MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-290, 70-291, 70-293, 70-294): Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Core Requirements, Second Edition
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Good info for a cheap price
  • This can teach old dogs new tricks
  • Good Product ! excellent training material
  • Excellent Condition
  • MCSE Here I Come. :0)
MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-290, 70-291, 70-293, 70-294): Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Core Requirements, Second Edition
Dan Holme , Orin Thomas , J.C. Mackin , Ian McLean , and Craig Zacker
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

MCSEMCSE | Exams | Certification Central | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0735622906

Book Description

Get in-depth training and practice with the skills measured by the core exams for MCSE certification for Windows Server 2003all in one box! Covering Exams 70-290, 70-291, 70-293, and 70-294, these four, all-new Microsoft study guides pack the tools and features that exam candidates want mostincluding in-depth, self-paced training based on final exam content; rigorous, objective-by-objective reviews; exam tips from expert, exam-certified authors; and a robust testing suite. They also provide real-world scenarios, case study examples, and troubleshooting labs for skills and experience that you can apply to the job.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Good info for a cheap price.......2007-09-27

This series covers all of what I need to know for MCSE. It comes with a nice price. Well worth it.

5 out of 5 stars This can teach old dogs new tricks.......2007-09-02

This is a one of a kind Self Pace training course that has taugh this old dog new trick... I am well pleased with the results and indepth and detail of the material...

5 out of 5 stars Good Product ! excellent training material.......2007-07-29

This kit is a must for everybody who is intrested in getting certified for the first 4 core exams of the MCSE certificate.

Foreigners outside of USA, please keep in mind that your package may be opened by customs en therefore its resealed and its possible that your package will get damaged (like i had). Books & CDs where in good condition but the box which keeps that books in place was damaged.

Besides that this kit will give you a voucher for 15& of discount on all 4 exams which are valid till 2010.

5 out of 5 stars Excellent Condition.......2007-06-27

The study guides I ordered came to me in excellent condition and I paid half the retail cost. I couldn't be happier.

5 out of 5 stars MCSE Here I Come. :0).......2007-05-24

Sofar this Purchase is a great investment to my Career Future.
Head First Design Patterns (Head First)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Not All That
  • Excellent Intro
  • Love it or Hate it and I hate it
  • Excellent learning style
  • Theory AND Practicality!
Head First Design Patterns (Head First)
Elisabeth Freeman , Eric Freeman , Bert Bates , and Kathy Sierra
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

GeneralGeneral | Java | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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  4. Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series) Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)
  5. Head First Design Patterns Poster (Head First) Head First Design Patterns Poster (Head First)

ASIN: 0596007124

Book Description

You're not alone.

At any given moment, somewhere in the world someone struggles with the same software design problems you have. You know you don't want to reinvent the wheel (or worse, a flat tire), so you look to Design Patterns--the lessons learned by those who've faced the same problems. With Design Patterns, you get to take advantage of the best practices and experience of others, so that you can spend your time on...something else. Something more challenging. Something more complex. Something more fun.

You want to learn about the patterns that matter--why to use them, when to use them, how to use them (and when NOT to use them). But you don't just want to see how patterns look in a book, you want to know how they look "in the wild". In their native environment. In other words, in real world applications. You also want to learn how patterns are used in the Java API, and how to exploit Java's built-in pattern support in your own code.

You want to learn the real OO design principles and why everything your boss told you about inheritance might be wrong (and what to do instead). You want to learn how those principles will help the next time you're up a creek without a design pattern.

Most importantly, you want to learn the "secret language" of Design Patterns so that you can hold your own with your co-worker (and impress cocktail party guests) when he casually mentions his stunningly clever use of Command, Facade, Proxy, and Factory in between sips of a martini. You'll easily counter with your deep understanding of why Singleton isn't as simple as it sounds, how the Factory is so often misunderstood, or on the real relationship between Decorator, Facade and Adapter.

With Head First Design Patterns, you'll avoid the embarrassment of thinking Decorator is something from the "Trading Spaces" show. Best of all, in a way that won't put you to sleep! We think your time is too important (and too short) to spend it struggling with academic texts.

If you've read a Head First book, you know what to expect--a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science, and learning theory, Head First Design Patterns will load patterns into your brain in a way that sticks. In a way that lets you put them to work immediately. In a way that makes you better at solving software design problems, and better at speaking the language of patterns with others on your team.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Not All That.......2007-10-10

The authors miss the point on pg 139 in their description of Dependency Inversion. They say, "It suggests that our high level components should not depend on our low level components; rather they should both depend on abstractions". The real point of the pattern, if you read Robert Martin original description of the pattern, Agile Principles, Patterns, and Practices in C# (Robert C. Martin Series), is that neither should depend on the other. No concrete dependency and no abstract dependency; independent. The description these authors offer does not describe dependency inversion; it instead displays the weakness of dependency on abstractions Mr Martin wrote about in his original description of the pattern. The only dependency should be the object(s) or data passed between them but the authors fail to make this point. Mr Martin's book is brilliant.

5 out of 5 stars Excellent Intro.......2007-10-07

Easy to read and follow.

All the examples are in Java and I'm not a Java programmer, but I can understand the examples.

This books is not a pattern catalog. Only the fundamental patterns are presented.

An excellent place to start learning about design patterns.

