Python Scripting for Computational Science (Texts in Computational Science and Engineering) Review

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Python Scripting for Computational Science (Texts in Computational Science and Engineering) ReviewThe author has 2 main goals:
1) To improve the productivity of scientists familiar with specific software systems (especially Matlab, Maple, and Mathematica) by teaching them to "glue" applications together.
2) To advocate Python as the preferred "glue" language. In his own words, "I hope to convince computational scientists having experience with Perl that Python is a preferable alternative, especially for large long-term projects."
He has certainly done a creditable job. As an expert in computational differential equations, he neglects neither efficiency nor correctness, while stressing both simplicity and reliability. In this sense, he has done a great service to the Python community.
The question is: What justifies the purchase of his book?
The answer is: Chapters 4, 9, and 10.
Contents:
1. Introduction--26pp
Very convincing arguments.
2. Getting Started With Python Scripting--38pp
Interesting examples.
3. Basic Python--56pp
A too-quick tutorial. Go to python dot org instead.
4. Numerical Computing in Python--48pp
Stellar explanations of vectorized array operations.
5. Combining Python with Fortran, C, and C++--36pp
Details use of Fortran2Py and SWIG. Mentions many alternatives.
6. Introduction to GUI Programming--70pp
Useful examples of Tkinter/pmw widgets.
7. Web Interfaces and CGI Programming--24pp
Good source of ideas.
8. Advanced Python--132pp
Deep and extensive. Includes: option parsing, regular expressions, data persistence and compression, object-oriented programming, exceptions, generic programming, efficiency.
9. Fortran Programming with NumPy Arrays--32pp
All about efficiency and re-use.
10. C and C++ Programming with NumPy Arrays--40pp
More about efficiency. NumPy C API, C++ objects, and SCXX.
11. More Advanced GUI Programming--73pp
Tedious discussion of both Web and standalone GUIs. BLT, canvas, cgi.
12. Tools and Examples--70pp
Excellent examples of PDE solvers, with a powerful GUI, but quite long and tedious.
A. Setting up the Required Software Environment--16pp
Wonderfully specific installation instructions!
B. Elements of Software Engineering--50pp
Python's strength! Very practical advice on modularity, documentation, coding style, regression-testing, version-control.Strengths:
+ Downloadable py4cs package, esp. numpytools module
+ Great advice everywhere, e.g. CGI checklist, Pythonic programming, and trouble-shooting.
+ Concrete evidence for most assertions.
+ Very attractive presentation. Sturdy, high-quality cover, binding and pages. Brief, elegant code fragments (except in Chapter 12). Readable prose. No wasted space.
+ Available as 5MB pdf file, after purchase of hardcopy. Very nice.
+ Slides, installation instructions, and errata also at web site. Very professional.My peeves:
- Not enough tables to be a useful manual.
- On p.428(#7) he points out that handling a raised exception is very slow. However, when I time his example with a positive argument, the try-except version is 20% faster (b/c the if clause is skipped), so he is actually giving bad advice for the general case. Luckily, he contradicts himself later, on page 685: "Exceptions should be used instead of if-else tests." The best advice: Avoid common exceptions in inner loops.
- The 10-page index is not as great as it at first seems. (See Martelli's Python in a Nutshell for a better one.)
- Pure interface functions should 'raise NotImplementedError', rather than 'return'.
- Exceptions should never be trapped mindlessly with 'except:'. That would hide your own SyntaxErrors!
- Too many exercises. (It's published as a textbook.) Since there are no answers, the exercises are useless for non-students. (See Lutz's Learning Python for effective exercises with answers.)Overall rating:
This contains the best information on numerical programming in Python that I've seen. Though expensive, it could easily be your only Python book, given the excellent online documenation already available.Python Scripting for Computational Science (Texts in Computational Science and Engineering) OverviewWith a primary focus on examples and applications of relevance to computational scientists, this brilliantly useful book shows computational scientists how to develop tailored, flexible, and human-efficient working environments built from small scripts written in the easy-to-learn, high-level Python language. All the tools and examples in this book are open source codes. This third edition features lots of new material. It is also released after a comprehensive reorganization of the text. The author has inserted improved examples and tools and updated information, as well as correcting any errors that crept in to the first imprint.

