Book Description
Printed entirely in color, with helpful figures and syntax coloring to make code samples appear as they do in Visual Studio.
Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is a key component of the .NET Framework 3.0, giving you the power to create richer and more compelling applications than you dreamed possible. Whether you want to develop traditional user interfaces or integrate 3D graphics, audio/video, animation, dynamic skinning, rich document support, speech recognition, or more, WPF enables you to do so in a seamless, resolution-independent manner. Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed is the authoritative book that covers it all, in a practical and approachable fashion, authored by .NET guru and Microsoft developer Adam Nathan.
· Covers everything you need to know about Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML)
· Examines the WPF feature areas in incredible depth: controls, layout, resources, data binding, styling, graphics, animation, and more
· Features a chapter on 3D graphics by Daniel Lehenbauer, lead developer responsible for WPF 3D
· Delves into non-mainstream topics: speech, audio/video, documents, bitmap effects, and more
· Shows how to create popular UI elements, such as features introduced in the 2007 Microsoft Office System: Galleries, ScreenTips, custom control layouts, and more
· Demonstrates how to create sophisticated UI mechanisms, such as Visual Studio-like collapsible/dockable panes
· Explains how to develop and deploy all types of applications, including navigation-based applications, applications hosted in a Web browser, and applications with great-looking non-rectangular windows
· Explains how to create first-class custom controls for WPF
· Demonstrates how to create hybrid WPF software that leverages Windows Forms, ActiveX, or other non-WPF technologies
· Explains how to exploit new Windows Vista features in WPF applications
Customer Reviews:
Great.......2007-08-25
Great book: a fast and well written introduction to WPF. I think it's a must for anyone is thinking to start with this technology.
From basic to advanced topic.......2007-07-30
This is a complete book on WPF. It start with the basic of XAML and then it introduce the new concept that WPF use (dependency properties, Routed events and Commands).
It give an introduction to the WPF controls and the layouts mode available.
Then it goes deep with databind, theming and skinning, drawing (2d and 3d) and finally animations.
It is The Book for WPF.
Great unleashing of WPF.......2007-07-16
From Resource binding to databinding and beyond, pretty much every bit of WPF that you need to know to get started well is covered.
The "full color" is awesome. The examples are great. The explanations are very clear with great comparisons to the "old" winforms way of doing things.
The only guide to WPF.......2007-07-13
For beginners or expert developers, this is the only guide you'll need to learn WPF. Excelent print quality, code markup as shown in Visual Studio, and complete information from scratch.
DataBinding, 2D drawning and animations chapters, are really impressive.
Good Stuff.......2007-07-09
This is one of the better computer books I've read in a long time. I've read a few of the big yellow "Pro this" and "Pro that" series and they were generally a bad rehash of MSDN documentation. In contrast, this book explains the framework on which WPF is built. It starts with describing XAML itself along with type converters and markup extensions - essential details. Once it gets to the chapter on controls, where most books slide into repetitive descriptions of control after control, this book categorizes them and points out their properties with respect to the framework in which they are embedded. Generally speaking, if you are interested in how the WPF classes fit together this is the book to get. If you are interested first in foremost in gradient brushes then this is not the book for you. It gets to them too but only after some worthwhile work. The only area where this book is weak is its description of the layout system that still has me generally confused. Perhaps that will resolve itself when I have something better than the [...]CTP installed.
Average customer rating:
- A Must Have!
- Great book on a big subject
- Easy to understand
- A "Must-Have" Book for Programming WCF
- Learn WCF the right way instead of piecmealing sub-standard techniques from bloggers.
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Programming WCF Services (Programming)
Juval Lowy
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed (WPF) (Unleashed)
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Essential Windows Workflow Foundation (Microsoft .NET Development Series)
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Pro WF: Windows Workflow in .NET 3.0 (Expert's Voice in .Net)
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Learning WCF: A Hands-on Guide
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Windows Communication Foundation Unleashed (WCF) (Unleashed)
ASIN: 0596526997 |
Book Description
Written by Microsoft software legend Juval Lowy, Programming WCF Services is the authoritative introduction to Microsoft's new, and some say revolutionary, unified platform for developing service-oriented applications (SOA) on Windows. Relentlessly practical, the book delivers insight, not documentation, to teach developers what they need to know to build the next generation of SOAs.
After explaining the advantages of service-orientation for application design and teaching the basics of how to develop SOAs using WCF, the book shows how you can take advantage of built-in features such as service hosting, instance management, asynchronous calls, synchronization, reliability, transaction management, disconnected queued calls and security to build best in class applications. Programming WCF Services focuses on the rationale behind particular design decisions, often shedding light on poorly-documented and little-understood aspects of SOA development. Developers and architects will learn not only the "how" of WCF programming, but also relevant design guidelines, best practices, and pitfalls. Original techniques and utilities provided by the author throughout the book go well beyond anything that can be found in conventional sources.
Based on experience and insight gained while taking part in the strategic design of WCF and working with the team that implemented it, Programming WCF Services provides experienced working professionals with the definitive work on WCF. Not only will this book make you a WCF expert, it will make you a better software engineer. It's the Rosetta Stone of WCF.
