Computer Science
Artificial Intelligence
Building
Web Solutions with ASP.NET and ADO.NET
by Dino Esposito
(Paperback -- February 13, 2002)
UML
Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language (2nd
Edition)
by Martin Fowler, Kendall Scott
The second edition of Martin Fowler's bestselling UML Distilled provides
updates to the Unified Modeling Language (UML) without changing its basic
formula for success. It is still arguably the best resource for quick,
no-nonsense explanations of using UML.
The major strength of UML Distilled is its short, concise presentation
of the essentials of UML and where it fits within today's software development
process. The book describes all the major UML diagram types, what they're
for, and the basic notation involved in creating and deciphering them.
These diagrams include use cases; class and interaction diagrams; collaborations;
and state, activity, and physical diagrams. The examples are always clear,
and the explanations cut to the fundamental design logic.
For the second edition, the material has been reworked for use cases
and activity diagrams, plus there are numerous small tweaks throughout,
including the latest UML v. 1.3 standard. An appendix even traces the evolution
of UML versions.
Working developers often don't have time to keep up with new innovations
in software engineering. This new edition lets you get acquainted with
some of the best thinking about efficient object-oriented software design
using UML in a convenient format that will be essential to anyone who designs
software professionally. --Richard Dragan
Topics covered: UML basics, analysis and design, outline development
(software development process), inception, elaboration, managing risks,
construction, transition, use case diagrams, class diagrams, interaction
diagrams, collaborations, state diagrams, activity diagrams, physical diagrams,
patterns, and refactoring basics. Amazon.com
Paperback: 185 pages
Addison-Wesley Pub Co; ISBN: 020165783X; 2nd edition
(August 25, 1999)
Design
Patterns
by Erich Gamma, et al
Design Patterns is a modern classic in the literature of object-oriented
development, offering timeless and elegant solutions to common problems
in software design. It describes patterns for managing object creation,
composing objects into larger structures, and coordinating control flow
between objects. The book provides numerous examples where using composition
rather than inheritance can improve the reusability and flexibility of
code. Note, though, that it's not a tutorial but a catalog that you can
use to find an object-oriented design pattern that's appropriate for the
needs of your particular application--a selection for virtuoso programmers
who appreciate (or require) consistent, well-engineered object-oriented
designs. Amazon.com
Hardcover: 395 pages
Addison-Wesley Pub Co; ISBN: 0201633612; 1st edition
(January 15, 1995)
Software
Requirements
by Karl E. Wiegers
(Paperback -- September 1999)
.NET
Framework Security
by Sebastian Lange, et al
(Paperback -- April 24, 2002)
Java
Tools for Extreme Programming: Mastering Open Source Tools Including Ant,
JUnit, and Cactus
by Richard Hightower, Nicholas Lesiecki
(Paperback -- December 15, 2001)
Godel,
Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
by Douglas R. Hofstadter
Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, Douglas R. Hofstadter's
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid is still something
of a marvel. Besides being a profound and entertaining meditation on human
thought and creativity, this book looks at the surprising points of contact
between the music of Bach, the artwork of Escher, and the mathematics of
Gödel. It also looks at the prospects for computers and artificial
intelligence (AI) for mimicking human thought. For the general reader and
the computer techie alike, this book still sets a standard for thinking
about the future of computers and their relation to the way we think.
Hofstadter's great achievement in Gödel, Escher, Bach was
making abstruse mathematical topics (like undecidability, recursion, and
'strange loops') accessible and remarkably entertaining. Borrowing a page
from Lewis Carroll (who might well have been a fan of this book), each
chapter presents dialogue between the Tortoise and Achilles, as well as
other characters who dramatize concepts discussed later in more detail.
Allusions to Bach's music (centering on his Musical Offering) and Escher's
continually paradoxical artwork are plentiful here. This more approachable
material lets the author delve into serious number theory (concentrating
on the ramifications of Gödel's Theorem of Incompleteness)
while stopping along the way to ponder the work of a host of other mathematicians,
artists, and thinkers.
The world has moved on since 1979, of course. The book predicted that
computers probably won't ever beat humans in chess, though Deep Blue beat
Garry Kasparov in 1997. And the vinyl record, which serves for some of
Hofstadter's best analogies, is now left to collectors. Sections on recursion
and the graphs of certain functions from physics look tantalizing, like
the fractals of recent chaos theory. And AI has moved on, of course, with
mixed results. Yet Gödel, Escher, Bach remains a remarkable
achievement. Its intellectual range and ability to let us visualize difficult
mathematical concepts help make it one of this century's best for anyone
who's interested in computers and their potential for real intelligence.
--Richard Dragan - Amazon.com
Paperback: 777 pages
Basic Books; ISBN: 0465026567; 20th anniv edition (January
1999)
Extreme
Programming Explained: Embrace Change
by Kent Beck
(Paperback -- October 15, 1999)
PMP:
Project Management Professional Study Guide
by Kim Heldman
(Hardcover -- April 22, 2002)
Microsoft®
Excel 2000 Power Programming with VBA
by John Walkenbach
If you've mastered Excel and need to develop customised applications,
Microsoft Excel 2000 Power Programming with VBA should have a place by
your side. Written by noted Excel expert and PC World columnist John Walkenbach,
it will thrust you deep into the inner workings of Excel and Visual Basic
for Applications (VBA) to get you writing code immediately.
Somewhat text-heavy (as programming books tend to be), it still contains
a number of good illustrations and screenshots to effectively teach you.
The first three sections cover the fundamentals of Excel and VBA; the next
three deal with programming and development topics such as user forms,
pivot tables, and event handling; the final section covers miscellaneous
issues like compatibility, file manipulation and class modules.
The five appendices are useful for referencing Excel and VBA information,
and the accompanying CD-ROM contains all the code and files you'll need
to work through the book, not to mention the shareware version of Walkenbach's
Power Utility Pack. (The full version is available through a free offer.)
Nobody ever said programming was easy, but with Microsoft Excel 2000 Power
Programming with VBA it's a lot simpler. --Rob Lightner - Amazon.co.uk
(Paperback -- May 1999)
Writing
Effective Use Cases
by Alistair Cockburn
(Paperback -- January 15, 2000)
Microsoft
Visual C# .NET Step by Step
by John Sharp, Jon Jagger
(Paperback -- January 23, 2002)
Code
Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction
by Steve C McConnell
A modern-day classic on software engineering, Code Complete focuses
on specific practices you can use to improve your code and your ability
to debug it--and ultimately deliver better, more efficient programs in
less time. With every bit of advice the book proffers you'll improve your
ability to write elegant, self-documenting, maintainable software. McConnell
doesn't focus on the idiosyncrasies of any single language, but on the
general issues developers face: naming subroutines and variables in meaningful
ways, designing control structures, finding and correcting errors in code,
and many, many more. Code Complete is packed with code samples demonstrating
good and bad programming practices and checklists that you can use to vet
your own work. Amazon.com
Paperback: 857 pages
Microsoft Press; ISBN: 1556154844; (May 1993)
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