Software Books

It was with delight that I ordered this book. Finally, it's here! There have been other books... but leave it to O'Reilly to put out one this good. The authors have done a great job. And you gotta love the illustrations!

Very small complaint: I wish there was a bit of a story about the Ruby language in here. I learned more about the birds on the cover than the history of the language!

Kudos: Never once do they mention "chunky bacon" in this book. THANK YOU.

This book (TRPL) represents a great alternative for those who are not entirely satisfied with the "Pickaxe", as it goes into much more detail in some areas of Ruby. After reading both books, my general impression is that the Pickaxe can be seen as a lighter reference and TRPL as a more in-depth description. In that sense they complement each other. Make no mistake, though: this book is not a comprehensive reference for the standard library (just as "The C programming language" is not a complete reference for the C standard library).

I only began learning Ruby in earnest a few weeks ago, and I really appreciate how quickly I can go in depth with this book. I examined many well-known Ruby language offerings at the bookstore, and there really was no comparison in terms of readability and comprehensiveness.

True, the book can be fairly exhaustive in detailing langauge specifics; no doubt this will turn some readers off. The problem with other books is that they often avoid detail at the expense of clarity. For my money, this book makes learning the minutae required for competent programming that much easier, by being so complete and well-organized. There's no need for readers of this book to turn to any sort of "supplementary text," as is so often the case with less well thought-out books.

One caveat: if you are coming to Ruby as a very inexperienced programmer, then this book is probably not the place to start (perhaps try "Beginning Ruby: From Novice to Professional" by Apress? I haven't read it, but it seems to have good reviews...)

Originally a "Nutshell" offering, written by Ruby creator Yukihiro Matsumoto, the new edition (written along with David Flanagan) retains the laudable grittiness of a "Nutshell" book, but can be read cover-to-cover. The very first chapter takes readers on a tour of the language, then presents a nifty Sudoku solver consisting of just 129 lines. It's startling how well the program reads, and how quickly one begins comprehending Ruby code. The approach gives readers a feel for Ruby's succinct, efficient syntax, as well as its expressiveness and power.

Highly recommended.

i write in ruby for about a year or two, mostly as a hoby. after i wrote a lot of simple and complex programs, there were still some basic (or not so basic) things that about ruby that were not so clear to me. this book made it all clear. all i can say about this book is that it is a great book and i recommend it to anyone programming in ruby.

"The Ruby Programming Language" is everything you'd hope for from an O'Reilly book that is co-written by the language creator and the author of "Java in a Nutshell." This is a well-written, concise, and thorough guide the Ruby language.

Unlike the Pickaxe, which tries to be everything from an OOP introduction to a complete library reference, this book focuses on concisely documenting the Ruby language. If you're looking to learn how to program, look elsewhere - the Pickaxe is a much better choice. On the other hand, if you're already familiar with OOP concepts, this book (along with [...]) is all you really need to understand the language.

Of note, the book is also very current, covering both Ruby 1.8 and 1.9. As such things go, this is about as future-proof as it gets - it will remain current for years.

I can't really stress enough how well-written this book is. The authors don't overwhelm you with jargon, nor do they bury important details between fluff and analogies - I find it to be the perfect balance of density and legibility. Seldom do I find technical references such a joy to read.

In short, if you work with Ruby (or plan to in the future), you really should buy this book. You won't regret it.

The Book explain the SAP R/3 model in an excellent way. However the book is outdated and need update to reflect the progress made in SAP ERP during the last 10 years. I urge the authors or SAP to update the book with the latest developments.

Abdullah

After you go thru this book, you will find a very clear picture on how SAP works is already in your mind. This book gives your detail explanation, so easy to follow it up. Highly recommend this books!

I'm a FI/CO consulant with 6+ years experiences, after reading the book I find there are still some areas and key points that I just ignored or left uncertain in the past, the authors Gerhard Keller and Thomas Teufel present their knowledge and ideas in a very structured and comprehensive way.

Although process mostly keeps the same even with R/3 upgrading, there would still have some big changes between version 3.0 which this book refers to and the version 4.X. And I really hope this book could have second edition and explore more on the MTO process instead of only 30 pages in the last chapter.

This is really the best SAP book I've read!

