Essential COM

Amazon.com

The Component Object Model (COM) is deep and extremely difficult, making it impossible to grasp the ideas behind this specification quickly or easily. Don Box, the author of Essential COM concedes that it took him six months of reading documentation, writing programs, and experiencing general puzzlement before he had his personal COM epiphany. Nonetheless, if you're a C++ programmer and you want your skills to continue to be relevant in a PC market dominated by Windows 95 and Windows NT, you need to get going down the path toward your own COM enlightenment. COM is the tool of choice for creating distributed and concurrent systems for modern Microsoft operating systems. If there's a book that will help you get a handle on the COM phenomenon, Essential COM is it.

Endorsed by object-orientation guru Grady Booch and Microsoft COM expert Charlie Kindel, Box's book takes the reader from an elucidating discussion of why a demand exists for COM and how it fits into the progression of C++ technology to a cool exhibition of some COM programs he's written. Along the way, Box covers the four corners of COM interfaces, classes, apartments, and security--all explained in developer's detail. He also gives attention to access control, marshaling, and Distributed COM (DCOM). Essential COM isn't an application programming interface (API) reference; it is an exploration of the Tao of COM. As the author says in his preface, you will figure out the how of COM programming quickly, as soon as you grasp the why.

Book Description

Written by a leading COM authority, this unique book reveals the essence of COM, helping developers to truly understand the why, not just the how, of COM. Understanding the motivation for the design of COM and its distributed aspects is critical for developers who wish to go beyond simplistic applications of COM and become truly effective COM programmers. As the COM programming model continues to evolve, such insight also becomes essential to remaining current with extensions, such as Microsoft Transaction Server and COM+. By showing you why Distributed COM works as it does, Don Box enables you to apply the model creatively and effectively to everyday programming problems.

This book examines COM from the perspective of a C++ developer, offering a familiar frame of reference to ease you into the topic. You will also find comprehensive coverage of the core concepts of Distributed COM (interfaces, classes, apartments, and applications), including detailed descriptions of COM theory, the C++ language mapping, COM IDL (Interface Definition Language), the remoting architecture, IUnknown, monikers, threads, marshalers, security, and more. In addition, the book offers a thorough explanation of COM's basic vocabulary, provides a complete Distributed COM application to illustrate programming techniques, and includes the author's tested library of COM utility code.

The Trouble Begins: A Box of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-3 (The Bad Beginning; The Reptile Room; The Wide Window)
Average customer rating:

A Warning

great seller

The Trouble Begins, Books 1-3 by Lemony Snicket

Major let down.

The Trouble Begins

The Trouble Begins: A Box of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-3 (The Bad Beginning; The Reptile Room; The Wide Window)
Lemony Snicket , and Brett Helquist
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Action & Adventure | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Humorous | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Orphans & Foster Homes | Family Life | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Snicket, Lemony | ( S ) | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Series of Unfortunate Events | Fantasy & Adventure | Series | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Snicket, Lemony | ( S ) | Authors, A-Z | Teens | Subjects | Books
Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Boxed Sets | Formats | Books
Literature | Children's Books | Boxed Sets | Formats | Books
People & Places | Children's Books | Boxed Sets | Formats | Books
Series | Children's Books | Boxed Sets | Formats | Books
Teens | Boxed Sets | Formats | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Situation Worsens: A Box of Unfortunate Events, Books 4-6 (The Miserable Mill; The Austere Academy; The Ersatz Elevator)

The Dilemma Deepens: A Box of Unfortunate Events, Books 7-9 (The Vile Village; The Hostile Hospital; The Carnivorous Carnival)

The Gloom Looms: A Box of Unfortunate Events, Books 10-12 (The Slippery Slope; The Grim Grotto; The Penultimate Peril)

The Miserable Mill (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 4)

Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

ASIN: 006029809X
Release Date: 2001-10-02

Amazon.com

Fans of Lemony Snicket and newcomers to his gleefully ghastly Series of Unfortunate Events will be elated to discover this boxed gift set of the first three books in hardcover: The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, and The Wide Window. While it's true that the events that unfold in Snicket's novels are bleak, and things never turn out as you'd hope, these delightful, funny, linguistically playful books are reminiscent of Roald Dahl, Charles Dickens, and Edward Gorey. After they get their paws on this boxed set, there is no question that young readers will want to read the continuing unlucky adventures of the three Baudelaire orphans. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson

Book Description

The first Series of Unfortunate Events gift/box-set of this New York Times best-selling series.

