IT programming books related reviews
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: Ocp: Oracle8I Dba SQL and Pl/SQL Study Guide : Exam 1Z0-001 (OCP Study Guide)
Publisher: Sybex Inc
Authors: Chip Dawes, Biju Thomas
Rating: 5/5
Title: Ocp: Oracle8I Dba SQL and Pl/SQL Study Guide : Exam 1Z0-001 (OCP Study Guide)
Publisher: Sybex Inc
Authors: Chip Dawes, Biju Thomas
Rating: 5/5
I found this book useful for 1z0-001 and pass the exam by reading this book as well. Easy to understand different oracle parameters and PL/SQL block writing skills. I recommend buy this book for study the exam.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Microsoft Access Projects with Microsoft SQL Server
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Ralf Albrecht, Natascha Nicol, Dr. Natasha Nicol
Rating: 5/5
Title: Microsoft Access Projects with Microsoft SQL Server
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Ralf Albrecht, Natascha Nicol, Dr. Natasha Nicol
Rating: 5/5
Very good buy. Discuss a lot on the newest access technology like xml and web. However, there are some part of the example program missing in the CD provided, not a big issue as they can be easily written if you hav done some access form programming.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: MDX Solutions: With Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services
Publisher: Wiley
Authors: George Spofford
Rating: 5/5
Title: MDX Solutions: With Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services
Publisher: Wiley
Authors: George Spofford
Rating: 5/5
The book provides an excellent tutorial & reference to MDX which is today's default lingua franca as OLAP query language. George does a great job in bringing home MDX and developing solutions using MDX. I recommend this book and also the other title from George & Erik Thomsen on Microsoft OLAP solutions which is as well a excellent book on building OLAP solutions with Microsoft Analysis Services. The other salient feature I wish to emphasise is the author - George Spofford as been kind enough to answer email queries from readers on the subject matter. Erik Thomsen and George Spofford are gurus in the Microsoft Analysis Services. The best thing I found about the book was the authors not only bring out the strengths of analysis services but also its limitations. This helps somebody embarking on implementing analysis services be aware of its limitations and workaround those limitations. In all I give 5 stars for the book there are not many honest authors out there. My only request to the authors is now since the next release of Microsoft SQL Server - Yukon is due for release is next 3 months and Yukon will be another major landmark in SQL Server and Analysis Services technology with several major features slated to debut in Yukon it would be highly appreciated if the authors post appendix chapters on new Yukon features as and when it comes on their web site which will be a great benefit to existing owners of their books.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: OCA/OCP: Introduction to Oracle9i SQL Study Guide
Publisher: Sybex
Authors: Chip Dawes, Biju Thomas, Chip Dawes, Biju Thomas
Rating: 3/5
Title: OCA/OCP: Introduction to Oracle9i SQL Study Guide
Publisher: Sybex
Authors: Chip Dawes, Biju Thomas, Chip Dawes, Biju Thomas
Rating: 3/5
There is no such thing as an error free technical book, but this one sets a new high-water mark for errors. Don't even begin without incorporating all the changes from the errata - which cover perhaps 3/4 of the errors. And there are even errors in the errata! The book has lost so much credibility with me that I find myself reading with considerable skepticism. Fortunately I have several years of Oracle SQL experience, so if something looks suspicious I just go to OTN to check. All that said, the book is well designed as far as subject presentation (tho I would move data types to beginning), uses lots of clear (& usually correct) examples, and covers most of the material needed. I would probably purchase it again.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Apache Server Administrator's Handbook
Publisher: Hungry Minds
Authors: Mohammed J. Kabir, Kabir
Rating: 2/5
Title: Apache Server Administrator's Handbook
Publisher: Hungry Minds
Authors: Mohammed J. Kabir, Kabir
Rating: 2/5
Although the spirit of trying to be a handy reference is not a bad one, the books cannot differentiate itself from many of the short-cut, shallow books out there. One particular, when talking about Apache and mod_perl, a very important and prevelant extension to Apache, the author wrongfully states that "system calls such as system() ... IO pipe do not work." This is simply wrong in so many aspects. All of these can serve useful purposes when normal amount of caution is taken. THEY WORK. It makes me wonder if the author understands the real interaction of I/O under Apache/mod_perl's model at all, since he does not give any reference to the truth. On the other hand, the section does not state caveats such as scope and persistence of variable values in any apache/mod_perl setup. This is such an important issue which is the most common errors among mod_perl CGI beginners. There is NO shortcut to the full power of Apache.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Upgrading to PHP 5
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Adam Trachtenberg
Rating: 5/5
Title: Upgrading to PHP 5
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Adam Trachtenberg
Rating: 5/5
This is a fantastic book. I frequently find that when an existing developer buys a book, he/she has to sort through all the garbage review in the beginning. This book assumes you are a competent PHP4 programmer. Then it takes you step by step through new PHP5 syntax and features that are unique to PHP5. It reviews and explains Object Oriented Programming (OOP), then discusses a variety of PHP5-only concepts, like SimpleXML and SQLite.
