Programs Books

Lafore has done a wonderful job. Specially his explanation of the C syntax in this book is excellent. If you are an absolute beginner then this is your book. Learn C in a painless way. Moreover this book also teaches you C graphics! that is something you will not find in most of the great C books in the market.

This book is best for people who are getting introduced to programming ... or C for that matter. It is THE best start-up material. Tip: Read it to build up concepts and move to books dealing with more advanced topic for the highest personal gain.
A book worth digesting !!!

Its a good and well written book. This was my first book which I used to delve into programming. Found it very useful. Cannot be really used as reference, but its good to clear your concepts of OOP.

LeFore's book is a great book for beginning programmers. I have taught C/C++ at our local community college and have often recommended this book to students and friends. It is well written and not overly complex. It has clear explanations of constructs and good examples. Kudos to the author. All beginning books should be so easy to understand.

I'm a chem e of 15 years beginning an MS CS degree. A PHD candidate CS friend of mine recommended this book. My programming in C class uses Deitel. Deitel is very poor in explaining the basics of functions and pointers. Lafore does not go into as much depth as Deitel, but does an excellent job with the basics of arrays, functions, pointers, and the syntax around them. By the time Deitel got to fucntions, pointers and pointers to functions from within other functions, I got lost because I couldn't follow the synax in the examples with any certainty. Lafore saved me. I read the chapter on functions and the first 5 pages on pointers and gained a much clearer understanding of the basics. I was then able to understand the more in depth examples of Deitel. I deduct one star for Lafore's lack of depth.

Robert Lafore Once again writing an outstanding book.It is a compulsory for any C++ developer.

This book is a definate must for the new C++ student. Easy to read and many examples with precise explanation of the example codes. Great book and a definate must have.

Robert Lafore's OOP in C++ is an excellent book.I read it from cover to cover.I also did all the examples in the book.I got so used to this book that once I lost it,I could not satisfy my doubts in C++ with any other book.Lafore deeply explains the complexities of this language in a simple easy way.Great for beginners also.Although,I read many other books on this subject,no other book explains things so vividly and clearly as in this.

I stumbled onto this book in 8th grade at a local Bookstar bookstore back in 1992. After thumbing through a few pages, I found that I could understand it pretty easily.

It was an amazingly well-written book. As a 14-year old kid I was able to write some pretty fancy object-oriented programs. Later in college, I found myself using Mr. Lafore's book more often than I used my C++ text by Stroustrup.

At some point while moving back and forth between school and home, I lost my copy. But I found that this book is STILL available in what is essentially its 4th edition under the title "Object-Oriented Programming in C++" to this day. Long live this book! It's wonderful!

I rarely give 5 stars to anything. This book is in the top 2 or 3 computer books I've ever read. The author uses a +5 pronged approach to teach. Most books don't even use 3! He explains the general concept very well, then provides relevent small examples, questions (with answers) at the end of chapters, then a magna cum example in a separate chapter, and what's more he uses diagrams very generously.
I agree with the other reviewers - FANTASTIC!
If anyone knows of a better beginner-intermediate C++ book, please send me an e-mail, titled "BETTER C++".

This book opens up your mind to how simple & yet how great God & His plan is. When we wonder why things aren't happening like in Jesus' day we just have to seek Him & when we really see & know Him everything else will fall into place. The writer teaches us to seek Him, not for the things that He can do but just because we don't really see & know Him. This book really helps you to see who God is through His son Jesus. When we truly have Him we have everything that we need.

We have been reading this book every night before going to sleep and it has been great. Being written decades ago, I am so surprised at how relevant this book is for today. One main point is that everything we "need" is found in Jesus alone. That is a very relevant message for my materialistic and over-prescribed life.

A friend gave me a copy in college and I devoured it immediately. I like to underline the more meaningful passages and I found I was underlining the entire book. Roy and Revel Hession go straight to the heart of what is means to follow Jesus and seeing Him as all we need, as the truth, as the door, as the way, as the end and for others. The Hessions write in a powerful style that few modern day authors can emulate. The 96 pages make for a powerful book in a small package.

