Product Description
MAPLE is easy-to-use software that performs numerical and symbolic analysis to solve complex mathematical problems. A reference for engineers, scientists, and application developers, it shows you how to tap the full power of MAPLE in solving real-world engineering problems in circuit theory, control theory, curve fitting, mechanics and digital signal processing. The book includes more than 65 figure, 100 equatiions, and accompanying software that includes exercises, MAPLE features and MAPLE subroutines. ... Read more

Product Description
When writing computer user documentation, focusing on the needs of your audience is critical. This book provides you with a surefire approach to generating clear, effective documentation that's tailored to the information requirements of the end-user. The book describes a user centered information design method (UCID) that helps you ensure your computer documentation conveys significant, meaningful information for the user -- and avoids unnecessary repetition or inconsistencies. Specifically, the UCID approach shows you how to: integrate the four major information components of a software system from the user's viewpoint, make better decisions on which information to provide, deploy iterative design and prototyping procedures, and guide your technical writers in effectively designing interface labels and system messages ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

What a waste!
I am really surprised that the publisher actually thought of printing the book and the original price for it is designed to sell, is preposterous. The author apparently is clueless, but how could the publisher print such a book. What a waste!

Rip Off & Useless - DO NOT BUY
For someone focusing in information design, he sure filled this with utter trash.

He has idealized huge steps in software design, making biased and baseless claims about a variety of facets of the designing process.

All of the information in this book is common sense and the bare minimum in user information dating all the way back to windows 1.0. There is nothing unique or useful in the information this book communicates.

His diagrams or 'figures' (that contain no quantifiable information) as he calls them are overly simplified and essentially assume an audience of idiots, merely acting as filler to bulk out the book to its measly 200 pages.

Lastly, let me draw attention to his qualifications. BSc in Physics, MA in English and "has also recently taken a software usability engineering course".

For someone writing an apparently 'authoritative' book on usability, you tend not to wish to see the words "has also recently taken a software usability engineering course".

Its a parallel of me watching a documentary on penguins then writing an overpriced 'authoritative book' on their habits.

Unfortunately I paid a ridiculous amount for something I would be embarrassed to use as a door stop, this book is on the fast track to kindling paper.

Summing up, this book is dated and was never relevant at the time of its release.

To be honest, 1 star out of 5 is too much. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a "must-have" book for every Internet software designer! This unique guide provides abstracts of nearly 300 standards and specifications, and listings on over 200 other Internet-related documents. The book explains what each standard covers, its appropriate software design category, and where to obtain copies of the complete document.

The book deals with standards and specifications that cover topics such as: API's, authentication, binding, bridges, CIDR, databases, DHCP, e-mail, encryption, gateway, HIPPI, HTML, HTP, IMAP, IP, JPEG, keys, LAN, Mailbox, MIBs, MIME, MPEG, networks, nodes, POP, privacy, RIP, routers, security, servers, SGML, TCP, TCP/IP, URL, URN, video, web languages, X400, X500, XML, and many more.

The book lists specifications produced by organizations such as: AES, AIIM, ANSI, DoD, IEEE, IMS, ISO, ISOC, ITU-T, Microsoft, Netscape, NIST, SMPTE, Sun, VXI, and W3C. It's an excellent reference for software personnel and managers, contract administrators, and attorneys needing to cite standards in contracts. ... Read more

Product Description
The Millennium is almost upon us, and with it comes perhaps the single most troubling dilemma in computer history: how to solve the Year 2000 (Y2K) Problem. This expertly authored, one-source reference provides an answer to this problem by revealing practical, how-to instructions on planning, preparing, and executing a project that will make your company Y2K compliant.

Solving the Year 2000 Crisis helps programmers, managers, and consultants gain a clear understanding of the Y2K Problem -- and how to beat it -- from the ground up. It closely examines and evaluates the 7 major problem-solving approaches currently available, helps you choose the best method for your particular company or organization, then provides you with the information you need to implement a solution.

