IT programming books related reviews
Product:
Title:
Publisher: Rating: 5/5
Title:
Publisher: Rating: 5/5
If you are new or want to learn Oracle PL/SQL get this book, it will not fail you. This book is excellent at displaying the how and why of using procedural language and SQL together. This book will carry you from the basics to the interediate level, and will give you coding insight in using other various Oracle tools like Developer 2000.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP Pocket Reference, 2nd Edition
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Rasmus Lerdorf
Rating: 2/5
Title: PHP Pocket Reference, 2nd Edition
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Rasmus Lerdorf
Rating: 2/5
Everythig in this book can be found at PHP.net
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Professional Oracle 8i Application Programming with Java, PL/SQL and XML
Publisher: Wrox Press
Authors: Michael Awai, Matthew Bortniker, John Carnell, Kelly Cox, Daniel O'Connor, Mario Zucca, Sean Dillon, Thomas Kyte, Ann Horton, Frank Hubeny, Glenn E. Mitchell II, Kevin Mukhar, Gary Nicol, Guy Ruth Hammond
Rating: 3/5
Title: Professional Oracle 8i Application Programming with Java, PL/SQL and XML
Publisher: Wrox Press
Authors: Michael Awai, Matthew Bortniker, John Carnell, Kelly Cox, Daniel O'Connor, Mario Zucca, Sean Dillon, Thomas Kyte, Ann Horton, Frank Hubeny, Glenn E. Mitchell II, Kevin Mukhar, Gary Nicol, Guy Ruth Hammond
Rating: 3/5
Good book, but goes more detail into
tools provided by Oracle. If you will be using
only oracle tools, this is a good book.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP Cookbook
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: David Sklar, Adam Trachtenberg
Rating: 4/5
Title: PHP Cookbook
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: David Sklar, Adam Trachtenberg
Rating: 4/5
I have been programming PHP for a couple of years, and have lots of books on the subject. IMHO, I felt like this book serves the role of a "cookbook" very nicely. The contents are organized by language function via chapters (i.e. strings, numbers, arrays, regex, forms, classes, db, security, XML, etc...) which makes it convenient to find what you are looking for. Within each chapter, are very specific "Problem" and "Solutions" which contain simple code snippets (like 10 lines or less) and a description of what it does. Most problems are solved within one page. It is really concise and to the point. The index is comprehensive so it is straightforward to lookup the issue you are having, find the problem / solution and get on with your coding. You don't have to read thru lots of code or descriptions of why somebody setup a display template or complicated object. Look up your problem, read a quick solution, and BOOM, you're done and back to implementing it in your code.I have read some other reviews for this book here that recommend the Wrox book, stating this one is too simple. I don't agree with this. The Wrox book appears to me to be another "... let's show you a bunch of full blown application examples ..." book to me, similar to the classic Welling and Thomson SAMS published text. The "cookbook" will not teach you the language, nor is that its intent; it assumes you know what you are doing.This book is exactly what it says it is, a cookbook. If you need a quick solution to specific coding problems, at a fairly advanced level, it is a really good reference.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Microsoft(r) SQL Server(tm) 2000 Analysis Services Step by Step
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: OLAP Train, Reed Jacobson
Rating: 4/5
Title: Microsoft(r) SQL Server(tm) 2000 Analysis Services Step by Step
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: OLAP Train, Reed Jacobson
Rating: 4/5
After digging thru most SQL Server DBA books without finding much if any coverage of how to build an OLAP solution for Data Warehousing I found this text to be perfect for my transition to building my MOLAP data warehouse with SQL Server 2000 from Oracle data warehousing. Granted the book is not perfect but where else can you learn how Analysis Services 2000 and building an OLAP solution on MS SQL Server? The only other texts that even cover it are the MS SQL Server 2000 Resource Kit (also quite good book too with great tools on CDROM) and the MS SQL Server 2000 Reference Library (another must have for hardcore DBAs like me). You will be up and running a starter OLAP solution in no time flat.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Oracle SQL*Loader: The Definitive Guide
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Jonathan Gennick, Sanjay Mishra
Rating: 4/5
Title: Oracle SQL*Loader: The Definitive Guide
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Jonathan Gennick, Sanjay Mishra
Rating: 4/5
This is the place to start if you want to know about SQL*Loader. The authors do a great job on covering how to use SQL*Loader and all the little nuances that it has. They also sprinkles in some good advise on how to handle situation that will probably come up when you use SQL*Loader. The back cover of the book indicates that it is updated for Oracle 9i. I have a little reservation about that because the book was written with an early release of Oracle 9i (it states so on page xii and xii). Bottom line: start with this book for the easy read and clear explanations. Then go to the Oracle 9i doc for the updates like the Control File being expanded to include new parameters.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Kalen Delaney
Rating: 3/5
Title: Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Kalen Delaney
Rating: 3/5
I was browsing through the book in a bookstore and saw that a chapter on SQL 2K's support for XML missing. I think any book on SQL Server 2000 that doesn't have at least a discussion on SQL Server 2000's support for XML is incomplete. I looked in the index for the XML. None there. I felt that the same title for version 7 was the best resource for learning SQL Server but this one ranks at least 2 stars below that.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: OCP Introduction to Oracle9i: SQL Exam Guide
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Authors: Jason Couchman
Rating: 3/5
Title: OCP Introduction to Oracle9i: SQL Exam Guide
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Authors: Jason Couchman
Rating: 3/5
This book is perfect if you just want to pass the exam and have at least some experience with SQL. It covers (at least in part) all of the exam topics. If you want to actually learn SQL, this isn't the book for you. This book lacks depth and information about SQL.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP Web Development with Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004
Publisher: Apress
Authors: Rachel Andrew, Allan Kent, David Powers
Rating: 5/5
Title: PHP Web Development with Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004
Publisher: Apress
Authors: Rachel Andrew, Allan Kent, David Powers
Rating: 5/5
As the title to my review suggests, if I had to describe this book in one sentence, that is the sentence I would have to use.
