Category Archives: Book Reviews

Reviews of computer books that I have read over time.

Review of Learn to Program

Learn to Program Chris Pine Pragmatic Bookshelf, 2006 Every now and then most programmers get asked the question, How do I get into programming? I am usually on the lookout for beginning books on programming, specifically for this reason. When I first saw Learn to Program from the Pragmatic Bookshelf, I thought it was probably… Read More »

Review of Practical Subversion, second edition

Practical Subversion, second edition Daniel Berlin and Garrett Rooney Apress, 2006 Two years ago, I reviewed the first edition of Practical Subversion. The second edition has substantially updated the reference information about the Subversion commands. The previous edition had been based on a pre-1.0 version of the program and had somewhat incomplete coverage of the… Read More »

Review of In Search of Stupidity, Second Edition

In Search of Stupidity, Second Edition Merrill R. Chapman Apress, 2006 This book aims to explain many marketing disasters in the computer software and hardware industries. Chapman covers marketing mistakes of both hardware and software companies. Some of these stories provide insight into the thinking behind the mistake. As an insider at MicroPro, Chapman could… Read More »

Review of Practical Development Environments

Practical Development Environments Matthew B. Doar O’Reilly, 2005 Although this is a very good book, it was not exactly what I thought it would be. From the title and the blurb on the back of the book, I thought it would describe some complete development environments that would be worth implementing. Instead, Doar does a… Read More »

Review of Programming Ruby

Programming Ruby Dave Thomas, Chad Fowler, and Andy Hunt Pragmatic Bookshelf, 2005. This book has taken me a really long time to finish. It’s not because of the writing. The writing is clear and readable. The material is well-presented and seems to cover the topic well. I don’t see any glaring errors or anything that… Read More »

Review of Software Estimation

Software Estimation Steve McConnell Microsoft Press, 2006 Software Estimation is the latest book on the craft of developing software from Steve McConnell. If you have read any of his earlier books (Code Complete, Rapid Development, or Software Project Survival Guide), you might suspect that the book will contain lots of useful information that is well… Read More »

Review of Perl Hacks

Perl Hacks chromatic , Damian Conway, Curtis “Ovid” Poe O’Reilly, 2006 When I first saw the title Perl Hacks, I was a little unclear what the book would cover. After all, the Perl Cookbook has recipes that span the spectrum from basic to advanced. What would Perl Hacks supply that wouldn’t be found elsewhere? The… Read More »