Web Books

This book is a continuation of the first book. The book covers deployment of web application in great detail. It takes you through the development of a JSP, custom tags and does not leave you hanging like other books. It takes you through the steps of compiling, building and installing your web app. It covers security filtering and much more.

Another interesting technique this book uses, is it take the web developer through the different types of web development. It starts with development of custom tags and takes the reader through JSTL libraries and then discusses the Struts framework.

Finally, I used this book to help me through deployment of my web application. It was an invaluable tool.

I highly recommend this book. I have not had it for very long but I already find it very useful. It has helped my team introduce new technology and features into our applications. The Application Events Framework in chapter 6 helped me debug my application and discover that Struts creates a new session, if one doesn't exist, on every request In fact, JSP Tag files technology discussed in chapter 7 was the basis for a new reusable common component that we have created.

I like the style of the book very much. One thing in particular that I like is when a new technology or feature is introduced the steps needed to use it are numbered and laid out clearly without going into too much detail. Then as the feature is developed and each step is examined in detail the steps as a whole are repeated. This helps keep things in perspective - you can see more clearly where each thing fits into the big picture.

The authors also do a good job of trying to give small but useful and instructional examples of the different technologies - not always an easy task.

Whenever I look into this book I find new and interesting ideas. Even the concepts that I am familiar with I still learn new things about them. I wish I had more time to read through the entire book.

"Core Servlets and JavaServer Pages, Volume 2: Advanced Technologies" targets developers who already know Java and basic servlets/JSPs. Note this book's second edition does not cover the latest technologies. It uses J2EE 1.3/1.4 and Struts 1.3.

The main topics are advanced deployment descriptor settings, security, custom tags, filters, event handling and JSTL. Then there are three chapters on Struts 1.3. These additional chapters were very good although I'm not sure what they have to do with "core servlets." The browser screenshots were good for showing output and the examples were excellent.

As with "Core Java", the 700 page book contains some long classes. I could have done without the complete 5 page deployment descriptor at the end since it was gradually built up with new additions highlighted. The highlighting does help with spatial orientation.

I did notice a couple typos in the book. None of these affected the meaning, but it gives you the impression it wasn't proofread as carefully as other books. And (at least my copy) had a printing error where one page was missing a few lines.

For most part the book pointed out best practices. There were a few exceptions such as one chapter mentioning which jsp page should establish a database connection. Different chapters had different opinions on whether there should be scriptlets in a JSP as well.

Overall the book was fine although I would prefer to invest in a different title - either fully on Struts or fully on servlets/JSPs.

2nd edition has all the details for environment setup so it makes it easy and clear how to start your first web application. I always refer to this book when I need some reference or to review basic web application development.

A good source book

I've got all the huge books about FrontPage, but this is the one I keep coming back to for quick, easy information and answers. I did get my page up in a weekend, but I'm still using the book to expand and refine it. Now if he'd just write one for Photoshop..

I bought Microsoft Front Page on a Thursday, but was having trouble installing it and figuring out how to use it. Friday morning I bought the book "Create Front Page Web Pages in a Weekend" and what a difference it made! I didn't really get started Friday, but worked on my web site on Saturday and Sunday. Monday I spent finding a host. By Tuesday, my site was up, though not really what I wanted it to be. Wednesday it was up and running and registered with over 100 search engines. The URL is http://www.labow.com Marshall Labow (marshall@labow.com)

I read many publications at the local Barnes & Noble before I purchasing Dave Karlins Creating Front Page Web Pages in a Weekend. This book easily explains all of the necessary stepts to get you web not created but to also get it published. The book font size and page graphics were also quite easy to follow even in black and white. Thanks Dave. Keep on writing and I'll keep on reading

I am computer savvy, but not a programmer. I had never written any HTML when I read this book, but after I finished it, I was able to put together a Web site. I think I learned more from this book than from a lot of the $50 Web books I've purchased since.

I found this book extremely helpful in re-working my websites. The book is easily read and understood - even for those who aren't "computer geeks". It builds up from the basic to the advanced in HTML writing in easily digestable chapters. I give it a hearty thumbs-up! Gabriele Endress

As a professional web developer, I am always looking for ways to brush up on my skills and stay competitive. So of course, when I saw this book, I was eager to see if it could provide me with any new techniques for the creation of web pages, particularly "cool" ones, using the popular new Hypertext Markup Language.

Sadly, I found it very disappointing. The author advocates many methods of web page creation that are inaccessible, woefully out of date, or just plain wrong. When I suggested implementing some of the coding techniques in the book, I was literally laughed at by my colleagues.

The book does not cover even the most rudimentary basics of semantic markup, and even suggests using the FONT and TABLE tags to apply styles without even the briefest mention of CSS.