The set includes The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, and The Wide Window.

Customer Reviews:

A Warning.......2007-07-26

If you are thinking of reading this review, first be forewarned that it contains very little happiness in it at all. Inside the pages of the books that this review reviews, you will find such terrible things as orphaned children, a greedy villain out to steal a fortune, an incompetent banker (the word 'incompetent' here means, 'unable to protect or even remotely assist the Baudelaire orphans in their attempts to avoid the evil Count Olaf'), a murdered relative, a harmless Incredibly Deadly Viper, the reappearance of a villain, a widowed, phobia-ridden aunt (phobia-ridden here meaning, 'an aunt too afraid to touch the doorknob, use the oven, or be near realtors'), a library devoted entirely to grammar, a house that teeters on its foundations, and leeches. Clearly, if you had any sense at all, you would not wish to read about such things.

If you do, however, chance to pick a volume up, be sure to drop it as quick as you can, kick dirt over it so no one else can find it, and run in the opposite direction. Because if you do pick it up you will find, to your horror and misery, that the tales recorded within are most definitely unsuited to such a person as you. Tales of a fortune-stealing man named Count Olaf out to get a trio of clever and incredibly unlucky children are not, I am sure, the sort of thing you would enjoy. So I recommend that you purchase another book, perhaps a volume by Lenoy M. Setnick entitled THE PONY PARTY, the first of his series called THE LUCKIEST KIDS IN THE WORLD!, which can be found by purchasing Mr. Snicket's unauthorized autobiography in hardcover and turning the dust jacket inside out.

A very good day to you.

Rating: Very Good

great seller.......2007-01-23

thank you so much

excellent quality and good condition

thanks

The Trouble Begins, Books 1-3 by Lemony Snicket.......2007-01-19

Our grandkids really enjoy Lemony Snicket. Our granddaughter doesn't read yet, but our grandson loved the books.

Major let down........2007-01-07

I bought these books (actually the first three box sets) on the recommendation of a friend. But I messed up, this was not what she said. I muddled through each of the 9 books because I will not give up and feel it would be a waste of my money to throw them away. But truly, I would have rather spent my time getting a root canal, or being anally probed by aliens. These books are horrible! He warns you, but you figure it's in jest and there will be a point, or an upside to them. There's not. The movie however, is entertaining. Go figure. Check them out from the library if you're really that curious, but don't waste your money.

The Trouble Begins.......2006-09-11

The Trouble Begins contains the first 3 books in the Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events books.

#1 - The Bad Beginning
#2 - The Reptile Room
#3 - The Wide Window

In the Series of Unfortunate Events isn't a happily ever after kind of story. There are three regular children:

Violet, who loves to invent
Klaus, who loves to read
and Sunny who loves to bite

Violet is the oldest, Claus the middle child, Sunny is the youngest.

The book "The Bad Beginning" is the basis for the first part of the movie. The story begins when the Baudelaire children are informed by Mr. Poe, a banking accountant, that their parents have just been killed by a mysterious fire, and thus begins a series of search for a suitable guardian and a safe place to live. The siblings closest member to their parents is supposedly Count Olaf, only he's not nice. He's exactly the opposite and he plans to steal the immense fortune left by the Baudelaire parents.

In The Bad Beginning, things, well, begin badly for the three Baudelaire orphans. And sadly, events only worsen in The Reptile Room. As the siblings move in with their new guardian Professor Montgomery, they find he is a reptile scientist. In a room with many different reptiles, there's a newly discovered reptile that he called a deadly, dangerous snake. But it's not really dangerous at all. Later Montes get a new assistant and it is Count Olaf in disguise. Of course something terrible happens to Uncle Morty after that and Count Olaf again tries to kidnap the children.

In the Wide Window, Mr. Poe places the children with a distant relative, Aunt Josephine. Aunt Josephiine lives in a house on the edge of a hill, a house that is very literally above Lake Lachrymose, a lake infested with Lachrymose Leeches who would eat a human if they smelled food on them.

