Software Books

This guide have good structure, good figures and good codes.
The source for both Glib liblary and the examples are available at the O'Reilly FTP site.
We can develop network application with them.
Palm os web site is changed.
http://www.accessdevnet.com/
And the name is changed to Garnet OS.
"Garnet OS expands the solid foundation of Palm OS 5 by incorporating standard support for a broad range of screen resolutions and expanded support for wireless connections including Bluetooth®.

This is THE Book to have if you intend to do any type of network programming on the palm. The time you'll save in the first hour will pay for the book.

Not only is it very well written it includes many great examples, covering the simple to the complex. Even if I'm only doing something relatively simple I've found it's always worth it to see how the author's handled the situation in his examples. There's also a lot of information here that's only briefly touched on in the Palm OS Reference or not covered at all.

I'm very careful about purchasing books, usually relying on reference manuals and online docs when I can. However, this is one that I have absolutely no regrets about adding to my library.

Kevin

I found this book to be exactly what I was in search of - something to clearly explain how to use NetLib along with well documented examples! Greg Winton does an excellent job of taking the reader through the development of an FTP application (explaining NetLib and sockets along the way) - each chapter builds on the previous and introduces new concepts in comprehensible portions.

I admit, like most engineers, that I jumped ahead to the end to see the "whole enchilada", but then went back and reread the earlier chapters. This was still a good approach for absorbing all that is presented in this book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone venturing into networking their Palm. It is well written, concise, and contains insights from someone who is clearly experienced in networking.

An excellent, well-written book with great examples that should work for both beginners and advanced users. No other book on Palm OS development [I think I own just about all of them] overlaps in any serious way with the topics treated so thoroughly in this book.

The chapters on non-blocking sockets are an absolute must-read for anybody who wants to develop robust, responsive, real-world applications for the Palm OS.

Two nit-picky items: 1) the book is somewhat more verbose than it needs to be because of irrelevancies about "the Zen of this..." and the "Tao of that...". If you ignore these altogether too-cute sidebars, you'll have a generally more productive and pleasant read. 2) there are some occasional stylistic problems with the C-code. Not errors, but things like assignments to local variables that would never be referenced that show up. The code is also somewhat more pedestrian than that employed by most working C or C++ coders. For the large audience, this might be a plus. I think the style makes it more accessible to VB and NS-Basic types. But it will be a little off-putting to the hard-core.

Palm OS Network Programming is the first book for which I have written a review. I cannot think of a finer book to start my editorial review career. Greg Winton's organization, clarity, and writing style, transforms a potentially dry topic into a work of art that is truly a joy to read.

I am currently 3/4 of the way through the book and I'm torn between plowing through it (as I usually do) and reading as slowly as I can...not wanting to reach the finish line.

Greg Winton does an outstanding job of describing the principles behind Palm OS networking, and explaining network application development in crystal clear detail. The order in which the material is presented and the explanations that accompany the API descriptions and sample code, confess that this was not a book that was rushed to market, but was instead thoroughly researched and revised to perfection.

I truly believe that Palm OS Network Programming raises the bar for future programming books, and deserves an easily accessible spot in every Palm OS developer's library.

I have recently began developing in Paradox 7, and bought Mike Prestwoods Paradox 7 Programming Unleashed. It is great. It covers, I think, every area of Object Pal. I have not read every page yet, because some of the topics, like DDE, DLL and OLE are something I will start exploring later. But it makes it clear that you can use many Windows 95 features.

The book first explain the area to be covered, and then gives you lots of small examples, that you can test, or just read. It strengthen the idea that you should write not much code, but effective.

Among many other things it gives you several ways to pass variables, important but difficult for the newbee.

The book is even fun to read, and really helps you getting into OPAL. I strongly recommend it.

This book is full of practical examples and gives you a clearer idea of the unique nature of Paradox's ObjectPAL language.

Mike has done an excellent job of exposing the details of Paradox, and putting it all together into a readable format that can be used as a reference by beginner and advanced programmers alike.

The strong point of this book is it's index, which is beyond complete, it is intense.