1 out of 5 stars Love it or Hate it and I hate it.......2007-10-03

I just felt the strong urge to write a review. I usually don't write reviews. My opinion about this book is either you will love it a lot or hate it to the core. I hated it. Their writing style is not conventional. So please go to a book store and read a few pages and see if you like this style of writing. Even though when I first read, I thought I liked it, I realized I don't like this style of writing for a technical book

4 out of 5 stars Excellent learning style.......2007-09-26

I think the book is great for learning what it was written to teach. I found it easy to read and stay in its pages for a longer period of time. If you've read computer related books you know what I'm talking about. I would definitely recommend this book if you ware getting into design patterns and want to get a rock solid foundation. One consideration though, you really need to know something about Java or C#. If you are completely unfamiliar with OOP languages altogether, you might want to tackle that subject before this one.

5 out of 5 stars Theory AND Practicality!.......2007-09-25

I flipped through this book to get a feel for how it will differ from other design patterns works. I immediately realized that the authors are taking a very accessible approach to teaching readers about patterns.

On an individual basis, the text is very accessible. It is written in an easy-to-read style. Instead of avoiding technical jargon, the text improves understanding and retention by coupling technical terms with humorous anecdotes and quips. This approach gives the feeling that design patterns are within reach (and they are) of even readers new to the concepts. It also serves as a built-in mnemonic tool.

The structure of pattern delivery seems to be intentional as well. In the rare case where a pattern is referenced without yet being described, it is almost always in the context of how the current pattern will prove useful in other scenarios. As such, the reader never feels lost. In fact, quite the opposite affect occurs. Readers should feel like they are following a logical approach to learning patterns.

Although it may seem, from the above comments, that the book is elementary, I assure you that even seasoned developers will find the book useful. Even if you know the material extremely well, you may find that the authors' descriptions are useful when teaching junior developers on your teams.

The book layout, like the rest of the book, is broad-reaching. Obviously, it is an instructional work. More than that, however, the book is also a teaching tool. It can easily be adapted by educators and trainers for classroom-style and one-on-one teaching. The book also serves as a workbook. There are exercises and notes pages throughout each chapter. Finally, the book serves me as a reference work as well. If I remember the gist of a pattern but not the specifics, it is easy to find examples and canonical references.

I absolutely love this style. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn patterns, refresh their existing patterns knowledge, or just take in a proverbial "breath of fresh air" to the stiff writing style of other books covering complex topics. I also feel that any of the "Head First" books are worth consideration. They provide accessible formats that promote learning.

I have to close this review by concurring with the authors in their note to the "Gang of Four". Seriously, when are we going to see another book? :)
Professional Excel Development: The Definitive Guide to Developing Applications Using Microsoft(R) Excel and VBA(R) (The Addison-Wesley Microsoft Technology Series)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Applied compendium of best practices
  • A great how-to book for serious Excel users
  • Not a book for lBeginners
  • Very Good not for novice VBA programmers
  • Excellent Tool for Programmers !
Professional Excel Development: The Definitive Guide to Developing Applications Using Microsoft(R) Excel and VBA(R) (The Addison-Wesley Microsoft Technology Series)
Stephen Bullen , Rob Bovey , and John Green
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Software DevelopmentSoftware Development | Software Design, Testing & Engineering | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0321262506

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Applied compendium of best practices.......2007-01-23

When you search the web and most of the books around, you can find solution to your problems most of the time, but you are rarely sure it was the best way to do it and how it would fit to the rest of your code. The authors of this book are not afraid to tell what they suppose to be the best for you, along with full featured versions of code illustrating each chapter.

I found it easy to take the code from a sufficiently leveled chapter and adapt it to get just the application that I needed, knowing it would be fast, clean and complete at the same time, although I didn't understand all the details at first. Now, the book serves as a widely findable documentation for the packages that I make. Highly recommendable.

5 out of 5 stars A great how-to book for serious Excel users.......2007-01-17

When picking up this book, I was an advanced Excel user. Having discovered most of its features by trial-and-error, and coming from a fairly solid programming background, I understood well the interaction between the underlying object model and the sheets appearing on the screen to end users. I have also crafted many sophisticated worksheet formulas, and explored just about every suggestion of literature such as "Excel Hacks" and "Advanced Excel Report Development".

Professional Excel Development offers ideas and tools necessary for designing full-fledged, robust Excel-based applications. It does not spend time explaining how various features work, but rather goes into detail on how to put these features to best use.

Here is what I picked up from this book, together with the authors' Excel 2003 VBA reference:
* ways to leverage Excel's built-in features to avoid excessive coding
* advanced design techniques for using Excel as a WYSIWYG interface designer
* techniques for creating custom menu bars and programming their behavior
* various means of interacting with the user and simplifying their sessions by providing guidance as to which steps need to be taken
* restricting the Excel environment to take on the appearance of a product condusive of the goal stated in previous bullet
* using VBA in conjunction with the Excel object model to create powerful object-oriented structures for spreadsheet-based applications
* programming Excel-based solutions in an executable to provide a more standalone application
* using Windows API calls to increase robustness of the application

One key feature of this book is its consistent approach. The authors maintain a consistent structure, using the same application throughout the book for their "practical example" to demonstrate new features made available through the material in each chapter. Also, the "best practices" approach provides a level of consistency that is generally desired of anywhat sophisticated applications. Useable modules are provided on the accompanying CD, ready to be used in readers' own applications.