From almost twenty SAP books that I have read, this book is what I need for large scale implementation. I will not complaint the length of the book. It is guiding what to do as a consultant.

If you want to understand what SAP's R/3-system really does, this book offers you the best way to get a grip on it. By mapping the system's transactions to the underlying business processes you can easily follow and understand the core functions of the model company. The EPC-methodology provides a perfect framework for describing processes in such a way that the user can understand the different threads as well as the guys who implemented the system. Reading this book I realized for the first time how I can benefit from the use of SAP in my company.

BTW: The book has more than 840 pages, not 448 as mentioned in the book information!

Fantastic book, I absolutely love it. Lots of nice pictures,the book was much better than I had expected - a great buy!

The pictures were excellent, each disease also had a differential and there were small bonuses regarding pediatric patients. Book is well organized and easy to read. Perfect for a med student, and even for residents

This is a wonderful dermatology book! I just got it and can't put it down. Very comprehensive, clear, well-organized. Lots of pictures. Covers more material than Fitzpatrick, and much more clearly. As an internist, this book is perfect for me.

Delivery was fast, and the book was in excellent condition. It was a very good purchase, I was very pleased.

This is an excellent book! I'm using it in NP school. It provides a 1-2 page explanation of the skin disorder along with pictures.
thanks

Gary has done an excellent job with this book. I came to Director with a programming background, and basically this book and Gary's Advanced Lingo for Games books have allowed me to do whatever I can imagine with Director. Doesn't treat you like an idiot. Clear. Understandable. Practical. Highly recommended, and I'm going to buy the MX version when it comes out.
David Downie

Great book ! ( I just received my copy of Using Director 8.5 "Specialedition") It is really great for me since I haven't been using Director since version 5, and so much as changed !

I have been browsing through the book to get the missing or forgotten info I need to get our project up, and I have found almost every answer I need in the first 15 minutes !

I am confident this book will get me back up and running in no time, If you want to learn Director Fast, Buy this book !

Great book ! ( I just received my copy of Using Director 8.5 "Specialedition") It is really great for me since I haven't been using Director since version 5, and so much as changed !
I have been browsing through the book to get the missing or forgotten info I need to get our project up, and I have found almost every answer I need in the first 15 minutes !

I am confident this book will get me back up and running in no time, If you want to learn Director Fast, Buy this book !

Weighing in at about one-thousands pages, this book has some of the best information for practical production techniques and getting things done in Director. Having compared it to a half dozen or so other books before purchasing, it was the only one to truly address Lingo in a serious way. There seems to be a hole in the market since a few Lingo specific books that had been available at one time (from O'Reilly and another from the defunct Hayden Press) are either out of date or out of print.

Though its a heavy application, most of director is not that hard to learn (being proficient and artistic is another matter). But taking it to the next level requires an understanding of Lingo and integrating it into the rest of the programs features for practical use. Mr. Rosenzweig has done this, and with great enthusiasm and love of subject. It is an excellent book and the most advanced one that I could find on the shelves last year.

The beginner should take heed that this may be overwhelming, for all others I highly recommend it.

This book is probably the best book you will ever find on how to use Director. I read it without knowing anything about programming and i am pretty advanced now. If you feel that you are a really slow learner and/or you have no experience using a computer, don't try to learn anything about director. If, however, you are a motivated student, Gary Rozensweig will teach you from the ground up about this ultra-powerful program. For 36 dollars, it's almost a must. This book will also be great for advanced director users as a reference. get it quickly. The only drawback of this book is the fact that one of the most important appendices is almost totally missing(publishing error). There is a downloadable version of the appendix on QUE's site (HTML & PDF). Don't let this tiny glitch stop you from owning the best book on director out there!!!

Beautifully written book covering almost all area of spoken language processing. However, despite of relative ease of reading, it is necessary to warn the beginning reader, that in some sections the deep enough acquaintance to their theme is veiled. It, for example, concerns questions of definition and application of delta function concept in chapter 5 (Digital Signal Processing).

What a wonderful book. Whether you are a computer scientist or mathematician with limited exposure to the discipline of speech processing, or alternatively you are a dedicated expert in this field, you will find everything you are looking for in this book. For two weeks, I couldn't put this thing down. And that's an extraordinary testimony to a book that's 800+ pages of technical detail. If you want a high level understanding of how speech processing works, or if you want to dig in and build your own speech engine, everything you need is right here.

