Software Books

It is often the case that a new area of inquiry, comprised of elements from seemingly disparate disciplines, yields surprising insights. Zeigler's and Hammonds's effort is no exception. While linguistics has from time to time informed mathematics and computer science, to my knowledge little has been done to date towards the application of semantics and pragmatics to this type of data exchange.

The prose is concise, clear, and conversational. Given the complexity of the two topics and the more or less mutual exclusivity of their lexicons, readers whose experience has been acquired only in the one or the other of these two disciplines will nevertheless quickly become comfortable in this discussion. The authors provide many examples to illustrate their line of reasoning, all drawn from a wide variety of sources.

As an IT professional with 15 years' experience and an advanced degree in a foreign language, I found this book satisfying, illuminating, and provocative. While it is intended to address a specific engineering problem, its implications extend well beyond its stated purview. Heartily recommended for those who would like to think about the synergies of data engineering and pragmatics, and also for those who want to think about what might be beyond the horizon.

This book offers to the reader a thick and consistent theoretical background for dealing with ontologies (i.e., languages for describing "a state of the world".) Both authors merged very carefully their knowledge and disciplines [social and computer (engineering) sciences] in a complete and homogeneous framework.

In the new research area of computer-based problems, dealing with complex systems induces increasing efforts for building unifying modifiable ontologies describing the systems, data and communications. Large digital data are described and abstracted through more and more complex software. Computer-based problems need to have strong theories to map very quickly evolving technical evolutions. Developing such theories allows to build a common field for discussions and specifications to participate all together bringing tools and incremental concepts (concepts of concepts of concepts...) Always thinking of knowledge of knowledge (or metaknowledge) models can be constructed. Using such a philosophy, ideas become program-independent and right issues and perspectives are more easily identified. Knowledge can be organized to cognitively map real systems to computer-based models. This is what offers us this new book. But that's not all!

More than neutral/specifiable mathematical structures, this book provides precise mappings and discusses usual notations and current orientations (XML, HTML, UML, MDA, etc.) Actual generic large applications (geospatial sensor data, natural languages, hierarchical constructions, WWW, etc.) and a plethora of didactical examples are presented. Lastly, a web-based interface allows the reader to experiment his understandings.

Even researchers from the modelling and simulation field will find here a way to deal with digital input data.

According to me, this book is the starting point (and foundation) for those who intend to build soundly ontologies through computers in a modular, generic and hierarchical way: government agencies, developers, standards organizations, researchers, etc. They will find here the precise technical solutions they are searching for, as well as a common evolutive language to model data for dynamic systems. If all problems could not be grasped in one book, the latter will pinpoint major issues in such an abstract way that people are able to identify easily them and to find further solutions.

This book is definitely for those who intend to increase their knowledge on ontology, develop mental models and want to talk and search together in a controlled and original perspective!

Addressing the compatibility issues raised in sharing data between collaborative organizations that employ different approaches to representing data becomes a major concern in today's net-centric computing environment. Effective information exchange requires not only an agreement on the syntax and semantics to be established between data producers and consumers, but also a common understanding of the pragmatics, namely the intended use of the data in specific situational contexts. It is the development of a generic ontology framework called System Entity Structure (SES) to describe both static and dynamic world states and a set of openly available tools to support automated creating and testing of the data model, then, that is at the center of Bernard Zeigler and Phillip Hammonds's new book Modeling & Simulation-based Data Engineering.

By delineating the critical relationships that best structure a data engineer's domain of interest with the extra expressive power, the proposed pragmatic framework captures the exact intent of the data producers and consumers, which, in turn, allows for effective conversation and appropriate downstream processing. The SES framework is formulated as a labeled tree comprising basic elements and relations that satisfy a set of formation rules or axioms. With the supporting tools, it can be defined in a restricted form of natural language and subsequently be mapped into various computational forms, including eXtensible Markup Language (XML), Document Object Models (DOM), XML Document Type Definition (DTD), and XML Schema. A standard way of restructuring and pruning different SES representations is provided to improve representation utility and harmonization. The Pruned Entity Structure (PES) provides the basis for static and dynamic world state descriptions, efficient extraction of data, and more advanced form of information exchange. As the authors put it, "the SES together with the Discrete Event Systems Specification (DEVS) formalism offers a powerful system-theoretic framework for specifying families of dynamic services that can execute in simulated or real-time and interact with other services in a net-centric environment."

