Book Description
Dr. Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, is one of the world's leading scientists. He works at the cutting edge of the study of DNA, the code of life. Yet he is also a man of unshakable faith in God and scripture. He believes that God cares about us and can intervene in human affairs -- on rare occasions, even miraculously. Collins has personally discovered some of the scientific evidence for the common descent of all living creatures, even though he repudiates the materialist, atheistic worldview argued by many prominent Darwinists.
In short, Dr. Collins provides a satisfying solution for the dilemma that haunts everyone who believes in God and respects science. Faith in God and faith in science can be harmonious -- combined into one worldview. The God that he believes in is a God who can listen to prayers and cares about our souls. The biological science he has advanced is compatible with such a God. For Collins, science does not conflict with the Bible, science enhances it.
For many years Dr. Collins kept his views largely to himself, as he helped oversee the Human Genome Project's stunning sequencing of the code of life. Now, in what may be the most important melding of reason and revelation since C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, Dr. Collins explains himself in detail. The Language of God makes the case for God and for science. Dr. Collins considers and rejects several positions along the spectrum from atheism to young-earth creationism -- including agnosticism and Intelligent Design. Instead, he proposes a new synthesis, a new way to think about an active, caring God who created humankind through evolutionary processes.
He has heard every argument against faith from scientists, and he can refute them. He has also heard the needless rejection of scientific truths by some people of faith, and he can counter that, too. He explains his own journey from atheism to faith, and then takes readers on a stunning tour of modern science to show that physics, chemistry, and biology can all fit together with belief in God and the Bible. The Language of God is essential reading for anyone who wonders about the deepest questions of all: Why are we here? How did we get here? And what does life mean?
Customer Reviews:
gman.......2007-10-14
When I first received this book from a friend, not knowing anything about the book, I was excited to read. I thought there would be some wonderful explanations of DNA (perhaps in layman terms) and its elegance.
Big Disappointment. This book is just a defense of Theistic Evolution. With many of the same tired arguments.
His defense of faith is almost entirely quotes of C.S. Lewis... so please, just read C.S. Lewis.
His defense of Evolution has many of the same arguments we've heard before...
"But how did self-replicating organisms arise in the first place? It is fair to say that at the present time we simply do not know. No current hypothesis comes close to explaining how in the space of a mere 150 million years, the prebiotic environment that existed on planet Earth give rise to life." p. 90
He goes on to explain that someday we may know. Francis, what happens if we find out something different? This feels sort of like the Theory-of-the-Gaps.
"No serious biologist today doubts the theory of evolution to explain the marvelous complexity and diversity of life." p 99
Your basic Tautology argument.
He does a poor job dismantling the creationist and Intelligent Design arguments, basically claiming their arguments simply are not true, without much support.
I believe he tries to make you feel foolish if you do not believe in evolution, or are even attempting to make arguments against it.
There is a small portion of the book which is a bright spot, and I learned something new. That was the appendix, on bioethics, discussing stem cell research and cloning.
In the end, if you're looking for a good textbook on Theistic Evolution, this is the book for you. If not, don't waste your time.
Evolution of a Genetic Scientist.......2007-10-13
This book is a thoughtful, well-reasoned answer to extreme fundamentalists and to the extreme atheistic scientists such as Christopher Hitchins and Richard Dawkins. It is the evolution of a leading scientist from atheist to Christian. I found the book though an interview on Point of inquiry, a podcast devoted to rational humanism.
No Tower of Babel Here.......2007-10-10
The Language of God is genius in Dr. Collins' skill in conveying the complexity of science and the wonder of the divine in easy-to-understand language. No polemics, no rhetoric, just the facts and they logically point to the existence of God. At last, a credible read for both the science-minded and the evangelicals among us.
Suzette Martinez Standring
Believing in God Not a Problem for Scientists and Engineers.......2007-10-08
Having heard Francis Collins speak on this topic several years ago, I eagerly awaited the chance to read this book. I was not disappointed.
