Software Books

I am into this book halfway as a part of my personal training program having completed a couple of other books first. This book seems to give the whole package. I consider it superior to a Wrox book I have, but I wish it split apart the coding more like a Wrox book. Lot's of typing! Anyway, this book's a keeper!

Great book. Taking me through all the ins and outs of E-Commerce. It's not perfect with some documented errata on the website. But more than adequate for any coder with a pulse.

Dos ultimos livros que tenho comprado, assim como os da serie Head First da O'Really este livro superou muito as minhas espectativas.

Como um livro de tutorial foi maravilhoso e me trouxe muito conteudo !!!

Realmente vale a pena !!!

It's an excellent book, the book teaches you how to develop a site in three layers (presentation, business and data) in my ishe goal of this book.

'Beginning ASP .NET 2.0 E-Commerce in C# 2005: From Novice to Professional' by Cristian Darie and Karli Watson is one of the most unique and important books out there for anyone that is developing an E-Commerce site with ASP.NET 2.0. Starting from scratch, the authors step by step show you how to get a site running and WORKING well and efficient. Packed with 650+ pages of material, the authors break the steps down in logical parts, show how they go about the work to be done, and then provide the code which does the dirty work. Not only is it helpful, but it's a joy to follow the steps as so much of the curtain is pulled away to show the developer how to get the job done. This is easily one of my favorite Apress books that I have seen. One of the nicest things about the Apress line of books is the fact that they write and publish books that no one else seems to and this is a perfect example of this. I'll close with a chapter overview for your inspection:

01. Starting off
02. Laying Out the Foundation
03. Creating the Product Catalog: Part I
04. Creating the Product Catalog: Part II
05. Searching the Catalog
06. Improving Performance
07. Receiving Payments Using PayPal
08. Catalog Administration
09. Creating a Custom Shopping Cart
10. Custom Orders
11. Making Product Recommendations
12. Adding Customer Accounts
13. Advanced Customer Orders
14. Order Pipeline
15. Implementing the Pipeline
16. Credit Card Transactions
17. Integrating with Amazon

Tack on 2 appendixes to the end and you have a MUST-HAVE book for anyone that is looking to achieve the same goals that this books does!!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This book reads like a re-hash of an 80's vintage self-help book, so it may be valuable for lost souls with weak spirits.

For experienced, successful presenters looking to improve further it provides a few points to consider. I have not decided yet if those points are worth the purchase price of the book.

Peter Cohan has made a significant contribution to sales education in his book Great Demo! This book will serve anyone in software sales as well as sales people from a variety of product backgrounds. The book walks you through exactly, (not theoretically) how to create an effective software sales demonstration, with detailed focus on customer needs, expected customer reactions, and how to correct the tactic when things go wrong.

The difference between this book and other books on the subject is that it covers so many details; you feel as if you're sitting in a sales presentation as you read the book - you can envision yourself exactly in the pictures he paints. As a sales person who has read more sales books than I care to name, this book was a breath of fresh (and invigorating) air.

Great Demo is such a well thought out presentation of sales information that I would recommend it for any sales force, software or otherwise. It could easily be turned into a 2 day sales workshop or integrated into existing training programs. It is rare to find a sales book that truly teaches something of real value on every single page. Five BIG stars.

I was a very experienced consultant and pre-sales person that was an expert in my product line and could give a terrific demo every time to customers.

Simply put -- I was wrong, wrong, WRONG.

What I was presenting was the "standard" corporate demo that we were taught to give. I watched one of the standard demos after reading just a few chapters of the book and knew I had to make a significant change.

Toss out your old ideas, throw out your corporate overview slides and find out what the customer REALLY wants to see.

Peter's website has additional terrific tips and please ask your boss to have Peter come out to your sales/pre-sales/consulting teams for training. The 2 days reviewing and expanding on the ideas in this book were the most valuable training I have received ever in my professional life.