Building on the themes of "Calvary Road," the Hessions still focus on the believer's bondage, and show how Christ has freed us of the yoke which is around our necks (soul and spirit). If you haven't read The Calvary Road, you can still gain a great deal from this little book, and possibly then you can read the original.

A good read!!!

When you are composing a "must-read" list of books, you should keep it rather short. There are many excellent books, but which ones _must_ be read? The Bible, for one. After that, "We Would See Jesus" rises rather close to the top.
Why?
Because it is short, yet dense. It is easily read, yet takes time to digest. And although you can read it in a Saturday, you will read it repeatedly to enjoy all that is contained in such a small book.
- soli Deo gloria -

Steve Heller does it again, this time pushing the envelope. It continues where his Introduction to C++ left off in Who's Afraid of C++, and gets into more complex topics. The book provides another great stepping stone into the world of C++ programming. Its a great book, and worth the read if you are a bit more than a novice, or you have read the previous one. It not only tells you how to program in C++, but explains why you do certain things, something which other C++ books skip on because they assume you've already learned C. You don't have to learn C to program in C++, this book proves it, and if you know C++, then its a snap to do a little C programming.

1. Steve writes VERY well. 2. The interplay between Steve, and Susan is very engaging (it ought to be, ... they got married) 3. Steve uses iterative improvement to demonstrate how software really gets written. 4. He admits to his mistakes, at least some of them ;-) 5. He presents the material in a way for the reader to add new knowledge to a solid foundation.

Steve, you done good!

I've read some of the more technical language references for C++, but I'd always end up just using them to look up stuff when I got stuck. This book (and the first Who's Afraid...) both have a casual and clear tone that makes complex and abstract concepts seem to make perfect sense if you slow down and especially if you read the questions asked by the "student". About 1/2 to 2/3 of the time I had the same question. Some people won't like the fact that it's not purely a technical book, but a little story goes a long way in making a book interesting enough to read through instead of wade through.

Following the lead of the first book, "Who's Afraid of C++?," this latest volume does not skip a beat. While most books _show_ you how to write _code_, this one _teaches_ you how to be a _programmer_. The two are not synonymous. Through the object-oriented development of a realistically sized application, the reader is engrossed in the software design process. Features of the C++ language are introduced as their need arises in the program, giving the reader a great perspective on why they exist and how they are used effectively in real programming situations. You will learn how to truly utilize C++ as the tool for solving problems and designing great software. At the end of this book, you will have the tools necessary to advance in the world of C++ with great confidence. Without reservation, enthusiastically recommend the two "Who's Afraid of..." books to anyone interested in truly learning C++. I pity those who have to learn it any other way!

The genius of Steve Heller has created a masterful sequel to his original work "Who's Afraid of C++." His treatment of complex topics like encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism demonstrates an understanding of the difficult process of learning advanced C++ concepts. Steve's goal is to help the reader understand how to create his or her own class as opposed to simply referencing classes created by others. His writing style, which includes using a student-teacher dialogue, is unique in the world of C++ instruction. All of the topics covered follow a logical progression of thought. His in-depth treatment of memory addresses and program instructions enables the reader to see at a glance the complex workings of the execution of a C++ program. The highpoint of the book has Steve teaching a unique method for the creator of a class to hide pointers from the user of a class in order to prevent many of the common memory-allocation problems associated with C++. As he did in the original "Who's Afraid of C++", Steve encourages the reader to build a working example of the techniques covered in the book. The software included with the book has the source files used and a C++ compiler on CDROM. There is also an e-mail discussion group that allows the reader to contact other readers and Steve himself regarding issues covered in the book. In addition to all the C++ covered, Steve offers his thoughts on the Y2K problem and its consequences. If you really want to understand C++ and develop your general programming skills, you can't go wrong with this volume.

I'm very lucky to find this book, because it will helps me to learn English. But I think it's good also for everybody because the book teach us the correct name of the things that we need day by day.
It's my second by at Amazon and I'm very happy
Cordially,
Luzia

This is the kind of dictionary I needed. When you want to know how to say a concrete concept you will understand better if you use this picture dictionary.