Well-written sections on project staffing and management help you determine whether to build your Y2K team with existing employees or consultants, and show you how to choose the best tools for improving their productivity. The book also addresses the business side of the Y2K issue -- you learn the impact of the problem on PC and desktop systems, and how to find and test potential failure points. Appendices contain ready-made program code in COBOL, C++, FORTRAN, and Visual Basic that illustrate possible solutions, and may be used to help solve your problem. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Quite good & easy to understand.
I enjoyed reading this book. It is quite interesting and also easy to understand. I will be happy if some more details of Y2K solutions are given. ... Read more

Product Description
This book sets out to meet the demand for practical guidance about multi-station document systems implementations. It takes a practical approach as it analyzes the principal hurdles that imaging systems designers have to overcome, considering the strains imaging places on graphic user interfaces, databases, and networks. This book discusses all the trade-off issues raised by the need to retrieve and display large amounts of data in light of limited networking and graphic user interface resources. The book is written for designers of office systems, systems users, system planners and implementers, support personnel, as well as beginners in the field, who need comprehensive treatment of specific applications of the technology. This work also sets out to improve the understanding of imaging technologies that designers trained in conventional data systems must acquire to optimize imaging system performance. ... Read more

Product Description
A practical guide for C programmers and developers incommercial environments, this book establishes development guidelinesand standards, focusing on practices, portability, and ease ofmaintenance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Gimmie a Break
I picked up this book because I used to work with the author. I was curious, especially because he wasn't what I would call a C expert. Yikes! A book this big on good C practices?Save your money. There is nothing here that a good programmer cannot intuit just from reading K&R. ... Read more

Product Description
Provides the foundation and understanding necessary for proper design of databases for today's distributed and multi-database architectures. DLC: Distribution databases. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Don't trust the examples given
This book is not difficult to understand. However, I find that this book's examples have too many errors. For example, in chapter 8, the examples given have errors. The result of the examples are not what I expected. Itmakes me feel whether my understanding is correct or not. Moreover, thereis no author email address in this book. The reader cannot send comments tothe author.

Well structured and easy to read, but not very useful
I read this book to get some ideas for setting up a database with multiple servers in different countries. One requirement was high availability and fast response times under the condition of instable network connections. Iam not a database expert, so I can not assess the accuracy and completenessof the material very well. The following is my view as a "novice"reader.

The book is divided into three parts: theory, distributeddatabase architectures, and multi-database architectures. Part oneintroduces relational algebra, SQL, database models (hierarchical, network,relational), ER-diagrams and such. Part two concentrates on homogenousdistributed database architectures. Part three is about heterogenous (e.g.mixed hierarchical/relational) distributed database systems.

The book isdemonstratively well structured and easy to read. The author begins with aroadmap, and each chapter begins with a statement of purpose, a descriptionwhat will follow and how this relates to the topic. I found part one to bea decent introduction to general database concepts. However, I had theimpression that the book is too shallow overall.One of the more noticableomissions (to me) is in the part about deadlocks: the author concentratesentirely on deadlock detection, while deadlock avoidance and deadlockprevention are not even mentioned. I can't say if this is because thelatter are not used in databases. Moreover, as another reader noted, theexamples are full of errors, which is quite annoying.

Altogether, thebook entirely failed to give me any hints for solving my problem. Datareplication, which is probably the one technique that I need to apply underthe circumstances described above, is mentioned in only one paragraph inthe entire book. The author instead focuses entirely on databasepartitioning. If you need that, the book may be for you, although I assumethere are better books on the subject. I do not recommend this book.