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The Entrepreneur's Guide to Managing Information Technology Review

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The Entrepreneur's Guide to Managing Information Technology ReviewLots of good insights sprinkled throughout the book - author clearly has experience in the field discussed. But she does miss the entire dynamic of clients purchasing development days from the their IT vendor to cater to their evolving business process needs. If anything, author hints that such a thing would be bad - as the software must be perfect and stationary once purchased by a client. This isn't how the world works though. And in some areas of software, building out new functionality of the software is a clear win-win situation: if the client is constantly evolving their business process, they will want this. Also, the vendor will prove a willingness to success in BA and constantly improving their product - potentially carrying the lifespan out significantly longer than the spans that the author has in mind throughout. Due to author's complete ignorance in this area, I question how cutting-edge her experience is. But she's learned a lot of hard lessons and does share those lessons, which offer some good insights.The Entrepreneur's Guide to Managing Information Technology Overview

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Component Database Systems (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems) Review

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Component Database Systems (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems) ReviewThe book covers almost every aspect of the component database systems. It is especially helpful to someone who wants to explore this new technology. It would be great if more details are provided in some chapters. Overall, this book worth much more than its price.Component Database Systems (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems) Overview
Component Database Systems is a collection of invited chapters by the researchers making the most influential contributions in the database industry's trend toward componentization
This book represents the sometimes-divergent, sometimes-convergent approaches taken by leading database vendors as they seek to establish commercially viable componentization strategies. Together, these contributions form the first book devoted entirely to the technical and architectural design of component-based database systems. In addition to detailing the current state of their research, the authors also take up many of the issues affecting the likely future directions of component databases.
If you have a stake in the evolution of any of today's leading database systems, this book will make fascinating reading. It will also help prepare you for the technology that is likely to become widely available over the next several years.* Is comprised of contributions from the field's most highly respected researchers, including key figures at IBM, Oracle, Informix, Microsoft, and POET.* Represents the entire spectrum of approaches taken by leading software companies working on DBMS componentization strategies.* Covers component-focused architectures, methods for hooking components into an overall system, and support for component development.* Examines the component technologies that are most valuable to Web-based and multimedia databases.* Presents a thorough classification and overview of component database systems.

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A Semantic Web Primer (Cooperative Information Systems) Review