In the beginning, the authors explain the audiences for which this book may or may not be intended. They separate these into users, power users, VBA developers, Excel developers, and professional developers. The latter three categories of users will benefit the most from this book, each in his/her own way. VBA developers will learn how to use built-in features (I think this is where I started); Excel developers will learn how to incorporate Excel-based solutions into larger applications; Professional developers will be exposed to a great variety of "best practices", optimization techniques, and various other means for developing consistency in Excel applications.

If you do not fall into the latter three categories, you might not pick up much from this book. It is not useless to you, however; you can still find many worksheet/userform design techniques, and get an introduction to the kind of power VBA-based programming can offer. Nonetheless, you may be well-advised to start off with something simpler, such as John Walkenbach's Excel Power Programming (as alluded to by the authors of this book), simply because the present book assumes a good degree of knowledge and leaves much for the reader to figure out from the fully-functional examples provided - thereby covering the ground that it does.

Overall, this book makes for a wonderful reference to the various under-the-hood features of Excel. Even if you've already encountered many of the techniques described, and could technically discover them further on your own, it is useful to have them readily available in a single collection. Very few items are left out; application design, object-oriented programming techniques, database applications, debugging techniques, Office automation, and external interop are all covered here. Professional Excel Development is a solid reference to be consulted for years to come.

5 out of 5 stars Not a book for lBeginners.......2007-01-08

This is a great book for power programmers. But be aware, this book is not for those who want to learn Excel. It's just for those who know Excel and want to imrove their programming capabilities.

4 out of 5 stars Very Good not for novice VBA programmers.......2006-11-04

Buy this book because you want to be able to use VBA to help you at work. I wrote a program to automatically generate and send reports via email - about 500 of them - and my boss was in awe.

You CAN develop VBA custome applications where the user can't see the underlying MS Office application, i.e., Excel for example. They use your program like any stand-alone application. COOL!!!

5 out of 5 stars Excellent Tool for Programmers !.......2006-11-03

In spite of being an advanced book, difficult concepts are explained clearly and in a very simple way.

You can find a lot of advices on best practices throughout the book as well as very powerful techniques that are really useful while you develop your applications.

For an advanced VBA programmer, this book is a must.
CMMI(R): Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement (2nd Edition) (The SEI Series in Software Engineering)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • exactly as mentioned in the product description
  • A wonderful yet dangerous Model
  • excellent reading
  • An invaluable reference.
  • CMMI Second Edition
CMMI(R): Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement (2nd Edition) (The SEI Series in Software Engineering)
Mary Beth Chrissis , Mike Konrad , and Sandy Shrum
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Software DevelopmentSoftware Development | Software Design, Testing & Engineering | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0321279670

Book Description

CMMI® (Capability Maturity Model® Integration) describes best practices for the development and maintenance of products and services across their entire lifecycle. By integrating essential bodies of knowledge, CMMI provides a single, comprehensive framework for organizations to assess their development and maintenance processes, implement improvements, and measure progress.

This book is a definitive reference for the most current release of CMMI (version 1.2). In the new edition, the authors have added tips, hints, and cross-references in the margins (in color) throughout the process areas to help you better understand, apply, and find more information about the content of the process areas. The book also now includes brief, insightful perspectives on CMMI written by people influential in the model’s creation, development, and transition. A new case study from Raytheon illustrates a real-world application of the model to a services organization. Whether you are new to CMMI or familiar with an earlier version, if you need to know about, evaluate, or put the latest version of CMMI into practice, this book is an essential resource.

The book is divided into three parts.

Part I offers the broad view of CMMI, beginning with basic concepts of process improvement. It describes the process areas, their components, and their relationships to each other. It explains the model’s two representations as well as paths to the adoption and use of CMMI for process improvement and benchmarking.

Part II, the bulk of the book, details the generic goals and practices and the twenty-two process areas now comprising CMMI. The process areas are organized alphabetically by acronym for easy look-up. Each chapter includes goals, best practices, and examples for a particular process area. The two CMMI representations are described so that you will easily see their similarities and differences and thereby be better able to choose the right approach for your organization.

Part III contains several useful resources, including CMMI-related references, acronym definitions, a glossary of terms, and an index.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars exactly as mentioned in the product description.......2007-08-09

i bought this product and it was exactly as mentioned in the product description before buying this product. the shipping was fast too and care was taken to ship the product carefully.

all in all a good and a trustworthy deal.

4 out of 5 stars A wonderful yet dangerous Model.......2007-07-20

Much like the King James Bible and the Anarchist's Cookbook this book is dangerous in the wrong hands. When used properly the Model is a highly effective tool for measuring organizational maturity and for developing an organizational maturity roadmap. In the wrong hands it can actually hurt an organization. Typically this harm is manifested either by process wonks who zealously accept the Model at face value rather than interpreting it for their organization or by senior management and sales reps who don't understand the model and see maturity levels only as a means for business winning. I think this is a great Model, just remember, if you are going to use it, make sure your organizational needs drive your interpretation of model and not the other way around. And for all that is good and Holy, please read the entire book (specifically the section on Process Components)!

5 out of 5 stars excellent reading.......2007-05-12

Gives an overview of the CMMI in the beginning and followed by detailed discussions. Ideal read for people to new to CMMI

5 out of 5 stars An invaluable reference........2007-02-03

CMMI translates to Capability Maturity Model Integration and describes a set of recommended practices for developing and maintaining products throughout their life cycle, not just at the beginning. Its components include a basic overview of structure and idea, then a survey of the goals and practices of the 22 process areas comprising CMMI. The authors are part of a team central to CMMI development, so their technical combined knowledge offers advanced college-level computer holdings an invaluable reference.

