Desktop Publishing Books

This book really help to work and frame the plans for our site.

Roger Parker has done it again, creating a brilliant overview of elegant design in an accessable fashion!

As a big fan of Roger Parker's work, I had high expectations for this book. As usual, Roger explained and illustrated some fundamental principles that make a Web site functional, effective and pleasing to look at. Lots and lots of useful examples.

However, the book needed proofreading, as it contains dozens of mistakes, especially some captions that don't match the illustrations.

I was quite disappointed with this book. I expected something much more advanced and technical. This is a DIY guide for the small business owner that wants to create a Wisywyg website. It's not real helpful for designers. And I have to say that I find the authors comment on the cover "One billion? Two billion? Five billion? I'm still trying to figure out how many dollars have been wasted by Web site creators who lacked the information in this book" extremely arrogant and irritating.

Two things make Roger Parker¹s Guide to Web Content and Design invaluable: its focus on marketing for small business owners/managers and its easy-to-read writing style. I haven¹t found another book on this subject that comes remotely close to Roger¹s in its accessibility, readability, and critically important content for anyone doing business in the Œ90s. This well-written, excellently organized book is a must-have for every small business owner who¹s thinking about establishing an online presence or who already has one. Among the topics Roger addresses: what are the characteristics of a good home page, how Web page design differs from print design, what makes a good Web site address, how to design a Web site, how to involve visitors, how to promote a Web site, how to keep a Web site up-to-date and how to improve it. Roger reminds us that a Web site will always be a work in progress and therefore in need of constant attention. Roger Parker¹s Guide to Web Content and Design also includes helpful checklists that allow readers to identify their market, analyze Web sites they visit, and review and improve their own Web site. Readers are encouraged to copy these worksheets and keep them in a notebook. Roger¹s book is not only helpful ‹ it¹s also an inspiration, especially to a technologically challenged person like me. Roger tells readers that they can produce a Web site that¹s as effective and impressive as any company with a huge advertising budget. Now that¹s something this small-business owner with limited resources loves to hear!

this is the most cutest HTML book i've read.Its easy with full details.you won't need another book anymore!! Just Creating Web Pages with HTML will only do!!!

I was taking a CIS college course at HVCC in Troy, New York and I had an instructor who was a holdover from the 1950's as far as teaching style was concerned, where they would stand up for several housrs and then assign some off the wall homework assignment that would take forever to do or impossible to do in a reasonable time.

Well, I was unfortunate to get such an instructor. I complained to my chairperson, James Looby, right away to get some help in getting his teachers to do a better job communicating with the class.

Looby promised in an email to me that he would see what he could do to get Frank Zaverl to do a better job showing us how to build simple Web pages. But after many weeks of waiting and waiting, I called and then got a email back from Looby stating that nothing would be done ! at which, I blew up at Looby for his poor handling of a serious classroom problem for which he was being paid by the local taxpayers and student's tuitions to solve. But, this once again, proved to me that there is a code of silence among educators and that is why it is in such a bad shape as polls indicate nationally and internationally !

Then I realized that I had waited too long for the Cavalry to arrive, and I had to drop the course -- which i thought it was an easy course if only taught correctly! that is, for each HTML command an example could be available to show how this HTML command was being used, so a student could begin building confidence with this Web language.

Oh by the way, the book suggested by Zaverl and adopted in his class and which Zaverl was totally gaga over was entitled, "Web Design In a Nutshell" ! which if one looked for a few minutes, has no exmaples and so was really suitable as a reference book, once the student was familiar with the HTML language and syntax.

So, believing that a better text existed in the amrketplace I soon found this book, entitled, "Creating Web Pages with HTML, Simplifed" and sure enough withing days I was up and running and confident in building simple web pages --proving my intial idea that a better book had been already created somewhere where the teaching and thus learning was easy, quick and fun !


In general. I think educators make things purposefully difficult so we continue needing their old systems of learning; but this is simply not good enough in the 21st century -- where other nations are way ahead of America which has lost its way in providing excellent educaiton to its citizens but continues to over tax the local citizenry, each and evey year, which is now even forcing the elderly out of their homes since education is subsidized by local property taxes which is a big curse today with the taxes rising without any proof that this education is par-excellence.

