Product Description
LEGO Mindstorms robots can do more than you ever imagined! The secret: go beyond the built-in tools and leverage the power of Java. In Core LEGO Mindstorms, author Brian Bagnall shows you how, step by step. Working from beautifully rendered 3-D plans and photographs, you'll construct five unique robots. You'll master advanced proximity and compass sensors, even master MIT's new breakthrough in robotics: behavior control programming. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Excellent for RCX, not so good for NXT
I bought this book to teach students to program their NXTs using Java as the next level above NXT-G. As I began using the book, I came to realize that many examples and explanations were written for the RCX. The few that existed for the NXT did not seem to work or were not as well explained. I am still using the book for ideas but this book is not helping me as much as I expected.

SWE member

Contents includes:

interfacing a robot to a PC
electronics schematics : light, touch. motion sensors, distance, compass sensors

Robot magazine cost $5.99 and includes non JAVA educational robots

Learning Aspects of Java the Fun Way
While taking java courses at the local college, I ventured into the idea of applying what I had learned.Being an avid Mindstorms fan, I found this to be the perfect outlet.This book has re-affirmed what I have learned as well as created new ways to look at the programming.Due my success with this product, my professors have asked that I periodically come by with a program for student review and demonstration of applied programming.

It is well written with unassuming overtones.The portions on building your own sensors also make electronic assembly easier.The graphics are black and white on flimsy paper giving the book a sense of newspaper style instructional manuals.This said, presentation could be better.

All in all this is a very good tool for the Mindstorms nut, Java programmer, and techy at heart.I highly recommend added it to your tool box!

An Excellent Book
If you have the Lego RIS and are interested in Java then this is the book to get.Bagnall leads you through the installation of LEJOS and JCreator (both freeware) including setting up the environment variables on your PC.He also gives a brief introduction to Java, enough to get you started.The chapters on behavior, proximity detection and navigation are especially good.As an added bonus, applying the techniques discussed in this book is a fun way of learning the basic concepts of Java and object oriented programming. It won't make you an expert, but it will get you started.

Best Mindstorms book I have purchased
This book is superior to "Programming Lego Mindstorms with Java."

It is well suited to both beginning and advanced programers. It covers languages basics, but still provides much info to experienced Java developers about robotics Design Patterns.

It also includes detailed instructions and pictures describing on basic robotic construction...things like how to turn a rotary motion to a linear motion, how to change gear ratios, how to build differentials, etc.

There is also a detail chapter devoted to building your own homebrew sensors that even someone with little to no experience in electronics could easily build.

I am very happy with this purchase. ... Read more

Product Description
Write your own programs with Microsoft® Visual Basic® .NET—faster, smarter, and better. Use easy coding techniques and expert tips to learn syntax and language elements, functions and classes, Windows® Forms, Microsoft ASP.NET, data access, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

full of inessentials
sorry, i just bought these kinds of books. they have lots of talking and less explaining and teaching...besides, you're loosing all the essentials.


find some other book for beginners or programmers alike. the title is lying, it doesnt reflect the content.

Faster Smarter Beginning Programming (using Visual Studio)
While only having been through the first couple chapters, this book is written like it is referring to Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, but some of the menus referred to actually are for an earlier version of Visual Studio, so you have to do some investigation of what is available from the program that matches the text.
The first program did not work as the author predicted; I followed directions but running the program led to errors.

An Honest Review
Although I'm only 80% finished with the book, I believe I can review it now.

The reason being that the remaining chapters (9-12)
pertain to non-groundwork topics
(i.e.designing windows forms, web page programming).
Obviously an intro. to more advanced uses of programming.

The author, Jim Buyens, consistently writes in a clear, modern, and organized way.
He lives up to teaching the basics (plus techniques!).
I have only found 1 mistake in his sample code, and it was an uncritical piece.

There is even some sincere humor in chapter subtitles.
i.e.
Chapter 7 subtitle "a touch of class[*]".
*group of properties and methods.

If you buy, a real learning effort is a must.

definitely a five star!

Exactly what it claims to be & more
I am a Systems Admin who knows networking like the back of my hand and support hundreds of systems running numerous OSs. I can develop dynamic web sites using PHP & mySQL, and I use javascript. But as most of you know, those in the development community don't consider those true programming languages (since they're just scripting languages), thus it doesn't make you a true programmer. I have always been interested in 'someday' learning to program. Well, I finally decided to start the process. I first tried to tackle what language to choose. Since VB is so widespread and (enter comment here) Windows does command a very high percentage of the desktop arena, I chose VB .NET.

The problem was that I have no formal programming experience, and most books on VB .NET tried to teach you by comparing it to VB6. Also, since VB6 was not fully OO, I didn't want to learn a programming paradigm just to use it as a stepping stone to another, when the first is clearly phased out. Either that, or I would find books or online tutorials that would explain the IDE and say OK that's it. Just put your code in here and you're good to go. But what if you don't know how to code?

I needed a book that taught a technically proficient professional how to program from the ground up using the most recent version of VB without reference to other versions.

That is exactly what you get and more. It gives you everything you need from the very basics and builds on the skills you learned. It also gives great code examples then walks you through every line of code explaining exactly what it did. Finally, it offers a tutorial on the subject you just learned using the code it just explained line by line.

This is not for intermediate programmers or experienced programmers that are new to VB. It truly is what it says in the Intro of the book...

If you are an experienced PC user who's never delved into programming but now has the itch, this is the book that will get you started. It presumes you're proficient with Windows & Windows Apps but wouldn't know a line of code if it came up and bit you.

Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Hard core C programming textbook based on almost fifty years of software development experience. Includes over fifty sample programs.Linux is discussed in some detail since UNIX and C were co-developed.However, the examples are configured to run on Apple OS/X and Windows as well.

1/09 Added a C++ chapter.
If you already purchased, you can download an updated copy for nothing. ... Read more

Product Description
Looking for an inexpensive way to learn the fundamentals of game programming? Look no further! DarkBASIC Programming for the Absolute Beginner will provide you with a fun, gentle learning curve for learning DarkBASIC-- no prior programming experience required! DarkBASIC is an inexpensive programming language that supports the development of desktop applications, but is especially useful for game creation. DarkBASIC Programming for the Absolute Beginner will touch on all aspects of DarkBASIC's capabilities, but emphasis is placed on using it in game development. A different programming concept is taught in every chapter walking you through the creation of a simple game to illustrate the concept. This "learn by doing" approach not only provides a sense of accomplishment, but it's also a fun way to learn. By the end of the book, you'll have a fundamental understanding of programming in DarkBASIC and an excellent foundation of knowledge for future forays into the exciting worlds of game development and computer programming. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great beginner's guide to programming
This book does an excellent job of teaching the fundamental aspects of programming using DarkBASIC.
I am using it to teach my younger brothers how to program games and they are enjoying the book as well.

As the title suggests, this is a book for beginners, anyone already familiar with programming will be able to glaze over at least half of the book and solely use the multimedia chapters of the book.

The only down side to the book is that it is a little dated, while the coding examples are fine, the chapters on the editor itself is completely inaccurate since the it has been enhanced over the past couple of years.

Overall this book is a great buy for anyone interested in learning to program, especially if they are interested in game development.

