Databases Books

This is a great book on the topic of SQL within the realm of IBM midrange platforms. It covers not only the obvious topics (interactive SQL, basic SELECTs etc.) but goes in depth on the topics of QM Manager, SQL within iSeries Navigator and interfacing SQL with MS Office. It is big on the practical aspects of SQL and is easy to read and understand.

We are new to SQL and have found this book to be invaluable. Especially when added to some other books we have. Kevin has gone out of his way to answer questions and help. This is a must have book for any iSeries Shop that is using SQL and Embedded SQL.

Any programmer can copy and modify code to make a workable program. The real programmer creates code to meet the needs of the project. In order to stand out in todays world, it is absolutely essential that every available tool be brought to bear in order to hone the skills of the programmer. This book is written to help every level of programmer to use SQL in order to take full advantage of todays Systems and todays and tomorrows data needs. Kevin writes in an easy to read and understand style so even the novice programmer can find it useful. He also provides plenty of technical information to expand the edge of the programmer who already knows everything and doesn't usually use references. This book is a must have for the programmer working in this environment.

This book has two aspects. Basically it's on the SQL programming language (Yes, Martha, it's a language).

On the one hand it is aimed at the IBM i5/iSeries developers the tools they need to effectively use SQL in their applications.

On the other hand it is equally aimed at the experienced SQL programmer that is now moving to the i5/iSeries who needs to know the particular twists and kinks in the implementation as well as the tools available on the system to support development.

It's clear the future of data base interaction lies in SQL. It's also clear that without a book on the specific dialect of SQL spoken by the particular version you are running you can't write effective code. The structure of each data base engine is just a bit different. I don't believe that any of them meet the full standard.

This is a novice to Intermediate level book. It starts with the simple SELECT statement and goes through JOINS, UNIONS, Sub-Selects, enough that the user can probably do what he wants. The book spends a good bit of time on converting from the older DDS/RPG based software.

This book is an excellent start. It's hand's on enough to make sense, detailed enough to get you through the first through months of work before you're ready to tie into the details of advanced SQL -- Let alone the always coming next version.

SQL Server Security by David Lichtfield clearly addresses SQL Server vulnerabilities and provides security solutions, as well as covering installation, administration, and programming, plus security issues such as authentication, encryption, intrusion detection, and more. Written for IT professionals administering or programming any SQL Server-based application, SQL Server Security includes coverage of SQL Server 7, SQL Server 2000, and SQL Server (Yukon).

Having read about half of this book, I can say that each chapter has not disappointed me. As a mid-level DBA, this book has helped bring things together in my mind that seemed like a loose collection before. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to beef up their knowledge of security with SQL Server. The authors have done an excellent job. It's easy to read and chapters are reasonably short and concise with just the right amount of illustrations.

If you do anything with SQL and need top secure it, please read this book.

Securing SQL is not rocket science, but it is easy to do wrong.

This book shows how to do it right.

"SQL Server Security" (SSS) is a great security book, free of the bloat the affects both operating systems and many technical volumes. Weighing in at 322 pages, it's packed with the detail needed to securely deploy Microsoft SQL servers. Although many people contributed to the text, it doesn't suffer from internal redundancy. I highly recommend anyone operating SQL servers devour this book.

In the "Acknowledgements," lead author Chip Andrews writes "I wanted this book to give security and database professionals the same readability, reference ability, and red-eyed wonder that 'Hacking Exposed' gave me a few years back." My favorite aspect of the HE line was the material's ability to explain attack and defense concepts while illuminating the internal operation of victimized systems. SSS follows this lead by devoting entire chapters to SQL Server components, like Network-Libraries (ch. 4) and Authentication and Authorization (ch. 5). My favorite sections appear in chapter 7, where the authors describe novel ways to leverage SQL Server's "C-2 auditing" features for purposes of intrusion detection.