I recently installed a PHP5 server and this book has been by my side since. All PHP4 developers who expect to use PHP5 within the next year or so should really have a copy of this book handy.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP Developer's Cookbook (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Sterling Hughes, Andrei Zmievski
Rating: 5/5
Title: PHP Developer's Cookbook (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Sterling Hughes, Andrei Zmievski
Rating: 5/5
what is a McBook?"A quick,cheap book which can fulfill your hungry,but lack of extra vitamins". Yes,it is quick.You can find out what u need quickly,especially some simple questions,e.g. converting ascii to html,which you don't want to write a function yourself.Then this book is for you.Given the size of this book is small,u can't find extra vitamin that is essential to keep your body healthy,youu really need a good intro book,e.g. teach yourself php4 in 24hrs. and a guide book which contains long examples.e.g. shopping cart,discussion borad,e.g. professional php programming from wrox,or php/mysql application from mindware.
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
Hi, my name is Ken Egervari and I am one the authors which make available this great title to you fellow PHP programmers and XML enthusiasts. Seeing as I wrote 3 chapters (SAX, DOM and XSLT) as well as the Object Oriented Programming appendix, you might assume there is a conflict of interest with this review. Let me assure you, despite my involvement with this title, I promise to be objective and simply state the goals of the book. This really isn't a review as some thoughts about the book.After receiving my copy, I've been reading the entire book and as a whole, Professional PHP4 XML covers every inch of these topics in fantastic detail. I sincerely believe that new-comers to XML (and even PHP) will definitely find a wealth of information to get them started and expert programmers will enjoy the rich, deep knowledge contained in each subject, demonstrating the experience and thoroughness of all the authors who contributed to make this book the very best.To start off my review, I want to take a look at the chapters in which I contributed, making clear to you the goals of each topic. Unlike many PHP books on the market, I didn't 'just' want to demonstrate the concepts and APIs; I really wanted to engage the reader into thinking creatively about their PHP applications by thinking about architecture and design and sharing valuable insights in areas concerned weather it be programming issues, common solutions to recurring problems, best practices, or changes to the APIs in future releases. Given that I am as much of a businessman as an architect, I also wanted to reader to consider the various business-related issues with each technology by providing valuable insight on the consequences to using these technologies in your organization. I wanted to enlighten the reader rather than bore them with functional descriptions and basic examples. As you read the book, you'll clearly see the book lives up to these goals.My first task was to write a chapter on SAX. I've read many chapters on SAX from other texts or articles on the Internet, but I really wanted to take this one over and beyond what was already out there. Besides looking at the core concepts, process and various implementations, I explain in detail on how to create highly reusable, maintainable parsers by making use of object-oriented technology. I further explained how to deal with common problems when parsing erroneous generated XML content. Given that there are many hacked up Web Service-like URLs and XML generators out there, this section was much needed.The DOM chapter continues teaching the reader about XML parsering by diving into the details on creating and manipulating DOM trees using PHP 4.2.1 and 4.3.0. This is something no book on the market has at the time of this review. The chapter shows countless number of examples to ensure the reader understands how to construct trees. The chapter dives into the architecture of DOM parsers and suggests much easier ways to simplify the construction of your applications. Given the DOM API is still new, the chapter outlines many of its current limitations and problems in great detail, ensuring the reader doesn't get fowled up in any dirty business that they can't fix without starring at their monitor for several hours only to see it's a problem with the API itself. This