Programming Books

I was first introduced to Kris Jamsa's books when I first took DOS Programming. When I saw it was written by Kris Jamsa, I bought it on the spot! It is very step-by-step. I used this book instead of the book assigned in my JAVA class. It also comes with software and shows you how to install JBuilder on your computer which I found out is a thousand times better for code writing than Microsoft Visual J++. More raw coding and less Microsoft's invasive code. I highly recommend this for the first time JAVA programmer.

I'm just starting JAVA programming and this is by far the best book I've read on the subject. It mainly deals with programming applets but explains the logic of JAVA programming well enough to extend what you have learned into more complex applications. The problem I've had with other books is that they don't teach the basics and by the third chapter you're completely lost. Short chapters make concepts easy to remember and refer back to. Examples are cogent and apply the material directly related to the current chapter. After I'm done with this book I will have a good working knowledge of JAVA and will finally be able to understand the more difficult books.

After scouring bookstores for a Java book that was to the point, didn't weigh 25 pounds, and best of all made immediate sense, I was pleased to find this book by K. Jamsa.

Each chapter is concise, tells you what you're going to learn, tells you about it, then tells you what you just learned. The ideal model for education!

The chapters are paced well, with little fluff, just well-explained examples. All the graphics are laid out quite well, all in all, a well designed book!

The CD that comes with it has everythng that you need to get up and running, no extra downloads necessary.

Hope that they come out with "Rescued Again by Java", covering advanced topics.

5 out of 5

Kris Jamsa has written some excellent C/C++ tutorials, so its no surprise that this beginners guide to Java is just as clearly written and explained. In this volume, Kris is giving you just enough of everything you need to know to get started in the right direction. You'll likely need a more comprehensive reference book (I recommend Ivor Horton's Beginning Java 2) if you want to turn 'pro'. But here's the best thing about this edition -- you get a fully functioning copy of Borland's JBuilder 2 Pro edition on the CD-ROM. That's a pretty nice bargain considering the price of the book. The latest version of JBuilder would costs many, many times that. I would recommend any book on programming written by Jamsa, and this one is no exception.

I was lost in reading on-line tutorials and Java books that claimed to be for beginners. "Rescued by Java" truly came to rescue. It allowed me to built a solid foundations of the language concepts and syntax. I can see it now possible to reach for more advanced books. The book is written in a very thorough way. The examples are simple but so well thought out that all the language concepts are easy to grasp page by page upon reading for the first time. By the way I'm a COBOL programmer with many years of industry experience.

A great, fun, and easy bot to build. Good customer service.

I would recommend it for everyone.

This is a great bot. I recommend it for everyone. Easy to put together and lots of fun.

I should start off by saying that I'm not a kid, nor did I buy this and give it to a kid. I am 22 and I'm working on a completely hand-built robot. Since nobody else has written a review from this perspective - the adult hobbyist - I thought I would

First, however, for the sake of parents and uncles and aunts who read this. I think this is a good kit for 12-16 year olds, provided they are really computer savvy and have a long attention span. If your kid is fixing your computer more often than you, he might like this. If already knows how to program, this kit is for him. In any case, you probably need a knowledgable adult to get past the basics with this kit. The kit itself is a little on the cheap side, I'm not sure its worth the price above. (I found it on sale for less than half , but I've seen it advertised for 3 times as much too.) It took me 30 minutes to build it, but I was doing it real carefully. Any kid can probably do it in the same amount of time, although some of the instructions are probably going to be confusing for a kid. (How many 12 year olds know the difference between a worm gear and a spur gear?) Luckily, there are plenty of photos, which make the instructions pretty "kid-friendly". It does require an abnormally small flathead screwdriver that I don't think most houses have lying around. (An eyeglass repair kit would be perfect for assembling this.)

Once you build it and put in the batteries, it starts working right away and you can use the included remote control to play around with it. There's lots of online documenation included on CD. While the documentation is noble in its intent to teach, it covers way more material than a book could practically teach to an early adolescent, and therefore moves a little too fast at times: basic electronics and semiconductors, programming, etc. You might want to supplement this kit with extra books if the child shows interest. The extra project ideas seem like they would be engaging, but except for the most simple they're going to require an adult to help design the circuits unless your child is a whiz kid at electronics.