SSS dispenses an immense amount of useful advice, whether it's a whole chapter on secure installation (ch. 3), best practices found in most chapters, or the appendices on stored procedures and integration with other Microsoft technologies. The only downside I found appears in chapter 2, where SQL samurai David Litchfield uses language outside the realm of most readers' understanding. For example, "the import address entry for GetProcAddress() in sqlsort.dll shifts by 12. With no SQL Server service pack, the address of the entry is at 0x42AE1010, and on SP1 and SP2, it is at 0x42AE101C" (p. 29). The uninitiated should skim this chapter and trust the authors when they claim SQL Server can be attacked by multiple means.

SSS is a must-buy if you operate SQL Server. It's the manual Microsoft forgot to ship.

This is an excellent guide for anybody who wants to learn HTML. Lemay does a wonderful job of thouroughly explaining every tag in HTML 3.2. The book does really live up to it's name, within a week I was comfortably writing web pages with links, images, tables, and frames. I highly reccomend this book.

The title of this book says it all--you CAN teach yourself HTML in a week using Ms. Lemay's step-by-step process. She begins with basics that any computer-literate user can apply, and she progresses through everything an HTML novice needs to know to construct a well-thought-out web site! My first pass through her tutorial took me a little less than a week, and now I keep this book beside me while putting my sites together. I was a COMPLETE HTML NEWBIE when I picked up this book...one month later I'm designing web pages as a sideline! That alone should make you read this book!

This book is divided into days, each day incorporating two chapters. Day one explains what a web page is, how to access it, the different types of layout for your web pages, and gives you information about the different types of browsers. By the end of day one you should have an idea of what you want on your web page and how you want it organized. Day two explains some of the basic HTML tags and also explains the anchor tag for creating links. Day three teaches you about lists, other formatting tags such as bold type and explains about HTML editors. Day four teaches you about Netscape and Internet explorer extensions and how to create tables. Day five teaches you about using images, sound and video in your web documents. Day six explains the Do's and Don'ts when creating web documents and gives you some examples of what type of information you may want to include on your web pages. Day seven helps explain how to find a web server and what it does, how to test your pages and advertise your site. You will also learn about what cgi scripts are and when to use them. This book also includes a bonus day. On the bonus day you will learn about forms and image maps along with what is to come in HTML 3.0. This book is a good starting place for someone who wants to learn to write web pages quickly and with good style and all the extras.

This book is very well planned out and is well illustrated, insightful and good for beginners to intermediate HTMLers. Laura Lemay helps you learn, discover and explore HTML. Anyone at all can learn HTML with this book. It covers HTML 3.0, HTML 2.0, Netscape and CGI in a single bound. Terfific book Laura, it helped me immensely.

Database concurrency control and recovery is one of pinnacles of computer science. An amazing collection of models, theoretical results, and implementation techniques enable thousands of users to simultaneously pound on a large database implemented on unreliable disks and networks, with full confidence that their data will be correctly stored. This book tells how this miracle is accomplished.

I teach database systems and also do research on databases, including systems-level refinements to concurrency control and recovery algorithms. This book has been invaluable to me in understanding the three major aspects of concurrency control in databases: the beautiful theory, the carefully constructed algorithms, and the specifics of the practice.

When this book first came out two years ago, I read most of it over a period of an intense week. That was such an enjoyable experience, because the book is very well structured and written in a smooth yet careful style. The authors ensured that all required concepts were in place before introducing a new concept. And the prose just flows, rendering difficult concepts understandable through well-chosen examples.

Since then I have referred to this book often with specific questions that arose in my research. Each time, my question has been answered fully in the book.

Each chapter ends with a section entitled "Lessons Learned" which summarizes the key ideas of the chapter and just as importantly, states the practical application of each concept. Some concepts have not yet been realized in practice; the authors are up front about this and explain why.

Mike Tarrani's review does a good job of explaining the similarities and differences between this book and the other seminal book on transaction processing, by Jim Gray and Andreas Reuter. Both books have their place, and both should be on the shelf (and read by!) all those who want to understand transaction processing at a deep level. And I agree with Jim Gray who noted in his foreword to the Weikum/Vossen book that it is likely to become (indeed, has) the standard reference in this field.

