Software Books

It contains a huge amount of interesting information and the CD-ROM that comes with it is just fascinating. This is a great book for learning about Microprocesser architecture.

Being an ASIC designer, I bought this book to improve my understanding of the architecture and techniques used in high performance design. Looking at the book alone, I have a mixed feeling: the chapters that are dedicated inner workings of a processor completely satisfied my expectations. They include an in-depth description of all the main blocks that make a high-end processor or memory system work: register renaming, instruction decoding and scheduling, cache operation etc. This is really very excellent material! On the other hand, I consider the chapters dedicated to the system perspective to be of much lower quality and not in line with the title of the book. In a bit more than 100 pages, the author describes almost all other aspects of a modern PC, including Total-Cost-of-Ownership, Windows Qualification, Ethernet principles, Internet connectivity and even VESA Local Bus standard. Obviously, it is impossible to discuss such a wide range of topics in such a limited space. This flaw is compensated by a fantastic CD-ROM that contains an overwhelming library with a selection of research papers, articles from magazines, interviews and even a VHDL and Verilog simulator! Conclusion: I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the secrets of a modern microprocessor. The removal of chapters about system aspects would have resulted in a 5 star rating.

I work in Retail computer Sales, and I have been searching for a book that allowed me to not just sell the computers but also to give me the technical edge above other competitors. Well this is the book that does it. Warning however, do not buy it if you are not a Engineer or have a craving interest in computer Science. I happend to have the craving interest in computer science. The CD Rom that comes with it is facinating. It's like haveing a PhD in CS 24/7. So far he (the Author) has been my best in-direct computer Science professor.

This book is indeed an anatomy of high-performance processor design. In classic computer architecture books like Hennesey and Patterson's, it covers topics like out-of-order execution and speculative execution mechanisms, but only in abstract and algorithmic levels. This book uses an actual K6 microarchitecture as a foundation and explains these difficult concepts in RTL with pseudo code illustration. This can really help someone with purely ASIC background (knowledge of HDL) to fully understand the implementation of a RISC core with out-of-order and speculative execution capabilities

This is a very well made book and CD-ROM. The book is both clear and detailed. The title can be read to narrowly though. In addition to going through the K6 3D microprocessor, the book has a wealth of information on related issues. Among other things, I found it very interesting to read the perspectives provided by six of the IEEE/ACM Eckert-Mauchly award winners on significant past and present books/papers/lectures/events. The book has many pointers to the CD-ROM, and let me tell you, the CD-ROM is dynamite. It includes the hypertext version of the book, technical presentations, audio and video clips of the people behind the K6 3D, three demo simulators, and many technical research papers. The CD-ROM has provided me with many hours of browsing. I browse and check things using the CD-ROM, but I try to understand them with the book in front of me. The good integration between book and CD-ROM makes this natural. By the way, I even found the classic 1946 Princeton paper "Preliminary Discussion of the Logical Design of an Electronic Computing Instrument" by Burks, Goldstine, and von Neumann on the CD-ROM. It still makes for great reading.

If you have never used dvd studio pro before to author dvd's this is the book for you.It goes into great depth why the author does certain things.Once again apple has come out with a book to get you ahead of the game.

George Banks

This is by far the best instruction manual on using a software product that I have seen. It walks you step by step through DVD studio Pro's feature while you are creating a sample dvd. It teaches you in simple steps so you understand immediately what is being done. This is great for the inexperienced and experienced users of authoring a dvd.

Apple And Macintosh Graphics And Sound, Computer Animation, This is the official Apple Pro training course for DVD Studio Pro 3, so it's clear that this is the book you need to get. The nice thing about is that it's also very well written. If you have the earlier versions of this guide, you'll know what I mean.

The approach used in the book is to go produce DVD's. In fact after just a few pages of introductory this is what we're going to do stuff, you get started making a DVD. The first DVD is planned to take about one hour to make, it includes getting started with learning your way around the Studio Pro authoring window, making a title page and a simple menu. At the end of the hour you should have a burned DVD ready to play.

Having hit the ground running, from here the projects get more and more complex, and in each DVD you have to repeat some of the steps of the earlier one, this kind of repetition makes it familiar. By the end of the fourth project you've used basically all of DVD Studio Pro.