Customer Reviews:
A Must Have!.......2007-10-01
Excellent book, it covers every thing you need to know about WCF. Have in mid that this book is not for begginers
Great book on a big subject.......2007-09-05
Arguably, WCF is the most revolutionary development in current software trends. It may change completely technological landscape developers live and work in since the appearance of .NET platform.
Juval Lowy (once again!) has written an extraordinary book. Seemingly he has an absolute and complete knowledge on the subject.
What strikes me even more, is how carefull and lovingly Juval leads the reader through the forest of technical details to the deep and solid understanding of both underlying technology and practical implementation of WCF.
If after hours of reading you suddenly feel lost, all you have to do is go back half a page and you are on track again.
I just wish I had such a wonderfull teacher every time I have to learn something new.
Easy to understand.......2007-09-03
Juval writes like a real educator. Where other books fails to explain in simple terms, Juval Löwy is very easy to understand. His book has a wonderful layout, which makes it easy to find what your are looking for.
Thank Juval.
A "Must-Have" Book for Programming WCF.......2007-08-30
If you are going to use WCF in your enterprise applications, then this is the book you want to buy. We are converting our .NET 1.1 web services over to WCF and find this book to be absolutely essential. This is the stuff you can't glean from Internet posts. A truly irreplaceable knowledge builder and reference tool.
Learn WCF the right way instead of piecmealing sub-standard techniques from bloggers........2007-08-28
I'm part of a middleware group and we are migrating to WCF. This book was just technical enough, concise and it has been very helpful in several cases. It's gotten me started and helped fill in the details where I needed it. Probably my favorite part, was the astute and very well reasoned description of Service-Orientation in Appendix A.
You're not going to waste your time reading fluff like so many other books.
Average customer rating:
- Best Server Book Around
- Love it
- Very well written
- Great Book on Windows 2003 Server
- Good things, bad things...
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Mastering Windows Server 2003
Mark Minasi ,
Christa Anderson ,
Michele Beverridge ,
C.A. Callahan , and
Lisa Justice
Manufacturer: Sybex
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Mastering Windows Server 2003, Upgrade Edition for SP1 and R2
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Group Policy, Profiles, and IntelliMirror for Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 (Mark Minasi Windows Administrator Library)
ASIN: 0782141307 |
Book Description
The Only Windows Server Resource You Need
The single most comprehensive and understandable book on the subject, Mastering Windows Server 2003 continues author Mark Minasi's award-winning tradition of clear and comprehensive coverage of Microsoft's Windows Server products. This book shows you how to plan, configure and install your network, keep it running its best, and fix it if it breaks. And you still get all the coverage you need for the Windows 2000 Server installations that remain part of your environment.
Coverage includes:
* Configuring IP, DHCP, DNS, and WINS to achieve the right foundation for your network
* DNS explained in everyday English, from basics to advanced design
* Designing, running, and maintaining Active Directory-based domains with Server 2003 and 2000 Server
* Running your own Web, FTP, and e-mail server with 2003
* Controlling hundreds, even thousands, of workstations with group policies and security templates
* Tuning and monitoring your network
* Securing your network from split-brain DNS to AD delegation to group policies, logs, IPSec, PKI and more
* Using Windows Server 2003 to share Internet connections
* Complete coverage of all new 2003 features
Real Solutions to Real Challenges
If improving the real-world performance of your network is the bottom line, this book delivers the goods. It shows you how to design and manage a multiple-platform network, build a Windows-based intranet, find the right data backup strategy, prevent and recover from disasters, and much more. There's no end to what you'll accomplish with practical, step-by-step instruction from the expert who has actually done it all on live networks!
Customer Reviews:
Best Server Book Around.......2007-10-02
This book is extremely valuable as reference after you have read it through carefully. Everything is in "Plain English", so whether you are a novice or advanced in the field, this will answer your questions. This is "a must" for anyone wanting to learn about Windows Server 2003.
Love it.......2007-09-17
Fantastic. Still reading it, but this is a worthy reference guide and a long but interesting read. The only book I'll own on the subject. No need for anything else, as far as I can tell.
Very well written.......2007-08-13
If you're looking for a Windows 2003 book, this is the one. It's comprehensive and well written in a way that caters to newbies and experts alike. As a plus it's printed on high contrast paper in a very readable font.
Great Book on Windows 2003 Server.......2007-04-14
Need to do something with Windows 2003 server?? GET THIS BOOK....
Good things, bad things..........2006-08-31
Good:
-Good coverage of main topics (DHCP, DSN, AD).
-Practical perspective, examples and troubleshooting.
-A lot of information that eventually could be useful.
Bad:
-Fisically the book is too big, difficult to hold, this becomes a problem. It should be divided in two parts, the important topics and the rarely used information.
-Minasi exposition is not clear. He tries so hard to entertain the reader, and his writing lacks structure. He jumps to specific topics that extend many pages, use too many words to express simple things. Sometimes is really exasperating: "come on man, GET TO THE POINT!, don't waste my time".
-Have a lot of typos, i think because is based in the prior edition.
