Programming Books

Very good book for learning. You can follow many examples with a running Scheme interpreter; I recommend it as a must.

I'm a fan of a lot of the popular Scheme or Scheme related books (SICP, The Little Schemer, The Seasoned Schemer). While in some sense this book takes a more pragmatic approach than the aforementioned books, it is no less valuable. I found this book helpful as a teaching aid while learning Scheme, and as a reference for my continued use of the language.

Advanced topics, such as continuations and the syntax-rules and syntax-case macro systems, get good treatment from this book.

Highly recommended.

Good book. To the point. Doesn't waste time with fluffy words. Excellent. I learned Scheme in a few days from this book. Scheme is like C on steroids. I like C, I hate C++ and Java. Calculus is entirely about functions, not objects. And I don't see people saying oh, Calculus is weak because it isn't object oriented. BLECH. Teach me to fish, don't give me one.

I purchased this book specifically with a view to learning the Scheme language. The text is easy to read, is pithy and to the point, and generally makes concepts clear and easy to understand. There are however, in my opinion, some sections where the author forgets that concepts are new to the reader and the examples that are used tend to obfuscate the point being made rather than elucidating it.

I have never considered myself stupid, but after my 5th reading of the introduction to continuations I was beginning to worry. A quick reading of another text on the subject cleared up my concerns almost immediately which suggests to me that the explanations are not as clear as they could be. There are some other areas of the book where this sort of assumption makes grasping a new concept more difficult than it should be.

Nonetheless, I still consider this a good introduction to the Scheme language and would gladly recommend it to the aspirant Schemer.

As I said in a past review to the second edition, this book is wonderful. This book has convinced me to migrate from Common Lisp to Scheme. This is a serious book for the one that really wants to learn about Scheme and require careful study and a strong motivation. Please note: if you are really interested to learn Scheme, then this book is for you; if you are not really interested and/or you like to joke, this book is absolutely not for you. The book is accurate, complete, well written and cover all you need about the modern Scheme. I use Scheme for personal study about bioinformatics. Thanks to the Autor.

The book provides an excellent introduction to logic and then shows how by using the language of logic and mathematics to specify pre-conditions and post-conditions one can develop provably correct programs from these pre-conditions and post-conditions.

I have used the methods in this book to develop advanced algorithms in Computer Graphics which could not have been developed in any other way.

The book is both a tutorial and reference. It is clearly written and organized.

When I first read this book, it was as though a bolt of lightning had struck me. Applying its methods, I became a much better programmer. I went from someone who struggled to get the code right to someone who always got the code right. For the first time I understood what programming was all about. I read the book on vacation while my wife and I were staying at my father's home in Sag Harbor New York and it was one of the most incredible intellectual adventures of my life. I'll never forget the smell of the sea and the sand and the logic going off like lightning flashes inside my brain.

This book makes my top-ten list of best computing books of the decade of the eighties. It certainly changed my outlook on how to write programs. The incorporation of logic into the code to mathematically prove that it works correctly was an ideal in the eighties and to some extent it remains an ideal. Nevertheless, that is not a reflection of the value of program correctness, but a consequence of the slow changes that sometimes take place in computing. Programmers may change their languages easily, but often not their styles.
At the time this book came out, I was in the process of designing and adding a course in computation theory with an emphasis on program correctness at Mount Mercy College. Before I encountered this book, I was having a difficult time pressing my case. However, after this book came out and I could use some of the comments regarding the significance of its' content, the course was easily approved. I also used the book in the class and the student comments were overwhelmingly positive. Ten years later, the book is still used in the class, something that is rare in computing.
The quality of the writing and explanations of the examples in the book are outstanding. Most of the students had no experience in formal logic, and yet they had little difficulty understanding and applying the concepts. The examples of proving the code correct were well chosen and I rarely heard any of the traditional complaints from math students regarding their frustrations over having to work through proofs.
The quality of programs would be dramatically increased if the principles of program correctness in this book were widely adopted. I continue to push for it every chance I get, and this review is one part of that push.

