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Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards
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Soren Kiekegaad |
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Technical Book Reviews |
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Design Patterns C#
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Category: |
.NET Technology |
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Author(s): |
Steven John Metskar |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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Read this book, if you need to know how Design Patterns from
the 'Gang of Four' are implemented in C#. Steven Metskar does a good
job of classifying the 23 classic patterns and presents them with an
example that spans the whole book. In some ways the one unifying
example looks contrived, but on the other hand, it helps preserve the
thread of pattern evolution. Lots of diagrams and pattern discussions
are the highlights of this book. Before you code/design any .NET
project, have a look through these 23 patterns and see what you can
use. It is better not to reinvent the wheel.
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UML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language
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Category: |
Software Engineering |
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Author(s): |
Martin Fowler |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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If you are new to modelling and would like to jump start on UML, this book is the best place to start. Martin Fowler distills from
the UML Standard of OMG, the essence of UML usage. The author's
experience in using UML in production scenarios comes through very
clearly. I got the distinct feeling that Martin Fowler recommends using
UML as a sketch instead of using it as a blueprint or as a
programming language. From my experience too(limited as it is), I tend
to agree with him. The only disappointing thing about this book is the
price vis -a- vis the volume of content and a list of errata that detracts from the value of the subject. Having said that, this book is a good reference for UML 2.0
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Facts and Fallacies of Software Engineering
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Category: |
Software Engineering |
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Author(s): |
Robert L. Glass |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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If you want to know the accumulated wisdom of the last three decades of
software engineering from one place, then this book is a must read. He
has divided the book into 55 facts and 10 fallacies. For some years now
I have struggled with some 'facts' that I new to be true through
experience, but I could never substantiate it because I couldn't quote
authoritative sources. Well I found those 'facts' in this book with
authoritative sources and discussion. For e.g. FACT 19: Modification of reused code is error prone.
If more than 20%-25% of a component is to be revised, it is more
efficient and effective to rewrite from scratch.
Corollory to Fact 19: It is almost always a mistake to modify packaged, vendor-produced software systems.
FACT 21: For every 25% increase in problem complexity there is a 100% increase in complexity of the software solution.
These and other facts certainly ring true. There are other facts and
even fallacies that I was afraid to voice until I read this book. For
e.g. Fallacy 3:Programming can and should be egoless.
The only issue I have with the treatment of the subject matter is that the
author has not taken the book to its logical conclusion. If he could
have pointed us, the readers to better practises for building software,
it would have been excellent. But then I am asking for too much, isn't
it?
Robert Glass has turned out a well written book. This is the first
book that I have read of this author. I certainly plan to read his
other titles. I am impressed. |
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Software Requirements
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Category: |
Software Engineering |
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Author(s): |
Karl E. Wiegers |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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If you are a Project Manager, Business Analyst or a developer who likes
to have a solid Requirements methodology, then this book explains the
theory and practise of requirements engineering. It helps you take your
requirements phase from ad hoc practise to a structured way. A good buy
if you need a methodology for Requirements analysis and documentation. |
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Advanced .NET Remoting
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Category: |
.NET Technology |
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Author(s): |
Ingo Rammer |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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The last word on how and why of .NET remoting. For my MCAD I had to
read up on remoting and sadly MSDN did not help with its coverage on
.NET remoting. This book on the other hand has depth and reflects the
author's grasp of the subject. Don't let the "Advanced" in the title
scare you. You need to know about .NET (intermediate level) ofcourse,
but it is quite easy to follow. The definitive guide for implementing
.NET remoting |
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Mastering Regular Expressions
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Category: |
Regular Expressions |
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Author(s): |
Jeffrey E.F. Friedl |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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This book is not for the faint hearted! Also you need to be awake to
understand and assimilate the knowledge in this book. Regular
Expressions are not understood by the vast majority of application
developers and hence under utilised (Other than the ones for telephone,
PIN code regex patterns). After reading this book (I confess: I read
only the parts pertaining to .NET regex engine) I was amazed at what
regex can do. If you have to use regex in your applications, then I
would highly recommend this book to be by your side. It could be dense