Over the years, I have purchased nearly every Paradox for Windows books I could get my hands on. Things have to be worded just right in order for it to sink into my thick skull. This book is excellent in every way. The examples and explainations along the way "Can't Be Beat". You can't go wrong if you intend to program in Paradox for Windows, especially if you use this book. I'm still waiting for this writer to produce a Paradox version 8 book. Let's hope its soon!

I have Mike Prestwood's since Paradox 5. All contents are really my advisor whenever I want any essential information. In the next version of Paradox, I would like Mike to add some more feature on OLE, OLE AUTO and BLOB field in Interbase table or, in other word, Paradox for Client/Server Version.

A complete analysis of the subject with the risk to be excessively rich of information

Plenty of Photoshop CS3 books on the market update information to this latest Photoshop release, but few offer an extensive desk reference packing in the latest tools and techniques of the latest program with easy details on how to do everything from simple adjustments such as specifying size to using layering and blending modes for advanced compositions and refinement. From full color screen shots and color examples of modified photos to techniques and strategies, Photoshop CS3 All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies is one of the most extensive coverages on the market - and a perfect pick for any who find detailed Photoshop coverages confusing.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

If you are like me -- an intelligent (I hope) experienced computer person who has never used Photoshop but wants to learn how to do useful work (not just play around) -- this book is for you. For example, you can actually look in the index and find what you are looking for.

This is a great resource at a fraction of the price of the book from adobe. Highly recommended!

I liked "Photoshop CS3 for Dummies" as a good overview text - then I use this "Photoshop CS3 All-in-one Reference for Dummies" as a detailed text on most of the heavy features of Photoshop. I was pretty good with Photoshop CS and all the versions of the program before - but I am learning a GREAT deal from this tome on the more sophisticated features.

I bought this book after having owned the editing program for about a year........and suffered all the heartache that can occur if you do not know what you are doing....including crashing Windows.....finally located this superb manual that is user friendly and written by a pro in the field. Since that time, I have produced several projects that are startlingly complex.......and am currently being PAID to produce VHS/DVD productions. A MUST BUY if you purchase Pinnacle Studio 8.

Well laid out and quite thorough. Really a must-have if you are new to Pinnacle Studio DV.

I've had this book for less than a day and it's already paid for itself. I bought Studio 8, which now has been updated to version 8.10 (eight point ten, not 1.0). I figured even if the book were good for the very first versions of Studio 8, OK. As soon as you open the book, you see that Jan refers to changes made as recently as v. 8.6; I was thrilled. This is a brand new book/edition. Studio 8 ships with a 258 page manual right out of the box, which is somewhat amazing for a piece of software like this, but admittedly, the manual is very remedial. This book, from the earliest pages, delves into some seriously useful components within Studio. I have a bunch of these Visual QS books; I'm always ammazed at the bang for the buck in every one of them, this one no exception.

This book is a MUST for anyone new to Pinnacle Studio. I bought the software thinking I could "figure it out on my own"...Not!
This book has saved me!

This book tries to sell itself on the photos of the GUI that you will be using. The photos are a bit small, but good enough when you really need them, which is rare, because the author does a wonderful job of explaining how Pinnacle works. I recieved the software with no documentation and within a few minutes of opening this book I was well on my way to creating DVDs out of some digital movies. The author does a great job explaining both the simple and the complex parts of the software. And refreshingly, the author actually offers opinions on better ways to do some tasks. This is a good buy for anyone using this software.

The "concept" of the Net is very important for the uninitiated. Your zeroing in on how the Internet should be viewed in the mind's eye is excellent. It's the idea or the "vision" of the over-all system as a "place" that is expanding its own boundaries in all directions gives your readers a sense of the sheer "enormity" of it all. And yet, all of it is reachable by a simple wire with a tiny, plastic push-in-and-click wall plug!! Marvelous. Robert M. Jackson, Jr.

I'm about half way through your book. In fact I'm on page 148 beginning Web Culture. I have found your book to be very informitive. Was very interested in the section on Gopher. Tried to get information on swollen joints, but reread and found that I needed to use WWW and Exite to pull it up. As I read your book I try the new reading out on my computer. Again thanks for the information.

