Programming Books

this is the book the nice man on the cover gave to me after he touched me in a bad place.

If you are a fan of Jimmy Norton and would like to learn a little more about him and laugh a lot more, then buy this book. It is a good read and not for anyone that get offended easily.

This is a fun book to read for a man, but I wouldn't recommend it to a woman.

The book is pretty explicit. Coarse language is used, so definitely not recommended for kids.

I started reading the book but quit half way through. I did enjoy it at first, and did laugh out loud, but it just got too much at the end. I found the book too repetitious, sick at times and overly perverted. I did not like it when he talked of kids and sex. I know he is trying to be funny, but one should draw the line somewhere. There are some sick people out there who might just take him seriously. Words are mightier than the sword, so we should really be careful about what we say.

I would prefer seeing the book performed in a comedy club than actually reading it. I think the jokes and stories would sound better in a club with other people participating and laughing. Sometimes you find yourself laughing at mediocre jokes or stories when you hear others laugh. After all, that's why TV programs sometimes have a live audience or recorded laughter in the background.

You might also want to check out the audio version of this book, which is read by the author.

I bought the book based on a Norton interview that he gave to Maxim magazine. Based on the interview I expected more down in the dirt sex depravity out of this character and I found it sparse in that department. I expected more 'monster rain' events in his life but instead it was more random journals from his days on the comedy circuit junket. He tends to have the same problem a lot of comics do, which is their comedy doesn't translate well to the printed page... given how perverted he looks with his bug eyes, the physical comedy plays a lot better [especially on Lucky Louie in that stained bathrobe].

As far as shocks go, Dave Attell's new material is exactly what this book should have been.

I like Jimmy and O&A, but this book was a chore to finish. I was expecting a book of interesting stories of his sexual tastes, but instead it is mostly a bunch of random entries from an uninteresting diary. 3 chapters (if you can call them chapters) devoted to silly TV show ideas? Let's spread them out in the book so no one will notice they are essentially the same thing. When the book sticks to the the topic matter of hookers it wasn't bad, but the rest of the chapters should have been titled,"Who Cares", which is what I found myself repeatedly saying out loud.

I did laugh a few times, hence the 2 stars instead of 1.

This book must be required reading for anyone developing in C++. I count this book as essential as Bjarne Stroustrup's "The C++ Programming Language"; these two books are a necessity.

Mr. Stroustrup's book could be considered a technical reference to the C++ language. This book I consider as a technical reference for how to use the C++ language.

The book was well written. I found the book to be easy to read and the index to be exhaustive enough for the book to be used as a quick reference.

Is this a great book? I have been asking myself that question ever since I found out that Scott Meyers does not write (or has not written for a long time) production code in C++. With that said, book is a great theoretical treatise on how to make your C++ code better but it is not a "cookbook" which will be immediately useful in day to day tasks. This is not necessarily a bad thing; such approach will encourage deeper understanding of issues at hand and that will lead to better code.

A good book in an informal language to take a look at the most importance topics to avoid many common errors during the programming in C++. Widely used in the industry.

By far one of the best books I own. It really is a must-have.

This is a great book which covers a lot of useful topics for every C++ professional. I have been programming in C++ for a while so some of the topics Scott Mayers discussed were already familiar but I still picked up a lot from this book. From a beginner to intermediate programmer, this is a must have. Advanced programmers probably have this book already (or its previous editions). Otherwise, if you bought this in order to learn something new then you are not really "advanced", are you?

This book assumes that you already used C++ and understand its fundamentals. Scott's goal is not to teach the fundamentals but to advice readers on how to use the language effectively - generating good, efficient, re-usable, portable code. On this goal, he was successful. Its pretty much like when I was learning Japanese. I understood the fundamentals and word translations but in order to effectively communicate in that language, I had to be familiar with proper sentence construction, various formalities (some words are not appropriate for certain settings or people) and word dynamics as well. In a sense, this book (or Scott) is your sensei to good C++ programming.