Exceptionally clear writing. Encyclopedic in its coverage of transactions. Anyone dealing with transactions (not just DB developers) would find this a very valuable resource. If you need a book on transactions, this should be your first choice.

Tradicionally, the 'transaction' concept is always discussed at the RDBMS classes in the University. But this book goes FAR BEYOND this wide known implementation; with a solid math foundation (some math required, specially set theory and algorithms ) it shows you there are a lot of 'real-life' transactions that requiere some formal methods for defining their implementation.

This book has no discussion or topic regarding any comercial vendor technologies (specially databases), and I think this is very good. The Page and Object models for transaction processing are clearly explained. There's a very nice discussion concerning RAID technologies.

This is not an 'academic' book in all the sense of the word. It can help IT professionals to make better transactional system desing (databases, workflow,e-business,etc).

I would like some RDBMS vendors will include this kind of theory in their documentation....

Before this book was published my primary reference and personal favorite TP book was "Transaction Processing: Concepts and Techniques" by Jim Gray and Andreas Reuter. At over 1100 pages that book thoroughly covered the basics and drilled down into the nuances of transaction processing in a way unmatched by other books on the topic since it was first published in 1993.

This book changes that by going far beyond transaction processing. It starts with the same fundamentals as the older book, and even covers many of the same topics, such as concurrency control, but it addresses each topic from a much wider perspective. For example, the discussion of concurrency goes far beyond the issues of transaction processing as a middleware component. It extends into application, database and search issues. Another indication that this book is more up-to-date is the material on queue managers. While they are at the opposite end of the spectrum from transaction processing monitors, they are integral to any discussion of transactional information systems. More importantly, both transaction processing monitors and queue managers are used in modern enterprise architectures. Having both topics discussed in great detail is a major point in this book's favor.

Personally I intend to keep my copy of the older "Transaction Processing: Concepts and Techniques" because it does cover some of the subject matter more deeply. However, this book has replaced it as my principal reference and if I had to choose between them this is the one I'd go with.

If you want to learn about PC, this is the book for you. Have you ever gotten the dreaded blue screen of death in Windows, which could be an exception error or a Windows Stop error. This book will explain what these errors are and how to troubleshoot them. Besides going over DOS, Windows 9x, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP, this book gives you an easy to understand yet thorough understanding of hardware and software and how to troubleshoot problems with both. It also explains the differences between all of the processors produced by Intel and AMD and explains the differences between all of the different types of RAM. In addition, if you want to pursue the A+ certification, this book has everything for you to take and successfully pass the exams and help you find the job that you want.

As you probably already know, the PC market is a fast paced, fast changing arena. The only way to succeed in this career field is to learn the basic concepts of the PC (hardware and software), apply those concepts in a real-world situation and be willing to retrain yourself often through out your career. Therefore, as a college teacher for many years and working as a PC support/network administrator person for a local college, a city hall, a computer company and a chip manufacturer, I am able to share my experiences in a way that you can quickly and easily learn the material so that you can pass the A+ PC Technician exam, get a job as PC technician and to successful troubleshoot PC problems.

Each chapter is written in an easy to read format with many pictures. To keep you updated today's issues and to show you where you can get help in troubleshooting today's PC problems, I have included many useful Internet links and have include many real-world examples. At the end of each chapter, you will find review questions to help focus your efforts and prepare for the A+ exam and hands-on exercises to reinforce and apply what you have just read about. At the end of book there are several appendix for quick reference and a handy glossary.

For now, I would like to say good luck on your current and future endeavors and I thank you for considering purchasing my book.

Okay you want to learn more about computers and how to troubleshoot them. You eventually want you're A+ certification, and you think you need to buy to book in order to do this, right? Wrong, Prentice Hall has just combine the two and Troubleshooting the PC is that answer.