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A Semantic Web Primer (Cooperative Information Systems) ReviewReaders will need a basic understanding of formal logic in order to get the most from this book. Also realize that some material, such as the discussion and presentation of monotonic and non-monotonic rules are still hotly contested in the semantic web community.
This book starts out with an excellent introduction in Chapter 1, titled "The Semantic Web Vision". It next begins building towards the basic elements of a semantic web by starting in familiar territory - structured web documents in XML. Many readers will be intimately familiar with this material, but I recommend reading it because the authors lay a solid foundation for subsequent chapters here.
The components and concepts of the topic are then covered in chapters devoted to:
- Describing Web Resources in RDF, which includes basic ideas, XML-based syntax, schema, and querying.
- Web Ontology Language (OWL), which introduces the OWL language, examples and future extensions. Appendix A contains Abstract OWL syntax, which augments this chapter.
- Logic and Inference, covers monotonic and non-monotonic rules, syntax, rule mark-up in XML and examples. This chapter will require an understanding of formal logic, and I also recommend additional research on the web regarding the debate about using non-monotonic rules, which has highly vocal proponents and detractors.
- Applications, a chapter of case studies from real companies, including Audi, and material on how semantic web concepts can be applied to E-learning, web services and other scenarios.
- Ontology Engineering (ontology is synonymous with taxonomy) using manual and semi-automatic methods. There is also an excellent discussion about reuse.
The web site that supports this book is rich in content that will not only augment the book, but greatly expand it. Each chapter has an associated page on the site containing PowerPoint presentations, PDF documents, and other material. The site also has a section for errata, problems and quizs if you are basing a course on this book, and additional links to resources related to the material in the book.A Semantic Web Primer (Cooperative Information Systems) OverviewThe development of the Semantic Web, with machine-readable content, has the potential to revolutionize the World Wide Web and its use. A Semantic Web Primer provides an introduction and guide to this emerging field, describing its key ideas, languages, and technologies. Suitable for use as a textbook or for self-study by professionals, it concentrates on undergraduate-level fundamental concepts and techniques that will enable readers to proceed with building applications on their own. It includes exercises, project descriptions, and annotated references to relevant online materials. A Semantic Web Primer is the only available book on the Semantic Web to include a systematic treatment of the different languages (XML, RDF, OWL, and rules) and technologies (explicit metadata, ontologies, and logic and inference) that are central to Semantic Web development. The book also examines such crucial related topics as ontology engineering and application scenarios.After an introductory chapter, topics covered in succeeding chapters include XML and related technologies that support semantic interoperability; RDF and RDF Schema, the standard data model for machine-processable semantics; and OWL, the W3C-approved standard for a Web ontology language more extensive than RDF Schema; rules, both monotonic and nonmonotonic, in the framework of the Semantic Web; selected application domains and how the Semantic Web would benefit them; the development of ontology-based systems; and current debates on key issues and predictions for the future.

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Beyond E-Learning: Approaches and Technologies to Enhance Organizational Knowledge, Learning, and Performance Review

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Beyond E-Learning: Approaches and Technologies to Enhance Organizational Knowledge, Learning, and Performance ReviewOnce again, Marc Rosenberg shows us the way to really transform our organizations into efficient, effective knowledge-centered enterprises. He warns that e-Learning, like training in general, is often done the wrong way, for the wrong reasons. He busts myths right and left (the section on "the myths of e-Learning" alone is worth the purchase price!), and steadfastly refuses to be swept along by fads, technologies -- or even traditions of training.
What Rosenberg does is to lay out a vision of the Smart Enterprise, in which the focus is on performers rather than learners. He argues persuasively that technologies such as e-Learning, classroom learning, knowledge management, communications and collaboration technologies are best viewed not as individual technologies (or fads), but rather as complementary parts of a balanced strategy for performance improvement in enterprises which effectively translate data to knowledge to information to performance. Detailed chapters then discuss each of the key components of this strategy for performance improvement, including practical advice on how to implement them and where the pitfalls are. Examples and issue sidebars featuring luminaries in the field and corporate success stories add weight to the argument.
This is not just another "business book of the month" full of quick-fix half-truths. It is a mature, broad and comprehensive view of what it really takes to make any knowledge-intensive organization get what it needs to reach its goals. Senior line organization managers will find it essential; training managers will find it liberating and exhilerating -- or threatening. It's required reading for everyone responsible for making their enterprises smart.Beyond E-Learning: Approaches and Technologies to Enhance Organizational Knowledge, Learning, and Performance OverviewA follow-up to his best-selling E-Learning, Beyond E-Learning explains the most current thinking on how organizations learn and apply what they know to be successful, and explores the increasingly important role that technology plays, not as an end in itself but as a vital means to get there. The book also provides a clear path for helping to integrate learning—including e-learning—knowledge management, and performance support, and will help training professionals and the organizations they serve go beyond common myths and misconceptions about training and e-learning, focus training/learning activities directly on organizational know-how, and implement a framework that can (at last) be a catalyst for true organizational learning.