Throughout the book, a broad range of easy-to-follow examples, case studies, and exercises is provided to consolidate the concepts and methodologies presented in the text and to give readers significant hands-on experience. This book is addressed to all those who are concerned either with data engineering in general or with interoperability in multi-institutional collaboration. Any reader with a general knowledge of ontology and discrete-event modeling and simulation will be able to benefit from the authors' insights.

For those who are working on complex problems of data interoperability and reuse of data sources in distributed environment, especially GIG/SOA, this book provides rigorous and novel methods and framework approach to solve data harmonization and ontology integration problems effectively. The authors present the pragmatic frame concepts, ontologies, System Entity Structure (SES) framework, and modeling and simulation based data engineering, all of which are useful methodologies to achieve automated interoperability testing at syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic levels in a net-centric environment. The book identifies complex problems encountered in harmonization and testing and illustrates framework and approach to implement such solutions in software tools and services. The concept of SES is being implemented in a commercial software with some online support. It is a truly fine resource for data and system engineers who look for solid approach to solve complex real-world problems!

This is an excellent book and a must read not only for IT professionals but for anyone in any organization or home that has software, graphics, sound files,shareware, freeware etc.

Very few people understand the potential liability they face when any one of these is not properly licensed or it infringes on any copyright. The potential fines for illegal use of any software are staggering and frightening.

I have taken Al's on-line course also and that is incredible! Every IT professional and senior executive out there should take this course. Can you really afford not to?

If you conatct Al he will show you case after case of huge fines levied against individuals and corporations. The software police are very active and you could be next!

This book is a MUST read for anyone who owns a computer. Even more so for those responsible for or managing their companies technology portfolio. This book is the first thing I've seen on the market that really addresses Technology Portfolio (Asset) Management in terms of what you need and should be doing.

This is the first publication I've seen outside of some certification courses that tells it as it is while offering important insights and solutions. Modern Pirates opens portholes of little known insights into Software Asset Management and associated fields. As I read it my mind kept asking, "Who are the real pirates?" You won't fall to sleep reading this one. It's an unusually fun read on a most serious topic.

MODERN PIRATES is a must read for those who know little or nothing, or have misconceptions, about the field of Software Asset Management. It is also a very handy review and reference for us veterans, although I did learn interesting new things. It would make a thoughtful gift for the unbelieving boss.

Modern Pirates is probably the only book being published today that deals with I.T. Asset Management, and it consequences, and is a must read, not only for I.T. Asset Managers, but for any level of management, from the CEO on down of any company. Real life examples of what can happen to any size company should run a chill up the spine of any manager. I found this book to be great and very informative reading as written by an extremely knowledgeable person in the I.T. Asset Management field. I highly recommend this for all to read. In this day and age of software compliance actions costing companies millions, you can't afford to not read this.

Amazon needs to fix its info for this product - it's not an audio CD. It's a great package of software that has helped me bulk up my vocabulary and get a better pronuncation in modern standard arabic. I learned arabic grammar a while back, but found that its hard to communicate without a growing base of vocabulary to use. THis program is helping me do that. Love the clear audio recordings!

I have been studying Arabic here in Cairo for 3 years now and this software has been a tremendous help. Whenever I need to know the correct pronunciation of a word, I can simply click on it and hear an Egyptian say the word as many times as needed. It even lets me compare the way I say the word to the native speaker's pronunciation. This is an audio-dictionary for your computer, which is a must-have when learning a new language! There are several other functions that have been very useful as well - such as the study sheets, the grammar guide, the quiz tool, etc. If you are studying Modern Standard Arabic ("Fusha"), I know you will benefit from this software. There is another good MSA one called "Modern Standard Arabic Verb Clinic", by the same company, but I'm not sure is Amazon sells it. (There is also another one called "Egyptian Arabic Vocab Clinic" if you need to learn the spoken Arabic of Egypt.) - Richard (Julie's husband)

This is a nice tool for beginners and intermediate level learners of MSA, but if you've been studying for a while you will find this a bit frustrating. The 4000 words utilized are good, but they won't take you to the next level. The lists are good, but it would be nice to be able to make your own. A section of Arabic proverbs would be very useful as well, as knowing them makes a real difference when dealing with native speakers. I would pay $25 for this, but no more.

