Programming Books

I had no idea how to use dreamweaver. I purchased this book, went through it in a couple of days and now I can design a basic website without using those dreaded html codes. I highly recommend this book due to the fact that anyone can understand it. I'm now working through the Fireworks edition.

Dreamweaver 4 for Visual Learners is a user friendly manual packed full of information. There are tons of graphics and screen shots, and just enough text to explain everything thoroughly. I'm no Dreamweaver expert, and this book took me step by step through the basics; then some more advanced material without any of it going over my head. It will make a great reference for later on as well. Great manual Chris!!

I've read through several manuals learning different computer programs and none have helped me learn a program as fast as this book! The instructions and screen shots are clear and concise, and allow the user to focus on the actual work of creating a website. The author includes using the previous steps for extra practice before introducing the next skill(s). The spiral binding also allows the book to lie flat or be folded in half. A big advantage to users with small computer work areas. I recommend this book to everyone who wants to get started immediately. Visibooks are wonderful - thank you Mr. Charuhas. I'll definitely using your books in other subject areas!

I have been thru this book and used it to learn the basics of Dreamweaver... and I'm so glad I found it! Dreamweaver can be intimidating at first, and this book brought me understanding that only a visual book can do. I highly recommend it (and any of the other ...For Visual Learners books)!!!

As a computer training professional, I've read or reviewed dozens of training books/manuals and this is one of the most effective learning sources I've found. Mr. Charuhas takes the best training method available, visual learning, and incorporates it into a really well written training book. I would highly recommend this material to anyone interested in learning Dreamweaver in a down-to-earth and, more importantly, effective manner. Kudos to Mr. Charuhas.

This book is a great resource for common data patterns. We plan to use these patterns in all future programming.

This book is unfortunately mistitled. It should have just been called 'Enterprise Patterns'. Perhaps the extra bumf in the title is attractive to some readers, but when I see big subtitles with 'MDA' and 'UML' in them, I immediately think of that most unfashionable of things in these Agile times: Process. Ugh! Dirty word! You may therefore be thinking this is a really tedious book full of bullet points and flow charts. But in fact it's a totally brilliant book, with a few flow charts and bullet points in, admittedly.

There's hardly any MDA in this book at all. There's a chapter on using a specific software tool to convert the patterns in this book into code, but I've already forgotten what it was called.

The meat of this book is a catalog of UML patterns associated with the enterprise domain. If you've read Martin Fowler's Analysis Patterns, you'll know what to expect: Customer, Party, Rule, Money, Quantity, Order etc. The authors mention Analysis Patterns, but call their patterns 'archetype' patterns. The difference between the two is that the archetype patterns are much more detailed.

So do you need to read this if you've read Analysis Patterns? I say yes. This is in fact better than AP, simply because when they say their patterns are detailed, they aren't joking. Fortunately, the authors advocate a 'literate modeling' approach, that explains the interactions in plain English, and the authors' writing is clear and unstodgy, effectively highlighting the important parts of each pattern, and where variation can be introduced. They claim their archetype patterns are sufficiently flexible to cover a wide range of enterprise, and I have to say they do a very good job of convincing you they've thought of most of the special cases, and how to unify them in one pattern.

Even if you aren't actually an enterprise programmer (and I'm not), I still highly recommend this book, just for the large number of examples of how to successfully model a complex domain. Plus, no tedious accounting or financial examples - bonus.

Over the last month or so, I've been reading Enterprise Patterns And MDA - Building Better Software With Archetype Patterns And UML by Jim Arlow and Ila Newstadt (Addison-Wesley). This is another one of those books that I thought would deliver one thing and instead produced much more than I expected.

Chapter breakdown: Archetypes and Archetype Patterns; Model Driven Architecture with Archetype Patterns; Literate Modeling; Party Archtype Pattern; PartyRelationship Patter; Customer Relationship Management Pattern; Product Pattern; Inventory Pattern; Order Pattern; Quantity Pattern; Money Pattern; Rule Pattern; Summary; Archetype Glossary; Bibliography; Index

Now, when I requested this for review, I was expecting something in terms of programming patterns and technical material. What I got was a great business tool for modeling typical business objects and transactions. The authors take a business concept like Inventory, and they build a model around it. The model is an archetype, or a entity that exists in some shape in every business. Through UML diagrams, you'll see all the parts that make up the archetype and how to take the parts you need to build your own version of the entity. While the Inventory model is very comprehensive in the book, you can also pull the pieces you need to model the reality that exists in your own business.