Okay, now I want to address the "Big Kids", like me, who are interested in intermediate/advanced robotics and buy kits like this to get experience and to later take apart and hack onto other projects. For me, this seemed like a good deal because it includes a BasicStamp 2, which costs more new (~$34)than what I paid for the whole kit. Sadly, its not the same BasicStamp 2. It operates the same electronically, but has a different physical form. This means when you're done with Mr. Sumo, you can't pull his brains out and plug them in to your own breadboard.

Okay, moving along, the engineering uses a smart architecture, where the low level such as PWM for the motors, A/D for the sensors, etc. are handled by their own, dedicated chip, a PIC16C505. Sadly, however, this is an OTP (one-time programmable) chip. This means you can't rewrite any of the low level functions without buying a pin-compatible, surface-mount PIC, reprogramming it, and then surface-mounting it to the PCB. In short, it's a lot of trouble.

The BS2 communicates to this PIC using two I/O lines and sending very basic, 8-bit commands. This is where the robot really limits itself. The control over certain crucial aspects, such as the motor speed, is handled solely by the low-level PIC16C505 and from the BS2 you don't get much access...you can't set the motors to different speeds, for instance, nor redefine what each speed means. (It has speeds 1-4, with 0 being "stopped"). Why would you want to? Because the DC motors weren't matched well when the kit was manufactured, and one overpowers the other, resulting in my robot continually dragging to the right. (Your robot will of course differ.) There's no easy way to fix this, without low-level access to the PWM code.

This is the bad, however. There are a lot of good things about this kit. The software is pretty amazing. The IDE is real easy to use, and it even includes a downloader that is way faster than others I've used (6811 and JStamp downloaders, eg). Plus, it has a "visual" memory map that helps you understand how much of the EEPROM your code is using up...that's a neat feature. Also, the little breadboard, while tiny, has convenient access to 11 I/O lines, as well as +3V from the BS2, +6V from the batteries, and ground.

Communication with the PIC16C505 is easy too, because the author include two convenient serial transmission routines in the program template that you use to build each new program. The sensors and conditioning circuitry and software are designed to eliminate "flutter" that often frustrates me on other projects. There is a bright IR LED, two decent IR sensors, and two CDS light sensors. The motors are small and fast, although geared down to add some much needed torque. With fresh batteries and a little bit of grease on the axles, I would guess this thing can go 60 feet per minute. The machining of the kit is good; everything fits snugly. The bread board has mounting holes for standoffs in case you want to add another deck on top, and the belly has tabs machined for mounting an RC servo. (Although, its a mount I've never seen, and none of my servos fit it.)

Well, this review is so long I ought to bind it and sell it on this site..the long and short: probably good for kids...with the right adult mentor. For adult hobbyists it's arbitrarily limited (as opposed to RoboSapien which is designed to be hacked), but still could be used as a test bed for small circuits. For the price I payed, I'm happy, but I wouldn't have gone much higher. (Then again, I'm a poor college student...)

I have had the original build your own robot kit for a year now and I thought it was pretty good. The concept and price was great, but there were a few rough edges in the original execution. The original wheels [were poor] (and for some reason say "FORD" on them) and it got pretty expensive buying the BS2 to go with it. Using an "acorn nut" as a front "caster" was pretty innovative, unfortunately it didn't work that well on rough surfaces.

The good points about the robot were the remote control and how easily a BS2 could be added to the robot so that I could write my own programs and try them out. Even with the [poor] wheels and "caster" it was probably the best experimenter's robot out there. The information on the CD-ROM was great, although I wish it was available on paper (costs a lot to print out all the information).

Myke seemed to have learned from the first robot and the Sumo Bot is fantastic. It now has a very solid sheet metal chassis (with a front scoop), it runs by 4 "AA" batteries and has a caterpiller bulldozer like track that allows it to run over just about any surface. The robot is really built like a bulldozer, it will last a long time.

Best of all, the optional pieces from the original kit, the BS2 and AppMod are built into the robot. All you have to do is put the CD-ROM into your PC, download the programs and BS2 programming software, conenct the robot to the PC using a serial cable and you can start writing your own programs or adding your own hardware.

This review probably reads like a sales pitch, but I've had my Sumo Bot for a week now and I LOVE IT! It's very robust, easy to use and program and best of all, it's fun.