A thourough and complete review about the subject, in which many disciplines (language, computer, probability, statistics, numerical analysis) converge. As a non-practitioner I have found it an enjoyable opportunity to refresh my knowledges in the field of signal processing, and a source of many hints I have been able to develop in other branches. In spite of notations and methodologies (e.g. bayesian) a bit far from I am used to, the near one thousand pages never seemed extreme related to the meaning compressed into them, spreading from base theory to advanced applications.

This book is a comprehensive overview of most of the major topics associated with speech processing. Divided into five main sections, the book is well structured with a clear division of concerns. The title, "Spoken Language Processing", may be misleading to some as language processing topics only accounts for one section of the book.

The first two sections cover the fundamental theories that should be understood before embarking in-depth into a study of speech processing. This may seem an obvious approach but many texts do not follow this pattern making their use as reference tomes limited. Separating background theory from its use is also useful in that it allows a rigorous approach to its description. Too often texts give a hurried imprecise overview of theories used before launching into a long and complex use of the theory; losing the reader instantly in a quagmire of formulae.

The first two sections of the book deals with background material, material that the reader should at least understand the key concepts of. The first section concentrates on speech in general (including production and perception), probability and statistics, and pattern classification. These last two topics mentioned are both important parts of the book and are dealt with in their own chapters. Both are well written with the right amount of explanation and background. Much of the remainder of the book expects at least some familiarity with the material presented here. These chapters, like all chapters in the book finish with a section entitled, "Historical Perspective and Further Reading". The inclusion of recommended further reading, in addition to the vast number of references appearing in each chapter, make the book as a whole a very good starting point for any work in speech processing.

The second section concerns itself with the DSP topics which relate to speech processing. In this section the reader will find everything from FFTs to multi-rate signal processing and speech signal representations to speech coding. Again the section is well written and the reader is not forced to refer to other texts to understand what is written. If a topic is not expanded upon here then it is an indication that is not dealt further in any great depth in the remainder of the book.

The third section of the book covers speech recognition and is probably the section which will find most use with many readers. This section is very thorough in its treatment of the subject. It starts immediately with a discussion of Hidden Markov Models which is almost exclusively the method employed in the pattern matching stage of speech recognition. Any algorithms that are mentioned are also detailed which really make the book useful. In fact algorithms are presented throughout the book making it a practical reference as much as a theoretical one. This is important because there is a big jump from understanding theory to being able to implement an algorithm to exploit that theory. Other topics covered include an excellent chapter on environmental robustness with one of the best discussions of microphones I have seen. Language modelling and search algorithms are given a thorough treatment. I would like to have seen more detailed information on front-end processing and endpoint detection, as this remains a critical stage of the recognition process. Perhaps the level of detail reflects the fact that this is currently a hot research topic with potential for significant advancement.

Section four, on text-to-speech processing, is a good overview of the field and better than any book I've seen on the subject. It shows numerous block diagrams of what you need to build such a system and gives numerous algorithms in pseudocode. It also dedicates a subsection to each block of the text-to-speech system block diagram, discussing in detail what you would need to do to implement that particular block. Since much of the individual blocks have been discussed earlier in the book, it refers you back to specific earlier sections for details.

The fifth section is a short one on entire systems and shows some case studies, concentrating on what Microsoft was doing at the time this book was published, since that is where the authors' research came from. I would highly recommend that anyone anticipating getting into speech processing have a copy of this classic nearby.

This is a great book if you want to know the future of what Microsoft's top researchers like XD Huang etc are thinking and working. Dr Huang is a super star of the field and it is equally worthwhile to read his excellent book.

This book is a must have to a DBA. It contains all the little gotchas in managing SQL Server. All the items that we come across while searching for something that I think"Man I gotta remember that". 99% of them are in this book, so I don't have to print them out and maintain a seperate library.

Not a book to buy if you are looking something to read to learn SQL Server. This is a reference for someone who already is using it extensivly.

Ross

Overall, this is an excellent book that covers a wide variety of topics useful to any SQL Server 2000 DBA. At this time, though Apress hasn't posted the Table of Contents on Amazon.com, the Table of Contents is posted at the Apress web site.