Other nations do not subsidize their eduaction with property taxes and the citizens are very happy about that; and thus the local citizenry do not end up hating their educators and politicians for forcing them to lose their homes just to pay the big education tax every year !

But the Teachers Union knowing how the local taxpayers feel still air ads on TV showing how wonderful things are so citizens will keep on passing local school budgets which are out of control. The Republican solution to the local educaiton mess is to bring in competetion which only raises more local taxes on the homes of thse citizenry. so educaiton has become a vicious circle. Since politicians can't solve the tax problem a 2008 Recession is now hoped to bring sky rocketing educaiton costs under control since homes values are coming down all across the country finally forcing relief in lower taxes on burdened taxpayers.

Gerard J Sagliocca, P.E.
gerard_sagliocca@yahoo.com

Book was really simple, had my web page started but the end of the second chapter. Great if you have no knowledge, too simle if you have a basic understanding of html.

I wanted to have my company web page re-designed. My host told me he would do it for three thousand. I ordered this book and used it to do my own web site, seven pages and several pictures, for the price of the book that I got for twelve bucks, and twelve hours of time.

The book is very good. Simple to follow instructions will have you up and running in an hour or less.

I purchased this book along with the recommended Teach Yourself Visually HTML.

Each of these books are good books, BUT... you certainly don't need both. You'll see the same things repeated and no new helpful information. The Creating Web Pages with HTML seems a bit more advanced but you can do the same thing with either one of these books. Save yourself some cash and choose one but not both!

I'm sending one back.

Nicely written, very informative. My deduction of a star is for the reference having neither examples nor page numbers where a more detailed explanation would be found. This is a common omission, so I would still recommend this book. I would not recommend this as a first introduction to web authoring, as it is strictly CSS, which of course does nothing without structural mark-up. For those who have been building sites for a while, and need some guidance and insite into CSS, this is a great choice. However, for those who have very little or no experience I would instead recommend 'Build your website the right way...' by Ian Lloyd.

As others have pointed out this is not a CSS "cookbook" full of design templates. If that is what you are looking for, you will be disappointed. If however, you want to understand CSS, how it works, best practices and so on, this is a great book. Although you can find all of the info in various places on the web, Mr. Meyer is a good author explaining in detail how things work and bringing up valuable points to be aware of along the way. A good addition to any web developers library.

Most of the stuff that you learn in CSS can be found already ONLINE and before I bought this book, I had a very good fundamental understanding CSS and thought I buy this book for more knowledge and learn anything that I could have missed. Well I did, but I could have found this information online, however I've spent months learning CSS and it's very difficult to found all the things in this CSS book in one place.

I recommend this book if you have the stimulation to learn from a book and the money because of course the internet is FREE.

Before purchasing this book, I had purchased about a half dozen books on css, one from the same author. I was really surprised to find new ways to use css that I hadn't learned in the other books. Each topic is discussed completely and in detail. For a reference on css, this book is the best I've found.

This is a book about CSS, and CSS, is about the presentation aspect of web pages. How the text appears, the size, the layout, etc.

However, the presentation style inside the book is kind of sloppy. For example, on page 186 and 187, when it talks about inline elements, Figure 7.33 "Strongly emphasized" is printed not as tall as Figure 7.34 and 7.35 when the CSS style is the same. And the word being used is "which is" and is changed to "that is" in Figure 7.34 and 7.35, when it is changing the vertical-align only. The reader would be better helped if they can see the contrast of the CSS style, without the change of wording for no reason at all. Also, in Figure 7.34, the bigger words should not overlap with the smaller words above, as tested in CSS compliant browsers, but it is printed so on the book.

Then again, in Figure 7.36, for no reason at all, the picture is shrunk down to 1/4 size of the previous examples, when they are all talking about the same case except for some vertical-align difference. It may be done just because the page is running out of space. That is pretty sloppy.

