Like all books on a software package these days
927461
Like all books  on a software package these days, this one was just under 1000 pages, roughly 925 of which I will never need to look at in my life.  All of them should offer a condensed version aimed at those who just want to use the package, as opposed to those who want to make it their lifelong career.
3095553
Taking readers step-by-step through the creation of the RailsCoders.net website, Practical Rails Social Networking Sites is a well paced guide to building web applications that tick many of the boxes of the moment.

The book starts with basics, giving simple instructions for installing Rails on a variety of platforms, and then steps through simple content management, adding users and groups, building a blogging engine, adding a discussion forum and photo gallery, integrating with Google Maps and Flickr, and deployment. Along the way the various aspects of rails' testing framework are introduced as they're used. The style isn't test-driven, and it would have been nice to see that style introduced, but tests are written after each piece of functionality, demonstrating some of their use and importance.

Judicious use is made of plugins with a number of recommendations made throughout the book. restful_authentication is referred to, but its functionality is largely duplicated in the code. That's probably a sensible move so early in the book as it's important that developers understand what the code is doing even if they're going to employ a plugin for the implementation. YM4R/GM is used to implement the Google Maps functionality and it's good to see that getting some attention in print.

Readers who have already built a couple of rails apps may well find themselves skipping large chunks of content as a lot of the code will be familiar. As other reviewers have noted, it is a little curious that "The Apress Roadmap" suggests this as a more advanced title when it would probably work better for an engaged beginner than an experienced developer.

Of course, the great problem with publishing any rails title right now is that version 2.0 is just around the corner, and with its release we'll see the end of built-in pagination and a few changes to the routes. As a consequence there are likely to be a number of readers who find that the examples in the book fail to run on the latest stable rails by the time they come to try them. Hopefully Apress will be able to offer a brief supplement with the book or online to help readers update the code for the new features.

Practical Rails Social Networking Sites is a solid introduction illustrating how simple it can be to build useful web applications with Ruby on Rails. I'd hesitate to recommend it to anyone with rails experience, but it will be high on my list of recommendations for beginners who are wanting to dive straight in.

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book for review by the publisher.
4720348
Stephen O'Grady has written a concise, readable and coherent analysis of the headwinds facing anybody in the software business.  As he points out, selling software-only products is getting harder even while the market for products that include software is booming.  He  provides good general purpose advise for navigating the changing dynamics of the software industry:  moving to subscription models, building data-centric products, etc.

I personally wonder if the "fall" of the commercial software market reflects a permanent paradigm shift.  Open source is probably the single biggest factor undermining the "traditional" software business model.  But a lot of open source software is written by employees of companies that are backed by venture capital or which have yet to prove their long term viability.  Think of Cloudera and Hortonworks for example - massive valuations powering huge investment in Hadoop related technology but which currently lack a guaranteed revenues.  If the bubble bursts for companies like this then invest in open source could reduce and the market for commercial enterprise software rebound.

But either way, I think Stephen O'Grady provides a completely accurate assessment of the current situation.  If you are in the software business you should take the time to read it.
2720016
THE BOOK IS EASY TO READ AND UNDERSTAND AND SOMEWHAT BETTER THAN THE SOFTWARE.
2867054
Another good book for users of Windows who want to upgrade the system and other parts of their operating system
2808296
Thirty years ago I was heavy into the microcomputer revolution developing products and writing and designing software to manage them. I eventually ended up in mgmt without my hands on the tools. Years passed by but now I'm (semi) retired and have decided to renew my relationship with software. But whoa - things have really changed. C was my main horse back in the day but out of curiosity and some necessity I've remained somewhat competent in HTML and CSS. Then a book I purchased a year ago on Javascript gave me a good push into the future. Now this one, "PHP and MySQL: The Missing Manual" seems to cover most of what has remained a mystery until now. Of course I mean the server side of life that must be brought to bear on almost any really useful modern web application, I still have plenty to learn but I'm more confident now that eventually I'll get there - now that know what I was missing - the aptly named Missing Manual.