Darkbasic Pro book review
The book is okay for people who know absolutely [nothing] about programming in any language.In a way it could have been called "DarkBasic for Dummies"

I have been programming for about 28 years in many Basic language varients and didn't pick up anything new from this.I'd hoped that it [might] get a bit more into the 'Tips & Tricks' aspects, but Alas! no...

Excellent, just what the absolute beginner needs!
I had never programmed before, and didnt want to spend years learning C++.
Just wanted to do some basic programming with some satisfying visual effects.
For that this book, and darkbasic, is perfect.

Its basically a complete walk through for DBPro, teaching all the necessary functions (which is generic to all computer programming BTW, so if you move on to C or something else down the track this isnt wasted time at all). It uses simple games as examples. You can work through the book comfortable in a couple of months. And can easily make you own games after that.

It doesnt deal with 3D very well, which i initially thought was a huge negative. But actually its the background programming that is taught in this book that is really important - the 3D stuff is really simply and after working through this book you can figure out the rest for your self. Indeed the book leaves you at a compliant level where you no longer need books or tutorials to continue working with DBPro.

I recommended this to anyone starting off with DBPro, its much cheaper than the other books and they cant have anything this doesnt, it covers everything you need.

Covers DarkBASIC Professional from top to bottom!
This is an excellent book! Even if you have not prior programming expierence, I think that this book will get up and runnign quickly. You can easily read the whole in less than a week. I recommend this book to nayone ready jump into the deep end and learn DarkBASIC Professional.

Misleading...
Well, it's a great book, but it is rather misleading, when you expect with a 30 usd budget to by DarkBASIC Classic rather then the foolishly expensive brother version, DarkBASIC Pro.And when you get the book you become pissed off because you read the goody goodies, until you reach the words DarkBASIC Pro!Trust me, that was my thoughts!I was like, YAY, a cheap book for DarkBASIC Classic... But hell no!I get this book on DB Pro!The title is very misleading... ... Read more

Product Description
This updated edition provides the latest information about how to write applications that take advantage of the advanced networking protocols and technologies that Microsoft Windows XP supports-Internet Protocol (IP) versions 4 and 6, Pragmatic General Multicasting (PGM) protocol, Internet Group Management Protocol 3 (IGMPv3), IPv6 multicasting, the Network Location Awareness (NLA) namespace provider, the Winsock Provider Interface, 64-bit Winsock APIs, and .NET Sockets. The book includes code samples in the Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft Visual C++, and Microsoft Visual C# development systems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

Not too bad, but there is better out there
As with most technical books, the code doesn't work right off of the pages.And since it's now 2005, 3 years after the printing of this book, another edition is needed.Network programming is a very large subject to cover.If you know nothing of network programming, then this book is an okay starting point.Be prepared for some fairly complex topics right from the begining.The book covers network programming using C++, C#, and VB.Also, check the web page located in the front pages of the book to fix code errors throughout the book.In all honesty, I would recommend against buying this book and instead purchasing a more thourough network book, such as Windows Sockets Network Programming.

Bad source code
You would think the authors know what they are talking about when they write a book. But the source code provided does not run if you don't meet very strict requirements. The authors work for Microsoft. And they are tester/devloper. But neither they nor microsoft press bother to run their codes. My question is, if their codes are not good. How can you trust the book contents.

Scatter-gather approach
Patience is a virtue, Avatar.You'll need a good deal of patience while reading this book.While there is an enormous amount of valuable information in the text, I'm not sure that the book itself was actually edited.Several of the descriptions seem to drag on continuously, while a fair amount of bird walking is done in other places.I don't fault the authors with this, though.As I understand it, one of the editor's jobs is to make sure a book is grammatically correct and easy to read.

Another problem that I've noticed involves incorrect chapter references.For example, the SO_CONNECT_TIME referenced in chapter 7 (p. 205) refers you to chapter 6 (p. 177) for an explanation.Chapter 6 refers you to chapter 5.Are these guys doctors?Will my insurance cover this? :)

Programming in C# minor.12 pages here.There really is a chapter 13.Don't flip too fast; you might miss it.Now, granted, I'm not a C# programmer, so I haven't thoroughly looked at the contents of the chapter.However, judging from the skimpiness alone, I imagine that a lot more could have been covered.

In fairness chapters 5 - 12 are packed with some very useful information, and the C# chapter was probably just icing.So, overall I would recommend this book.However, the book's organization and overall appearance (no shading of code samples, tables, etc.) are lacking considerably.These issues and the poor editing earn a generous 3 stars.

Two Stars. Not a Fraction More.
The best I can say is that this book looks like it has a lot of information.

But what good is it if you have to wade through words "up to here" just to get at it? Do they pay these guys by the word?

It's just not an efficient book.

If I couldn't teach any better than this I'd get another job.

Great! But be careful.
The C++ code after Chapter 1 in this book will not work unless you have the latest Platform SDK installed. So don't buy this book unless you meet the OS requirements for the latest Platform SDK. As of February 2003 the Platform SDK requires Windows XP, Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 SP6, or Windows Server 2003. The SDK is NOT supported on Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Millennium Edition.

I don't have any of the required OS's so running the code in this book is impossible for me. I'm not going to unfairly judge the book because of this, however. I suppose if you're a serious developer you should probably be developing on one of the required platforms anyway. I have learned a lot from this book and I could get some of the code to work with MAJOR tweaking. It's true that a lot of this book is just stuff that you could find all over the MSDN Library, but it is very nice to have it all in one book. It starts from the basics and slowly leads into more advanced topics which would be difficult to do if you're only using the MSDN Library.

I don't regret buying the book, and in a strange way, since I had to do so much intense research on the Winsock functions and syntax to tweak the code enough to get it to work, maybe I learned a little more than I would have if the code had just "worked out of the box". I don't recommend learning this way though, it's very frustrating. I think it's a great book if you can get the code to run, if not, then stay away. ... Read more

Product Description

• This book is broken into four primary sections addressing key topics that Linux programmers need to master: Linux nuts and bolts, the Linux kernel, the Linux desktop, and Linux for the Web
• Effective examples help get readers up to speed with building software on a Linux-based system while using the tools and utilities that contribute to streamlining the software development process
• Discusses using emulation and virtualization technologies for kernel development and application testing
• Includes useful insights aimed at helping readers understand how their applications code fits in with the rest of the software stack
• Examines cross-compilation, dynamic device insertion and removal, key Linux projects (such as Project Utopia), and the internationalization capabilities present in the GNOME desktop

Customer Reviews (3)

Ups, it was a mistake to buy this book
Well, the title says everything. Googling you'll find more and most interenting (and free) stuff than you actually get from this book. If you have money and do not have in which spend it, buy the book; otherwise please don't do it!! (in fact I'll check if amazon.com can refund me for this book).

Achieving the Professional Programming Window
Wrox should be applauded for continuing to document the programming training requirements for Linux. I have been a professional programmer for 27 years and I depend on these references to keep me up to date on procedures, tools and specialization areas. The previous reference on professional programming, about 8 years ago, was over 1100 pages and covered 28 chapters verses the current reference's 14 chapters and 440 pages. The Linux world has narrowed somewhat in the last 10 years and it has changed its focus on programming tools as well. Linux applications have grown into new areas, such as virtualization, enterprise databases and network domain management. This reference has adapted to the same needs and has adjusted its topics to the current programming needs window. This book is a must have if you want to enter the professional programming level in Linux.