Please review the book I ordered its call word by word picture dictionary, second edition

I was lucky enough to be in a situation where my adult ESL classroom had enough in-classroom copies for all students to use during classtime. I used this almost everyday. It's a fantastic way to teach new vocabulary, especially when you combine its use with other teaching tools, such as acting out motions. I often had my students use the books to quiz each other. This is a good resource, and if you can get enough copies for everyone in your class to share, DO IT!

I host foreign exchange students and the first few weeks this helps them out till they get just a better grasp of the English language. Most come with a very good understanding, but if they need to go to the doctor's or something this picture dictionary is just the thing to help out. It is useful around the house also.

Yoga is a perfect remedy for anxiety.The book Yoga RX gives you the tools you need to improve your bodys reaction to stress.Everything is explained in a professional but clear manner and gives you simple breathing methods that are extremely helpful.Thank you for this great resource! Lisa Marino TX

Yoga Rx is a user-friendly introduction to how Yoga Therapy adapts the practices of yoga to the needs of people with specific health problems. It is an important book for bridging the gap between yoga teachers, doctors and other health professionals. Both busy doctors and their patients will benefit tremendously from reading Yoga Rx. As a companion to this book, I recommend Yoga: the Path to Holistic Health, by B.K.S. Iyengar, which illustrates the use of props in therapeutic yoga programs.I highly recommend Yoga Rx to teachers of all traditions. 100 Sun Salutations to Larry Payne and Dr.Richard Usatine for writing this empowering book! Suza Francina, author, The New Yoga for People Over 50 and Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause.

As practicing Yoga therapist, perhaps my best recommendation is to note that I have spiral bound my own copy and some of the pages are becoming a bit dog-eared.

This is a well written, sound introductory guide to Yoga therapy, written by two of the Western leaders in this emerging discipline. The text has an elegant simplicity, reflecting years of experience. I especially appreciate the thoughtful allopathic medical advice and wise lifestyle counseling well integrated with the Yoga practices. I also appreciate the extensive resource guide and the many academic references. The book as a whole provides much insight for students, yoga teachers and other health care practitioners wanting to explore the many possibilities for Yoga for health and wellness as well as an alternative or complementary therapy.

As a teacher attempting to work with individuals as a whole, however, I remain somewhat uncomfortable with the connotations of the title of this book. Yoga therapy is not a set of mechanical prescriptions for common ailments. That sort of cookbook assumption does a disservice to the breadth of the discipline, the role of a teacher and the many dimensions to each student. The authors, of course, know this well. Larry Payne has done much pioneering work in Yoga therapy and in bridging this discipline to the allopathic medical community.

In my view, the practices in the book are more illustrative of general principles applied to specific individuals and situations at a point in time rather than prescriptions that can be easily generalized. In that sense, this book may be more appropriate for the experienced Yoga therapist who will be familiar with various caveats, alternative approaches and broader dimensions to Yoga practice.

For example, chronic lower back pain is probably the most common complaint brought to Yoga therapists. The practice suggested in the book should be helpful to many in "typical" situations and I have used it successfully with some of my own students. Few students are typical, however. For many students that particular sequence will be too strong, or too gentle or too long, or contains a contraindicated movement, such as the twist. In real life, many students will have other important health considerations besides unspecified lower back pain, e.g., a different limiting injury, excessive stiffness or flexibility, difficulty breathing, depression, perhaps even much experience in Yoga from another tradition, etc.

Many students will have, or will soon develop, other goals for practice besides pain relief. Increased physical & psychological strength and private spiritual support are two common, but much different aspects of Yoga practice that can be woven in or stimulated from therapeutic applications.

Finally, perhaps more than a technique, students may most need a relationship with a teacher who will see them as a whole, something they might not find in the conventional health care environment.

From those perspectives, there is no substitute for working with a well-trained and experienced therapist. Finding a qualified practitioner, however, may be difficult. This is common with many emerging CAM therapies, but perhaps especially acute in Yoga. There are no standards for Yoga therapists and few in-depth training programs.

An obvious companion to this book is Yoga for Wellness by Gary Kraftsow (from the same teaching lineage). Compare, for example, the much stronger sequence for working with the lower back in that book and the emphasis on case studies. Together, these two books provide a rich, complementary perspective on Yoga therapy.