The format of this book is a directed hands-on tutorial. It's neither a cram for the test nor a general reference manual. But after working through the course material in this book, you can become a certified Apple Pro by taking the certification exam. You will have been exposed to and practiced everything you need to know.

First of all its actually 4.9 stars out of 5, but since the book is not flawless it cannot get 5 stars.

Apple Pro Training Series -- DVD Studio Pro 3 (with a DVD attached to the inside back cover) is a great book for the novice DVD Studio Pro 3 learner. (I am referring to ISBN 0-321-25610-7 Copyright 2005 by all4DVD and Martin Sitter)

The Book
There is no doubt, that you will learn a lot from this book, and if you are a novice in this area, do not waste your time looking any further: This is the book you want and need. I am a novice myself and therefore cannot say how helpful it may be to the Pro.

The entire book is in color (with the usual "Apple Blue" for certain text parts) and full color graphics (compared to the same-series Final Cut Pro HD book, where all graphics are in b/w)

The DVD contains:
My_Projects (that folder is empty, so you can save your lesson file here) 0MB
Media (contains all the files you need for your lessons) 3.45GB
Lessons (contains start- and finish lessons) 32.8MB
Appendix A (contains a PDF with a lesson: "Creating a Motion Menu in Final Cut Pro" which is not covered in the book) 4.6MB

There are some flaws, which may or may not make you angry while going through the book and by the book. Some drove me nuts, while others made me smile. You decide for yourself.

The Flaws (after reading the first 225 pages (total: a little over 720 pages)):

Page 31, Step 15, 2nd Paragraph
"As you select each button, it should turn red." Well, it does not turn red. Apple must have changed the appearance. But do not worry, it is working anyway.
[angry]

Page 45, Keyboard Shortcuts
Cmd-P Burn (It should read: Cmd-Shift-F Burn)
The Cmd-P (Command-key, also known as the Apple-key, plus the P-key) is usually opening the Print-Dialogue Window.
[angry]

Page 80, Step 1, 1st Paragraph
" . . . double-clicking the DVD Studio Pro icon in your Dock . . . "
A single click is enough for the Dock.
[smile]

Page 104, Step 1, 2nd Paragraph
Cmd-Option-O should read Cmd-Option-0 (Cmd-Option-zero)
[smile]

Page 194, Step 13, 2nd Paragraph
""Main Menu" should appear . . . "
That's correct: "should", but it does not, since it is not mentioned, that you will have to switch back to English Subtitle first in order to make this work.
[very angry, took me quite a while to figure this out]
And the next step after "Step 13" should be "Step 14" and not again "Step 13".


So and now I can't wait to continue with my lesson.

Good luck to you in becoming a pro -- this book will help you a lot.


One final advice for overseas orders: I ordered this book via Amazon.com to be shipped to Tokyo/Japan via "via DHL Express (averages 2-4 days)". It actually took 8 days to arrive. You may not waste your money on DHL's Express [loughing out load] Service.

I've used DVD Studio Pro since version 1 and when our company upgraded from version 2 to 3 I decided to buy this book to see how to utilize the new features in my DVD productions. Not only was I happy to find easy to read instructions and tutorials on the new features of DVD Studio Pro 3 (all in color), but this book has taught me some new tricks for some of the older features as well. One chapter that caught me off guard that was a pleasant addition was a detailed account on how to create you own custom presets for Compressor, including a great description on how MPEG-2 compression works (excellent for beginners and advanced). I'd recommend this book for anyone using DVD Studio Pro 3, even if your an advanced user this makes a great resource for your desk.

This book has been very helpful to me in my personal study of statistics. It is practical, with everyday applications, as well as explanations behind the formulae. Be sure to buy one with the CDROM. It is essential to solving the problems suggested in the book.

I really just had to take the class to finish my masters. The book explains the theories behind the formulas. Having an instructor was very help to understand it all.

I have a large library of math texts from many years in school and I have never read one that was so much fun. This book is really interesting and practical. Finally a statistics book that does more than scare the wit out of somebody. I would highly recommend that more professors choose this book for their students.

Incredibly useful book, easy to use. Contains all the Excel information you will even need in a basic statistics class.