5 out of 5 stars CMMI Second Edition.......2007-01-15

Much easier to use than the first edition. Should be more helpful to a beginner to the CMMI process.
Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Misses out on the important patterns
  • Must have reference for all developers
  • Must read
  • Great reference for building business apps
  • Educates you on Enterprise Architecture
Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture
Martin Fowler
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

NetworkingNetworking | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books | Data in the Enterprise | Home Networks | Internet, Groupware, & Telecommunications | Intranets & Extranets | Network Administration | Network Programming | Network Security | Networks, Protocols & APIs | Telephony | Wireless Networks
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  5. Head First Design Patterns (Head First) Head First Design Patterns (Head First)

ASIN: 0321127420

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars Misses out on the important patterns.......2007-08-07

This book is a complete beginner's handbook for enterprise patterns.

1) The "Mapping to Relational Database Patterns" section discusses patterns that are completely intuitive. I recall logically coming to this conclusions when I started programming in Visual Basic in 99. Nothing new in this section.

2) The "Concurrency" section is criminal in nature and assumes that the application runs on high-cost server. Process-per-session? Thread-per-request? Come on!! Has the author missed out on the Reactor, Proactor and Active Object patterns (he does reference ACE but only as a reference). These patterns have been recognized as not scalable in the late 90s.

3)The distribution patterns are clearly incomplete and desire a lot of details.

If you're just starting out,as a System Architect :-), you'll find this useful. Otherwise, use MSDN or ACE for enterprise patterns.

5 out of 5 stars Must have reference for all developers.......2007-07-16

Even if you don't do "Enterprise Application" development, this book is a must have in your library. If you have been developing for more than a couple of years and you haven't seen 1/2 of the patterns in this book, then you are probably doing something wrong and this book could greatly help you.

Even if you do know 1/2 or more of the patterns in this book it is a great reference to the details of these patterns. Unless you are a Sophomore Software Engineering Student I'd recommend this book over the GoF book. Gof is a must have too, but if you can only have one. Get this one!

5 out of 5 stars Must read.......2007-04-05

This is a must read book if you are a developer, architect or in anyway related to technology.

5 out of 5 stars Great reference for building business apps.......2007-03-13

For me, this book is an invaluable reference for building business apps.

Want help choosing a framework? Want some guidance for solving common business problems? These patterns help solve these kinds of problems.

NOTE: I have tried to find other sources for these patterns, and I have only found Fowlers website, which is really only a summary and recommends purchasing the book.

This book has examples in both Java and C#. You can certainly use these patterns in .NET.

Under .NET you are not actually forced to use the Table Model. I think the purpose of this book is to help you realize this.

There are frameworks for .NET that use the Domain Model and Data Mapper patterns, but you would never know this unless you were familiar with the patterns in this book.

For me, reading this book didn't allow me to write new code, but it did allow me to understand my choice to use a particular framework/technique over another.

4 out of 5 stars Educates you on Enterprise Architecture.......2007-03-10

As a newcomer to enterprise architecture this book educated me on possibilities for decisions to be made in designing an enterprise architect. It will also give you a language for describing existing characteristics of an existing enterprise application which may use some combination of the patterns describe in this book. The discussion of where to keep session state for a webapp was particularly helpful to me.
Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • WOW!!!
  • Wonderful but it is difficult
  • Fantastic Book
  • A Thorough Introduction
  • Great book
Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)
Erich Gamma , Richard Helm , Ralph Johnson , and John Vlissides
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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  1. Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code
  2. Head First Design Patterns (Head First) Head First Design Patterns (Head First)
  3. Code Complete, Second Edition Code Complete, Second Edition
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  5. UML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language (3rd Edition) (The Addison-Wesley Object Technology Series) UML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language (3rd Edition) (The Addison-Wesley Object Technology Series)

ASIN: 0201633612

Amazon.com

Design Patterns is a modern classic in the literature of object-oriented development, offering timeless and elegant solutions to common problems in software design. It describes patterns for managing object creation, composing objects into larger structures, and coordinating control flow between objects. The book provides numerous examples where using composition rather than inheritance can improve the reusability and flexibility of code. Note, though, that it's not a tutorial but a catalog that you can use to find an object-oriented design pattern that's appropriate for the needs of your particular application--a selection for virtuoso programmers who appreciate (or require) consistent, well-engineered object-oriented designs.

Book Description

Now on CD, this internationally acclaimed bestseller is more valuable than ever!

Use the contents of the CD to create your own design documents and reusable components. The CD contains: 23 patterns you can cut and paste into your own design documents; sample code demonstrating pattern implementation; complete Design Patterns content in standard HTML format, with numerous hyperlinked cross-references; accessed through a standard web browser; Java-based dynamic search mechanism, enhancing online seach capabilities; graphical user environment, allowing ease of navigation.

First published in 1995, this landmark work on object-oriented software design presents a catalog of simple and succinct solutions to common design problems. Created by four experienced designers, the 23 patterns contained herein have become an essential resource for anyone developing reusable object-oriented software. In response to reader demand, the complete text and pattern catalog are now available on CD-ROM. This electronic version of Design Patterns enables programmers to install the book directly onto a computer or network for use as an online reference for creating reusable object-oriented software.