I think the book is too tangled to be useful for begginers, and too disperse to be helpful for experts. No doubt Minasi has profound knowledge of the product and writing skills, but needs STRUCTURE and SOBRIETY.
I rate the book three stars just because knowing nothing i made it settting a windows network with DSN,DHCP,Active directory,VPN and Terminal services. The book contains the information but the reader, not the author, is who organize it.
Book Description
Get a practical introduction to the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 libraries (ADO.NET 2.0) that communicate, access, sort, and interact with data from .NET-connected applications. Includes coverage of XML data and Microsoft SQL Server 2005.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome book - great detail.......2007-02-23
This book does a great job at explaining each concept it covers. I started the book with many misconceptions of disconnected data and other ADO.NET items. The book has many great code examples that are kept short and to the point. I definitely recommend this book to my team and anyone else wanting a stronger understanding of how to effectively use ADO.NET. Some of the performance tips it provides will suprise you.
Breath of fresh air.......2007-01-07
I normally buy Wrox books and up until .NET I was very happy with them, but their .NET books (ASP.NET 2.0 and VB.NET particularly) were poorly organized with massive numbers of errors in them. I wanted an ADO.NET book but the customer reviews of the Wrox title were poor so I kept looking and found this book that has much better reviews. I'd not bought a Microsoft Press book recently because I didn't like the last one I tried so this was an act of faith for me.
I have to say, thought, that this book is an order of magnitude better than the recent Wrox books I have bought. I don't know if the single author approach simply results in a better book or if the particular author (David Sceppa) can take the credit. Either way, I think Wrox needs to stop publishing books with multiple authors.
The problem with ADO.NET is that everything is intermingled and it's hard to discuss, say, DataSets without mentioning DataTables or DataAdapters. David (or someone) say down and very carefully figured out the sequence to explain stuff with the minimum of forward referencing. This means there are only a few unresolved references I have to hold in my brain at a time for which I am very grateful. On the down-side, this means there is some repetition as he discusses the same class relationship from different perspectives in different chapters. At first I found this annoying until I realized that this was actually making my life as the reader much easier.
I have yet to find a single error and the sample code in particalar seems to be error free which is in stark contrast to the Wrox .NET books. The samples themselves are compact and clean and writen in both VB and C# which is a handy way for a VB programmer like me to learn a little C# on the cheap. I certainly never found myself thinking 'The purpose of this sample is to add 10 unncecessary pages to this book' unlike other books *cough*XML Bible*cough*.
I'm only about one third of the way through right now but I am very impressed.
I really hope someone from Wrox reads this because I'd like the old Wrox back that published great technical books.
Absolutely superb.......2006-10-06
I am a huge ADO.NET nut and David's first book was absolutely priceless. After his last book, he set a very high bar that was going to be hard to meet, yet that's exactly what he did.
Pros:
- He discusses every facet of the ADO.NET library and does it well
- He doesn't shy away from difficult topics and in particular, goes straight at them in his Advanced Update section
- Excellent flow
- Won't leave you hanging if you don't know the 1.x framework but doesn't bog itself down in it either.
- Stellar writing style. David is interesting and always keeps you wanting to read more. He's concise, to the point yet does both without ever leaving you wanting for more.
CONS
-Calling this a con is probably a bit unfair but if there's one thing I didn't like was the coverage to TableAdapters. This has nothing to do with Sceppa's coverage and everything to do with the objects themselves. Since I never use them I have a bias against them. With that said, I doubt you could do a Core Reference without covering them so this doesn't really count.
The specific areas that this book really does a great job in is Transactions, Advanced Updates and client side data manipulation. Items like the syntax for DataTable.Select are covered in such stellar detail there's probably no situation that you will be unprepared for. Transactions are another complex area and this section alone makes the book worth its price. Advanced updates are a must in any ADO.NET book and history repeated itself here.
Pure Gold plain and simple.
Very good, but not as good as his former book.......2006-10-04
I was just a tad bit disappointed because his former book was so helpful to me because he was showing examples exactly in a manner in which I needed them. This book is still very helpful, don't get me wrong.
Those who develop WinForm apps and who use Access will find it less helpful than his other books because he works mostly with SQL whereas before he was dealing a lot with OLE. (Mostly they have the same commands, however, it is a mistake to assume everyone uses SQL Server. Not every programmer is a web developer, some develop WinForms. I like SQL Server, but in most small apps for what I do it is highly unnecessary.
Also, some of the new features in ADO.NET such as the TableAdapter is really for beginners, and it uses tons of memory. But heh, that is just my opinion.
Still I like David Sceppa, in fact he is probably the best when it comes to ADO.NET
Accessing a Database from the .NET Environment.......2006-09-30
This book is intended for people writing data access code in a Microsoft .NET application. ADO (Active Data Object) .NET is a set of libraries within the Microsoft .NET framework that helps you to communicate with various data sources from .NET applications.
The newest version of ADO.NET which comes with Visual Studio 2005 is the first major release that does not introduce a new object model. This implies that the fundamental technology is reaching a point of stability in spite of several problems that users are requesting such as better support for XML.