The author presents the material in a very refreshing way for a tech manual. It's almost like you develop a relationship with him as he engages you in the various solutions to many of the most common problems you will encounter on your way to mastering the server side of life. He often solves the problems in more than one way and then compares the utility of each approach. This is much more than a reference. I'd gladly recommend this book to anyone with similar needs and goals.
2523102
This is a fine addition to any software developer's library. It's a little on the dated side, though. If you haven't read Code Complete, I would suggest you start there.
3108068
A good book, summarizing business practices in a dynamic, but economically conservative software business. Good to see how mid decade advice stands up to the test of time, as some of its notable peers have stumbled.
4499230
There are a LOT of books out there dealing with how to use software; very few cover the rest of the development cycle, AND relate it to professional software products I use everyday.
When you buy a software package like MX Studio, some of the software may be new to you, as it was to me. This book really helped me see where all the pieces fit together.
This book is a great introduction to the Macromedia MX product line up, and an excellent resource for learning about project management. The production cycle is well explained here, and I am really impressed with the writers' insistence on paper-based development at the concept stage. This area of development is often overlooked; the preference being to dive right into the software. Storyboards, wireframes, click-thru, usability - all are covered in an informative and conversational manner.
I found myself nodding and smiling as I read some of sidebar anecdotes.
If one were to follow the guidelines set here, one would have some very satisfied clients.
4310376
Have tried this software a couple of times and, after reading this book, I'm ready to try it again. Hewson's book is a good introduction to the program and explained a couple things I was confused about.

I would have liked a more in-depth treatment of export styles and their modification, but realize that's beyond the intended (appropriately) scope of the book.

Recommended.
4621589
It is a priceless book on Win32 API! It obviously lacks lots of new features appeared since the time of publishing (almost 20 years ago!); it doesnt even touch MFC or any other popular programming tool (if you are interested in it); it is written in plain old C (no classes, etc.); but it explains all the basics of Windows programming, all principal Windows elements and how they work together. The language is very good; the samples are simple and thoughtful. And they work even now! Ive got executables from the original CD that comes with the book: built in 1998, both Debug and Release versions, and they run like a snap  amazing! The CD also contains a help file that covers the whole book  pretty handy, considering the thickness and weight of the hardcopy.
2793312
This is a book on software engineering, which has been considered a classic in the software industry.  Certainty, this book is littered with good software engineering practices, which are lacking in software projects today(at least the ones I have been through).  If you have been managing projects, please get one and read it!
  The software development process being mentioned in the book is IMHO suitable for big companies with over 100 staff.  If you are managing a small team, please get the book "Extreme Programming Installed".  Implementing this for small teams simply increases the overhead.  Development process, IMHO is not a one-size-fit-all thing.
  One thing to note is that the author's experiences are in IBM System and OS/360, which might be unfamiliar to some of you(me too!).  Thus, it takes time to digest.  :)
  Good to have but not a must have.
2984450
Anyone seriously interested in the subject matter of this book should also take a look at Pattern Oriented Software Architecture: A System of Patterns by Frank Buschmann et al.
694925
I found this book is very easy to understand, very clear and logical step by step guide to learn the software. Chapters has project exercises and provides files to work with. I do recommend this book.
1101329
This book presents three original projects. There is a Scratch-based project, a GPIO/Hardware project using Python, and a Python-GUI project.

Before reviewing the projects, I would like to comment on a trend found in most, if not all, books dedicated to the Raspberry Pi. It is my hope the future authors of the genre will see that there is no need to include what seems to be a mandatory chapter dedicated to setting up the Raspberry Pi or preparing the SD card with the latest Raspian distribution. A links to the most up-to-date Raspberry Pi Foundation "Quick Start Guide" web page [....]) does a good job at this and also serves as a good example on how to find information related to hacking away with the little computer that can. Readers would then be rewarded with books entirely focused on projects. To finish on this rant, I was glad that there was no 'Python 101' pre-introductory chapter that also plague several Raspberry Pi books.