I have used this book in my classroom for the last 3 years and found it very illustrative and simple for students to comprehend statistics. It covers theory with practical examples and therefore keeps it 'real' for students. I have used other books in the past, but students found them theoretical and 'brain show-offs' by authors who really did not care for student comprehensions unless they were math majors. This book is far different and even beginner students can easily relate to the hundreds of practical examples that the author provides.

The Excel examples are easy to follow and my science students usually pick up many practical models from these examples. The regression covered at the beginning level in Chapter 3 is fully covered in multiple regressions in Chapters 17 &18 in a way that makes it easy to teach...

Of the 40-60 stats books I have in my office, this is by far my favorite....

Dr. Bjarne Berg
Assistant Professor Lenoir-Rhyne College
School of Math and Computer Science

How often have you presented--or been presented with--an extensive table of raw data only to hear the question "what does it all mean and how can we leverage it?"

There is a wealth of useful data hidden within our own raw data. This book presents the statistical methods required to transform these data into useful information, in the form of mathematical equations (e.g. Cost Estimating Relationships).

It is simply one of the most important texts for Decision Support and Knowledge Discovery you can find. This book is an excellent value and is an absolute must-have for Program Managers, Project Managers, and Parametricians.

The book provides a solid approach towards dealing with software development project data. It is also written in an easy to understand style although the subject itself is far from easy.
This should provide software development managers with a well founded handle to get more grip on development efforts.

This book has a powerful format that blends practical "how to" and common sense with the power and rigor of statistical analysis. I will use this book as a "primer" when implementing software metrics in the corporate arena. This book is a "must have" for anyone implementing a corporate software measurement program. I also wish I had this book in my graduate offerings for Software Development and Design. Existing software curriculums can be sadly lacking the foundations and fundamentals for software measurement and statistics. This book literally makes statistics easy, sensible, and straight forward even for the complexities of software development and technology.

If you're working in SQA or managing software development projects this book is an excellent introductory text to statistical analysis. Although I found "Measuring the Software Process" by William Florac and Anita Carleton to me a more in-depth book that book assumes that you've established a metrics program and that you already have a working knowledge of statistics.

What I like about this book is that it's a tutorial on the statistical skills and knowledge that you'll need, and it combines this learning goal with the basics of software metrics and how they can be employed to measure productivity, estimate projects, and manage costs and organizational quality. The core approach is data analysis, and the main tools that the book employs are multi-variate techniques, regression analysis and correlation and sensitivity tests. The author has a talent for clearly explaining a dry subject, and while it will take a good deal of effort to master the material because of its nature, the excellent writing and illustrations will make it easy to quickly grasp statistical fundamentals and put them to use.

The lessons are taught within the framework of four case studies that are realistic and apply to the real world. The case study topics are: productivity analysis, analysis of time to market factors, development cost analysis, and maintenance cost drivers. These cover the full range of both internal development and product-line software engineering. I especially like the inclusion of maintenance costs as a topic of study because this area contributes significantly to total costs of ownership, but is often overlooked.

As of the date of this review there are two primary books that address measurement from a statistical perspective: this one and Florac's and Carleton's "Measuring the Software Process". Deciding which is better is a matter of assessing your needs. The key strengths of this book is the tutorial nature and the wide range of case studies that are used to reinforce the learning. The key strengths of "Measuring the Software Process" is that it goes much deeper into analysis and also includes statistical process controls and other techniques that are present in highly mature development organizations. Regardless of which book you choose (or if you choose both), the information and knowledge to be gained is the foundation of SQA and best practices in project management.

Being a researcher in software metrics, I am really pleased to see a book that is suited for software managers with the correct level of detail in statistics. I particularly enjoyed reading the 4 chapters with case studies. Its a must have for anyone in the field of software metrics and measurement.

I got this book to refresh myself and the Dummies book for a quick reference.
I highly reccommend that.
This book walks you through step by step the entire process and well over 90% of the entire program.
The examples are very easy and the text is spot on accurate.
The only complaint I have is that I wish that the information that we hagve to enter was all in bold text.
Some is and some isn't, but this is a minor complaint compared to quality of the training you get from the material.

This book is clear, concise, and well-written. It covers everything I've needed to know about AutoCAD, and probably everything I'll ever want to know. Explanation of the more difficult concepts is thorough and complete, and the exercises are very helpful, keyed as they are to practice drawings on the included CD-ROM. A great reference...structured by topic, so it's easy to find what you need.