There's some very practical benefits you can gain from this book. If you're building an application and need to track a customer (for example), you can turn to the Party model and see all the parts that make up that type of entity. This will help you to understand all the data elements that make up a Party, such as address (web, email, telephone, geographic), organization, person/gender/ethnicity, relationship, etc. These are elements you might think of and/or remember to include, but having the model there helps you get it right early on.

If you're a business analyst, you will really get your value from this book. And if you're a developer who also has to design the systems, you'll look like a wizard when you complete a solid design with features the customer didn't even realize they needed.

Nominally, this book presents "archetype patterns", using UML and an extended case study. The archetype idea, intermediate between a general design pattern and a specific application, is a valuable one. In the case study, it's a set of business meta-objects, operations, and organizing principles. In presenting the archetype abstraction, those objects are spelled out in enough detail to create a useable framework for routine business needs.

The archetype mechanism is also spelled out in great detail, almost wholly within the UML framework. By itself, this won't be enough to convince any UML doubters about UML's flexibility. Taken as one among many UML applications, however, it's very compelling. It's also the first reference I know that gets down to cases in applying MDA - an interesting view. I fault the technique for only two things. First is a slight dependence on a specific CASEproduct, ArcStyler. That reliance never turned all the way into an advertisement, so I'll let it pass. Second is a baffling section on "rules." The rules and rule mechanisms make sense, but inexplicably seem to re-create the features of the OCL.

Two extras make this presentation very attractive. First is the mention of "literate programming," tying the UML tool suite to user documentation and design documentation. They specifically note XML and DocBook, existing standards, as the vehicle for integrating prose and technical parts of the model. Bravo! Even if their LP tools are weak, use of the idea is a real strength. The second extra is a pervasive awareness of standards. Money is phrased in terms of ISO 4217, nations in terms of ISO 3166, books in terms of ISBNs (ISO 2108), and on and on. Far too few programmers realize how many of their software requirements are already spelled out in external standardslike these, so the consciousness-raising exercise is a good one.

This is an excellent resource, not just for its business objects and not just for its UML case study. The author treat even personal names (table 4.4) with more care than I've seen anywhere else - that care pervades the whole book, and is a lesson in itself.

//wiredweird

The MDA in the title of this book probably overstates the amount of MDA related content in the book. This isn't an MDA reference. There is one small, but well written chapter on it.

But that's a minor quibble. The real value of this book, and the bulk of the book, is in the third part which gives in depth models for the common enterprise application requirements. They start with an excellent object model for a 'Party' (as in a contact database), and continue on at the same level of depth for other common entities and processes, such as orders, payments, purchase orders, business rules, monetary values.

These patterns are probably too in-depth for a small business application, but they serve as an excellent starting point that you can trim to create a model that has the right level of complexity for your application. Don't let the big title of the book fool you. You can find books on how to write SQL, and generally how to model a database for a given problem domain, and other books on how query the database and make transactions. The value of this book is in giving you recipes for models for the basics of your application.

This book combined with Linux Device Drivers, 3rd Edition, must be available in the library of all the emebedded system developers, based on Libux.
This book, give more information than linux device drivers, another iformations for the new developers, that are starting developing emebedded systems based on Linux.
So buy it.

Without a doubt, this is the best driver book I've ever purchased. In the first few chapters the author walks you through boot, interrupts, builds, installs etc so that you can make the most of his outstanding knowledge of drivers and driver design which fills 3/4 of the book. Even if you don't want to design or build your own driver, the first few chapters alone are worth the cost of the book and the knowledge he imparts about drivers is priceless. If you are a Linux Kernel analyst, you can do no better than purchase this. And as to his writing style.. I've read plenty of dry, boring Linux technical books but this one even has a most outstanding writing style. It was enjoyable to read. I cannot praise this book enough. If you're a newbie Linux Kernel Techie or someone who thinks they already know everything... you cannot go wrong. Buy it, read it and you will learn more about drivers than from any other book, and you'll learn a whole lot more besides.