On page 181 to 182, it talks about various terms of the inline box model, and there is no figure at all to exemplify the terms at all. Then after the reader goes through a tough time to read through those text of hard definitions, 3 pages later, the figures start to appear. Please, can the book be designed so that the readers are considered? CSS is partly for making the content easy for the audience, and how about this CSS book is made easier for its audience too?

I'm an experienced amateur photographer who has owned 35mm SLRs for about 4 decades. I bought this book because I recently made the transition to digital, and I wanted a good book on digital SLRs. Unfortunately, this is not that book. For a start, in the Introduction Busch states that this book is for those who have mastered the material in his Mastering Digital SLR Photography (which I have since purchased, and found to be more useful than Pro Secrets). If this information had been included in the description of the book it would have saved me the trouble of buying and returning it.

More importantly, much of the information in this book hardly qualifies for the appellation "pro secret", such as: distinguishing between the two sources of blur in an image (subject motion and camera motion), and what to do about it (use a faster shutter speed, use a tripod); the differences between wide-angle and telephoto lenses, and why a tele lens is needed for sports and nature photography; and how aperture affects depth-of-field. In short, a lot of the information in this book would be in any Introduction to Photography book or course.

If you have 40 years of experience and feel you already know everything, this book is not for you. However, if you think there are some things you can learn, you'll find lots of meaty information in this book.

I've reviewed several of this author's books, and there is one thing that Busch does especially well, and that is to write for a specific audience. This Pro Secrets book tells you the kinds of things that pros all know, but which the rest of us are eager to learn. The most remarkable thing I found in these pages was the depth with which the author approached many mundane topics that are covered in too little detail in introductory books.

Yes, Busch does tell you how to distinguish between the two most common sources of blur in an image. But he provides detailed examples and shows you how to build simple testing apparatus you can use to pinpoint exactly how much your own photography suffers from these afflictions. That's a lot more valuable than the tired old "rules of thumb" that introductory books saddle you with. He also describes other causes of blur, and how to counter them, as well. Advice to use a faster shutter speed or a tripod is only the beginning of the discussion. This in-depth approach is what I would call a "pro secret."

It's an oversimplification to say that Busch merely tells you the differences between wide-angle and telephoto lenses. He provides detailed explanations, including the most easily understood optical diagrams I've ever seen, so that I understood, for the first time, the difference between an ordinary wide-angle lens and an inverted telephoto design. I'm glad this kind of information is a secret no longer.

The mixture of meaty information and interesting do-it-yourself projects in this book may be rare in other digital photography books, but it seems to be a context in which Busch thrives. His more recent book David Busch's Digital Infrared Pro Secrets has the same kind of interesting, engaging focus. If you feel there are some things you can learn, I recommend both of these books.

I am very pleased with this book. I bought three books by Busch on Digital SLR photography. Quick Snap Guide, Mastering Digital SLR Photography, & this one. All three are good books, this one has so much good information & tips that I highly recommend it. He covers many little tips that have help improve my photography by leaps & bounds. One part that jumped out for me is coverage of Focus, the pitfalls of auto focus, & explained to me in a way I could understand hyperfocus. Also has extensive coverage of lens, choosing the right ones, etc. While there aren't specific recommendations on actual lens, the tools to judge them for yourself are there. Written for advanced amateurs & beyond.

this isn't your run-of-the-mill 'pictorial' photography book. the contents cover mainly the use of your DSLR's features as well as useful technical details. i see it as more of a technical manual but written in a way as to hold your interest and encourages learning. the focus here, as the title rightly points out, is using your camera's controls (as well as lenses/photographic accessories/lighting aids etc) effectively rather than a guide on taking photos (altho that is covered along the same line). well one ought to learn one's tools before being able to use it effectively. i see myself thumbing through this once in a while as a great reference guide and expect plenty of sticky notes and dog ears to come along.

IN THE INTRO, the author explains that too many books talk about digital manipulation and Photoshop. He says this is a book for people who "just want to learn about photography." Well, when you buy a book about photographic techniques, that's fine. But when you buy a book about DIGITAL photography, you expect some emphasis on digital photography. With this book, you get way too much info on "rembrandt lighting" and "side lighting" in the studio.