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Transaction Processing: Concepts and Techniques (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems) Review

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Transaction Processing: Concepts and Techniques (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems) ReviewFor nearly a decade this book has been the definitive reference on transaction processing. Although the more recent, May 2001 book titled "Transactional Information Systems: Theory, Algorithms, and the Practice of Concurrency Control" by Gerhard Weikum and Gottfried Vossen will probably supplant this book as the standard reference, there is still much material that makes this book useful.
In particular, this book covers the following topics in more depth than the newer boom cited above:
- Fault tolerance and availability, both topics are covered in depth from hardware and software perspectives. This is unique for a book on transaction processing in that most books on the subject confine their scope to software and databases.
- A wide and complete survey of transaction models. True, some of this material is about models that are falling into disuse, but the value is the way the authors go deeply into the mechanics. I've always felt that this part of the book is the most valuable because the principles can be refactored into hybrid models. Moreover, comparing this material with the newer book by Weikum and Vossen shows that these principles are still employed in today's TP solutions.
Material about transaction processing monitors is obviously out of date, but, like the TP models, the principles still apply to contemporary systems. My recommendation is if you are going to buy a single book on the topic get the Weikum and Vossen I cited in the first paragraph. However, if your budget allows, I also highly recommend this book as well because of the depth in which fault tolerance and TP models are covered. If you want to just learn the basics of TP I recommend that you consider "Principles of Transaction Processing" by Philip A. Bernstein and Eric Newcomer because it is less daunting than this or the Weikum and Vossen book (both of which are 1100+ pages).Transaction Processing: Concepts and Techniques (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems) Overview
The key to client/server computing. Transaction processing techniques are deeply ingrained in the fields ofdatabases and operating systems and are used to monitor, control and updateinformation in modern computer systems. This book will show you how large,distributed, heterogeneous computer systems can be made to work reliably.Using transactions as a unifying conceptual framework, the authors show howto build high-performance distributed systems and high-availabilityapplications with finite budgets and risk.

The authors provide detailed explanations of why various problems occur aswell as practical, usable techniques for their solution. Throughout the book,examples and techniques are drawn from the most successful commercial andresearch systems. Extensive use of compilable C code fragments demonstratesthe many transaction processing algorithms presented in the book. The bookwill be valuable to anyone interested in implementing distributed systemsor client/server architectures.


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Police Operations: Theory and Practice Review

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Police Operations: Theory and Practice ReviewThis product was exactly as advertised, even better. The textbook arrived faster than anticipated. I was very pleased with the service.Police Operations: Theory and Practice OverviewThis introductory book will establish a solid foundation in all of the major areas of police operations, with a focus on community-oriented and problem-oriented policing that reflects the current direction of progressive police departments. Now in its 5th edition, POLICE OPERATIONS: THEORY AND PRACTICE offers the same solid, comprehensive presentation of basic policing principles and practices that previous editions are known for, while also including the latest research on patrol techniques, cultural diversity, and changes in police administration policy. With an author team that combines extensive practical and professional knowledge with strong experience in the development of instructional materials, this book is an ideal resource for anyone who plans to pursue a career in law enforcement.

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Testing and Quality Assurance for Component-Based Software (Artech House Computing Library) Review

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Testing and Quality Assurance for Component-Based Software (Artech House Computing Library) ReviewThis book provides a thorough and detailed discussion of the key differences between testing and QA for 'monolithic' or integrated software, and component-based software engineering.
The distinction is important because while the reason to go with a component-based approach is reusability and leveraging developer efforts across a number of applications or products can also introduce widespread problems across a range of systems. This book shows how to approach testing and QA in a manner that eliminates this problem. The approach itself includes validation methods that need to be rigorously applied, and a detailed quality assurance approach that includes testing, certification and verification after the validation layer is completed.
In addition to a coherent approach, the authors discuss specific methods, automated testing tools, testing frameworks, and specifics about test cycles that apply to component-based software. Overall, this book provides a complete picture of the differences between conventional and component-based software, challenges and solutions to meet those challenges.
While the value of this book will be readily apparent to anyone who is working in a component-based software engineering environment, it is also invaluable to the growing number of project teams and shops developing and implementing web services. There is much commonality shared between component-based software and web services, and the principles and approach given in this book will apply equally to both.Testing and Quality Assurance for Component-Based Software (Artech House Computing Library) OverviewPresenting the state of the art in component-based software testing, this cutting-edge resource offers you an in-depth understanding of the current issues, challenges, needs and solutions in this critical area. The book discusses the very latest advances in component-based testing and quality assurance in an accessible tutorial format, making the material easy to comprehend and benefit from no matter what your professional level. The book clearly explains what component-based software testing is, why it is important, and how it differs from traditional software testing. From an introduction to software components, testing component-based software and validation methods for software components, to performance testing and measurement, standards and certification and verification of quality for component-based systems, you get a revealing snapshot of the key developments in this area, including important research findings. This volume also serves as a textbook for related courses at the advanced undergraduate or graduate level.