If you want to make a good programmer,you should study it. Many programmers just like programming , but they ignore how to verify their program is whether good enough or not.

The book deals with the way of development of programs using mathematical principles. This line of observation ( mentioned in the preface) " One can not learn to write large programs effectively until one has learned to write small ones effectively" captures the motivation of the book. There are three parts; part I introduces predicate logic; it includes natural deduction system; Part II builds the mathematical treatment of the programming constructs like assignment, alternative, iterative command and procedure call. Part III shows how programs are developed and proved correct using the mathematical principles discussed earlier. Given the nature of the area, the book is written with a lot of attention to instructional impact. The best recommendation for the book is by Dijkstra: The topic deserves no less author... To get the message across requires a scientist that combines his scientific involvement in the subject with the precious gifts of a devoted teacher".

Simply put, a book that re-introduces the idea of program correctness over all else. An excellent source on program design & analysis, checking for correctness using a logic-based approach. A book that builds from the fundamentals. Not for those who are looking for quick fixes.

This book was a welcome break from the manual that comes with version 7.0. Very easy to understand the basics and it also contains alot of other stuff. I needed to create some reports quickly and this book really helped.

The best on the market you will find. The book is very easy to follow and chapters are very nicely arranged. Good work.

My company purchased Crystal Reports as the main utility for pulling data from our large relational database. I had never seen Crystal before much less used it. I got my hands on this book today at 12:30 p.m. By 1:17, I was pulling data and manipulating reports like a pro. I would recommend this book to anybody who has to learn Crystal in a hurry.

The company i work for purchased Crystal Reports for a report conversion proyect and i had never used this software before and in couple of hours i was creating some basic to complicated reports. I recomend this book for anyne who need to get hands on fast.

This book was an excellent start for Crystal. I can actually read the huge technical Crystal Report books and understand what they are reffering to. It helped open the door to a whole new world.

My wife and I have both read Susan's book...WOW...it's hard to believe one person could endure so much in a lifetime. It shows the POWER of our Lord and His faithfulness in taking the bad and using it for His good. Susan is so candid in sharing her story and we would highly recommend it! No matter what you have done in your past, when you turn to God, He will forgive your past and give you a bright future. No matter what you may be going through, remember we serve a God that loves you and will never leave nor forsake you!!! Jeremiah 29:11 states, For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and future. Ephesians 3:20 states that God will do more than you could ever ask, think, or imagine. Susan's book, "SOULLESS" is a must read!

This book was inspirational. I feel honored that she felt that she could be so honest. I was skeptical at first (going off the subtitle) but was very pleasantly surprised. She seems like an amazing woman, and an awesome person. I used to look at women that were willing to do that in a very bad light. She has helped me to see that she is no different than any of us.

Her pictures show that she is very beautiful but after reading her book she seems to be as beautiful on the inside as the outside. I really feel differently, after reading this book. It was hard to put down. What a compassionate and courageous woman. She had many difficult breaks in life from childhood and on, and out of all of that she grew closer to the Lord. She brought me closer to the Lord and reminded me that with God all things are possible......

This book is a powerful testimony of the transforming power of God in the heart of a broken individual. Susan doesn't pull punches about the uglies parts of her life and the negative consequences she has suffered. She doesn't gloss over her the truth to make a rosy picture of salvation. This is a great testimony about God's healing, God's grace and one woman's survival against the odds of abuse and addiction!

Soulless is a powerful story by a woman who has been on the brink of her existence, but was able to find her way back. Susan Stafford has lived a life straight out of a nightmare. Yet, her faith in God has brought her through it all. Now, not only has she survived and changed her life, but she is also helping others. Susan shares her story and provides plenty of resources so that others don't have to go through the thing she did. By listing all the resources she does, someone who is trapped in that life may find their way out. This is a wonderful book for anyone who wants to read about a journey of faith and hope.