This book is one which will be appreciated by every scientist and engineer as being genuine. There is no white-washing science, or diminishing its importance in our world. Collins is a scientist and it is clear that he loves his life's work. And at the same time, he recounts his personal journey to faith in God. He does not leave his intellect behind when he searches for God. Every person's journey is different, but it is fascinating to read an account of how a smart, clear thinker fully reconciles his faith in God with the incredible world that God created, while also recognizing that neither diminishes the other.
As an engineer who also has worked for the Catholic Church, I most enjoyed the parallels that he made between scientific developments and his belief in God. I've found many parallels of my own during my journey and it was a pleasure to read about the connections Collins has discovered.
On the negative side, I found the part on evolution a bit too long. Evolution is a hot button for many people, however, which is probably why he dwelled on it for so many pages. Also, the Appendix had some opinions that were counter to Catholic teaching. But despite these shortcomings, this is a book that will bring much good in helping people realize that God and the world are not "opposites" but rather both co-exist extremely well together! This may be obvious to many of us since God created the world, but not to everyone, yet.
appeals to logical fallacies at key points.......2007-09-30
This book attempts to create a bridge between evolution and the Bible by arguing for theistic evolution, but falls flat through its use of logical fallacies in defense of evolution. Here is a sampling:
p. 99 "No serious biologist today doubts the theory of evolution..." p. 174 "for anyone familiar with the scientific evidence..." This is the "poisoning the well" fallacy, where people who disagree with him are mocked as amateurs or ignorant.
p.199 "Theistic evolution is the dominant position of serious biologists who are also serious believers." Poisoning the well, and Ad Populum. There was a time when 'the earth is flat" was the dominant position of serious people. Did that make it true?
p. 99 "... it is difficult to imagine how one would study life without it (evolution)." Arguing from lack of evidence. I can't imagine it, therefore it cannot exist.
p. 146 "evolution is so overwhelmingly supported by scientific evidence". Tautology, due to the ground rules of science. Science allows only natural causes for observed effects, which rules out supernatural causes, therefore in science the only possible cause of life is evolution.
p. 96 "while there are many imperfections in the fossil record, and many puzzles remain to be solved, virtually all the findings are consistent with the concept of a tree of life of related organisms" (evolution). Aside from the data that disagrees with my view, all the data agrees with my view. The ancient astronomers observed that planets occasionally seemed to reverse direction, which they viewed as an imperfection in their orbits. Scientists later discovered that the imperfections were not in the orbits of the planets, or their data - it was in their wrong framework (geocentric) for interpreting the data. Could evolution be the wrong framework for interpreting the fossil record?
I would not note the logical fallacies, except they are essential to Collins' arguments, and therefore essential to his conclusions.
Amazon.com
Good software starts with a good design, and the subtitle of Applying UML and Patterns, "An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design (OOA/D) and the Unified Process" reinforces that that's what this book is about.
The first edition of Applying UML and Patterns became a standard. The second edition uses the unified process (UP) as the iterative process within which OOA/D is introduced, and extends the case study used in the first edition. Other changes have been made to reflect the growing consensus on the most effective ways to work with OOA/D and patterns.
Although you will learn UML, this isn't what Applying UML and Patterns is all about. It's designed to teach you to think of software as a collection of objects with properties and to manipulate the relationships between them. This is far more profound.
The case study enables Craig Larman to carry the design through to Java code. In practice, you will need a basic understanding of OO programming to benefit from Applying UML and Patterns, though you needn't know Java--you can implement the designs in the OO language of your choice with equal facility.
When it comes right down to it, Applying UML and Patterns is all about providing you with a language in which to think about software design. This is quite different from learning a language in which to code a design.