Covering all aspects of the technician's world, from the sound card and modem to the memory and ports to the video and storage, as well as the operating systems from DOS, Windows 3.x, 95, 98 and NT workstation, the book is great reference. Best of all it is written to the A+ specifications.

The books includes questions, hands-on exercises, figures, tables, pictures and over 650 A+ questions. You also get appendices for A+ Objectives, Binary number conversions, POST Error codes and operating systems error codes, a virtual plethora of computer information.

The author includes a detailed glossary; about the only thing that was missing was the "standard" cd-rom with A+ questions and software utilities. Overall I was very impressed with the depth of information and the author's ability to uncomplicated the breakdown of the information.

This is the best book that you will find if you want to learn how to fix computers (including motherboard problems, harddrive problems, sound cards and Windows problems) or prepare for the A+ Exam. I found it very helpful in troubleshooting a some of my friends computers and it had information that was not included in many other computer troubleshooting books. In addition, I found the book was easy to understand, it imparted a lot of 'real-world' experience and had lots of examples. Lastly, I think it gave me a good foundation, not to mention some confidence, to pursue my MSCE certification. I strongly recommend this book and is well worth the money.

I have been working on a project to make some changes to MySQL server
operation. Learned a lot through code review & trial and error! Recently
purchased this book and it is excellent! Wish we had it months ago.

The author knows what he's talking about. Provides a great overview of the
architecture, file and subsystem layout. Also provides great information on using the 'built in' debug capability of the server -- very useful!

I was expecting to be disappointed, I was not. The content was right
on the mark for those folks interested on working on server internals.

An excellent overview of the MySQL codebase, philosophy, and the design decisions that have made MySQL what it is today. Even though I have never touched the MySQL source before (it can be a daunting beast for the uninitiated), Sasha's explanations made me comfortable with the 'internals' and finally lifted the 'magic veil' off the engine. 'MySQL internals' has a perfect balance of high-level explanations, and low-level code samples to help you understand the inner workings of the database.

After reading this book you should be comfortable enough to tackle the source, and you'll also have deep understanding of the storage engines and how to configure them, how the query parser works, how the optimizer decides on the execution plan, and much more. This is a must read for any DBA, or a programmer who wants to see a great example of a high-performance, reliable UNIX server.

Sasha knows the mysql code well, and he has done a fantastic job of presenting it. This is an important book for anyone who would like an enhanced understanding of mysql, including DBAs who might need a detailed understanding of locking or replication to. And it's a must-have for anyone working on a storage engine.

Sasha Pachev's UNDERSTANDING MYSQL INTERNALS: DISCOVERING AND IMPROVING A GREAT DATABASE provides clear insights into one of the most popular open source codes on the market. It comes from a former member of the MySQL development team, so offers the author's own insights into the program's creation and use, covering everything from communication protocols between client and server to the parser and optimizer that execute SQL commands, advantages and disadvantages of using threads, and more technical insights.

MySQL is assuming increased importance as an enterprise database and has become the de-facto standard with web hosting companies. A number of books have appeared in recent years, covering various aspects of MySQL. In Understanding MySQL Internals, Sasha Pachev, a MySQL-focused consultant and former member of the MySQL development team, takes us on a tour of how MySQL works and how it is built.

Starting with an overview of MySQL history and architecture, the book quickly moves us through working with the source code to build and run the product in a debugger. Drawing on his deep experience with the software, Mr. Pachev explains the coding conventions used to develop MySQL and why you should use them when modifying the software yourself.

The author delineates the different functional "modules" (a term he coined himself to better explain the database, technically speaking there are no defined modules in MySQL's architecture) of MySQL and how they interrelate. Herein lies the key to how this book teaches the reader the vast intricacy of such a complex piece of software. The author recognizes the subject is huge and the source code changing. What he does in the book is serve as our tour guide, driving us through the various areas and explaining as much relevant information as he reasonably can. He constantly illustrates key pieces of source code and data structures; but perhaps more importantly he makes reference to the actual source files utilized by each functional component of the system, while encouraging us to explore further on our own. His approach is very much "top down".

