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Fast and painless way to learn Design Patterns
This is the first book of the Head First series that I've read, and I have to say that I love it! I think their teaching approach is very very efficient. Each concept is presented to you in many different ways and at the end your brain finds its way to metabolize it. Sometimes it's a picture that catch your attention, sometimes it's just a joke but at the end the concept sticks in your head and is gonna be there forever (at least I hope so :-))) ). Moreover this book is so easy to read. I recommend it to anybody that wants to learn Design Patterns (in Java) in a painless and fast way.

A fun way to learn Patterns
Patterns are boring. This book makes them fun. How they did it, I'll never know.

Number one!!!
So far i bought about 30 computer books from amazon. This is the BEST!!!!!! First book that explains something real good but doesn't assume that you (the reader) actualy understood it so they re-explain it and attack the problem from a deferent point of view. I bought steven mezger's design patterns with c# book and read it cover to cover. It doesn't even come close to this piece of art although this is wrriten for java programers. I read "decorator" pattern in mezger's book more than 5 times and didn't actualy understand it. First time i read it in this book and i feel like a design patterns master! I'm thinking a lot about their teaching style. Its briliant!If you realy want to understand design patterns even if you are a c# or c++ programmer, By this book!
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computer software    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. Design    6. Development    7. General    8. Internet - Web Site Design    9. Java (Computer program language)    10. Computer Programming    11. Computers / General    12. Computers / General Information    13. Computers / Programming / Software Development    14. Head First, Design Patterns, Object oriented programming, OOP, Java, Kathy Sierra, Bert Bates, Eric Freeman, Elisabeth Freeman, programming, software engineering,   

Editorial Review

Provides a rapid and thorough exposition of the JavaScript programming language, as well as an in-depth reference section covering each JavaScript function, object, method, and even handler. Experienced programmers will quickly find the information they need to start writing JavaScript programs. ... Read more

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The one JavaScript book to rule them all...
I'm a technical trainer, and we've decided to distribute this book as part of our Ajax courseware.We've reviewed many other JavaScript books, but we keep coming back to this one.
Best JavaScript Reference!
This is the 5th edition of this almost thousand page book (992), and has been pretty much the gold standard for JavaScript reference books.I have the 4th edition that came out a few years ago and it was worth upgrading to this new 5th edition.
The Bible
It's called "The Definitive Guide" for a reason. Covers everything from simple variables to complex AJAX coding. Beginners may be a bit overwhelmed by it, but I would still recommend any O'Reilly guide as it's the one you'll actually use as your skills increase.. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. JavaScript (Computer program language)    5. Object-oriented programming (Computer science)    6. Programming Languages - CGI, Javascript, Perl, VBScript    7. Web servers    8. Computers / Languages / Programming    9. Computers / Programming Languages / CGI, JavaScript, Perl, VBScript    10. Java & variants    11. JavaScript, Ajax, DHTML, HTML, scripting, css, dom, httprequest,    12. Object-oriented programming (Computer science   

Editorial Review

PHP is far more than a cult language or open-source icon. It's a remarkably capable language that's well integrated with lots of technologies--notably mSQL and MySQL database servers--and quite easy to learn. Read more

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Solid Look At PHP Programming
'Programming PHP' by Kevin Tatroe is a solid look at this popular open source solution for generating dynamic web pages.Competing against the money solutions ASP and JSP, PHP will give you the same kind of functionality, but at a much lower price!Packed with over 500 pages of PHP goodness, this book will make you a better PHP programmer and teach you how to go all the way from defining the most basic of variables to performing database tasks and all sorts of other important tasks and tricks of the trade.I highly recommend this well-written and well ordered book, perfect for anyone that wants to learn and excel at PHP programming!!
Not the best, but decent
It's not the best computer language book I have ever read, by a long shot, but it did give me most of what I needed. I found a number of errors, including places where the example code differs from the text description. This is mostly the editor's fault. Also, there were a number of important details that were left out. This brings me to my main concern: it is not clear who this book was written for. A novice would be overwhelmed, I think, while a more experienced programmer like me may be frustrated with some critical omissions. On the whole, though, it did get the job done.

