IT programming books related reviews
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Apache: the Definitive Guide (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Ben Laurie, Peter Laurie
Rating: 5/5
Title: Apache: the Definitive Guide (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Ben Laurie, Peter Laurie
Rating: 5/5
This book answered all of my questions about setting up access controls and customizing the directory listings.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: MySQL/PHP Database Applications
Publisher: Wiley
Authors: Jay Greenspan, Brad Bulger
Rating: 5/5
Title: MySQL/PHP Database Applications
Publisher: Wiley
Authors: Jay Greenspan, Brad Bulger
Rating: 5/5
I probably should have taken more notice of the Reader Level on the back of this book, which lists "Intermediate to Advanced". Unfortunately it was the only book available at the time that seemed to cover both PHP and mySql, so I went ahead and bought it.I've bought coding/scripting books in the past for "beginner" levels and found myself screaming through the book at 10 pages a minute, and ending up not learning much at all, hence I wasn't too concerned about the level listed for this book.In hindsight, this was pretty stupid. I'm halfway through this book and my head is spinning. I don't think i've taken in a single thing so far, or nothing I could replicate anyway. I was hoping that once I got to the coding examples, i'd start to pick things up. Unfortunately, the author doesn't take you through the creation of the scripts, rather presenting the finished script on the CD for analysis.Anyway, i'm about to head out and buy a book aimed at the PHP beginner level, hopefully PHP Essentials by Julie Meloni, or PHP Fast and Easy Web Development, also by Meloni.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP Certification Study Guide
Publisher: Sams Rating: 4/5
Title: PHP Certification Study Guide
Publisher: Sams Rating: 4/5
This book albeit different from what I was expecting, did live up to other expectations that I had prior to reading. I was expecting a high quality, in-depth book that was written by those with real php knowledge, as well as some examples of snippets in action. These were fulfilled, with Zend PHP Certification having very in-depth chapters, relative to the sections which are covered in the "PHP Exam."Zend PHP Certification is as its title suggests; it is a practice guide for the "PHP Exam" not a guide for those who are new to php. It is a thorough guide to php, starting a chapter with the basics, then moving up to the advanced scripts which can be compiled using that code. I believe it is a must for those serious about their php coding.I believe some areas of the book could have done with more explanation, but this in its rights, maybe because I am still relatively new to php.Zend PHP Certification is a great guide and once again, I strongly recommend it to those who are serious about, or want to take their php seriously.
-Vercz-
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: MCAD/MCSE/MCDBA Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Database Design and Implementation, Exam 70-229, Second Edition
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Microsoft Corporation, Microsoft Corporation
Rating: 5/5
Title: MCAD/MCSE/MCDBA Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Database Design and Implementation, Exam 70-229, Second Edition
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Microsoft Corporation, Microsoft Corporation
Rating: 5/5
I was not pleased with the contents of this book in terms of sloppy editing and in the paltry treatment of important topics. Those of us in pursuit of the MCP or MCDBA will have to augment this book and what we take from this book with other more complex books dealing with design and implementation. Do be prepared to purchase additional books on T-SQL programming and do be prepared to purchase real exam prep software.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Writing Apache Modules with Perl and C
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Lincoln Stein, Doug MacEachern
Rating: 5/5
Title: Writing Apache Modules with Perl and C
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Lincoln Stein, Doug MacEachern
Rating: 5/5
This is primarily *the* mod_perl book. While mod_perl is very powerful and puts the full resources of Apache at your fingertips, you first need to know what the full resources of Apache *are*. This book does a great job of breaking down the steps of a request, outlining what you can and cannot do at each step, and providing examples of anything that's tricky.Definitely not a book for beginners, but if you're familiar with Perl and CGI and willing to learn, you've have a great toolkit you can use on Unix and Win32 systems.Both authors contribute regularly to the mod_perl mailing list (see http://perl.apache.org/) and are fantastically helpful to even novices like me. People like them make the Internet work.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Oracle9i PL/SQL Programming
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Authors: Scott Urman
Rating: 2/5
Title: Oracle9i PL/SQL Programming
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Authors: Scott Urman
Rating: 2/5
This is a pretty decent book with plenty of advanced topics. Other than the fact that not all the advanced topics were covered I'm pretty happy with this edition.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: A First Look at Microsoft SQL Server 2005 for Developers
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Authors: Bob Beauchemin, Niels Berglund, Dan Sullivan
Rating: 4/5
Title: A First Look at Microsoft SQL Server 2005 for Developers
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Authors: Bob Beauchemin, Niels Berglund, Dan Sullivan
Rating: 4/5
Databases are at the core of most software projects these days and there is a fair amount of competition between software vendors for a bigger share of a lucrative market. However, it would be fair to say that only DBAs really know what their database servers are capable of and maybe only half of them really everything that their software can do. One of the biggest arguments for this First Look At SQL Server 2005 book then is as a prospectus for all the developer-related features and functional nooks and crannies that the next incarnation of SQL Server (codename 'Yukon') will contain.