Most of the illustrations in the book use the SQL Server Express Edition which is free, and redistributable. As such, it is helpful if you have at least a bit of knowledge about programming in SQL. The more work you can get done in SQL, the faster your application will run. I would recommend the purchase of an additional book on T-SQL, the specific version of the SQL language used with SQL Server. This book is more concerned with connecting to your database with a program that you might write.
Book Description
In this book, Windows programming legend Charles Petzold covers in parallel the two interfaces that make up the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). From the outset, the reader can shift focus seamlessly between Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) and C# to see them as flip sides of the same processes. Beginning in the first chapter, Petzold presents the general syntax of the XAML and corresponding programming code with numerous illuminating examples on how the two correspond and interrelate. The book builds on this base, providing the classic Petzold Windows user interface (UI) treatment, to show Windows developers how to create next-generation interfaces for their applications.
Customer Reviews:
very disappointing.......2007-07-20
I've been a Windows developer for around 10 years or so and have read dozens of developer books. This is only the second one I can remember returning.
I had previously read Programming Windows Presentation Foundation (Programming) (which I recommend) but was looking for more. At 900+ pages, and with the good reviews and experience of the author, this book looked like a good choice. Unfortunately, after the first 450 pages, I decided that my time would be much better spent simply rereading the the Chris Sells book instead.
The main problem is the style in which the book is written. It could easily be edited down to half its size. How many times do I need to read "Button btn = New Button()" in a code example? I know some people prefer fully functional examples over code snippets but after a while it really got ridiculous. The code examples eventually became almost useless to read because it became so much work to sort out the irrelevant and insignificant details. On top of which 90% of the code samples are examples of THE WRONG WAY to do a UI in WPF (i.e. in C# instead of XAML). I understand the second half of the book is all XAML, but spending 450+ pages on techniques you would NEVER ACTUALLY USE is a waste of my time.
A lot of bloat also came from a lack of focus on who the book is written for: experienced .NET/C# developers. I don't need to have "using" statements explained to me, I know how .NET dialogs work, etc... From the "Printing" chapter: "The Print dialog also includes a Number of Copies field. Enter a number greater than 1 in this field and the PrintVisual method prints multiple copies." Really. I never would have figured that out on my own.
There is a lot of good information here but it is simply not worth the time it takes to extract it from "Button btn = new Button()" statements. Maybe this book is a demonstration that you're never to old for an editor. I'm going back to O'Reilly books.
I appreciate this book so much.......2007-06-14
I think that Petzold was reading my mind when he wrote this book. I don't like XML, and I don't like "cheating" with XAML when you can write good clean C#. The first half of this book is entirely C# programming in WPF. I am using this book to help me write an abstraction layer above WPF. That simply would not be possible with XAML, which in my opinion places the design of the application at too low of a level. Petzold leaves no stone unturned, and whenever something seems weird, he doesn't ask us to trust him that it makes sense; he explores it in depth for us. I can't imagine that many other authors go through that kind of trouble when they're writing on tight deadlines. Petzold tells it how it is, and he includes the "why." Therefore, I recommend this book to anyone who strives to become a bit of an expert in WPF, not just a get-the-job-done programmer. I would consider this an advanced book at times because I find myself reading and re-reading sections to understand it. The explanation is there, but it's not trivial, and with so many pages in the book already, there is no room to be wordy.
WPF and XAML explained........2007-05-29
Written by a professional for the professional! This book reminds one on how things aught to be done in C# and gives an insight of WPF and its mechanics. A must have book for the serious developer and even the amature will benefit from Charles Petzold insight.
The Other Side of WPF.......2007-05-20
I purchased this book late last year, took a vacation and spent a week reading it cover to cover. Since that time I've written several production WPF applications of moderate complexity that are several generations beyond the WinForms and WebForms apps I had been writting. Several months ago, when it was released, I also got to read Adam Nathan's book on the topic of WPF. Having read both books and used WPF to produce better apps under the usual deadlines, I can honestly say that I benefited from the additional insights gleaned from both books.
When I read Petzold's book and saw the code first approach with XAML introduced later, my impression was this seemed contrary to the preference to XAML I saw espoused in other sources and beta books. As I reconciled this new technology being taught by a long tenured veteran, I got a feeling that perhaps earlier concepts around Win32 UI programming may be the lens through which the author is presenting the material on how to best apply WPF. Needless to say, I paid attention and got more value than I anticipated and beyond what I learned from his WinForms book of similar size. While Adam Nathan's book was a more efficient read for me, and one that I could appreciate in its attention and orientation to the more mainstream presentation of WPF, I think that later book in conjunction with this one is quite useful.
My real critique of Petzold's book was that it should have played more to the what may have been the author's strengths in elucidating the API and imperative coding in WPF. Such an approach may have been a great book as a complement to the many XAML focused ones to follow. I believe the API focused chapters that do exist makes Petzold's book a great contribution to WPF knowledge and application. Sure, in my day-to-day I strictly enforce the UI separation by defining a majority of UI elements in XAML. Without Petzold's book I probably would have went further in this approach. Yet, in reading his material I was reminded of and given an appreciaton for the techniques and the potential benefits of using the WPF API more explicitly to peform a range of tasks that works in concert with XAML declared elements to provide the complete solution.