If someone with a rudimentary understanding of web design (someone that knew the basics, such as what (X)HTML tags do, and someone that has a decent grasp on how to put together static web pages) asked me what one book they should buy in order to better their web design skills, "PHP Web Development with Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004" would be the book I would suggest to them. The reasons for this, I cite below. I also cite below the reasons why I would recommend this book to anyone who -- like myself -- has been hesitant to delve into designing dynamic websites, and in particular anyone who has been hesitant to put their feet down and take the plunge into PHP; the most popular scripting language in the world today for dynamic website solutions.
First off, I think that the authors of this book go above and beyond the call of duty of their subject matter, in that they included several chapters in this book that -- strictly speaking -- didn't have to be included. Had they followed a similar route to a lot of technical books out on the market these days, they could simply have included the bare-bones amount of information needed to do what the title of the book implies: develop dynamic PHP websites in DWMX 2004. However, the book would have been half the size, and so much the worse for it had they decided to take that route. I, and I'm sure many other readers of the book are thankful that they didn't take that route.
Instead, they include four chapters that make this book an invaluable addition to the shelf of any web designer who uses Macromedia Dreamweaver software to design websites. These four chapters are: Web Standards in Dreamweaver; Code Reuse with Dreamweaver and PHP; Dreamweaver Extensions; and Debugging and Error Handling. If you buy this book, even after you have finished it I guarantee that you will be coming back to it, to one or more of the above chapters. Why?, you might ask. The reason is simple:
In "Web Standards in Dreamweaver", the authors wisely enlisted the expertise of Rachel Andrew (one of the leading advocates of Web Standards, who is the Web Standards Project's "Dreamweaver Task Force" Member) who provides readers with a crash course in web standards with Dreamweaver. Calling it a crash course is not an overstatement -- in 70 pages Rachel covers a vast array of difficult topics ranging from the basics of working with Cascading Style Sheets, to authoring web pages that comply to current web standards (XHTML and CSS) in Dreamweaver; not to mention the fact that she offers guidelines for producing table layout webpages in DW -- and *then* shows how to move to constructing CSS layout webpages in DW. I own complete books on web standards (all useful for various reasons), but trust me when I tell you that Rachel Andrews essentially packs all of the practical design advice from these books into one chapter, and then some. It is no understatement to say that if you are new to designing with web standards in mind, you will be well on your way if you commit all of the information in this chapter to memory and incorporate it into your design practices.
The chapter on Code Reuse with Dreamweaver and PHP lays out in clear language and no-nonsense discussion the various advantages and disadvantages of the built-in code reuse features of Dreamweaver (templates, library items, and the Snippets panel), and of using include files with PHP. Not only that, but as icing on the cake it shows you how to build your own PHP functions, in plain langauge. Before I bought this book, I never would have even joked about writing my own PHP function -- even though I bought a fairly comprehensive book on PHP several years ago, it has never been of much use to me. In fact, I think that it made the prospect of using PHP to produce dynamic webpages all the more daunting and inaccessible to me than anything. Thankfully, this book has changed that for me, and I'm sure that I will now be revisiting the book I bought a few years ago with renewed confidence and interest (keeping in mind the changes to PHP since then, of course!).
The Dreamweaver Extensions chapter teaches you some of the inner workings of Dreamweaver and how to acquire and make use of DW extensions, as well as works you through how to make your own Dreamweaver extension! Certainly has peaked my interest to learn Javascript at some point so that I can have more control over the customization of Dreamweaver to be even better suited to my design methods/approach.