Now that I've almost fallen into the trap I was criticizing, let's get down to the projects business. The first project is about programming an Angry Birds type of game. This one reviews the Scratch interface (good job at keeping it down to three pages) and the various components of making a video game. Those seeking a quick step-by-step recipe might be in for a disappointment as the instructions are focused on designing the functionalities of the game. This is a good base for learning how to design a program. I will most likely end up using some of this material to teach my own students.

I really liked the 'Testing Your Speed' project. This one will end up in my own lesson planning. This project exploits the Pi's GPIO pins by building a controller made out of office materials such as paper clips and fasteners and sticky tape. I liked that apart from obtaining male-to-female wire and/or a Pi Cobbler breakout board and a prototyping breadboard, there was no need to order other components. However, the chapter's layout would benefit from clear and obvious warnings regarding the dangers of shorting the wrong pins on the GPIO ports as it looks rather diluted within the bulk of the copy.

Finally, the last project is about making an interactive map using Python and its GUI modules. The project relies on using the Google Maps API to obtain mapping data. A list of widgets presented at the end of the chapter outlines valuable extension potential from this project.

While this book is not recommend for elementary school age kids, I definitely recommend it to teachers and parents seeking to support kids learning how to code.
17951
"The D Programming Language" by Andrei Alexandrescu is a
thorough and well written description of this relatively new,
well-designed and powerful software development paradigm.
The book explains complex language features in a clear and
concise manner and builds understanding of the language
starting from the basic concepts and building up to rather
advanced topics.  It is packed with examples and has quite
a few motivational discussions justifying why certain design
decisions were made in creating the language.

The writing is precise for the most part, as one would hope to
find in a definitive work.  But it is laced with allegories and
humor that both clarify the content and make it a lighter read
than might be expected.  As you can tell, I liked the book.
I came away with a good understanding of the intentions
and capabilities of the "D" language, although I am sure it
will take another pass through the book and a few hands-on
programming projects for me to really feel comfortable with it.
During that learning phase this book will never be far from
my hand.

In the interest of completeness, let me list a few things that
this book is not.  It is not a text on how to write programs.
The examples are laser-focused on the language feature being
described, and many of the descriptions start a step or two
above "beginner" level and are somewhat terse.  One would do
better with this book coming from a solid software development
background and familiarity with the concepts and terminology
of, for example, object-oriented programming.

Curiously, only a little more than half a year off the
presses, there are aspects of the book that are out of sync
with the existing "D" infrastructure.  The canonical "Hello,
World!" program will not compile without changes that align it
with the current run-time support libraries.  Also, I have run
across a couple of keywords that don't work quite as described
or are not recognized at all by the current compilers.  In this
regard, my guess is that the book is a description of how
"D" should be, and the implementation is trying to catch up.
This is certainly not a fatal flaw and perhaps something to be
expected in a dynamic situation, but try out a feature before
you commit large amounts of effort to it.

My only other caveat is that this first edition is somewhat
lacking as a reference manual.  The index needs some work;
entries could at least highlight which of a half-dozen page
references is the primary one.  At one point I wanted to
clarify use of the "binary '!'" operator.  It took me quite a
while to find it on page 234 under "Parameterized Classes and
Interfaces."  Some of the "Summary and Reference" sections at
the end of chapters contain useful tables of statement types
or operator precedence, but there is no "List of Tables" to
guide one to the best reference.  I'm sure the next edition
will be much improved as a language reference, in the meanwhile
my copy is full of pencil notes and bookmarks.

Note that I have just started coding in "D" and my comments
should be interpreted in that light.  I hope that you have
found this review useful.
3225469
This was a great book in its time, and still provides solid understanding of CSound fundamentals. Much has changed in the last decade, and you're better off working with a more recent software version. Even so, some of the strangenesses in current versions make more sense when you see how the system evolved.

As great a resource as this is, it's difficult to convey so much technical material while making sure to explain everything before using it. With a bit of patience, technical readers can put the pieces together. I subtract a rating star only due to technical obsolescence, as of 2009.

Though the CD's in my (used) copy looked good, many files on them did not load under Windows. I suspect this may be due to insufficient testing across multiple OS'es. Once you see what is supposed to be there, you can probably find reasonable replacement material (also more up to date) on the listed web sites.

Happy composing!