Do the last thing first, stop reading my review and buy this book. If your competitors are smart, they are already finalizing their online purchase now.

Some of us give good demonstrations based on gut feel; others need more guidance. No matter where you are in this spectrum, you will find value in the approach recommended in this book.

The methodology forces you to focus on understanding the critical business issues - not only what they are but how to use them in your session. Do the last thing first (a mantra reinforced throughout) captures the attention of the decision makers and influencers in such a way that it shows them how they can apply the solution to their requirements.

By doing this, the number of demos are reduced, the time to commit can be better managed when you have internal supporters wanting to work more effectively.

Read, apply and benefit from the results. I have seen proof of this in my own organization.

Before I started my current role, this book was given to me by a neighbor. In my last six months, I have tried to follow Peter Cohan's principles since I consider this to be the best on the subject. it is easy to forget what the purpose of a demo is, unless you have a clear understanding of what you doing, what you are showing, and what impacts the viewer the most.

Cohan provides a clear strategy for how to approach a demo. From starting with the last thing first, there are many techniques to help you and/or a sales force grab the attention of the viewer. The other technique that we often forget, is to address your customer's needs. By showing them the functionality that can address any pain points or solutions to address any of their pressing needs, the demo becomes more targeted, and ultimately more worthwhile.

If you are charged with giving demo's, this is certainly a great place to make what you do, better.

This is a readable, practical, and deep book. It's one of those books which teaches or refreshes Java and OO theory and practice as you read. I am also reading it for pleasure!

This is a great book. It is directed at users of JUnit, the Java unit testing framework. But in my mind the book gives sound advice for solving your programming problems in general, not just for Java or JUnit testing. It stresses the importance of unit testing, programming to interfaces instead of implementations and just simple common sense. The author is clearly passionate about his field and extremely experiences. The combination of enthusiasm and experience comes through on every page.

This review also appears on StickyMinds at http://www.stickyminds.com/s.asp?F=S767_BOOK_4

JUnit Recipes is a comprehensive tome of practical methods and techniques for the opensource JUnit tool to develop automated unit-tests for Java/J2EE applications. The book is split into four parts: Building Blocks, Testing J2EE, Additional JUnit Techniques, and Appendices. The Building Blocks cover the basics of using JUnit to create basic tests, organize and manage test suites and test data, running JUnit tests and reporting the results. It even includes a section on troubleshooting. Testing J2EE covers XML, JDBC, EJB, web components (including JSPs), and J2EE applications. Additional techniques include testing some well known design patterns, using JUnit add-ons and JUnit libraries (like GSBase). The Appendices include complete solutions (including code of course), some short and sweet essays on testing, and a modest recommended reading list.

The organization of the book flows very logically and the writing style is very clear and easy to follow. Along the way many insights into important design principles and testing techniques are revealed: the reader will learn about the "Hollywood principle", the Open-Closed principle, design patterns, POJOs, Mock Objects, Private and Parameterized Test-Cases, Abstract Test-Cases, Self-Shunts, and Spys. The book's coverage is very comprehensive and touches on many other popular Java/Enterprise projects and frameworks such as Struts, JBOSS, Prevayler, XDoclet, Tomcat, XPath, XMLUnit, HTTPUnit, Ant, Jakarta, and others.

Even though JUnit is often associated with "Agile" development and much of the wisdom apparent in the book applies to agile Java development, the book is useful to any Java developer on any Java project (agile or otherwise). The book also goes into considerable detail, with working code examples, to spell out exactly how to perform and apply the techniques it describes.

The book's primary audience is Java developers. Java Tester's will still find some good nuggets of information but it's quite clear that Java programmers and developers are the target audience. This isn't some high-level theoretical book mostly of concepts and ideas. This is an imminently pragmatic guide that not only conveys a great deal of highly practical wisdom but also clearly and comprehensively walks you through the explanations and the code to accomplish and apply the techniques it describes. The book is also not a "How To" for coming up-to-speed on setting up and running JUnit.