Al Witte

I recently bought your paperback (The Pocket Guide to the I'Net) at the local Wal-Mart. Of course I was skeptical, since I've read or scanned through a dozen how-to books and intro-to books in my endeavours to learn better and train better.

But ... something about your style engaged me. So I bought the book. Halfway through it I think I know what it is I like about your text ... you're an Internet teacher who agrees with *me*!

I was talking with Wendy Green last week (literally talking, not virtually) and described my reaction to your book. She encouraged me to drop you a line. She says you lurk on the misc.writing newsgroup from time to time and she recognized your name. (What a high-traffic newsgroup!)

I webmaster for my company (www.ag.org) and am also responsible to train anybody in our midst how to understand and navigate the 'Net. For a good part of the last year I lectured to our local Internet users' group and now moonlight at a local cybercafe teaching Internet classes for paying customers. So, my plate is full and I'm happy to find material which so nicely augments my own presentations!

For a while I struggled with the relative worth of helping people understand this beast. Especially when they're *paying* to do so! After all, these people just want to know how to send email and 'surf the Web', why should I waste time talking about its military roots for goodness sake?

So, if for no other reason, I appreciate your book for the affirmation I've found there. Of course, I don't *always* agree with your presentation or your choice of wording, but then who agrees with *anybody* one hundred percent? I can't argue with the facts of your text, though, you have certainly done your research! (I only wish it was footnoted! ) At heart I am a teacher and no matter what I do or where I'm at that's likely the role I've fallen into. From one teacher to another: you done good. (Of course, I'm sure you know that! The royalties should speak well enough!)

I bought your book 'Pocket Guide to the Internet' (Pocket Books) a couple of months back here in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and enjoyed it greatly. It was a great introduction to the Net. Thought provoking and nicely written. I continue to use it as a reference.

What is the internet?
How and when did it begin?
Where does the network go?
Who originally thought of the concept?
Why is the internet useful and necessary?
Was Al Gore involved?

All these questions and more (minus the Al Gore one) are in The Pocket Guide To The Internet.

From ISPs to Packets, from AOL to telnet, and emoticons to netiquette, it's all present. There's a wealth of knowledge in every chapter, and the steps are slow enough for all. In fact, many of even the most novice users of the Internet will find much of the information mundane.

The book provides page after page of helpful information, providing a multitude of web addresses, acronyms, and definitions that, if anything, provid a sort of printed dictionary/encyclopedia about the internet.

This is a great resource for someone starting at ground zero with no knowledge whatsoever.

The Internet offers a lot of "get rich quick" schemes, and advice based on 20th-century advertising techniques. However, what worked in the past century and before the Internet, is not working now. From "Cluetrain" to "Gonzo Marketing," there's ample proof of that.

But, if you're self-employed and/or building your online identity... how do you start? And, if you've been online for awhile but you're somehow missing the boat--or at least your audience--what do you do without a corporate advertising budget and webmaster/advisors to help you?

The answer is simple: You get this book. And read it. I've read Chapter Two at least ten times, and I'm still making notes about what I'm changing on my own website (online since 1995, and boy-oh-boy have I made mistakes! *sigh*).

Baker's books are not for wimps. And, they're not the sitcom version of business, where you spend a few days creating a by-the-numbers clone of others' websites, and then sit back expecting income to flood in like clockwork.

Instead of being a book that you read, say, "Oh, that made some good points," and then put on a shelf to collect dust, this is a book that you'll read, re-read, and keep close to hand. Baker's book is information-packed. There is no way that you'll learn it all in one reading, or even two.

This is easily in the top five books that everyone who is (or wants to be) in business online MUST own. Sure, you can read the sample chapters at Baker's website, or take this book out of the library, but it contains too much important advice for that. And, you'll refer to it often, as well.

Buy this book. Roll up your sleeves and do what he says. It's how to succeed on- and offline, in the 21st century. It's not your parents' business era anymore. Learn the new rules in this book, and give yourself a genuine chance for success.

Baker's information would be cheap at ten times the price; it's already helped me to increase the daily hits at one of my websites from 500/day to over 800/day. And, I'm still on Chapter Three!