The courage that Susan displays in telling such a sordid story is to be greatly admired, and she proves once again that the redemptive power of our Creator knows no limitations. Susan has given me a further understanding of a world that is completely foreign to me. It is beyond my comprehension how a father could pimp his own daughter and sexually abuse her. In my world, parents (both father and mother) protect and nurture their offspring, even sacrificing their own lives if necessary to save the lives of their children. I cannot fathom the nightmare that Susan lived through. And the fact that she survived is a miracle in itself! I am grateful for this insight, for Susan's courage, for the reclamation of her life by our Creator, and for Susan's ministry in taking God's redemptive power to others. My wife and I are honored to welcome Susan and her family into our lives as newfound friends.

Carl Stewart
Producer, "Daddy's Favorite Toy"
www.CSproductions.info

This book is one of many I have read on SQL Server 6.5. It is clear& very well written. It highlights key points and goes into the right amount of detail. It is a must-read for anyone designing, deploying, or administering a SQL SERVER 6.5 database.

Had response problems with current database setup and SQL statements. The chapters on Indexing and Optimizing really work. Ex. A simple query on two tables took 2.5 minutes. After applying some of the suggestions, the query took a little over 2 seconds...

The techniques described in this book are effective and well thought out. Even if performance optimization is not your main goal, this book is well worth reading. The book delivers in-depth information on indexing, locking, the optimizer and many other topics in a very readable format. Ideal for those with some knowledge of SQL Server who want to dig deeper.

This book completely demystifies a number of SQL tuning concepts. This book provides a superb overview of the various performance topics, and then drills down deep enough into the concepts to give you the insights necessary to tackle thorny performance problems with multiple causes. This is still a very valuable book for SQL 7.0--the majority of the concepts are still with us.

After you have spent 8-80 hours trying random combo's on the Server Configuration panel trying to guess what you should do, buy this book and score a direct hit! Microsoft should bundle this book with SQL Server. If a little more detail were provided on the internal data structures of SQL Server one could write a bulk loader that bypassed SQL Server entirely (I know its been done by others) and load 10 X as fast. (hint-hint) This is the closest thing to a K&R for MS SQL Server I've ever seen. I really like the brevity of this book. Every word counts! Very, very good job Ken!

The best part about this resource is that it assumes nothing. It takes a complete novice and explains that RSS means really simple syndication. Then it goes into the value of having changing content, the need to choose an RSS that is not only compatible with your content, but will add ever-changing, relevant content. I am using the resource to be sure that I have an accurate understanding of what it is, who it helps, how it helps, when to use one, and how to subscribe to an RSS Feed.

Being a sometime web developer, it is important to keep up with the latest web technologies. If you have never heard of RSS or are not that familiar with it, I recommend this book as a great introduction to what RSS is, and how you might use it in a website.
It is not expensive, and is a good foundation in that it explains the basics of news feeders and how they are used, but doesn't go into a lot of technical/code information. In other words, if you want to code your own newsreader, find another book. On the other hand, the author does explain how to syndicate any item you want for RSS.

I just finished reading Ellen's book. For a year or more, I have seen webfeeds on some websites, and those little XML and RSS buttons showing up everywhere. For the life of me (and I'm pretty technosavvy), I just couldn't put it all in context. This book lays it out concisely and makes a compelling case that news and webfeeds are the next communication phenomenon, likely to be as ubiquitous as faxes and email.

I'm not always a "Dummies" fan, but this one rocks! My website will have a feed very soon and I'm already thinking of many ways to use this new technology in creative marketing efforts and to deliver content in a more useful way to our clients.

Colorado divorce and family mediator, Lawrence King, J.D.
Divorce Resolutions, Colorado Center for Divorce Mediation

I love this book, it has broaden my horizons. I didn't know anything abour rss until i read this book, I'm now well on my way. If you are looking for a book that will teach you the basics of rss and that will get you started on your rss project, this is the book. Because of the vast amount of information in this book, you will actually be more confident in any rss project you start, even if you are just looking to buy another book on a related topic. This is the perfect book to start working on syndicating websites and rss, or just to understand why it works.

