Programming Books

A lot of examples shows how absolutely everything could be attacked and corrupted in the chain of components used for building ajax applications, from css (yes even css) to html, from javascript to http, from browser to server ... Sometimes there's too much lines about evident things and sometimes things seems more proof of concept than real possible attacks. But these guys know what they are talking about. This is an excellent book that every serious ajax developer must have read, specially if they plan to make mashups or let their users bring and share things using their applications.

Ajax Security was the last book I read and reviewed in 2007. However, it was the best book I read all year. The book is absolutely compelling and every security professional and Web developer should read it. It's really as simple as that.

I am not a Web developer. I was not very familiar with Ajax (beyond its buzzword status and a vague notion of functionality) when I started reading Ajax Security. I attended the authors' Black Hat 2007 talk and was thoroughly impressed and disturbed by the security implications they presented. I expected Ajax Security to be a good book, but one can never be sure if talented hackers and presenters can transfer their skills to the written word. Ajax Security gets the job done.

Despite being a traditional network security guy who prefers inspecting traffic to analyzing JavaScript, I had no problem understanding Ajax Security. The authors do a superb job leading the reader through the issues surrounding modern Web applications. They start by introducing a technology, which is critical for someone like me who doesn't deal with Web development issues. Next they describe how it is broken. They continue with defensive recommendations and summarize their findings in the conclusion. This is a perfect technical writing style that is too often lost on other authors.

Ajax Security makes very good use of case studies (both large stories like ch 2 and small ones throughout the text). The book also integrates code, diagrams, and screen shots. The text itself is very clear and the authors keep the reader's attention throughout. Histories for various technologies provide a welcome background, showing readers how we've ended up in our current Web 2.0 predicament.

If you'd like a positive critique of the technical components of the book by someone who is a Web expert, I recommend reading Dre's review of Ajax Security in the TSSCI-Security blog. Otherwise, I give my highest recommendation to Ajax Security, as my Best Book Bejtlich Read in 2007 award.

This is very good book. I've created so many websites using AJAX techonlogy. This book provided me to check how secure the websites are. I am glad that I fullfilled all the details without having the through knowledge of AJAX security. But this book has collected all the security check point at one place.

Are you a web developer? Do you believe you can ensure that your client-side code will function as expected? Well, you are wrong. In Ajax Security you will find out why.

Ajax changes the game in that it moves business logic to the client. In doing so it increases the attack surface of the application. The authors get curious with some real world Ajax frameworks such as Prototype, Dojo, and Microsoft Ajax. They demonstrate with these frameworks how developers might be unknowingly building vulnerabilities into their applications. If you're home brewing Ajax, the authors cover important security considerations you'll need to know so that you don't make the same mistakes the industry leaders have made.

I learned a lot about JavaScript from reading this book. I learned even more about how JavaScript can be used maliciously. The authors describe techniques for function clobbering, JSON hijacking, storage attacks, and presentation layer attacks. One of my favorite parts of the book, not to mention one of the scariest, is an explanation of how to hide malicious JavaScript from signature based anti-virus software.

The authors explain why the Same-Origin Policy is broken and how it can be subverted. Also covered are security considerations for offline applications. An in-depth analysis of Ajax worms is covered. If you are curious about how Ajax is changing web security you should read this book. If your are a web developer or a security professional you should read this book, even if you aren't using Ajax. If you don't believe cross-site scripting is a "big deal", I dare you to read this book and maintain the same opinion.

Anyone involved in developing/testing AJAX should read "AJAX Security." It covers preventing a hacker from attaching your application. The audience includes developers, QA and penetration testers. While there are code snippets, they are explained well. While managers aren't in the target audience, I think they could benefit from understanding the concepts presented in the book.

The book begins with a brief review of AJAX architecture with an emphasis on security. The writing style is quite engaging including a chapter walking you through an attack from a hacker's point of view. All the major known categories of attacks are included including resource enumeration, parameter manipulation (with SQL and XPATH injection), session hijacking, JSON hijacking, XSS, CSRF, phishing, denial of service, etc.

I particularly liked the analogies to things that happen in the physical world such as resource injection into a roommate's "to do" list and hijacking another customer's paid order in the deli. These made it easy to visualize the problem even for people who don't code often.

The authors were realistic and included the limitations and drawbacks of each tool/framework mentioned. I liked the chapter analyzing two major JavaScript worms including the source code. This really hit home on the importance of certain practices!

All information was up to date as of printing including comments on all four major browsers (IE, Firefox, Opera and Safari.) They even mentioned the HTML 5 specification. The book is not server side language specific, which was nice.