A facility with OOA/D will enable you to design and discuss programs independent of code, to produce more elegant and maintainable software, and to take a 30,000-foot view of the way your software interacts with the world. In effect, it can shift your viewpoint from that of a mechanic to that more sophisticated viewpoint of an engineer. Recommended. --Steve Patient. Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
“People often ask me which is the best book to introduce them to the world of OO design. Ever since I came across it, `Applying UML and Patterns' has been my unreserved choice.” —Martin Fowler, author, “UML Distilled” and “Refactoring”
The first edition of “Applying UML and Patterns: An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design” quickly emerged as the leading OOA/D introduction; translated to many languages and adopted in universities and businesses worldwide. In this second edition, well-known object technology and iterative methods leader Craig Larman refines and expands this text for developers and students new to OOA/D, the UML, patterns, use cases, iterative development, and related topics.
The book helps newcomers to OOA/D learn how to “think in objects” by presenting three iterations of a single, cohesive case study, incrementally introducing the requirements and OOA/D activities, principles, and patterns that are most critical to success. It introduces the most frequently used UML diagramming notation, while emphasizing that OOA/D is much more than knowing UML notation. All case study iterations and skills are presented in the context of an “agile” version of the Unified Process -- a popular, modern iterative approach to software development. Throughout, Larman presents the topics in a fashion designed for learning and comprehension.
Among the topics introduced in Applying UML and Patterns are: * requirements and use cases, * domain object modeling, * core UML, * designing objects with responsibilities, * “Gang of Four” and other design patterns, * mapping designs to code (using Java as an example), * layered architectures, * architectural analysis, * package design, * iterative development, * the Unified Process.Foreword by Philippe Kruchten, the lead architect of the Rational Unified Process.
“Too few people have a knack for explaining things. Fewer still have a handle on software analysis and design. Craig Larman has both.” —John Vlissides, author, “Design Patterns” and “Pattern Hatching”
“This edition contains Larman's usual accurate and thoughtful writing. It is a very good book made even better.” —Alistair Cockburn, author, “Writing Effective Use Cases” and “Surviving OO Projects”
Customer Reviews:
A great reference, had to get the UML 2.0 edition.......2007-10-06
I found the previous edition 5 years ago, and completely marked it up. This book was instrumental in passing the OOAD test certification.
I continued recommending this book to my colleagues.
Then found the UML 2.0 edition, and plan on using this book as much as I did.
First book for anyone learning to create business software.......2007-08-11
Craig Larman's classic has reach 10 years of prime position on my professional book shelf, the 1st edition now replaced with the 3rd. Whenever anyone asks for an introduction to UML, this is always my first recommendation. Though the book focusses on software construction from scratch, it still contains much brilliant guidance for enhancement work or implementation of software packages.
This book takes you in a logical, distilled process through pragmatic application of Unified Modelling Language on real projects for which people pay. Of course the examples are simple, but relevant and helpful. The book is chock full of diagrams and little text, which makes it quick to read and easy for reference.
You could do little wrong if you used only this book to guide your first application of UML to a real project.
Review of Applying UML and Patterns: An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design and Iterative Development (3rd Editi.......2007-07-19
I have 30 years in the industry (and in different industries in IS management) and one thing I dislike is the author's persistence do down-grade the waterfall or modified waterfall models. He should be more objective on his comments since the waterfall and modified waterfall do have their merits on projects -- refer to "Rapid Development, Training Wild Software Schedules" by Steve McConnell, Microsoft Press, ISBN 1-55615-900-5. I have used them very successfully on big programs. The key here is, with any model, in order to be successful you need quality communications with ALL stakeholders. Just like in our personal life's, communications is everything; the models can be secondary.
The author should also strictly follow the attributes of writing good requirements. On page 72, he wrote for "frequency of occurrence", "Could be nearly continuous". Now, I ask, how ambiguous is that????
The single best book for your OO development team.......2007-07-06
As others have pointed out, the content on OO analysis and design is excellent. Equally important - Larman's book is also an excellent on "process".
Unlike many books that simply focus only on "programming", Larman gives you a working examples and excellent advice on overlapping fields like "requirements", "testing", "architecture" and "project management".