I should be finished this book in about two days. It has been very helpful and specific and a vast improvement on some others in the Dummies series. Ellen Finkelsrtein has done a good job and crafted a good book. I particularly like the wayu she says: go to this web site and do this this, So I go to the webiste and bookmark ans I find it very valuable.
feedvalidator.org was one such site. I went and it complained soem of my taigs.com blog was not properly validated: litle things like a ">" i na closing tag omitted. So I fixed them. Without this book, they would still be broken. The little things add up in this game.

Another thing: she does not waste time explaining irrelevant basics. She sticks to her topic and does not squander time telling you how to install this, that or the other. She also divides up the programming bit from the take it and go bit. There is an acompanying site which gives you the code to write your own feeds. All in all, I concur with the earlier reviews and give it top marks.

Beautifully, gently written. Very touching anecdotes of Lakin's long and excellent experiences with children in elementary school. Lakin is sensitive and effective with his students, as a teacher, a principal and writer and gives the information that is both amusing and poignant.

"Teaching as an Act of Love" by former principal Richard Lakin explains the methods of teaching K-4 grade school children and how these impact children with different learning needs and abilities. Laced with the compassion and humor, the insights of an experienced professional glow as the kids say and do the funniest things. The book explores the shortcomings of excessive bureaucracy and testing in public grade schools, and the importance of building enthusiasm for learning at an early age. A very enjoyable read, with many helpful tips on how fill one's own children with a "can do" attitude in life.

This insightful and inspiring memoir demonstrates that a caring and dynamic educator never stops teaching. Richard Lakin opened the doors of knowledge and understanding to children by allowing their curiosity, insight and intuition to enliven their learning environment. Now he is writing about his experiences in a way that motivates parents and teachers to persevere in creating supportive and stimulating learning environments. I intended to share this book with a special teacher friend and then realized it is also a gift I will give myself and my daughter who is just beginning to shape goals and research options for her young son's education.

Teaching as an Act of Love is a real winner for anyone interested in kids and in education! Written with love, humor, insight, and humility, Lakin gives numerous real life examples of what works and what doesn't work in schools. The title says it all. Teaching IS an act of love,

As a retired French and Special Education teacher, I could relate to the basic premise of the book and enjoyed following Lakin through his many adventures in dealing with elementary school students. I laughed at the many examples of delightful children being themselves, empathized with feelings of bewilderment, got annoyed at the narrow "bean counter" approach to education. And I smiled many, many times as the difficulties melted away when genuine caring and professional expertise prevailed. Lakin is to be complimented for including all the school staff into his book, because, as all teachers know, everyone contributes a meaningful part to the whole effort..

I was impressed with Lakin's dealings with parents, always seeking what is best for the student, and engaging to help the parents provide meaningful support. He clearly understands that "One size does NOT fit all". This philosophy of education based on caring, discipline, listening, and acting out of commitment to the child touched me deeply.

This is a book for everyone!! Parents, teachers, all school personnel, and former kids will enjoy and be inspired by Lakin's experiences and philosophy. He takes us through his education career, showing us his vulnerabilities, and his capacity to find solutions through imagination, listening, and love. Congratulations to Richard Lakin for presenting us with an amazingly readable book about an amazingly complex subject: education.

Richard Lakin, a teacher and principal, speaks from long experience, learning from, modeling, and advocating for, caring classrooms which nourish children in their developing years. A refreshing and inspirational collection of stories for teachers and school systems who dare to make essential interventions in the health of our culture as a whole.

I LOVED loved loved this book! Unlike other books on speaking that focus on the mechanics (and, really, if you're a public speaker, shouldn't you already know not to say "ummm"?) of speaking, this book focuses on how to use speaking as a powerful tool to get your unique message out to the world to help transform others. And that is truly exciting!