For understanding the benefits and mechanisms of the WPF API this is a great complement for the many XAML dominated books out there. I rate it a 5 because I learned a greater variety of interesting details related to the WPF API than I would have been predisposed to explore or unable to find just using the MSDN documentation. For WPF API knowledge and understanding that can enhance the code side of solutions defined to a greater or lesser degree in XAML this is a great buy.
Nice cover, bad content.......2007-05-09
The writer is a guru in the field of Winforms applications.
The first part of the book is rather from this angle, the Second part discusses the markup (XAML). The book contains much code (C#), enumerations and is as a result, badly readable.
It contains no information about the technique behind the WPF, essential for understanding the new generation of applications which you can make.
If you want to learn the WPF I reccommend the book "Windows Presentation foundation Unleashed" of Adam Nathan. That one is filled with colours impressions and examples, very usefull working with markup.
Book Description
If you're like many people, you wouldn't dream of turning on your computer without also instantly (or almost instantly) launching at least one of the applications included in Microsoft Office. This task-based guide recognizes that and gets down to business fast, taking you step-by-step through all of the key features of the Microsoft Office 2004 suite for Mac OS X: Word 2004, Excel 2004, PowerPoint 2004, Entourage 2004and MSN Messenger Version 4.0. If you're a beginning user, you¿ll appreciate the friendly, visual approach to all of Office¿s word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, calendaring, and email features. And if you're an Office veteran, you¿ll relish the coverage of Office 2004's newest features (many of them exclusive to Macs): Compatibility Reports, which identify and correct discrepancies between different versions of Office documents (including Mac and Windows versions); Word's Notebook Layout View; Excel's Page Layout View; and much more.
Customer Reviews:
Office 2004........2006-11-05
This is one of the best of the Quick Start guides. It is clear and concise and makes a long time Mac. user comfortable.
Owen O'Meara
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac OS 10 Visual QuickStart Guide.......2005-08-24
This books makes learning the workings of Microsoft Office 2004 super easy. The photos and instructions take the reader step-by-step through the inner workings of the program. A must for the beginner and a resource for the experienced user. Learn Word, Excel and PowerPoint, as well as Entourage and more by using this guide any way you wish.
Gets You Started Quickly.......2004-11-27
Aimed at the beginning and intermediate user of Microsoft Office for Macintosh, this book is part of the Visual Quickstart Guide. The philosophy of the series is to use a lot of photographs so that you can see what the screen should look like as you do various tasks during the learning process.
The organization of the book, after an introduction that you really should read or at least glance over, is modular just like the software. There's a part on Word, on Excel, on PowerPoint, and on Entourage. Each part is self standing and can be used independently of the other parts. You can read the part on the software you need without having to go do everything at once. Although to be sure you will sooner or later want to use the various applications together, and for this there is Part VI: Combining the Applications.
As a visually oriented book, there are hundreds of pictures/drawings to illustrate just about every point. It's a very fast way to get started.
Excellent quick guide to Microsoft Office.......2004-11-15
This 453-page book is written for beginning and intermediate users of Microsoft Office 2004. It blends short, well-written sections on the various parts of Office 2004 with screen shots and other graphics that show you visually how to do things. This is a winning combination and makes learning about Office 2004 easy and fun. I also was pleased to find short "tips" following the various discussions that further enhanced your ability to use the feature being discussed.
Starting the book is a good summary of what's new with the four components of Office 2004, namely Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage. This is followed by separate "Parts" for each of these four applications plus an introductory section and a special ending section. The latter contains instruction on combining some of the aspects of the four applications. Within each of the major "Parts" are Chapters of major features each broken down further into short sections focusing on the various useful ways to use various features of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage.
For example, Part II is on Microsoft Word. It is broken down into 6 chapters focusing on working with word, document formatting, text formatting, adding graphics, creating tables, and other word features. Then within each of those are several subsections providing specific help on various aspects of each chapter topic. For instance, within "document formatting" you'll find specific focus on paper size and orientation, margins, headers and footers, page numbers, inserting page breaks, creating multiple sections, and multiple columns. And all are user-friendly and quite helpful!
This book is part of the "Visual Quickstart Guide" series of Peachpit Press, and the again lives up to the other fine visual guides from this company. I was also impressed by the knowledge shared in this book by the skilled author whose past works included more than 50 other books and hundreds of computer-related reviews and articles for various well-known computer magazines. He knows his subject and has the skills to guide the reader to a most satisfying understanding of Office 2004.
All and all, I would highly recommend this helpful book and I'm sure I will be referring to it many times whenever I have a question about Office 2004 - and I have confidence that I'll find the answer!
Book Description
Windows Workflow Foundation is a ground-breaking addition to the core of the .NET Framework that allows you to orchestrate human and system interactions as a series of workflows that can be easily mapped, analyzed, adjusted, and implemented.
As business problems become more complex, the need for a workflow-based solution has never been more evident. WF provides a simple and consistent way to model and implement complex problems. As a developer, you focus on developing the business logic for individual workflow tasks. The runtime handles the execution of those tasks after they have been composed into a workflow.