This detailed guide to writing Linux device drivers is a solid acquisition for collections strong in advanced Linux programming: it's for audiences with a working knowledge of operating systems and C - but not necessarily device driver writing - and brings together all the basic concepts and methods needed to address common programming scenarios. Many driver are discussed in no other book, making Essential Linux Device Drivers a 'must have' for any collection serious about Linux programming applications.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I'd been frustrated by the fragmented and incomplete nature of documentation surrounding linux driver development. This is the book I was looking for, I guess.
I specifically liked:
1. the way the author ties all the pieces together. For example, in the PCMCIA subsystem, the diagrams give you the broader picture architecturally, and the code snipppets give you the minutia you'll need. 2. the fact that it is up-to-date as far as the kernel version is concerned.
3. how it resolved a lot of questions I'd had about the scheduler.
4. the really good handling of USB and the video subsystem.
It is a little light on SMP and portability issues, but overall a very good book.

I've been frustrated by many other Linux kernel and device driver books. The authors often make assumptions about the readers knowledge and gloss over areas that can be quite confusing.

To some extent, that's unavoidable: the Linux kernel is monstrous and very complex, and the hardware that drivers control can also be dark and mysterious territory.

I really appreciated this books approach. It's not that everything is explained in complete detail; that would be impossible. However, the author obviously tries very hard to give an overview, an orientation that will hopefully set your mind in the right direction, before diving into details. Throughout the book he adds "go look at this" suggestions that can help you understand whatever he's dealing with at this point.

I think Chapter 2, which is a high level fly-by of the kernel in general, is an absolute masterpiece. That starts by pulling typical kernel boot messages and explaining what they mean and what's going on in code to produce them. It then goes on to discuss kernel locks, briefly looks at procfs and memory allocation, and closes (as each chapter does) with pointers to where to look in the source for the subjects discussed.

Chapters 3 and 4 flesh out basic concepts more, and then after that the book goes into details, picking both real world and fanciful examples of hardware and giving sample device drivers. Simple devices are presented first, while later chapters get into more complicated hardware, but in each case the same general format is followed: overview of the how and why, sample driver(s), how to most easily debug, and pointers to real kernel sources.

Very well done. I have no complaints - oh, a few minor typos, maybe, but nothing serious.

This is the only book I've read that primarily tells you how and identifices specific places to invest your money to minimize risk due to the Y2K situation and mazimize profits. It recommends specific stocks and areas to invest in. And warns of the areas that are most likely to be high risk. There are tons of books out there that tell what Y2K is and how it can hurt your but few give any specifics of what to do with you money and investments to protect yourself. This one does! It's unique.

Whether you believe Y2K or not, expect problems and volatility in the markets. That means opportunity. This book and "The Survivor's Guide to The Year 2000" by David Epp are the best investment books I have read explaining how and when to profit from the coming confusion. I had my own ideas, but now I know how to make money at it. They even explain options for beginners to get started on a level playing field with the pros.

This was great reading. This is the only book that I found that addresses the potential effects of Y2K on the financial markets. This adds easy to understand details to the market sell-off that Dr. Edward Yardeni has now predicted. Mr. Elliott has covered many areas in the stock market and the commodity markets. This should be a warning to many Americans living abroad! Turn a disaster into a positive financial event. Only the foolish would ignore the impending potential from Y2K. This is a great how to do it book.

This informative, no-hype, "petal to the metal" book is a "must have" for anyone interested in being successful in trading the markets! Not only does Mr. Elliott explain the Y2K problem in detail, he does it in a way that the average person can understand. This book literally provides you with a "roadmap" to guide you through the twists and turns of the complex investment maze. With all the "bogus" Y2K information available to the public today, it is a breath of fresh air to have such a simple guide to understanding the real problems that will be facing us in the near future. Concise,straight forward, factual information that "anyone" can use and "everyone" needs. I will be giving copies of this book to all my friends and family so that they will have the ability to understand, and profit from, the coming computer crisis!

The author does a great job of introducing the reader to the full scope of the Y2K problem. Then he shows the reader multiple strategies for capitalizing on the millenial bug and even gives the reader the information needed to get started right away. An important book to read and re-read. If you know anyone who should learn about the Y2K problem, tell them to buy this book (you won't want to lend your copy out!!) Well researched and very complete. Well worth the cover price. Reading it has changed the way I am investing for the future.