This text covers the most useful material presented in Knuth's seminal series, but is much more readable in Pascal than in Knuth's notation, which was based on programming language concepts of the late 60's.

The example code is actually run by the typesetting system to generate the graphs showing the operation or efficiency of the algorithm, so you have a high confidence factor in the example code. Too bad it's in Pascal -- which is probably why this book is out of print.

I was very surprised at the low ratings awarded by reviewers to the paperback edition of Sedgewick's "Algorithms in C" -- yet there were good reviews of the hardcover edition. Evidently the example C code didn't meet the high standards of the Pascal version.

When having to solve problems regarding algorithms, this book is one of the frequently used books. It shows besides the interesting details also the larger overview, which certainly adds to your better understanding.

I found this book at a university book shop back when I was 14 years old and bought it to learn more about certain algorithms. The reason I bought it was because it looked like it would provide very concrete advice on how to achieve an implementation while not requiring more advanced mathematics than I knew at the time.

Now, many years later I have to say that I can't think of any algorithm book I've come across that manages to balance theory and concrete solutions so well; and I own quite a few books on algorithms. (Some might object to the fact that the book uses Pascal as the implementation language, but I think I've seen this book tailored for other languages too).

Also, for a general book on algorithms, Sedgewick managed to pick a very good mix of topics to cover. According to a friend of mine (whom happens to know Sedgewick personally), the book just represents a cross-section of what Sedgewick himself was interested in.

This book was very useful to me when I was a teenager starting to understand bread and butter algorithms, and it continues to be a good reference still to this day. I would recommend you buy this book if you need a good book on fundamental algorithms.

(Also, the typography is very sober and clean, and the illustrations to most of the problems are very clear)

Sedgewick provides a very clear and intuitive exposition of the essence of many algorithms.

The book covers a breadth of topics, from sorting and searching, to computational geometry and mathematical algorithms. It is an extremely well-written book. Each algorithm has been carefully implemented in Pascal (you may also want to have a look at the editions of the book for C++ and other languages). It is an excellent book, both for practitioners and programmers, as well as an introduction to the theory of algorithms!
Highly recommended!

This book presents an interesting challenge. It talks about algorithms yet it does not present algorithms, nor does it define algorithm as anything more than a "problem-solving method suitable for implementation as computer programs[p.4]." Instead, it exhibits programs which are the implementations of algorithms and discusses them as if the algorithm is apparent. The reader is left with the challenge of learning to discriminate between what is essential about an algorithm, and how to preserve that in an implementation, versus what is inessential to the algorithm and introduced on account of the implementation and the use of particular programming tools.

I am concerned that this approach, while well-motivated, is not successful. My evidence is in the criticisms of this and later editions that dwell on the choice of programming language and on stylistic matters in the use of the chosen language. This places too much emphasis on code. Although code rules these days, I remain unconvinced that this simplification is a good thing. For me, one of the great insights in development of software is identification of layers of abstraction for conquering the organization of complex application programs. Separating design, algorithm and implementation is a critical first step toward that mastery.

Meanwhile, "Algorithms" serves up a handy set of recipes for a variety of basic computing situations. The 45 sections cover fundamental methods of widespread application in computing and software development. The presentations are straightforward and illuminating. The compilation bears re-examination every time one sits down to identify key methods for a new application.

I recommend supplementing this material with the practical methods of Kernighan and Plauger's "Software Tools" and the insightful explorations of Bentley's "Programming Pearls." Most of all I encourage development of enough sense of the material in Donald Knuth's "Art of Computer Programming" to be able to read the discussions of algorithms and problems there, even if you never use the particular implementations.

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

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

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

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

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

Part of the Apple-certified training series, Final Cut Pro for Avid Editors is for film editors and professional video editors who already use Avid, but who want to move these skills to Final Cut Pro as quickly as possible. Chapters blend feature comparisons and conversion tips with charts, lesson goals and plans, chapter reviews, and more, making this an excellent guide for either classroom or self-study. It's a self-paced learning handbook highly recommended for any film pro involved in training and applications.

This book helps ease the monumental transition from Avid to FCP. It is definitely a must for anyone going through the change, but becomes less useful once you get the hang of FCP. Once you are through the transtion, then get the book Final Cut Pro 5 for Mac, which answers the rest.

This book I could only find used, it is not easy to come by...

If you are ever forced to quickly learn Final Cut pro for the odd job where Avid is not a viable option, or you want to start editing your on stuff on the cheap, buy this, read it and practise it for a week and you will be a Pro at Pro, knowing everything there is to know, at least, where to find it and whether it is doable or not. It is a book written by an Avid editor for Avid editors who have to go through the same learning curve. You can be very surprised going through it on how similar the two editing systems are and most of all, how quickly you can synthesise the information and make it second nature. I fervently recommend this book being so well written, going always to the point and covering everything properly.