The chapter on Debugging and Error Handling is, for me, the true gem of this book. That is because -- prior to reading this book -- I found the idea of debugging scripts virtually incomprehensible without having a systematic approach to attempt it. That was the missing link that this book filled in for me, and I think it is one of the main reasons I was initially so unconfident about delving into learning and using PHP; the debugging was just a nightmare to me, and I didn't want to continually have to bother other people to help debug simple problems. After finishing the book I designed a rather complex form (by my standards, anyway) complete with error checking. I debugged it myself except for one small hitch which one of the authors replied to me directly about, and which has been specifically addressed in a second printing of the book -- support doesn't get much better than that!
Of course, the rest of the chapters are equally valuable; the first chapter on PHP gives the most straightforward explanation of what PHP is all about and its basic functionalities that I've read to date. The second chapter on MySQL and SQL gives an impressive introduction to working with MySQL databases and SQL -- this is something I knew a fair bit about before reading this book (since I have a big book on MySQL), but since I hadn't touched it in a few years it was an excellent refresher course, and I think it covers all of the major points someone new to designing and working with MySQL databases would need to get off the ground. The third chapter gives a helpful overview of the changes and additional functionality of DWMX 2004, and once the book has provided you with the basics, you launch head-first into Rachel Andrew's chapter and then into learning how to make dynamic sites with PHP.
The Data Manipulation and Server Behaviors chapter is the one I have to thank for changing the terms "server behavior" and "recordset" from something inaccessible to me, to terms I now use on a regular basis. It removed the bit of mysticism surrounding these features of Dreamweaver that have been there since the first version of it that I used (Dreamweaver 4 Ultradev) but have always avoided like the plague. Lots of useful information in that chapter, and it explains how to use some of the most common built-in server behaviors that come packaged with DWMX 2004 (which *will* be helpful down the road, for anyone building dynamic sites with DWMX 2004 and PHP).
Finally, the book contains a complete 120-page (huge) case study which guides you through building both an administrative backend and a full frontend to a website, complete with many features that would be oft-requested by a lot of organizations and/or very useful to them! It also contains something else that didn't strictly *have* to be included but is something I (and undoubtedly many others) are happy was included -- how to build a 'smart' contact form using PHP, with form field validation. Add to that the fact that you are provided with the code for several handy custom PHP functions (in addition to being taught earlier in the book how to write your own) and it makes for a great culminating chapter to a great book.
If I had to find one downside to the book, it is that CSS is essentially briefed over (Rachel Andrew provides all of the basic elements needed to get started, but understandably doesn't get into too much detail as her chapter is an overview of so many things). So if you are new to CSS I would suggest getting ahold of a good book on CSS. Anything by Eric Meyer will do the trick, but which one you go with will depend on your learning style. There is an Owen Briggs book that is supposedly really good too, that I plan to get my hands on soon.
In conclusion, I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn PHP (who doesn't 'think' like a programmer -- meaning that they learn better from pragmatic examples in a 'big picture' content, than from simply reading a technical treatise on the syntax of a scripting or programming language, with descriptions of its functions outside of an overarching context of how they might be used within a webpage and/or website as a whole). Especially those who already use Dreamweaver to design for the web.
I would also recommend it for programmer-types, believe it or not -- but for different reasons. A good friend of mine is a programmer, and he avoids Dreamweaver like the plague. However, he (and other talented programmers like him) would probably be surprised at how much quicker they could be designing webpages if they customized the heck out of Dreamweaver (by extending it to suit their programming style, and to deal with the typical sorts of tasks they code) and I think this book would help convince them of that, from a combination of the chapters on Web Standards and Dreamweaver, Extending Dreamweaver, Code Reuse with Dreamweaver and PHP, and the case study.
That being said, if you are interested in learning PHP to enter the fray of designing dynamic websites, this book would be an invaluable first step to making the transition. For all of the reasons cited above, I think that this book is worth its weight in gold, and it earns the title of "most valuable book on web design that I currently own". This is a book that I will be coming back to, because contained within its pages are not only examples of how to design pages with PHP and DWMX 2004, but the basic instructions you need to extend both Dreamweaver, and yourself as a web designer; teaching you not only how to do something according to a template or example, but how to go about 'breaking out of the box' when you are ready to, and coming up with your own templates and custom web solutions.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Oracle Utilities: Using Hidden Programs, Import/Export, SQL*Loader, Oradebug, Dbverify, Tkprof and More
Publisher: Rampant TechPress
Authors: Dave Moore
Rating: 2/5
Title: Oracle Utilities: Using Hidden Programs, Import/Export, SQL*Loader, Oradebug, Dbverify, Tkprof and More
Publisher: Rampant TechPress
Authors: Dave Moore
Rating: 2/5
The utilities explained in this book lack details. Which is a critical flaw for a book professesing to explain utilities. Virtually every utility explained in this book had to be researched further by me in the internet to gain a better understanding of when and how to use it, which, of course, defeated the purpose of me paying good money for this book.
One exception, TKPROF is explained beautifully and in detail. Otherwise, the real value of this book is the author's list of Oracle's most useful utilities.