reading at first, but keep going and you will see the power of regex. A
must read if you have a spare 3-5 hours, when nothing is on TV!!!! |
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Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change
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Category: |
Software Engineering |
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Author(s): |
Kent Beck |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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There is a lot of hype surrounding Extreme Programming (XP). This is
not a reference book on XP, but clarifies the approach that XP takes to
software development in the context of ever changing software
requirements and the risks associated with delivering non change averse
software applications. It is more of a "Why XP?" book rather than
"How?". It touches on all the major practises and aspects of XP. I
would recommend this book, if you are new to XP and would like to know
more about XP without the hype and jargon. One statement in it which I
thought explained XP was "various software activities in software
development - planning, testing, development, design, deployment- should occur". Notice how design comes after development and testing comes before development!!! |
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Visual Basic.NET Threading Handbook
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Category: |
.NET Technology |
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Author(s): |
Kourosh Ardestani, Fabio Claudio Ferracchiati, Sandra Gopikrishna, Tejaswi Redkar, Srinivasa Sivakumar, Tobin Titus |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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Coming from a VB6 background, I naturally choose VB.NET as my entry
point into the .NET world. I realised soon enough that I was not
leveraging the power of .NET, especially its multi threaded programming
model. This book provided me with the answers. I liked the topic "Why
not Thread Everything?" wherein they discuss the pitfalls of using "too
many threads". Overall this book can be used as a primer and reference
on threading in .NET. |
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Programming .NET 1.1 Components
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Category: |
.NET Technology |
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Author(s): |
Juval Lowy |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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This book by Software Legend Juval Lowy is based on the widely
embraced principles of component-based development. This book throws
light on component oriented programming and describes the ways in which it differs
from the traditional object oriented programming. If you have been
programming in .NET, then this book will help you in taking the next
step in designing and developing powerful .NET applications. This book
is a must have on the shelf of any serious .NET developer. |
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Designing Web Usability: The Practise Of Simplicity
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Category: |
Web Technology |
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Author(s): |
Jakob Nielsen |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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After reading this book I had to redesign some parts of my website!!. This is an excellent book, if you want to make your Web projects more usable. Nielsen's main usability rules are "More is less" on the web and "Content is King". Keep it simple homies………… |
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Code Complete: A Practical Handbook Of Software Construction
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Category: |
Software Engineering |
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Author(s): |
Steve McConnell |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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A must read for all Software Engineering professionals. Whether you are
a beginner or a veteran, this book teaches you how to avoid common
pitfalls in design and coding practises. If you are serious about
writing 'Good' software then this should be read. |
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General Interest Book Reviews |
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The Art of the Start
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Category: |
Management |
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Author(s): |
Guy Kawasaki |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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This book apart from its quite catchy title, doesn't reveal any
earth shattering knowledge or wisdom. It puts together in one place
things that people sort of know, but have not articulated
aloud. He is entertaining and the language is simple enough to be
enjoyable. I think, the kind of popularity that this book enjoyed, is
partly due to the fact that he is the Managing Director and Chairman of
a Venture Capital firm Garage Technology Ventures. So when he speaks people listen. To be fair to him, he did a good job of presenting what to do and more importantly what not to do when
approaching VC firms. If you or me wrote a similar book it would not
hold much weight as this one. Some of the things that bugged me was his
insistence on naming all new companies starting with the first few
letters of the alphabet. (So if you follow that rule, Google, Microsoft and Verizon don't stand a chance for example!!!!!). |
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The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
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Category: |
Self Help |
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Author(s): |
John C. Maxwell |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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John Maxwell has done a good job of putting together the laws of
leadership. His practical insights and anecdotes make this book a good
read. The first two laws pretty much sum up the essence of the book: The Law of the Lid and The law of Influence. The
rest of the laws are more like refinement on the above two. If you are
stuck in a rut on why you are not a leader, then this book will tell
you why. The only discordant note is, this book tells us what qualities that an aspiring leader should have, but not how. Nonetheless it is one of the few books on leadership that reads well.