Want to take your Mindstorms creations to new hieghts? Go beyond RIS? The ya have to get this book, a follow up to Dave Baum's Definitive Guide to Lego Mindstorms. You will not only see more NQC programming, but pbForth as well, and an excellent section on constructing your own sensors. If your the kid who doesn't grow up, an engineer at heart, and the owner of more than one RIS set because you are obssessed with Lego Mindstorms, then you cannot do without adding this book to your collection.

I don't know if I like the "Extreme" in the title. In many ways this book just covers the basics. In some ways I like this book better than Baum's "Defintive Guide to LEGO Mindstorms", because it's not so NQC centric. In other ways I prefer the DGLM because it had more info on structural issues. There is a knack to making good LEGO structures, and a few tips really come in handy. I would have to say that I find the DGLM more extreme as far as the variety and originality of the projects.

If Definitive Guide was wonderful this one is even better.

These guys have done a good work with the book.

Special mention to Gasperi's Homebrew Sensors section.

One of my library's jewels

If the Definitive Guide was wonderful this one is even better.

Special remark to Gasperi section about homebrew sensors.

This guys have done a invaluable works.

One of my library jewels.

i work with c and assembler, also i work with maya and 3d studio max on the graphics end. black belt in all of those fields. this book is bringing me to my white belt to black belt knowledge in robotics.dont think buy.

I thought this book did a great job at getting me up to speed on C#. I came from C++ and MFC development, so this definitely fit the bill for bridging me into C#.

Worth the read!

Excellent book. I am a VB 6 programmer making the jump to C#.

C# instead of VB.NET? Mostly because there seems to be more contract jobs for C#.

This is an excellent book. If you are a long time programmer like myself and want to get into C# programming I highly recommend this book. This book can make you a very functional C# programmer in a very few hours.

If you need to learn C# in a hurry, this is the book that will get you up to speed. The entire "Fast Track" series from Wrox were written to help you learn a subject fast and this is especially helpful if your employer decides to convert to C# or any other .Net technology or language. I purchased both Fast Track C# and Fast Track ASP.NET C# Edition together. I am impressed with both books. The Fast Track C# book is 413 pages and the chapters are not to long. This makes the reading very easy and the chapters don't take weeks to read. The book starts out with the basics of .NET and C# and then progresses to more advanced C# subjects. Note: The authors do not go into great detail on the various subjects and you should augment this book with a more advanced books on C#. There are ample examples but the authors do not provide the "results". This is a book for the intermediate developer making the conversion from Java or C++ but I think Visual Basic 6 developers will benefit from this book.

In Chapter 1 - Overview of .Net and the CLR (Common Language Runtime), the authors explain the fundamentals of .Net.

Chapter 2 - Introduction to C#, Chapter 3 - C# Basics, and Chapter 4 - Object-Oriented Features of C# provide the basics that you will need to know about C#. If you are coming from Visual Basic.Net, you might want to skip over these chapters but I read these chapters twice.

The authors explain the more advanced features of C# in Chapters 5 - Advanced C#, 6 - .NET Programming with C#, and 7 - Working with the .Net Base Class. These chapters will help you get beyond the "Hello World" type of applications. These chapters provide some real-world examples.

In Chapter 8 - Building Windows Applications, the authors explain all of the basics to windows development. The GUI or the presentation layer is what the end-user will be most familar with.

The next chapters will help you with real-world applications that you may encounter.

Chapter 9 - Assemblies and ILDASM.
Chapter 10 - Data Access with ADO.Net
Chapter 11 - COM and COM+ Interoperability
Chapter 12 - ASP.Net
Chapter 13 - Web Services

This is an excellent book for C#. It covers almost every topic in C# in a consie, to-the-point fashion. Whether you are new or experienced programmer, this book will give you a head-start on mastering C# concepts. If you are doing MCAD, this is the book you should read first for brushing your concepts. I like the portability of this book (400 pages). Big thumps up for Wrox Fast Track series.

Wrox guys, you have done it really well. I am a beginner to C# but have previous experience with C/C++. Really wanted to get into the C# field. Tried 2-3 books but was bogged down by details everytime. Then I got hold of this book. Man this is awesome...really takes no time if you have some programming background..esp. OO related.