AS FOR THE QUALITY of the book, it looks very outdated. The photos are 1960s French-Canadian or something -- and if the photos in a PHOTOGRAPHY book aren't updated, why would one assume that the text is anything other than a cut-and-paste from an older publication? And the photos are all faded matte. Don't expect anything glossy or new looking.

There are hardly any subjects covered in this book and it is overall just a mess. It's too amateur for most most users, but somehow manages to be too complex for beginners. The author and editors just never figured out their target audience and instead threw a bunch of random things together in an attempt to make a book. Do we really need a whole chapter on "Advanced Infrared Photography" and a whole chapter on "Pro Lighting and Studio Techniques" in the same book that devotes an entire chapter to the telephoto lens?

IF YOU WANT A GOOD BOOK that focuses on the digital element of digital photography, I'd recommend "Digital Photography: An Introduction" by Tom Ang (the fully updated 2nd edition). There are tons of photos, examples, and vivid color. It does discuss a lot of Photoshop techniques, so those without an editing program may not enjoy it. Really advanced digital users may find it somewhat basic, but I think most users are basically intermediate, and this book fits the bill. Either way, it does get your creative juices flowing! (And no, I didn't write the book or get any profits from its sales!)

The reasons that the other reviewers found as cause for complaint about this book are the very qualities that I needed: Bite-sized lessons and lots of explanation. These are the things that were missing in my other Flash MX tutorial book (Flash MX Training from the source) that got me really stumped!

I don't mind this humble approach at all. I didn't expect Foundation Flash MX to take me to the details of Action Script or other technical stuff or turn me into a guru like some of your guys. (In my dreams!) That would be work enough for other books and very propitious events like the next ice Age. Just like in baseball, I just needed to swing my bat, hit the ball right, get on the first base and be ready for the next run. Exactly what Foundation Flash MX does for me.

I recommend this book to those who are learning on their own and can't seem to come to grips with the software.

This book is relatively inexpensive (as compared to other similar books) because the files are for download (as opposed to including a CD).

If you are trying to learn Flash this book, in my opinion, is the best tutorial because it doesn't just give you an exercise that you learn a technique by wrote memory...this book explains the feature how it works...so you end up understanding the basics of Flash. Once doing the tutorials in this book, the reader will probably be able to do, or figure out how to do, many things not included in the book, simply because they will understand how Flash works.

This book is a VERY GOOD BOOK for those needing solid grounding in Macromedia Flash MX. It's so good that buying this one book replaces all the other books on the shelf to get solid grounding with how to use Flash. The language is easy to understand, without jargon that clogs your brain and tire you out before they get to the point.

If you're like me, you probably suffer from attention deficit disorder that is the trademark of the digital generation. Things come at you so fast, technologies popping up at you at speed of thought, and before you know it a new version of the software that promises miracles is out.

You will learn all you need to build a website in Flash MX and have a new career waiting for you, if you're any talented in aesthetic design, but there is a catch; If and only if you are patient enough to sit through the entire thing. It took me months to get to Chapter 11, and that's not even the end yet. The first 6 chapters went through easily, but then I always have stamina problems going through really thick, technical books. I probably have about 6 more chapters to go, and although it has taken me this long and will take a bit more of my time, I found some Flash MX books a waste of my money.

I have about 10 books on Flash MX in various forms, and this one is by far the best investment. Most books out there are robbing you in broad daylight, giving you a shaky foundation with so much jargon that it confuses you. Don't bother with the other beginner's books and buy this one instead. It will give you real skills, a real case study, and even some real-world Flash MX web development extras.

I used this book as a classroom manual and was exceptionally pleased with it. The pace was exactly right. The project approach helped the students master a bit at a time. The only complaint was that the Case Study could be confusing at times, but the book is basically error free. I would recommend this book to the person who needs a step-by-step, tutorial-oriented approach done right. Thanks to Friends of Ed for a job well done.

