Best of
Geek

2005

Perl Best Practices: Standards and Styles for Developing Maintainable Code


Damian Conway - 2005
    They aren't conscious of all the choices they make, like how they format their source, the names they use for variables, or the kinds of loops they use. They're focused entirely on problems they're solving, solutions they're creating, and algorithms they're implementing. So they write code in the way that seems natural, that happens intuitively, and that feels good.But if you're serious about your profession, intuition isn't enough. Perl Best Practices author Damian Conway explains that rules, conventions, standards, and practices not only help programmers communicate and coordinate with one another, they also provide a reliable framework for thinking about problems, and a common language for expressing solutions. This is especially critical in Perl, because the language is designed to offer many ways to accomplish the same task, and consequently it supports many incompatible dialects.With a good dose of Aussie humor, Dr. Conway (familiar to many in the Perl community) offers 256 guidelines on the art of coding to help you write better Perl code--in fact, the best Perl code you possibly can. The guidelines cover code layout, naming conventions, choice of data and control structures, program decomposition, interface design and implementation, modularity, object orientation, error handling, testing, and debugging.They're designed to work together to produce code that is clear, robust, efficient, maintainable, and concise, but Dr. Conway doesn't pretend that this is the one true universal and unequivocal set of best practices. Instead, Perl Best Practices offers coherent and widely applicable suggestions based on real-world experience of how code is actually written, rather than on someone's ivory-tower theories on how software ought to be created.Most of all, Perl Best Practices offers guidelines that actually work, and that many developers around the world are already using. Much like Perl itself, these guidelines are about helping you to get your job done, without getting in the way.Praise for Perl Best Practices from Perl community members:"As a manager of a large Perl project, I'd ensure that every member of my team has a copy of Perl Best Practices on their desk, and use it as the basis for an in-house style guide." -- Randal Schwartz"There are no more excuses for writing bad Perl programs. All levels of Perl programmer will be more productive after reading this book." -- Peter Scott"Perl Best Practices will be the next big important book in the evolution of Perl. The ideas and practices Damian lays down will help bring Perl out from under the embarrassing heading of "scripting languages". Many of us have known Perl is a real programming language, worthy of all the tasks normally delegated to Java and C++. With Perl Best Practices, Damian shows specifically how and why, so everyone else can see, too." -- Andy Lester"Damian's done what many thought impossible: show how to build large, maintainable Perl applications, while still letting Perl be the powerful, expressive language that programmers have loved for years." -- Bill Odom"Finally, a means to bring lasting order to the process and product of real Perl development teams." -- Andrew Sundstrom"Perl Best Practices provides a valuable education in how to write robust, maintainable P

The Manga Guide to Databases


Mana Takahashi - 2005
    With the king and queen away, she has to manage the Kingdom of Kod's humongous fruit-selling empire. Overseas departments, scads of inventory, conflicting prices, and so many customers! It's all such a confusing mess. But a mysterious book and a helpful fairy promise to solve her organizational problems-with the practical magic of databases.In The Manga Guide to Databases, Tico the fairy teaches the Princess how to simplify her data management. We follow along as they design a relational database, understand the entity-relationship model, perform basic database operations, and delve into more advanced topics. Once the Princess is familiar with transactions and basic SQL statements, she can keep her data timely and accurate for the entire kingdom. Finally, Tico explains ways to make the database more efficient and secure, and they discuss methods for concurrency and replication.Examples and exercises (with answer keys) help you learn, and an appendix of frequently used SQL statements gives the tools you need to create and maintain full-featured databases.(Of course, it wouldn't be a royal kingdom without some drama, so read on to find out who gets the girl-the arrogant prince or the humble servant.)This EduManga book is a translation of a bestselling series in Japan, co-published with Ohmsha, Ltd., of Tokyo, Japan.

The Very Best of the Feynman Lectures


Richard P. Feynman - 2005
    Feynman's three-volume Lectures on Physics has been known worldwide as the classic resource for students and professionals alike. That text was based on transcriptions of the hundreds of hours of audio recordings made during Feynman's legendary classroom lectures. Now, for the first time on compact disc, the best of these recordings are available in digitally mastered quality. Ranging from the most basic principles of Newtonian physics through such formidable topics as Einstein's general relativity, superconductivity, and quantum mechanics, Feynman's lectures stand as a monument of clear exposition and deep insight. Timeless and collectible, these unabridged lectures are essential listening, not just for students of physics, but for anyone seeking an introduction to the field from the inimitable Richard Feynman. 6 CDs: Total playing time: Approx. 6 hours

Tim Burton


Antoine de Baecque - 2005
    From his first films as a cinema obsessed adolescent to his most recent Hollywood blockbusters like Sweeney Todd and Alice in Wonderland, this new monograph by acclaimed author and film critic Antoine de Baecque, takes readers on a behind the scenes journey through Burton's eccentric career. Featuring interviews with Burton himself that reveal quirky personal anecdotes, exhaustively researched and gorgeously illustrated with film stills, set photographs and a wide selection of Burton's drawings, this vivid account of one of American cinema's greatest stars will delight fans and critics alike.