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Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk
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Category: |
Management |
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Author(s): |
Peter L. Bernstein |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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This book is quite interesting and details the history of risk well. It
starts of from the origins of risk and goes on to talk about some of
the attempts to quantify risk. Uncertainty as a mathematical concept
rather than a subjective "feeling" is a fundamental theme through out
the book. Some of the examples on gambling really opened my eyes in
terms of the irrational expectations that I held. After reading this
book, I decided not to be a schmuck any longer, in trying to beat the
odds at a casino. This book is a good read with the caveat that, if you
are not mathematically inclined, then it is quite dry. |
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Awaken The Giant Within
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Category: |
Self Help |
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Author(s): |
Anthony Robbins |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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Finally I get to read a good book. I had minimal expectations from this
book, thinking that it is one of those insufferable Self Help books,
where the author sounds condescending and at the end of it all, you
feel as if you alone seem to have lost the plot. But refreshingly this
book is not at all like that. I can honestly
say that Anthony has done a great service by sharing his success
secrets with the world at large. If you are stuck in a rut, I would
highly recommend this book. Buy it now online, by clicking on the "buy
from amazon" now. You will not regret it and I can say with absolute
certainity that it will be money well spent. If I could give more
stars, I would certainly give them!!!!! Believe me, this book is that
good. |
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The Davinci Code
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Category: |
Fiction |
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Author(s): |
Dan Brown |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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This book mixes all the key ingredients for
a racy read. A biblical conspiracy, the Louvre, a secret society
etc.... Though the book is pure fiction, I personally feel that Dan
should have written a more scholarly book instead of pandering to the
Lowest Common Denominator. For example he goes on for two pages about Fibonacci Numbers.
C'mon gimme a break!!!!. I only hope he doesn't churn out more books on
other progressions like Legendre and Bessel functions. But to be fair
to him, he did a good job of writing a good thriller. |
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Crossing Over: The Stories Behind the Stories
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Category: |
New Age |
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Author(s): |
John Edward |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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I am a big fan of John Edward. Yes, the same man who sees dead people!.
This book describes his extraordinary journey as a psychic medium. A
little boring in some chapters, but if you watch his shows, you would
find this book a fascinating read. |
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Leadership Sopranos Style: How To Become A More Effective Boss
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Category: |
Management |
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Author(s): |
Deborrah Himsel |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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This book would appeal to die hard Sopranos fans. The book tries to educate the reader on how Tony Soprano manages his Crew
and apply his style to our mundane world of corporate affairs. Quite a
long shot if I may so. I suspect that the book tries to latch on to the
popularity of the serial. I read it on a boring hour long flight
between Sydney and Melbourne. I did the unspeakable act of actually
buying a book from one of the airport book stalls. All in all it serves
me right!!!!!. My review: See the serial, forget the book. |
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Journey To Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan
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Category: |
Philosophy |
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Author(s): |
Carlos Castaneda |
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Rating: |
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Reviewed By: |
Sai Panyam |
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A profound book on how a Man of Power can See as opposed to merely looking. This book shakes our complacent world view and allows one to glimpse at the world of Warriors, their wisdom, compassion, concentration and ultimately their aloness |
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Reviews Disclaimer |
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Check out these great
books!. I read all these great titles and found them to be quite an eye
opener in many ways. I have endeavored to be objective in my reviews
and as such these reviews are my PERSONAL opinions only. I am in no way associated with the authors or the publishers in promoting these books for commercial gain.
Note:I am an Associate of Amazon.com. So if you intend
to buy any of these books from Amazon please go to Amazon through my
site (Click on 'buy from amazon.com') as it will help me keep this site
viable and help me defray some of the cost of maintaining this site.
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