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Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age (Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series) Review

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Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age (Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series) ReviewThis is a great book. While it is from an `Academic' press, it is not at all pedantic or overbearing. In fact, it is a fascinating story of Grace Hopper and the amazing contribution that she and her team made to the development of computers. It also provides an insight into that development unlike any other. The fascinating aspect of this is that much of what we do today - from flow charting to debugging had to be invented and it was - by Howard Aiken and Grace Hopper. If you are at all interested in understanding the amazing tale of our computer development and the amazing impact that Grace Hopper had on that development, this is a must read!Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age (Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series) OverviewThe career of computer visionary Grace Murray Hopper, whose innovativework in programming laid the foundations for the user-friendliness of today'spersonal computers that sparked the information age.

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Distributed Operating Systems: Concepts and Design Review

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Distributed Operating Systems: Concepts and Design ReviewConcepts and coverage is excellent for learning and the content are not too in-depth especially towards a student. Cover areas like file organisation as well as memory management which is lacking in many similar topic publications. Chapters discussed are comprehensive and relevant to learners in these fields. Diagrams are illustrative and easy to understand. A good choice especially to students that are beginners in operating systems concepts.Distributed Operating Systems: Concepts and Design OverviewDistributed Operating Systems will provide engineers, educators, and researchers with an in-depth understanding of the full range of distributed operating systems components. Each chapter addresses de-facto standards, popular technologies, and design principles applicable to a wide variety of systems. Complete with chapter summaries, end-of-chapter exercises and bibliographies, Distributed Operating Systems concludes with a set of case studies that provide real-world insights into four distributed operating systems.

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A Better Pencil: Readers, Writers, and the Digital Revolution Review

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A Better Pencil: Readers, Writers, and the Digital Revolution ReviewA slim book, but not an easy read. Lots of repetition of ideas and content, as if the book had been written as separate essays and then stitched together without the aid of a good editor. He goes off on tangents within chapters which often had me re-reading pages to see if I had missed a transition.
Pitched as a book about how people have reacted to and adopted new communication technologies, it is really more a light historical overview of the topic. Disappointing. If you like technology and history you've already read most of this book elsewhere. Lots of rehashing of Petroski's book on the pencil and on Thoreau. Chapters on handwriting and Wordstar don't really add much. The last few chapters begin to get at what I thought the book was about -- how people react to and adopt new writing/communication technologies. The illustrations are also not the best, although some are at least interesting. The early Photoshop ad showing Marilyn Monroe holding Abraham Lincoln's arm is something I had not seen before.
If you haven't any background in the history of technology and want a very brief overview, this might be of interest. For me there are better sources and better edited books written in a more engaging style.I expected a lot more than I got.A Better Pencil: Readers, Writers, and the Digital Revolution OverviewComputers, now the writer's tool of choice, are still blamed by skeptics for a variety of ills, from speeding writing up to the point of recklessness, to complicating or trivializing the writing process, to destroying the English language itself. A Better Pencil puts our complex, still-evolving hate-love relationship with computers and the internet into perspective, describing how the digital revolution influences our reading and writing practices, and how the latest technologies differ from what came before. The book explores our use of computers as writing tools in light of the history of communication technology, a history of how we love, fear, and actually use our writing technologies--not just computers, but also typewriters, pencils, and clay tablets. Dennis Baron shows that virtually all writing implements--and even writing itself--were greeted at first with anxiety and outrage: the printing press disrupted the "almost spiritual connection" between the writer and the page; the typewriter was "impersonal and noisy" and would "destroy the art of handwriting."Both pencils and computers were created for tasks that had nothing to do with writing. Pencils, crafted by woodworkers for marking up their boards, were quickly repurposed by writers and artists. The computer crunched numbers, not words, until writers saw it as the next writing machine. Baron also explores the new genres that the computer has launched: email, the instant message, the web page, the blog, social-networking pages like MySpace and Facebook, and communally-generated texts like Wikipedia and the Urban Dictionary, not to mention YouTube.Here then is a fascinating history of our tangled dealings with a wide range of writing instruments, from ancient papyrus to the modern laptop. With dozens of illustrations and many colorful anecdotes, the book will enthrall anyone interested in language, literacy, or writing.