The foundation books feel like my sons preschool class. Very fluffy, project oriented reading, but useless as a reference. Just get to the point and show me how to do it! There's a balance between example and reference that make tutorial books valuable, this book and other "Foundation" or "Friends of Ed" books I've bought or looked at weigh in too heavy on the example side and the "how do I do this" part is mucked up in the mire of examples.

If you have NO flash experience what so ever, then this might (might) be for you, but if you've decided to finally get to learning the details of flash and start getting something out of it, then perhaps the Flash MX Bible would be a better choice, that was my choice and I'm much happier with it. My choice for ActionScript is Macromedias' Advanced Flash MX Actionscripting. It's not really advanced, but it is very clear and gets to the point.

This one sat next to the 'Bible' in class and at home. The Lingo dictionary if you would...
Now to see if they have an updated version.

I can't emphasize enough how I would encourage readers NOT to purchase this book. Not only is it out of date (to no fault of its author), but it is incredibly disorganized (directly the fault of its author). This, however, is not unusual for O'Reilly books which are notorious for a general lack of order and the inclusion of irrelevant material. Should you ignore my advice, I'm certain you'll find yourself flipping back and forth as you read each chapter in succession, as nothing is covered ("Refer to Chapter X for details on X" is something you run into practically on every page) in cohesive chunks. And you'll also get other useful tips like "Experiment until you have a firm grasp of when the different handlers in different scripts are being called or until you are totally confused. Then start with new movie, and try it all again." That little gem applies equally as well to reading the book as it does to handling Lingo's archaic structure...

This is a wonderful book, but don't make the samae mistake I did. I didn't look close enough, and it is OUTDATED. It is for Director 6. The most recent version is 8.5...and they are totally different.

Beware if you're buying this book, it covers lingo up to version 6, and director's most recent version is 8.5.

This book was written for Director 6.5, and currently Director is past 8.5 (MX is basically Director 9). So forget about anything about behaviors, library palette, anything 3D.. in short, this book was out of date 5 years ago.

Beyond this, the nutshell library is designed as a reference for programmers who want to quick-reference a new language. If you're already up to speed on C++, Java, SQL, etc, then the nutshell format will make sense as you seehow Director includes functions and classes in the form of handlers and properties. However, for the novice programmer looking to learn more about scripting Lingo, this book is awful.

I'd recommend the Director Demystified series instead, whatever's the latest edition. Macromedia's version updates aren't drastic, so at this point a book covering 8.5 is just fine.

This book was a waste. If the author cut out the nonsense and got to the point, it'd be about 50 pages. I bought the book based on the reviews here....and WHY???? Listen, if you can operate Microsoft Word, you don't need this book. $30 worth of kindling for the fire is about all this is coughed up to be. I mean come on, do we really even need to know that you were lovers with one of your marketing contacts??? The entire book is written with foolishness and low class language. I expected much more professionalism from a so-called professional.

Need I say more? It's been over a year now and i couldn't be happier. Ditch McDonald's, the Army, the Marines, your parents, the world. Go live on Tonga, write, nude, on your laptop and never come back! You can do it!

'Nuff said.

Michael Dean's books are an awesome information base to get your creativity kick-started. This one is no exception. His is a no-nonsense approach and these $30 books are worth MUCH more than the titles imply. Very fun to read, too!

Michael W. Dean's "$30 Writing School" covers everything you need to know technically about being a writer -- from explaining how to write well, recommending what software and hardware to use, even explaining how to organize chapters of a book...and everything in between.

That information alone makes it a handy reference book for any writer. But the BEST part of this book is how inspiring it is. Dean's personal stories and philosophy of creating art make you want to start writing NOW, and free you from some of the misconceptions about writing that can lead to "writer's block".

The book also includes chapters about working with publishers and editors, doing book signings, and even includes a CDrom full of extras.

The thing that makes you know this is the real deal is that Michael Dean is "living the dream" (as he says in Chapter One): writing novels and non-fiction books, doing book signings and interviews, making music, films, podcasts, etc. Who better to teach you how to get your book finished than someone who is actually doing what he recommends (and clearly having a lot of fun doing so)?