The book contains too many errors
The book is good in the sense of the simplicity with which the author tries to explain and introduce the concepts. However, it is full of errors: I could not find one example without errors. Specially in Chapter 4, whichintroduces SQL, there are too many errors. That is unforgivable!! I thinkthe author of this book did not even check what he was writing. I do notrecommend this book to anyone until a serious revision of all the examplesis perfomed! ... Read more

Product Description
Written for database novices and pros alike, this book first outlines fundamental database concepts, explaining the practical techniques of data modeling and design, and then relates these ideas to advanced platforms, showing how to apply the concepts successfully to today's database architectures Pub: 9/97. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Well-written, concise, easy-to-understand
I'm glad I took a chance on this book...it was well worth it! The author's clear, concise writing style is accessible to novices, yet provides a knowledgeable overview of data modeling. The book navigates you through the finer points of the process, deconstructing the design steps in easy-to-understand language. Highly recommended!

Great Book
I found this book to be very useful in guiding me through some fundamental data modeling principals.Easy to use, very concise.Good reference tool.

confusing and contrived
This is the worst DB design book that I've come across. The first fewchapters is supposed to 'guide' you through the db design process, but theexample is too lengthy and not to the point. The concepts that is to beexplained is illustrated by contrived(using the author's own word)examples. Explanation is confusing. Luckily, I got this from a library andnothing to lose

Enlightning
What I like about this book is that it is a great reference book for the architect/modeler. It is very concise and to the point. That is what makes it great. ... Read more

Product Description
This unique book explores the use of cryptographic techniques in authentication and key distribution systems. Systems such as Kerberos, NetSP, SPX, TESS, and SESAME are analyzed and compared. Computer scientists, electrical engineers, networking specialists, and information technology professionals learn valuable cryptographic techniques--and why authentication and key distribution systems are likely to become the primary means for securing networks and distributed systems in the future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Quite Difficult to Read
Although the information contained in this book is valuable, the layout is poorly designed and the language is very difficult to understand.
I recommend this to anyone who is looking for information about authentication systems, bu remember, this book is not complete (for instance not a word about SSL) nor easy to read. ... Read more

Product Description
This reference is intended for experienced practitioners, consultants and students working on building practical applications. It discusses the most widely-used programming languages and their fuctional pros and cons for application and development. The author provides: a brief overview of programming languages principles and concepts; numerous diagrams, charts and sample programs; coverage of object-oriented programming and visual programming; and tables rating languages on such subjects as simplicity, data structuring, portability and efficiency. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An outstanding survey of programming languages.
Cezzar's text was excellent in understanding the tapestry of languages that I have heard of or been involved with over past 15 years. This text superbly and clearly defined strengths and weaknesses, similarities anddifferences, and appropriate applications.Each language (or languagegroup) is then discussed in detail with full or partial programs comparingand contrasting them.

Its only failing is that it was written in theearly 1990's. Since publication, a new family of languages has beendeveloped that are designed to be platform independent.A new edition isneeded to show how Java and similar languages relate, fit into, and extendthe mosaic presented.

I highly recommend this book for decision-makersin the software industry, programmers who need to expand theirunderstanding of the field, and newcomers wishing to make a stake insoftware. ... Read more

Product Description
The potential threats associated with software development are identified as the author explains how to establish an effective risk management program. The text details the six critical steps involved in applying the process and discusses various software metrics approaches which can be used to measure software quality. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Unique perspectives on software engineering risks
When I first read this book in 1997 I thought it was interesting, but quirky.When I recently re-read it I had the benefit of four more years of experience and more scars from grappling with many of the issues that this book addresses. The 12 chapters in this 225-page book cover a spectrum of issues and factors that most books on software engineering risk management only lightly touch upon or overlook completely.

The chapters are sequenced as follow: 1-Introduction, 2-Industrial Espionage, 3-Software Engineering, 4-Software Metrics, 5-Security, 6-Process Maturity Models, 7-Asset Valuations, 8-Security Threats, 9-Security Controls and Tests, 10-Safeguards, 11-Economic Analysis, and 12-Reiterative Processes.