Aunt Josephine is as eccentric as other relatives have been. She's a total grammar freak and so scared of every thing that the children have to live in a cold house and eat cold food because their aunt is afraid of accidents with fire. When Aunt Josephine meets Captain Sham who (who is Count Olaf in disguise), good fortune turns bad. Aunt Josephine dies and the apparent cause of death is jumping through the wide window in the living room, leaving the three children to Captain Sham (who is Count Olaf in disguise).

As the orphans try to figure out a way to escape from Count Olaf, they discover their aunt is still alive and in hiding. So they set out to find her and convince her to come back. This eventually leads them out onto the dreadful Lake Lachrymose where Count Olaf and the dreaded leaches catch up with them.

Though overall being sparse on detail and description, the books are fun reads.

Hanging Baskets, Window Boxes, And Other Container Gardens: A Guide To Creative Small-Scale Gardening

Average customer rating:

Superb guide for all gardeners, new and experienced. a 10!

Hanging Baskets, Window Boxes, And Other Container Gardens: A Guide To Creative Small-Scale Gardening
David Joyce
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guide to Window Boxes: How to Plant and Maintain Beautiful Compact Flowerbeds (Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guides)
American Horticultural Society Practical Guides: Hanging Baskets
Window Boxes: Indoors and Out ; 100 Projects & Planting Ideas for All Four Seasons
Hanging Baskets and Wall Containers: A Practical Step-By-Step Guide
Hanging Baskets (RHS Practicals)

ASIN: 0671744402

Customer Reviews:

Superb guide for all gardeners, new and experienced. a 10!.......1998-06-11

This book was given to me as a gift by a friend. I have yet to put it down. I am an experienced gardener, but have used it for new ideas and inspiration constantly. I loaned it to another friend and had to fight to get it back, so I have ordered her her own copy. An exquisite book, especially if you admire the Europeans their container gardens.

Programming in Visual Basic 6.0 Update Edition with CD

Average customer rating:

Programming in Visual Basic 6.0
good service but need better packaging
A good investment
Excellent book to start VB6.0
Great book for beginners.

Programming in Visual Basic 6.0 Update Edition with CD
Julia Case Bradley , and Anita C Millspaugh
Manufacturer: Career Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Databases | Microsoft | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Computers & Internet | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Programming Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0
Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Professional Step by Step, Second Edition
Visual Basic 6 Complete
Advanced Programming in Visual Basic 6.0 w/Cd
Visual Basic® 6 in Plain English

Accessories:

Visual Basic 2005 Demystified
Schaum's Outline of Visual Basic

ASIN: 007251874X

Book Description

Intro Programming course is estimated currently at 150-200,000 and growing. Visual Basic is taking over where BASIC, Qbasic, and QuickBasic once dominated, in the Introductory Business Programming course. That trend will continue as VB continues to encroach on other less progressive languages such as COBOL and the Basic variations listed above within CIS and Business departments. The courses that can be supported by this text are not specific to any one type of institution, since VB in a Business course is largely a functional topic needed by all types of students from 2-4 year, to Vo-Tech, to extended, to even adult education.

Customer Reviews:

Programming in Visual Basic 6.0.......2007-03-12

I NEVER ordered this book but you sent it and charged me for it anyway. I returned it upon its arrival but had to go to extreme hastles to communicate with you people. Have you re-embursed my account yet? That's the first time I've ever had a problem with Amazon, but I still love you.

good service but need better packaging.......2005-10-04

the book was received in a good, timely manner at a cheap price
at a fraction of the cost of a new book, i am doing all my assignments and learning more about vb
the only thing that would need improvement is packaging
a cd came along with this book but since the packaging was done in an envelope it was broken in half which has prevented me from doing work at home
otherwise, this is a good seller and would deal with them again if they improve their packaging
thanks

A good investment.......2004-08-03

Concise, precise and with hands-on examples of entire projects. This book is scattered with coloured screenshots to illustrate their instructions so you never have to guess what the authors mean. Targetted at the absolute beginner (in programming) but as it is a breeze to read, the more advanced reader is sure to pick up a few VB gems on his stroll through it.