Programming PHP, 2nd Edition (PHP 5)
I'm assuming via the dates of the other reviews, that most of them are referring to Version 1.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computer Books: Web Programming    3. Computers    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. Design    6. Information Technology    7. Internet - General    8. Internet - Web Site Design    9. PHP (Computer program language)    10. Programming Languages - General    11. Web sites    12. Computer Programming    13. Computers / Languages / Programming    14. Computers / Programming Languages / General    15. Internet languages    16. Programming PHP, Rasmus Lerdorf, Kevin Tatroe, Php, web, database, mysql, dynamic, html, cgi, apache, database-backed, database-driven    17. Publishing on the Internet   

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good for beginners
It is a very good guide book for beginners really. I knew maybe just a little about Mac. But definitely not enough to help me go though a smooth work process. This book teaches me shortcuts and the necessary surviving skills I needed. I would recommend to other people.

Pretty Good Tutorial
Having switched from a PC a year ago and having suffered through 12 months with no manual, it is a relief to have it. It is written in plain English, very basic intro to Tiger OS X and should absolutely have been provided to customers free with the computer. Apple is too cute in assuming everyone, of course, is intuitive about "getting" its system. If you've spent much time in PC land it is a huge transition. This book is great because it assumes no knowledge and provides basic definitions. I also bought another "Missing Manual" for iPhoto and that was helpful, as well.

A must-have resource for Mac users
When the Help Menu can't, and you're stuck for an answer, Pogue's Missing Manual is always there with an answer. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer - Apple/Macintosh    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Books: Operating Systems    4. Computers    5. Hardware - Personal Computers - Macintosh    6. Macintosh (Computer)    7. Operating Systems - General    8. Operating systems (Computers)    9. Programming    10. Computer / Apple/Macintosh    11. Computers / Personal Computers & Microcomputers / Macintosh    12. Mac OS X, Tiger, Mac OS, Apple, Finder, System Preferences, Spotlight, Dashboard, iChat, QuickTime, Aqua, Mac OS X, Mac OS, Macintosh, Mac, 10.4, Apple, Finder, Dock, System Preferences, Java, AppleScript, System Administration, Network Administration, BSD, Unix, FreeBSD, Terminal, Perl, Darwin, Apache, MySQL, vi, vim, Emacs, CVS, tcsh, bash, Bourne shell, VPN, SSH, Secure Shell, Directory Services, Open Directory, NetInfo, osascript, OSA, AFP, Rendezvous, SMB, Samba, Developer Tools, Xcode, Interface Builder, Fink, Darwin Ports    13. Macintosh OS   

Editorial Review

It has taken four years, but with Read more

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Awesome Quick Read
This is a great book.How many technical books have you read in 1 week?That's what I did with this book.I love the Head First series. They don't make great reference books if you are an expert, but the expert on the title topic is not the audience.

quick review
After I borrowed and read this book I decided to purchase it for the following reasons:
Great book to get you started
After reading a great book titled "Thinking in Java (JAVA 1.4)" by Bruce Ekcel.That book is so far the best book I have read on JAVA so far.It has TONS of information and for the most part the author does a very good job in explaining the information.However my main complaint with the TIJ book was that it was very hard to read at times due to the author's writting style.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. Java (Computer program language)    5. Programming Languages - Java    6. Computers / Languages / Programming    7. Computers / Programming Languages / Java    8. Java & variants    9. java, head first, head first java,Java 5.0, J2SE, servlets, JavaServer Pages   

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Needed to do some Refresher Training
I have experience in HTML and CSS; however, I had not dealt with them in some time (five years or so). I needed to find a book that would get to the basics, yet at the same time NOT be so exhaustive that I would find myself dozing. Can anyone blame me for not wanting to be bored to death by wordy descriptions?
very good book
this is a very good book for beginners.TSTC Waco is using it for the intro class in the webmaster 2 year degree program. Covers HTML , XHTML, AND CSS STYLE SHEETS in detail. A lot of screen shots showing what the code should look like.Which, for a beginner is VERY IMPORTANT! If you do not know the code how else would you know that you got it right if something small is wrong.The only fault I have with the book compared to my first HTML book is there is not a quick reference card printed on the back cover.This is a minor thing but is handy for quick review.