I do have a few reservations about the content in this reference. Aside from the movement of serveral chapters from the previous reference to entire books of their own, there are new programming areas that have been surprisingly neglected. New languages have emerged as leaders in the Linux world such as C++, Java, and C#. More importantly, development performance and application complexity now demand the use of Integrated Development Environments( IDE ) for project design. There should have been chapters dedicated to Eclipse( Java, C++, C ), the Mono Project( C#, C++, C, and Java ) and others. I haven't hired any programmers since 1992 that didn't know how to use Visual Studio or an integrated editor like SlickEdit on the Windows side of the asile. An integrated debugger in the IDE is a requirement in order to meet current schedules. Professional development also requires an editor that can have over 40 open files. Furthermore, portability and version control for team programming are widely considered important features for companies contemplating a wider use of Linux applications. Consider these questions, how can these companies combine version control systems, and what features from std lib and graphic libraries are also reflected in .NET libraries? Its time to give CVS a decent burial and at least adopt Subversion. What about design patterns and good programming practice? These topics can be referenced in other books to make it clear what the current requirements are for professional programming. The command line isn't dead, but it isn't the preferred method of building projects either.

In the next series, I want to see at least 1000 pages and 22 chapters dedicated to the current areas and in addition the following topics: Program development in current IDEs, Debugging tools, Current programming languages, designing web and system services, Database comparison in Linux, custom Graphics at the WPF level, and very importantly, interprocess communication between different operating systems.

Linux can only become a leader when it can be the common hub that connects various systems and includes both desktop and server systems. Windows will continue to rule the PC world if the current deficiencies remain. Open Office is one place where this catchup is happening. When the design and programming interfaces become comparible between OSs and applications, the questions of which OS to install will become moot when this happens. But first, we must all know how to connect the application to all the current interface. OS price is not the sole issue here and passion is not sufficient to change this situation.

I like what I see in this reference, but there are subject deficiencies that should be corrected. Until, these issues are addressed in this reference in the next edition, I can only give it four stars. Fortunately, there is space for an additional five hundred pages to close the requirements gap. I'm looking forward to seeing this done in the next two years and I will be the first to buy or contribute to this advanced edition. I enjoy open system programming for Linux and I want to see it become the standard for PC computing.

Good for beginning... if you know your basics.
I bought this book hoping to familiarize myself with some of the more common methods of programming for the Linux system. The book does a fairly good job of explaining the Linux kernel, as well as introducing the basics of OpenGL and SDL for graphics. I felt that the networking section of the book was rather lax in it's discussion of forking servers and handling TCP protocols. While the book discusses the basics of programming for the Linux system, it lacks nearly any mention of bash scripting or use of the standard Linux command line tools.
While this is a good book for learning the basics, if you don't already know some programming, then some of the examples can really mess you up; the editor missed quite a few things in this book. Some of the mistakes are in the example code, some are in the author's explanations of the examples, and there are several when the author is simply describing anything new.
Overall, i would recommend this book for learning basic programming for Linux. It was very helpful for me, even with all of the grammatical and programming syntax errors.
... Read more

Product Description
The popularity of artificial intelligence continues to grow as more and more uses are found for the technology. AI Application Programming Second Edition is completely updated to supply both the conceptual background and the real-world examples needed to begin using AI in software projects. Each technology is illustrated with a model implementation and application, and complete source code for each example is provided on the companion CD-ROM. Selected applications cover data mining, genetic algorithms, game programming, embedded rules-based engines, and the World Wide Web.

KEY FEATURES:
* Covers cutting-edge AI concepts such as neural networks, natural language processing, intelligent agents, genetic algorithms, rule-based systems, unsupervised learning algorithms, migratory software, and more
* Teaches each AI concept through a practical application, including a financial data miner, a Web spider, a networked data collector, a game program, an embedded battery charger control system, an embedded rules-based engine for log monitoring, and a fault tolerance subsystem
* Groups AI topics by conceptual subfields (machine learning, evolutionary methods, symbolic methods) for better "big picture" understanding and more focused specialization
* Provides a background in the history of AI, the distinct branches of this broad field, and the philosophical underpinnings and issues associated with these technologies
* Includes a CD-ROM (Win/Linux) with complete, fully commented source code in C for every application in the book
* Exercise sets for each chapter are located in Appendix A for use as a Textbook ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Great book for engineers
I enjoyed this book.It is written at a level that can sink my teeth into without too much concentration on statistical mathematical equations all over the page.The algorithms he chose to cover were very interesting as well.

I wish it had been implemented in Java, but it was a simple matter to transfer them over.

I sure would like to see a Java based sequel that goes a bit deeper into these topics.

Thanks Tim

AI Application Programming
This book gave me a head start on AI with hands-on examples on different techniques I could use in many different problems. this might be one of the best books if you want to start with AI yet don't want to get involvedwith the horrifying math behind it. it just directly jumps to the fun stuff :D

This Book Exceeds My Expectations
It's just amazing how such a 473-page book could cover wide range of AI subjects, and at the same time could deliver easy-to-understand explanations without throwing PhD maths at you. It is just superb how a tech book with minimal math could explain everything!

Every chapter covers one kind of AI, one or two real-world applications and a list of other applications. There're more than enough illustrations for people like me who hate text-only book. A picture is worth a thousand words buddy. Here's my list of AI fields I remembered from the book: Genetic Algorithm, Neural Network, Ant, Particle Swarm, Simulated Annealing, ALife, Pathfinding, A-Star, ATR1, Classifier systems, Rule-based Aystems, Agent-based Software, NLP, Bigram, and Fuzzy Logic.

Examples are written in C language. Comments are plentiful. The codes, though short, pack a lot punches; a whole stack-only virtual machine (VM), for example, was written in less than 100 lines to illustrate how Genetic Algorithm works. Although I'm a VB.NET programmer, I could understand them quite easily.

I recommend this book to any programmer who like to get a big picture of artificial intelligence, who doesn't know where to begin or which algorithm is the right choice. This book should be the first-to-read but not the last, because it touches not far from the surface. I'd say this is the best precursor.

Decent introduction, insane amount of typos
The code is fairly easy to read, and (to date) I have not found any errors in example code... but in terms of the author's ability to write properly, that's a whole different story. Formulas are missing halfs, inconsistencies in variable usage, it's seriously bad. Maybe I got a bad edition (didn't buy from Amazon), but it looks exactly like the one listed (softcover, 2nd ed)..

If you're fairly proficient at C/C++ code, however, you should be able to follow the book ok... just expect to be reading more of the source code than the actual writing, half the time.

It was a required textbook for a class.

Best introductory book on AI
It is the best introductory book on AI.As you can read from other reviewer's with low rating, it's not in depth.But if you know programming already, and want to know AI, this is a good start.
... Read more

Product Description
After the success of the first edition of Introduction to Functional Programming, the authors have thoroughly updated and revised this bestselling title. This book is unusual amongst books on functional programming in that it is primarily directed towards the concepts of functional programming, rather than their realization in a specific programming language. The book clearly expounds the construction of functional programs as a process of mathematical calculation, but the mathematics is restricted to that relevant to the actual construction of programs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Original classic, theoretical
Bird and Wadler got me started on functional programming. Before that, I'd only seen discussions of C++/STL functors and functions like for, map etcetera.

B&W was dense, and magic. It reminded me of the first time I read the K&R C book, you're following along fine, and all of a sudden you're off the deep end!