Some more suggested reading to complement Scott Mayer's series:
Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)
and
Modern C++ Design: Generic Programming and Design Patterns Applied (C++ In-Depth Series)

I am only about half way through this book and already have learned numerous things about the design of Java as a language and about proper usage of said language. This book is going to be a staple in my programming library and a book recommended to anyone I know working with Java. I am also looking forward to the second edition which is slated to be released in May sometime.

An indispensable, insightful, and well written Java book to add to your reference library. The second addition is due out May 25, 2008.

I ask all of the developers I manage to read this book, after having been introduced to it by a coworker. Great tips, and helpful in clarifying some of those "gut feel" things that come up during pair-programming.

It is incredible to read Joshua's insights. Forget about being a Java Guru or something like that. This book is pure joy to read if you are detail oriented, perfectionist or a student of art of programming in general.

I have started this effort of creating a distilled version of this book coupled with my own reflections at: [...]. To any curious reader though, any such effort is not a replacement for the book itself. It is a masterpiece.

- Kedar Mhaswade

I've been using Java since 1995 and have owned this book since 2001 and it's the only Java text I still turn to. I recommend every Java developer, no matter what level you're at, read this book and read it again every year for the remainder of your career. I doesn't matter who you are or how experienced you think you are -- you will learn from this book. I give "Effective Java" my highest recommendation. I cannot wait for the Second Edition.

I am only about half way through this book and already have learned numerous things about the design of Java as a language and about proper usage of said language. This book is going to be a staple in my programming library and a book recommended to anyone I know working with Java. I am also looking forward to the second edition which is slated to be released in May sometime.

An indispensable, insightful, and well written Java book to add to your reference library. The second addition is due out May 25, 2008.

I ask all of the developers I manage to read this book, after having been introduced to it by a coworker. Great tips, and helpful in clarifying some of those "gut feel" things that come up during pair-programming.

It is incredible to read Joshua's insights. Forget about being a Java Guru or something like that. This book is pure joy to read if you are detail oriented, perfectionist or a student of art of programming in general.

I have started this effort of creating a distilled version of this book coupled with my own reflections at: [...]. To any curious reader though, any such effort is not a replacement for the book itself. It is a masterpiece.

- Kedar Mhaswade

I've been using Java since 1995 and have owned this book since 2001 and it's the only Java text I still turn to. I recommend every Java developer, no matter what level you're at, read this book and read it again every year for the remainder of your career. I doesn't matter who you are or how experienced you think you are -- you will learn from this book. I give "Effective Java" my highest recommendation. I cannot wait for the Second Edition.

This was a great book both for me and my team. I've been in the software industry for many years. I started building a team of developers and needed an easy way to bring novice and experienced programmers together on a similar set of standards. This book provided us with the perfect framework from which to start our team. We've developed several major projects using the principles in this book and have experienced a great deal of success.

One warning, the book gets a bit tedious after the first half. If you're looking to improve your C programming skills, it gets really detailed into pointers and other fun, or not, stuff. Also, the examples are in VB.NET...but you still get the point.

If you're an experienced software developer or a newbee in the world of commercial computer programming this book will give a good kick in the right direction. Steve McConnel will keep you hooked by mixing the right guiding concepts with real-life knowledge and examples.

I'm currently studying computer science and have been reading this in my spare time. Skip your lectures. Just read this book! If you want to construct software in a timely, efficient, and complete manner--this is the definitive book to read. Not dry at all, Steve McConnell covers topics for all experience levels. Even if you're an experienced programmer, you will learn something from this great piece of literature.

I've only gone through the first few chapters thus far. So pending finishing my reading, I'll update this review. Unfortunately this might never happen as I find myself re-reading portions of the book to pick up new ideas and details for software construction!

it's a book that all programmers must to read. it explain a lot of interesting things about how to made good software!

I started by reading the first edition of this book. I got the second edition when I was almost finished with the first edition of this book.