Craig Larman's "Applying UML and Patterns, 3rd Ed" is a wealth of practical advise, covering *all* significant aspects of successfully defining and implementing a non-trivial software project. If your team were to choose only one book as your "Bible" - this would be that book.
Excellent Work!.......2007-04-23
As pointed out by many, this book is a very nice introduction to Object Oriented Analysis and Design. The author's explanations were very clear. This book covers agile practices, UML, many patterns including Gang of Four (GoF), and software architecture. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book. From an industry standpoint as well as an academic standpoint, I believe this book does an excellent job. This book will be part of my library for a long time to come. Highly recommended.
Book Description
Get the Statistics Book That's Sweeping the Nation!
Appropriate for All Levels--Undergraduate to Doctorate Programs in Every Discipline!
This new edition of Field's bestselling textbook provides students of statistical methods with everything they need to understand, use and report statistics - at every level. Written in Andy Field's vivid and entertaining style, and furnished with playful examples from everyday student life (among other places), the book forms an accessible gateway into the often intimidating world of statistics and a unique opportunity for students to ground their knowledge of statistics through the use of SPSS. The text is fully compliant with the latest release of SPSS (version 13).
Key updates in
Second Edition:
- More coverage with completely new material on non-parametric statistics, loglinear analysis, effect sizes and how to report statistical analysis
- Even more student-friendly features, including a glossary of key statistical terms and exercises at the end of chapters for students to work through, with datasets and answers to chapter exercises on the accompanying CD-ROM
- A larger and more easy-to-reference format: notation in each section identifies the intended level of study while the new 2-color text design enhances the features in the book and, together with the larger format, provides extra clarity throughout
- A companion website is available at
www.sagepub.co.uk/field, containing resources for both students and instructors: a testbank of MCQs for students to test their own knowledge; online glossary in flash card format; multiple choice questions and answers to use for class assessment – available on restricted access basis to instructors via entry password; and PowerPoint Slides of all formatted artwork in the textbook for instructors to include in their own lecture slides.
Andy Field is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at The University of Sussex, U.K. where his success in making statistics accessible was recognized with a teaching award in 2001.
"The Second Edition of Andy Field's
Discovering Statistics Using SPSS is an excellent book and a valuable addition to the teaching of statistics in the behavioral sciences. The title of the book accurately reflects the approach taken. This is not simply a primer on how to use SPSS, but is a very good statistics text using SPSS as a vehicle for illustrating and expanding on the statistical content of the book. At the same time it also serves as a manual for SPSS, and has taught me things that I had not known about the software. I find this flexible approach to the blending of content and software to be an effective way of teaching the material. It is impossible to review this book without commenting on Andy's particular style. I enjoyed it immensely and think that it would appeal to both students and their instructors. It is refreshing to see someone who doesn't take himself too seriously."
-- David C Howell, Professor Emeritus,
University of Vermont
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic book!.......2007-09-30
I could not have lived through my dissertation without this book. It finally helped me to conceptually understand statistics.
Also,(many of) his jokes are belly-busting funny. I used one humorous musing in my oral defense about Fisher's alpha levels:"I wonder how different my career would be if Fisher had woken up that day in 90% type of mood."
Stats and Andy Field.......2007-08-19
Andy's book is an excellent aid in learning statistics. If you want the executive summary (aka cliff notes), Andy provides sections where you can get a quick overview of a specific test. If you want the details, Andy provides those also in his book.
I used his book to help me in my doctoral quest, when I was in my second statistics class as a supplemental text. However, it is of a quality that any person seeking to learn more about stats will come away with knowledge of how stats can help us know more about the world in which we live.
Easy Read and Comprehensive too.......2007-08-04
In my job, I often train others how to use SPSS. This book comes up in conversation a lot. It is outstanding. I have come to the conclusion that if a serious user of SPSS's statistical features is to get only one reference; this is it. Something I have noticed is that when I meet someone that has spent time with the book, the are invariably quite good at SPSS. Even if they may not have mastered all the techniques in this large book, they know their stuff.