Chapter 2, Industrial Espionage leaps out at you and tells you that this is not a run-of-the-mill SW risk book.If the risks are not obvious, consider the threats to intellectual property that can manifest themselves when development is contracted out or contract labor is used to augment an in-house development team.If this book goes into a second edition I hope the author also includes patent issues as well, because the book was published in 1996 and since them two significant legal cases (State Street Bank vs. Signature Finance Group, Inc. [1998] and AT&T vs. Excel Communications, Inc. [1999]have set precedents that add further to this particular category of risk, and may merit a separate chapter on patent risks.

Each of the other chapters exposes risks--some obvious, and some not-so-obvious--inherent in software engineering models and their associated processes. Bear in mind that while this book introduces quantitative methods, it is no substitute for a book on software engineering risk management if you are new to the topic.The reason is this book covers the subtleties and often overlooked aspects, but is not an introductory text on the subject.

My favorite chapters are 4 (software metrics), 67 (asset valuations) and 11 (economic analysis) because those are areas in which I am interested.I also liked chapter 6 (process maturity models) because it exposes risks that need to be considered if you are in the process of selecting or implementing one of the models (CMM, SPICE, etc.).

Overall, this is a useful and interesting book if you have a great deal of prior experience in software engineering, SQA or process implementation.My only complaint--and it's minor--is Chapter 5 (Security) should have been grouped with the related chapters (8, 9, and 10). If you fall into the audience I cited above you'll benefit greatly from this book. ... Read more

Product Description
This book provides techniques and up-to-date information to help develop economical, high quality software. It explains the advantages and disadvantages of various software development lifecycle models, and suggests when to apply testing and when to use other, more cost-effective techniques. It also shows how to incorporate verification and validation techniques if your organization does not have a written procedure, and how to implement the inspection process. Focusing on practical solutions and including useful models which can be modified to suit the reader, this is a handy reference to all software quality issues. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Comprehensive
I wish I could count the times I've seen second and third rounds of development occur because the first round produced a working version of a product the customer didn't want. With all of the emphasis lately on rapid development, especially now that the web has everyone working on "internet time", there has been a noticeable lack of discussion on ensuring the software produced fits the needs of the customer and is of reasonable quality.

Rakitin addresses these issues and more in this book. As the title indicates, he concentrates on Verification ("are we building the product right?") and Validation ("are we building the right product?"). However, the subtitle to the work "A Practitioner's Guide" provides much more insight into the actual scope of this work.In the discussion of software inspection meetings, for example, Rakitin give guidelines regarding not only the mechanics of who should attend and when materials should be distributed but he also provides insight into what to expect as a moderator and how much should be expected to be accomplished in the meetings themselves. There are a number of statements in the book that begin "Experience has shown..." Rakitin's extensive experience has manifested itself throughout the book transforming the dry, checklist-like discussions found in so many other books into discussions about how people work and communicate with each other.

This isn't to say there couldn't be more. Although what's presented is very good, there are points in the book where I found myself wishing for additional discussion. Perhaps in future editions Rakitin will be able to expand upon, say, requirements collection or configuration management.

There are also things that could be updated if the book were to have a revision. For example, a brief discussion on OO methodologies is provided where Fusion from HP is outlined. This could obviously be expanded to cover the Rational Unified Process, Rational's effort to provide UML with "meat" the modeling language alone could not have.

As Deming observed and Rakitin noted, "The quality of a product is directly related to the quality of the process used to create it." To this end, Rakitin attempts to provide the reader with ready-made tools, checklists, outlines, and forms to aid them in the maturation of their software engineering department. These items, which appear in approximately 80 pages of appendices, give the reader a variety of starting places for just such an initiative.

Brooks said "no silver bullet" and he was right. Quality software is possible only through a methodical, rational, and scientific approach. Rakitin goes a long way towards that in this work. I highly recommend it.