Learning arabic on your own is a challenge. I chose to supplement the Kitaab fi tacallum al-arabiya series with MSA Vocab Clinic to get up to speed a little faster. It gives good pronounciation help, and the word lists makes bus rides a lot more fun...

The book 'more math into Latex' is a good tool which helps somebody without experience in Latex to start using it as soon as possible and reach an adequate level for simple enough articles very fast. I would not be able to judge this book for difficult Latex applications.

I am a LaTeX programmer and instructor. This weekend, I finally had time to read Part I of this book, Short Course, and paged through the other parts.

What a pleasure! Grätzer has an amazing talent to say exactly what is important, without putting in extras that will distract a reader.

You'd think that by this time I'd know enough LaTeX to, at least, get through the Short Course without learning anything new; but instead I ran into trick after trick that I didn't know. I use Beamer but I didn't know FoilTeX, the presentation package used in the Short Course. It's a great idea to let tell users very early on how to make a presentation from their papers, and then leave Beamer for full treatment later.

I very much like Appendix A, holding the reader's hand as LaTeX is installed. Then the three "productivity tools" are introduced, explaining how to use these tools on both platforms, and leaving the rest of the user interface for later, leisurely exploration, making it really quick for users to start using LaTeX.

Very early in the introduction, Grätzer talks about "the three layers" (TeX, LaTeX, and the AMS packages) and, from the beginning, use all three seamlessly. This is a radical new idea. It will substantially reduce the learning curve -- my students will appreciate it. The wonderful foreword by Rainer Schöpf (one of the two lead programmers of AMS-LaTeX) makes the role of the AMS packages clear in the historical development of modern LaTeX.

I really like the way you got to "Lines too wide" so early in the Short Course, explaining to the user the cause of the problem and solutions. Why do most books postpone this?

I better not go on and on. Just wanted to write these few lines about my enjoyment as I read this wonderful material.

I was a graduate student in math and faced the daunting task of typing my thesis. It was bad enough that I was inexperienced in writing math, but I was also a novice in LaTeX.

I tried two well-known books. In one, there is a Part I, Basics. This is for me, I thought. Unfortunately, it is 200 pages long and does not cover such elementary topics as the "cases" structure. For that, I had to go to page 288. The other book had "cases" hidden on page 238, under the title "Matrix like environments". Not very helpful.

What a relief it was when I came across this book. It helped me set up LaTeX on my Dell notebook (why do other books assume that you already have a LaTeX installation?). Then I downloaded the sample files as instructed and read the really easy 60 page Part I (Short Course). I worked through the text and examples in less than a day. Then I started writing my thesis.

In my spare time, I gave the rest of the book a cursory reading. Occasionally, I need to go beyond what is covered in the Short Course. For instance, as an analyst, I need complicated integrals not covered in Part I. (They are easy to find: in Part II, in the chapter on typing math.) And when the time came to give a presentation on my thesis, I went beyond the Short Course's section on presentations to Chapter 14, and I used Beamer!

Everybody was impressed.

Now I am Jim Whitby Ph.D. Thank you George for the help.

If you are a beginner, this is the your book.

What new can I write about a book that is in its fourth edition, and has served the LaTeX community for almost two decades?

There is a new chapter on presentations and an appendix on installing LaTeX on a PC and on a Mac, so you get help from the get go. Also, for the first time, this book merges TeX, LaTeX, and the AMS packages into one, smoothing the learning curve for beginner and advanced user alike.

If you are new to this book, I should start by pointing out that you get two for the price of one. A sixty page Short Course gets you ready to type your first article in an afternoon or two. The plentiful sample files help you get started fast.

The rest of the book presents a detailed survey of LaTeX: how to type text and math, document structure, presentations, customization, and long documents.

Gratzer teaches by example: each new concept is introduced with examples and sample documents, so you learn by doing.