I will certainly not be recommending this book to my fellow web developers any time soon.

(In all seriousness, I read this book when it was new, and it got me started tinkering with web pages. Now I work for Yahoo. The 5 star rating is honorary.)

There are a lot of "The Web's so cool and if you just buy our book you can make a million dollars" kinds of books out there. I've gotten tired of them very quickly. For one, the Web is just new, it's not the salvation of mankind. For another, they always have some underlying motive (beyond making money), and usually its ramming their own web pages down your throat. Taylor doesn't do this. In fact, he makes you feel very welcome as he explains, in a pleasant narrative style, this big blob of networks called the Web. He's not condescending about it, he's not pushy about it, but he is excited about it, and it appears genuine. The book itself details the standard beginner stuff, with some advanced carrots that leave you drooling for more (I know how to do tables but how do I set up a counter?). Many of these books will disappear rapidly over time because of the advent of HTML editors like Netscape Gold, but this book will stick around - there's plenty in there for the advanced user too. One complaint: Dave, stop using Microsoft Internet Explorer!

This was really a great book. I like science fiction books a lot and this book was better than most. I would love to see a sequel or even a movie made of this book. I liked when Max went on the run from the internet people. If Mr. Riordon has written other books, I really would like to read them. I would recommend this book to other teens.

The Dark Net weaves its story through a virtual underworld, following the saga of Max, a programmer. His project was the experimental education of two virtual penguins, Linus and Minus, by reward and punishment respectively. When a student dies mysteriously, the hero, Max, is called upon to clean out his virtual office. Amid whispers of the legendary Doomsday virus, Max's discoveries lead him into the Dark Net, a virtual underworld of villainous people dealing in black market programs. A little-known group of Luddites who shun technology offer him shelter as he is drawn into the plans of the wicked and powerful.

I thoroughly enjoyed the imagination of the novel from the epileptic protagonist and the eroticized office assistants (created by grad students, of course) to the the virtual reality vision of the Web and the religious fervor of the Luddites. And the lively presence of the penguin Linus.

James stop reading ;-)

(this is the negative portion) Any of you Galaxy Quest fans? Remember that scene where Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver have to go through ridiculously dangerous contraptions to get to the Omega-13, and they point out that there's not a good reason for the booby-traps? Occasionally, I had that feeling about areas of the Dark Net. On the other hand, I have no idea what virus-makers get out of infecting my computer, so maybe it's completely reasonable that such dangers exist.

Other than that, I would have liked to hear more about the background of the Luddite group during the story rather than getting it all on the end. I think that the already interesting history could have been further developed and woven into earlier chapters.

James, you can read again.

But to end with something good -- the conclusion was excellent and completely blind-sided me (but then it made so much sense...).

Not many real science fiction books are written anymore. The Dark Net isn't just your romance-clothed-in-shiny-steel-with-laser-guns book, or your Klingon-speaking-gotta-read-the-series science fiction novel. This is a _good book_. Remember Ender's Game? 1984? Fahrenheit 541? The Dark Net is that kind of book, one that you can read over and over again and find something new, something meaningful.

That's not to say The Dark Net is a serious treatise on the state of the world. But it's worth reading if you like to read.

Riordon has written an adventure in the internet, a science-based story, a pulp thriller that gives the reader something to think about.

The story winds through ordinary life, the virtual world-to-come, the isolated portions of the internet, and a weird farm in the Pennsylvania hills. (Actually, I could totally dig the Freedom Club if they weren't sofa king Ayn Rand about it.)

This book may never be on the syllabus of any Lit Crit classes (though I could write "The Significance of the Color Green in Riordon's The Dark Net" or "Penguins and Boats: Lost and Found in the Void of Riordon's The Dark Net"). But heck, that's probably what they said about Dickens too. Riordon's novel, originally published on a blog, is like Dickens' serialized newspaper novels, and the format of the life-as-it-happens writing method makes the story's plot a lot like real life. Max's end isn't obvious from the beginning. Sometimes he winds up in places he never could have anticipated. But I enjoyed being there with him (well, sometimes it was really sad.)

And that's what I like to see in a book. Shogun, Clan of the Cave Bear, Harry Potter: they're not literature or anything but they sure are great to read.

I brought this book with me on a trip to visit family over the holidays and could NOT put it down (to the detriment of quality family-time). But man, that was the best trip I had in a while. I read the whole thing like I was dying of thirst and couldn't suck down fluids fast enough.

The story centers around Max, a realistic character caught in a futuristic scenario of what the internet might be like one day (virtual worlds where instead of checking your email, you step into a room, sit down and have your exquisitely-programmed virtual assistant recite email contents).