For those interested in Yoga and complementary and alternative medicine, I recommend The Yoga of Healing by T. K. V. Desikachar and Dr. Arjun Rajabopalan. Also The Best Alternative Medicine by Dr. Kenneth Pelletier. For broader and deeper perspectives on Yoga from the same lineage, see The Heart of Yoga by Desikachar and Yoga for Body Breath and Mind by A. G. Mohan. Practicing or aspiring Yoga therapists should be subscribers, or course, to the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, co-founded by Larry many years ago.

This book is a comprehensive, intelligently written, and accessible resource for all those interested in their health, yoga, or both. I enthusiastically recommend this well written, easy to read, and easy to understand book.

Any Yoga practitioner and teacher should feel privileged that this book is made available. The authors bring out their experience in dealing with ailments of the body applying Yoga in such great detail. A host of common and not so common ailments are covered - explanation of the relevant anatomy, examples of people they treated with Yoga and the routines used.

As a Yoga teacher I find this book immensely (that is just an understatement) helpful. I routinely use and refer this beautiful presentation to address my student's concern. The authors understanding and respect for the (patient's) body and a diverse audience a book can reach is evident in the routines which are mild and curative, in the precautions and helpful wholesome practices that can also be followed.

The publishers have done a terrific job in the quality of the photographs, printing and the overall book itself. Another jem of a book about application of Yoga for what is needed most today. The authors and publishers have truly done a yoeman service by making such content available.

Our family and circle of friends have a wide variety of kids' ages, from two years old to fourteen. This book contains many activities that can be split up among age/capabilities of the kids involved, making it both useful and fun for everyone. Even older kids outside of the recommended play activities can participate by helping get things ready for the younger kids.
There's very little that can't be set up during the course of an average toddler's nap time, another plus. Highly recommended for anyone who needs to wrangle a diverse age/capability group on a weekend afternoon.

I wish I would have known about this book earlier. We could have been having this much fun sooner! My son is turning 3 and it is perfect for him. The layout of the book is great. It lists the supplies you need, details variations you might opt for, and lists resources.

I really like the resources being listed. I plan themed days in advance and I look for the books and/or videos listed in the resources at the local library to help with the theme for that day. For example if it is "airplane day" I look up books and videos on airplanes at the library so we can learn about them before we dive into the other activities.

At first I thought "wow this book has so many themed day I will never have time to do everything listed". Now I see that some themes really only work planned in advance but others work well at last notice. I mean we all know with toddlers events are unpredictable!!

Great book for anyone with children or those caring for them.

Well organized. Comprehensive. Creative. An excellent resource for teachers, parents, and caregivers. As a mother of girls aged 4 years 9 months and 3 years, I was searching for activities that they both would enjoy and that I could adapt to their different levels of development. This book is a lifesaver! For each theme, the author, Pamela Waterman, provides several Art projects with simple instructions, a few Indoor activities, suggested Musical activities or songs to sing, activities to do Outdoors, Books to check out from the library or buy, Videos to rent or buy, and special snacks to make. All theme related. Most using supplies that are easily found around the home or inexpensive to purchase. There is even a section called Hints for Your Own Situation that includes tips for older children. You can follow the themes from A to Z, or skip around to various favorites as I do. With 52 Weeks of Themes, here are a few:
Astronomy
Bugs
Circus
Detectives
Firefighting
Hair
Musical Instruments
Pirates
Restaurant
Surprises!
Theater
Wheels
Zoo

I was pleased to receive my copy of this book as it provided me with many valuable tips, games and ideas to occupy two very active children and their friends.

The style of the book is easy and comfortable, giving valuable advice in how to constructively occupy growing minds in an appealing manner.

The children, and their friends, have enjoyed many of the activities, so far, and I'm sure will continue to do so.

Thanks to Ms Waterman for this invaluable resource.

Absolute Best Play Days, by Pamela Waterman, is an extremely valuable resource for planning themed activities for children. This is a book that we librarians will use to get ideas for our 2-to-6-year-old story times. We like to structure our story times around various themes and the ideas presented in this book are great--really creative--and also very do-able! That's definitely a plus! Thanks!