The syntax, sort of ML-like adds to the 'magic' feel of it all. Overall I think it's a good book. But like with K&R, make this your second or third book, to ground you in the fundamentals after you've become somewhat familiar with the syntax and application of a particular fnal language.

That said, it covers a wide breadth of topics, and does justice to them as well. But this opinion comes from a newbie at functional programming, so caveat lector!

For me, it made me realise that there was a whole 'new' way of programming, vastly bigger than the few functions C++ had in its STL, and that C++ syntax mostly got in the way. However, perhaps because of this book, I never quite grokked Haskell/ML syntax either, though LISP I find easy (easier).

Nice book on functional programming
This is a good introduction to functional programming.
It is less language specific than some of the other books. ... Read more

Product Description
C/C++ programming is often thought of as inaccessible, but these languages form the basis for many other programming languages and paradigms, and as such are vital, necessary skills for any IT professional to learn. Just Enough C/C++ Programming provides an intelligent layperson?s guide to programming. The book does not assume you are dimwitted, like so many other beginning programming texts do, but it doesn?t assume you are an engineer either. It simply gives you enough C/C++ language knowledge to be able to complete practical, industry-related, programming projects without becoming sidetracked. In short, it teaches you everything you need to know to be a successful programmer, without overloading you on the details. The book begins by explaining the tools you?ll need, providing a concise introduction to the world of programming, and explaining the basic structure of a C program. Algorithm design for common programming problems, use of compilers and pre-processors, and the standard ANSI C libraries are all covered in enough detail so that you can pick up and apply the knowledge immediately. Next, the book covers the most relevant differences between C and C++, including C++ Standard Libraries, templates, and STL. The companion web site includes usable sample code for download and key pointers on how the code can be adapted for real-world use. Perfect for any aspiring software developer, Just Enough C/C++ Programming offers both a comfortable read, and practical, applicable, ready-to-use knowledge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Are you a beginner or intermediate C and C++ programmer? If you are, this book is for you! Author Guy W. Lecky-Thompson, has done an outstanding job of writing a great book that provides you with just enough information on the subject of C/C++ in hand to be useful in the real world.

Lecky-Thompson, begins by showing you what the tools of the trade really are, some of the basic concepts related to the programming process. Next, the author focuses on the programming primer. Then, he covers some of the various concepts that make up the typical C program. The author continues by showing you how information is stored in a program. In addition, the author introduces you to Console I/O--showing you ways to get information from the user and display it on the screen. He also shows you how to selectively perform tasks based on the outcome of preceding tasks, which is vital in programming. Next, the author covers mechanisms that are available for task repetition. Then, he covers standard libraries. The author continues by providing you with a detailed explanation of how programs process incoming arguments; and, how you can create functions within your programs. In addition, he deals with file I/O--which deals with ways to process files and perform external data storage. The author also shows you how you can create your own templates for storing information. Next, he looks at pointers--which is an advanced programming topic, but necessary for understanding the bridge into C++. Then, the author looks at pre-processor directives--which detail how you communicate with the program charged with taking your code and turning it into an application. He continues by discussing the extensions to C that make C++ a useful language. In addition, the author gives you some direction as to how you can go about using all of this information. Finally, he provides a list of all the various useful Web references.

This most excellent book provides vast amounts of reference material. What's most important though, is to use the source code from the companion Web site, and click on the Downsload button. ... Read more

Product Description
Making a commercial-quality RTS game takes thousands of dollars and a large team of talented people. So is it possible for a book to teach one person how to make their own RTS game? The answer is yes. Programming an RTS Game with Direct3D is such a reference. The book provides intermediate programmers with a step-by-step implementation guide for programming a complete RTS game. In this book you'll learn how to make a very simple RTS game with all of the core elements. Don't be fooled though-- even this simple game will take a lot of knowledge and hard work. But during the process of making the game, you'll learn many general game programming skills, including terrain generation, skinned meshes, path fi nding, visual effects, sounds, networking, how to create a user interface, and much more. Each chapter deals with one or more specifi c component in the building process to mimic a logical project workfl ow from concept to completed game. The book begins by laying the theoretical framework and discussing RTS game design and various implementation issues. From there, you'll move on to implement component after component, until you are finally ready to put them all together to form an RTS game. Throughout the book, there is a heavy emphasis on coding and a lot of this code will be found in the example applications on the companion CD-ROM. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

great book
Want to develop an 3D rts in C++, get this book.
Great explanation and implementation of 3D.
I liked the overall framework of the code, it was easy to extend.

The chapter on creating 3D models was basic, and there are a whole lot more tutorials on how to do it elsewhere, but, for the sake of completeness, I understand Carl putting it into the book.

Chapter on Terrain, Fog of War, Effects where excellent.
The chapter on AI was simplistic, but a good starting point for any person interested in getting an RTS up and running.

The best aspect is the operational code, that allowed lots of experimentation and extending to create your own game.
Thanks

This book is a classic
I always make sure that when I but a book on game programming that it is less than 3 years old, because technology changes so fast, I don't want to buy something outdated.

Even though this was published in 2006, the author has offered updated VS 2008 source code files on his website that make the book perhaps even more of a classic, and it's place has become solidified in my game programming book shelf.

The book starts out with a basic direct3d primer, as most do, and introduces some key concepts on how it will be using the STL. It then moves on into, well, RTS game programming!

I do recommend, as does the author, that you pick up some experience with direct3d before using this book. Frank Luna's DirectX 9.0c book is probably the best for that job, because it goes in depth on using the caps structure and other helpful math and direct3d stuff that this book assumes you know. You should also be familiar with C++ concepts like advanced usage of classes and the STL. It would be difficult for someone without OOP experience to understand the concepts in this book, but hey, this isn't a primer; it's an honest to goodness classic.

Also, make sure you have a graphics card that supports vertex and pixel shaders versions 2.0 and higher. the author mentions this in the book, but I think it's something that ought to be pre-purchase.

If you're on the fence on whether or not to buy this book, please follow my advice and pick it up. Granberg is an excellent writer and you won't ever feel "lost" during the book. his writing style is very nice and easy to comprehend without leaving you feeling like he's some sort of cheesy camp counselor, explaining to you how "super totally rad" game programming is.

Oh, and did I mention that this book is a classic?

Best book ever written on Direct3D
I am a computer science professor who reads scores of game dev and C++ books every year. I have a really hard time choosing a textbook for many upper-division game courses, and rarely have time to read them all. I was really upset when the book initially came out with buggy examples that would not build with VS2005 and would crash a lot, so I had to shelve it for a couple years. Now, returning to the book again while perusing the Amazon reviews, I find that the author, Carl Granberg, released an update of the book's sources with new VS2008 projects and bug fixes, and everything works great now. More than great...

This is the single best book on Direct3D 9 I have ever read, and I am using it as the primary resource for two courses--DirectX II and Game Engine Development. Here are the all-important topics you will learn here that are half baked in every other book I've read:

1. 3D heightmap terrain generation, with a progression from simple to complex with over a dozen examples of each step the author took while developing the landscape for his rts example. THIS ALONE is worth the price of the book! No other resource explains dynamic terrain as well as Granberg does here.

2. Mesh file modeling, loading, rendering, and animating. ALSO worth the price of the book. It's so well done that Granberg is writing another book just on this topic. Character Animation with Direct3D.