If you are using AutoCAD 2005 or LT 2005 as a beginner who needs step by step instruction or a seasoned AutoCAD user who can use a good reference manual - this book is well worth owning. It is a very thorough and clearly written book. No new or old AutoCAD feature is left unturned.

I've been a long time CAD user experienced in almost everything but "AutoCad". Always seemed to find a way around using this industry standard (eg: .dxf or other file translator to bring into your CAD app). Well, after alot of digging my heels into the ground to avoid AutoCad, due to it's unfamiliar CAD interface and menu nomenclature, I decided to give this book a try. WOW, what an eye opener for me! Absolutely the best. Spend the time to do all of the excercises in this book and you'll no longer dread the unfamiliar GUI (graphical user interface) of ACAD. In a matter of approx. 40 hours of study, I feel relatively comfortable using ACAD, along with our other CAD programs. Do yourself a favor and get this book if you have any interest in learning ACAD, you won't regret it. Ellen Finkelstein and crew did an absolutely fabulous job!

The Finkelstein Bible series -as reference books for AutoCAD- stand head and shoulder above the others, the depth, the accuracy and the conscientious effort is unmatched. If a supplement book for exercises at the same technical level is published, we will definitely have an undisputed knock out.

I bought this book back in 1998, and I have to say the lessons were very straight forward, and I was able to learn autocad in one week enough to land a new job.. it's got my thumbs way up!

I recieved AutoCad 14, the program, 4 days ago and this book 2 days ago, and I am already feeling like I can do something with the program. I felt lost and bewildered when I opened the program on my own, but the step-by-step tutorials along with the examples on the CD-ROM are teaching me everything I believe I will ever need to know. I'm glad I decided not to put hundreds of dollars into a CAD course when this book is as wonderful as it is.

Thanks to Ms. Finkelstein. I have got lots of joy from AutoCAD through your book. This book itself is an art, a practical art. It's rarely to find a software learning book as this.

Our engineering company upgraded to AutoCAD Release 14 in April 1998 & I found the AutoCAD 14 Bible clear, concise & to the point when we redeveloped & recustomized our CAD System. We didn't have to spend as much time calling CAD consultants when we could find the information we needed at the flip of a page. Bravo!

I've had to learn CAD programs before by reading a text book, and a lot of the text books just don't do the job very well. This book has been great!

I needed to change from different software to AutoCAD, but I think new users would be fine using this book if they did the exercises and practiced.

It took me a couple of hours to review the books in the book store--I am glad I chose this one.

I have tried many different bagpipe software also being as registered owner of BagPipe Writer Gold. The sound created in writing this new software is awesome. Never before have I heard a tune sound like the real deal as is produced by this software. No need to go and buy a Sound Blaster card that is required by most of the other Bagpipe software I know it is the real deal as one of my dogs started to howl as soon as I played Scotland The Brave using this software. She howled all the way thru playing the tune just as she does if I am playing the real bagpipes( poor old gal) I highly recommend if anyone wants the real deal and the real sound. Purchase this software and get rid of all the others This is the one all bagpipers have been looking for!"

I love all their products! I just got this software and the sound is amazing! Way to go! I think I'll make my own cds!

The sound created by this new software is awesome. Never before have I heard a tune sound like the real deal as is produced by this software.

This is a great product! It should fill a need longfelt in the bagpipe community!

I have been piping for 15 years now and wanted to find composition software to use to produce my own music. I was overwhelmed at how realistic the sound quality was that this software produces! It is truly heads above all other software packages! Additionally as an instructor the ability to produce sheet music for my students with the correct finger positions in invaluable! I love it!

I know this book was a bit late to get on the scene, June 5th. Let me tell you, this book was well worth the wait! I've had the chance to read other beginning SharePoint books and user guides, specifically SharePoint 2007 User's Guide: Learning Microsoft's Collaboration and Productivity Platform and Microsoft SharePoint 2007 For Dummies, and none of them lay it out for the end users as well as this book does.

The book is filled with easy to follow examples with step-by-step instructions that make it easy to implement your own team solutions.