The Pallant book SPSS Survival Manual, which I have also reviewed, is designed to help survive a first course (and presumably last) in basic statistics. The Field book, however, could be revisited again and again, each time reaching a deeper understanding.
I already know the statistics in this book well, so I can't claim that this book has taught me the basics, but it simultaneously covers all the major topics of interest while keeping it as simple as possible. I wish I had existed earlier in my career. The main advantage to users of SPSS is that all of the examples are SPSS examples. However, make no mistake, this is a serious introduction to statistics, not merely a point and click guide. It is not current with version 15.0, but I don't think this is a major strike against it, given the excellent review of theory. If, however, you really need to keep up on the current features like I do, you will want to consider books in addition this one. Consider one or more of the three Norusis books depending on your level and needs.
Outstanding Source for SPSS.......2007-07-15
This is one of the best statistics and SPSS guidebooks that I have seen. I believe that it can be very useful for novice to expert. It is both technical and conceptual and can function as a textbook for statistics as well as an operational handbook for navigating through SPSS. Although it is based on SPSS 13.0, I have found it to be quite applicable to the SPSS version 15.0 that I am using. This book is an invaluable source for the completion of my doctoral dissertation and I would highly recommend it for the student or advanced statistician! B. Cliff, PhD Candidate, Western Michigan University
Better than any graduate level statistics course I have taken.......2007-06-14
I am a 4th year PhD student and wish I had discovered this book earlier. It is far better than any of the graduate level statistics course I have taken, and definitely better than any of the textbooks I have seen. In fact, I have thrown out all my other statistics textbooks - this is the only one I need. Aside from explaining the theory in an easy to understand way, Andy Field provides the practical aspect that no other texts or courses do (or, if they do, they fail to link it to the theory). Field shows you how to use SPSS to implement the theory in an easy, step by step way; he even tells you how to report the results in APA format. Don't waste your money on any other statistics textbooks!
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:
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Book Description
Ruby is an increasingly popular, fully object-oriented dynamic programming language, hailed by many practitioners as the finest and most useful language available today. When Ruby first burst onto the scene in the Western world, the Pragmatic Programmers were there with the definitive reference manual, Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmer's Guide.
Now in its second edition, author Dave Thomas has expanded the famous Pickaxe book with over 200 pages of new content, covering all the improved language features of Ruby 1.8 and standard library modules. The Pickaxe contains four major sections:
- An acclaimed tutorial on using Ruby.
- The definitive reference to the language.
- Complete documentation on all built-in classes, modules, and methods
- Complete descriptions of all 98 standard libraries.
If you enjoyed the First Edition, you'll appreciate the expanded content, including enhanced coverage of installation, packaging, documenting Ruby source code, threading and synchronization, and enhancing Ruby's capabilities using C-language extensions. Programming for the World Wide Web is easy in Ruby, with new chapters on XML/RPC, SOAP, distributed Ruby, templating systems, and other web services. There's even a new chapter on unit testing.
This is the definitive reference manual for Ruby, including a description of all the standard library modules, a complete reference to all built-in classes and modules (including more than 250 significant changes since the First Edition). Coverage of other features has grown tremendously, including details on how to harness the sophisticated capabilities of irb, so you can dynamically examine and experiment with your running code. "Ruby is a wonderfully powerful and useful language, and whenever I'm working with it this book is at my side" --Martin Fowler, Chief Scientist, ThoughtWorks
Customer Reviews:
Well written, easy to follow, accurate. Great book!.......2007-10-17
I attended a Rails class with Dave Thomas and used this book as a bit of a "study-up" leading up to it. The book provides easy-to-understand explanations of Ruby methods and excellent examples. Thomas and company perfectly understand the audience of the book and can get anyone programming effective and elegant Ruby in a short period of time. This book remains an excellent reference I keep on my desk and use regularly, as well. It will become a key part of your programming library!