I took away one star for the CD. It is extremely handy to have a copy of the book on the CD in PDF format. However, rather than having a single PDF file with a Table of Contents linking to each chapter and topic, each chapter is contained in a separate PDF file on the CD. Unless you know which chapter you want to reference, it is tedious to look in separate files for the Table of Contents or the Index, then try to guess in which file the item you are looking for can be found.

A less significant complaint is that the CD holder is found about three-quarters of the way through the book, rather than at the end of the book, which makes it more difficult to quickly flip through the book.

Other than these minor complaints, it is an excellent book.

This is an easy to use reference book. It has a useful index and directions are written in a step by step format.

This book has 100s of relevant and useful "How Tos". Very useful.

Not a tutorial, but a practical working guide to administering SQL Server 2000. Lots of "How to" items covered.

You don't need to read the entire book in order to benefit from it. Specific topics are covered using Checklists to make sure you don't miss anything important. Highly recommended!

This book is one of the best programming language books I've read, along with "Oh! Pascal!" by Cooper and Clancy. It's use of humor and simple, straightforward examples, grab your attention right away and keep it through the entire book. It's hard to believe a programming book can be hard to put down, but this one was.

It also explains complex concepts in simple, elegant ways, just like good programs should be written.

I would recommend it to anyone learning FORTH, and I would recommend sections of it for people trying to understand specific concepts in any language. For example, the explanation of stacks was excellent!

I bought my own used copy of this book, but it is available in its entirety online, so it is unlikely to ever be reprinted.

Somebody REPRINT THIS BOOK!

"Starting Forth" is the only Forth book I own. After reading it, I was able to implement a Forth runtime system, compiler, and interpreter, from scratch, in 8086 assembly - the results can be found at home.earthlink.net/~jknapka/jkf.html . I credit this mainly to Leo Brodie's skill as an expository writer. The book is a gem; if someone were to reprint it, I for one would buy several copies, just in case.

The reason no one will reprint "Starting Forth" is that Forth is not sufficiently trendy. If we rename the language "JavaForth", we'll be drowning in reprints...

Sigh.

This book is a very clear introduction to programming and the stack. The cartoons are very entertaining and descriptive, and the book would make light reading even for beginning programmers. Those who program, but not yet in Forth, will also be happy with the quick introduction.

Why on earth is this fabulous book out of print?

A wonderful book. I bought mine in 1980, and a week later I had an old Northstar Z-80 computer running real-time behavioral experiments in FORTH at (so it seemed) blinding speed.

We need this book!

I bought "Succeeding with Use Cases" primarily for Part 3 on model-based specification. The book gives a "Blue Collar" approach for specifying operations in terms of change of state. The approach is highly pragmatic and aids writing precise, testable specifications. The author clearly explains what to do. I highly recommend this book.

I was really happy to see Richard's new book. I have always thought that if you are going to go to the effort of writing good use cases, then you should make use of that information as much as possible in the project. This book has a prominant place on my professional bookshelf, and I refer to it often.

Richard Denney gives some great information on using your project use cases in project management, quality control, and reliability. He has a wealth of experience that he shares throughout the book. His book is well written and easy to understand. I am not aware of any other book that covers this information in the context of a software project.

Once you are comfortable with writing use cases (and of course I must recommend my own book Applying Use Cases: A Practical Guide for that purpose), then definitely start exploring what you can do with the use cases once they are written by getting a copy of Richard Denney's book, Succeeding With Use Cases: Working Smart to Deliver Quality.

Example after example; model after model! After reading this book, I was ready to begin implementation! Chapter 3, Operational Profiles, will convince and evangelize engineering and management. The degree of detail is perfect for the professional. Great Work!

This book is about uses of use cases in software engineering. The focus is on doing and managing projects.
Topics are among others selection of standard products, management of project portfolios, or grounding projects in business goals. The last topic is an application of use cases to QFD, a process originally from the automobile industry. Other topics are reliability engineering, modelling and project management (this list is not complete).
All the topics of the book have use cases as a common factor. It is not an introduction into use cases. The application of use cases in this book goes further than what is described in the Rational Unified Process for example. Therefore other books are better in introducing the topic of use cases.
Demo excel sheets are available from the author. The examples are worked out excellently and instructive. The book focuses on the practicalites of software engineering and addresses primarily project leads, designer, architects and testers. Most of the material was new to new, although I have been using use cases for years. It will have the most value for organizations already modelling their software. In my opinion extreme programmers will not find it as useful.