THE ACTUAL REALITY OF JENNIFER JAMES is a hilarious novel reminiscent of the popular Georgia Nicholson series, only even better. It has more of a plot, and Jennifer is a lot smarter than Georgia. Both, however, are hilarious and very British!

Jennifer's school, London Road Comprehensive, despite being described as "bog-standard," has one exceptional thing going for it: It's about to be featured on a reality television show in which celebrities, teachers, and students will compete for top prizes in front of the entire country. Which would be exciting enough even if Jennifer wasn't a huge part of it, but she's one of the dozen student contestants competing for a scholarship to the prestigious St. Willibald's College, a boarding school with much higher academic standards than London Road Comprehensive--making it the perfect place for overachiever Jennifer James.

Of course, being on constantly camera is not as great as it sounds. Cameras are more than a little invasion of privacy. They make Jennifer's life--particularly her rather nonexistent love life--more difficult than it used to be. Is it really worth it, putting up with it all to go to St. Willibald's?

THE ACTUAL REALITY OF JENNIFER JAMES is laugh-out-loud hilarious, but at the same time a very intelligent and interesting novel. It's certainly an original story and very well-written. Add to this wonderfully funny novel a cast of fantastic characters, and you've got a brilliant book. I can't wait to read more by Gillian Shields!

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce
02/15/2007

When a new British reality TV series begins filming at London Road Comprehensive, Jennifer unwillingly becomes a contestant alongside her peers, her teachers, and eccentric celebrities. Two kids per grade (except for the highest year) are selected to participate, with the student prize being a scholarship to an elite school. Jennifer doesn't want to be on the show, but she has been selected to represent her grade. So has Tallulah, who is as cruel as she is pretty - and she knows it.

This book is written in diary format. Nearly four hundred pages in length, it is unlike many other stories about reality TV shows because Jennifer doesn't watch herself on TV. She can't. Her mother doesn't permit televisions in the house. This allows the book to be more about Jennifer and less about television. She is a reluctant participant in this crazy game, and readers will root for her.

It took me a few pages to get into this, but I absolutely LOVED it and couldn't put it down after the first chapter. It's hilarious, quick-witted, modern and smart. Great characters and all i could think is: I can't wait for the movie! (which i don't know if there will ever be one, but if any production company is smart, they'll buy the rights!)

Fantastic, hilarious, moving and compelling. I could put it down and it never once let me down. A must, must read.

What do you get when you take the idea for an in-school reality TV show and cross it with a character reminiscent of Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicolson? One of the freshest and cutest novels around, THE ACTUAL REAL REALITY OF JENNIFER JAMES.

Jennifer James is not the most popular girl in her not-so-posh school, London Road Comprehensive. Boys may not necessarily notice her and her family may not come from money. But the one thing that may be working for Jennifer is when the newest reality TV show, Down the Bog, comes to her school and offers one lucky student a scholarship to St. Willibald's College. This could be the chance for Jennifer to finally go to a good school, and all she needs is to be entered into the competition--but it may not be that easy.

How the show works is that they choose two kids per grade and have a group of celebrities act as teachers at the school. The entire time, cameras will be showing all the action that is happening inside the school, and each week there will be a certain competition that the contestants and celebrities will have to compete in. And each week, viewers will call in and the one student and the one celebrity with the lowest number of votes will have to leave.

Fortunately, Jennifer is oddly enough chosen to be a contestant. But that may be the only good news. There seems to be many struggles that Jennifer is going to have to face, like the very popular and very rude Tallulah, bullying her way through the competition and practically causing Jennifer's life to be miserable. Then there's Marcus, the guy who Jennifer has a crush on but who also seems to be on Tallulah's radar. And then there is Jennifer's feminist mother Jocasta, who hates the idea of Jennifer being on a reality show. For now, trying to win the competition could be the hardest obstacle that Jennifer has ever faced.