Great Learning Tool for the non-technical
This is a true learner's guide to building standards-based Web pages.It includes a lot of information on common HTML and CSS traps and pitfalls as well as why common conceptions about style are often wrong.To help the reader actually learn the material in a fun and friendly manner it includes a lot of puzzles and exercises and other material that make it a joy to learn.This is truly a guide for the non-programmer that will have them quickly up to speed on how to design and build a web site.One of the virtues of this particular book is that the authors relate common problems and frustrations of users and how to avoid them in your website.
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Subjects:  1. Cascading style sheets    2. Computer Books: Languages    3. Computers    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. HTML (Document markup language)    6. Internet - Browsers    7. Internet - General    8. Internet - Web Site Design    9. Programming Languages - HTML    10. XHTML (Document markup language)    11. Computers / Languages / Programming    12. Computers / Programming Languages / HTML, SGML, VRML, XML    13. Computers/Internet - Web Site Design    14. HTML    15. HTML, CSS, XHTML, web site, web page, web design, webmaster, FrontPage, DreamWeaver   

Subjects:  1. Computer Animation    2. Computer Books: Languages    3. Computer Graphics - Flash    4. Computers    5. Computers - Other Applications    6. Programming - General    7. Programming Languages - CGI, Javascript, Perl, VBScript    8. Programming Languages - General    9. ActionScript, Flash programming, Flex, OOP, object-oriented programming, rich application development, IDE, Macromedia, Adobe, regular expressions    10. Computers / Computer Animation    11. Computers / Other Applications    12. Computers / Programming / Object Oriented    13. Computers/Computer Graphics - General    14. Image processing: computer animation    15. Internet   

Editorial Review

Jesse Liberty's Read more

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Most O'Reilly book are quality references.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend an O'Reilly book to a beginner, just learning, but for anyone with some experience, these are the preferred learning & reference tools.
Disappointed
The examples are not easy to follow and it does not give sufficient explanation. It is basically useless to me.
Not for those with a C++ background
My background is in C++ with some experience with Java and no experience with .NET.I didn't fully realize how similar C++ is to C# until I finished this book, and I think my money would have been better spent buying a book on .NET.
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Subjects:  1. C# (Computer program language)    2. Computer Books: Languages    3. Computer programming    4. Computers    5. Computers - Languages / Programming    6. Microsoft .NET Framework    7. Programming - General    8. Programming Languages - C#    9. .NET, C#, programming, Programming Languages, Visual Studio    10. C & Visual C    11. Computers / Languages / Programming    12. Computers / Programming Languages / C#   

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If I coul give it 6 stars I would give it 7!
Not only the content is way to complete for the exam and the real life, the learning metodology is a work of art, it is very light to read (unlike other technical books that dry your brain in one hour).
Authors have clarity
Authors know the stuff. They didn't just reformat the contents from other places to make this book
Not Enough End-to-End Examples
This book has its strong points and weakness. It explains certain concepts really well. However it did not have much end-to-end exercise for people to practice. Only 1 end-to-end example in the entire book as I recall. Therefore, it is hard to sink in what you have read. Especially, jsp and servlets need to have multiple pieces put together in order to make the application run. The example does not need to be complehansive, but will help the readers to put all the pieces together. If you are looking for examples to guide you through, then this book is not for you. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Computer Books: Languages    4. Computers    5. Computers - Languages / Programming    6. Electronic data processing personnel    7. Java (Computer program language)    8. Programming Languages - Java    9. Servlets    10. Study guides    11. Computers / Languages / Programming    12. Computers / Programming Languages / Java    13. Computers/Certification Guides - General    14. J2EE 1.4, JSP, JSPs, scwcd, scwcd exam, sun certified web component developer, servlets, jsp expression language, head first    15. Java & variants    16. Java (programmeertaal)    17. Java Servlets   

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XVII vs 17 - Names Matter
You know how much it helps to choose nice names for the variables in your programs - yes you will have seen some of these patterns before, but having the nice names to think with can be like Roman vs Decimal numerals - XVII or 17, there's a difference.Searching for [ Tidwell Interfaces ] you can find the author's site, which has free excerpts. Amazon lacks an "online excerpts available" pattern, is this good business or not, hmm.

collection of interface design patterns
this is not a "how to design interfaces" book - more of a "here is what has worked in the past when people designed interfaces". it's great for inspiration, as its examples range across web apps, desktop apps, mobile devices and others.