So far, So good!.......2007-10-17
For someone coming from a limited background in web development, but with a keen interest in Ruby (and Rails, the framework built for Ruby), this book has been fantastic.
The best thing I can say is that Ruby 'feels' somewhat intuitive. A vague statement, for sure, but until you take what is taught in the book, and venture out with your own ideas you will not know what I mean, nor will you grasp the language. This book does a great job of breaking the language down and encouraging the reader to experiment.
By and large, I am a fan of the Pragmatic Programmer books. They have never let me down.
This book is very big, weighing in at 830 pages. I'm not even half way through yet. There is certainly more information than I expected. If you are a complete beginner, like I was, I would suggest starting with Pine's "Learn to Program (Pragmatic Programmers)" from Pragmatic. It is a short, non-threatening book, teaching the basics of Ruby programming. Then move on to Programming Ruby (or, 'Pickaxe' as it is lovingly referred to).
Either way, this book should be on your short list.
A fantastic introduction to Ruby.......2007-10-16
I'm taking a class in Ruby Programming, and this is one of the required texts. It's comprehensive without being overly complicated, though it's a reference rather than a tutorial.
Good, but far from perfect........2007-08-27
This book is a great reference, but the tutorial is somewhat confusing. This has two main reasons:
1. Ruby itself is a somewhat confusing language. Really. Don't believe all the hype surrounding it. I'm not saying it isn't good, but it uses lots of concepts which aren't that common in other languages and the syntax is unnecessarily bizarre sometimes. Python has everything Ruby has, but it's *always* legible, clean and - let's face it - beautiful.
2. The top-down approach of the tutorial isn't efficient if you've never programmed before. I have a good deal of experience with other languages, so it was quite straightforward to me, but if that wasn't the case - and this book is also targeted at the newbie audience - I'd probably be lost sometimes.
That said, this is still THE book to get if you're interested in learning Ruby, at least until someone writes a better one.
Not for a Java programmer.......2007-07-26
Information is set in a haphazard manner. Cannot get a clear picture of how a Ruby program is structured.For ex: Chapter 4 is on "Containers, Blocks, and Iterators". Chapter 7 "Expressions" again has different information on Loops, Iterators, For ... In, Variable Scope, Loops, and Blocks etc.
Customer Reviews:
A Good Starting Point.......2007-08-06
As someone who is fairly new to the oil & gas industry I wanted something to explain the essentials of refining and this is exactly what this book does. In easy to understand language with a minimum of math one is able to understand the basics of the refining process.
I will want to go on from here to something that is much more in depth, but as a starting point this was exactly what I was looking for.
Teaching an old dog.............2007-05-13
Humorus and enlightening at the same time. Surely the design of a petroleum refinery would have to left to someone else. But, I know a great deal more about the process. Thanks, Mr. Leffler.
A Good Introduction to the Topic of Petroleum Refining.......2006-07-19
My boss at work gave me this book in an effort to get me up to speed on the industries we monitor. Having absolutely no background in oil and natural gas (beyond some general remarks dropped here and there in my undergraduate engineering curriculum), I found the text to be very informative, albeit in a non-technical way. Potential readers of this text should note that the information is highly focused- the author only covers refining of petroleum, and not other topics of interest, such as oil field exploration and development or petrochemicals manufacturing.
I have to agree with some of the previous reviewers who correctly pointed that some of the information contained in the book, at least from a rigorous technical standpoint, was not entirely correct. However, that was not the intent of the text. The goal of this text is to introduce the key concepts of the petroleum refining industry, and explain them in a way that say, for example, the personal secretary to an oil executive would understand. I found myself having to consult some of my core textbooks in chemical engineering after reading various topics in the book for more detailed technical information. Those of you looking for the hard-core, quantitative, technical information related to this information, such as chemical processes and process economics, will be disappointed with this text. However, those of you who have a technical or scientific background but no real knowledge of the oil industry even at the rudimentary level (like myself) will find this book to be a good starting point for basic explanations of key concepts.