Multiline math formulas is the most difficult topic of LaTeX. This is the only LaTeX book that dedicates 40 pages to this topic, trying to make it accessible with a Visual Guide and a verbal guide of how these multiline structures can be classified and understood.

Gratzer teaches by distilling the most important information you need. For instance, Beamer, the presentation class he presents, has hundreds of commands and its documentation runs to hundreds of pages. The Beamer chapter selects twenty commands, so you should be on your way writing your first presentation in hours not weeks.

This book has served me well when I started, and it is my constant companion, placed next to my computer when I type LaTeX.

This will be so great to use in our clinic. We already use the last edition until it was so beat up! Hurry and send it-

Book is in great condition like the seller descibed. Book is arrived on time. Thanks

An almost perfect book. It lacks a few of the newer drugs, but honestly I don't know how any book could keep up. I like the layout of each drug and especially the part of special dental considerations. I've had the book for a few months and I've only had a couple drugs that were difficult to find due to the generic/brand name discrepencies. It's easy and quick to access.

The one area I would like to see improved is another index categorizing drugs by groups, such as Benzodiazepenes, CCBs, anesthetics, etc. and what general characteristics and precautions each group presents. I think that would make this book perfect in my mind.

This drug reference is layed out in a simple easy to use pattern. Every office should acquire this book. We just check the index, get the page number, flip to the appropiate page and wham! everything we need is right there. I especially like how the dental considerations are listed seperately. And it's a lot easier to manage than the huge PDR. It makes life much easier!

What is linux good for? That is the question that the authors of this book set about explaining. They tell you all of the wonderful things that you can make linux do with a little bit of effort. It could use a new edition but otherwise a very good read.

PS A station wagon packed with hard drives has more bandwidth in most instances than dsl or cable internet.

I've been curious about Linux for some time now. But, the only books that I could find, are all on installing, administering, configuring. Every one rehashing what the other said. None of them sold me on diving in.

When I discovered this book, I was apprehensive, but I went for it and purchased it. All I have to say is WOW! I never realised how flexible Linux is, or how much you could do.

I was thouroughly impressed on the variety of this book. I've finally been inspired to dive right in to Linux.

Are you a new Linux user, and want to learn more?

Are you an experienced Linux user, but are wondering what other interesting things you can do?

This book will teach you fun things. This book will teach you useful things. This book takes you on a tour you can't help but enjoy. At the end of the day, you'll find yourself not only entertained, but more knowledgeable about what you can do with Linux. It's probably more than you think!

This book helped me discover new interests and new possibilities, all in easy to read and entertaining prose. With that in mind, I'm giving this book the highest rating possible.

Technically, Linux is the name for the operating system kernel at the heart of "Linux" distributions such as RedHat and Debian. When most people "use" Linux, they are in fact using the shell, the web server, or any other of the zillions of open source programs that (1) are available for, (2) are distributed with, or (3) can run atop the Linux kernel.

It used to be that there were only a few things you could do with a Linux box (namely run a Unix box as a web server) but the open source community has come a long way in providing (1) applications and (2) hardware support, so that you can now do a lot of things w/ your Linux box that used to only be doable on a Windoze box.

Schwarz et al have put together a smorgasbord of things you can do with your Linux box. These projects range from things you would tend to do on a Unix box (eg IP Masquerade, SSH, system security, even a chapter on writing Apache modules!) to stuff you would expect to need to do on a Windoze box (eg burning CDRs, syncing with Palm devices, and audio/MIDI/image/video processing).

The level of detail in the chapters (as well as the required level of Linux familiarity on the part of the reader) varies considerably -- a hazard of multiple authors and the breadth of the topics covered -- but each chapter starts off with a "Difficult-o-Meter" which more or less accurately states the level of Linux proficiency required.

That said, there are some real gems to be found in this book. There are some pretty hefty howto-like treatments in this book of topics such as system security, "undernets" (collaborative web sites), and setting up a web/IMAP/mail server.

There's a chapter on "Tools You Should Know", which lists the tools a typical Unix hacker should know: regular expressions, vi, dd, sed, diff, etc. Like some other parts of the book, this chapter doesn't give you a lot of information on these individual tools, but it brings them to your attention, so you at least know what to look for.