Clearly written, thoughtful content
I enjoyed this book for two reasons:
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Desktop Publish    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. Desktop Publishing - General    5. Programming - Software Development    6. Software engineering    7. User Interfaces    8. User interfaces (Computer systems)    9. Computers / Languages / Programming    10. Computers / Programming / Software Development    11. Computers / User Interfaces    12. Computers/User Interfaces    13. General Theory of Computing    14. Human-computer interaction   

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Deke - PhotoShop - McClelland
I am sure there are other books that might be easier to follow and that might offer more than this one for learning all of what PhotoShop has to offer, but I just have not found them yet. Light to read with easy step by step instructions for the beginner as well as the accomplished image processor.
One-on-One -- it's not just another Photoshop book
Deke McClelland knows his subject very well and presents it in a clear and orderly way so new learning rests on a solid foundation. The format works: read the lesson, watch the DVD-ROM video lesson, do the exercises, take the quiz at the end of the chapter. Each lesson is designed to be understandable by those without much Photoshop experience and still include a few techniques that even experienced users probably don't know. And he does it all with good humor. Work files and video lessons are all included on the DVD-ROM in the book, which is bound so it lies open and flat on the desk without any hassle.
The perfect jumpstart for Photoshop newbies
This was the jumpstart I needed to learning photoshop.This is not so much a tutorial as it is a get-up and start-using photoshop one-on-one session, exactly as the title suggests.So instead of learning the interface in text-book procedural fashion, it's kind of like apprenticing for the author Deke (who also wrote the photoshop bible book).BTW, the author is notably an Master at photoshop, as is apparent when he tells you "nobody uses this command, you can do that function with this new command here".There's a lot to be distracted in photoshop, hundreds and hundreds of different functions, and it turns out that many of these functions are obsolete and only left-in to satisfy old users, so having Deke point these things out is fantastic.Eg, unsharpen mask, obsolete.smart sharpen, da-shizzle.
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Subjects:  1. Adobe Photoshop    2. Cinematography & Videography    3. Computer Books: Operating Systems    4. Computer Graphics - Design    5. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    6. Computer graphics    7. Computers    8. Computers - Desktop Publishing    9. Computers - Other Applications    10. Interactive & Multimedia    11. Operating Systems - Macintosh    12. Adobe Photoshop CS2, digital photography, Deke McClelland, photography    13. Computer programs    14. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    15. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    16. Computers / Desktop Publishing    17. Digital techniques    18. Image processing    19. Photoshop   

Editorial Review

Larry Wall wrote Perl and he wrote Read more

Reviews (231)

The Essential Perl Book
This book is _the_ book to get when you want to get serious about Perl.
Not my style of learning
The book is well edited and has obviously evloved since its first edition to meet the needs of its readers, based on their feedback.
Absolutely the best reference for programmers new to Perl
I am not new to programming, but was new to Perl when I took a job that required a ton of pattern matching based scripting. I immediately convinced my boss to buy a bunch of Perl books, including this one. Usually, I am the type to use Google more than any book when learning a new language, but this book has been indispensible. I go to it first anytime I want to know how to do something in Perl, and 9 times out of 10 it is the only resource I need. I agree with other reviewers that this is not the book for beginning programmers, but I could have saved my boss a lot of money had I just had her buy me this one. It's all I've needed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computer Programming Languages    3. Computers    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. Perl (Computer language)    6. Perl (Computer program languag    7. Perl (Computer program language)    8. Programming - General    9. Programming Languages - CGI, Javascript, Perl, VBScript    10. Programming Languages - Java    11. Programming Languages - Perl    12. Unix (Operating System)    13. Computers / Languages / Programming    14. Computers / Programming Languages / CGI, JavaScript, Perl, VBScript    15. Computers / Programming Languages / Perl    16. High level programming languages    17. Internet languages    18. Perl Programming,Perl syntax, Perl functions, Perl debugging, Perl efficiency, Perl library, camel, camel book, Third Edition, 3rd, Larry Wall, Jon Orwant, Tom Christiansen   

Editorial Review

Cascading Style Sheets can put a great deal of control and flexibility into the hands of a Web designer--in theory.In reality, however, varying browser support for CSS1 and lack of CSS2 implementation makes CSS a very tricky topic.Read more

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Solid material but not easy to read
Cascading Style Sheets
Not a book for beginners
I had to buy this book for an Intro to Web Design class and many of my classmates and I agreed that this is not an easy book to follow. It dives into details without laying out the most basics first. In general, the lack of structure and more complicated than necessary language was confusing and maybe one with previous CSS knowledge would know what he's talking about but for a beginner it was quite unhelpful.