It unfolds into an enchantingly complex and imaginitive plot. Character development is fantastic and you can see the scenes in your head as they develop. Several times I found myself simultaneously breathing heavy with anxiety during the fast-paced adventure scenes and also laughing at character descriptions. For example:

"As Max watched with wide-eyed terror, the laundry pile began to seethe. The sound hadn't come from the bathroom after all. The pile rose up in a pillar of dirty socks, shirts, and towels, and took on a vaguely humanoid form."

This pile of dirty clothes abducts Max, along with some couch creature, and throws him into the dark recesses of the internet. The two monsters then pause for a hilarious and unlikely debate about Captain Kirk & Spock. It is impossible to tell what will happen next; this unpredictability makes for an incredibly engaging read.

The last time I liked a book this much, I went out and bought everything else the author wrote (Augusten Burroughs). I am only sorry that there are no other books to buy just yet and only hope the author is putting his brilliant mind hard to work on another novel for his insatiable fans.

The cover design is simplistic but don't judge the contents by that -- the story itself is rich and complex. Anyone who is into the internet (especially computer geeks) will especially find this a compelling read.

This book is a must have for all newbies to ActiveX Control Development. Tom Armstrong shows you how to develop a robust ActiveX Control using the most efficient routes.. He leads you past all of the troublespots and guides you with the best methods. I developed my first ActiveX Control within 4 days after walking through all of the great samples he had in his book.. If asked, I would recommend this book to anyone. It's a must have.

ActiveX is by no means an easy topic to understand. However, if you are determined to wade into ActiveX anyway this is about the best introduction to the subject that you will find. The author takes you through the material with clear and concise instruction and touches upon COM, Automation, ActiveX and ATL. If you are an advanced COM programmer info dont bother with this book, but if you are looking for a introduction to ActiveX that you might actually understand, this book is absolutely the best I've ever seen.

Tom Armstrong's development of a simple class that grows up to be an automation control is very straight forward. The clear logical progression is well supported by the accompanying source code that I compiled and worked with as I traversed through the book. I was able to apply the techniques directly in creating my own activeX control for use with our product. There are a few improvements that should be incorporated into the next edition: 1. A proof- reader needs to be hired...too many typeos...Figure 6.5 on p.256 is not even readable. 2. A small "snippet" of detailed usage intructions for certain utilities like the ActiveX Control Pad presented in Chap12. Otherwise a keeper!!!

For a great resource of how to develop activex controls with MFC...this is the book.

MFC makes getting started in ActiveX controls easy... but these's a world of details that can have you pulling your hair out...don't go that route...get this book. I bought this after a year of developing many MFC controls - and I still found this book usefull.

Check out the author's ATL book also!

Over the past couple of months I've read a small pile of computer graphics books from the "Inspired" and New Riders [digital] series and others. I would put 3D design in the position of being one of the first practial how-to books a beginner should work with. Each section is clearly laid out, doesn't confuse with too much detail, and helps you gently step into CG. This book will get you oriented and everything after this will just be deeper studies in specific areas.

A lush, beautiful introduction to the world of 3D. Perfect for newbies and those just wondering what 3D is all about. Plus it includes a Cinema 4D tutorial (building a photo-realistic pool cue).

This book left me wanting more from this publisher and this author.

The BEST book out there for beginning 3D artists. Period. Should be included with all 3D software packages. If you're thinking about getting into 3D design, buy this first!!!!!!

Digital 3D Design is like a visual dictionary for the 3D design world. Out of all the 3D books I own, this is the one I recommend the most in teaching 3D and animation classes (with Bill Fleming's Photorealistic Toolkit a close second!).

It covers concepts and terms (introductory and advanced) in very clear and concise ways, fully illustrated.

It discusses all the major 3D packages, including Maya, LightWave, Cinema 4DXL, ElectricImage, SoftImage and others, discussing advantages of each.

It covers views, 3D space, lighting, shading, textures, resolution, UV mapping, splines, curves, polygons, points, advanced modeling concepts, raytracing, rendering, radiosity, setting up skeletons, animation, inverse kinematics--everything you'd expect if you were looking for the ideal textbook for a 3D class (I'm using it for my modeling and animation classes).

All this for around less than $30. A book every 3D designer, and instructor, should own! Highly recommended.

Excellent information on a huge range of topics. Highly recommend book.

This is the best resource book I have ever seen about all aspects of digital design. It covers computer basics then has sections on print and web. Descriptions are clear, easy to understand, beautifully illustrated and absolutely up to date. This is a must-have book for teachers.