As he takes us on this tour, the author explains many of the design decisions behind the various MySQL components, often imparting the historical perspective behind them. I appreciate how, throughout the book, the author shares some of his "inside information" about MySQL's development. There is also a section where he examines the code stability of each module and speculates on what the future may hold for each module. The author's writing style is clear and easy to read. I found Understanding MySQL Internals interesting and fun, and surprisingly easy to read for a book covering such a sophisticated piece of software. The author also does a good job explaining the engineering trade-offs of different MySQL configurations. Speaking of configuration, the book shows you how to add your own configuration option to the mysqld daemon.

Chapter 7, the largest chapter in the book, is 41 pages long. It covers the MySQL storage engine interface. This chapter explains how to integrate your own custom storage engine into MySQL and contains the source code for two custom storage engine examples (one for MySQL 4.1, the other for version 5.1). You can download this source code from O'Reilly's web site. Despite this one long chapter, the book is surprising short, only 234 pages.

I believe this book has value outside of MySQL. It does a good job showing how MySQL is essentially a well designed piece of software: a high-performance, reliable Unix server. The book also touches on the multi-platform aspects of MySQL design. Those of you designing other types of server software may benefit from studying how MySQL is constructed.

This book isn't for everyone, but if you are serious about MySQL in particular or database software design in general then this title certainly deserves a look.

This is a basic book for those with little knowledge of Approach and relational data bases. The book guides you through the creation of a sample application building on each chapter until you have a good basic understanding of how to work with Approach

"Using Lotus Approach 96" (Special Edition) by Cynthia Morgan and Susan Sloan provides the reader with a thorough understanding of Lotus Approach. It is not limited in terms of application to the Approach 96 version. It certainly applies equally well to Approach 97 and probably to the latest version included in the Millenium edition of Lotus SmartSuite. The book is long, more than 600 pages, but many pages are devoted to actual hands on skill building exercises that are extraordinarily helpful. Anyone who expects to use the database application more than casually would, I believe, find this book answers most of his or her questions and probably will keep going back to it as a reference resource.

This book takes a step-by-step approach to teaching the basics of database design as well as how to use Lotus Approach effectively. It is written for the "non-programmer" without all of the jargon one usually finds in books of this type. It is also a great reference book - not a "one time read".

Having purchased this book in 1997 in an attempt to learn "something" about Lotus Approach, I discovered that not only was this a suitable guide for the novice, it was also a reference manual of some mighty weight. Using this book as a guide I have created several major databases with over 150 macros automating numerous functions. Through this book I have also learned enough about Approach to answer other users queries. It is still in my view the definitive guide to Lotus Approach.

This book is here to help the beginner in Apache, PHP, Perl and MySQL. If you have always fancy in setting up your own web server but have no idea of how to do it, this book is for you.

The author teaches you step-by-step from installing Apache web server, PHP and Perl to writing applications like database-enabled web applications using Perl, PHP and MySQL. He also touches a small portion of SSI (Server-sise Includes).

This book is indeed very good for beginners. However, please be warned that you may get frustrated by the typos and mistakes found in this book. Refer to the previous post, he mentioned some configuration issues which are helpful. Other than that, this book is definitely worth reading as you may learn a lot especially when you have no idea of what and how to use Apache, PHP, Perl, and MySQL.

For advanced readers, you may want to look into other books :)

I want to congratulate the author for writing such an excellent book for beginners to open-source software like Apache, PHP and mySQL. On windows platform does not bother me as it is the predominant operating system platform and easier to relate to, although I do hope the second version of this book might include a Linux-version.

The CD software includes the latest version of PHP, MySQL, Apache and Perl, although personally I think Perl should be less covered since PHP is much better. Also the section of IIS installation with PHP kind of distract the attention from Apache in the whole book.