The authors first describe what patterns are and how they can help you in the design process. They then systematically name, explain, evaluate, and catalog recurring designs in object-oriented systems. All patterns are compiled from real-world examples and include code that demonstrates how they may be implemented in object-oriented programming languages such as C++ and Smalltalk. Readers who already own the book will want the CD to take advantage of its dynamic search mechanism and ready-to-install patterns.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars WOW!!!.......2007-09-13

Being a total noob to programming, my friend got me into learning about Objective-C and Cocoa. I have bought many books on the subject and I'd like to say that this book helped me with my understanding of objective-c programming language.

Thanks to the authors

5 out of 5 stars Wonderful but it is difficult.......2007-09-05

The book is wonderful and samples are very exciting and meaningful.But book is difficult,if you don't have any idea about design patterns,you cannot learn easily from his book.But If you are not new about Design patterns,this book is very useful.

5 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book.......2007-08-12

I would recommend this book to any software developer, architect, or designer. Fit for all levels of experience. It is clear why this is so often referenced in other development literature.

5 out of 5 stars A Thorough Introduction.......2007-08-12

I have read this book many times over. I purchased
this book many years ago and I still reference it today. For those
who are interested in OO design this is the best book I have read,
followed by John Lakos "Large Scale C++ Design". This book will
have you thinking about how to design software, and if you are
diligent, eventually you will be designing your own patterns.

This book is a definite must for any language, since it will
change the way you view software.

4 out of 5 stars Great book.......2007-08-05

I found the case study very helpfull. The patterns explained in a very clean way, so I recomand every developer that is interesting in design patterns, refactoring etc to read it.
Agile Software Development with SCRUM
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • What every Marketing employee should read
  • Quick read that will inspire.
  • Best tool when implementing Scrum
  • It's a great book, but you need more to become an agile project manager
  • Great conceptual change in PM thinking
Agile Software Development with SCRUM
Ken Schwaber , and Mike Beedle
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Software DevelopmentSoftware Development | Software Design, Testing & Engineering | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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  1. Agile Project Management with Scrum (Microsoft Professional) Agile Project Management with Scrum (Microsoft Professional)
  2. Agile Estimating and Planning (Robert C. Martin Series) Agile Estimating and Planning (Robert C. Martin Series)
  3. User Stories Applied: For Agile Software Development (The Addison-Wesley Signature Series) User Stories Applied: For Agile Software Development (The Addison-Wesley Signature Series)
  4. Agile and Iterative Development: A Manager's Guide Agile and Iterative Development: A Manager's Guide
  5. Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit for Software Development Managers Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit for Software Development Managers

ASIN: 0130676349

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars What every Marketing employee should read.......2007-10-01

A revolutionary change to software development, relevant especially for business partners to read and master when development undertakes this progressive approach to staying competitive and advancing products.

5 out of 5 stars Quick read that will inspire........2007-09-16

This book is worth every penny. After buying the first one I bought two more so that I could pass them around the office. It's thorough and inspiring.

5 out of 5 stars Best tool when implementing Scrum.......2007-08-13

I've been a ScrumMaster for over 3 years now, and I still use this book on a constant basis (that's my fault, not the book's!). :)

While there are newer books, including Scrum for Project Managers by Ken, I find this book to be the closest to the cookbook many people want and need when implementing new methodologies and processes.

If you're thinking about implementing Scrum, this is the one book you cannot afford to pass over.

Good job Ken!

3 out of 5 stars It's a great book, but you need more to become an agile project manager.......2007-07-26

I've read both of Ken Schwaber's books back to back. Schwaber underscores that a Scrum Master is not a project manager, so you need to be aware that there's a gap to be filled between what a Scrum Master does and expectations by a client around agile project management.

4 out of 5 stars Great conceptual change in PM thinking.......2007-06-11

Ken has created a radical thought of empirical project management as against the prevailing defined process paradigm..
Enter the world of successful Agile project management using SCRUM. And who say's it is anarchy here?? Ken introduces the concept of discipline in chaotic projects life
MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536): Microsoft  .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • Good Book for a Study Guide
  • gr8
  • Context Challenged
  • Good enough to help me pass the test, about all
  • Good book but you need more -- This exam is not a breeze so please do not under estimate
MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation
Tony Northrup , Shawn Wildermuth , and Bill Ryan
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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  2. MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-526): Microsoft  .NET Framework 2.0 Windows-Based Client Development MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-526): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Windows-Based Client Development
  3. Programming Microsoft  Visual C#  2005: The Language (Pro Developer) Programming Microsoft Visual C# 2005: The Language (Pro Developer)
  4. MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-529): Microsoft  .NET Framework 2.0 Distributed Application Development (Pro-Certification) MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-529): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Distributed Application Development (Pro-Certification)
  5. MCPD Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-549): Designing and Developing Enterprise Applications Using the Microsoft  .NET Framework (Certification Series) MCPD Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-549): Designing and Developing Enterprise Applications Using the Microsoft .NET Framework (Certification Series)

ASIN: 0735622779

Book Description

Get in-depth exam prep for Exam 70-536, a core MCTS exam for the new Microsoft Technology Specialist and Professional Developer certifications and build real-world job skills. Includes test questions, reviews, case studies, code samples, and more.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Good Book for a Study Guide.......2007-10-09

Some of the reviews for this book are far too harsh. I do agree that the first version of the book had numerous errors, but the second version corrected most of them. I used this book as my primary study guide for the 70-536 exam and I passed the exam easily. I considered using an alternative practice exam solution, but the software that came with the book was adequate, and in some instances, more difficult than the actual exam.