My favorite chapters are 6, 10, 11, and 12; Content Types, Forms Services, Excel Services, and the BDC, respectively. None of these chapters are longer than 50 pages, but they are filled to the brim with so much useful information that you will read them from beginning to end.

This book is the definitive SharePoint user's guide.

When I started learning SharePoint, one of the biggest fundamental problem I had was to understand the new terms used in SharePoint. Sites, Site Collection, Web Application, Site Column, Content Types are some of those terms. Without understanding these basic terms, its hard to understand power of Sharepoint. Doesn't matter whether you are great SharePoint programmer or administrator, you need to have your fundamentals right. That's where this book comes from.

Learning SharePoint starts with basic terms like - Lists, Document Library, Sites, Site Collection, Workspaces, Site Columns, Content Types, Workflows, Web Part, Security Groups, Forms Services, Excel Services, BDC, WSS Search and Enterprise Search, Portals for internal and intranet and that's what this book provides. It gives a foundation what every new SharePoint power users, administrator, or developer needs.

This books focuses on out-of-box customizations targeting Power Users and Administrators, mainly for former group. It starts with what Lists and Document Library is and then focuses on what kind of customization you can do with them. From then, it moves on important WSS concepts like Web Parts, Workflow, and Content Types. Once you have your WSS concepts covered, it moves on the advanced MOSS subjects. It has many real world Try it out examples. In short, this book is for power users. There is nothing for developers and this book doesn't pretend to be for admins and programmers.

Forget about its title being Wrox Beginning series, If anyone wants to start learning SharePoint, I must suggest to go through this book first and then move on more advanced subjects like Administration and Custom Customization with WSS and MOSS programming model.

Nik

I've read a lot of books about Sharepoint and MOSS and actually I can say that this is my personal "top of the list" for ayone who wants to be introduced into the Sharepoint and MOSS world.
The book is simple to read and rich of guided samples, it covers all the aspects you need in order to start working with Sharepoint and MOSS.
If you're a developer that wants to customize the engine, this is not the right book for you... but if you've the needs to learn Sharepoint and to work immediately with it, this is extremely recommended.
As usual, Wrox is a guarantee...

(by http://www.demiliani.com/blog)

As the title states I find this a great place to start learning or use as a reference. You can never have enough good references!

I found this book to be inline with the other "Beginning" Wrox books. It outlines key concepts within the SharePoint platform and provides examples of how to use those concepts to build team solutions.

From outlining site columns and content types to working with ECS and the BDC this book is sure to provide you with essential SharePoint knowledge to get you going!

This is the best book on the market for learning how the newest versions of SharePoint can help company's improve business processes and information management.

From getting a solid understanding of content types and site columns (new features within SharePoint) to making use of Forms Services, the reader gains knowledge of how to use these important concepts to create business solutions that are easy to maintain and extend.

Because SharePoint is so open and powerful, easily explaining how to incorporate SharePoint to help a company run its business more efficiently is challenging. To take full advantage of SharePoint, companies will need employees that are not developers (programmers) to embrace the technology. These users will need to know how to utilize SharePoint to meet business objectives, and how to customize the platform (without the need for code). This book is geared for this next generation of SharePoint users (called Designers) - and it delivers a winner.

Great book!

I purchased this book based on Amazon's information and the reviews. My purposes in doing so are different than most who would / should consider it -- to audit and assist US FDA-regulated companines in compliance, including the requirement for validating software in medical devices, or in manufacturing and data systems used to manufacture FDA-regulated products (devices and drugs). Given that caveat, Rodger's book is an excellent resource. He supplements his narrative with numerous diagrams which he defines as describing a process and a "set of tasks that can be used to implement or improve a formal testing program".

His stated assumptions (a pre-existing formal system in place at a company; specifically defined by the Capability Maturity Model / CMM 3-4+; with a separate reporting structure -- or, as he stated, "the full blown model described in this book details a full-featured formal testing process that is applicable to large programs and that would fully support programs deliverable to state and federal governments, or on programs delivering safety-critical systems or having significant impact on corporate profits" ). What he describes would fit well with the FDA's GMPs(Good Manufacturing Practices), a quality system similar to but more stringent than ISO 9001 / 13485, and various FDA /Agency guidance documents on software validation (a series of structured documentation and testing requirements).