3. HLSL shader programming: glow effects, fog of war, team colors. ALSO worth the price of the book. Very good practical real-world use of shaders rather than the usual (Engel, et al) over-hyped approach to the topic. Easy to grasp due to Granberg's excellent pacing and well-described techniques.


In summary, I was a fan of this book even with the buggy problems here and there in his sources. But now that the issues are worked out with the author's updated sources, I'm extremely relieved to have found a MASTER guide to all of the most important Direct3D topics in one volume.

Good book, albeit somewhat dated
Pros:
-Great overview on how most RTS games are written.
-It is by far the best single resource on RTS game development currently on the market as of October 2008.
-The content and quality is good enough to get you started with your own, but needs a lot of work to build a solid quality game.
-Code samples available at http://www.cjgraphic.com/ bring the code examples up to date with the latest DirectX SDK and Visual Studio 2008.Make sure you download these rather than using the code on the included CD-ROM.
Cons:
-There is still a lot of polish and quality that you need to add to make a good RTS.Game Programming Gems and Game Developers Conference session CDs are a good place to fill in the gaps left by this book.

Straight Forward Writing
This is a good book that really walks you through the start, middle and end of programming a simple RTS game with Direct 3D. The code base does seem a little dated and some items seemed to be glossed over, but with good purpose.

Overall a good book to begin from. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

All about the Z80 microprocessor chip
Every thing about the Z80 you want to know, and more.

A classic work
When I was first charged with the lightning bolt of the promise of software possibilities, I found this book. It helped me see how to view a microprocessor's capability in a comfortable, natural progression of understanding. It provided me what I wanted to know where I expected to find it. The references to related information, missing in most documentation, always seemed to be both appropriate and conveniently located. It was as if Zaks knew my own, unique desire to learn and how it naturally unfolded. It felt as though he had prepared each of the steps that I would need by having been where I was. It served me tirelessly as a reference until it fell apart. Books of this type are hard to find today.

Best assembly language book ever written
When I was first starting to program I came across this book.It was not only a well written, complete reference on the Z-80, it was a perfect reference book.Now, when I program, I generally need several referencebooks hanging around.Mr. Zaks said it all, cleanly, concisely.Anysuccess I had in my later programming, I have always felt that his book wasat the core. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Math Toolkit for Real-Time Programming
This book showed some good points. However I felt it is a little bit out of date. The author might know the contents earlier, but he released too late.

Math Toolkit for Realtime Programming
Book is good and useful. Rational fraction, Numerical intergration, dynamic simulation and state vector cover in detail. Appreciate your selling.

Contacted customer service for missing CD-ROM attached with book on 2/17/2006, contact person, Durga.A. Yet to receive reply.

Falls short of expectations
I have yet to find a book that explains "complex" math algorithms well and give clear coding examples that follow.This book is no exception.I suppose after reading some of the other reviews, I had high expectations for this book, but it failed to deliver.

My number one complaint about the book is that there are very little or no comments in the code.There are pages of equations and derivations of the equations followed by code of a function.I didn't understand how the code related to the equations.It would have been a tremendous help to put a one line comment next to each section or line of the code referring to an equation number.Many equations deal with variables like x, y, or a.It doesn't help me much when a variable inside of code is called "x".I have no idea of its use or where it came from.It would have been even better if after each section of the math, the author put the line of code it referred to, and after the algortihm was complete, write the whole function down.

Another minor issue I had with the book was that it was written in the first person and the author tried to make humorous remarks throughout.I understand that he was trying to make it fun and while some people may appreciate it, I found it annoying.

The author does not seem to follow his own advice.The book is clearly not written for any one programming language.Most of the code is written in C, but he has references to pascal, c++, and says that fortran is basically a dead language but refers to fortran throughout the book.He makes it a point to state that he has good coding style and has a whole chapter on constants.He #defines One as 1.0 to avoid wasting run time cycles from converting an int to a double.The compiler may do this, but he adds "to take the chance is bad programming practice".I can see his point, but the problem is he never uses defines in his own coding samples when he writes code like double sum = 0;

The book is divided into 3 sections.The first section deals with constants and errors.There was no math and I am an experienced programmer and did not find much use for this.

The second section of the book is about square roots, sin, arctan, and logs.The algorithms seemed ok, and as expected, are probably faster and less precise than the standard library functions of a compiler.I've seen them before and they were not useful to me because many of them required an initial guess to be input.I work with graphics and such a broad range of numbers that I don't have an initial guess and therefore can't use the methods.

The third section deals with numerical calculus and was the major reason I bought the book.I thought the refresher and review of basic calculus was good.It was a bit stale in my mind, so it was nice to read about it again.However, I want to be able to apply the code in the book to real world programming.The key link and understanding of the code as it relates to the equations just wasn't there.Also, I was hoping there would be more code.There are whole chapters that don't have a single line of code written in it.

Embedded Programmers bible!
Math Toolkit for Real-Time Programming is simply the best focused book on the subject of doing maths on microcontrollers, eg PIC 8051, AVR, PSOC etc with limited resources.

If you write software for an 8 bit micro's then this is the book for you. As it is writen if you want a canned answer then this has less value, but if you want to learn how then this is for you.
It has also been helpful to demistify some math concepts that I never really "got" even after doing an electrical engineering degree!

Lack of example to fully demonstrate the knowledge.
The book review how an algorithm is implemented using C/C++. The book often override many of the default routine, with long boring text broken in pieces here and there. This is a good book if you are already very fluence in math, but could be very boring and useless if you are not. Note that the CD only contain less a 500KB of text file!! ... Read more

Product Description
Programming in TCP/IP can seem deceptively simple. Nonetheless, many network programmers recognize that their applications could be much more robust. Effective TCP/IP Programming is designed to boost programmers to a higher level of competence by focusing on the protocol suite's more subtle features and techniques. It gives you the know-how you need to produce highly effective TCP/IP programs.

In forty-four concise, self-contained lessons, this book offers experience-based tips, practices, and rules of thumb for learning high-performance TCP/IP programming techniques. Moreover, it shows you how to avoid many of TCP/IP's most common trouble spots.

Effective TCP/IP Programming offers valuable advice on such topics as:

Exploring IP addressing, subnets, and CIDRPreferring the sockets interface over XTI/TLIUsing two TCP connectionsMaking your applications event-drivenUsing one large write instead of multiple small writesAvoiding data copyingUnderstanding what TCP reliability really meansRecognizing the effects of buffer sizesUsing tcpdump, traceroute, netstat, and ping effectively

Numerous examples demonstrate essential ideas and concepts. Skeleton code and a library of common functions allow you to write applications without having to worry about routine chores.

Through individual tips and explanations, you will acquire an overall understanding of TCP/IP's inner workings and the practical knowledge needed to put it to work. Using Effective TCP/IP Programming, you'll speed through the learning process and quickly achieve the programming capabilities of a seasoned pro.Amazon.com Review
Many C/C++ programmers know at least the basics of TCP/IP, but becoming an expert network programmer usually requires a lot of experience and sometimes hard-to-find knowledge. Written to give the intermediate or advanced developer a leg up in creating robust network applications using TCP/IP and related protocols, Effective TCP/IP Programming offers a truly valuable review and guide to getting the most out of your networked programs that are based on this popular standard.