Some typo errors in the book's codes, as well as installation errors not mentioned in the book could frustrate non-technical people: e.g. Not able to set up on my Windows XP (Home) for virtual host / Server Side Include / OpenSSL / Preventing Directory listing...also on PHPMyadmin (Chap 8), the book missed out a step to uncomment in PHP.INI the line extension=php_mysql.dll in order to get the nice result of Fig 8.30, otherwise you would contantly get this error "cannot load mysql extension'.

Overall the book is recommended to read through in one session (I spent 3 hours in one single night), then follow by practices in few other sessions on Apache, PHP and MySQL in sequence.

It has been an enriching and enjoyment experience for me. I highly recommend to all new commers in web-database application developers.

Eric Hunley's USING OPEN SOURCE WEB SOFTWARE WITH WINDOWS addresses some common issues with open source documentation, from Linux/UNIX focuses not easily accessible to Widows users to adapting these focuses to Windows environments. Chapters tell exactly how to adapt open source software to Windows environments, using four of the most popular Internet programs as examples. The focus on how to reduce costs in the process is also a welcome one.

While there is an awful lot of software available on the net, this book concentrates on software related to setting up web sites on systems running the Windows operating system. This includes the Apache web server, PHP to provide web/database interconnectivity, MySQL database, and Perl to provide more flexibility to your web sites. The CD-ROM included with the book includes copies of all of this software, so here is really all that you need to put up dynamic web sites.

I gues the question I would have to ask is that if you are using a system for a single application such as being a web server, why wouldn't you go all the way and use a Linux operating system under it, it would be faster, more reliable and less expensive. But if you gotta use Windows, here's all you need.

Un muy buen libro. Muy diferente al estilo de los libros de "* for dummies", utilizando ejemplos concisos y bien explicados para darse a entender.
El libro es un excelente prefacio a PHP, y Filemaker desde cero, y llega hasta la configuración de servidores, que pareciera ser un proceso exclusivamente administrativo.

FileMaker and PHP are absolutley the way to go, and this is
THE BEST BOOK to get for Filemaker web publishing.
As a "non-programmer" who has struggled in the past trying to bring a database to the web,
I found the examples in this book easy to follow and understand.
It definately took me to the next level.

This book is an excellent introduction to HTML, PHP and the FileMaker API. Jonathan has an easy-to-read style. I found it to be a quick and informative read. I enjoyed how he can cover a topic in sufficient depth without the material being too long. This book focuses on the code in a text editor (rather than a visual editor), which is the best way to truly master the subject. Each chapter covers a specific topic so you can read it cover to cover or just focus on the material that is of interest to you. Well done Jonathan!

Over the holiday break I had some time to read (a better word might be "consume") Jonathan Stark's book "Web Publishing with PHP and FileMaker 9." In a little more than 250 pages, Jonathan manages to do the impossible: He explains how to put the FileMaker API for PHP to use.

The book is divided into four logical sections. The first section provides background information for those new to the world of Web publishing, including an introduction to HTML and PHP. After reading this section, you won't be an HTML expert, and you certainly won't be a PHP pro. But you will have a good understanding of the technologies involved in Web publishing and development, and how those technologies fit together.

The second section of the book provides a foundation for the examples that are used later on. The section includes a chapter on how to setup a FileMaker database (creating fields, working with the database, performing finds, and so on). I'm sure that the majority of readers will find this section to be unnecessary and might be tempted to skip it. However, the chapter does cover one key topic that you should take a few minutes to check out, and that is an explanation on how to setup a FileMaker account (and grant it the correct privileges) that PHP can use to connect to the database.

The second section also covers installation, deployment, and configuration of FileMaker Server, as well as the new PHP Site Assistant. Jonathan makes a recommendation -- and one that I heartily agree with -- that if you do not absolutely need your own server, then using a server provided by a Web hosting provider is an ideal solution. However, if you do have your own server, you'll find this information to be of great use.

The third section of "Web Publishing with PHP and FileMaker 9" includes what I consider to be the most valuable information in the book. This section covers the FileMaker API for PHP (often referred to as "FileMaker.php") itself, and does so using an example Web application that is developed and expanded throughout the section. The application is one that most readers will be able to associate with -- an online product catalog.