As an Avid editor and now learning FCP, I can recommend this book for helping to understand where everthing is. This book is a must unless you want to tear your hair out. If you know how it feels going from Media Composer to DS, then you will understand why you need this book and I might add others.

We have been an Avid only edit house for years, but reciently purchased two Final Cut systems. Most of the transition was pretty easy, but trying to figure out how to do some of the things in FCP that we did in our sleep on the Avid slowed us down a bit. This book draws great parallels between the two systems.

He's got an amazing grasp of the subject and very easy, organized way to present it. I'm enjoying learning what could otherwise be a very dry subject.

I bought this book along with Mac OS X Server Essentials. While that book is good on the GUI interface, this book shows in good detail what is really going on under the hood and behind the scenes. I have a much better understanding of Open Directory and LDAP in general as well as Kerberos and Single Sign in logic. Many of the other services offered under OS X Server 10.4 are also explained well. The command line information is good while not being so in depth as to lose the reader. You should have a basic familiarity with UNIX command line before trying to understand the concepts presented. The section on security is very good and presents a broad range of options to the administrator.

This book is a one-to-one version of the course material found in the Directory Services Integration and Administration v10.4 course, the Security Best Practices v10.4 course and more. The exercises are well thought out and easy to do. Not so easy to remember are the 800+ pages, but it is not meant to teach you all you need to know about being an SysAdmin. It is enough to get you through these two exams, which give you 7 credits and the ACSA. And it is enough to set you off into a job as Junior SysAdmin or, as in my case, a supporter with server duties.

Ideally, one should visit both official courses - not so much because more is offered in the actual courses than in the book, but rather because one can ask pointed questions of the teacher, that one cannot ask if something in the book is not clear.

As in most such books, it represents a beginning - the rest is a matter of acquiring experience. Do not expect this book to give you all the answers. I doubt if that would be possible. But it will give a whole lot of things to look out for and a whole lot of new input, especially if you have been doing some SysAdmin-ing and now want a look-see as to how the fulltime SysAdmins do it.

I read this book from cover to cover in order to prepare for two of the ACSA certification exams Apple offers, including the Directory Services Integration and Administration and Best Security Practices exams. If one is interested in the topics then one can learn an amazing amount of details and facts, otherwise difficult to come by in such an easily readable style.

However, I should warn, the book is not perfect in that the quality of the exposition can vary greatly from chapter to chapter. If I recall correctly, one of the first chapters explaining the basics of the KDC service and the concepts of Realms and principals contained grammatical errors so severe that they compromised the validity of the topic. Furthermore, some very interesting topics, such as cross realm authentication are barely touched upon.
Also, the information herein will not really help one troubleshoot a problematic service/server, but it will give you the background information, provided you are actively absorbing the information, which will allow you to analyze and think through troubleshooting scenarios.

However, any of these pitfalls are made up through such step by step explanations of the background processes behind promoting a server to an OD master, for example. I wish more OS books would cover such information either in this way or even at all.

Regardless, the book definitely did an amazing job of preparing me for the exams. I received very high scores on both exams (a 96 on the Directory Services and an 88 on the Security exam) and learned numerous interesting facts in every chapter.

At last, I would surely recommend this book for anyone thinking of getting an ACSA or someone just curious about the Unix side, along with its many possibilities, of OS X.[.....]

As another review states, this book is the guide for the relevant Apple ACSA courses. It succinctly provides you with an understanding of the basic information needed to attack the certification exams.

I do also recommend that you find the time and funds to actually take the classes. The folks in Cupertino have put a lot of work into creating great courses that offer you the crucial opportunity to learn by doing. The content and examples you work through during the courses are relevant to a wide range of applications, from small business to multi-national corporation as well as K-12, higher education, and research.

Schoun himself is one of the top independent providers of Apple training and has had no small hand in the development of the courses. I've had the pleasure of taking classes from him on several occasions and recommend his work highly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Volume 2 of "The Art of Computer Programming" is about random numbers and also about relearning one of the three Rs from grade school, viz. arithmetic. Each topic gets one chapter.

When you generate random numbers in Excel, or VBA, or Perl, or C using functions packaged with the software, you are really using a deterministic algorithm that is not random at all; the results do however look random and so we call them "pseudorandom".

