IT programming books related reviews
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
Writing Apache Modules is a rather arcane specialty; with so many excellent free modules already available, most people can find more than the need with some simple configuration... but if you do end up with a more hardcore need, you simply have to have this book - and unlike many other books which are the first or only books to cover their subject, this one is clear, well thought out, and very helpful for the task at hand. Even with the full source and lots of examples handy online, this book and a handful of bookmarks made a huge difference to me. (It sits on a shelf now, project completed, but I wouldn't give it up!)
Product: Book Paperback
Title: The Web Wizard's Guide to PHP
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Authors: David Lash
Rating: 5/5
Title: The Web Wizard's Guide to PHP
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Authors: David Lash
Rating: 5/5
This book is an excellent introduction to programming on the web with PHP. It doesn't require that you have any programming background before diving into the book. Although it is a little shorter than I would have liked, it's a great book to get you started with PHP.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2000 DTS Step by Step
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Carl Rabeler
Rating: 4/5
Title: Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2000 DTS Step by Step
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Carl Rabeler
Rating: 4/5
This book makes for a well-written and relevant introduction for a beginner to DTS, which is what I was when I picked it up.
However, as a decade+ computer professional I was through it and the building of the sample application in a short time.
I have given 4 stars because the book is great for what it is; it does not get 5 stars because it makes for a lousy reference book. Not only is it not comprehensive, but the information is always tied in with the sample application you build throughout the book. So you almost have to stay familiar with the sample app (and where it is in the development process) to get what they're telling you about the subject.
I find myself turning to the Wrox DTS book over and over, and I probably won't open this book again. That said, I'm glad I started with this one.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP and MySQL Web Development, Second Edition
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Luke Welling, Laura Thomson
Rating: 4/5
Title: PHP and MySQL Web Development, Second Edition
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Luke Welling, Laura Thomson
Rating: 4/5
I have this book for more than 6-7 months. The book is very easy to undestand. PHP and MySQL are segregated in intial first chapters to give a beginner a good idea of these technologies. Then the book slowly picks up momentum and then author combines PHP and MySQL to start building a small to a full fledged website. I liked the user authentication techniques the author has used in this book.
There are full-fledged chapters which are dedicated to building large websites. A good book to have for PHP, MySQL programmer.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Professional PHP Programming
Publisher:
Authors: Jesus Castagnetto, Sascha Schumann, Harish Rawat, Chris Scollo, Deepak T. Veliath
Rating: 2/5
Title: Professional PHP Programming
Publisher:
Authors: Jesus Castagnetto, Sascha Schumann, Harish Rawat, Chris Scollo, Deepak T. Veliath
Rating: 2/5
It is out of date and so has some misleading information. Though the title says professional, it is really a beginner book. It is missing, among other things, a solid discussion of objects in PHP and discussion of sessions.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 High Availability
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Allan Hirt, Cathan Cook, Kimberley Tripp, Microsoft Corp, Microsoft Corporation, Frank McBath
Rating: 4/5
Title: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 High Availability
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Allan Hirt, Cathan Cook, Kimberley Tripp, Microsoft Corp, Microsoft Corporation, Frank McBath
Rating: 4/5
I liked some things about this book:cluster chapter
hardware coverage
Windows Server 2003 tidbitsI didn't like other things:replication coverage - way to short to be useful. Doesn't tell much about high availability in relation to replicaton.bad advice - several things they recommend even I know better than to do. I got to the point where I started ingoring the recommendations and just hunted for facts to help me form my own conclusions.performance stuff -- its to weak and not discussed as much as it should be. I think you need to really go into performance issues when you talk about high availability because poor performance makes a system less available.I guess the final word is that this is a decent book that you might want to get if SQL SERVER high availability is something you need to know about. Just don't expect a great book.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2000 Programming Step by Step
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Rebecca Riordan
Rating: 2/5
Title: Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2000 Programming Step by Step
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Rebecca Riordan
Rating: 2/5
This book has the wrong title, it should be called "SQL Server 2000 Basics". The word 'programming' should definitely be taken away from the title as only about 1/3 of the book deals with programming, in just the most basic way. This book is just an intro to SQL Server, nothing too detailed. For someone that knows nothing about SQL Server, you will learn the basics here, but you will need to buy other books to get the details.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL E-Commerce: From Novice to Professional
Publisher: Apress
Authors: Cristian Darie, Mihai Bucica
Rating: 5/5
Title: Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL E-Commerce: From Novice to Professional
Publisher: Apress
Authors: Cristian Darie, Mihai Bucica
Rating: 5/5
The use of PHP 5 and MySQL for e-commerce is a tested and proven combination. This book is primarily intended for the reader who already has some PHP knowledge and needs to understand how to build an e-commerce site. It does not focus on teaching either PHP 5 or MySQL but instead focuses on how to use the combination to produce an exceptional e-commerce solution.
The authors use the example of a Tshirt shop and walk the reader through every step of completely constructing a viable e-commerce site. The book covers everything from designing your site, to creating a product catalog, searching the catalog, receiving payments, catalog administration, creating a shopping basket, working with customer orders, product recommendations, storing customer information, secure connections, implementing the order pipeline, working with credit cards, and setting up product reviews.
The appendixes include detailed information on installing Apache, PHP, MySQL, and phpAdmin (for both Windows and Unix-like systems), hosting your web site, and project management.
While this is not a book about learning the PHP scripting language it does contain enough detailed code to create a functioning e-commerce site even if you don't understand how the code works. For example, on page 192 it says to "Create a new template file named admin_login.tpl in the templates folder and add the following code to it:..." This is followed by a long code listing that produces the desired results. There is a short explanation of the function of various sections of the code but nothing that details the purpose of each command, variable, etc. This is really not a problem since they state up front that the target audience is a PHP programmer who needs to learn how to build an e-commerce site, but it does deserve mention for those who have no knowledge of PHP and are considering the book.
The first thing a person might notice when thinking about purchasing this book is that there is no CD in the back containing all the many examples of source code. This could be very discouraging as the examples are extensive and rewriting them by hand without error can be a daunting task. However, Apress does make all of the examples available for download at their web site.
Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL E-Commerce is highly recommended for anyone who has some basic knowledge of PHP and MySQL and wants to capitalize on this to build a powerful e-commerce site.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Web Application Development with PHP 4.0 (with CD-ROM)
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Tobias Ratschiller, Till Gerken
Rating: 4/5
Title: Web Application Development with PHP 4.0 (with CD-ROM)
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Tobias Ratschiller, Till Gerken
Rating: 4/5
Definitely not for novices. Is loaded with tips and tricks on data handling, specially liked the session handling techniques in the book. Could've been a bit more in depth though. But good book to get anyhow.
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: 5/5
Title: Oracle Utilities: Using Hidden Programs, Import/Export, SQL*Loader, Oradebug, Dbverify, Tkprof and More
Publisher: Rampant TechPress
Authors: Dave Moore
Rating: 5/5
Oracle Utilities is a useful book for me. The table at the beginning of the book was worth the price alone, since it listed all executables and packages, what they did, and which version of Oracle they were available in. I have to admit that I was unaware of many of them listed in the book (orakill, oradim, maxem, autotrace). The author also covers well known utilities (tkprof / imp / exp) but for these concentrates on practical usage instead of what they do.