I'm a software engineer, specializing in requirements and software quality. I've known about QFD and the House of Quality for over a decade, and I've been using Use Case methodology for years. This is the first (and perhaps the only) book which combines the two methodologies and explains in a straightforward yet sufficiently detailed way how to use these methodologies. If you are struggling with many requests from multiple customers and are trying to identify what is really important, you should read this book. In particular, if you want to satisfy the customers who drive your business, i.e., generate revenue, you need to read this book. This is a low-tech approach; all you need is a spreadsheet. Understanding Use Cases, QFD, or House of Quality is not a prerequisite. Even if you are already familiar with these methodologies, I think you will still learn a lot from this excellent book.

I loved this book. It covers the history of Open Source and explain WHY people do open source and HOW they make it happen!

The Success of Open Source in a not a just wistful paean to Linux as the title would suggest. Rather, it is two books in one.

The first book is one of the very best recapitulations of the open source movement and all of its predecessors. The second book is about how something that just seemingly shouldn't work, works so well, and how those principles behind its working extend to more than just the open source movement.

The author, a university professor, draws liberally from the traditions of historians, economists, sociologists, and psychologists to paint a compelling picture of why the forces behind open source are not going to go away any time soon. Read in best companion with The Cathedral and the Bazaar, which IS a bit of a wistful paean to Linux, it illuminates its subject wonderfully.

Steven's book brings a rich articulation of the social practices innovations unleashed by the Open Source collective: a new understanding of private property that better fit the tech forces and the challenges of the present. His book it is not a model; it is not the list of the 10 reasons why...; it is not the defense of an emerging theory; but an historical account in which anecdotes, facts, historical moment, tentative hypothesis, set the background to allows the reader to reshape her/his own questions. The book gave me a perspective I have been testing with IT architects, programmers, software designers...I feel myself much more prepare to engage in conversations about the future in a meaningful and effective way. Thanks to the author!

For the serious reader (and who indeed thinks open source is hilarious?), Weber provides a detailed history of how this idea developed. He traces it from the advent of unix in the 1970s, and the generous (ie. low fees) licensing terms by ATT. Which led to the BSD Unix that flourished in the 80s. Also during this time, GNU took off.

But the bulk of the book deals with the 90s onwards. Especially as linux grew from Torvalds' seminal contribution. Its intellectual roots in unix and GNU are studied. We also see the rise of the Free Software Foundation and Apache, as articulate enablers and promoters of open source. All of which was aided by the invention and meteoric growth of the Web. This played a vital role in enabling a global audience of programmers to hear of and contribute their efforts.

I'm a commercial software developer, and found the author's history of the UNIX culture and the story of its evolution into what we now call Open Source to be fascinating. That alone made it a good read for me. Add in the thought provoking analysis of the "whys" (the real point of this book), and it's a killer combo.

Warning: the book is *full* of sentences like "Pluralism at many different levels is being enabled by communications technologies and by experimentation with property; together, these are reducing the marginal cost of adding voices toward an asymptote of zero." Despite that, I've been able to read it at the pace of a thriller, not a textbook.

I have never seen such a complete book in Data base. I am hoping to find a good book related to SQL Server like this book.(Anyone can help me?)

Very nicely written. Lot of care has been taken to make things as clear as possible.

The book provides an excellent understanding of Access97. You read and it seems you haven't learned much, yet you can do alot. The split up on each day makes the reading process easy and on a schedule. The book also covers the basics which form the complete advanced sections of Access97. Finally, the book covers the program well and allows the reader to know what has to be done and then has the option to use help to figure how to do it.

If you really are new to Access, look no further for a book to aid you.. Paul Cassel teaches the way you want to be taught, by example. The best $23.00 I could have spent to learn something.

If you want to learn how to use Access 97 this is a great way to begin. You can work your way through the book at your own pace. Each "day" teaches a new concept. When you are done, you will have a good basic understanding of how to use Access.