Excellent book to start VB6.0.......2004-05-26

I was lucky to stumble across this book in Amazon.com and didn't really know what I was getting. Once reading through the first chapters and trying some of the exercises I realize this is great. The book teaches you the correct way to program in simple descriptive language. I have now leant what I need to start my own small projects and have ordered the Advanced VB6 from the same authors, looking forward to getting it. The book also comes with the learning VB6.0 CD which gets you started.

Great book for beginners........2002-12-18

When i purchased this book it was because i had to for a college course but i was already an intermediate programmer. Although i already knew most of the contents of the book, i couldnt help but notice if i had bought this book when i was first starting out i would have saved so much time and money. When i started i purchased 2 books one of them being from the **** for dummies collection which i would highly vote against doing and the other was too technical without enough explanation. This one is highly detailed and step by step, after each chapter it gives you a full rundown of the code with detailed notes. If your serious about learning VB6 i dont know of any other book out thatll get you programming well in such a short time.

Turn-of-the-Century Doors, Windows and Decorative Millwork: The Mulliner Catalog of 1893

Average customer rating:

good reference guide
A real 1893 Catalog of great doors, staircases, & Trim

Turn-of-the-Century Doors, Windows and Decorative Millwork: The Mulliner Catalog of 1893
The Mulliner Box & Planing Co.
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Furniture | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Roberts' Illustrated Millwork Catalog: A Sourcebook of Turn-of-the-Century Architectural Woodwork (Dover Books on Architecture)
Universal Millwork Catalog, 1927: Over 500 Designs for Doors, Windows, Stairways, Cabinets and Other Woodwork (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
Victorian Architectural Details: Designs for Over 700 Stairs, Mantels, Doors, Windows, Cornices, Porches, and Other Decorative Elements
Old House Measured and Scaled Detail Drawings: for Builders and Carpenters
Historic Millwork: A Guide to Restoring and Re-creating Doors, Windows, and Moldings of the Late Nineteenth through Mid-Twentieth Centuries

ASIN: 0486285146

Book Description

Precise, factual guide for home restorers and nostalgia buffs provides descriptions, dimensions, prices, and nearly 300 illustrations of window frames, sashes, doors, blinds, mouldings, stair work, mantels, embossed and cut glass, brackets, scrollwork, wood drapery, balustrades, pew ends, pulpits, and much more.

Customer Reviews:

good reference guide.......2007-01-30

This is a good reference to the time period. This is not a "how to" book but rather a period catalog expertly reproduced. This book is good for someone who is interested in creating a home with elements from the late Victorian era.

A real 1893 Catalog of great doors, staircases, & Trim.......1999-09-10

This is apparently a reprint of one of the really great old catalogs of Victorian Millwork! It has fabulous designs for window ornamentation, verandas, brackets, gable ends, fireplace mantels and most especially doors. Black & White sketches show an impressive variety of ideas.

Window Boxes: Indoors and Out ; 100 Projects & Planting Ideas for All Four Seasons

Average customer rating:

Splendid- absolutely breathtaking
Beautiful window boxes

Window Boxes: Indoors and Out ; 100 Projects & Planting Ideas for All Four Seasons
James Cramer , Dean Johnson , and Mary Seehafer Sears
Manufacturer: Storey Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Decorating | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Windows | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guide to Window Boxes: How to Plant and Maintain Beautiful Compact Flowerbeds (Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guides)
The Ultimate Container Gardener: All You Need to Know to Create Plantings for Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter
Container Gardening
Hanging Baskets, Window Boxes, And Other Container Gardens: A Guide To Creative Small-Scale Gardening
Country Living Pumpkin Chic: Decorating with Pumpkins & Gourds (Country Living)

ASIN: 158017518X

Amazon.com

Window boxes no longer must be the sister of the white picket fence. Calling such diverse receptacles as pumpkins, gourds, hats, a broken earthen pot, and even eggshells to service, authors James Cramer and Dean Johnson, in Window Boxes: Indoors and Out, redefine the concept of windowbox, and generate a lot of beautiful ideas in the process.

Window boxes can serve many purposes, from homes for a kitchen herb garden to grand, overspilling fountains of trailing plants and flowers. And when there's a paucity of garden real estate, lack of time to tend a full-size garden plot, or an off-season hankering to simply grow something, window boxes provide creative outlets and solutions. Watching a forced amaryllis gracefully bloom in an antique planter in January or starting seedlings in a copper box inside a sunny window in early spring can quell the gardening jones of many a hibernating green thumb and help get a jump on the growing season.