Although presented for / geared to a large corporation w/ greater resources, I would argue that the basic principles he discusses, and the systems approaches recommended, are adaptable, and 'down-scaleable' to any size company. It also provides a model / target to aim for by any software developer / provider, including (especially) the small shop, a requirement trend that will probably only increase, and globally -- and providing such companies a competitive advantage, and enhance the Intellectual Property (IP) value of the resulting product. His strategic level and test level discussions also provide the basis for input to software portions of a company's documentation -- the Quality Manual, SOPs (standard operating procedures), and WIs (work instructions) for both engineering and testing / QA.

Certainly, the recommendations, systems, documentation and efforts outlined in this book, if followed in principle, would greatly reduce the problems experienced in software / hardware implementation projects, including some recent failures / delays receiving nationwide publicity.

As such, it has proven to be a valuable addition to my consulting library, and a useful reference in conducting audits, making recommendations, and developing validation protocols.

Testing large software projects is a very difficult task. Testing can only reveal the presence of bugs, not their absence and it is impossible to cover all possible pathways that the software can traverse. Furthermore, and what is the worst, "simple" changes made in software can cascade across many modules, requiring the re-testing of all affected modules. Therefore, any testing plan must incorporate repeating tests based on feedback. Finally, testing is something that must be done, so there is no choice in the matter.
The practices described in this book are all modeled using Input-Process-Output (IPO) diagrams, which are labeled state diagrams. The states in the diagrams are partitioned into three sections, input, process and output. Inputs are represented as labeled arrows, which can originate from another state, but do not have to. The process section describes what is to be done at that stage and the output section has labeled arrows exiting the state that then go to the next state. Multiple inputs and outputs are possible and the flow can loop back to a previous state.
Each state is described in the text, where the inputs for the state are explained in detail. Applicable feedback from all persons with a stake in the operation is discussed as well as feedback that this state can give to previous states. The process is described and then the outputs that the state will send to later states are explained. Feedback that may be received from states later in the sequence is then described.
What is most impressive about these modeling diagrams is the extensive allowance for feedback. The complexity of the testing process and the consequences of the results means that testing can form a feedback loop that exhibits many of the characteristics of chaos. A loop is chaotic when small changes can cascade into very big changes. The way to prevent this in any process carried out by humans is to incorporate damping mechanisms. These features reduce the impact of any result so that they do not grow beyond the bounds of the system to handle them.
When faced with impossible tasks, something that software testing has now become, the best that you can do is examine a subset composed of the most likely scenarios. By applying the models in this book, it is possible to raise the level of your testing quality to the point where you can be confident in your software

Rodger Drabick has written a comprehensive and practical guide to formal software testing process. Everyone involved in software testing will benefit from his years of experience and his revealing insights. I've been in the testing field for more than 10 years, and I'm learning a lot from this book! This is a great textbook for new testers, a step-by-step cookbook for new managers, and a great reference book for everyone in the testing world. Rodger takes what can be a difficult and elusive process and explains it thoroughly, using graphic models as well as real-life examples. The best part is that he explains how to adapt the testing process in various situations, even Extreme Programming projects. He gives specific advice to testers at every level, most valuably for new testers and new test managers. Just a few of the things you can learn from this book: How to apply IEEE standards to your project, how to break a project into testing tasks, how a process model can be used as a training tool for new test engineers, how to apply the model to achieve a specific CMM level. Rodger's aim is to help the reader improve the testing process, thus improving product quality. He emphasizes that the testing and development organizations must work together throughout the software development life cycle - not a new idea, but not done nearly enough either. Don't be thrown by the technical-looking IPO diagrams and formal terminology - this is a common-sense approach that can be applied just about anywhere. Rodger doesn't expect you to run out and implement this entire model - he just wants to help you improve on what you do. What if your a tester who gets code to test but no requirements? Pretest and posttest meetings wouldn't be hard to implement, and they'd improve your process. This is the type of advice that makes this book golden. The appendices add even more value, with info on CMM, preferred practices, a way to evaluate your current practices, and a primer on test execution. The book's references to other works will let you explore other areas of testing.