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Microsoft SQL Server 7 Administrator's Guide W/CD Review

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Microsoft SQL Server 7 Administrator's Guide W/CD ReviewI wasn't impressed with this book. If you take out all the info that's already covered quite adequately in the Books Online, you don't have much of a book left. I was expecting a book that would take me to the next level as an administrator, but was sorely disappointed. Recommend you get Soukup/Delaney's book Inside SQL Server 7.0 instead.Microsoft SQL Server 7 Administrator's Guide W/CD OverviewTake full advantage of the power of Microsoft. SQL Server 7 with this comprehensive administrator's guide. As a SQL Server administrator or developer, youneed a book that helps you build and manage a SQLServer 7 database. This indispensable reference was written for you.From upgrading and configuring to securing and troubleshooting, thiscomplete guide covers everything you need to know about SQL Server 7.You'll learn essentials of defining data to be stored in a databaseand implement design features and constraints. You'll also learn theins and outs of the Transact-SQL programming language to manipulatedata. Use several available tools to help tune your performance andoptimize queries. Finally, you'll manage replication, linked servers, and the Microsoft Decision Support engine.

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Software Engineering Handbook Review

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Software Engineering Handbook ReviewI was looking for a practical, easy-to-read book that explained the nuts and bolts of developing large systems. Most books on the market are too much into theory and too little into practicality. I found this book and couldn't be more pleased. On top of readable chapters on all facets of analysis and design there is a large section on quality and productivity. On top of that, the appendices contain 19 or so samples of filled in templates such as a sample text plan, a design spec and a requirements spec. It's pricey but worth every penny.Software Engineering Handbook OverviewUnfortunately, much of what has been written about software engineering comes from an academic perspective which does not always address the everyday concerns that software developers and managers face. With decreasing software budgets and increasing demands from users and senior management, technology directors need a complete guide to the subject of software engineering. The successor to the bestselling Software Engineering Productivity Handbook, this book fulfills that need.Written by an expert with over 25 years of practical experience in building systems, The Software Engineering Handbook covers the full spectrum of software engineering methodologies, techniques, and tools and provides details on how to reach the goals of quality management in a software-engineering environment. It includes a wide variety of information, from the guidelines for the Malcom Baldridge Quality Award to the IEEE measures for reliable software. 65 field-tested how-to chapters provide techniques, guidelines, and philosophies that will assist developers in implementing quality and productivity programs. The author provides readers with a wealth of information and advice in a multitude of areas including management of resources, methods, quality, and metrics. The book concludes with 19 appendices filled with guides, templates, forms, and examples that illustrate important software engineering techniques such as: software requirement specification, software design specification, and a complete test plan including use of automated estimation tools.