THE ACTUAL REAL REALITY OF JENNIFER JAMES is witty, fun, and very compelling. Readers will get so attached to Jennifer that they will desperately root for her all the way, whether she wins or not. Gillian Shields captures the true essence of how it feels to want something very badly and to do the greatest thing to get it. The one thing that was on my mind during the reading was hoping for there to be a sequel to this fantastic book.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

Although the title suggest otherwise, Advanced Rails is really required reading for anyone using Rails - beginners and gurus alike. The information provided is excellent, with essential tips and sound advice. In particular, the chapters on routing, security, internationalization and database issues are well worth the purchase price. Like Obie's The Rails Way (Addison-Wesley Professional Ruby Series), this book should live on your desk in your workspace. What's missing? Well, it would have been nice to see information on Git considering the effort put into covering source control systems. It's also surprising that there is not more on testing techniques and issues. But overall, this book is fantastic, and chocked full of juicy info you won't find in any of the other Rails books currently available.

This book is almost worth it just for the first chapter's dive into Ruby metaprogramming, but the rest of the book doesn't disappoint. Ediger delivers useful advice regarding available methods, alternatives and considerations that all serious web developers should take into account.

This book should be non-optional for all Rails development teams, as it has some of the most sane and sober treatment of relevant topics I've ever read in a single book. From security to databases to deployment, this book gives the reader a solid foundation in nearly all of the major disciplines involved in building web applications.

As Ruby on Rails rocketed into the development community's hearts and minds a few years ago, the number of books on the subject climbed with it. However, a lot of these books were introductory in nature (Agile Web Development with Rails, Beginning Rails, Build Your Own Rails Applications, etc.). What's a budding Rails-head to do once they've gotten the basics down? Books like Advanced Rails -- which was released late last year by O'Reilly - aim to fill this void.

Author Brad Ediger has been kicking around the Rails scene since the pre-1.0 days. Though not a Rails "luminary" necessarily, he certainly qualifies as an advanced user. He is CTO for a Real Estate tech company called Tasman Labs and runs a web design (and Rails consulting) firm called Madriska Media Group. He seems like a sharp cookie and a decent writer.

Advanced Rails covers quite a bit of territory, going for breadth rather than depth most of the time. Each chapter covers a classic, pivotal development concern... well, at least most of them do. The chapters are as follows:

1. Foundational Techniques
2. ActiveSupport and RailTies
3. Rails Plugins
4. Database
5. Security
6. Performance
7. REST, Resources, and Web Services
8. i18n and L10n
9. Incorporating and Extending Rails
10. Large Projects

By "Foundational Techniques", Ediger is referring to Ruby and Rails techniques, principals and patterns like Metaprogramming, Don't Repeat Yourself, and Functional Programming techniques. The chapter also goes into a fair amount detail about the Object/Class/Module relationship. A bunch of this may not be particularly new material for most Rails users who've been at it for at least a few months. However, it's still nice to have all this stuff in one forty page chapter... good to have handy to refer to. Also, there are some nice nuggets in there that could save you some head-scratching. For example, what's the difference between Kernel#lambda and Proc.new? The answer is that, if you *return* a value from the block passed to Proc.new, the calling method is exited as well, abandoning any code that you might have after it.

If the first chapter feels like it's leaning towards a reference work, the second chapter -- which digs into all the goodies offered by ActiveSupport and RailTies -- pretty much falls over right into reference-land, complete with a method-by-method listing of features added to standard library classes. This may seem even more like just putting api docs available online into print, but Eidger defintely adds a bit more explanation. And, I haven't really seen anyone give a rundown of just what the heck RailTies does. That's the library that provides the glue to pull together the more famous Rails libraries to make it all work together as rails: generators, initializers, etc. There is definitely some interesting and not necessarily readily available information here.

Chapter three covers Rails Plugins, and is quick and painless. It explains the common files and directory structure in a plugin and talks about how Rails loads them. It also talks about using Piston instead of svn:externals to manage plugins and show some example plugins.

The following three chapters cover more of the classic eternal problems faced in running high-traffic sites: databases, security, and performance. These really make the most sense in an "advanced" book; they are the "brass tacks" that everyone must get down too if they go beyond the "toy app" stage. Ediger talks about the strengths and weaknesses of the various popular database systems. He also goes into the benefits of using the filesystem to store data, which is largely because web servers can make use of fast system calls to dump files straight into the TCP socket. He also covers some advanced db features like composite keys, stored procedures and clustering.