Rodger Drabick has written a useful book for those working on test efforts in formal environments. By "formal environment" I mean a CMM level 3 or above, SPICE, or ISO registered program, or one regulated by a government agency like the Federal Aviation Administration or the Food and Drug Administration in the US. There have been plenty of templates and standards floating around for years on what to write down for such tests, but precious little describing how to manage the formal testing process. This book fills that void.

The book has the following strengths:

1. Rodger provides a clear, complete roadmap for those new to testing in a formal environment. You could follow this roadmap, with the tailoring advice he provides, and do a competent job your first time working on such a project.

2. Rodger manages to cover a dry topic like formal processes in an engaging fashion. He includes useful "stories from the trenches" and lessons learned from his experiences, which bring the topic to life.

3. Rodger transcends and complements the IEEE 829 test documentation standard by harnessing a formal process model to the templates. Rick Craig's book, *Systematic Software Testing*, does this, too. However, Rodger's book is a good complement to Rick's in a more formal environment.

4. Finally, Rodger's book is browseable. You can skim sections, get the gist, and return later for a more detailed read.

The book has a few minor weaknesses, which I should mention:

1. The bibliography is a bit thin. The body of useful and interesting test knowledge extends well beyond what's shown there.

2. Rodger is careful to note that the processes he describes are for formal environments. So, the brief section on Extreme Programming struck me as somewhat of a non-sequitor. However, readers will probably simply skip this section if they aren't using XP or other agile approaches. If readers are using XP or some other agile approach, I'd recommend a different book on the testing process first.

In the domain and user community Rodger is addressing with this book, neither concern should dissuade someone from buying the book.

Anyone testing in a formal environment will likely benefit from Rodger's book. If you are testing in a formal environment for the first time, reading Rodger's book might well go from a good idea to a survival requirement. Formal environments are the world Rodger has worked in for decades, and no one else has brought his wealth of experience in that world into writing a book about the testing process.

First, this book is not primarily for software test and QA professionals who are working in 'typical' organizations. As noted by others, the approach this book provides is best suited to organizations that are at least at CMM level 3. Moreover, unless software engineering practices across the organization are mature the approach will probably fail. However, that does not prevent even a Level 1 organization from selecting best practices and tasks set forth in this book and applying them. The net result will be an incremental improvement, and may be the catalyst for larger improvements with a small win.

That said, this book is invaluable to mature organizations that are committed to software engineering at the defined, managed or optimizing levels of maturity. It distills formal test practices drawn from a variety of sources and the author's experience into a succinct, process-oriented guide. The model itself is presented in IPO (Input-Process-Output) diagrams that start at a high level to describe the process itself, and drill down into successive levels of detail in level 2 and 3 IPO diagrams. This process-oriented structure gives a great deal of clarity to a complex set of processes that touch all milestones in any SDLC.

I like the fact that the model proposed is not rigid, but can be tailored to development life cycle approaches ranging from waterfall to agile approaches. Chapter 8 gives advice on how to accomplish the tailoring without breaking the integrity of the process. I also found the appendices useful, especially Appendix B (preferred practices) and the plans and templates provided, and Appendix C (testing processes evaluation questionnaire).

If your organization is pursuing CMM level 3 or above, or are contractually required to have a formal software engineering process or process capability, this book will address the software testing process areas of a larger initiative. However, do not overlook some of the small wins a chaotic organization can achieve by using many of the ideas in this book.

Better Software Faster provides an excellent, clear and pragmatic approach to developing complex systems. Not only is the book the most useful tool companion that I have ever read, it also identifies and explores the key issues that face software development teams today without overloading the reader with academic process.

BSF challenges each unit of process to prove it's value before it is accepted into the team's software development environment - following the school of "build it up" with the essentials, rather than "strip down" that many process users are accustomed to.

Along with a truly in-depth guide to using Together, and a pragmatic development process, BSF explores issues of domain modeling, requirements modeling (functional and non-functional), cost estimation, and quality from a base of practical experience.

A true informational heavyweight, each chapter is littered with experiential pop-ups where the authors share some great insight. Clearly a lot of thought has gone into this - a sit-down read.

I had great pleasure and interest reading "Better Software Faster". The great value and uniqueness of this book is that it presents in a comprehensive way a development process, the tool that supports it and the main techniques to accomplish each step. The presentation is made easy to read through an example which is clear, complete and which works.