Brad

this was an awsome robot i got it two weeks ago and im 13this robot has a cool way to be able to be progrmaed i already tried life simulation and many others this is the best robot with the most features its unbelievable i recommened it for beginners and those who love robotics it will be the envey of your block

As an author of technical books I am especially critical of the delivery of technical information - especially when covering topics that can be heavily theoretical. Iljitsch van Beljnum's book on IPv6 provides an excellent balance between theory and practice. It introduces the IPv6 protocol and how to run it. It provides real-life examples of the protocol in action and how it can be used with a variety of applications. It particularly addresses the transition from IPv4 to IPv6, myths about IPv6, routing and DNS. It also importantly covers changes in IP protocol security as a result of the introduction of IPv6.

If you're looking at moving to IPv6 or if you are simply interested in how it is run, routes, and interacts with operating systems and applications then I strongly recommend this book.

'Running IPv6' by Iljitsch van Beijnum is an essential reference for any IT people who are looking to:

1. Upgrade from IPv4
2. Learn more about the IPv6 standard
3. Want to configure and set up IPv6

This book covers Windows, Mac, Free BSD, Linux, Cisco routers, DNS and bind... the whole shebang

Not written for a novice, this book assumes that you have knowledge of IP-related material and are not reading this book simply for "vacation reading". In a niche market this book scales its way to the top of the moutain.

Great resource!!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

When I read and reviewed O'Reilly's IPv6 Network Administration by Niall Richard Murphy and David Malone, I called their book "a must-have book for all network administrators." Upon seeing Apress' Running IPv6 by Iljitsch van Beijnum, I wondered if I would waste my time reading and reviewing another book on IPv6. Now I'm glad I digested Running IPv6 -- it's my first must-read book of 2006. The books are complementary, so I recommend them both.

Three years ago I read and reviewed van Beijnum's book on BGP, which I liked while thinking it was somewhat terse. In Running IPv6, van Beijnum strikes the proper balance between explanatory language and technical details. Every chapter in the new book taught me something useful. In Ch 1 I liked comparisons involving IPv4, IPv6, IPX, DECnet, AppleTalk, and OSI CLNP. In Ch 2 I enjoyed sections on using 48 bit MAC addresses in IPv6 addresses. Ch 3 featured tips on the "on-link" assumption. As would be expected in a book by a BGP expert, Ch 4 provided lots of guidance on routing IPv6. Ch 5 included history on the evolution of DNS for IPv6, with RFCs 1886 and 2874 competing for primacy.

Ch 6 covered issues that applications might encounter when handling IPv6. Ch 7 introduced the "HD ratio," which estimates the point at which the effort required to manage increasingly "used-up" address space suggests that expanding it would be more efficient. Ch 8 mentioned the headaches caused by automatically generated, multiple MAC addresses for IPv6 multicast. Ch 9 scared me with use of the multicast ping for host discovery. Ch 10 was the first time I saw an effort to show how to use Tcpdump with IPv6.

I had no real issues with Running IPv6. I found a few production errors and typos that can be fixed in later printings. All are obvious, except the use of the word "maximum" in the first sentence of the last paragraph on p. 153. (I think that should be "minimum.")

Like IPv6 Network Administration, I liked van Beijnum's attention to command syntax for multiple OS' -- especially FreeBSD. He even covered Cisco and Juniper in the same book. Since I suggest reading the O'Reilly and Apress titles, I recommend reading the former first and the latter second. Van Beijnum's book is best read by those with a little more exposure to IPv6, but it can certainly stand alone if need be.

If you plan to ever have anything to do with IPv6, you must buy van Beijnum's latest book. Bravo.

I've have been working on an IPv6 lab and Running IPv6 is a great reference for setting up OS and router configurations. Excellent material in a short compact format with no bull or filler. I have to say this is the best IPv6 book I have read so far. It is also the most up to date of the books considering all the RFC changes that happen for IPv6.
If you are looking for something that is clear and to the point about how to USE IPv6 then this is it. There are plenty of other books out there that go into the theory and design which might be better suited for studying (Joseph Davies - Understanding IPv6 or Regis Desmeules - Implementing Cisco IPv6 Networks) but if you want to get an IPv6 network running NOW then Iljitsch van Beijnum book is for you. Kudos for writing a great practical IPv6 book.
- Ed Horley

IPv6 has been brooded over for a decade by various Internet groups. This book shows its present incarnation. It has grown very sophisticated; well beyond a simple vast expansion of the address space from 32 bits to 128 bits. So the text talks about the various tunnelling and routing options that become possible under it, that are unavailable under IPv4.