The fact that everyone uses the web in some way or another, this is a good book to have. I am a computer junkie and this book definitely kept my head afloat. But I highly recommend you read "A Branded World" by Michael Levine. This author really knows what he's talking about. The next time a company hands out memos to its employees, make sure "A Branded World" is on the top of the page!

Bob really knows what he is talking about. He gives a lot of wonderful easy to read tips on how to get your name recognized on the web. He is very clever & witty and fun to read. I recommend you get a copy now.

I haven't made it past chapter 3 and I have already read a wealth of helpful information on branding your business name and branding tools. The author provides a detailed, step-by-step guide to branding and marketing techniques one can use both online and offline. This book is a must read for first-time start-ups and entreprenuers.

This is a great book for those of you who want to make a name for yourself on-line. Bob has an abundance of ideas to get you started and to keep you going as you explore the ways to market yourself online. Bob has a very witty and humorous way to keep you interested in what he has to say. I think Mr. Baker is on the cutting edge of where the future of online marketing is headed. I highly recommend this book.

Feature Driven Development (FDD) is a highly disciplined approach to software development. Because it requires so much discipline, it's not really something you can pick up from a post or two on someone's blog. You really need depth of information. I attended a seminar by one of the originators of the methods, Jeff De Luca. This book, while not recommended by Mr. De Luca, does seem to track very well with the information he presented. If you can't afford to attend one of his seminars, but you're still interested in a practical method for streamlining development and helping to ensure a repeatable process, you can certainly start learning from this book. It may not hold all the answers, but it does provide a very solid foundation from which to build.

I have been doing feature driven development for over 3 years. It is an effective, efficient process. Many times I wished that I had a definative source on that topic. Finally one has arrived.

The three part approach to the book makes it easy for you to find the topics you need to get your job done. Part 2 defines each of the processes in detail. Chapter 5, which covers reporting/tracking progress gives a good feel for the control you have in producing project deliverables, and reporting on the true progress of the project. Realistic, acurate reporting.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a slave to their process, or even those that are new to process. This one works!

Since there already three very complete customer reviews, I just wanted to add a couple of points for people who, like me, haven't used this approach to project management before.

The authors stress that feature-driven development, as they describe it, is intended for a very specific type of project. There's nothing new in the book, except the way the authors have combined tried-and-true techniques to handle very large business application development in a consistent and low-risk manner. The smallest headcount that could justify the overhead is about twenty, although it could scale up almost indefinitely. Palmer and Johnson describe their methodology as light but, on a scale of five (heavy) to one (agile), FDD rates about a four.

The second point is that the techniques used assume very heavy customer involvement and clearly understood business rules. For example, the original project that inspired the book was a banking system in Asia. The procedures wouldn't be well-suited to innovative product development in a competitive environment. This is no alternative to extreme programming.

Lastly, the methods used aim to get good results from inexperienced employees. Despite a reminder that highly-ranked programmers are better value than entry-level personnel, this type of project often relies on an army of tightly-controlled programmers, led by a few experienced team leaders. Although the authors differentiate the FDD organization from the old Chief Surgeon model, this is still basically just a variant on that theme.

There are also more than a few hints that the book is not intended solely, or even primarily, for US readers. We are abjured to speak in English and leaders are advised to use a soccer whistle to control meetings. As beautifully as the authors describe how to divide up a large project by feature (and it is beautifully clear and simple), some of the advice in handling personnel leads me to hesitate before recommending it without reservation to every potential reader, which is the criterion Amazon requires for a 5-star rating.

The Feature-Driven Development (FDD) method proposed and described in this book is elegant in that it combines simplicity and power, and effective because it will deliver applications that support business requirements.

Although the approach is based on object-oriented development, and the book is focused towards that approach, it can be refactored into function- and procedure-oriented programming environments. Moreover, the book is written to fit within agile methods, but the approach can be fit to any development life cycle approach. This is because the focus is on features, which translate into what the business *needs* from an application. This is where elegance and simplicity comes in. By focusing on the features needed applications are less apt to be 'gold-plated' with unnecessary features that developers may think is nice, but add little business value. In this respect the time to deliver is shortened and what is delivered is going to reflect genuine business requirements.