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to write ANYTHING.(I personally have found Dean's tips useful not only for writing books but also magazine articles, essays, self help articles, short stories, etc.) While this book answers tons of technical questions, it is really more about having the mindset of a writer, the mindset of an artist who has a love of the written word and wants to share his or her ideas with the entire planet.

Forget all those other books on writing that waste your time with stuff you don't need to know and useless advice. Get "$30 Writing School" and get started writing today.

Reading this book felt like something from The Matrix. A download of necessary information and it's over before you know it.

Dean's style of writing makes it easy to follow as he lays out what to do, and what not to do, when embarking on your own written projects.

The end result is an enjoyable learning experience.

I can't wait to read the rest of the $30 series.

Mr. Scott Mitchell's book: Asp.net Data Web Controls Kick Start is an excellent book to get the novice of Asp.net Data Web Controls up and running quickly. I had a probelem, emailed him, and he immediately responded with the solution to my problem. I was truely grateful to Mr. Mitchell. Using stored procedures in SQL Server and retreiving only the needed redcords via a stored procedure "chapter 8", proved to be indispensable.

I was able to easily understand his code and apply his techniques and methods to my projects (I'm still a student). Even my classmates were amazed of my understanding of the asp.net DataGrid features. So I simply recommended Asp.net Data Web Controls Kick Start as the book to use to grasp the pertinent information needed to succeed and think.

As a beginner in ASP.Net, I truely and honestly recommend this book as your Kick Start and reference to the DataGrid, DataList and the Repeater. The step-by-step hands-on examples makes this book also a great tutorial. The programming language was great (VB) and I'm sure a person that is familiar with C# will not be imtimidated with the VB.net code. The book also offers more information on the topics by offering online resources. Thank You Mr. Scott Mitchell

Buy this book and you will not be disapointed.
Sincerely and honestly

I am a professional developer and I found Scott's book to be one of the best examples on how to write a technical book. His examples are practical and usable. The Datagrid, Datalist, and Repeater are throughly examined and I use it as a reference for work.

This is one of the the best .NET books I have in my collection. The book is well orginized and easy to read. The concepts are mixed so it is great for a beginner or some one looking for a fresh look on something they already do. I will recommend it to any ASP.NET programmer!

I've been playing around with ASP.NET for a while now and have always been intimidated by the DataGrid. I don't know why, I just was. I've had this book for a while and finally picked it up to read it. I'm about 3/4 of the way through and have already created my first application and used a DataGrid and a Repeater. Without the book, I'd still probably be hand-hacking at this. Great job, Scott!

First off, if you see a book written by Scott Mitchell then just buy it. The author of this book guarantees you an incredibly written, easy to understand, and informative book. This book is no exception to the great work produced by Mitchell.

This book will provide you with learning tools for asp.net data controls and real world examples. This book is the best on the market for those just learning asp.net or veterans in need of more in depth material and a reference book.

If you even sometimes program in asp.net, this book should be on your shelf.

I borrowed this from my local library and found it so helpful that I hunted down a used copy. It's not a technical reference, but it provides a great overview of the elements of online community, with authentic examples from existing communities (some of which, sadly, are now gone, but this was written before the bubble burst). Highly recommended if you are responsible for developing and supporting an online community, or if you are just interested in how thinking in online communities has been developing in the early days.

I'm an independent consultant on interactive technologies and web community building. I've read a number of books and articles giving advice about online communities, and none comes close to matching Amy Jo Kim's. Her book is the most exceptional in integrating human and technical considerations; describing how sites can launch, expand and evolve; giving lots of first-hand examples; and being an easy, fun read. I get the sense from her Naima company site that she's on the leading edge for design and technical approaches.

I'm personally working now with communities for performing artists and software developers. This book is the only one I'm willing to carry with me on all my customer consulting visits.

I thought this was an excellent book. Even though technologies change the concepts presented in this book are timeless.

