IT programming books related reviews
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Professional PHP4 XML
Publisher: Peer Information
Authors: Luis Argerich, Chris Lea, Ken Egervari, Matt Anton, Chris Hubbard, James Fuller, Charlie Killian
Rating: 5/5
Title: Professional PHP4 XML
Publisher: Peer Information
Authors: Luis Argerich, Chris Lea, Ken Egervari, Matt Anton, Chris Hubbard, James Fuller, Charlie Killian
Rating: 5/5
If you want to learn how to use PHP and XML this is the book. I have several others but this is the one that shows you how to do it with real life code exammples.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Official Guide to Mini SQL 2.0
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Authors: Brian Jepson, David J. Hughes
Rating: 1/5
Title: Official Guide to Mini SQL 2.0
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Authors: Brian Jepson, David J. Hughes
Rating: 1/5
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 Textbook Binding
Title: McSe: SQL Server 7 Database Design (The Training Guide Series)
Publisher: New Riders Publishing
Authors: David Besch, Sean Baird, Chris Miller, Denis Darveau, Wayne Smith, Deanna Townsend
Rating: 3/5
Title: McSe: SQL Server 7 Database Design (The Training Guide Series)
Publisher: New Riders Publishing
Authors: David Besch, Sean Baird, Chris Miller, Denis Darveau, Wayne Smith, Deanna Townsend
Rating: 3/5
This book covers the important areas of the exam and is certainly worth purchasing as a study aid - however rely more on plenty of hands on experience to pass. The tests within the book and on the CD-Rom were OK but don't expect them to strongly resemble the actual exam. They also contain a number of errors.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: The Guru's Guide to SQL Server Stored Procedures, XML, and HTML (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Authors: Ken Henderson
Rating: 5/5
Title: The Guru's Guide to SQL Server Stored Procedures, XML, and HTML (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Authors: Ken Henderson
Rating: 5/5
When I ordered this one, I didn't know what to expect in terms of SQLXML coverage. I mean, for all I knew there might just be enough about SQLXML in the book to help sell the book. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. This is the best, most thorough coverage of SQLXML I've seen. It even covers Web Release 1 (which was apparently still being beta tested when it was written). The SQLXML chapters start with an intro to XML itself and a tour through all its basic syntax. I've never seen a better, more concise, easier to read "getting started" tutorial on XML. It's better than that found in many books dedicated to XML. I felt right at home in the language in just a few minutes.Next, the book tours OPENXML(), URL queries, updategrams, XML bulk load, FOR XML, and the various other elements of SQLXML separately. The examples are thorough and well thought out. If you can read, you can follow this material. And when you get done, you'll know a heck of a lot more about SQLXML than when you started.I was concerned that a book that also covered stored procedures and HTML might slight on the XML coverage, but the opposite is true. The coverage of the other topics in the book provides a solid foundation for the SQLXML. It all inter-relates.This is one fine piece of work. Henderson has done it again. Buy this book if you want to know SQLXML like the gurus do.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Php Developer's Dictionary
Publisher: Sams
Authors: R. Allen Wyke, Michael J. Walker, Robert M. Cox
Rating: 3/5
Title: Php Developer's Dictionary
Publisher: Sams
Authors: R. Allen Wyke, Michael J. Walker, Robert M. Cox
Rating: 3/5
Nothing too spectacular here. Basically it is the manual from PHP.net reworded a bit and put in a book. What really disappointed me was that I could find no reference at all to the manual on PHP.net. I really thought they should have included some type of mention in the Acknowledgements section.On to the book. They do provide a brief introduction to PHP. It is exactly that, brief. It is not meant to be exhaustive as this book is a reference book, not a tutorial.Before I got this book, I exclusively used the PHP.net manual to look up functions and such. When I got this book, I really didn't think it would be of any use. I have found, however, that by keeping it right there on the desk I do look things up in it. Sometimes it just feels better to look something up in a good old paper book. It is also nice to be able to have the page open and glance back at your code to compare syntax.Would I recommend this book? It all depends what you plan to use it for. The manual will definitely suffice and will be more current. But, if you are just itching to get a PHP reference manual in a hard copy, this is your choice.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: MCSE Training Kit : Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Database Design and Implementation (Exam 70-229)
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Microsoft Corporation
Rating: 2/5
Title: MCSE Training Kit : Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Database Design and Implementation (Exam 70-229)
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Microsoft Corporation
Rating: 2/5
if you are a SQL developer and you want to pass the exam just read this book with some practice test like selftestsoftware and you will pass the exam,this book is really informative telling you what you want to know (even if you are a SQL developer),i don't know why other reviews didn't like the book(maybe they didn't get the practice test with the book),this is the only book prepare you for the exam.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP Certification Study Guide
Publisher: Sams Rating: 5/5
Title: PHP Certification Study Guide
Publisher: Sams Rating: 5/5
Zend PHP Certification Study Guide Written by: Rhonda Mize-Tinch, Shelley Johnston, Damon Jordan and George E. Nedeff
The "Zend PHP Certification Guide" from Zend Technologies is the perfect companion for any PHP programmer who is either aiming to sit the PHP Certification, or simply wants to have an excellent tour through the major constituents of PHP. This shouldn't be mistaken for neither a complete reference of PHP nor a beginner's guide to PHP. The introduction of the guide emphasises this point: "...this book is not a PHP development tutorial...Our goal in developing the guide is to provide you with a study aid" It is crucial to make this clear, however it certainly shouldn't be considered a black mark - I'll come back to that later.