Just devote 1-2 hours for each chapter..and this will cause the Sams 24 hours series some serious worries.

If you're looking for a book that teaches you how to draw in Flash, this is not the book for you. It will, however, teach you the nuts and bolts of animation, the technical information necessary to make animation less time consuming, which is a must-have imo.

This book is a must for everyone who is tired of animating on paper and wishes to digitalize their work completely in Flash or After Effects. The book covers many great aspects including; making shortcuts of your workflow with user made extensions, brilliant tips & tricks and personal advices how to make life easier for the animators.

This book is also amazing for those who already have knowledge of Flash or After Effects, but wish to enhance their skills or take their production to the next level.

After reading this book, my animation workflow and quality improved.

Best recommendations from here.


-Alex Volkov (Flash Animator)

not only did i read the book cover to cover i went back into the book and downloaded the source files and worked through the tutorials. this book is perfect for organizing and creating flash animation at a professional level which is a key foundation for any up and coming flash animator. this book teaches you industry secrets that are priceless if you are pursuing a flash animation career. thanks guys. the best flash book i have come acrossed in a long time.
josh johnson

This book is probably best for the reader who has some drawing experience, and preferably, a grasp of animation principlals as well as some Flash experience.

It should be noted, there isn't an over-arching animation project created in this book; However, readers could certainly follow along with their own project as the process is fairly linear, from the planning stages, through effectively using Flash's library and a host of useful plug-in for tasks such as timing and motion tweening. There is a fair bit of coverage of Adobe's After Effects, and the book discuses the pros and cons of doing various tasks in either software.

For Flash animators, two chapters stand out in the 300 pages: There is one chapter on how to properly use Flash's tweening tools so as to avoid the overly-precise look common with generated animations. A second is on 2D effects, covering common special effects like smoke, fire and water.

There are many books about cartoon animation in Flash. What sets this book apart from the rest is the approach the authors have taken to make this book much more than just another step-by-step book about drawing and animating characters. Foundation Flash Cartoon Animation is for the animator who needs to stretch beyond the mechanics of the Flash tools and perfect the decision-making process necessary to become a productive animator. One of the biggest questions that is answered in this book is when to use Flash and how to use it most efficiently. The next question is what tasks are beyond Flash's capabilities and when to turn to another software such as After Effects.

The authors assume that the reader has a basic knowledge of Flash and the principles of animation. Because of this, you will find only a few step-by-step examples. What they do cover thoroughly is every phase of the production process for cartoon animation from planning, storyboards and animatics to post-production and delivery. The approach for this book is to examine working examples which can be downloaded from the publisher's website.

If you have ever created a complex character animation including lip synching and facial expressions, then you know that your character must be divided into a large number of individual animated parts. This is why the authors dedicate a whole chapter to organization and using the Flash library system to build character libraries. As you progress through the process from head comps and onward, the authors show when it is best to draw from scratch and when to use Flash symbols. Storyboards and animatics are next in the production process and the book covers several decisions that must be made such as choosing between traditional, hand-drawn storyboards and the digital method in Flash.

Moving from the planning stages to character creation, the authors discuss the technical and organizational issues such as Flash file structures and project architecture. They take a look at several working examples to give the reader a comprehensive overview of this topic. One of the most helpful aspects of this book is how the authors help you decide when Flash is not enough to get the job done and how to expand Flash's capabilities with plug-ins. They discuss several of their favorites, how to find more on the web and when to make your own.

One of the most important decisions that an animator will need to make is the choice between traditional frame by frame animation and tweening. The authors share their four step process for frame by frame animation and then discuss tweening and how to avoid common mistakes.

I mentioned earlier that the authors discuss the use of a dedicated motion graphic software such as After Effects to take your Flash project to a higher level of quality and sophistication. They discuss some of the advantages to using After Effects for editing and composition such as complex camera movements and 3D effects.

Flash has been plagued by one major drawback since its conception a decade ago and that is the extreme "digital" look of the vector artwork created in Flash. The authors share several tips and suggestions for enhancing your Flash project to achieve a more "hand-drawn" appearance to your animation including line styles and color choices. They also cover the digital equivalents for traditionally hand-drawn special effects such as distortion, drag, fade in/out and blurs.