This book is packaged as a series of 44 tips for better TCP/IP programs, but it actually does much more. Early sections review the basics of the TCP, UDP and IP protocols, along with related standards. A winning feature here is the author's care to distinguish between the well-known BSD (for Unix) and Winsock (for Windows) versions of sockets. (By using macros and "skeleton" programs, his sample C code will run easily on either implementation.)

Besides offering nuts-and-bolts programming advice and plenty of hints for better performance, Snader also discusses how IP works under the hood. Standout sections here include a discussion of the pitfalls of scaling a stand-alone or LAN TCP/IP application to the Internet, as well as what a "reliable" protocol like TCP really means. He shows you how to handle misbehaving servers and clients, and how to use multiple sockets effectively, and he offers several useful tips for optimizing data streamed across the wire. Although he doesn't mention Java here (which offers strong socket support on its own), the author does provide Perl examples that work with sockets in order to get you started with sockets used within scripting languages.

Because IP is the protocol of choice for the Internet, more and more of us are faced with becoming socket-programming experts in a hurry. In all, Effective TCP/IP Programming offers a good mix of basic and advanced tips on today's IP and related protocols. It's a valuable resource for any developer who programs for the Internet and wants to write better code using sockets. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: TCP/IP overview and programming tips, Berkeley Socket Distribution (BSD) vs. Winsock/Windows socket implementation issues, connected and connectionless protocols, network-programming frameworks, UDP vs. TCP, reliable protocols, network programming for single workstations, LANs and WANs; event-driven programming, improving write operations, IP packet layout, byte ordering issues, the Nagle and delayed ACK algorithms, using network utilities: inetd, tcpmux, tcpdump, traceroute, ttcp, and netstat; and resources and hints for improving network-programming skills. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

Effective to learn TCP/IP programming best practices
Not all of the 44 tips are exceptional. Some of them are pretty trivial such as "Read Stevens books" or "consult RFCs" but about 35 tips are very good. The author knows well this topic and explains very well the reasons behind these tips. I am sure that all these good tips can be found in the TCP/IP Illustrated books but if you do not have the time to read 3 volumes consisting of about 2000 pages, this less than 300 pages book will provide a nice synthesis of TCP/IP programming good practices.

excellent for developing network programs
I bought this about 4 years ago.It was extremely helpful for the socket programs that I have had to develop.I don't do TCP/IP socket programming full time, but this helped me to develop several robust applications.I used it to develop a BGP peering monitor application as a server that also uses sockets for remote reporting.I also used it in developing an active network probing application that looks for forwarding plane faults, making use of various active sending and recieving sockets: UDP, raw and ICMP.

entry-level textbook disguised as "tips"
I don't know why this book is rated so highly.There's nothing wrong with the content (what little there is), but I feel that it's misrepresented as a book for intermediate level network programmers.I was expecting discussion on when to use select() vs. multi-threaded vs. single-threaded servers, for example.But this book is more for beginners (Tip #1, "Understand the difference between connectionless and connection-oriented protocols").

I also feel that the title is misleading.I was expecting a book of specific tips on par with Scott Meyers' Effective C++/STL series which are vastly superior references on their own topics).

It's decent as a textbook, once you realize that's what this is.But it's still pretty shallow, and definitely not worth the high price tag.

Perfect reference for network programmers
This book is a perfect addition to the library of any network programmer. It brings the balance between practicality and knowledge to a topic as TCP/IP Programming. If you want more knowledge go with Stevens, but if you want to learn fast or to review some concepts or even have a reference book, this is your book.

If want to do network programming without getting too deeply into every network programming concept, this book will show you how to code simple and fast with very good reference examples. It will also give you tips that will help you to avoid network programming mistakes that can lead to network buffer overflows.

buy it even if you own Stevens' book
This book has a perfect balance of brevity and depth.Anything shorter would have been superficial, anything deeper would begin to compete with Stevens' Unix Network Programming (and lose).As is, this book fits very well for developers who do occasional TCP/IP development, but still need to develop reliable, industrial-grade software. ... Read more

Product Description

Pro Crystal Enterprise/BusinessObjects XI Programming shows you how to create customized solutions using the Business Objects/Crystal Enterprise object model. Here youll see the object model utilized to create professional-quality tools like on-demand web services, report metadata extraction, scheduling, security, and user management.

Author Carl Ganz explains in detail how to build advanced reporting solutions for Crystal Enterprise/Business Objects XI. He shows how to integrate CE/BO XI with .NET 2.0 and Visual Studio to create more flexible, tailored, and responsive reporting solutions than have previously been possible. In short, youll surpass what you thought you could achieve, and learn to create almost any imaginable reporting solution that Business Objects XI can handle.

Customer Reviews (3)

Good if you only use Crystal Reports
While Carl has a lot of good SDK programming information, it all seems focused on Crystal Reports content of Business Objjects XI. I'd really like to see him update this book to include Web Intelligence and Desktop Intelligence reports used in XIR2 and up to the latest version 3.1. One thing I was searching for was how to list objects for WebI reports to match the list I have from Universes for Impact Analysis.

Excellent Reference Material
This book is one of my most-used referenced books.I've done a LOT of work using the BO XI SDK to build utility programs to help administer our system and I regularly use it to look up details.

Carl's explanations of the many of the intricacies of using the SDK and the query language are straight-forward and easy to understand. He includes many tips about undocumented and little-known features along with information about things to watch out for where the software may not behave like you would expect it to.

In addition to the SDK, there is a good overview of the admin tools that are supplied with the BusinessObjects Enterprise software and there is a full chapter on the security model.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to enhance the capabilities of their BusinessObjects system.

The best book available for Crystal Enterprise
The company I work for started a Crystal Enterprise project several months ago.I can honestly say that we would have been unable to complete the project if we did not have this book.It really takes you step-by-step in an easily readable format through what needs to be done.Also, the examples used all worked properly (a problem with many other computer books) and were extremely relevant.There are few people with Crystal Entreprise experience out there today so this book is really needed.We also find ourselves using it as a reference guide occasionally.If you are working with Crystal Enterprise or planning to implement CE I would strongly recommend this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Most current programming language text that provides a balanced mix of explanation and experimentation. Opening chapters present the fundamental principals of programming languages, while optional companion chapters provide implementation-based, hands-on experience that delves even deeper.This edition also includes a greatly expanded treatment of the four major programming paradigms, incorporating a number of the most current languages such as Perl and Python. Special topics presented include event-handling, concurrency, and an all-new chapter on correctness. Overall, this edition provides both broad and deep coverage of language design principles and the major paradigms, allowing users the flexibility of choosing what topics to emphasize. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Programming Languages
What i would have wanted to know is that how cheap could i purchase the book and the quality of the book. ... Read more

Product Description
Delve into the core topics for ASP.NET 2.0 programming, mastering the essential skills and capabilities needed to build high-performance Web applications successfully. Well-known ASP.NET author Dino Esposito deftly builds your expertise with Web forms, Microsoft Visual Studio®, core controls, master pages, data access, data binding, state management, security services, and other must-know topics—combining definitive reference with practical, hands-on programming instruction. Packed with expert guidance and pragmatic examples, this CORE REFERENCE delivers the key resources you need to develop professional-level Web programming skills. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Fluff
I'm not sure what to say about this book other than "look elsewhere for knowledge". The author really wanted the reader to know how great the new ASP.NET 2.0 platform is but there weren't any details in his explanations. It's like reading a really long advertisement for ASP.NET 2.0 that never pays off. Dino seemed very infatuated with his understanding of the platform and it's capabilities but somehow failed to curtail his ego long enough to do any real technical writing. I've read terse and boring tech stuff and this is the complete opposite, just fluff. It's just one long promise with no follow through.