Yet to me the most interesting section of the book is the chapter on transitioning from IPv4 [the current Internet] to IPv6. Every other technical issue about IPv6 pales in comparison to this quandry. The author gives the best value in the book in this chapter. He shows firstly that IPv4 will inevitably exhaust its space. Though he prudently refrains from speculating when that might be. The transition must also be incremental. No one expects a swift global change to be realistic.

Then he explains that the modes of transition come down to analysing only 4 communication models for most common web usage. Namely email, Web browsing and two types of peer-to-peer usage. Examples of the latter are VoIP and BitTorrent.

From the models, we see the necessity for using a proxy or address translation to handle the transition. An especially clear analysis.

I bought my first Mac, an iMac but I couldn't get anywhere with it, because there wasn't a real manual. Just a little card that got me as far as turning it on and that's all. I bought Mr. Steinberg's book, "Sams Teach Yourself the iMac in 24 Hours" and followed the instructions. It didn't take me very long before I was sending faxes to a business colleague in New York. This is a great book, easy reading, and I enjoyed it immensely. END

As a long time Macintosh enthusiast, a number of my friends have just purchased an iMac, and also bought a copy of Gene Steinberg's book. We have all been pleasantly surprised, because most computing books we've read consist of dull, drab, technical descriptions that are difficult to understand. But this book was something else entirely. Not only were the most complicated steps explained in a clear, logical manner, but the author has a sense of humor and tries not to take himself too seriously.

I would heartily recommend "Sams Teach Yourself the Imac in 24 Hours" not only for the iMac user, but anyone who wants to get the most value from the Macintosh.

This book teaches you so much--Apple, like most computer manufacturer's--tell's you almost nothing about the computer when you buy it. And this is coming from a first-time computer buyer, not a techno-geek. END

I am a complete computer idiot. Before I bought the iMac from the local CompUSA store here in Northern California, I didn't know a mouse from a menu. I sat down before the iMac and just sat, not knowing what to do next. I ordered a copy of "Sams Teach Yourself the iMac in 24 Hours" and read it cover to cover (no it didn't take 24 hours). Then I had the courage to hook up the iMac, and, following the author's detailed instructions, I had it hooked up in minutes and that day I was connected to the Internet, via America Online. In a week or two, I had a printer and a scanner, and I got through it, relatively unscathed, because of this marvelous book. Highly recommended!

I must say, it is one of the best on the market. It takes you by the hand and very gently leads you through everything you need to know to be successful with this computer beauty! Easy to read, easy to understand and you don't have to be a "dummie" to GET IT! Gene, keep up the good work. I really loved this book. END

I am currently working on a compiler that outputs SVG. 'Teach yourself SVG in 24 Hours' has enabled be to gain a good understanding of how to use some of the nice, handy features of SVG without having to spend ages geeking around on the internet looking for online tutorials!

It was a pleasent suprise to open a computing book that wasn't in too much jargon - quite a handy thing when its your first exposure to a new language. This book it written for everyone! (unless you have no interest in computers or the internet etc..)

I am a graphic artist using Adobe Illustrator and I wanted to learn more about SVG. I asked the Adobe people about this file format that is included with the newest versions of Illustrator but was unable to find out much. Finally I found this great book.

This book begins with an overview and describes the justification and process of development of SVG. In chapter 2 it jumps right in and teaches the nuts and bolts of creating images with SVG. As I am not a coder or programmer, I was amazed at the simplicity. Once a few basics had been explained I was off and running. Anyone with even the most basic computer and a simple text editor can create sophisticated graphics.

Towards the end of the book is a section on using Adobe Illustrator and in the back there is a reference section for oddball color conversion. The book also comes with the Adobe Web Collection CD that includes the viewer and tryout versions of Illustrator and Photoshop.

I'm really excited by the potential of this technology and can recommend this book to anyone who wants to develop some expertise in a hurry.

Good Luck...Tom Burns

Teach Yourself SVG in 24 Hours, I believe, is one of the best computer books I've read. I am a computer savvy with 5 years experiences in programming and network administration as well as database management. Recently I am working on a project involving SVG.