The power of FDD comes from the highly structured approach that i based on the ETVX (entry-task-validation-exit) framework. Entry criteria is typical: requirements, authority to proceed and other 'quality gates' that must be passed before a development project is initiated. The tasks follow a five-step process as follows:
(1) Develop the model, including scope, validation in the form of walkthroughs, and peer reviews. The approach described in the book assumes an object model, but in a non-OO setting this can be realigned to first cut system diagramming in the form of block- and data flow-diagrams,and first-cut design.
(2) Build the features list. The OO approach is domain partitioning based on the model; in a non-OO setting this is where the team maps functional requirements to features.
(3) Plan by feature. This step, in my opinion, shows FDD to be a legitimate software engineering method. Feature prioritization, dependency analysis and effort estimation occur here. Done properly this step will make the difference between success or failure. I do have one issue with the book at this point: the prioritization is done by the technical team - it should be done with the business stakeholders.
(4) Design by feature. This is an iterative step that feeds back into step 1 (build the model) wherein class ownership is determined and the original model is refined based on the design approach. In non-OO environments this would loop back into the first-cut design and trigger trade-off analysis and design refinement.
(5) Build by feature. This is where the application is actually developed on a feature-by-feature basis within the context of the defined architecture (model).

Verification is accomplished using traditional methods. The authors introduce what they call 'feature-based testing' which is no different than product test (also called functional qualification testing, and in some circles, acceptance testing). Verification procedures are thoroughly covered in the book, further adding to the software engineering approach that is incorporated into FDD. Exit criteria is when the sponsors accept the system.

What makes this book important is that is gives a straightforward approach that is based on deliverables (features) within a process context (ETVX). This approach is consistent with best practices in software project management and has the additional benefit of assuring that what gets designed and built is what the customer needs. Bolt FDD onto your favorite methodology and you'll probably see quality increase, and costs and time to deliver decrease.

Feature Driven Development is a lightweight iterative software development process promoted by TogetherSoft that occupies the middle ground between heavyweight, high ceremony processes like RUP and lightweight programming-focused processes such as Extreme Programming.

This book is packed with good advice for developers and those involved in managing software development, and is clearly written by people with real world experience. The authors do a good job of explaining the issues in software development and how FDD helps address them.

The book is highly readable and should be accessible to those who currently have a limited understanding of formal software development processes. One of the themes carried through the book is an ongoing dialogue between the two authors and several other persons, including the project manager of a software project for a car dealership that is worked through in the book. At first I found this dialogue distracting, I guess because they were initially dealing with material I am already familiar with, but by the end of the book, I looked forward to these sections, and felt they gave the book an overall coherence.

FDD is most radical, in its approach to management (reporting), by dispensing with Gannt charts and estimates of task completeness (most people are aware of the 90% complete, 90% of the time, syndrome), replacing them with measuring features complete (as in 100% complete!) as a percentage of all features to be built. I am familiar with why Gannt charts and Microsoft Project style planning doesn't work for software projects, but the book would have benefited from a more detailed discussion of what will be the hardest part of FDD for many to accept. The book's only real fault is several digressions into software quality and online help, that it was hard to see the relevance of.

I recommend this book to people, including managers, who want to understand why we need software development processes and the issues involved in selecting one. The book, naturally enough, points out the issues with widely used processes such as RUP - too heavyweight, and XP - questionable scalability, and these criticisms are IMO largely valid. The book explains in a straightforward way, how FDD works and how it satisfies all the main requirements of a development process, especially scalability, manageability and getting the domain model (shape) right as early as possible, minimizing the need to refactor later.

For quantification of models, queuing theory is one of the oldest variants, used for simple first feelings with the processes. This book provides the theory of random arrive processes, probability and all kind of queues. The reader is introduced in single queues like m/m/1 and learns how to calculate and forecast the most important statistics as a start. Later on more complex queue systems are explained in detail all with graphs, simple formulas to calculate and enough text to understand the formulas and steps of the writer. At the moment the theory of the single queues cannot solve the problem, the writer uses some PASCAL procedures. At that moment it looks more like a black box to me, but I am sure the writer knows what he is doing!