Gail Larsen believes quite firmly that we all have our own particular message to bring to the world, and to speak effectively, we need to tap into and deliver that message. What's especially clever about the book is that it will help create the very transformation in its readers that it wants readers to create in others....it will help a reader find his or her own message, which really seems to be another way of helping the reader find his or her own life's mission.

Once you're speaking from your heart, with sincerity and passion, the mechanics will come. Yes, Larsen gives some valuable advice in that regard, too, but this book is truly above and beyond a mere book on how to speak...it's really more of a matter of finding out WHY you want to speak first. It's a must-read for anyone who wants to change the world one speech at a time.

Athletes sometimes find their high performance "zone"-when everything clicks perfectly. In her new book, Gail Larsen in her no-nonsense approach shows how anyone can find their high performance "zone"-a zone beyond just public speaking. Without laying claim Gail shows how someone needs to find and journey through their "comfort" and "home" zones to be a great and powerful speaker. In the process and with her process she is really showing people how to reach peak performance in any pursuit. For executives this book is a must read if authentic personal and corporate purpose is high on their agenda. Gail's techniques are some of the finest in the world for companies searching for how to present their purpose, competitive position and source for branding.

Every senior executive should be grounded in Gail's methods. She makes it possible for the executive to win the attention and trust of any stakeholder or audience - this is a must read.

Mark Long
Attorney and founder SuperLab
www.mysuperlab.com

Transformational Speaking presents a spiritual path in a how-to book - what a rare find! It's beautifully written, passionate, and totally authentic. Gail is someone you WANT to learn from, and has so much to share. Her teaching is filled with depth and presence, and makes you realize that a podium is a meditation cushion in disguise. And vice versa, too. Become a better speaker, Gail's way, and you're bound to find more than a little enlightenment along the way.

TRANSFORMATIONAL SPEAKING
If you want to change the world, tell a better story...
Gail Larsen

Transformational Speaking literally transformed me as I worked my way through the book. Filled with the heart-wisdom of a woman who knows her territory and exercises that help you go straight to the core of who you are, this book will transform you too . . . if you let it.

This is true if you are a beginning speaker or a speaking pro. Gail makes you think, first about yourself: what are my innate talents and gifts; what is my core message? Our lives contain the answers. That alone is worth much more than the price of the book.

And just when you believe there is nothing left she has to tell you she comes in with: know your audience, "relive don't remember", the nuts and bolts information of the business of speaking.

This is a real human being demonstrating what she is writing about. Do I need to say more? Yes! I strongly urge you to buy the book. Read
Transformational Speaking if you want to find your voice, be your most powerful self, contribute your best gifts to the world and, of course, be a transformational speaker.

Reviewed by:

Lynda Klau, PHD
Licensed psychologist, coach, speaker

Gail's book is inspirational. She gives you tips that show you how to be the kind of speaker you like to hear. It takes courage to show up real and share your own wisdom; Gail helps you find that courage and wisdom and then how to share it in a winning way. Great book. Anyone who is a speaker or wants to become a great speaker should read her book.

Writing baby interpreters using OCaml for the funny languages (include lambda calculus!) used in the theoretic chapters is a pretty cool idea and I really like it.

Elementary discrete mathematics and first-order logic are required for grokking the maths materials through out the book though. If you don't have enough patience to deal with math symbols, theorems, and formal proving, then this is not the right book for you ;)

IHMO, this is a highly comprehensible book for introducing lambda-calculus and type theory to readers without much background knowledge in either abstract algebra or theoretic computer science (like me ;)). I've been looking for such a book for long, in fact :)

Besides, this was the very book which directly inspired the birth of Pugs (a Perl 6 interpreter/compiler in Haskell) according to Audrey, the Pugs project's leader.

Highly recommended!

This is a textbook about programming language theory, somewhat mathematical-- but it's must-read material for anyone who wants to gripe about programming languages cluefully, much less design them.