This book was a joint effort of several authors. Tim Jones is an Emmy Award-winning producer and writer and head of production at ANIMAX Entertainment. Barry J. Kelly is an Emmy Award-winning editor and artist and is also a member of ANIMAX Entertainment. Allan S. Rosson is animation director at ANIMAX Entertainment and has over twenty years experience as an animator. David Wolfe was an animator at ANIMAX Entertainment and is now with Cartoon Network Studios.

Langdon and Poli do a fantastic job of summarizing the major theoretical results of genetic programming. The first chapter gives a quick and clear introduction to genetic programming. They continue with a comprehensive summary of previous research in schema theory, and then they present their exciting theoretical results. Their description of an exact schema theorem (microscopic and macroscopic) for GP is a bit dense, but they provide a good discussion of how to interpret these results. As a whole, this book is generally easy to follow, even with little prior exposure to genetic programming. Of course, this book is not intended to be a general introduction to genetic programming (one of John Koza's books would be more appropriate), but instead it is intended to present some of the theoretical foundations of the field.

This book was published in 2002 to provide a survey of the direction research had taken in the field of Genetic Programming. There is an explanation of what genetic programming is and how it is different from genetic algorithms in chapter 1(GP is a "generalization" of GA). Chapter 2 discusses the problems with the fitness landscape. Chapter 3 - 6 discusses various schema theory approaches and proofs. Chapter 6 has a great explanation of effective fitness.

There are numerous theorems and proofs in the book. There are informative examples of the max problem and the artificial ant (Santa Fe Trail) problems. Chapter 11 is about how GP convergences are a tricky matter and how subtrees can hide interesting incidences of convergence.

This is not an introductory text, it is intended for graduate level or higher readers. There is much theoretical work here and a limited background in this area will result in limited understanding of the material.

Langdon and Poli are both internationally recognized experts in Evolutionary Computation (EC) and, in particular, Genetic Programming. They have both contributed extensively to the theoretical "foundations" of GP and hence may speak with no small degree of authority about GP theory. As a physicist working in EC I like the balance that the authors have struck between mathematical rigor and understandable intuition. The book is not as rigorous as Vose's well known GA book. However, it is much easier to read. Neither does it take the "engineering" rule of thumb approach, as does Goldberg's book for instance. It covers very well recent important developments in the theory of GP and in that sense makes very good reading for anyone with a serious interest in EC theory. It is not for the novice, even though technically it is not a difficult book. It is really a research monograph and not a textbook. In that sense the title is a little bit misplaced. With the exciting direction the authors are pointing in I believe that in five years time another book of the same title should truly be able to lay out what are the foundations of GP theory and also show the theoretical unity that exists between the different branches of EC.

This book can be usefully read along with a companion text by the same publisher - "Introduction to Evolutionary Computing". Langdon and Poli provide a focused look, on the specifics of genetic programming. The maths treatment here is significantly more involved than the other book.

Foundations starts with what I suppose in this field is an obligatory section on the concept of a fitness landscape. A very useful metaphor of what you'll be attempting to do, as a researcher. However, the authors carefully point out the limitations of this idea. Notably that some spaces might have no natural metric.

The book then rapidly goes into the ideas of GP schemas and hyperschemas. Accompanied by a nice theoretical analysis of key performance goals like the rate of convergence in the GP search space. A solid offering to the GP researcher.

Currently working as an undergraduate student in Ann Arbor, Michigan as a Computer Science major I'm an intrigued by Genetic Programming alongside all motives of this in-depth field. I found this book to be a modest account of what is new and theoretical within this field. Expressing advanced features with a short introduction; this book is profoundly for somebody with somewhat of a background. A recommended start in the computer evolutionary field is:
An Introduction to Genetic Algorithms [1996], by Melanie Mitchell.

After alot of waiting GLPro Foundations made my dream true by publishing this book of the latest version of the most powerfull Fastest smallest multimedia language. With huge No. of examples and one cd contains all what you want to make a program with this language and all of this for only 40$ it's very good to learn this powerfull language

I needed to get a good grounding in GLpro before undertaking a major project in Calgary, Canada, later in the year. I bought a copy via the Internet soon after publication in February 1998 and found that it met my needs in many ways. Firstly it includes an edition of GLpro on CD sufficient to learn the language (but not enough to make an executable or screensaver - for that the full commercial edition must be purchased). Secondly it is written in an easy to read style which as a novice I appreciated very much. Thirdly, it includes enough of the huge GLpro command set to get a working feel for the basics of the language. Fourthly, as I write I am nearing the end of my project and often turn to it as a reference. As a bonus the CD includes examples of commercial products made using GLpro. I am convinced this book and CD significantly shortened my learning curve and I can recommend it as very good value to anyone starting out with the superb GLpro multimedia authoring tool.