Read this book only if you want to build a kindler, gentler Web community. The style of the writing of this book was so chummy and "we are just women who want to share nice things and we don't know much about that technical man-stuff." Yuk! If there was any real content to this book, I couldn't find it. I am building a business community on my Web-site but this book focues on social communities. Social communities certainly are valid, but I need something professional, not fluffy. Also, it totally ignored the technical tools I need to build the discussion boards and chat rooms.

I believe everyone has a heart - whether in social or business settings - and that most people warms up to sensible "human touches" in a mechanistic environment created with computer-based systems.

Amy Jo Kim's book is a strategy book written with a little humor and a great understanding of what people crave in a community (note "community" and not "transaction") - to belong, to interact and to be empowered. She gives many practical tips on how to attract and engage people in cyberspace.

At no time did Ms Kim give the impression that this book is supposed to be a step-by-step instructional manual.

Emacs comes with great documentation, and there is a ton of it on the web. Nevertheless a structured book that is well-designed with great illustrations and examples is priceless. Despite my level of skill with Emacs (I "live in Emacs," using it for all my basic computing tasks), I consult this book regularly. It's a regular part of my Emacs library!

This book covers more than just using the editor: building Emacs from source, the help system, and Emacs Lisp are covered as well. This book is always telling me about things that I didn't know Emacs could do.

Although I have read a few chapters from front-to-back, I mainly use this book as a reference.

It seemed odd to me during my Sophomore year at Penn State that the Computer Science Department wanted me to learn a text editor to do computer programming on UNIX computers. In the business classes students were taught to use an IDE on Windows computers. I remember asking myself why would I be one of the few to learn how to use a text editor to do computer programming when the masses where learning to use a GUI approach. I made up my mind that the computer scientists probably knew more about programming than the business professors, and taking the road less traveled has made all the difference.

While I am no where near a Emacs expert this book has made me into more than just a casual user. Learning how to do the keyboard macros has saved me countless hours of work over the years. Sometimes if I plan on doing a lot of typing for a business document I'll use emacs to get started so I don't have to lift my fingers off the keys, then paste the text into word for formatting.

Using this book to expand my previous knowledge of Emacs has had exponential return on investment. I highly recommend it, to anyone that is trying to learn or wants to improve their emacs skill level.

Most of the Unix/Linux senior level Wizzards that I know use Emacs and swear by it. There are others (vi users especially) who swear at it, but that's another story. Emacs is a huge package and is growing bigger. Although you can consider it a text editor, it's a big, massive package that does a lot more than just edit text.

At the start of the book the authors comment "Many people think that Emacs is an extremely difficult editor to learn. We don't see why." I think the WHY is that most people start with a simpler more fundamental text editor like vi. Then when they think of moving to Emacs their fingers have to un-learn the vi commands to replace them with the Emacs commands. The authors say they don't recommend the vi emulation mode built into Emacs, but fingers sometimes take a long time to un-learn.

If you've just decided to move to Linux, you might want to start with Emacs and never go the vi route. There is no question that Emacs has more power. Comparing to the Microsoft world, I think of vi like NotePad, while Emacs is like Word.

There's an interesting table near the front of the book that asks you what you want to do with Emacs. If you want to write HTML, read Preface and Chapters 1-3 & 8. Then after you are getting some work out of the package, you can go to other chapters as you need them - Chapter 12, for instance to use Emacs to compare files.

About half the book is on 'simple' text editing, where their 'simple' maybe isn't as 'simple' as the rest of us consider 'simple.' I do a lot of SQL, Chapter 9 talks about the editing support for SQL, and for other programming environments like Perl, Lisp, JDEE, etc.

This book is from O'Reilly. O'Reilly does professional quality books for professional programmers. If it's time to learn Emacs, you can't do better than this.

LEARNING GNU EMACS is an introduction to the most powerful text editor ever made, a fully-programmable environment that through contributions from thousands has become something of an operating system in itself. This third edition covers all the new enhancements made in version 21.3.