Another book from the same publisher, "JUnit in Action" is a great overview on learning more about the basics of running and using JUnit and on using JUnit to tackle a number of basic challenges with unit-testing Java and J2EE code. JUnit Recipes has some overlapping material but pretty much "picks up" where "JUnit in Action" leaves off, and JUnit Recipes goes into much more breadth and depth of coverage of JUnit methods, practices and techniques and use with other Java projects and frameworks.

I would say JUnit Recipes should probably be required reading for anyone attempting to use Java, J2EE and JUnit in the real-world.

This isn't necessarily the best introduction for absolute beginners (I would recommend /Pragmatic Unit Testing/ for that), but it is required reading for server-side Java, as most other reviewers have pointed out. But it's more than that--it's one of those rare computer books that transcends its subject matter. Why? Because it can make you a better programmer. While some of the credit can rightly be given to unit testing and Test-Driven Development in general, Rainsberger's book makes you /see/ better ways to write and refactor your code. The breadth and depth of examples is astonishing--he convincingly shatters "but it's too hard to test that" arguments with well-researched, non-trivial examples. In fact, I'd say that this is almost a better J2EE tutorial than most books about J2EE proper.

I'm withholding a star for one reason: the book doesn't cover GUI testing tools like Jemmy, JFCUnit, or Abbot/Costello. These JUnit extensions are ripe for a book with this depth; it's just too bad that this couldn't be that book. Other than that, I find that I turn to Rainsberger's book far more often than any other testing book or online reference.

Rainsberger does a very good job of detailing the techniques to unit test difficult code; including xml, ejb, servlets, jsps etc.

There are lots of great books and DVDs available to teach the intracasies of Lightwave. This one is a stand-out! Densely packed with useful little tricks that you probably won't find anywhere else, this indispensible book can't help but increase your productivity and enjoyment of Lightwave 3D. You won't get just one author's School of Hard Knocks-earned knowledge, you get to learn from the experiences of thirty! This book is a must-have that you'll reach for again and again. This little gem proudly sports the most worn covers of any Lightwave reference book on my (full) shelf.

CC Clarke

Yeah nice book, can't wait to get in the bathroom to read some more, 3D animation
is making a big red ring around my a _ _ , Empire of the Sun is starting I'll sit here and watch that too! It's cold in here, is that true about cold surfaces and what they do to your *&#%@^( ?

The book, 1001 Tips & Tricks, has straightforward techniques approach to Learning Advanced LightWave Skills and Knowledge. I purchased Timothy Albee's Lightwave 3D, "Getting Started Guide" which came with my purchase of the program, LightWave from Newtek. The Book got me started back in 2005. (A general skills book covers a broad range of LightWave. But does not get too deep, which is good for beginners.)

I was very interested in and loved cartooning and character creation in 3D. So I purchased Jonny Gorden's "Cartoon Character Creation-Volume 2". If ya don't know and wanna learn Rigging right, get this book. Jonny be getting off with his techniques in this bad boy. Loved the book.

(Jonny's book covers A through Z in Rigging and Animation mostly plus overviews on general knowledge stuff as well. But since I already learned the basics with "Getting Started" I was able to get deep into Jonny's techniques.)

I was a professional Graphic Designer who wanted to move over to the 3D world, I desired to be a power-user at 3D animation. So I purchased Dan Alban's "LightWave [8]," extremely good learning tool. Dan's book got my doing just about anything I could imagine.

(In Depth book cover almost everything. Big pictures illustrations and nicely written make learn easier. Ya gotta get this one.)

But in some areas I was still creating very slowly. Like how to optimize a detailed and completed scene for a render farm, so that I could not only render, but also render scenes very fast. How to build a scene for a real movie that would render quicker than if I built it another way.