This book walked you through a series of detailed tutorials to build a dynamic weather forecast web page using SVG step by step. In each chapter, a new topic is covered in an easy-to-understand and informative manner, which makes the learning curve pretty flat. As the title suggests, this book is an introductory primer to a new technique so it is not intented to delve too deep into a specific topic. However, a good many hyperlinks to W3C's online SVG specification appear here and there for your reference if you would like to make your hands dirtier...In a nutshelll, if you would like to teach yourself SVG from the beginning, it is The book, though it may, by a large chance, take you more than 24 hours to go through it.

Web developers and designers alike should have a full acquaintance with this exciting new technology. There aren't many resources yet available, and this book will prove to be a trailblazer.

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is an XML implementation utilizing a markup language similar to HTML but created specifically to render and control graphics. It is a robust mix of technologies including the DOM, CSS, Xlink, XSLT and JavaScript, and using the Adobe® SVG Viewer (a free plug-in), it supports static and dynamic graphics and WAV or MP3 audio.

Web developers should learn SVG because it is open-source and built in a simple text editor. It gives complete control of each graphic element. Web designers should use SVG because it is powerful -- graphics packages such as Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Jasc Web Draw and others support SVG output. SVG also enables flash-like animation. In fact, SVG is THE open-source solution to web animation. No longer do you need expensive proprietary software to get the job done.

Anyway, this book is what you need. (That's how I learned all this.) Author Micah Laaker, while presenting the material in a comprehensive, straightforward and exciting manner, will leave an excellent reference guide on your book shelf. Buy it, read it and keep it handy.

I'm writing reviews of books i read years ago and i fondly remember the late nights listening to music and reading this book. It was my first real programming book and I learned a lot of basic concepts from it that i still use even though now I use C++ and wxWidgets/SDL. It also taught me the that I didn't want to be locked in to just writing for one platform ;-)

I don't know how to program, and I want to know if this book will help me how to program. I have visual basic 5. if anyone can help me, if this book will teach me how to program from the beginning

Look, if you happen to come across this book don't let the version of Visual Basic (5) fool you. This book actually kept me from giving up on programming altogether. I first picked up another Sams Teach Yourself Vb in 21 days and wanted to throw it away, someone recommended this one and I truly am thankful to the Gurewich brothers for writing it. Do yourself a favor and begin your journey in Visual Basic with this book.

This is an excellent starting place. The Teach Yourself series actually does what it claims (the Teach Yourself Visual Basic for Applications book is also a great companion to this one).

Really gets you into the application. If you are like me, though you will get excited and get on tangents within a couple of chapters. I have used this book now for about 1 year (got through everything in about 2 weeks) and still find uses for examples.

I HAVE NEVER HAD ANY PROGRAMMING EXPERIANCE BEFORE THIS BOOK AND WITHIN 2-3 DAYS I COULD WRIGHT MY OWN SMALL PROGRAMMS, THE WAY ITS SET UP YOU CANT GET LOST ITS SO STRAIGHT FORWARD NON OF THIS MUMBO JUMBO THAT YOU NEED A DEGREE JUST TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THERE SAYING NO I RECOMEND THIS BOOK TO ANY ONE WHO WANTS TO LEARN VISUAL BASIC AND BELIEVE ME IT IS POSSIBLE TO LEARN A LOT IN 21 DAYS, I HAVE BEEN LEARNING VISUAL BASIC FOR A YEAR NOW AND I STILL GO BACK TO PICK UP THINGS.

This is the first time I personally bought a book from Amazon and found it extremly satisfying as far as the pricing, quality and the delivery of the product is concerned.

Just love the way this book is written! A must for every SAS user working in the Clinical Trials / Pharma industry!!!

Excellent book.....explains in detail which could be understood very easily by any one with basic knowledge in SAS programming.....highly recommended for those who wants to pursue their SAS programming career in pharma industry

It is not easy to explain easy things easily, but this author is different. He knows how to say more in few words. I liked this book too much. It is easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to follow. Wish we had more writers like him.

Based on input from someone who just got a job at a large pharma in Southern California, the material in the book is DIRECTLY relevant to programming and reporting in the industry. Future versions could be a bit more detailed, but again, as an overview it is excellent.

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

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

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

Highly recommended.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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