Practical Book giving practical approach to complex subject
Software Verification and Validation by Steven R. Rakitin. A practical book by a practical author, presenting the steps required to set up a formal and complete Verification and Validation program for softwareproduction.Mr. Rakitin sprinkles pertinent quotations throughout the bookto support his case that software quality programs (detection) cost lessthan simply releasing a "buggy" program to your Customers. Theauthor also teaches the lessons of this book at IEEE lectures; I attendedone in March 1998.At these lectures, the author fleshes out and makesmore interesting many of the points made in his book. As an ASQ CertifiedSoftware Engineer, S. Rakitin has the credentials to expound on manyaspects of quality programs set up to deal effectively with the major &crucial issue of the lack of software quality today.There are 169 pagesof text, describing a good program, but the author has also included some87 pages of appendices (from "A" to "H") which give youa cook book or recipe approach to different aspects of software quality. The author gives you good leads to other sources of information on softwarequality. The book would profit from another good editorial review, reducingthe wordiness in some chapters and tying the whole story all together.Forexample, Rakitin continuously uses "SEI" which (as far as I cansee) is not defined in his book.SEI = Software Engineering Institute.In Chapter 4, the author attempts to establish a cost/benefit justificationfor implementing a software quality program, but misses and then, later, onpage 90 (Chapter 7), he DOES lists the pertinent reasons as, "...lowersupport costs, ... fewer maintenance releases, ... higher customer satisfactionand, as a result, increased sales". An astute editor would havemelded all of this together. Overall, this book is directed at thepractitioner, whether a hardware quality engineer required to set up asoftware quality program, or a novice who has the same task.It is apractical book, generally well written, ... Read more

Product Description
Written by the inventor of many modern techniques for data quality, this book provides anyone responsible for information management in their company with the knowledge necessary to set up a data quality program, make and maintain improvements, and create a discernible business advantage. The author emphasizes practical applications and analyzes quality problems and their impacts, potential solutions and how they are combined to form an overall data quality program. He discusses senior management's role, various methods to make and sustain improvements, and the life-cycle and dimensions of data quality. The book includes case studies, and summaries of main points. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

For both business leaders and information professionals
I found a lot of great material in this book, appealing to my interests in both business leadership and the more technical aspects of data quality. From the perspective of business leadership, I find it to be a very helpfultutorial and overview of the subject of data quality. It covers a lot ofground, ranging from discussions of data quality management concepts tospecific suggestions for implementing data quality programs. From theperspective of a consulting professional, I find it to be an excellentreference, with depth in key topics of interest to process, information andquality professionals.In particular, the discussions about the "datalife cycle", the technical definitions of data and the"dimensions of data quality" gave me new insights into dataquality management and improvement.

Practical Guide to Data Quality
This books brings a perspective to the data quality issue that I had never truly appreciated.More importantly it gives the reader suggestionsas to how to understand the impact of poor data on their organizations as well as specific techniques to make it better.I would recommend this to anyperson who is looking to improve any aspect of their business as mostissues will eventually come back to ensuring quality information tointernal and external customers. ... Read more

Product Description
Through dozens of case studies and real-world examples, this clearly written guide shows telecommunications managers how to build more effective data warehouses without wasting time and money on impractical, untenable approaches. The book provides practical, step-by-step instructions on how to engineer and implement a warehouse/mining strategy that reduces costs, maximizes profits, and supports long-term corporate goals Pub: 8/97. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Entertaining and singular perspective of DW/DM in Telecoms
Hello Amazon,

The author, who has written extentsively on the subjects of DW and DM is also associated with Sequent Computer Systems, a respected manufacturer and vendor of high-end Enterprise Data Centers, and a highlyexperienced player in the DW, CRM, DSS space.

So, although I wouldn'tdiscourage anyone interested in DW/DM in Telcos to read this book I wouldnot do so with the previso that this is a perspective of data warehousingand data mining in Telecoms, and that there will be a divergence of opinionwith a number of Mr. Mattisons observations, facts and experiences.