For example, I built a scene which took four months to render on a 4 node render farm of fast G5 with 2 gigs of Ram. I'm thinking that, I've got to be able to create the same scene, but in such as that it would render in say, two weeks. I wanted to learn the fastest power moves, since I work alone in my home studio. I do not have peers and co-worker to exchanged knowledge with

Then, I order this book, and it fit the bill. It helps to complete my learning needs and answered and reconfirmed, other books and technique that I pick up off of the Internet.

This is an excellent book it is a most get. Although I got it for advanced how tos; there is beginner level help here as well. A lot of the dudes and dudettes that I've learned from through downloading Internet QuickTime movies from the Newtek website and other places, these movies are excellent show and tell ways to learn. But with expressions and certain dynamic it is good to have it in a book form as well.

(Since there are so many experts contributing to this book, you get a really balanced guide to knowledge. If you are going to be a power-user, this book completes the other books and knowledge that I have accumulated. You got to it as well.) "1000 Tips and Tricks," book is worth every penny of the cost.

I'm one of the authors, so take that into account. Still, there are around thirty authors total so I'm at most 1/30th biased.

That being said, this is a real standout among LightWave books and one I'm proud to be part of. The strength is in the numbers - never before have you gotten such a wide and varied number of opinions in one place. Because there are so many different approachs to creating 3D art, this book is really a must own and it's a book you'll go back to again and again. I keep a copy on my desk, within easy reach and I pick it up for reference or for some quick reading during a render.

It also covers a wide variety of topics, from lighting to surfacing to LScripts. Not every tip is something I agree with, but that's the beauty of this book - there's just so much information here that you'll be finding new things to think about or to add to your work for years to come.

The blurbs about this book are right. There are no other places I have found for the kind and quality of information contained in this book... at least for a non-super expert in Lightwave 3D.

Yet at the same time, there is much redundancy within the book itself (several tips are essentially identical) and with the reference manual provided by NewTek.

So there are really quite a few less than 1001 super neat and fantabulous tips and tricks here, but there are plenty enough to make the purchase a valuable addition to your reference library for LW8.

I have actually used this reference for years as needed for ActionScript. I still had a good use for this text in ensuring compatibility with Flash MX until the lack of features became too overwhelming. This is in the face of newer versions of Flash such as CS3 (9.0) that use ActionScript 2.0/3.0. All in all, this book was wonderful until the release of Flash 8.

Because of the new Filters that have come out with Flash 8.0 and the features of ActionScript 2.0 to support these and other enhancements, I would instead recommend Flash 8 ActionScript Bible if one is concerned with cross-compatibility in their ActionScript code and wishes to still be able to use AS with newer features such as Filters (but not as new as Transitions or other CS3 exclusive features - for that, I'd recommend ActionScript 3.0 Bible or something similar).

As far as who I could possibly recommend this book for: It's good for somebody who is still working with Flash MX 2004 and below to Flash 5 (much of the text is compatible with Flash 5), however, I don't know that there are many of those sorts of individuals.

This book is a great resource for when you're looking for that specific line of code. Its terrible to read from front to back, but its an excellent way to find exactly what you're looking for. Its so much code, it'll make your eyes bleed.

One of the few comprehensive actionsctipt titles on the market. The first half of the book boasts a large variety of tutorials and examples that skillfully lead the reader through both the syntax and use of actionscript. Personally I found the text clear and practical. The chapters on OOP were of particular value as they went beyond actionscript basics into application, bordering on philosophical.

The second half is an invaluable reference of the entire actionscript dictionary with a comprehensive CD full of .fla example files and bonus chapters on the XML Object. As a qualified teacher I found it hard to fault the methodology employed by the various authors.

Well worth the purchase.

I am a former programming teacher and I have a style to teach my students the most UNDERSTANDABLE way to do something not just how to do it. This text/reference achieves that purpose. If you have an understanding of Flash (which you should have before getting into scripting see Weinman books) then this book will serve you well. There are other books on scripting - great books - such as Moock's books but they are more so for the programmer. This book is for the novelist programmer that desires to learn about action scripting.