This is something a new graphic/web designer will refer to, if he/she needs to know about certain terms used in the business or about the tools that he/she may need to get his/her job done. It doesn't go into details but provides enough information to go further. Excellent layout, design and printing.

I am a newbie to digital design and this book covers everything, from color management to printing processes to how to price your work and manage work flow.
A MUST for any beginner...this is the best reference I have come across by far.

The real power of Director is in Lingo, Director's programming language. I have more than 10 books covering Macromedia Director; most are designed for the beginner and intermediate level user. Warren's book is by far the best introduction to programming in Director.

I am an instructor at a small college in Colorado and find Mr. Ockrassa's text a pleasant resource for my students and myself. I have been working with Director for 5 years and have learned a great deal from his book. He has great examples of how to write effective and efficient code. This is the best example of a technical text I have ever worked with. We can only hope that he writes an intermediate and advanced text as well.

I am an instructor at a small college in Colorado and find Mr. Ockrassa's text a pleasant resource for my students and myself. I have been working with Director for 5 years and have learned a great deal from this book. This is the only text I have come across as a student or as an instructor that really teaches the fundamentals of programming in a way that can be easily followed and understood. Mr. Ockrassa did an excellent job with his examples and his explanations. I recommend this book to anybody that is new to Director and anybody who has been at it for a while. We can only hope he does an intermediate and advanced text as well.

I'm just getting into the world of Director, and this book has been my guide. It is written in an entertaining manner, (thankfully not overly cute,) and is making my learning experience an enjoyable one so far. Each lesson is laid out in an easy to read manner and features quick quizzes through out the text, designed to make sure that the important concepts are driven home. I recommend it for other readers looking to begin their Director education!

This is one of the best books for the introduction in Computer (Literacy, MIS, CS, IT, etc) and my choice textbook.

Great if you know nothing about computers. Easy to read and understand.
Great as a refresher if you DO know something about computers, you may even learn something new

Not a lot of depth in any one subject but a great overview. I'm using it to teach an Introduction to IT class to undergrad students.

I have used and continue to use this textbook as the core text for a computer/info tech and society course I teach to community college students. The text is up-to-date (revised yearly), informative, well illustrated, and extremely well supported by the publisher through supplementary teaching, learning and testing materials and website support. My students are initially horified at the price but, as the semester continues, realize that it is actually a bargain and, by the end of the course, many have told me that they have found it to be a valuable addition to their personal library. I don't teach the textbook, I assign the chapters for weekly reading, test the students on the reading assignment at the beginning of class, then discuss the content and supplement it with other material which focuses on the history, development, use and consequences of information technologies. By assigning the chapters for reading and testing each week, I try to ensure that everyone is commonly prepared with the foundation knowledge required for further learning and discussion in class.

The DOM these days is available in a multitude of programming languages and environments. Not so many people have the knowledge to properly handle the topic, moving back and forward across different languages and implementations, Joe Marini is definitely one of the few. As a matter of fact this is the first book ever available on the subject, and long awaited one! Joe covers much more than just DOM programming for browsers and the books contains a few gems like coverage of Xerces, Dreamweaver's API, generic DOM algorithms and a dedicated chapter on the future of DOM. A must have for anyone doing sophisticated client-side programming for web browsers, this book will be also very useful to anyone dealing with the DOM in any other environment

I have a great deal of interest in the document object model, as it is the basis of HTML and XML documents. Anyone interested in working with HTML, XML, DHTML in an advanced way should read this book and learn from it. This isn't a book for people with a passing interest in slapping together Web pages in Front Page, but it will give you a solid knowledge of the advanced topics of DOM manipulation using JavaScript.

The book starts with some solid theory and explanation of the DOM API, but quickly moves to some practical examples, such as some useful debugging tools, and some HTML interface components (popup menus, in-place list editing) which will get you off on the right foot thinking about how you can implement your own interface elements. That's really the strongest aspect of the book -- getting you to think in new ways.

I read through this book in detail, and I must say that I learned a lot about the DOM that I had previously glossed over. The DOM spec is much more powerful and interesting than what most folks assume. This book gives you insights on building real-world applications using the DOM, as well as helping to deal with cross-browser issues. As I said, it's a great resource for both web developers and web-based application developers.

This book rightfully deserves 5 stars. Is it revolutionary in the sense of "unleashing" DOM? No. If you love reading HTML documentation you can get pretty much the same scope at the W3C site (which the author himself acknowledges). It is more of a wake-up call for web developers.

The ideas presented in the book are very elegant which makes them very valuable. The author explains subtle and obvious differences in the DOM support as implemented by different browser vendors. It has been of great help in my work since I read this book.

Part III alone ("Practical Uses of the DOM") is worth the time and money for its real-life applications of DOM!