After getting the new version of the book I decided to continue reading the old one because I found that there are quite a few differences between the old and the new edition.

This is perhaps one of the best books that I have ever read on programming in my life. The author Steve McConnell has put together a book that is independent of what ever programming language that is used. In the authors words. He wanted to write a good book on software construction because he had looked around and had not found any good books out there on the subject. I would have to agree with him there are not a lot of books on good programming technic. There are hundreds of books on this programming language or that programming language.

Code complete is so good that I feel every programmer should read it. It would be best if in the first year of college every single student read the book. I just don't know how it could fit into a regular curriculum. Even if it does not fit that well into a regular curriculum what is taught in this book is probably more important then what most people learn at school.

I like the book and would advise it to anyone that programs.

I am looking forward to the new edition because the old book didn't have much advice about object oriented programming. Mostly because it was a new way of programming when the book was first written and he didn't want to commit much information to it when object oriented programming was so new. He does talk a little about things that are outdated but the book is still one of the best.

I will wait a while before I read the second edition but I expect to be as satisfied with it as I was this one.

Great book that should be in every programmers library.

This book was delivered to me before time and also paid a decent price for it.

The book is really perfect and is exactly I hoped.
However, the main and only bad critic I want to highlight is the shipping.
The package was very light and the book cover arrived damaged: the corner were maltreated.
No really, only a box including 2 plastic bubbles is not serious and totally insufficient to correctly protect such kind of nice books.

An excellent book. The only comment that I have that has not been covered is that you should know c++ templates to use this book... theres a problem with that, most if not all template books require you to know STL. You will have to read both in conjunction if you do not all ready know templates.
Once you get past that little pit fall though, this book is invaluable to any c++ programmer.

This is far and away one of the best written programming and reference books I have purchased in 20+ yrs of programming.

It gives a perspective on state-of-the-art C++ style, language constructs, and technique that only a choice few people in the industry can offer. The book has all of the meticulous attention to detail and design formalities that one could expect of the finest academic.

Bravo, Mr. Josuttis, and THANK YOU!

Tutorial? Hardly. Reference? I can find better, more complete, and more accessible reference material in 10 seconds with google. Whenever I open this book to find information about some aspect of the STL, I end up googling for the same information a few minutes later.

The examples are near useless. They are all minimal examples of basic functionality and offer no help in using the library for real-life tasks. They do show you which header files to include, which is a plus.

Hash maps are completely left out of the book. While not officially part of the stl, they are still a significant part of it, and one that requires more explaining than the rest.

I am to understand the +5 reviews were because there are no better books on this subject, similarily my +2 review is because there are not enough negative reviews of this book.

Thick Oracle book which is intended for developers who might need to understand the Oracle internals and administration parts besides writing SQL. It's useful for them working in other database also as the general database concept is simlar. Developers can now have more DBA knowledges after reading before on-going performing some DBA task.

Gr8 stuff for all the Oracle ppl.

A true masterpiece, and a great way to learn Oracle concepts. No more to say.

I have been an Oracle DBA for about six years and this book is still the one I turn to when looking for deeper insight into tough Oracle problems. The author recently published a new book on 9i and 10g and that one is also quite excellent. When it comes to analysis and clear writing style, no one can beat Tom Kyte for excellence. Highly recommended.

I bought this book on cheap clearance after the original publisher went out of business -- the best $12 I ever invested. Remembering even 10% of this book makes you better than 90% of Oracle developers, modelers and architects. Mr. Kyte's real world experience and reliance on solid examples instead of folklore makes this light-years ahead of any other Oracle book; it's the only Oracle book I re-read regularly. If you can afford only one Oracle book, this is it. And you may not need any other.

Either if you're a pro or a student, this book is a MUST-HAVE. "Buy it NOW, don't waste more time" is the best advice I could give to you.

This book has very well detailed TCP/IP information, unfortunately some of the information is outdated. The book is easy to follow, and would make an even better learning tool if updated. I bought the book since it was required reading for a class, but I would opt out for a younger publishing on this topic if I had a choice.