5 stars if you know Flash well.
1 star if you haven't had any experience with it at all.

I was a beginner once, who couldn't figure out Flash at all. I'd like to help you build a bridge between where you may be now, as a beginner, to where you may find yourself aspiring to go.

If your only experience with Flash is to have seen the many wonderful and breathtaking Flash movies on the Internet and just had a look at the authoring tool, I strongly recommend that you leave this book until much later. It has its place in the learning curve but it isn't, in my opinion, the first book to see.

There are understandings to possess that this book doesn't cover sufficiently well enough for those whose minds work in particular ways. This is a programming book, for using the phenomenon of programming to create great design and animations. Whilst the focus is on design, you aren't using the design tools on the interface. With this book, you are using the Actionscript language and you have to have a logical mind for this activity (as well as keeping your strong creative one).

I began my steep learning curve with Flash by watching others and watching video tutorials, especially those by George Pierson. In this way, I can ask questions that are tailored for me and I get tailored responses. Books aren't always able to do so well here.

What is great about this book is the MX Actionscript reference in it and the seemingly well designed theory tutorials. I can't find a fault with the reference. The theory is quite good. In the reference, all Flash MX commands are covered. There are examples of how to use them, but the coverage may not be enough for some. Brill. Just BRILL. I can be excited but because I can follow Actionscript.

Approach this book when you are successfully making Flash movies on your own. Yes, on your own. For me, this book is an aid for when I am going to where I haven't gone to before. It helps me make judgements on ideas I get.

I read this book and Couchman's Oracle 8 DBA Certification Guide (from Oracle Press). The Exam Cram book did a great job covering the bases needed for the Oracle networking exam. It is very concise and to the point. If you ignore the number of silly typos, the book attacked the topics very well from examination point of view. I think it was a very poor proofreading effort!
I gave a 5 star because the topics are laid out well and details are to the point.

This book contains everything you'll need to pass the Oracle8 Network Administration. It has the good standard Exam Cram format, but it contains more info than the usual Crams do. It's more like a study guide than a study guide companion, without repeating the classic mistake of being too wordy. This is one of my favorite Exam Crams.

Very good book, started from basic knowledge of net8 to advanced options.

Nice to have before you take the DBA Net exam.

This book has very useful tips and is excellent exam guide. Highly recommended.

I bought this book as a complement to Couchman's Oracle 8i DBA Certification Guide (from Oracle Press), because the latter's networking coverage was clearly a rushed effort. The Exam Cram book does an admirable job covering the bases needed for the Oracle networking exam. In general, the material is explained well and concisely. Overall the test questions in the book matched the breadth of those on the real test. There are a couple of notable exceptions. My test had FOUR "fill in the blank with the name of the parameter or view" questions. (Giving V$SHARED_SERVERS instead of V$SHARED_SERVER is wrong). There are no questions of this type in the book. Additionally, the actual test generally asked more demanding questions regarding CMAN and MTS than are in this book (in my opinion).

If you're taking the 8i exam, be sure to look over the Oracle docs on load balancing, which is not fully covered in this volume (which is designated for 8).

This book loses a star due to the sheer volume of silly typos and cut-and-paste errors. A look at Coriolis's errata page (on their web site) for this book reveals over 50 reported errors. I found many more, about one every other page. And on the web site errata page the utility "lsnrctl" is spelled, in multiple places, as "1snrct1" (digit 1 instead of letter l)! Doesn't anyone proofread this stuff? (The author works at the Washington Post!)

Lua isn't a complicated language, honestly. If you're coming at it from another language, especially ones with simpler syntaxes like PHP or VB, you'll feel right at home. In fact, it's so simple you could easily pick up most of the language's workings just by looking at other people's code, and building your own from there. That said, not everyone likes to learn that way. Some people, myself included, like to have a reference book that they can pick up at a whim, skim to the topic that they're struggling with and find a solution. That's what this book excels at: reference, and teaching by example. It's a great buy for anyone looking to get into Lua scripting, and a nice reference guide for those already fluent in other languages.