More of a Tutorial than a Definitive Guide
If you are not using Cascading Style Sheets in your own HTML documents, you should consider them.They will save you hours of tedious formatting time.CSS allows you to control every aspect of the formatting and display of your website, without having to "touch" each page individually.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer graphics    3. Computers    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. Design    6. HTML (Document markup language)    7. Internet - Web Site Design    8. Programming Languages - HTML    9. Web sites    10. Computer Software Packages    11. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design    12. Computers / Languages / Programming    13. Computers / Programming Languages / HTML, SGML, VRML, XML    14. Computers/Internet - Web Site Design    15. World Wide Web (WWW)   

Editorial Review

Regular expressions are a central element of UNIX utilities like egrep and programming languages such as Perl. But whether you're a UNIX user or not, you can benefit from a better understanding of regular expressions since they work with applications ranging from validating data-entry fields to manipulating information in multimegabyte text files. Read more

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Best Title on the Subject
If you have ever been frustrated trying to figure out Regular Expressions (RegEx) based only on a table showing symbols and a few paragraphs of explanations obviously written by someone who assumes you are already familiar with the concept, then this book is for you.Don't be daunted by 480+ page size of this title; before you reach the end of chapter 2 you find yourself with a solid understanding of the concepts, structure, syntax and "keywords" in common use by those utilities, programming languages and applications that incorporate RegExs.The middle of the book covers implementation of RegEx in different environments, techniques for creating the expressions, and methods for creating efficient expressions.The end chapters are specific for Perl, Java, VB.NET and PHP users.
Thorough Regex book
This book is an invaluable resource. I learned more than I wanted to know about regex after reading this book. The authors breaks things down to the smallest detail and discusses each aspect. He covers regular expressions, their engines, their use, and some tips and tricks without losing the reader.
Mastering Regular Expressions
I've corresponded personally with Jeffrey Friedl several times over the last few years, and I remember being at once impressed with his attention to detail and his focus. I was invited to be one of the technical review editors for this third edition of his authoritative book on Regular Expressions, but had to pass due to time constraints.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computer Programming    3. Computers    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. Internet - General    6. Programming - Object Oriented Programming    7. Programming - Software Development    8. Software Design    9. Computers / Languages / Programming    10. Computers / Programming / Object Oriented    11. Computers / Programming Languages / General    12. Computers/Programming - Software Development    13. Software engineering    14. regular expression,regex,regexp,Perl,Python,Ruby,PHP,.NET,Java,MySQL,VB.NET,C#   

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Ready reckoner for the softer side of project management
This book is more than 400 pages of good, practical advice for project managers. Since 'art' is always a specific solution, as opposed to the generic formula based science, the value of this book will depend on the extent of experience a person has, the kind of project she is managing (hopefully IT) & the realm of her responsibilities.
Good Book for Architects Too
Solid practical advice on how to manage and control the chaos that is inherent in software development. Get this book if you're an architect or developer and you have to deal with incompetent PMs. It'll help you manage the manager!

Solid Gold!!!!
I am a student working on my own startup, this book is absolutely amazing! It's a manual on how to do and handle everything on a project.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Books: Languages    3. Computers    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. Leadership    6. Programming - General    7. Programming - Software Development    8. Project Management    9. Business & Economics/Project Management    10. Computers / Languages / Programming    11. Computers / Programming / Software Development    12. Computers / Project Management    13. Computers/Programming - Software Development    14. Software engineering    15. project management, software engineering, project teams, software development, software engineers, Project Managers, management, leadership, process, design, strategy   

Reviews (10)

Information Dashboard Design
This book primarily deals with what the title says. Dashboards. I was not aware ofthe complexity and breadth of this type of interface, but since it is not a forte I usually provide to clients, the book was an interesting read.