That said, I see the book as being very useful for those contemplating involvement in some way with the petroleum refining industry, or trying to make some sense of what industry insiders often say to outsiders. If the author takes it upon himself to correct the numerous errata in the book, I would definitely see this text being suitable for a lower division seminar course or survey course on one aspect of the petroleum industry.
In sum, this book more than lives up to its title. My only other complaint is the chapters in the book devoted to additives such as TAME and MTBE. Since they are no longer added to most fuels in the US, future editions might want to drop detailed coverage of this topic (but perhaps refer to them in a historical context). Mr. Leffler did an excellent job of demystifying an obscure but extremely important subject. For those of you with a non-technical background, I advise you to read this book one chapter at a time and bounce the key ideas off of an industry insider. For those of you with a technical background but no real knowledge of the oil industry, I strongly advise you to to read this book and then consult other relevant titles from PennWell Publishing (who incidentally publish the highly informative Oil & Gas Journal, as well as other publications on the oil and natural gas industries).
Overrated.......2005-12-17
Recommended this to students but they found too much bad information. Maybe nontechnical means not worried about details being correct.
Great book for a novice.......2005-11-05
I needed a quick read and overview of the basics of refining. This book was both easy to read and comphrehensive for the non-energy professional. If you want to learn about refining, this is a great place to start.
Customer Reviews:
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
Average customer rating:
- So good I've worn it out.
- Extensive reference on Javascript
- rating: R
- Best Javascript Book
- Never Seen Before
|
JavaScript: The Definitive Guide
David Flanagan
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CSS: The Definitive Guide
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JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook
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Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference (Dynamic Html)
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Ajax in Action
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CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions
ASIN: 0596101996 |
Amazon.com
Provides a rapid and thorough exposition of the JavaScript programming language, as well as an in-depth reference section covering each JavaScript function, object, method, and even handler. Experienced programmers will quickly find the information they need to start writing JavaScript programs.
Book Description
This Fifth Edition is completely revised and expanded to cover JavaScript as it is used in today's Web 2.0 applications. This book is both an example-driven programmer's guide and a keep-on-your-desk reference, with new chapters that explain everything you need to know to get the most out of JavaScript, including:
- Scripted HTTP and Ajax
- XML processing
- Client-side graphics using the canvas tag
- Namespaces in JavaScript--essential when writing complex programs
- Classes, closures, persistence, Flash, and JavaScript embedded in Java applications
Part I explains the core JavaScript language in detail. If you are new to JavaScript, it will teach you the language. If you are already a JavaScript programmer, Part I will sharpen your skills and deepen your understanding of the language.
Part II explains the scripting environment provided by web browsers, with a focus on DOM scripting with unobtrusive JavaScript. The broad and deep coverage of client-side JavaScript is illustrated with many sophisticated examples that demonstrate how to:
- Generate a table of contents for an HTML document
- Display DHTML animations
- Automate form validation
- Draw dynamic pie charts
- Make HTML elements draggable
- Define keyboard shortcuts for web applications
- Create Ajax-enabled tool tips
- Use XPath and XSLT on XML documents loaded with Ajax
- And much more
Part III is a complete reference for core JavaScript. It documents every class, object, constructor, method, function, property, and constant defined by JavaScript 1.5 and ECMAScript Version 3.
Part IV is a reference for client-side JavaScript, covering legacy web browser APIs, the standard Level 2 DOM API, and emerging standards such as the XMLHttpRequest object and the canvas tag.
More than 300,000 JavaScript programmers around the world have made this their indispensable reference book for building JavaScript applications.
"A must-have reference for expert JavaScript programmers...well-organized and detailed."
-- Brendan Eich, creator of JavaScript
Customer Reviews:
So good I've worn it out........2007-10-04
I've had this book for a few years now and I think I've about worn it out and need to get another copy. I took it to work and my whole department borrows it on a weekly basis. It's very handy and covers almost everything you would need to know (from a professional level) about javascript. It's the "definitive guide" though, so you probably don't want to read this one cover to cover unless you're a robot. For anyone looking for a technical reference this is great.