One of the best programing language books I have read. If only the programing guides for other languages could be this clear and concise.

The information in the book is clear, easy to understand, and worth reading. The formatting of the text, the fonts used, and the overall style of the book is lacking. The end of the book was actually a few mm shorter than the spine on my copy, but nothing was cut off, so it doesn't matter beyond looking a little odd.

I would buy it again, even if the previous version is available for free online. It's great to read when you're not near a computer, as (for a programmer) the book is easy enough to follow without needing to try every example yourself.

Good examples, suggestions, and notes. Is a must have for any one looking to program in Lua.

Naming this language after the moon is ironically apropos, as many of its lunatic creator's cognitive processes seem to randomly scramble themselves according to the phase of said moon. I'm no language designer myself, but if I were trying to come up with a high-level scripting language that would appeal directly to C programmers, the last thing I'd want to do is start array indices at 1 rather than 0. Sure, you have the option of altering this behavior in the constructor, but in the author's own words:

"I do not recommend the use of arrays starting at 0 in Lua. Most built-in functions assume that arrays start at index 1, and therefore they will not handle such arrays correctly."

Talk about giving you just enough rope to hang yourself. But it gets even better. Array elements in Lua are to be removed by assigning their indices the value of nil. This is all well and good, but, again in the author's own words:

"Lua uses [the nil] value as a sentinel to find the end of the array. When the array has holes--nil elements inside it--the length operator may assume any of these nil elements as the end marker. Of course, this unpredictability is hardly what you want."

No shoot, Sherlock. So why not get rid of that unpredictability? As I read further I came to the conclusion that this decision was made because doing otherwise would spoil the running theme of the language. Another favorite passage comes from page 32 when discussing the numeric for loop:

"you should never change the value of the control variable: the effect of such changes is unpredictable."

Great! I love unpredictable results. They make so much more sense than raising a predictable exception or pointing out a predictable old syntax error. Let's see now... How else can we anger C programmers? How about if we make it so "a break or return statement can appear only as the last statement of a block"? Wonderful! Now let's get rid of one of the primary attractions of high-level scripting languages--regular expressions--and say we can't include them due to size concerns (we really need to be able to brag about our entire distribution fitting on a single floppy disk, and the PCRE library is just HUGE).

These things are marginally less obnoxious than Python's significant whitespace, but still obnoxious, and apart from the multiple return values thing, I really didn't find any compelling reason to join the Lua fanboy camp in this volume. Maybe if I were a Warcraft player I'd feel differently.

As for the book itself, the writing is terse and very obviously coming from a non-native speaker. The typesetting is atrocious (good typography is one of those things you never really appreciate until it's gone) and the entire thing looks like it was printed on an old laser printer that was low on toner at Kinko's. If it were cheaper, I wouldn't care, but it's not, so I do.

Stick to the free PDF if you really have to learn Lua for something. The changes in 5.1 are not significant enough to warrant a second edition, and the flimsy, smudged paper is really not worth paying for.

This by far the best set of books for Access. Nothing even comes close (and I've reviewed many). My only complaint is that the bindings are not very good - maybe due to the fact that I've used these books so much over the years. I emailed the developers to ask for an updated version, but it appears that the publisher is not interested. Please write an update!

Jesus christ, i can't think of how many times i've referred to this book over the years, and i don't think i've even covered 1/3rd of the material. If you're a self-taught access programmer, you can only get so much from google searches and developers' forums. If you want to learn new concepts in depth and generate ideas for how to be a more effective programmer, i can't think of anything more helpful than reading this book one chapter at a time. For example, I wanted to learn about ADO, so I read the chapter on ADO. Without any specific goals, I read the chapter about forms and learned to substantially increase the user-friendliness of my forms. In general, this has made me a better "modular" program, and I think in terms of re-usable functions rather than task-by-task code.