Chapter 3 contains four main sections. First a section devoted to the linear congruence method (Xn+1=(aXn + c) mod m) of generating a pseudorandom sequence; with subsections on how to choose good values for a, c, and m. Second we get a section about how to test sequences to find if they are acceptably random or not. Third we find a section on other methods, expanding on linear congruence. Finally in a particularly fascinating section, DK provides a rigorous definition of randomness.

I haven't looked much at chapter 4 yet, on arithmetic. In it Knuth covers positional arithmetic, floating point arithmetic, multiplication and division at the machine level, prime numbers and efficient ways of investigating the primeness of very large numbers.

Again, DK is thorough and methodical. Again this is not a for dummies book. Again it is about theorems, algorithms, mechanical processes, and timeless truths. Again the exercises are a fascinating blend of the practical (investigate the random generating functions on the computers in your office) to the mathematical (he asks readers to formally prove many of the theorems he cites). And yes, again Knuth uses MIX, that wonderfully archaic fictional 60s machine language. But that should not stop readers; I use Perl.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

I recently modified a program I wrote so that it would do operations on polynomials with multi-precision coefficients. For this, I turned to Knuth. This 3-volume set is a great starting point for learning how to implement mathematical calculations on a machine.

Don't listen to the "Reader" from CA. This person obviously has a bone to pick with Knuth. Maybe (s)he failed one of his classes. Maybe (s)he should write his/her own book on the subject.

Of course this is a classic programming text, but the book is fascinating from a mathematical point as well. The discussion of random number generation is worth the price alone. Also neat is the discussion of why numbers with lower initial digits are 'more common' in practice than those with higher initial digits, a topic I've never seen treated elsewhere.

This book is the bible of coputer programming

It contains algorithms on pseudo-random sequences, algotithms on aritmetic operations on number, matrices ect.

The only drawback of this book is that all algprothms are writeen in MIX - some kind of assembler, that make them hard to read.

This book offers a stringent treatment of random number generators and algorithms not found anywhere else. It is particularly valuable for those that deal with encryption and the analysis of cyphers. The exercises add admirably to the text. References to other books in the field are extensive. The book is written in a non-wordy, but still very readable style, making it accessible to serious computer scientists at all levels. A mathematical background is necessary.

I really have nothing to add to the other reviews of this book. I've never learned as much from one single book as I have reading this one. Love it!

This is probably one of the best computer architecture books I have ever read. The thing I like about this book is that Reis does not fall into the same trap as other authors and fills the first seven chapters of the book with lessons on what binary and hex is and how to convert between the two. I have always hated when technical authors begin an advanced technical book with freshmen level topics such as number systems. Real does not repeat this typical mistake. He actually teaches advanced topics such as how the JVM actually works, or how to write a simple compiler by using simple examples and that one can build on. He is obviously very knowledgeable, but uses non technical language in order to reach you. Kudos for a job well done Mr. Reis.

This book is the best book I've seen in assembly language/architecture. It's very clear, thorough, and concrete. It is really superb in how it teaches system concepts. And it shows how C++ and Java works, in addition to how computers work. It has a great chapter on the JVM. It also covers the SPARC and the Pentium. By means of the included software, the reader can design, implement, and test new architectures.

I rank this book at the same level as the Patterson/Hennessy book on computer organization. P/H is more advanced on the hardware side (perhaps too advanced for a first course in this area) but much weaker on the software side. Reis' book is better for a first course. The software that comes with the book is well designed and works well. It allows you to work with the computer at both the machine and micro levels. I've been using the Linux version. Versions are also available for DOS, Windows, Sun Sparc, and Macintosh OS X.

This is one of the greatest books about assembly you can buy...

I will tell you why:

The most of the books (e.g. 'Assembly Language Master Class' of Wrox) which you can buy about assembly are about topics like 'how to paint a bitmap on the screen', 'how to write to a file', 'how to read a character from the keyboard', and so on.

This is nice if you only want to know some little tricks and learn (nearly) nothing about assembly.

If you want to learn something about assembly buy this book! This book covers nearly everything you can imagine in depth.

The nice thing is that is starts like a typical B.Sc computer science computersystem/architecture class: what are numbers, what's hex, what's binary. What about negative numbers? This is a really nice book for someone without formal CS education which want to jump to that level (and beyond).

It covers number theory (hex/bin/etc), Logic units and ALU, etc. etc. This book covers really everything: Virtual Memory, OO programming in Assembly (yeah read it right), different processor architectures, instruction sets, codegenerating by compilers, writting an assembler (yeah cool! 'an' not 'in') etc. etc.

So: if you are looking for a tips and tricks book look somewhere else. This book starts pretty easy, so a lot of people can read this text, but after you finished this 800 page pounder you will have more insight in low level programming than a typical B.Sc/M.Sc in Computer Science (like me).