With that being said, I too agree that this book alone will (most likely) not enable you to pass the exam. This book is a *study guide*, not a *cheat sheet*. The goal of the book is to introduce you to exam topics and prepare you to solve exam problems using the .NET Framework App Foundation. This book is intended for candidates that have experience with previous or current versions of the Framework, who wish to condition that knowledge to pass an exam. The authors inform you of what level of skills you should have at the beginning of every chapter.

As with any technical book, it can use a little work. Chapter 9 'Installing Applications' should be considered for revision to flow better for the reader. But even with it's choppy flow, the information in chapter 9 is quite useful.

In summary; I read it, I passed, I'd recommend it.


-Grant

4 out of 5 stars gr8.......2007-09-28

It's a gr8 product, the only setback was that Microsoft has just one book for VB as well as C# coders, so half of the book is useless for me

2 out of 5 stars Context Challenged.......2007-09-20

I am a Java programmer with no background in .Net, so I thought I would try to get certified as a way to learn the subject matter in a comprehensive manner. This book is not a good introduction to creating applications for Windows for a couple of reasons. First, much of the information in this book is badly out of context. For example, the first lab in Chapter 9 gives complete, detailed instructions on how to create a project in Microsoft Visual Studio. This lab would have been more useful as the first lab in the first chapter (obviously). In addition, many security related items are brought up in early chapters, but discussion of them is deferred to Chapter 11. Second, the book assumes familiarity with Windows concepts or products without explanation (which, in a "Foundation" book, I believe it shouldn't do). A discussion on remote components assumes a familiarity with IIS. I have finished chapters on Application Domains and Services and Installing and Configuring Applications and I still don't have a good idea of what a .dll file is, or how to actually create a componentized application.

That said, the book is not a total loss, it just requires considerable effort on the part of a novice to understand the information.

3 out of 5 stars Good enough to help me pass the test, about all.......2007-09-01

After reading this book cover to cover and taking the practice test many, many times I was able to pass the test on my first try.

What really pissed me off (along with my co-workers) is the amount of errors both in the book and the practice test. The book has so many typo's and errors the there is 2 (yea TWO) knowledge base articles for the errata. About 15% of the practice test questions (out of 300+) were just WRONG. Either the answers were not correct, or there were no correct answers.

Ok, enough of the rant. Like I said, this book did help me to pass the test, so for that I give it 3 stars. Had i failed the test it would have been more like 1 star.

Take that for what it is. Since this is the ONLY book for the test, you are kinda stuck... Just be ready for errors and frustration.

4 out of 5 stars Good book but you need more -- This exam is not a breeze so please do not under estimate.......2007-08-25

First, I appeared for MCTS 70-529 (Distributed Applications) and I was able to clear in the very first attempt with 856 score -- not an easy one as it covers complex topics. Then I attempted MCTS 70-536 thinking that it is easier than 70-529. But definitely not an easy one either and I got a score of 771. It is voluminous and a beast as it covers lots of topics, right from types to code access security, collections, threading, interoperability, serialization, instrumentation, internationalization and more.

As you can imagine, a single book is not enough. You need to consult MSDN documentation heavily and frequently as most methods are overloaded with so many variations. And plus I suggest some other question bank (such as transcender, measure up, etc) in addition to the ones provided with the book. Question bank provided with book is good but not enough to cover all the tricks.

You can skip other question banks only if you are extremely .NET savvy. Which I suppose many people will not have exposure to so many topics in their careers does not matter with how many years of IT experience.

This exam is definitely not a breeze. So please prepare seriously if you intend to gain knowledge and pass this exam.
Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • A timeless software classic, a must read for every manager, and a source of inspiration for practitioners (software developers)
  • So good, a must have
  • Highly Recommended - Software is about people
  • everyone should read, not just the manager
  • A facinating insight into the workplace
Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams
Tom DeMarco , and Timothy Lister
Manufacturer: Dorset House Publishing Company, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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  5. Joel on Software: And on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those Who, Whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity Joel on Software: And on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those Who, Whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity

ASIN: 0932633439

Amazon.com

Peopleware asserts that most software development projects fail because of failures within the team running them. This strikingly clear, direct book is written for software development-team leaders and managers, but it's filled with enough commonsense wisdom to appeal to anyone working in technology. Authors Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister include plenty of illustrative, often amusing anecdotes; their writing is light, conversational, and filled with equal portions of humor and wisdom, and there is a refreshing absence of "new age" terms and multistep programs. The advice is presented straightforwardly and ranges from simple issues of prioritization to complex ways of engendering harmony and productivity in your team. Peopleware is a short read that delivers more than many books on the subject twice its size.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A timeless software classic, a must read for every manager, and a source of inspiration for practitioners (software developers).......2007-07-08

Peopleware: Productivity Projects and Teams [Tom DeMarco, Timothy Lister] was first published in 1987 - three decades later it is a revered classic. DeMarco and Lister focus on the human factor of software development (managing people). Through their 30 years of project management experience and consulting they share what went right, and more importantly, what went wrong - so we can learn from their mistakes.