chapter discusses several larger applications that are interactive using HTML forms to show the reader how to construct XML content in an organized manner.The last chapter, XSLT, discussed most of the XSLT standard as well as its use within PHP. This is useful since you don't need to purchase another XSLT book in the future as this chapter, as well as the appendix, should provide you with all the knowledge you'll need for years to come. Given that XSLT isn't used as much as it should, I spent a great deal outlining the various advantages and disadvantages pragmatically. Besides looking at the concepts and the XSL document standards, the chapter goes beyond simple XSL documents and explains how to build dynamic PHP scripts, interops with legacy applications, discusses the construction of multi-tiered applications, uses XSLT as a functional language, and even explains some recursive techniques to solve complicated document generation problems. Many times programmers are confused on which technology to use; this chapter compares SAX, DOM and XSLT and helps the reader decide which technology is best for your project and organization's goals. Lastly, XSLT is often overlooked when it can offer a very elegant and platform independent solution! The chapter thoroughly explains the various applications XSLT is used and even gives the reader with some vision and direction as I described how various projects used XSLT skillfully.I hope these review helps inform you about the book's content. I hope you enjoy the book as we all did writing it. Happy reader and thanks for listening.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Beginning E-Commerce with Visual Basic, ASP, SQL Server 7.0 and MTS
Publisher: Peer Information
Authors: Matthew Reynolds
Rating: 3/5
Title: Beginning E-Commerce with Visual Basic, ASP, SQL Server 7.0 and MTS
Publisher: Peer Information
Authors: Matthew Reynolds
Rating: 3/5
The book takes you through the setup of an online store. It's ideal if you're are wanting to open an e-commerce site called Jo's Coffee!I dislike that the functionality of the examples provided hinges on custom components. It has been stated by other reviewers; but, I feel compelled to echo the fact that most Web Site hosts do not let you install custom components. So at least in my case the provided examples are only that and can't be used for anything I'm doing without heavy adaptation.The book requires that you have a copy of SQL Server database which is an expensive program as compared to the more readily accesible Access. It would have been nice if examples were provided for both.The book's focus on the UK is kind of silly. The book has you setting up pricing application in british pounds! The book makes other ridiculous prejiduced British comments such as how hosting your site in the UK is a better way to go. The credit card gateway example provided is also UK bank exclusive. So if you are a Yank like me then you have to be ready to adapt as needed.I would've enjoyed a more detailed section on getting a Merchant ID. This book, like all other e-commerce articles I have read, simply make the statement that you need to have a Merchant ID to accept credit cards online. However, they end it with see your bank or go to these web sites for more details. Be prepared for incredible hassles in regard with this!In the end this book gives you a good idea. It really can only used as stand alone for a few web sites. If you really want to go through with e-commerce then be prepared to buy other Wrox publications like Beginning ASP.With that being said this book was pretty good.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes, Third Edition
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Ben Forta
Rating: 4/5
Title: Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes, Third Edition
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Ben Forta
Rating: 4/5
This book is a well-written, well-organized, concise introduction to SQL. Each of the 22 lessons takes about 10 minutes to complete. The same files are used throughout and are available from the author's Web site. Using these files and the author's numerous examples, one can learn SQL step-by-step as painlessly as possible.
There is one deficiency, though. Appendix E lists all SQL Reserved Words, but doesn't provide the exact syntax to use (for different DBMS's) or examples. Correcting this would subtantially increase the size of the book but would be extremely useful for reference.