Getz' writing style is remarkably lucid, and there's an example in writing and on CD for just about every concept he teaches.

i bought the paperback version and now that the binding has come apart i keep the book in about five or six different places. i also broke the straps on both of my south american backpacks trying to carry this book (each volume is about 1500 pages long...) If you're going to be programming Access for a while, i'd recommend getting a hardcover edition.

If you need to know anything about access 2002 this book has it! i use it all the time

What do I mean by the "gold standard?" As a professional Access developer, I use a lot of reference materials. Besides the Internet, my bookshelf is full of Acces, SQL Server, VBA, T-SQL, and Office reference books. But there is one publication that I always check first when I'm perplexed or curious. It's my gold standard if you will allow me that hyperbole. I'm speaking of the Access 2002 Developer's Handbook, published by Sybex.

Versions of the Access Developer's Handbook have been a staple of professional Access developers since the early days of the Microsoft Access product. My first attempt at serious Access development was during the days of version 1.1. Was that 1993? My team and I recognized the importance and power of this new Windows database product and started to build marketing applications using Access and macros(!) in Windows for Workgroups 3.11. I discovered a copy of the Access 2.0 Developer's Handbook as we migrated to Access v2 and I never looked back. I could not believe the wealth of information in that single volume. I didn't understand much of it, but that was the beauty of it. Here was a reference that revealed secrets and held promises of knowledge to be gained for the inspired reader. Incarnations of this book have remained at my right hand since the first day I opened it.

Whether you need to know more about tables, queries, forms, reports, collections, SQL, relational design, Jet security, multi-user issues, networked databases, or whatever, the Access 2002 Developer's Handbook is the reference for you. It's currently published in two volumes, Desktop and Enterprise editions. Buy both as a set. Combined, they are the gold standard of Microsoft Access reference materials.

If you are just a beginer you might find parts of the Developer's Handbook set difficult to understand, but as you enhance your skillsets you will find these to be a must have. For a serious Access Developer these books are a definitely a must have. I've written in-house applications for years since Access 2.0. Now, I'm writing commercial applications using Access 2002 and the Developer's Handbook set has been a tremendous resource. It covers things you just have to know if you are going to create serious and dependable software applications using Access. Plus, the files that come on the CD's come with code samples you can really make use of. Of all the people I've read of in the Access Industry, these guys are masters of Access. I'd listen to anything they have to say. They know their stuff, big time.

It's too bad that versions of software change so fast because this is a great book! I still find myself referring to it even though I've used Acrobat since the dawn of time. Of all the books you can get, this is the one to spend your money on!

I have to concur with the NY reviewer who said this is a manual that all others should aspire to. How to's and examples are often presented in multiple forms to aid in understanding. The illustrations are clean, clear, and exremely helpful. The writing is concise, clear, and actually fun to read! The included CD presents wonderful examples of state-of-the art pdfs. While hardly a geek, I found myself reading the book before bed at night simply because it was so interesting! Kudos to the authors! I highly recommend this book not only to anyone wishing to learn everything worth knowing about Acrobat but also to anyone who aspires to write a similar text. It's a master class in information presentation as well as how to produce pdf's.

I create PDF multimedia presentations and I own every book available on Acrobat 5.0+. Master Class is by far the best reference I own in terms of practical information.

If you're creating complex forms or trying to master Javascript, you'll need Padova and Deubert, too. But if you're looking for ideas on how to create presentations that blow people away, this is the book to buy.

I bought four books on Acrobat 5, and this one is by far the best. It is written conceptually. It appeals to the senses as well as providing an education. Taking vast amounts of information and refining it so that it is presented simply yet thoroughly. I enjoy reading it.
I also bought Classroom in a book by the Adobe Creative Team and it is work. I am sure over time I will derive a lot from it, but Master Class is fun. You would never know that your working because you are too busy seeing all the cool stuff you can do with Adobe 5 and how to do it.
I also bought Real World PDF with Adobe Acrobat 5 by Anita Dennis, Industrial Strength Production Techniques, and that is a book for advanced students. It explains everything clearly, and is a big benefit for explaining the details on how to fit Adobe PDF into your print production overflow.
Adobe PDF is so much more than simply converting your files. It appears simple on the outside, but when you read Adobe 5 Master Class, you will be enthralled with how much more it does. Highly recommended for beginners and advanced students.