The section includes chapters on how to select, sort, and do finds against a FileMaker database using PHP. Another chapter explains how to alter FileMaker data over the Web, including the creation of new records and updates and deletions of existing records. There are also chapters on how to view, add, edit, and delete related data via PHP (which is accomplished using portals), as well as some very useful information on how to work with images (including images stored in container fields and those stored by reference using URLs).

The last chapter in the third section describes a very interesting concept: Developing a PHP application that automatically updates as the FileMaker layouts that it is built on are updated. For example, if a field is added or removed, the PHP application automatically adds and/or drops the field as well. If you are looking for an easy way to let your FileMaker users "self-manage" a PHP application, then this chapter will prove to be invaluable to you.

"Web Publishing with PHP and FileMaker 9" covers a lot of ground, and does so in a way that makes it a fast and enjoyable journey. Jonathan's writing style and "voice" make it easy to follow along with the material. His expert knowledge of PHP and FileMaker is apparent, and he does a great job of sharing that knowledge in the book.

If you are looking for a good book on PHP and FileMaker integration -- whether you are new to the topic or consider yourself to be a pro -- then I highly recommend picking up a copy of "Web Publishing with PHP and FileMaker 9."

I purchased Web Connection from west-wind.com and was very excited about the possibilities, however I knew very little about how the web worked, and I made many mistakes.

I was truely amazed and very very pleased when I got my copy of WebRAD - this book is very complete and well thought out. It takes you step by step through creating a web application with WC and VFP, and even how to set up your web server properly. All the details and common errors are covered, as well as the best way to do things for different circumstances. I would have saved many days research if I had had this book from the beginning.

For example: when you set up a project in Web Connection, the wizards do many things for you automatically - this book tells you step by step how to set up these things properly (manually if you want to), so you know how _and_ why, and how to deploy your application to your production server. And there is so much more!

This book is extremely timely for me. I have a WC web site for my business, and the SSL appendix alone is worth the price of the book. I really liked how the entire development process was summarized in the first 4 chapters so developers can get an immediate sense of accomplishment before they get into the details in the later chapters.

For chapters that had references to other resources, a complete summary of those resources was provided at the end of the chapters. This makes it quite convenient to find additional help without having to search through the chapters.

The chapters on troubleshooting are very well organized as well. One of these chapters categorizes common problems, then lists each symptom followed by a cause and solution.

The new WebRad book from [website] is everything a good technical book should be. It shows the common pitfalls, in text and graphics; relates concepts to what is already known; and shows an organic progression from specific to broad to specific.

Confused by what the Web is? HTML? CSS? It's all here.

Need to know about NT/Win2K permissions on IIS? Deployment of COM servers? Comparison of .prg-based class libraries? It's all here.

What it's really about ... is almost irrelevant to whether you should buy this book. If you plan to edit or write a technical book, this one is worth having as an example of the task being done right.

As Whil Hentzen, the namesake of Hentzenwerke, can attest, this is not my reaction to all the Hentzenwerke collection. Congratulations to the authors (Harold Chattaway, Randy Pearson, and Whil Hentzen) and the editor. I mention the editor (Barbara Peisch) not just to make nice: no author is capable of putting together a totally coherent book. It always takes two points of view, in order for the reader to become the focus of the book, rather than the author. A strong editor makes the difference between an interesting author and a good book. This is a good book.

Web Connection is a difficult environment to work in particularly if you are new to working with a) a local server and b) a framework for interfacing the VFP language with HTML.

It took me almost a year to complete my first Web Connection project because I had to get most of my answers from the Web Connection forum from people like Randy Person.

Now there are real examples to follow and clear explanations of how each feature works.

Web Connection is a powerful framework for developing VFP applications for the Web. This book will make the learning curve so much better for users of the Web Connection framework.

Congratulations to Randy, Harold and Whil for their thoughtful, meticulous documentation to explain how to set up and use this wonderful product.

Mike Smith