After alot of waiting GLPro Foundations made my dream true bypublishing this book of the latest version of the most powerfullsmallest multimedia language. With huge No. of examples and one cd contains all what you want to make a program with this language....it's very good to learn this powerfull language

When GMedia, the publishers of GLPro, released their version 7 in August 1997 a small and concise printed manual accompanied the software. This was intended to provide an overview of the many features of this amazing software package. However, the broad scope of the product called for a manual that would cover many of the questions that a new or intermediate user might ask. Dick Brandt has met this requirement with his "Foundations" book. I purchased it when it appeared and have returned to it for information, methods and code on almost every GLPro project since August 1997. Like the online GLPro listserv support this book should be on a GLPro user's list of helpers.

If you are new to GMedia's GLPro get it!

John Rankin Seattle WA.

If you are new to GLpro but don't know how to begin (which was pretty much my situation a year ago), I would recommend this book without hesitation. Dick Brandt assumes no prior knowledge, and begins with very easy examples that put the reader at ease. In his down-to-earth style, he takes the reader on a very thorough (and enjoyable) tour of the territory. In fact, having read the book, I now feel that I have a pretty fair command of a very powerful language.

The book comes with a CD-ROM, which contains its own version of GLpro, all the sample scripts from the hundreds of examples in the book, and some clever utility programs that the author has written (and which you will end up using over and over again). These support materials are a very nice complement to the book.

GLpro is a deep and and dynamic language and I am glad that someone as knowledgable and as thorough as Dick Brandt took on the job of presenting it in such a clear way. In short, this book fills an important niche and does it beautifully.

This is the ONLY book that any IMac person will ever need. I purchased four other IMac books before this one and only wished that I would've seen this one first. It has everything that you will ever want to know. It is well laid out and very easy to find whatever concerns that you might have in relation to the IMac. Good also for either beginners or long time owners of the beloved IMac.

I almost bought an iMac but went with a PC instead. I bought AppleWorks for Windows and an AppleWorks book by C. Ann Brown (don't waste your money on the book). I picked up Stauffer's iMac book at the library and I found it to be really comprehensive. There is a large section on AppleWorks. Some iMac books are sort of cutesy, but Stauffer's book shows you how to actually do something with your computer besides changing how your iMac looks and sounds. Why did I read an iMac book when I own a PC? I have found that books on Macs are written better than books for PC's. Try Maria Langer's book on Mac OS 8.5 too. Macs and iMacs for Dummies are good sources too.

I bought an IMac and needed some kind of hard copy to go with it. I purchased five other books before this one. If only I had known about this book first I could have saved a lot of money. This is the only book you IMac devotees will need. It has everything, including info on Kai's Photo Soap which no one else has. The title How to do Everything is very apt. But everything should be in great big letters because it is EVERYTHING.

I recently travelled back to the US to help my Dad get set-up with an iMac. While he loved the simplicity of the system, he did miss not having printed material to ponder (and no amount of "but we're saving the trees" would suffice). After an hour pouring over iMac books at Borders we chose this one (of course it's cheaper here!) because of it's thouroghness in covering the additional software included with the iMac. It has the best, most complete coverage of AppleWorks and Quicken of any book out there, as well as complete system coverage, setup information and and how to use the Internet with Navigator. I went back to Holland knowing my Dad can now figure anything out...excellent reference, buy this one!

Selected by MacHome's free eZine, HotTips Weekly

Book of the month for October 2000.

Of the plethora of iMac books released since the computer's inception, I found this the clearest and most comprehensive. I like the "DO" angle, as opposed to providing an endless list of technical information. It may not be the best choice for a power-user in a quest for in-depth geektech info (well... You should have the AppleSource CDs if you are a Mac professionnal!), but every beginner and newcomer would benefit from owning a copy.

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