The security chapter isn't all that long and a lot of the info it covers can be found in beginner Rails books... SQL injection, cross-site scripting etc. However, the book would be remiss to not include this material and it is presented in a concise and complete manner. This would be good to refer back to now and then to make sure you haven't slipped in your security awareness. Ediger also doesn't hesitate to make specific recommendations, like "whitelist rather than blacklist".

He also jumps right into recommendations while writing about performance optimization in the next chapter: "Algorithmic improvements always beat code tweaks", "As a general rule, maintainability beats performance", "Only optimize what matters", "Measure twice, cut once". He then goes on to cover specific tools and techniques for uncovering your bottlenecks, from a quick explanation of basic statistics to using httpperf, benchmark, and Rails Analyzer Tools, improving database calls (using indexes and "include" on finders), and the various caching solutions. There is plenty of good information in this chapter; also a good bit of reference next time you need to track down a logjam.

Chapter seven covers RESTful Rails, from the very basic theory as outlined by Roy Fielding to exactly how Rails has chosen to use these concepts, and is the longest chapter in the book. The amount of coverage REST gets seems questionable since Rails has been very heavily into the RESTful approach for over a year and embraced the philosophy so thoroughly that it's hard to imagine anyone using Rails today without being exposed to the concepts.

On the other hand, one can still wire up verb-oriented actions in routes.rb and might be able to get away with ignoring all the RESTful goodness. So maybe there are some out there that can benefit from this chapter. Plus, having such thorough, theory-to-practice coverage allows the chapter to stand on its own as a solid reference to the whys and hows of RESTful Rails. It also has one of the better sections on RESTful routing that I have seen (routes being one of the more mysterious and sometimes frustrating pieces of Rails).

Rails has gotten plenty of grief for its lack of official support for Internationalization and Localization, but in Chapter eight, Ediger lays out the options, such as gettext, Gibberish, and Globalize. He is most enthusiastic about this last library and it does appear to be quite powerful, including support for translating strings, translating model fields, localizing numbers and dates, and even recording what needs to be translated by saving them in the database. Creating multi-lingual websites is a hard problem in any web-development framework and most other frameworks have plenty of head start. However, Ruby and Rails certainly isn't without options and it will only get better.

The next to last chapter of Advanced Rails runs through a number of alternatives to the standard components of the Rails framework. On the database end, it covers DataMapper, Ambition, and Og, giving this last one the most attention. For alternatives to ERB templates, Ediger talks about Markaby, Liquid and Haml, all in a very brisk fashion. He also talks about using traditional Rails components -- like ActiveRecord and ActionMailer -- outside of Rails applications. The chapter closes with a discussion of how to contribute to Rails (hint: submit a patch... don't just bitch!).

The last chapter is called "Large Projects" and covers some useful information about working on a Rails project with a team, beginning with version control (though anyone who is writing code that covers more than a single file and *not* using version control is just plain insane). This starts with a quick overview of Subversion, however this feels like it is really a set up for making a case for "decentralized version control". Ediger does a good job of explaining these concepts, using Mercurial for his examples. This seems a bit unfortunate, since many people on the Rails core team have embraced Git and it is looking like Rails will eventually move its repository to Git. However, Mercurial has a reputation of being more user-friendly, so that may have influenced his decision. And it's useful information regardless.

Chapter ten continues on to discuss avoiding migration numbering collisions, issue tracking, keeping Rails and required gems within a project, web servers, load balancers, production architecture and deployment tools like Capistrano. This is all covered in a fairly quick fashion so don't expect a lot of depth.

That last sentiment came up often while reading this book. It often felt like Ediger was trying to get every possible Rails-related topic into the book that he could, but didn't want to come out with some 1000-page behemoth. Plenty of the topics mentioned don't have much more coverage than you could get with a quick "googling". However, there is something to be said for being exposed to a lot of tools, projects and concepts in one go, even if the exposure is sometimes superficial. I definitely found reading this book worthwhile and will keep it around to refer back to now and then. I don't know if I'd go so far as to label it required reading, but then again books on web frameworks rarely are.