Split over seventeen chapters and two appendices, this very thorough book covers the ins and outs of four main topics - SQL Server as a CLR host, XML, enhancements to the existing features of SQL Server 2000 and notification services - that should be of interest to developers looking forward to a world of Whidbey and Yukon. Topics such as security and XQuery aren't exhaustive - they'd each take up a book on their own - but all the main points within the context of this book are covered. Indeed, with the exception of Chapter 14, which covers a feature since removed from SQL Server 2005 but is well written anyway, each chapter is clean, concise and packed with useful information.
The author team of three have produced a book that at times goes as deep into detail as Don Box's Essential .NET does while treating 'lighter' topics such as Microsoft's new enhancements to T-SQL, in no less detail but in an easier to read style. The main focus of this book are the new opportunities for developers to utilize Yukon but administrators can also take a lot away from this book having been made aware of areas that developers may focus on. In all, this is an excellent preview book on developing with SQL Server 2005 in mind and should be kept around until the revised version comes out for the actual release of this new database.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2000 Administrator's Pocket Consultant (It-Administrator's Pocket Consultant)
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: William R. Stanek
Rating: 5/5
Title: Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2000 Administrator's Pocket Consultant (It-Administrator's Pocket Consultant)
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: William R. Stanek
Rating: 5/5
I haven't found a better book for sql admins. This book is extremely informative. I worked for a year with SQL 7 and have been studying and working with SQL Server 2000 for a year and a half. I passed Exam 70-228 in large part due to what I learned from this book. If you are looking for a how-to book that shows just exactly how to accomplish tasks associated with creating and maintaining SQL 2000 this book is for you. This is an excellent book if you want to understand how SQL Server 2000 works as well.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Learning Oracle PL/SQL
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Bill Pribyl
Rating: 4/5
Title: Learning Oracle PL/SQL
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Bill Pribyl
Rating: 4/5
Though by the time this book came out, I've become an intermediate PL/SQL guru, I decided to buy it anyway, just to read it and perhaps maybe gain some insight that may have been overlooked in the original "bible" Oracle PL/SQL Programming, 2nd. Ed.The book is concise with one and only one project example to lead you through all the PL/SQL constructs and when and why they are used. For me, I skimmed through it but did find help on "overloading" in packages which isn't discuss since it is a "beginner's" book.Kudos to Bill and Steve for a great book. I can add it to my library of Oracle based O'Reilly publishing books.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP and MySQL Web Development
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Luke Welling, Laura Thomson
Rating: 5/5
Title: PHP and MySQL Web Development
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Luke Welling, Laura Thomson
Rating: 5/5
This is not only the best PHP / MySQL book I have found, it may be the best web development book as well. Clear, concise, easy to use and find info and.... MIRACULOUSLY - all of the examples work even though it is from the publisher it is from.
If you need just the quick info to get up and running or if you have been tasked with building a complete site - this book is the place to start. I find myself using it all the time and only referring to other books I have for quick reference or EXTREMELY advanced tasks.