This book by itself won't turn a newbie into a Linux ninja after one reading, but it is a good overview of many different things that can be done with open source tools on a Linux box. I would highly encourage the prospective reader to take a look at the Table of Contents of this book. If you see a topic you're interested in, then this is a worthwhile book to buy. (I suspect that most folks running Linux at home at a beginner to intermediate level will find several bits of interest in this book.)

Windows continues to be the dominant platform for personal and professional computers. Now in a fully updated and significantly expanded 2008 edition, "Murach's Visual Basic 2008: Training & Reference" by Anne Boehm continues to hold its place as the premier instructional manual for the novice and an indispensable reference for the seasoned professional. The principal focus remains on those essential skills that Visual Basic developers will find themselves using on a daily basis. Of special note is the four chapter section dedicated to database programming. Visual Basic is an object-oriented computer language and therefore "Murach's Visual Basic 2008" devotes five chapters on those features and aspects. This new edition features LINQ and how VB programmers can use the same language to access a variety of data sources ranging from databases to arrays to XML files. Enhanced with complete Windows forms applications for everyday business functions (which can be downloaded for free from the Murach website [...]) "Murach's Visual Basic 2008 is an essential, invaluable, practical, and thoroughly 'user friendly' instructional reference and strongly recommended for all Visual Basic developers.

Another winner from Murach. I've been buying/reading Murach programming books for about 6 or 7 years and have yet to be disappointed. This is an upgrade to the 5 star VB 2005 book. You won't be disappointed.

There is a lot of information in this 820 page book. It is broken into five sections starting with basic Visual Basic concepts and finishing with LINQ and deployment. Easy to read, using the "paired pages" format: How-to on the left page and examples on the right.

It is a straight-forward presentation of Visual Basic 2008 information and a book that will stay on my bookshelf.

I have been using the Murach books for a number of years, and have
never been disappointed. I also read many other computer programming
books, but Murach books constantly prove superior.

The one best thing that sets the Murach books apart is the complete
application given at the end of the chapter. It's difficult to learn
a new language by just working with snippets of code. Murach puts
together an entire business application to demonstrate the concepts of
the chapter, and this more than anything else will help the programmer
on the job.

Another good thing about the Murach approach is that the applications
are business-related, which is what most programming is all about
today. Other books have silly applications with animals and games. I have nothing against animals and games, but do not want to see this in a
computer application.

Finally, I have found with other computer books that their code is
often not tested properly. When I try to use their code, the
programs often don't work correctly and are riddled with errors.
These books have many errata on their web sites. But why couldn't
they get it right in the first place. To me this is just sloppy,
sloppy work. On the other hand, with Murach, the code works properly
the first time. Murach took the time to do it the right way.

I completed reading and working with the programs of nearly all the
25 chapters in this book.

My Rating: 5 stars out of five.

Thank you Mike Murach and Anne Boehm for getting it right!

This book is essentially an update of their earlier book for VB 2005, but which now includes additional coverage of several new features such as Anonymous Types, Object Initializers and LINQ.

Murach have developed their own individual style of subject presentation. They use a "facing page" technique. Open the book up at any section and on the left hand page you will find a discussion or explanation of a topic. On the facing page you will see more specific information about this topic, possibly with a diagram or screenshots, or very often demonstration code samples.

The benefit of this approach is that the author has two bites of the teaching cherry. She (in this case, author Anne Boehm) can introduce a topic on the left hand page, cover the essentials and be ready to move on. The value of the right hand facing page though is that it can be used to show additional detail, display sample code and example results and also (this I think being very important) can summarise the key points covered on the first page. The reinforcement of learning points in this way can be a very valuable tool.

Essentially, the reader can decide if he or she has understood enough from the left side page to be ready to move on, or if not then they can opt to read the right hand page for more info, samples or reinforcement and confirmation of their understanding.

Personally I quite like the approach. I tend to dive into books almost at random sometimes, but often just needing to refresh my memory on a particular point. If I'm using a Murach book and need further detail, I can dig into the additional facing page info as much as needed for any one topic, or even specific part of a topic.