This series of essays cover a wide variety of topics ranging from: office environments that encourage work, the importance of the closed door (read: "cubicles are BAD"), the significance of "flow" and creativity, the dangers and hidden cost of turnover, the importance of hiring and keeping the right people, how to retain employees, how to encourage productivity, the importance of a "jelled team", the dangers of teamicide, how not to manage people, and many other equally interesting topics.

Some quotes I found interesting:

"No one can really work much more than forty hours, at least not continually and with the level of intensity required for creative work." Chapter 3

"the process of improving productivity risks worsening turnover" (Chapter 3)

"People under time pressure don't work better; they just work faster." (Chapter 3)

"People who had ten years of experience did not outperform those with two years of experience." (Chapter 8)

"people who perform better tend to gravitate towards organizations that provide a better workplace." (Chapter 8)

"the total cost of replacing each person is the equivalent of four-and-a-half to five months of employee cost or about twenty percent of the cost of keeping that employee for two years on the job." (Chapter 16)

This book continues to change the way I view my job, organization, and career. Practitioners and authors like: Steve McConnell, Robert L. Glass, and Joel Spolsky heavily cite the industry-shattering truths originally exposed by Marco and Lister. This book should be on every professional's shelf along side other classics like: The Mythical Man-Month, and Code Complete.

5 out of 5 stars So good, a must have.......2007-04-17

I think this book opens your mind in how to manage people as a book about SOA opens it in how to architecture an application. It gives no answers, but you will see how you would like to work after reading it.

Very impressive.

5 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended - Software is about people.......2007-04-11

A must-read for managers especially, but useful for developers as well, who may be wondering why they don't enjoy their job as much as they would like. Clearly spells out the oft-hidden costs of development and why some teams work well and are enjoyable to be part of and why some are demotivating.

This book is relevant not just for software development, but for any team environment where the work entails thinking for a living.

I found this book a breathe of fresh air amongst the talk of productivity enhancements, out-sourcing and the latest must-use technologies.

5 out of 5 stars everyone should read, not just the manager.......2007-03-14

I would recommend anyone to read this book for project (task, mission) that is going to be carried out by a team or an organization. It is a humanistic (and not lazy) way of carrying out things. We all know that when the profession of management digress itself from keeping a close eye on human psychology, troubles are looming on the horizon.

Wonderful collection of thoughts and many gems. Hey.. does Amazon come with a six starts? :)

5 out of 5 stars A facinating insight into the workplace.......2007-01-23

A very good book. You realize a lot of what has to change in your office after reading it. Most of the suggestions apply to office work in general, not just software development. Unfortunately most of the suggestions only apply to the ideal employees, who do actually take advantage of the improvements to increase productivity, which is not the case in most workplaces. Appart from that it is a must read for all who work in an office environment
Agile Web Development with Rails, 2nd Edition
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Clear as water
  • Agile Web Development
  • Beyond great: best book, best reference, best index (and funny)
  • Great new edition of a fine book
  • Excellent, Thorough and Easy
Agile Web Development with Rails, 2nd Edition
Dave Thomas , David Hansson , Leon Breedt , Mike Clark , James Duncan Davidson , Justin Gehtland , and Andreas Schwarz
Manufacturer: Pragmatic Bookshelf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Object-Oriented DesignObject-Oriented Design | Software Design, Testing & Engineering | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0977616630

Book Description

The definitive, Jolt-award winning guide to learning and using Rails is now in its Second Edition. Rails is a new approach to web-based application development that enables developers to create full-featured, sophisticated web-based applications using less code and less effort. Now programmers can get the job done right and still leave work on time.

NEW IN THE SECOND EDITION: The book has been updated to take advantage of all the new Rails 1.2 features. The sample application uses migrations, Ajax, features a REST interface, and illustrates new Rails features. There are new chapters on migrations, active support, active record, and action controller (including the new resources-based routing). The Web 2.0 and Deployment chapters have been completely rewritten to reflect the latest thinking. Now you can learn which environments are best for your style application, and see how Capistrano makes managing your site simple. All the remaining chapters have been extensively updated. Finally, hundreds of comments from readers of the first edition have been incorporated, making this book simply the best available.

Rails is a full-stack, open source web framework that enables you to create full-featured, sophisticated web-based applications with a twist...you can create a full Rails application using less code than the setup XML you'd need just to configure some other frameworks.

With this book, you'll learn how to use Rails Active Record to connect business objects and database tables. No more painful object-relational mapping. Just create your business objects and let Rails do the rest. You'll learn how to use the Action Pack framework to route incoming requests and render pages using easy-to-write templates and components. See how to exploit the Rails service frameworks to send emails, talk to web services, and interact dynamically with JavaScript applications running in the browser (the "Ajax" architecture).

You'll see how easy it is to deploy Rails. You'll be writing applications that work with your favorite database (MySQL, Oracle, Postgres, and more) in no time at all.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Clear as water.......2007-09-27

This book is a really good inversion if you plan to start you "RoR" experience, the way the book is written is very clear and in a good order, so you can understand better what's going on as you go along.

Great book!

5 out of 5 stars Agile Web Development.......2007-09-27

Great book to start off with. Has a good tutorial on building a shopping cart application. Then one can learn from that to develop a application that is unique for their business.

5 out of 5 stars Beyond great: best book, best reference, best index (and funny).......2007-09-19

I am an oldster (you know, 40+) and have learned many a language. Kernigan and Ritchie wrote their "K & R" C-language book in some written language a little higher level than English. After 40 or 50 reads through, I got it. I read C++ books, SmallTalk, Delphi, Visual Basic, and many Java books, HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Awk, Emacs, REXX (!!), and just about everything O'Reily has ever published.