Pro WF: Windows Workflow in .NET 3.0 provides you with the skills you need to incorporate WF in your applications. This book gets you up to speed with Windows Workflow Foundation quickly and comprehensively. The practical aspects of using WF are covered in a lively tutorial style with each workflow concept illustrated in C#. This book also includes detailed coverage of how to customize your workflows and access them in a variety of ways and situations so you can maximize the advantages of this technology.
Customer Reviews:
A great book.......2007-09-18
This is a well written book that I have read in recent times. If you are .net developer and looking for the nuts of bolts of WF, you need this book. I have read only 3 chapters and already very impressed with the author. The author explains in DETAIL everything about workflow. In fact the author also explains about unit testing a workflow. Great Book!
Better than attending a hands on training course.......2007-07-06
This is by far the best book in the market on WF for a programmer. If you do its programming exercises it easily replaces a 5-day hands on training course. Now that is a great ROI. The book is very easy to read and understand.
I would recommend the Essential Workflow Foundation by Dharma Shukla as a companion book. This one gives an insight into what .NET 3.0 WF does in the background to make it all happen. Also if you were to try to use WF without Visual Studio, Dharma Shukla book would be the right one to pick as it does not use VS at all.
Best Workflow book available.......2007-06-25
I read through all of the available books on WF and this was definitely the best. Pro WF has a lot of practical information missing in a lot of other books. In particular, the sections on rules, exception handling, and web service hosting are worth the price of the book all by themselves. If you want to know how, and why, to use WF in your real every-day programming then this is the book for you.
Clear and Thorough.......2007-06-20
I am a colleague of the author's and recently got the opportunity to investigate using Workflow Foundation for a business application. Not knowing much about this component of .NET 3.0 and having only read some introductory material about it on MSDN, I found this book to be an excellent place to start learning it for real.
This book is very clear and thorough and works through the subject in an organized and methodical way. The fact that it's written by a single author is a benefit, since it gives a more coherent treatment of the subject than some technical books written by several (or even many) people.
The text includes solid examples that don't go overboard with irrelevant tangents. I was also impressed that the author tackled some of the more difficult aspects of this technology, like hosting the workflow designer in your own applications.
I would recommend this to anybody who wants to get a deeper understanding of Workflow Foundation.
Very Thorough.......2007-06-13
I've read a few books so far on WF and I find the MSDN documentation to lack details, and most other books to also not go into enough details. Pro WF answered all my questions where the other books did not and now that I have a good foundation in WF, I still go back to it to look up details of various topics.
Book Description
Get in-depth exam prep for Exam 70-529, an exam for the new MCTS: .NET Framework 2.0 Distributed Applications certificationand build real-world job skills. Includes test questions, reviews, case studies, code samples, an exam discount, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Doesn't Relate Well to the Exam Priorities.......2007-09-03
If you are planning on taking the exam related to this book, you'll need some supplemental materials. It's a little light in some areas that the exam covers closely. There are too many to mention specifically. I'm still in the process of looking for supplemental material to help me pass this exam and learn the material.
Well Structured, but samples has too many errors.......2007-07-29
A good book for help to know what is necessary to achieve a good result in microsoft test. But, samples has a lot of sintaxial errors and explanation about each topic is very superficial.
Overall Good Preparation for Exam.......2007-06-15
This kit is designed for a developer that plans to take the MCTS exam 70-529. The book assumes that you are comfortable working with the Visual Studio IDE, are familiar with object oriented programming, and have worked with SQL Server. The book is well laid out for someone studying for the MCTS exam. At the time of the writing of this review, this is the only book designed for the purpose of preparing you for the the 70-529 exam.
The book is broken up into the following areas. Each area coincides with a main learning objective.
* Creating and accessing XML web services
* Configuring and customizing an XML web service application
* Creating, configuring, and deploying remoting applications
* Implementing asynchronous calls and remoting events
* Implementing WSE3
* Creating and accessing serviced components and message queuing
As well as the book, the kit consists of a practice test engine with a pool of 300 realistic test questions. The CD that the test software is on also includes an e-book version of this book in case you need to travel light.
There are 13 chapters with 739 pages of information laid out in a very usable manner. This layout follows the best teaching practice of "tell them what you are going to tell them. Tell it to them. And then tell them what you just told them." This repetitive approach is very good for reinforcing the important concepts.
Each chapter starts with the exam objectives and is broken up into lessons which should typically take from 20 to 45 minutes to accomplish. Each lesson develops a topic and usually includes a thorough walkthrough of how you would accomplish a task. At the end of each lesson is a summary, which is an overview of the main points of the lesson. This is followed by a lesson review which includes questions for you to think about and answer.
At the end of each chapter is the chapter review, the chapter summary, key terms, case scenarios, and suggested practices. As you can see, the chapters tend to thoroughly cover the material.
I had never created and used a web service before, yet I was able to follow the instructions in the first lesson and have one created and configured in less than a half hour. I even learned a few good lessons such as what can happen if you don't change the default namespace before deploying the service.