This is a good book that covers all the fundamentals of TCP/IP networking. Good illustrations. Seperate chapters for each common application protocols.

Well written and illustrated. Very comprehensive. After reading several books on the subject, I find this one to have easily remembered formulas for everything TCP/IP. A must for the networking professional and the up and coming professional as well.

This book is an excellent reference or source to really learn some of the innards of TCP/IP. Very good diagrams and everthing is explained in an easy to understand way. I would recommend some basic to intermediate knowledge of network before picking this up.

The Definitive Guide to Actionscript by Colin Moock is a must have for anyone serious about Actionscript. Moock explains object oriented programming with ease. There are many samples and examples making this book easily accessible to a wide range of programmatic abilities. This book is a great learning resource and also serves as a reference for developers.

i dont need to say more, I even pre orderd the second edition allready

It's all good... lot's of info, examples, details, etc etc...
I do have to comment though that everything you find in this book is EASILY found and sometimes in a way more deep and detailed manner in the Macromedia Flash Help section and in www.macromedia.com Flash support section... I would not consider this an essential book even though one feels secure to have it close...

Nice book, found it pretty pleasant at first, but it was too easy to digest (six, seven hours and you can toss it over your shoulder). The real answers I need (mostly dealing with movie clip behaviours) are only vaguely explained or absent and I found the book more of a frustration than otherwise from about 1 week onwards.

Having said this, there doesn't appear to be any other title for Flash that caters to those whose programming knowledge exceeds their experience as a graphical design user.

Finally, an actionscript guide that is superb in its production! My hat is off to Colin and Gary for this detail-oriented volume that has cleared the smoke out of my head and has made a programmer out of an artist.

Bravo!!!

I only say that because you'll receive a free copy once you sign on with the company. I bought the book after I accepted a job there and lo and behold I had two copies of The Science of Success.

As far as the book goes, it was pretty good, the only thing that it was really weak on were examples of how Koch Industries actually used MBM to make money. After having worked there I really can't tell you how they have used MBM to make money either because during the two day MBM training you only hear one example and you'll be left saying, "Why of course we made money off of that because we're in oil!"

Other than that it does a very good job of outlining the economic principles that have made up the Koch management structure. Each company within Koch is very nimble and small and we really weren't bogged down in bureaucracy (mostly just accounting rules) like most companies are. The book also gives a very good look into the culture at Koch which was the strongest asset and the best thing I took away from working there.

This is not a self-help book. It is an excellent slim introduction to free market economics and economic thinking masquerading as a business book.

While I picked up the "Science of Success" to see how he applied economic thinking to running a business, I was blown away the authors clarity and elegance in describing economic thinking.

I also found his business system - MBM (Market Based Management) The Science of Human Action Applied to Organizations - to be interesting. It was not a how-to guide though.

The Science of Success is going to be a business classic. If you're in business, especially if you want to make your business work better you need to read this book.

Check that. You need to read and re-read and re-read this book. And you need to try out what you learn in experiments in your workplace.

That was one of the first things I got from this book, the idea of seeing trials of new ideas as "experiments." It's a powerful concept because it immediately washes away all the "risk of failure" that makes it hard to try new things in so many companies.

Koch's idea is amazingly simple. When you try something new, you see your trial as an experiment. Then you measure the results and learn from them. Whatever you learn, you've succeeded.

It's like that old story about Edison trying a gazillion different things as a filament for the electric light bulb he was try to invent. Time after time he tried. And, one after another, the filaments he thought would work didn't. "I haven't failed," Edison told a person who questioned how he could stand all that failure. "I've found a gazillion things that don't work."

One reason this is a great book is that there are those incredible insight like that all through it. You find yourself thinking, "Wow. That sure makes sense." You reach for your highlighter. You drape the book in sticky notes.

The book is also great because it reminds you of basic concepts that you knew once. For example, you probably learned about "sunk costs" and "opportunity costs" in college.