Thereis technology bias in most books that touch on the subjects (of Telcos,Data Warehousing and Data Mining), however this is pretty standard, alomostunavoidable and not necessarily undesirable if we take such accounts as oneof a number of perspectives on the subject(s).

Although I didn't find theconenction between DW and KM to be too convincing, or the DW developmentstrategy one that I would concur with, I would say that the attempt toidentify the Telco value chain to be very well articulated.

So yes, ifyou are interested in the subject then go ahead and read it, but don'tforget to put what you get from it in context - with the other diverseopinions on DW/DM and Telecoms - not too mention a lot of dramaticallydiffering opinions regarding Knowledge Management.

Best regards,

MartynR Jones

The definition of data mining is bizarre
Contrary to the previous review, the marketing stuff begins from chapter 7. One particular note: I found author's definition of data mining (p.18) strange at least: "Data mining tools is the category of software thatincludes any and all tools that, when provided to end users, give them theability to do ad-hoc and/or user-defined analyses of information in orderto solve specific business problems." Defining the topic that way, theauthor manages to describe MS Query as data mining tool. Some generalarchitectural issues are valid and interesting, though.

Sales Collateral on software
I dont know who hired Rob Mattison to write this book. The first introduction on the Telco industri is ok and quite interesting but then the next ten chapters is the cleanest sales material from various softwarevendors. You will get far more value if you contact the vendors directly

especially good for telco guys to build their own
telcos have unique features. so this kind of industry specific considerations are very useful and in need! ... Read more

Product Description

Here's a systems engineering-level introduction to the growing field of Information Warfare (IW) -- the battlefield where information is both target and weapon. This book provides an overview of rapidly emerging threats to commercial, civil, and military information systems -- and shows how these threats can be identified and systems protected. This is the first book to detail the component principles, technologies, and tactics critical to success in the three key areas of IW: Information Dominance, Information Defense, and Information Offense. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Overview
Good Book -a little hard to grasp if you have no experience in the field but brings together all the information.

Awesome book.
Starts out a little dry, but it's the necessary building blocks for the rest of the book. This is a great end-to-end description of the science of IW. Good buy!

A thorough introduction to a complex discipline
This book presents an information warfare framework that is more aligned to national infrastructure and military systems protection than commercial enterprises.However, the framework and systematic discussion of all of the relevant elements of information warfare can be applied to any environment - commercial, government or military.

The framework itself is sound and is the foundation of any infowar readiness posture. The book emphasizes a readiness posture that is defensive in nature, and the approach set forth addresses both strategic and tactical defense considerations.

There are a three of interesting viewpoints provides, which is consistent with the systems engineering approach taken: (1) hierarchy of strategic components.These are presented topdown with defense and deterrence paths as follows: Policy, Strategy and Operational levels and Operational Influence Relationships. (2) A strategic process that encompasses development of strategy, threat analysis and assessment of effectiveness.(3)Operational model, comprised of perceptual, information and physical layers.

Issues such as MEII (Minimum Essential Information Infrastructure deployment and modes of operations are cogently discussed along with associated tactical responses (surveillance, mode control, auditing/forensic analysis and reporting).The conceptual and process framework is augmented by a solid discussion of security technologies that are still in the large as accurate and valid today as when the book was written in 1998.

What I especially like about this book, aside from the systems engineering approach and viewpoints, is the complete coverage of the full spectrum of information warfare, including more subtle issues such as data and knowledge analysis, the cursory examination of offensive operations (seeing the info war from a hostile's viewpoint), and the copious amount of detail provided for each of the topics and subjects associated with infowar.

This book is an excellent starting point for corporate security organs that have matured to the point where infowar defensive measures can be effectively addressed.Although infowar is an element of information security, the mindset for defense requires a vastly more mature security program than normal network and system security practices because the threats may not be strictly technical in nature.This book will prepare you for the realities of infowar and give you insights about how it can be incorporated into your security posture. ... Read more

Product Description
THIS EDITION IS INTENDED FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. ... Read more