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

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

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

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

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

First Edition of this book 1-59059-468-1 was a step by step tutorial of how to build sites. At the end, you get a decent working model of a balloon website. Thus, the title Novice to Professional. This book doesn't do this. The book is more laid out like other books. Chapter by Chapter, it covers a big topic like State Management, Error Handling, and others. This book is just like other books out there. I am bit disappointed that the publisher thought that previous book was not in an optimal format. There is really nothing wrong with the content or the information. This just isn't the Novice to Professional Book. It's as if you were reading the Harry Potter. On first edition, you know how Harry Potter is like. On second edition, he is gone or he doesn't do the magic tricks anymore. Instead, he cooks or sings. This book is like that. I can see Harry Potter Singing and Cooking. But that's not the Harry Potter series. He does magics...

This book is good but it's not in the original format.

I have purchased (what feels like) hundreds of computer related books from Amazon.com (including other ASP.NET books), and this is the first one that I have ever felt the need to comment on.

This is just a great book, in my opinion! I found the book to be very easy to read, and logical to follow - Matthew MacDonald's writing style is very effective in communicating technical information in a way that made it easy for me to understand.

I've been developing Windows client applications (VB/C#) for close to 10 years, and have "played around" with ASP.NET 2.0. I knew how to make some basic web apps work, but didn't really understand what was going on underneath the covers. I had a lot of questions that were answered and now have a lot more confidence going forward with creating ASP.NET apps.

As I mentioned, I had purchased ASP.NET books by different authors (for 1.1 and 2.0). Maybe I never gave those books a chance, but this is by far the best that I have come across.

Usually technical books are very booring to read. I buy many books as I tend to easily get trapped with reviews about book. But this book is one of the best book on C#. Every chapter is in detail and all it needs to get concentrations is to start reading it. The examples and the flow of topics are well planned. This is the book one should have if you are in to C#.
This is my first review on any book although I have purchased many books from many website. I felt a book which is soo good needs to be acknowledged.
Mark my words...this book is worth buying ...!!!!

I don't read many 900 page books cover to cover.. It's an accomplishment for both finishing this tome, and for the author of this great read.

The first sections gets you up to speed on C# quickly.. You should know some programming before diving in. Then each area of ASP.NET is covered at a healthy pace. Useful samples, and explanations and recommendations throughout. He first covers the manual ways of doing things, then goes into the slightly narrower scope of productivity shortcuts that turn days of development into hours. He's given me a new respect for it.

There are so many books on each tech subject, it's hard to know where to go. You find a few authors you like, and read their books. I'll pick up another one of his books soon.

Great read, highly recommended.

ASP.NET 3.5 is the latest version of the .NET Framework from Microsoft. C# is the defacto standard programming language for Microsoft programmers. Although there are more VB.NET programmers out there, C# is considered the more "professional" language and hence forth there are more job opportunities for C# programmers.

This book is huge (800+ pages) and really covers everything you need to know about C# and ASP.NET 3.5. Of course there maybe a few database topics it did not go into detail as much, but for the money it can't be beat. The author (Mathew MacDonald) really explained all the topics very well and assumed no prior knowledge of .NET knowledge. You really can be a `novice' and learn a lot from this book.

The great thing about the .NET framework from Microsoft now, is that there are so many free programs to learn before you invest any money (apart from the book of course).

The author explains the C# language first (great choice and wish more authors did it that way), in the first few chapters before getting into web forms and ASP.NET objects. C# is a professional language and definitely should be learned first before getting into anything else.

Starting at chapter 5, the author starts to explain what a web form is and how ASP.NET works. Covering everything from how sever and web controls work, to the web.config customizations, WAT, web control classes, etc. The following chapter focuses in detail about web controls (what ASP.NET is really all about) and probably is the meatiest of all the chapters. The chapter 7 goes into state management which is a very important and goes hand-in-hand with how web controls work.

Error handling (chaper 8) and deployment (chapter 9) is next on topics covered and then in the next sections of the book the author goes back into web controls with lots of examples of using the validation controls and master pages. Master Pages have grown a lot in this version and it is the core of how you will design you own ASP.NET 3.5 web site. There are 3 chapters dedicated to web site design and development and I have never seen a book with so much detail on the subject. Well done!

The rest of the book goes into database topics such as SQL, ADO.NET, Data Bindings, etc. I can't describe how impressed I am with how many topics are covered in this book and how well they are covered. You really only need this book for 80-90% of you ASP.NET development work.

A great buy!!!