A superb guide that manages a realistic introduction without terrible challenges to higher mathematics anxiety. My biggest complaint is one of omission -- it deals with networking at the data link level, and doesn't get into more modern networking.

This is a very good book on queuing theory and applications. I have read or looked at dozens of similar books, but find this to be one of the best. ...

There is also a UK/European edition of this book, which is, at the time of writing, in stock with McGraw-Hill Europe.

The UK edition of Practical Queueing Analysis is available, and can be ordered from McGraw-Hill in the US (609-426-5793). The only difference between the USA and UK editions is a diskette that was shrink-wrapped with the US edition. Contact Mike Tanner if you need the diskette.

We as users of the PSM with years of experience in the quality and measurements world tend to over complicate the measurement system we develop. This book is a yardstick and is a good tool to ground you when you are creating the measurements. It keeps your mind in the more simple and effective road to resolving the issues. Remember the old saying, "Keep it simple stupid (KISS)!"; this one helps guide you to accomplishment of this goal.

This is a good solid presentation of the subject that gives a good overview of the several types of approaches to measurement. While I would prefer that the subject matter also focused on software engineering as well, it does a good job of what it was created to cover.

This is a good read for anyone thinking about employing metrics for software projects. I have read several books and articles on metrics, software and program managment, in the last 6 months and this one of the few which was worth reading. Text is easy to read and the message and methods are presented in a straight forward manner. No, you will not find any amazing breakthoughs in software project managment in this book. What you will find is a good foundation for adding metrics which add value to software program management.

I would rate this book ****** if it were possible. If you are looking for material on how to start a "software metrics program", look no further. This is the ultimate reference on software measurement initiatives. The PSM method is compatible with the CMMI (Measurement & Analysis Process Area) and the foundation for the ISO/IEC 15939 standard. All of the authors are recognized authorities in software measurement and process improvement. Dr. Barry Boehm (COCOMO author) has written the foreword. The PSM process is sponsored by the DoD and the U.S. Army. The book itself is comprehensive, well-written, and easy to read. It provides ready-to-use templates such as "Measurement Construct Template", "Project Measurement Plan Outline", and "Data Verification Checklist". Chapter outline:

1 - Measurement: Key Concepts and Practices
2 - Measurement Information Model
3 - Plan Measurement
4 - Perform Measurement
5 - Analysis Techniques
6 - Evaluate Measurement
7 - Establish and Sustain Commitment
8 - Measure for Success
Appendix A - Measurement Construct Examples
Appendix B - Information System Case Study
Appendix C - Synergy Integrated Copier Case Study

Note: Appendix A provides 14 detailed, complete examples of measurement constructs ("metrics"). Appendixes B and C provide 2 comprehensive case studies (approximately 60 pages).

It would require at least a 2-day workshop to address all the information provided by this book (probably at 10 times its price). You can't afford to miss it if you are more than casually interested in software measurement. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

There is a wealth of material available from the PSM site, including the PSM Insight application and PSM Guidebook. However this book is not redundant because it is structured as a clearly written introduction to practical software measurement, that includes excellent guidance for implementing it into your organization. In addition, the 304 pages that comprise this book manages to convey the information contained in the existing PSM documentation, and does so much more succinctly.

I found the most valuable parts of this book to be the clearly described measurement model, and the way the authors distinguish between data that is useful to projects and organizational data collection and analysis. This material places PSM in context and is a sound starting point for an organizational SQA initiative.

The case studies reinforces the mechanics of PSM, and also contain advice and pointers for implementing enterprise-wide measurement. Although I've been following the PSM initiative almost since its inception and have read all of the copious materials available, I still gained much from this book. If you're establishing an SQA function or striving for CMM level 4 or above you'll find this book invaluable. The URLs provided will lead to even more material, including a free Windows-based software tool that fully supports the practical software measurement process.