Along with ideas for window-box plantings for every season and many holidays, from May Day boxes popping with pansies and lilies to Christmas boxes fragrant with tiny pine trees and demure snowdrops, Cramer and Johnson also detail how to make and decorate many boxes (although beginners may need more detailed instructions than the brief ones given here), including a copper box, a Victorian box, a terrarium box, harvest boxes, and many more. With this helpful, evocatively photographed handbook and an open mind, creating window boxes will become part of the gardener's and the interior designer's repertoire all year round. --Stefanie Durbin

Book Description

Container gardening is one of the hottest trends today. Why? Because the recent availability of plants with great genetics makes container gardening a sure thing for everyone. Then there's the market--it's full of containers that are low cost and low maintenance but have high visual appeal. And finally there are the container gardens themselves, which are easier to maintain than in-ground gardens, especially during drought years. Window Boxes offers dozens of inventive, innovative ideas for window box gardens. Once thought possible during only the warm spring and summer months, the art of creating (and the pleasure of admiring) window boxes can now be enjoyed every month of the year. Moving season by season, Cramer and Johnson show you how to use interesting indoor and outdoor containers and bold plant mixes that will keep your home colorful and visually stimulating all year round. Every gardener will appreciate the authors' inspired ideas and hard-working advice, as well as the dazzling full-color photographs in these pages. Window Boxes is a one-of-a-kind handbook that combines container gardening with flower arranging so that you can create glorious mini-gardens for outside and inside your home.

Customer Reviews:

Splendid- absolutely breathtaking.......2004-09-21

Mary Sears did a stunning job writing this quaint charmer about window boxes. A lover of window boxes myself for many years, I found this book both helpful and inspiring. Truly worth every cent.

Beautiful window boxes.......1999-11-25

I received this as a gift and plan to give it to friends. Not only are the writers, clear and concise, but the photographers captured the essence and beauty of every arrangement. Each window box was a delight and no season was forgotten. This is truly a favored coffee table book. book.

Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guide to Window Boxes: How to Plant and Maintain Beautiful Compact Flowerbeds (Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guides)

Average customer rating:

Gorgeous photos, packed with ideas

Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guide to Window Boxes: How to Plant and Maintain Beautiful Compact Flowerbeds (Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guides)
Tovah Martin
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

House Plants | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Window Boxes: Indoors and Out ; 100 Projects & Planting Ideas for All Four Seasons
Hanging Baskets, Window Boxes, And Other Container Gardens: A Guide To Creative Small-Scale Gardening
The Ultimate Container Gardener: All You Need to Know to Create Plantings for Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter
Container Gardening (Sunset Series)
The Complete Container Garden

ASIN: 0395813719

Book Description

Learn how to brighten any window with colorful, attractive window boxes.

Customer Reviews:

Gorgeous photos, packed with ideas.......2002-03-16

This is the second Tova Martin book I have purchased. There are so many beautiful photos that you won't even look at the text the first time through! Once you do, though, you'll find the text very informative on plant types and other wonderful tips.
Window boxes and container gardens are a must in our mountain community -- this book will give you terrific ideas for anywhere in the country, beachfront or Rocky Mts! Great coffee table book too.

Average customer rating:

50 Recipes for Colorful Window Boxes
Richard Bird
Manufacturer: Sterling Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

House Plants | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0706374924

Building Solutions with the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework: Architecture and Best Practices for Mobile Development

Average customer rating:

A great book that will help you on your next mobile project
Just about the worst compact framework book
Great book for technical managers, not for developers
Two Heavy Hitters write a great book

Building Solutions with the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework: Architecture and Best Practices for Mobile Development
Dan Fox , and Jon Box
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Networking | Microsoft | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Programming | Mobile & Wireless Computing | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Computers & Internet | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

SQL Server CE Database Development with the .NET Compact Framework
.NET Compact Framework Programming with C# (Microsoft .NET Development Series)
Microsoft .NET Compact Framework (Core Reference)
The Definitive Guide to the .NET Compact Framework
.NET Compact Framework Programming with Visual Basic .NET (Microsoft .NET Development Series)

ASIN: 0321197887

Customer Reviews:

A great book that will help you on your next mobile project.......2005-09-06

The Fox and Box dynamic duo have created a wonderful book that really explains how to be sucessful with your Compact Framework projects. The chapter on Localization saved me a lot of time when needing to make a large-scale Compact Framework application world-ready for a current client. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book. Go get it!