It was tough to decide if this is a four-star or a five-star book. Four and a half stars would be my preference.

At any rate, if you can afford only one Adobe Acrobat 5 book, you might be better off buying Acrobat 5 Hands On Training (HOT). I recommend, though, saving up enough money to get every book on Acrobat you can, for it is the wave of the future and a must for anybody wanting to put information-interactively on the web - my term is info-tivity - and the best thing this Hypercard pioneered the process at Apple's MacIntosh.

There probably is not single more valuable software tool for making money than Acrobat and I will be upgrading to version 6 as soon as I return stateside. That's the good news - the bad is that I will likely have to upgrade my library to keep in tune with the changes in this great software.

Back now to the review - if you intend to post any video, animation or audio on the internet you simply are going to have to purchase this book.

Further, if you are going to self-publish any sort of periodical on the web, you will definitely want to download HOW NOT TO START A MAGAZINE. by B. Ann Bell. Then, go read HOW TO START A MAGAZINE, STARTING & RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL NEWSLETTER OR MAGAZINE, PUBLISH YOUR OWN MAGAZINE, GUIDEBOOK, OR WEEKLY NEWSPAPER, and PAPERLESS PUBLISHING and do a google search for the soon-to-be LJs BREAKING FREE$.

Yes, that list is long but each of these is a valuable source of information for anyone trying to make money by publishing on the internet - Bill Anderson (LJ).

I had received PSE 2 from a peripheral purchase (printer or scanner, I can't remember) and was intrigued by what I had heard in general about Photo Shopping pictures. However, the tutorials that came along with the help file weren't all that helpful so I put off learning the program. For some reason a bee got in my bonnet and I decided to look into the program again. I searched Amazon and found this book and after reading the reviews ordered my copy.

I can honestly say I was quite impressed. Usually, How-To books can get you headed in the right direction but for the most part you will only go to the chapters that you are interested in. This book is different. Each session leads into the next building upon what you have already learned. The instructions are fantastic. They are clear and the visuals that accompany them are easy to see and follow. The CD provides all of the photos you work with so there is no guess work. You can stop in a session and come back a few days later without having to reread everything again. At the end of each session there is an excellent review over what you have just learned. The author definitely has a good teaching style.

I can't say enough positive about the book. If you have ever been interested in learning Photo Shop here is your perfect opportunity.

This book has some good practice lessons. One thing I didn't like is that every lesson involves creating a project using sports pictures. I would have liked to seen lessons creating projects other than sports, like portraits or landscapes. Other than that, good basic lessons.

I like the book very much, BUT "DID NOT RECEIVE" THE TRAINING CD THAT WAS TO BE INCLUDED. Is there a chance of getiing, I will even pay for!!!!!!
Thats what prompted me to purchase book.

Thanks much and have a good day. Jerry

Both my wife and I love this book. I received Photoshop Elements 2 with my camera and had trouble figuring out how to use it. My wife read somewhere about how good and easy this book was to use. The key to this book is that it explains step by step how to use all of Photoshop Elements 2s' tools. It is a lot to learn and takes time, but you can redo each leasson to get better and better at it. The key is to use it! It's nice to have this book to fall back on when you forget how to use a certain tool because you haven't had to use it for some time. The lessons are well planned out and the samples and photo work are all excellent. If you only work part time on your photos this book is a must have to make using this program easier.

Probably the most helpful computer book I have ever used. Purchased a second copy for a friend just starting with digital photo printing. As a professional photographer I would encourage anyone interested in digital printing to buy it.