The book begins with an introduction to Emacs as it : a text editor. It gives basic commands for moving around, describes the look of the user interface, teaches how to search and replace, and how to make simple (and not-so-simple) macros. But Emacs isn't just a simple text editor, it also has extensions to do everything from drawing simple pictures to managing your schedule. In the next portion the book describes among other things Dired, the Emacs file manager, the calendar and diary functions, and how to execute commands from within Emacs.

Since Emacs functions as an integrated-development environment for many programming languages, a fairly large portion of the book focus on how Emacs can help the software developer. Concerning markup languages, this new edition covers the excellent nxml mode for XML documents, and in terms of computer languages it describes modes for C, C++, Java, Perl, SQL, and Lisp. Unfortunately, the Python mode is not discussed. An entire chapter is devoted to Emacs' interface to version control systems like CVS.

The book doesn't aim itself at only a beginner's market. It teaches one already proficient in editing to customize Emacs. At the simplest, this means tinkering with one's "~/.emacs" file, but it also includes using the power of Lisp to change all aspects of Emacs.

This book could only be perfect if it were twice as large as it is now, since Emacs has so much in it. I think it a pity that the book doesn't cover Gnus, a mail and news reader that takes advantage of Emacs' scriptable nature to offer immense configurability and power. In fact, it doesn't cover the popular Mew mail reader or Emacs' limited built-in mail reader at all. Also, the bit on search and replace doesn't give any small intro to regular expressions.

Emacs is not for everyone, and even with a fine book like this some people are not going to like it. But if you are comfortable doing basic editing with Emacs, and want to maximize your efficiency, then LEARNING GNU EMACS can help.

If a person is thinking of learning GNU Emacs, or if they have been using it and are looking to sharpen their skills and broaden their Emacs savvy, it is a fairly safe assumption that the individual is motivated. This person probably knows their way around a command prompt, and it is likely that they are aware that Lisp is more than just a speech impediment. This person needs a book that offers expert advice without wasting time or insulting the intellect of the reader. Learning GNU Emacs, 3rd Edition is that book.

As a programmer, when firing up a monolithic word processor or graphical IDE to edit a simple script or properties file, one cannot help but wonder if these tools aren't overkill much of the time. For a growing number of users, the answer is yes. The tried-and-true text editor is enjoying a renaissance of sorts. One of the most extensible and customizable applications in the text editing category is the venerable GNU Emacs.

The tutorials and documentation for Emacs are abundant, but they often prove time-consuming and ineffective for actually learning Emacs. This book is a refreshing break from the documentation many have come to expect. Imagine you had a consortium of leading experts on Emacs at your disposal to teach you how to use it in a conversational, consultative style. That is what has been bundled into this latest edition of the book.

The extensibility of Emacs has been both a key strength and a criticism of the application. Its user and developer community have created all sorts of additional capabilities for Emacs, ranging from the impressive to the absurd. The authors have done well to judiciously select what to cover in this edition. For example, while Emacs does have the capability to function as an email client, other applications have long superceded its ability. The authors have chosen not to cover this topic, and instead devote the available space to learning Emacs' core functionality - powerful, efficient text editing. Other peripheral areas of Emacs have been left for the user to research after gaining their solid foundation on Emacs as editor and work environment, such as compatibility modes for programming languages other than Java and Perl.

This edition of the book uses the space gained by the removal of esoteric topics to flesh out areas of more common interest. Integration with the major version control systems has been expanded to include Subversion alongside of the age-old standards CVS, RCS, and SCCS. Coverage of support for Java and Perl has also improved, as well as sections for editing HTML and XML. Users wanting to tap into the power of Lisp programming for Emacs should find the coverage satisfying as well.

Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of this book is the chapter devoted to the use of Emacs on different platforms. Unix, Windows and Mac OS X users receive equal acknowledgement. The precautions and insights regarding Emacs nuances when used on particular platforms can reduce users' frustration when getting started with Emacs.

Even current Emacs users can benefit from this work. The mnemonic devices and conventions used in the book allow users to commit useful keyboard commands to memory. The memorization is further solidified by the exercises sprinkled appropriately through each chapter. Readers do not go for very many pages before it is time to be at the keyboard again, harnessing the power of muscle memory to reinforce the material presented.