With 'Advanced Rails' the O'Reilly family of Rails books is looking to add a Rails book that talks about some of the extra stuff you can do with this great technology. At 300+ pages long this isn't a book with 'Learning' in the title, rather it assumes that you have some fundamental Rails knowledge and are looking to improve your skill set.

Chapter Overview:

01. Metaprogramming
02. ActiveSupport and RailTies
03. Rails Plugins
04. Database Stuff
05. Security
06. Performance
07. REST and Web Services
08. i18n and L10n
09. Incorporating and Extending Rails
10. Large Projects (Source Control and the like)

Rails is a powerful framework but it isn't an easy one to always understand and get working. If you are looking to use Rails in your web app and want to get better at understanding the ins and out of it, this book can really help fill in the blanks.

If you want to become a better Rails developer/admin pick up this book and get better immediately.

**** RECOMMENDED

For a programmer who doesn't work in an office full of rails gurus this book answers a ton of questions I would like to ask, but have no one I could ask.

Half of the book is bits of rails wisdom mixed in with recipe like code snippets.


A very timely book for me. I especially like the further reading sections at the end of each chapter. The book is new enough that all the links are current, and I have learned a few nuggets of knowledge from these as well.

The section on globalize was immediately useful on one of my current projects and returned my investment in the book many times over.

No wonder amazon only has one left today.

I recently bought all the box sets of X-Files DVD's and have been watching them in order when I came across this book on Amazon. It was a valuable source of information and trivia for all the episodes for that season. I only wish I had gotten the earlier volumes of this series and that it had continued for seasons 8 and 9.

After a much anticipated wait, I was glad to have this book appear in my mailbox shortly after it delayed in publishing. Happy as a clam I thumbed through the pages, seeing each episode written in a "short story" style with dialougue taken from the scripts. I am also glad to see that they kept the title "all things" in lower case, as Gillian Anderson had when naming the episode she had written and directed. I have all season guides and I must say this is one of the best ones put out.

This Book would have to be my all time favorite that only adds to my collection of vol.3-6 now. If you want more x-files, and want to learn more about Season 7, I suggest buying this book. Of course, like the other volumes it has in-depth details of each episode as well as black & white pictures to accommodate them. There are eight pages of color pictures: X-Cops, Je Souhaite, Fight Club, FPS, and, Hollywood A.D.. Very Cool! I enjoy this book very much, despite the delay in publishing, but beleive me, it was worth the wait. There's also the back story of why the ending of Requiem was kept a secret, why Chris waited until the last day of shooting Requiem to write the finale, and why only 2 people knew of it's true ending. . . . All in All, an Excellent Book to add to your X-Files Paraphernalia!

This book has great photo, dialogue each show, the cast, interviews, and intersting facts about the show. This is a must have in any one x-files colection.:) :) :) :) :)

I had some apprehensions about this book before it even came out. First, the release date for this volume was pushed back, which is not typically a very good sign. And second, this volume was being drafted by Marc Shapiro and not Andy Meisler (who did such a wonderful job with the previous two volumes). But after having read through it, I can happily allay any apprehensions about this book not living up to its predecessors. Volume 6 in this series is just as good, if not better, than those volumes that came out before it.

Marc Shapiro does a great job in delivering the goods behind every episode. I was very impressed with this from Andy Meisler, and Marc Shapiro doesn't disappoint. There is interesting background information on all the episodes - things like the time-crunch in making "Requiem" and the fact that Gillian Anderson had to wear a wig in a car scene in "The Goldberg Variation" because it was shot after her hair stylist had sheared off her lovely locks.

Included in this book are eight full-color pages of images from the seventh season. Those images selected are fine enough, but they only focus on about four or five episodes, which doesn't do such a great season justice. It would have been nice to see more of a mix - some mythology episodes ("The Sixth Extinction" and "Sein Und Zeit") and stand-alone episodes ("En Ami" and "All Things"). But this is a minor detraction from an overall sharp-looking book.

Any fans of the series should have this volume sitting on their bookshelves. This is a must-have, and it is an enjoyable read. Well worth the wait in the time it took to get it published.