press
Authors: Thearon Willis
Rating: 5/5
Title: Beginning Visual Basic SQL Server 7.0
Publisher: Wrox Press
Authors: Thearon Willis
Rating: 5/5
The title of the book is not beginning visual basic, it is beginning visual basic sql server 7. If people are looking for a book to learn visual basic, do not look here. If you are look for the best introduction to sql server and vb programming, then GET THIS BOOK! The examples are well thought out and are actually practical! The author does actually normalize the intro database correctly as you could have both husband and wife (ie, same address) in the database. this book is the best intro to sql server there is!
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Google Hacks
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Tara Calishain, Rael Dornfest
Rating: 5/5
Title: Google Hacks
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Tara Calishain, Rael Dornfest
Rating: 5/5
Few of today's web-savvy would contest Google's superiority among search engines. Behind the austere and simple interface lies a wealth of information just waiting to be tapped. Until now however, tapping all that information and power would likely require scanning dozens of websites hunting down tips for making the most out of Google. Fortunately, Tara Calishain, Rael Dornfest and their colleagues have done most of the legwork for us in O'Reilly's Google Hacks.Google Hacks is another in O'Reilly's Hacks series, "Industrial Strength Tips and Tools". In this case, 100 recipes for just about every imaginable use for Google. O'Reilly uses the term 'hack' in a positive way, meaning a clever technical feat or trick, as opposed to the negative connotation associated with those blackhats who break into computer systems for fun and for profit. Each "hack" is a stand-alone recipe demonstrating some aspect of using Google to find just what you're looking for. Most hacks also contain cross-references to other relevant hacks in the book, so you really don't have to read it from cover to cover. You could start with whatever interests you, and go from there.The book is divided into several chapters, each of which contains several hacks. The first few chapters are targeted at the general end-user, describing in detail all of the various syntaxes you can use when searching with Google, as well as introducing the various topical collections (U.S. government, Linux, Mac, etc.), and other tools (Google Groups, Google News, etc.,) available. The authors are careful to point out where the various syntax pieces are incompatible, and which syntax features are available with which services. Also covered are various tools you can use to (legally) 'scrape' Google search results for further analysis. These chapters will be useful for just about anyone who uses Google. Some of the material (such as directly manipulating URLS to tweak search results and custom HTML forms) may be beyond the reach of some newbies. A general understanding of URLs, HTML and CGI scripting will be helpful in making use of most of the book.The next few chapters are targeted more to developers and propeller-heads, describing the Google Web Service API, as well as providing dozens of scripts (mostly in Perl) for manipulating Google's index via its XML interface. Newbies and the casual user might find all this a bit overwhelming, but anyone with a Perl interpreter could potentially use these scripts to their advantage. One chapter also provides examples of using the API in various other languages including PHP, Java, Python, C#/.NET, and VB.NET. There are enough examples here of using the API in various fashions to get anyone with a sense of programming plenty of starting off points for whatever project they may imagine with Google's wealth of information.The next to last chapter involves a handful of pranks, games, other oddities you can do with Google. Fool your friends with 0-result searches, let Google write poetry or a recipe for you. Draw pictures with Google Groups, or see just how good you are at Google-Whacking. This is the chapter for all of you who have way too much time on your hands ;-).The last chapter in the book is targeted towards webmasters and offers several tips not only on getting your website well-placed in Google's search rankings, but also general help on getting traffic to your site in the first place. The authors also discuss strategies for using Google's AdWords system to the advantage of your business.Overall, the book is very readable, and easy to move through (well, for a geek anyways). Each hack is self-contained, and can be read in a few minutes. Read it near your computer, as you'll likely be wanting to try some of these hacks out as you read them. As for its usefulness, I'm already using things I learned in the book on a regular basis to my daily advantage. However, if you're not more than a casual user of Google, all the scripts and API-speak might be overkill for your needs. The first few and last chapters probably justify the Amazon price for most users, however.The book isn't perfect, though. I did find a few typographical errors scattered through the text, but they weren't prevalent enough to be too distracting. Also, with coverage of such a moving target as a major Internet property like Google, there will likely be links and even certain hacks that may not work, and features that change with time. Finally, the idea of narrowing down your search results to a manageable number surfaces often. In my opinion, what's important is not so much how many search results are found, but rather, whether or not Google can get me what I'm looking for within the first page or two of results, which it usually does, and which is why I use Google in the first place. The real value of the book shows itself on those occasions where Google doesn't necessarily get you where you want to be on the first shot.In summary, true to its cover graphic, Google Hacks will provide you with a large number of tools to get the most out of Google, whether for serious research, casual browsing, procrastination activities, or just plain old fun.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: Data Mining with Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Technical Reference
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Claude Seidman
Rating: 2/5
Title: Data Mining with Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Technical Reference
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Claude Seidman
Rating: 2/5
I always look for Seidman's contributions in SQL magazines and at conferences since he always has something interesting and innovative to say that is fuelled by his depth of knowledge of the subject. What's more he has a great knack of presenting complicated (and sometimes, let's face it, not very exciting) concepts in a way that makes them easy to understand and in contexts that anyone can relate to. In particular his style is reminiscient of Roger Sessions (Com+ and the Battle for the Middle Tier, etc) minus the cynicism but with equal enthusiasm. No book can be all things to all people, but this is an excellent introduction to the world of Data mining and the power behind SQL200's implementation of it. I would recommend it to anyone looking to discover those hidden trends and patterns in their data, exploit them and become their CFO's best friend.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP 5 / MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner
Publisher: Muska & Lipman/Premier-Trade
Authors: Andy Harris
Rating: 3/5
Title: PHP 5 / MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner
Publisher: Muska & Lipman/Premier-Trade
Authors: Andy Harris
Rating: 3/5
The author Andy Harris comes across as a very nice guy in this book and he really is trying hard to think on a beginner level, but this book simply is not designed for someone with no programming experience. I have gone through many PHP books (as well as other programming language books) labeled "beginner" and it seems that none are able to truly grasp what a newbie to programming is going through. I ran into several errors in the book and, alas, there is no accompanament website that lists errata. NEVER purchase a book that does not have a frequently updated accopanying website.
There are some good things that you can pick up from this book, but if you rely on it for your sole introduction to PHP than you will go insane. I recommend finding a programming mentor -either in real life or online- and searching for peices of the puzzle on the internet. A great place to start is simply www.PHP.net.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: McSe Readiness Review Exam 70-029: Designing and Implementing Databases With Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 (Mcse Readiness Review)
Publisher: Microsoft Pr
Authors: Robert Sheldon
Rating: 4/5
Title: McSe Readiness Review Exam 70-029: Designing and Implementing Databases With Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 (Mcse Readiness Review)
Publisher: Microsoft Pr
Authors: Robert Sheldon
Rating: 4/5
I found this book very useful to prepare for the certification exam. It was on target and no time was wasted by spending it on useless information. I would recommend it highly to prepare for the certification exam.