Extensive reference on Javascript.......2007-09-28
O'Reilly books are always of high quality. At over 900 pages this book is a very complete reference. It has the functional organization characteristic of reference books. The answers are here but it's not the place to go to learn Javascript from scratch. I find tutorials that are project oriented much more approachable for the beginner. Once you've used Javascript to solve some basic needs this reference will become a great tool.
rating: R.......2007-09-25
If you already program in C/C++, Java or Python, this is the right reference for making the transition to JavaScrript. It is thorough and is one of the few non-dreadful books on JS out there. Beware of an abundance of crappy junk in this area.....
Best Javascript Book.......2007-08-30
This is the best explanation I have seen about javascript that doesnt read like a document.
Remember that other reviewers who have complaints are complaining about the 4th edition of the book. 5th edition doesnt have the lackings of the previous edition. My only suggestion is that the concepts could have been explained using many more diagrams especially with regard to execution context.
Never Seen Before.......2007-08-27
I Bought 5 books for Java script but ....
This book realy it's definitive way to learn Java script .
IT'S COVERS :
Scripted HTTP and Ajax
XML processing
Client-side graphics using the canvas tag
Namespaces in JavaScript--essential when writing complex programs
Classes, closures, persistence, Flash, and JavaScript embedded in Java applications
Generate a table of contents for an HTML document
Display DHTML animations
Automate form validation
Draw dynamic pie charts
Make HTML elements draggable
Define keyboard shortcuts for web applications
Create Ajax-enabled tool tips
Use XPath and XSLT on XML documents loaded with Ajax
And much more
Average customer rating:
- 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
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Similar Items:
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Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmers' Guide, Second Edition
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-
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Ajax on Rails
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:
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Book Description
As the SAS© programming language continues to evolve, this guide follows suit with timely coverage of the combination statistical package, database management system, and high-level programming language. Using current examples from business, medicine, education, and psychology, Applied Statistics and the SAS Programming Language is an invaluable resource for applied researchers, giving them the capacity to perform statistical analyses with SAS without wading through pages of technical documentation.
Includes the necessary SAS statements to run programs for most of the commonly used statistics, explanations of the computer output, interpretations of results, and examples of how to construct tables and write up results for reports and journal articles. Illustrated with SAS Graph⢠output. Provides readers with ample models for developing programming skills.
For anyone interested in learning more about applied statistics and the SAS programming language.
Customer Reviews:
Poor book.......2007-03-20
I hoped more. It is a very basic book, with elemental examples and no clear directions on the best use of SAS.
Great for real life applications.......2007-01-01
Great book.. It is a great asset to my SAS library.
Too much unecessary detail about reading in data.......2006-11-10
Theres just too much unecessary material in this book about ways to read in data etc. Its all unecessary cos like myself most professional analysts and statisticians have access to SAS enterprise guide, which is incredibly powerful and so much less time consuming. The programming language is only useful for algorithms these days, as most professionals havent got the time to be debugging code all day. The text covers nothing about cluster analysis either which is central to a lot of multi variate analysis.
The mathematics and statistical detail is of far more interest and importance to us in the working environment than reading in of files.
Poor value.......2006-10-14
The book can be helpful to college students, but is of little benefit to more seasoned statisticians. The title notwithstanding, most of its chapters deal with general-purpose SAS programming; the rest (totaling 100-150 pages) offer a very basic review of REG, TTEST, LOGISTIC and FACTOR procedures, something that you can easily find online. (Check out the SAS tutorials offered by UCLA). I like and recommend Ron Cody's other books, but not this overpriced softcover.
Blergh.......2006-09-13
I did not like this book. The organization was abysmal, and I decided to sell it back to the college bookstore for use by future hapless students, because it is not good as a reference guide.
I did not like how the author seemed to gear the book to an audience that is terrified of their computers or anything dealing with *gasp* math.
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