The book also addresses some key technical points that I have never seen addressed elsewhere.

It should be the reference book of each system development team.

I have read good books about how to develop software, but this one goes to another level. It gives a lucid explanation of the principles that are needed to understand and manage the reality of iterative and evolutionary software development. That's right - this book doesn't ask you to learn some new methodology for software development. Rather it gives you principles that will make sense whatever process you are working.

While identifying key ideas behind good software processes, it is also eminently practical - the authors obviously enjoy making software that works. The book includes a significant application, complete with requirements model and a full suite of tests. This is an example that teaches.

As an added bonus the book demonstrates how to put these principles to good use with Together ControlCenter. As far as I know, it it is the ONLY book out there to deal with the single-source, single model approach that Together allows.

Finally, as an experienced Together user I was pleased to find the book uses side bars and appendices to share plenty of advanced tips and tricks too.

This book felt like a fresh breeze on a subject that has been dragged ad infinitum through a morass of books on this methodology or that process. It is not another methodology, nor is it merely a process (though there are solid roots in proven methodologies and processes).

The book impresses most with its down-to-earth practicality. Developers should quickly recognize the authors as two of their own who have spent a lot of time out there in the trenches. I helped review the manuscript for the publisher, and I found myself constantly distracted from the task of looking for problems in the text because I kept on highlighting interesting stuff that I wanted to go back to. I learned much then, and I am still learning.

The work is jam-packed with highly pragmatic advice, based on long experience, on how to tackle object-based, distributed development projects using a readily available development environment. (TogetherSoft's Together ControlCenter is the authors' weapon of choice... as far as I know it's the first third-party book to focus on this killer development platform. For TCC users, the book is probably worth it's price for the expert tips and tricks alone.)

Example abounds. The authors have built a reasonably robust distributed application (for an auto servicing shop), with both local and internet-based clients, around which the text revolves. (You can download the source code free from the book's website.) The language is Java, and the focus is on building distributed applications in a team setting.

Anyone relatively new to distributed apps (as I am), especially corporate developers and project managers, will probably benefit most from this book, though I think even the most seasoned veterans could find some interesting tidbits (artifact management and ControlCenter tips, for example).

This is a great book. Ever since I first evaluated the Together case tool I have thought it was a powerful tool, but this book has shown me many other useful features it has and practical ways to develop top quality software.

In the recent past, CASE tools have received a bad name because their return on investment has seemed poor. Project managers see the developers discarding the detailed UML diagrams painstakingly developed by the analysts and have, by default, encouraged a hack and slash methodology where the resulting code may be rapidly developed but is poorly tested and ultimately disappoints the end users who have to use it. The maintenance team is also horrified with the lack of quality and documentation.

Many companies are slowly discovering Together's big advantage over other CASE tools; that the source code is always fully synchronised with the UML Model. This means that the class diagrams and other UML diagrams used by the analyst never get left to gather dust on the shelf and the documentation will never get out of date. No longer is there a Chinese wall between the architects and analysts and the developers who write the code. The authors demonstrate the power of this code synchronisation feature with their case study.

You have to download the case study available from the accompanying web site. It's very detailed, more detailed in fact than many similar models that I've come across for other tools. There is much to be learnt by following the discussions, examining the code, running and testing the application. It's like suddenly finding yourself in the middle of a real project.

It's all too common to find object-oriented development projects managed by project managers who are not familiar with the iterative and incremental approach that is used. They often fear the continual changes and refactoring of the same classes over several iterations, especially when they thought the class coding was 'one and done'! This book will help them understand what the authors call the 'Perturbation Change Model'. The word perturbation is a bit of a tongue twister, but the authors make the principle simple and elegant. I've always wondered why every software project doesn't already do this. Project managers will be convinced that quality software doesn't cost money but will actually save money and time in the long run.

The focus on making evolutionary changes to the code so that a fully tested and high quality application emerges is described in detail in the sections on the built in Patterns, JUnit testing framework, Metrics, Audit reports and documentation.

In the appendix, the authors describe many useful modules they have developed to extend the functionality of the Together tool. I can't wait to try these out. The only feature the authors haven't written about is the new User Interface Builder that is now part of Together version 6.0. I guess this will be covered in their next book.

I recommend you read this book and be inspired.