If there is a downside to the Murach approach it's probably that because of the facing pages approach they have to limit the number of VB.NET topics they can actually cover in the 800+ pages limit . That said, what they do cover is fairly comprehensive and contains plenty of material to keep a VB.NET beginner engrossed for many a long night. And, most importantly, those topics are covered thoroughly and clearly in plain English.

There is full list of contents on their web site and you can also view two Sample Chapters from there.

This is another clearly written, well laid out offering from the Murach stable. I think this book is particularly suitable for newcomers to VB.NET, whether total developer beginners or those moving to .NET from VB Classic.

Databinding is handled later, and lots of interesting stuff I wasn't knowledgeable about came sooner. Bravo. This is a great book that will always be on my desk! (I'm a professional developer with walls of books by Microsoft on Wrox, primarily.)

This was the 3rd or 4th WinForms book I purchased. The others were good, but they were lacking in detail. This book does a great job in explaining 'under the cover' details. The authors do a good job explaining DataBinding, Controls, GDI+, Form, Menus, Inheritance and much more.
This is more than a resource book. The first half is devoted to getting you up and running with building WinForms apps. The 2nd half is an incredible reference, one I turn to almost daily.

If you plan to use or are using .NET WinForm, please, do yourself a big favor, buy this book and leave it on your desk

The authors appear to go to great length for completeness in a companion reference for programmers creating DotNet Forms, an important new feature of the DotNet frameworks. We have been always looking for a capable web enabled report writer without integrating a third-party product, such as Crystal Reports for the Web. DotNet Forms promises in creating at least simple, yet dynamic, multi-paged reports without a whole lot of work.

DotNet provides for creating dynamic Excel-like forms for ASP.NET html. Additional form paging provides for DB presentation similar to Yahoo and eBay searches, which is a familiar and intuitive format. DotNet provides these DataGrid forms with the DotNet Forms API. The API architecture is listed in the last two-thirds of this book, which is an inch and a half thick.

While the authors claim to include a "very fast-paced" tutorial (p1) in the first third (313 pgs) of the book, the DataGrid portion is a mere 6 pages (p307-312), very steep indeed! I'd highly recommend its combined use with another MS Press book by Dino Esposito (0-7356-1578-0) which devotes about half of his book to DataGrid reports and code examples. Another is Jesse Liberty's O'Reilly book on VB.Net (0-596-00438-9) which has one chapter devoted to ADO.net (34pgs).

The publisher include a MS Visual Studio.Net Add-in on the accompanying CD which has the text of the book as integrated help files, 1.7MB MSI files for VS.Net 2K2 and 2K3. Appears a tad bit small? I have not tested the usefulness of the claimed dynamic integration of the O'Reilly Help files along with MS Help during coding process within VS. It appears that this is the initial product enhancement from this publisher. I wonder if an annotatable PDF file of the book would be more useful; at least this would be in a separate window. This tome was read at a local library.

At a local SQL Server Users Group meeting, a new technology that will embellish on the DataGrid and Forms was discussed and demoed. It is the forthcoming SQL Server 2K Reporting Services that will be a low/no cost add-on for SQL 2000 Server and authoring with a Visual Studio.Net 2003 download. It currently is in beta and will be released in 4Q03. It appears to be XML based and production reports can be rendered for browser, printer, PDF, and TIFF output. What a seemingly great idea.

Overall, this detailed 469-page reference on the DotNet Forms API appears needed for the programmer, although this is probably duplicates what's available on a MSDN subscription CD somewhere. The appendix includes another 69-page API term cross-reference and a 23-page index.

This was the 3rd or 4th WinForms book I purchased. The others were good, but they were lacking in detail. This book does a great job in explaing 'under the cover' details. The authors do a good job explaining DataBinding, Controls, GDI+, Form, Menus, Inheritace and much more.

This is more than a resource book. The first half is devoted to getting you up and running with building WinForms apps. The 2nd half is an incredible reference, one I turn to almost daily.

If you plan to use or are using .NET WinForm, please, do yourself a big favor, buy this book and leave it on your desk.