I'm sticking with O'Reilly publications.

Not a good book
I am really unhappy with this book.As stated in other reviews, there are no examples anywhere, just discussion of different topics.For example, there is a chapter on the various controls that are available to add to a page, but no example.Yet, I didn't see that what he said about the control was so earth shattering, that it could not be known elsewhere.

Dino does preface his book, that it is not for beginners.But then, he goes on to "introduce" VS 2005.He "introduces" many of the controls, and what they do.But then, no examples.Excuse me?In a book that **is** for beginners,a control is introduced, its behaviour is described, and then there is usually an example.You get everything Dino gives you, PLUS an example that you can see the control in action.

In my opinion, he talked alot and said a little.Fluff, pure and simple.

I would *not* recommend this book, for anyone.

Terrible Book - Don't Waste Your Money
WAY TOO MUCH FLUFF.Buried in all of this filler text are obfuscated details of the language. There are no real examples that can be followed. I wish I could get a refund because I really feel like I wasted my money.

Great!!
Even though I haven't finished this book (not enough time in the year), it's a very well written book.Not too hard to read, but complete and covers a ton of information.Highly recommended.

Disappointing
Learning to program is a hands-on activity. The best teaching texts are those that provide example programs which the student can reproduce, tinker with, and observe, to learn the concepts illustrated thereby.

Unfortunately this book does not take that pedagogical approach. The textual descriptions are high-level, supplemented by abstract and simplified diagrams, as well as tables that list in exhaustive (and exhausting) detail the various classes, their methods, properties, &c. One looks in vain however for a good program to illustrate how an actual ASP.Net website might work (I gave up looking after Part I).

The author advises that this book should not be the first to be read on the subject of ASP.Net 2.0. Accordingly, I read a more basic text on the subject, which, through well-constructed sample programs, gave me a firm grasp of the basics and whetted my appetite to learn more advanced techniques I could use to build practical websites. I hoped this book would supply those techniques, but I was disappointed.

This book might be of use to a developer who already knows the essentials of ASP.Net 2.0, and needs a desk reference for use in day-to-day programming tasks. As a learning tool, it is about as useful as trying to learn a foreign language by reading a dictionary. ... Read more

Product Description
REALbasic makes it possible to create full-featured Mac OS and Windows applications. This book/CD-ROM package enables you to learn to program in REALbasic by creating applications instead of reading chapter after chapter on programming topics. You'll focus on developing complete, self-contained projects beginning with an explanation of the concepts and followed by the complete source code. The applications from each chapter can be used immediately, so the rewards of learning are quick and extensive.

KEY FEATURES

* Learn to program in REALbasic while creating projects such as an MP3 player, compression techniques, games, screensavers, and a word processor

* Includes material on third party tools and applications used with REALbasic

* CD-ROM is loaded with source code and projects, and includes the REALbasic 4.5 trial versions (Classic and OS X) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Not "The" book for beginners , but a good one none the less
I used to program on a trs-80 as a kid, so anything in terms of visual programing like this seems like science fiction at times. I liked this book, it shows how to flex SOME of the muscle of the RealBasic engine in smart and informative ways. I would say the cover price is a little much. That's why used book stores do business with Amazon. If you are new to RealBasic, I would say get the book, but not for $40.

REAL-lotta-errors in this book
REALbasic is a good introductory language that lets you create programs on one platform for multiple platforms. This book, "Learning REALbasic Through Applications" is filled with typos and errors that makes it useless and frustrating for a real beginner. I helped my son through all of the chapters and exercises in this book but we were only able to do it because I already am a programmer and already know REALbasic.

The author, Clayton E. Crooks, is a crook, no doubt, because he asks for money without having done a job of proofing the book or even testing his example code. It reads like he rushed to write the whole book in a sitting and never bothered to actually run the code in the projects or examples from the pages of the book. The result is the code is filled with errors as given and horribly frustrating for the student.

As to the projects he gives, a few of them are interesting but a lot of them are trivially boring. My son was very disappointed with the depth of the projects. They were all extremely short, which makes the large numbers of errors in the code even less excusable. My solution was to expand on each chapter with interesting additions but Mr. Crooks really should have done that in the book. At the very least, in the end of each chapter he should have made suggestions for further activities.

My son and I both found this book to be very disappointing. I got it on sale for $5 and it still felt like a rip-off. The original price of $41.95 is outragious for such a piece of junk.

Not worth the Paper its printed on
This book is poorly written. It is hard to follow along and reproduce the examples. Worse still, some examples do not work as shown. Plus, the book is way out of date. Save your money.... and find yourself another RB book.

This Is a Good Book For Absolute Beginners
If you are brand new to programming, then this is a good book to start with.Think of this book as a RealBasic product brochure with examples.Working through the chapters gives you a quick survey of the kinds of things you can do with RealBasic, and it teaches you the RealBasic programming approach.Once you have worked some of the examples, you will find that you will start having your own ideas for building new programs.If you get a little more serious, then pick up Matt Neuburg's book and look closely at the documentation that RealBasic provides along with the program.The RealBasic tutorials may seem tedious, but they really are excellent for learning the basics of RealBasic programming.

Reading some of the other reviews here would make me think that this book is a lemon.Not so.It has it's place for the beginning programmer, or someone who wants a fast survey of RealBasic.It's not very detailed.It won't help you very much if you want to go beyond the examples, but that's what Matt Neuburg's book and the included language reference are for.

Should be called: REALbad throughout
Out of curiousity, I read through enough of this book in Borders to see that it's in right in line with the [lack of] quality I expect from Charles River Media. Anyone who's mistakenly purchased any book from this publisher already knows what a waste of trees their books are, and now so do you. I give this 1 star because the pull-down menu doesn't have an option for no star at all.

If you're already a crack programmer in some language (any at all), get Matt Neuburg's book (O'Reilly). If you're more of a novice to application programming, start with Erick's For Dummies book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Reference "collection" for all those who love math and CS
I came accross the three books of Knuth while a grad student in CS at William and Mary back in the middle 70's.I am happy to see that those books are still reference for all those studying CS.I regret we have towait until 2004 to take a peek at volume 4!Needless do say of volumes 5,6, and 7.

Brilliant & Amazing. Unequaled achievement in this field.
I used to be a high-school student when I accidently found a copy of thefirst volume. It moved my all life. I decided to become a computerscientist at the end of the first chapter. And today, having accomplishedthis, I still didn't finish the second volume and it has been a long timealready. Nevertheless, I couldn't resist buying the third volume. I justhope to live long enough to get to the end of the fifth and last volume ofthis collection. Thank you Donald Knuth for this brilliant and inspiringwork. ... Read more

Product Description
This book—written by a cocreator of the popular VRML 3-D graphics language—is ideal for any developer who wants to make the most of the DirectShow API. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Good first DirectShow book for beginners
I knew nothing about DirectShow before I read this book. This book helped me quickly gain enough knowledge to start creating programs that use DirectShow capabilities. Yes, all the information is in the SDK document. But my learning time would have been much longer if I were to start by reading SDK documents. The author has digested the document and selected a subset of information to create this book. The book is self-contained enough that I didn't need to read other documents to understand the example codes. It is a good first DirectShow book for DirectShow beginners.