For me, this book strikes exactly the right balance between theory and practicality. Chapters on the mathematical properties of various tiny programming languages are interleaved with chapters that provide annotated implementations of those languages.

The book will also give you the background (notation and terminology) you'll need to read cutting-edge research papers on programming language theory.

This book contains all the information I was missing. Excellent presentation of the material, well written, great exercises, doesn't go off into lala-land. Highly recommended. Some math background very helpful (you need to know what a mathematical proof is).

This text is perhaps the most accessible yet thorough introduction to type systems I've encountered.

On the one hand, it offers excellent grounding: practical motivation is provided, numerous examples illustrate the concepts, and implementations are provided which can be used to typecheck and evaluate these examples. At various points, extended demonstrations of the type systems under consideration are given (e.g. showing how objects may be encoded). The exercises are well constructed and in many cases, accompanied with answers and detailed explanations in the appendix.

On the other hand, it offers an excellent exposition of the material: Pierce provides a lucid account of the static and dynamic semantics (primarily small-step operational) for various lambda calculi. He proceeds in a stepwise fashion via the gradual accretion of features: from first order (simply typed) systems to higher order systems incorporating bounded subtyping and recursion. He also gives attention to the metatheory of these systems (focusing on proofs of progress and preservation, and for systems with subtyping, of decideability). Internally, the text is well organized, with clear dependencies among the chapters, and the bibliography is extensive.

It should be noted that, while reasonably comprehensive, the text is necessarily limited in scope. For example, aside from the discussion on Featherweight Java, systems other than typed lambda calculus variants are not considered. In my opinion, the focus on these (in some sense "low-level") calculi makes foundational issues more apparent, and the linear progression from simple to complex variants lends a pleasant cohesiveness that would have been lost in a more general survey. However, as object/class encodings were discussed at various points, it would have been nice to see a more integrated presentation, in the spirit of the paper Comparing Object Encodings [BCP97].

I need basic information on type safety, theory of object oriented typing, and how to axiomatize nonstandard kind of typing systems. I need it now, in a form that I can put to use without too many side trips

This book is almost what I was looking for. It builds up a semantic logic based on lambda calculus, then creates typed versions. Pierce really does work very methodically up through the levels, ending at about the place where C++ templates and recursive type definitions start. Along the way, he's careful to match the typing axioms to semantics, covering unusual topics like exceptions and type inference while he's at it.

Almost what I was looking for, but not quite. As I said, I have immediate needs, and I'm not into theory for its own sweet sake. That means I had little appreciation for all the chapters that created arithmetic all over again, starting from Peano axioms (or something like), via the lambda calculus. I know that low-level axiomatizations and lambda calculus are much beloved of the theoreticians, but I encounter them only rarely, and when I was trying to get something else done, like now. For me, they created a diversion blocked by an impediment. Also, however convenient it may be for theory, functional programming is mostly a journal-page peculiarity in industrial practice. I admit, analysis of functional programs pushed me into insight I might have missed, but I would probably have been quite happy dealing with assignment formalisms instead.

I almost gave this three stars, because its unnecessary notational baggage and off-main-stream topics weren't doing my job. Bruce's book (ISBN 026202523X) was a much more profitable use of my time. Still, Pierce's goals weren't mine, and the mansion of type analysis has many rooms. Not all of those rooms are furnished to my taste, and don't need to be. I rounded up to four stars for what it meant to do.

//wiredweird

Extremely well written book on type systems in programming languages. Uses lambda calculus to explain type systems. Practical aspects show up in the ML implementations downloadable on the books site.
Contains a lot of programming language theory besides just type-systems. Can be used as an introductionary book to programming language design. Concluding: Great book!

The author presents Unicode well from all possible angles. He also explains related topics like character encodings, transfer encodings, ways to input the characters in popular software programs, font issues, portability. It is well written.

Its side notes are also interesting - explaining things like Arabic right-to-left with its contextual characters with 4 different forms; or how they mused over using one common Chinese Han character to be shared by Japanese , Koreans and Vietnamese versus including a version of each in their languages' ranges of individually separate characters.