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Software Quality Assurance: From Theory to Implementation Review

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Software Quality Assurance: From Theory to Implementation ReviewAlthough written as a college text (the publisher also has instructor manual, syllabus and discussion guidelines, and test material), this book sufficiently reflects real world SQA to be used by working practitioners. My review focus is on the latter use.
Chapters that will be of interest to real world SQA include Chapter 3. Software Quality Factors (excellent foundation for a metrics initiative), Chapter 5. Contract Review (checklists for proposal and contract review are excellent), Chapters 7 (Integrating Quality Activities in the Project Life Cycle - especially the model for SQA defect removal effectiveness and cost) and 8 (Reviews, which includes supporting templates), and Chapter 11. Assuring The Quality of Software Maintenance, which is an often overlooked aspect of SQA.
Note that this book has been written to support ISO 9001 and contains chapters that are specifically slanted towards that approach. Included are chapters on document and configuration control, auditing, and attaining ISO 9001 certification. The author also provides solid information on ISO/IEC Quality Assurance standards, IEEE/ANSI Standards, and MIL-STD-498, as well as on common assessment approaches (CMM and SPICE).
As a textbook the coverage of every facet of SQA from why and what, to testing, metrics and its role in organizations and projects are thoroughly covered. The fact that the material is up-to-date and truly reflects the real world makes this one of the better texts for college level courses because it does prepare students for roles as practitioners.Software Quality Assurance: From Theory to Implementation OverviewSoftware quality assurance (SQA) systems are vital for software developers in the software and the electronics industries as well as for information systems divisions in organizations.This book, based on many years ofconsulting and teaching experience, is designed to serve three audiences: students at universities and colleges, participants in vocational training courses in the industry and practitioners/professionals. Each chapter will conclude with commonly raised questions, problems, short case studies, and topics for discussion.The methodology to be presented in the book conforms with the requirements of ISO 9000 standards (ISO 9001 Quality Management and Quality Assurance Standard and of ISO 9000-3 Guidelines for the Application of ISO 9001 to the Development, Supply, Installation and Maintenance of Computer Software). The topics that will be covered will conform with the requirements of most vocational training programs (e.g.. the American Society for Quality's training program for Certified Software Quality Engineers).The book is designed to include in its appendices a collection of useful templates and checklists containing items of great interest to practitioners and students, and is accompaniedby an Instructor's Solutions Manual and PowerPoint Slides.

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Integrating Literacy and Technology: Effective Practice for Grades K-6 (Tools for Teaching Literacy) Review

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Integrating Literacy and Technology: Effective Practice for Grades K-6 (Tools for Teaching Literacy) Review"Integrating Literacy And Technology: Effective Practice For Grades K-6" is the collaborative project of literacy education researchers and consultants Susan Watts Taffe (a former special education teacher and reading diagnostician) and Carolyn B. Gwinn (who is currently an elementary curriculum specialist for one of the largest school districts in Minnesota). Specifically organized and designed for maximum accessible for elementary school classroom teachers for whom in-service training time is a premium, "Integrating Literacy And Technology" will enable an teacher in grades K to 6 through a step-by-step instructional process involving ongoing cycles of planning, teaching, and assessment in a technology-rich environment that includes the utilization of the internet, reading and writing software, and more to teach core literacy skills to their students, as well as help those children to develop new reading and communication competencies for the digital age. Enhanced with a wealth of specific tools and tips to support professional development, and also available in a hardcover format, "Integrating Literacy And Technology" is a welcome and invaluable addition to any teacher in-service training curriculum in the field of literacy education.Integrating Literacy and Technology: Effective Practice for Grades K-6 (Tools for Teaching Literacy) OverviewAn accessible resource for busy teachers, this informative book sets the stage for using technology effectively in the literacy classroom. The authors take the reader step by step through the ongoing cycle of planning, teaching, and assessment in a technology-rich environment. They demonstrate how to use the Internet and reading and writing software not only to teach core literacy skills, but also to help children develop new reading and communication competencies for the digital age. Vivid classroom examples illustrate specific strategies for explicit instruction, teacher modeling, think-alouds, and interactive demonstration. The book also offers tools and tips to support professional development, including reproducible materials for use by individual teachers or study groups.