This is by far the best book available on DNS. It is very informative and yet the reading style is entertaining (not fluffy though). Overall, it is a joy to read. The author is able to communicate effectively to both the expert and the novice. Look no further than here for a great DNS reference book. Way to go Ron Aitchison!

while the reference from Paul Albitz/Cricket Liu is sometimes hard to read and long winded, this text from Mr. Aitchinson covers everything and yet stays very clear and simple. I could configure and start a caching only DNS server in less than 30 minutes (well, after omitting the first few introductory chapters ;-). If you want to look up sth., there is also a big reference section. There is also an errata-page at:
http://www.netwidget.net/books/apress/dns/notes.html

I also found this book *much* more useful as the first, because of the fact that it is much more up-to-date!
I can recommend this book to everyone, who
*) wants to install/configure/start/maintain a DNS server
*) wants to get informed about the Domain Name System in general

Up to now, this book is really an insiders' tip!!

After reading several of the chapter sections at the authors website, I needed a bit more understanding about how to install and configure Bind 9 onto our Windows box. I wanted to use Bind on old hardware running NT4. I fired off an email to the author and got several pointers that fixed the problems I was having. I realized the pointers he had given me were all covered in his book. After purchasing the book, I not only found out lots of stuff about what all the parameters are but also discovered how to manage bind over the LAN in a secure way. This book is a must have for anyone that wants to use Bind 9 for the first time. It has helped me several times already.

The Domain Name System is a critical component of any large network or any computer connected to the Internet. While a home user would not need to setup a DNS server, business networks of any significant size would benefit from an internal server, DNS caching router or other components. This book takes the reader through a very good explanation of DNS and BIND, how it works, how to set it up, how to test it, and how to troubleshoot it. There are many books on DNS and BIND but most either assume a certain level of prior knowledge, provide theory without implementation information, or provide implementation information without any theory so you have no idea how to troubleshoot a problematic implementation. Author Ron Aitchison does an excellent job of discussing both theory and implementation in this book so you end up with a thorough education. He even covers the implementation of a secure DNS server. This book actually takes the reader from a level of complete novice through advanced DNS administrator and does an excellent job of it. Pro DNS and BIND is highly recommended and one of the better books on the subject available.

Ron Aitchison's Pro DNS and BIND packs a whopping 550 pages of material which is easy to read for the novice or ongoing DNS administrator, and which is very well written (I greatly enjoyed the author's style). After a short introduction in which I learnt some interesting facts about the provisioning of the root servers, the author implements a first zone describing the necessary concepts such as resource records, queries and zone transfers very clearly, followed by the different types of DNS setups (master, slave, caching, forwarding and stealth servers); these are covered in depth in chapter 7. Chapter five covers IPv6 and its relevance to BIND. Throughout the book, references to other DNS server implementations are given, but the primary focus is of course BIND 9.3.0.

Aitchison leads the reader through detailed installation of BIND on Linux, FreeBSD and even Windows (ISC has an installer for Windows in its portfolio), after which common DNS tasks are discussed (how to delegate a subdomain, how to define SPF records, etc. read it on-line here) as well as a chapter on tools.

The third part of the book is dedicated to securing DNS configurations with topics ranging from simple administrative issues (chroot jails) through securing DNS updates and zone transfers with TSIG and DNSSEC.bis which is covered very extensively in chapter 11.

Chapters 12 and 13 provide extensive commented references on BIND configuration and Zone files. There is of course plenty of on-line reference information on these two topics (including the author's very good DNS for Rocket Scientists) but I like to have reference information on hardcopy (in the event my DNS servers fail, and I can't reach the on-line documentation :-) )

In part 5 the author shortly covers programming with the BIND API and the resolver libraries, and he follows that with an interesting chapter on DNS Messages and Records, good to have if you want to sniff your way through DNS traffic.

The publisher's web site carries a sample chapter as well as the source code to the book which is also available in TAR format on the author's web site together with complementary information and pointers to further resources.

My only complaint about this otherwise excellent book is that on two or three occasions I read a paragraph that I thought I'd just read before; some duplication must have taken place (or I was tired). For the next edition, I'd like to read a chapter on interoperability between BIND and Microsoft Windows DNS servers, specifically regarding DNSSEC.

This book is an absolute must have for anybody who needs to understand DNS in the first place (irrespective of the implementation he or she plans to use), and it is a must have for a systems administrator who is either intending to deploy or has already deployed BIND 9.3. I wish I'd read this book before the first mentioned above.