Forget about those 1000-page reference books. Learn by doing ý thatýs what I personally believe in. This excellent book contains many examples that you may encounter in real life. The authors will guide you step-by-step through the assignments in the 12 tutorials. The concepts behind each task are well-explained. If you need more hands-on practice, there are numerous exercises at the end of each chapter. By the time you complete the course, you will be confident and eager to impress your boss with your newly-learnt Excel skills.

What a great book!!

Makes learning MS Excel easy by using excercises as you go.

A good method of learning that also doubles as a great reference tool afterwards.

I can't wait to improve my skills with MS Word by using the New Perspective series.

If you're not a programmer, and you want to learn Excel, skip those fat books full of pictures, and don't waste your money on authors that think you're stupid. This isn't some magic bullet; you still have to do the work. I think, however, that this is a better use for your money than one of those 1000-page wastelands. If you're a self-motivated scrapper, this won't just gather dust while you wait for the recycling truck. Get the comprehensive (expert) edition. After you get through this material, you can find a good reference work.(I'm still looking.)

I had this book for an Advanced Microcomputer Applications class. I found the tutorial style really nice, but I think that you really need to do the additional exercises in the the back of the chapters to really understand the material. I think the material on the use of "solver" and pivot tables were rather well done. I think someone who is trying to teach themselves without a teacher could make good use of this book.

in other words, it makes sense, so you remember the why and therefore the how. i highlighted and dog eared pages, and then didn't even need to look back and reference because it stuck.

Love the visual examples of bad and good design side by side. It is a thick book and so far I have just skimmed it (too busy), but so far I am loving it. I think most people that don't have a clue about how to design their business ads will learn a lot from this book and their ads will do better for them.

This volume is two books bound as one: a new (2008) third edition of The Non-Designer's Design Book and the 2006 second edition of The The Non-Designer's Type Book, 2nd Edition. These are excellent books for non-designers or in fact for anyone who has to deal with desktop publishing. They teach you how to get control over the design process by verbalizing what you are trying to accomplish, and learning to trust your eyes. Also: by not being a wimp.

The Design Book is specifically about page layout (not graphic design in general), and mostly about laying out bodies of type. The most interesting thing about this book is that it (gently) rejects the idea that design is strictly a knack or an intuitive process, and emphasizes verbalizing what you are trying to accomplish. "Once you can name the problem, you can find the solution." (p. 10) "You must know what the rule is before you can break it." (p. 49) The book enunciates several principles of good design. Through many examples of bad design and better design the book shows you how to check whether the principles are being violated and how to correct the violations.

There's a very clear chapter on the categories of type (Oldstyle, Modern, etc.): how to recognize them and when to use them. Very Good Feature: each page names the typefaces used in the examples.

The only real weakness of the Design Book is the chapter on using color. It was clear enough but did not seem integrated into the rest of the book.

The Type Book is a much-expanded version of Williams's Mac is not a typewriter, The (2nd Edition) and The Pc is Not a Typewriter. Unlike the Design Book it is mostly concerned with type at the individual character level. It deals with topics such as correct punctuation, different kinds of dashes, and when to set punctuation in italic. It includes all kinds of fine-tuning of the appearance of the type, such as kerning, tracking, ligatures, swash characters, hanging punctuation, correcting widows, and balancing the appearance of ragged-right type. This book allows a more intuitive approach than the Design Book, urging you to "listen to your eyes" (a mixed metaphor, but effective).

I have only a couple of minor gripes with the Type Book. (1) I think it has more fine-tuning that a non-designer is really going to use (e.g., fancy ligatures and swashes). The number of tweaks is overwhelming and may make you feel guilty for not using all these features. (2) I love Helvetica, but Williams continually bad-mouths it, and this is wearying. Apart from these minor points it is an excellent book, clearly-written and full of solid and useful information.

I just can't say enough about how much this book has helped me. I've been writing copy for promotional materials as part of my job for years, and I assumed knowing how to put stuff on a brochure or flier and print it out was enough. I had no idea how dull and uninspired my designs were until I picked up this book. This is the third book I've purchased by Robin and I think I learned more from this one than the two on web design. If you're looking for an in depth explanation of what works, why it works, and what DOESN'T work, this is the book for you. It's concise and comprehensive and I'll be using it as the first reference book I pull from the shelf from now on.