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Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools Review

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Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools ReviewDuring each compiler stage (lexical analysis, syntax analysis, translation, type checking, translation, code generation, and code optimization) multiple methods, strategies, and algorithms are presented. This comprehensive book examines items that are unique to the various languages presented (Fortran, C, and Pascal); there are even sections on dealing with estimation of types (10.12) and symbolic debugging of optimized code (10.13). Wow! The exercises are thorough, challenging, and thought provoking. Examples are interleaved with the discussion and algorithms. There is an excellent set of historical and bibliographic information at the end of each chapter. The use of automated tools such as lex, yacc, and compiler-generators is discussed throughout the text. This is an advanced book, however a good understanding of compilers can be obtained without understanding the details of every algorithm.Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools OverviewThis introduction to compilers is the direct descendant of the well-known book by Aho and Ullman, Principles of Compiler Design. The authors present updated coverage of compilers based on research and techniques that have been developed in the field over the past few years. The book provides a thorough introduction to compiler design and covers topics such as context-free grammars, fine state machines, and syntax-directed translation. 0201100886B04062001

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Software Estimation Best Practices, Tools & Techniques: A Complete Guide for Software Project Estimators Review

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Software Estimation Best Practices, Tools & Techniques: A Complete Guide for Software Project Estimators ReviewMurali Chemuturi has written an excellent book that provides a nice overview of both the philosophy and practices of software estimation. In it, he covers the theories and practical realities of estimating software development projects in a simple to read, and easy to understand writing style. Software Estimation provides an excellent summary of various methods of software sizing and covers the pros & cons of each, including an excellent primer on Function Point Analysis. It also includes a very helpful review of Software Size Units, which is the latest way to think about the overall size of a software project taking into account both data and process. SSU seeks to overcome much of the difficulty and ambiguity of trying to count "points" needed for FPA.
One of my personal pet peeves is when developers do not include adequate effort in their estimates for test preparation and the overall testing effort. The book covers this area well and includes an excellent overview of incorporating testing into all your estimates, plus it explains multiple ways to help you do it. Since this is a significant area for me in my work, I have read this section over several times and have already incorporated many of the concepts and metrics covered in this book into my projects.
The only area that is not thoroughly covered in this book is how to estimate using iterative or Agile methodologies, as it tends to focus on the traditional software lifecycle process. However, there is still more than enough valuable information in this excellent book. Chemuturi's book is within easy reach on my desk, and is often stashed in my briefcase. It has easily become my bible for all things related to estimating software application development projects. It is a great value and should become part of any software development manager's toolkit.
Larry Hanthorn
Director, Delivery Excellence
Microsoft Corporation
Software Estimation Best Practices, Tools & Techniques: A Complete Guide for Software Project Estimators OverviewSoftware Estimation Best Practices, Tools & Techniques covers all facets of software estimation. It provides a detailed explanation of the various methods for estimating software size, development effort, cost, and schedule, including a comprehensive explanation of test effort estimation. This unique desk reference, for the novice to expert, also offers direction on which methods are most appropriate for each of the different software project types commonly executed and criteria for selecting software estimation tools. Key Features-- Presents software estimation best practices and shows how to avoid common pitfalls-- Demonstrates a practical methodology with templates for using Delphi estimation and analogy-based estimation for software projects-- Introduces a new method referred to as software size units for measuring software size that does not make use of the untenable concept of complexity for adjusting software size-- Provides useful methods for converting software size to effort, deriving true productivity, and analyzing variances between actual and estimated values as a tool for productivity improvement-- WAV offers a free downloadable test effort estimation tool (TPPal), a software size unit estimation tool (SSUPal), and a 180-day demo for a comprehensive estimation tool known as EstimatorPal available from the Web Added Value Download Resource Center at jrosspub.com

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