Koch will remind you of the definitions, but he does something more and more important. He shows you how to use those concepts in your decision process. Let's see how he does that.

On page 33 he reminds you that a sunk cost is "an unrecoverable past expenditure." And he tells you "Such costs should seldom be taken into account when determining what to do in the future because, other than possible tax effects, they are irrelevant to what can be recovered."

The money you put into developing that new product? It's a sunk cost. It's not an investment. You won't get it back. That means that it's irrelevant to whether or not to kill the new product or put more money into marketing it.

Koch shows you how the economic concepts of sunk cost and opportunity cost ("the value of the most valuable alternative that must be foregone to undertake a given act") should affect your decision making.

Another reason this book is great is that it brings together a very intelligent business owner's lifetime study of economics and human behavior and how they apply to making a company work. This isn't an academic treatise either. Koch has used these principles to run his company, where he is the primary owner.

You many not be familiar with the name Koch Industries, but you surely know some of their brand names like Stainmaster, Dixie Cup, and Georgia Pacific. Koch Industries is the largest private US company. It got that way, in part, because Koch used the principles in this book to run the company. In 1960 Koch had revenues of about $70 million. In 2006 they were $90 Billion.

In other words, this is not just theory. Koch has actually, truly, really put his money where his ideas are. In The Science of Success, he lays out what he's learned over a lifetime of study, thought and, more important for you, experimentation. Here's how he's structured the book.

Chapter 1 is short history of Koch Industries. You'll learn about how the company evolved and get introduced to the experiments that worked and many that didn't.

Chapter 2 is about Market-Based Management (MBM), which is what Koch calls his system. That's something of a misnomer. He's not referring to "market-driven" management. "Market-based" refers to "based on free market principles." This chapter also introduces the Science of Human Action.

The Science of Human Action is "the study of how humans can achieve their ends through purposeful behavior." It's the action steps connected to economic principles and psychological truths.

In the chapters that follow, Koch defines five dimensions along which you apply MBM. They are Vision, Virtue and Talents, Knowledge Processes, Decision Rights, and Incentives. There is a wealth of good ideas under every single heading.

There are two downsides to this book. At times, Koch writes like the engineer that he is, but the ideas and concepts pull you right through the rough spots.

The other downside is a result of the value that's here. It took Koch a lifetime to write this book and you won't get more than a fraction of the potential value from it unless you read it more than once. I'm staring my fourth read.

No matter what business you're in, no matter where you are in your career, you should read this book. It's a new business classic, on a par with Peter Drucker's Managing for Results. It's got the same strength of intellectual underpinnings, the same solid logic, and the same rich simplicity. The biggest difference is that The Science of Success is written by a man who built a great company using the concepts he's writing about.

Would that Koch, or any company actually worked this way. Nothing wrong with the book, unless you view Ayn Rand's stuff as incorrect. My personal experience with Flint Hills (a Koch subsidiary) didn't look much like this, but it was a recently acquired site and it takes a while to change a culture.

I have a bachelor's degree in business management and this book came out at the right time since I have been looking for books on management that match my philosophy and brush up on what I learned. My only complaints with this book is that it is too short and I would have like to have seen more real-life examples of how MBM was successful.

Essentially, Charles Koch outlines a management philosophy based on the economic writings of Ludwig von Mises. Koch's management style is one of employee empowerment by treating them like entrepreneurs while looking to retain and train the best people.

His no-nonsense style is clear throughout the book and he gave some interesting insights into how Market-Based-Management works. Koch Industries has been using MBM for years and, as a result, the company is the world's largest multi-billion dollar corporation. He must be doing something right with these kinds of results and I am sure if Professor von Mises was alive he would be gleeful at how his economics can be used successfully in other ways as well.

Best of luck to Mr. Koch in getting other companies to sign on to his philosophy. If Koch Industries with MBM is any indication, America's corporate culture will never be the same!

I am very glad that this book was the first book on management I have read since having graduated.