As with any technology book covering a topic this broad with rapidly evolving technologies there were a few inaccuracies. I think most of these issues were changes between versions of WSE and .NET. All in all, this was a well written book that covers a lot of material in an easy to understand manner. If you are planning to take the 70-529 MCTS exam, then you need to get this Training Kit.
Useful Reference for the Workplace.......2007-05-07
This is the only book available (at the time of this writing) for the MCTS 70-529 exam. So far I have taken exam 70-536 using the MS Press books and am preparing to take the exam for this one.
I have found the MS Press books to be effective reference books in the work place. I have opened them up many times. The material in this one, like in the 70-536 book cover much of the day-to-day tasks that a .NET developer would need to do at work.
The electronic version of the book on the CD-ROM is great! I also thinks that the MeasureUp practice questions were very helpful.
The reason for the 4 star rating is that the book is not exactly going to cover the types of things you will be asked on the exam.
My suggestion, if you are planning to take the exam, would be to study much of the tasks that it only covers in brief. Do ALL of the examples! Using this book in conjunction with the MSDN website, and the MeasureUp practice exams will be solid preparation for the exam.
Pretty decent book that covers distributed technologies in .NET environment.......2007-03-25
Having worked in distributed technologies in mostly Unix based environment for about 15 years and about 2 years in .NET, I thought it is a good idea to see how the technologies compare in both the cross-platform environments. So that was my original motivation to buy this book so I could gain/reinforce my knowledge in .NET based distributed technologies and compare it to Unix cousins.
As I kept reading the book, I was bit intrigued and figured may be I should appear for exam for the kicks.
I must say they did a very good job of it though there are multiple errors in the book and also in the question bank (for e.g., most of WSE related questions were based on WSE 2.0 as opposed to WSE 3.0). And some of questions were even duplicate. Though at times it was irritating, it did not stop me from making progress, however. Basically, it forced me to refer to MSDN articles and .NET 2.0 documentation.
If one wants to be knowledgeable in these technologies, one needs to supplement the information in this book with the following material:
1. Programming .NET Components, 2nd Edition by Juval Lowy -- an excellent book for asynchronous calls, delegates, remoting and security
2. Expert Service-Oriented Architecture in C# 2005 -- excellent book for Web services and WSE 3.0
3. Pro MSMQ (Microsoft message Queue Programming) by Arohi Redkar et al. -- Excellent book for MSMQ 3.0
Of course, nothing to beat hands-on experience as mastering these technologies is not a trivial effort at all.
Anways, the exam had 40 questions and about 160 minutes to finish it. Passing score was 700 (I have no clue how they calculate this score). I got a score of 858 though I must admit it was lot of hard work and patience.
Yes, I recommend this book as it is the only game in town. I could have rated it 5 stars if they QA'ed the contents a bit more and that is a shame.
Good luck with it.
Book Description
Brilliantly compiled by author Juval Lowy, Programming .NET Components, Second Edition is the consummate introduction to the Microsoft .NET Framework--the technology of choice for building components on Windows platforms. From its many lessons, tips, and guidelines, readers will learn how to use the .NET Framework to program reusable, maintainable, and robust components. Following in the footsteps of its best-selling predecessor, Programming .NET Components, Second Edition has been updated to cover .NET 2.0. It remains one of the few practical books available on this topic. This invaluable resource is targeted at anyone who develops complex or enterprise-level applications with the .NET platform--an ever-widening market. In fact, nearly two million Microsoft developers worldwide now work on such systems. Programming .NET Components, Second Edition begins with a look at the fundamentals of component-oriented programming and then progresses from there. It takes the time to carefully examine how components can simplify and add flexibility to complex applications by allowing users to extend their capabilities. Next, the book introduces a variety of .NET essentials, as well as .NET development techniques. Within this discussion on component development, a separate chapter is devoted to each critical development feature, including asynchronous calls, serialization, remoting, security, and more. All the while, hazardous programming pitfalls are pointed out, saving the reader from experiencing them the hard way. A .NET expert and noted authority on component-oriented programming, Lowy uses his unique access to Microsoft technical teams to the best possible advantage, conveying detailed, insider information in easy-to-grasp, activity-filled language. This hands-on approach is designed to allow individuals to learn by doing rather than just reading. Indeed, after digesting Programming .NET Components, Second Edition, readers should be able to start developing .NET components immediately. Programming .NET Components, Second Edition is the consummate introduction to the Microsoft .NET Framework--the technology of choice for building components on Windows platforms. From its many lessons, tips, and guidelines, readers will learn how to use the .NET Framework to program reusable, maintainable, and robust components. Following in the footsteps of its best-selling predecessor, Programming .NET Components, Second Edition has been updated to cover .NET 2.0. This invaluable resource is targeted at anyone who develops complex or enterprise-level applications with the .NET platform--an ever-widening market.
Customer Reviews:
Great, but...........2007-08-24
This book is incredibilly well written and has a very comprehensive way of explaining the ways of Component oriented programing. Explains its differences betweent COP and OOP. You can easily understand what the author has in mind, BUT, I found one big flaw on this book. Not that this flaw will make the book less comprehensive, but it will make it less fun.