Now, I come to Ruby, and Ruby on Rails. Thank goodness for this book. What a relief to read a book that is 1) comprehensive, 2) practical, 3) accurate, 4) funny at times, and 5) above all, has a good index! Perhaps programming languages are (finally) getting easier to write about, but Dave Thomas is an outstanding technical writer: he knows his audience and writes for us. Look, I know a million programming languages, but I am not the kind of person who zips through a book and suddenly gets it. Most books are written by people who are experts in the nuances, but have forgotten the many steps that lead up to those nuances.

AWDWR is better. It starts with a non-trivial and complete tutorial -- the first half of the book is an application that manages to hit most of the critical aspects of actually doing the job. It is a reasonably broad application covering many points of real webapps. (I read through thinking, yeah, we managed to deal with that in our Java webapp in a month, and here it is, built in to Rails, and better ... more than once). Maybe it is Rails, which seems to be a significant step in maturity over current generations (my last was WebWork/Struts 2, which seems to be the best you can do with Java these days, but really only one part of the larger problem).

But I have to give great respect to Dave Thomas and the other great writers who all made this second edition book a great, great book. I could follow along when reading, I actually did the whole tutorial and found myself learning almost all the way through typing the examples in by hand (mostly by learning how to debug my typos and understanding how the language and framework responded). Now that we're writing our real software, we still look back at the tutorial to get a clear view of how all the parts fit together.

The second part of the book is a solid documentation of the components and APIs available. It is not complete, but nor should it be -- if you want the API, link to the Rails site API. It does cover the important points, however, and ties them back to the tutorial where appropriate. Various important aspects are covered in enough detail to get the idea across, but not so much as to be just a lexicon.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. If this is your first programming book, it will be a struggle, but less than most, and if you're a professional software engineer with one or two languages under your belt (and reasonable proficiency at the command line), you will find this a great reference for learning, and for doing.

5 out of 5 stars Great new edition of a fine book.......2007-09-06

If you have the first edition of this book, you REALLY need to get this edition, since some of the recommended ways to do things have changed. Even some of the ways to get the first sample applications up and running have changed a bit. To be sure, the changes are for the better. The first edition of this book helped me to get my first Ruby on Rails app up and running and this one makes it easier.

5 out of 5 stars Excellent, Thorough and Easy.......2007-08-23

This book, for me, was fantastic! Real world examples for the win! I am still not finished with this book, only half-way through it but, I have to say I have never been as excited about a book than I am about this one.

The very beginning chapters get a functional website application up and running called Depot (an on line book store) and they do this in such a way that you don't have to know the Ruby language (no, it's not scaffolding). As long as you can understand how gears work and fit together and that one turns clockwise and another turns counter clockwise, I don't think you'll have a problem.

With that being said, without knowing Ruby, you may be able to get by on making your own application from scratch but, it will be very rough. The purpose of this book is to teach you about Rails, not Ruby.

My recommendation is, read this book first, before a Ruby book. That way, seeing the Ruby code will be much easier to take in after you see how it works in Rails and to syntax used. Do NOT skimp on learning Ruby after you read this book! You will be sorry! There are TONS more to learn just by learning the language itself. There is more than one way to skin a cat and by learning the rest of the language, you will be more empowered to figure out problems on your own.

The only problem I had with this book was that, in the middle of chapter 5, it skipped back to chapter 3 and finished out chapter 5, chapter 6 and half of chapter 7 was missing. This is the printer's fault, not Amazon's or Pragmatic Programmer's fault. If you happen to get a messed up book, don't contact Amazon, it takes forever. Instead, I contacted Pragmatic Programmer via email and let them know of the situation and to my surprise, they sent me a brand new book still in plastic, priority mail which took about 2 days to get to me! I was just expecting maybe the missing chapters in PDF format but, this shows a lot of character on the part of the company (Pragmatic Programmers). My email was responded to in less than 45 seconds after I hit the "send" button. I would like to offer much praise to the company for this!

If you are a PHP developer, there is another framework that has been modeled after Ruby on Rails called CakePHP. It is fairly new and under heavy development but, the basic principals are the same. The only reason I am plugging them here is, without having learned this framework, I don't think I would have thought about looking at Ruby on Rails. For a super quick breakdown of how MVC pattern works. Be aware that Ruby on Rails is much easier. I think this is due to the nature of PHP and not the framework itself. The devs try their hardest to make it easy for you.

I guess I don't have anything else to say about this except, if you do buy this book, you will not be disappointed.

Books:

  1. Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern
  2. Microsystem Design
  3. Molecular Modelling: Principles and Applications (2nd Edition)
  4. Nation-building in the Post-Soviet Borderlands: The Politics of National Identities
  5. Natural Cures For Killer Germs
  6. Optimal Estimation of Dynamic Systems (CHAPMAN & HALL/CRC APPLIED MATHEMATICS & NONLINEAR SCIENCE)
  7. Peterson's Stress Concentration Factors, 2nd Edition
  8. Petroleum Refining in Nontechnical Language Third Edition (Pennwell Nontechnical Series)
  9. Physical Chemistry of Surfaces, 6th Edition
  10. Politics and Society in South Africa (SAGE Politics Texts series)

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