Are you an IT professional who needs to understand Unicode and work with it? If you are, then this book is for you. Author Jukka Korpela, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that explores Unicode processing generally, but does not go into great detail on all parts of the Unicode character space.

Korpela, begins by providing a self-contained tutorial presentation of Unicode and character data. Then, the author gives detailed information about using Unicode and other character codes. Finally, he discusses relatively independent topics to be read according to each reader's specific needs.

This most excellent book guides you through the Unicode and character world. More importantly, it explains how to identify and classify characters.

I had to deal with Unicode in greater detail for two reasons. I am working on some old ASCII and ANSI text converter for the web to be able to show them in text format in a browser, rather than converting them to an image as existing tools do. The second reason is XML and the normalization of the content distributed via XML and processed or used by XSLT or DHTML apps.

I realized that the whole subject is a lot more complicated than I initially thought and the number of questions that needed an answer to move forward with what I was doing increased significantly. I was finding stuff on the web, a little bit here and a little bit there and had it one day, because progress was slow.

I stumbled one day across this book via a Google search, which returned passages from it from its Google Book search results. I found a very good answer to one of my questions and answers to some other questions that were lying around unanswered from before. I checked the index of the book to see what subjects it covers and realized that it pretty much covers all of them. So I went ahead to Amazon and bought it right there and then.

I am glad to this day that I found it and can recommend it to anybody who has only little or no knowledge of Unicode and struggles with getting a grip on all those standards for data encoding, which make it hard to keep the data within XML and text files intact across platforms and prevent your XML based application or tool from breaking because of illegal data in your content.

This book is excellent. The author's writing style is easy to read and he pretty much explains everything about Unicode. It's perfect if you're working with multi-lingual Web sites or email, or just if you want to start using Unicode for all of your Web site development (something everyone should do).

The only thing disappointing about this book is that all of his examples and screen shots are for and from Windows. A reader could come away with the feeling that Mac OS X and Linux don't have as much support for Unicode as Windows which, of course, is not the case at all. The least he could have done is to mention and give screenshots of Linux's "Character Map" app and Mac OS X's built-in "Character Palette", both of which are pretty much just like the Windows "Character Map" app.

I'm surprised O'Reilly allowed a book about such a platform-neutral subject to be so Windows-centric. Hopefully they can hire someone to add Linux and Mac OS X examples into the second edition.

If you're like me, you probably think of Unicode as "expanded ASCII" and that's about it. But there is infinitely more to the subject than I thought, and Unicode Explained by Jukka K. Korpela is an exhaustive reference to all that is Unicode. And in this increasingly global computing environment, you will need to know this information...

Contents:
Part 1 - Working with Characters: Characters as Data; Writing Characters; Character Sets and Encoding
Part 2 - A Systematic Look at Unicode: The Structure of Unicode; Properties of Characters; Unicode Encodings
Part 3 - Advanced Unicode Topics: Characters and Languages; Character Usage; The Character Level and Above; Characters in Internet Protocols; Characters in Programming
Appendix - Tables for Writing Characters; Index

In concept, Unicode is real simple. An expanded character set using 16 bit encoding, and you can accommodate far more languages and symbols than straight ASCII. But the implementation is far more complex than that. Korpela starts with the basics of characters... what they are, what they mean, and the nuances involved. From there, you learn about how applications have to interpret the different encoding standards and handle things like case, sort orders, line breaks, etc. When I saw the size of the book (600+ pages), I wondered if the material was just a lot of reference tables that could be found online. Gladly, it's not... This is an exploration of everything that is Unicode, and you'd have to wade through a lot of web pages to even begin to glean the level and value of information that you'll find here.

If you have anything to do with programming or designing global software, this book purchase is a no-brainer. And even if you're not doing anything in that area right now, this is one of those reference titles that is worth having on your bookshelf and available for the first time you *do* need it. It won't take long to pay for itself...