In all concepts it presents Examples, but not exercises. It explains the features and then give a short example to it. It doesn't stimulate the reader to actually build a code within a major context. You read, see the example and move on to the next topic. It is not fun to just stay around and read and read and read without actually working with the book. It is still a great book, but the approach to the reader could be better.
Excellent book with an eye for Component Oriented Design.......2007-08-16
While going over component and control design, this book teaches the principles of the component-oriented design philosophy. The author doesn't pander and isn't overly verbose; getting to the point and explaining his meaning efficiently and succinctly. Definitely worth the read.
Good for Newbies.......2007-06-08
Book goes through the entire process of building controls, nothing is untouched. It dwells however much too long on the 'standard' topics of installation, distribution, setting up etc and is rather lite on the the real stuff like building controls that look and feel like commercial controls. Would be a good book if it had 20% of the pages.
Excellent in what it covers.......2007-03-08
Pros:
Material that was covered was done an a very concise, clear and justfied manner. More so than just about any other computer book I have read. As others have mentioned, the explanation of the mechanics of remoting are excellent. The coverage on the other topics was incredibly informative as well its just that Remoting stands out since the topic is not covered as well elsewhere. Several helper/extension class examples are included which help to enforce good practices. I found the coding practices addendum to be a helpful summary of the topics discussed in the book.
Cons:
While remoting is discussed, it defers discussion of the EnterpriseServices namespace (object pooling, transactions, lifecycling, etc) to a previously published book. I find these features a necessary consideration in component design. Instead of feeling like I know everything about dot NET components, I now feel like I have to read another book. Having said that, WCF, at least at first glance, appears to be among other things a rework of ServicedComponents into an attribute driven dot NET framework and less reliant on COM+. I hope that is the case because JEE has already proven that inhertance based component mangagement such as ServiceComponent cramp system architectures. I also feel like the book does not adequately cover the use cases appropriate for designing a distributed application. It covers the mechanics/how fine but it doesn't address the when and where portion of distributed components.
Juval's latest book covers WCF and I am looking forward to reading it and hope it will address the areas I felt still needed to be addressed by this book.
Interfaces Factoring.......2007-02-02
On page 73 of this book the author wrote:
" An in-depth discussion of how to decompose a system into components and how to discover interface methods and properties is beyond the scope of this book".
I would encourage the author to write a book that discusses specifically about interface factoring and to provide more examples on how components should be decomposed and organized in large scale applications.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-07-05
This book had exactly what I needed in it, how to create custom objects that are plugable into user interface controls (like data grids) and have all the event wiring etc. to make them look and act like the do with datasets. This includes sorting, etc. Excellent book from a great author.
Truly understanding the datagridview.......2007-05-13
Brian Noyes studied the grid thoroughly and has written a readable book which guide you in understanding the datagridview step by step. For me it is however pretty hard to understand the code Brian supplies in C#. In my opinion VB is better suited for learning purposes especially. Sometimes Brian uses tough coding which I can't grasp.
5 Stars from a DotNet Expert..........2007-03-06
.
Actually, I am only an expert at buying books about C# and DotNet, but an expert none-the-less.
After seeing the author's data-binding demo on dnrtv, I came here and read the reviews about this book - the reviews couldn't have been more accurate! With only two years of C# programming under my belt, I have found that chapters 7 (Understanding Data-Binding Interfaces) and 9 (Implementing Custom Data-Bound Business Objects and Collections) are alone worth the price of this book.
This book is extremely well written and easy to follow. Not really a "How To", but more of a "How To Understand How To" data-binding book IMHO.
Best book out on database use.......2007-02-13
I have looked long and hard for a database and windows design book that was really useful. This is it. Lots of reusable code. Working designs. Well written - easy to read and understand. I have placed more tabs for easy reference in this book than any book of recent years. Buy it now!!
The Best Book on Data Binding and .NET 2.0. A must read for windows forms developers........2007-01-20
This is a really great book. Like most technical books it covers a lot of ground:
1. Shows through example how data binding works in windows: how to use the Binding class to bind a property on a control to a property on an object; how the new .NET 2.0 BindingSource class is used and why it was created; and a clear explanation of the currency manager and how the BindingSource class replaces it. I didn't even know you could bind arbitrary properties on an object to a property on a control. This book showed me how to do it. Too Cool!
2. A detailed explanation of how to use and extend the DataGridView. It is the best one stop shopping treatment of the DataGridView I have seen anywhere.
3. How to implement custom data-bound controls in windows forms.
4. A detailed explanation of the Data-Binding interfaces, including how to bind the DataGridView to something other then a DataTable.
5. And so much more...
I consider this one of the few .NET books worth reading. One big plus about this book is after the first couple of chapters you can skip around and read what you need to get your job done.
Using the information from this book I was able to create an adapter to our custom business object and display the data in a data grid view. Using the data grid view the user can perform the standard CRUD (create, read, update, and delete operations) on the data. This provides a nice addition to our graphical rendering. Big thanks to the author. I couldn't of done it without this book.
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- Ajax For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
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Programming WCF Services (Programming)
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