This book from Zend is clearly designed for a programmer who will be sitting the exam sometime soon. Because of this, the book does not focus on the new aspect of PHP 5. However it does provide an excellent layout which focuses your attention on exactly what you're going to be asked about. The beginning of each chapter contains a list of "Terms you'll need to understand" - these are the core learning points of the chapter which provides an excellent checklist before you sit the exam. There is also a list of "Techniques you'll need to master" which outlines the practical skills you should have after you read that chapter. To ensure you understand what has been discussed, there are numerous "Exam prep questions" at the end of the chapter, which show you examples of questions you are likely to be asked. Detailed answers are provided to the questions, showing you why the other choices are incorrect.
The "Zend PHP Certification Guide" is written by the experts of the PHP exam, the people who created it. Because of this it is the only book available which deals with exactly what is covered. The book is laid out over 13 main chapters, 12 of which deal with PHP and a final chapter which explains the format of the exam. Each of the first 12 chapters contains clear code listings which are often taken from real life examples. An explanation of the code then follows, illustrating the good and/or the bad points of that method. These chapters also include common pitfalls and show how to avoid making coding mistakes. Easy to follow figures and tables have been used throughout the book to help make topics easier to understand. The 13th chapter contains valuable information for candidates, and uses excellent screenshots of how the exam is structured. This final chapter has priceless advice on how to tackle sitting the exam, and how to avoid a resit. A further 18 exam questions can the be attempted using any topic included in the book. These are excellent to uncover areas of difficulty or certain chapters which may need to be rechecked before sitting the exam. An in-depth glossary and index make finding specific topics very simple - making the whole book one which is worthy of the name "Zend".
While it is the main purpose of the book to ensure the exam is covered, this doesn't need to be the sole reasoning behind its purchase. The "Zend PHP Certification Guide" includes extremely useful advice, reminders and maybe even a few things you haven't yet discovered. Some other PHP books either try to crush in the entire PHP manual or are too busy focusing on basics for beginners. This guide, however, focuses on highlighting parts of code which are most likely to be used daily by PHP programmers. The book does move fast though, and someone who has never wrote PHP before may find it a little thin when explaining the basics. There is no doubt that the "Zend PHP Certification Guide" is an invaluable book for anyone looking to get certified. Code, questions and technique are all covered in this guide, written by the people who know more about the exam than anyone else. The study guide is also useful for PHP coders who simply want to sharpen their knowledge of PHP. An excellent overall guide, something we'd expect from Zend - The PHP Company.
-Vulture-
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Administrator's Companion (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Marcilina Garcia, Jamie Reding, Edward Whalen, Steve Adrien DeLuca
Rating: 5/5
Title: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Administrator's Companion (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Marcilina Garcia, Jamie Reding, Edward Whalen, Steve Adrien DeLuca
Rating: 5/5
If you want to dig into SQL 2000, you have to have this book.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Apache: the Definitive Guide (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Ben Laurie, Peter Laurie
Rating: 2/5
Title: Apache: the Definitive Guide (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Ben Laurie, Peter Laurie
Rating: 2/5
If you've used Apache without even reading about any detailed configurations, you'd still not see anything new in this book. I can see this book being a little useful for beginners, but even then, it's not really getting into very detailed information about the configurations and whatnot for module installs/additions. I can see someone new still getting frustrated with this book if they run into a problem.I picked it up, well, because I buy every O'Reilly book that comes out (seriously) and thought I might be able to find something interesting, useful or that I wasn't aware of or forgot... maybe even a little tip about efficiency, compiling options or just anything of interest.This is no more useful than the README and INSTALL files that come with Apache's source code. I'm not sure I want to even give this two stars come to think of it. I just don't see the point to this book. A let down coming from O'Reilly.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Oracle SQL : Jumpstart with Examples
Publisher: Digital Press
Authors: Gavin JT Powell, Carol McCullough-Dieter
Rating: 5/5
Title: Oracle SQL : Jumpstart with Examples
Publisher: Digital Press
Authors: Gavin JT Powell, Carol McCullough-Dieter
Rating: 5/5
I recently purchased Gavin Powell's Exam Cram Title which I thought was an excellent product. Because I still needed help with SQL because I was a newbee, I purchased his Oracle SQL: Jumpstart with Examples. With his clear, easily understandable writing, Mr. Powell has a gift for making some very difficult concepts within the scope of the reader with an average intelligence. He also provides excellent examples.