Very tired of reading it
I have to work with DShow for my job. This book is the only one available (afaik)... But it is awfully written.
Mark D. Pesce does not EXPLAIN anything, he just DESCRIBES a set of, more or less enhanced, SDK samples.
It is a shame.
I will read it from the start to the very end because I have to do so. I am really tired of this.

Not exactly "just the SDK" but still not great
I bought this book several months ago but I've held off writing a review as I have been trying to learn DirectShow.

It is not exactly just the SDK documentation in a paper binding but it isn't a whole lot more either.Most people trying to how to use DirectShow will probably buy this book anyway and they probably should: it is at least better than nothing.But don't get your hopes up.

My biggest gripe is that at least one of the examples in this book which does not come directly from the SDK sample programs doesn't seem to actually work.It compiles, and it runs, but it just doesn't display anything.

Too little on VMR
I wanted to read more about the new VMR9, but the book disappointed me with the thin coverage of VMR9 and videoplayback in general. I guess the book is all right on the topics filters, video editing and video caption.

Needed to like it, but....
I wanted to like this book - mostly because I really needed a book covering some of the problems I was having with DirectShow. The company I work for has DirectShow as the core component of their customer-facing software. I wasn't brought in to work on that part of it, but it quickly fell under my umbrella. I had no DirectShow experience, so I turned to the SDK docs and looked for a few books.

Well I have to say that if it wasn't for the SDK docs I would have been sunk. Both this book and Programming Direct Show have been real losers. This is better than the other book, but that isn't saying much.

Like previous posters I was disappointed by the audio. I have to support file playback, streaming, and control of a tv card through my interface. Its not rocket science, but the dearth of material on controlling tv cards in this book made it all but useless to me. The same material exists in the same form on MS DirectShow docs - the author added next to nothing.

I did give it 2 stars because sometimes it is nice to have the SDK documentation - with a little extra - to read when you are away from the computer. The author however should be ashamed for putting out such a cut-n-paste effort, pathetic. ... Read more

Product Description
Practical Programming in Tcl/Tk is described as the "bible" for Tcl programmers. It is a guide to the Tcl/Tk programming language and GUI toolkit. This revision includes substantial updates to cover the new version 8.4-giving both an overview of the features, as well as details about every command in the language. The third edition, written on version 8.2, sold over 30,000 copies. Version 8.4 of Tcl - Tool Command Language-provides substantial updates to one of the most popular UNIX scripting languages. The latest release, includes the addition of a virtual filesystem (VFS), many additional programming widgets (spinbox, panedwindow, labelframe),and improved performance of about 20% over 8.3. The book provides a guide to the best ways to use the tooklit. It not only gives accurate details, but includes extensive examples that demonstrate the best way to use the toolkit. The authors are experts that have both developed the technology and used it to solve problems, so they have many valuable insights to relate to the readers.Amazon.com Review
Despite its frequently obtuse syntax, Tcl/Tk enjoys a large and enthusiastic following. It's king of the world when it comes to building graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for C programs (particularly those running in X Windows environments), which is what the language originally was invented to do. Tcl/Tk (which is pronounced "tickle tee-kay," and which stands for "Tool Control Language/Toolkit" despite the abbreviation's unusual capitalization) is expanding its scope to encompass fields as diverse as voice scripting and molecular visualization. The latest edition of Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk, the fourth, offers an encyclopedic guide to Tcl/Tk that not only helps programmers solve problems, but enables them to conceive new applications for the language.

The new edition of Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk covers Tcl 8.4, particularly its versatile new Virtual File System (VFS) capabilities that allow you to include FTP sites and other remote directories in ordinary File Save and File Open interfaces. Further new coverage goes to Starkits, with which you can bundle Tcl/Tk programs for deployment, and some new Tk elements. Otherwise, the book is generally revised and improved with additional examples (the sample code has always been one of this book's main attractions) and intelligently laid-out keyword tables. It has a great lay-flat binding, too. This book (with John Ousterhout's Tcl and the Tk Toolkit) remains one of the two must-have Tcl/Tk books. --David Wall

Topics covered: The Tcl programming language and the Tk toolkit on which it most usually operates. Sections cover basic and advance programming techniques, specific aspects of Tk widgets, and extending the C library that defines Tcl. Copious examples make it easier to understand (and quickly employ) effective design strategies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (43)

Um Livro Prático
O livro é muito bem escrito. Os exemplos são valiosos. Um tutorial e guia bem completo do Tcl e do Tk.

Where's the TclX reference?No mention of Keyed Lists.
This book is pretty much the Tcl/Tk bible.If you use Tcl on a regular basis, this book has to be somewhere nearby.However, one BIG disappointment is that this book does not cover TclX what-so-ever.Very useful Tcl eXtensions such as Keyed lists and the associated commands are nowhere to be found!This may not be a big deal to most people using Tcl, however, a large part of the software that I support is written using Keyed Lists and TclX commands.So, I had to go buy the O'Reilly book Tcl/Tk in A Nutshell just for the TclX reference (Chapter 10).Great job as always on R4 with getting all the new stuff in the world related to Tcl into the book.A request for the next Revision - INCLUDE TclX please!!

Too cryptic to recommend
I expected from a book praised and priced so high to deliver on
promise. Unfortunately I can't say this is the case with
"Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk (4th Edition) " . Yes, it
shines through every page that the author(s) who wrote it knows the
language in and out; only that unfortunately he (they) failed in
presenting this knowledge in a digestable form.
I am not new to programming and I would see and say it here if the book was written for advanced readers only, but no, the book is just plain cryptic. You will have to read over and over the same example and
explaining it text to MAY be get to the meaning.
The main reason I still bought it is that it was the only more or less
up-to-date book about the language. But now even this reason could be dismissed
- on O'Reilly in June 2009 appeared new edition of
"Tcl and the Tk Toolkit, Second Edition " By John K. Ousterhout; Ken Jonesas Rough Cuts version, I am now reading it and rediscovering the
simplicity of this language . Chances are good it will be available
some day as printed book as well.

I like it more and more...
I like this book the more I use it.[...] I like Tcl/Tk the more I use it as well.The tclsh and wish shells are very interactive and great for getting feedback on new ideas to try. My experience writing code for PC's has been limited (I do embedded stuff) and having Tcl/Tk to learn GUI development has been more fun and rewarding than my attempts at Visual C++ and Xcode/Cocoa have been.

Hard to understand examples and ambiguous wording
I had picked this book up to learn TCL to take over a fairly simple TCL code base at work. As a person that is familiar with scripting and programming languages, I found this book hard to understand.

Specifically, example (8-4) is suppose to show an example for passing arrays by name.However, the example is quite cryptic as it uses a variable named array on the same line that it also uses the array TCL command.This causes the example to be fairly obfuscated and hard to understand.

In the first chapter they list the built-in math functions but give very little background on them. They fail to mention that the ceil function actually returns a floating point number.In the index for ceil they even state "next highest integer," which is incorrect.

I have not been impressed by this book for learning and understanding TCL and would not recommend it to colleagues.I can't comment on the TK section of the book, I'm hoping the book is better for learning TK. ... Read more