Just about the worst compact framework book.......2005-04-28

I purchased 8 books when decided to jump from VB6 to Pocket PC programming with VB .Net. Some were good and some were bad. This book rates at the bottom of the list. I found absolutely no value in the information provided. Just about every other book was better written and provided more information.

I returned the Book.

Great book for technical managers, not for developers.......2004-05-30

This is a well written book with a nice overall structure and easy-to-follow language. Each discussion starts with an executive summary and ends with references to other resources for further reading, thus making it a very straightforward read. I will not enumerate the subjects covered, since you can do that by looking at the contents table.

Although the title tells us this is a .NETcf book, you should pay attention to the subtitle, as the topics of architecture and general advice on mobile development are also covered at considerable length. This may or may not please you, depending on your role. For example, the chapter on security includes general theoretical principles on the topic but omits examples of using the Cryptography API. We notice this in other parts of the book, and in fact the first chapter is a pure retrospection into the history of mobile devices as supported by Microsoft. Add to my previous comments that the book is only 350 pages long and the fact that there are no complete/end-to-end code examples, and you can see why it is not aimed at programmers. To be fair, the authors don't hide this and they state in their preface that the target audiences are technical managers and architects.

Like anything that goes to print, there are some errors including: the recommendation of using ResEditor (it simply does not work with the CF); the suggestion that C# is 100% compatible between desktop and compact frameworks (what about `volatile'?); and the claim that the class loader ignores the build & revision number (or that for private assemblies the version number is not consulted), which is not true. Overall, though, the content is correct and for technical managers this is probably the best book on the subject (but certainly not for developers). Finally, a small note that there is no mention of SmartPhone 2003 since the writing must have been completed prior to its launch (or indeed prior to CE 4.2).

Two Heavy Hitters write a great book.......2003-12-05

As an avid Compact Framework enthusiast, I buy every book on the CF that I can find. As you may be aware, there aren't a whole lot of them out there, but they are all really good. This one is no exception. If you do much with .NET, then you probably know these authors already, and they lived up to their reputations with this one!

Why would you want this book? Well, most importantly it really explains the Why's of Compact Framework development. There really are a lot of considerations and while the CF is very similar to the full framework, there are a lot of differences. As a developer, this book thoroughly explains what you are getting into and how to avoid many common mistakes. However, even if you are a non-technical person this book will prove to be a great asset if you are involved in decision making. After all, who wouldn't want a mobile presence for their company? Well, like everything else, it comes with some strings attached. In most instances they are trivial compared to what you get. In others they may not be. Architectural considerations are critical because you are dealing with limited battery life, smaller processors and memory and reduced real estate. It's also a lot easier to lose a PDA than it is a desktop and since many of the advantages of using Handhelds are only realized when you have wireless access, issues like bandwidth and security can make or break any mobile initiative.

I think the best part of this book is its theoretical focus. It's very easy to run off and start coding, forgetting architectural concerns. In these instances, many find that getting a great little app that works great in a test environment isn't so good once you get it into production. This book can help you minimize the chances of that happening. Furthermore, it gives you a very sober perspective on what you will need to deal with. Due to the fact that the CF has only been commercially released for under a year, and PDA development hasn't been a practical reality for more that a few years, there just isnt' that much literature out there. And this book's focus on architectural issues and HOW TO Deal with them effectively will prove how hip the authors really are.

I've been really impressed with the recent direction of AW and they've been pumping out some really great titles. Couple a good publisher with some really informed and talented writers and you have a winner. Undoubtedly, this book is a winner.

Art of Window Box and Container Gardening
Average customer rating:
Art of Window Box and Container Gardening
Steve Williams
Manufacturer: New Line Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Container Gardening | Techniques | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Techniques | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1880908514
Release Date: 2005-01-01

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books