Artesia: Adventures in the Known World


Mark Smylie - 2005
    Includes an expansive adaptation of R. Talsorian Games' LifePath character-generation system including birth omens, star signs and divine and heroic lineages, and rules for talents and abilities accessible to characters through the Arcana, the Tarot-like system representing the Known World's archetypal paths of power and the foundation of an unique system of experience, allowing game rewards for virtually all types of character actions.

The Golden Age Sandman Archives, Vol. 1


Gardner Fox - 2005
    The first batch of the Golden Age Sandman's adventures are chronicled in this volume reprinting stories from ADVENTURE COMICS #40-57, NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR 1939, and NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR 1940 (circa 1940-41).

Professional C++


Nicholas A. Solter - 2005
    Geared to experienced C++ developers who may not be familiar with the more advanced features of the language, and therefore are not using it to its full capabilities Teaches programmers how to think in C++-that is, how to design effective solutions that maximize the power of the language The authors drill down into this notoriously complex language, explaining poorly understood elements of the C++ feature set as well as common pitfalls to avoid Contains several in-depth case studies with working code that's been tested on Windows, Linux, and Solaris platforms

Linux Quick Fix Notebook


Peter Harrison - 2005
    The author covers many basic, practical issues that other authors omit in a format that makes for a great troubleshooting reference and for casual perusing. There are a lot of books available that give a broad overview of system and network administration, and there are a lot of detailed books on each specific topic covered in this book, but I don't know of any other place where I can get so much useful, practical information on such a wide range of topics in such a concise and readable form. I will highly recommend it to my friends and colleagues who are trying to manage their own systems. I am anxious to show it to our instructors who teach data communications and networks as a possible text or lab manual."—Ron McCarty, instructor and program chair, Computer Science, Penn State Erie"This book takes a very unique approach and is very flexible. It offers a great deal to the home user, students, small businesses—all the way to any Linux sys admin that needs a handy reference. I found it very refreshing in terms of style, stated goals, presentation, ease of use, direction, and the "present and future" value of the content. In other words the author is very current and knowledgeable. I would recommend this book to every level from programmer to manager."—Joe Brazeal, Information Technician III, Southwest Power Pool"This book is an excellent resource for new Linux administrators. I was impressed with the comprehensive set of 35 topic chapters, making this book a very useful reference. I know of no other work like this."—George Vish II, Linux curriculum program manager and senior education consultant, Hewlett-Packard Education"I would recommend this book to novice Linux users and administrators. It covers a lot of topics, and makes it easy for readers to follow along."—Bret Strong, education consultant, Hewlett-Packard Company"Linux Quick Fix Notebook is a well-written guide to designing, installing, and maintaining Linux servers. Many Linux reference texts are just simple rewrites of Linux ¨man¨ and ¨info¨ pages, but this book addresses the real issues that systems administrators encounter when working with Linux. The author provides a pedagogical guide to learning Linux server administration. In addition, the book includes step-by-step information so that users can quickly take advantage of the best that open source software has to offer today. I would recommend this book to both beginning and intermediate users of Linux."—Joseph Naberhaus, Professor of Networking, Universidad Del MarAn indispensable guide for every Linux administratorInstant access to precise, step-by-step solutions for every essential Linux administration taskFrom basic configuration and troubleshooting to advanced security and optimizationIf you're responsible for delivering results with Linux, Linux® Quick Fix Notebook brings together all the step-by-step instructions, precise configuration commands, and real-world guidance you need. This distilled, focused, task-centered guide was written for sysadmins, netadmins, consultants, power users...everyone whose livelihood depends on making Linux work, and keeping it working.This book's handy Q&A format gives you instant access to specific answers, without ever forcing you to wade through theory or jargon. Peter Harrison addresses virtually every aspect of Linux administration, from software installation to security, user management to Internet services—even advanced topics such as software RAID and centralized LDAP authentication. Harrison's proven command-line examples work quickly and efficiently, no matter what Linux distribution you're using. Here's just some of what you'll learn how to do: Build Linux file/print servers and networks from scratch Troubleshoot Linux and interpret system error messages Control every step of the boot process Create, manage, secure, and track user accounts Install, configure, and test Linux-based wireless networks Protect your network with Linux iptables firewalls Set up Web, e-mail, DNS, DHCP, and FTP servers And much more... © Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Minimal Perl: For Unix and Linux People


Tim Maher - 2005
    A joy to read."" -Dan Sanderson, Software Developer, Amazon.com ""Shows style, not just facts-valuable."" -Brian Downs, former Training Director, Lucent Technologies ""Brilliant, never tedious-highly recommended!"" -Jon Allen, Maintainer of perldoc.perl.org ""You could have chosen no better primer than this book."" -Damian Conway, from the Foreword Perl is a complex language that can be difficult to master. Perl advocates boast that ""There's More Than One Way To Do It,"" but do you really want to learn several ways of saying the same thing to a computer? To make Perl more accessible, Dr. Tim Maher has over the years designed and taught an essential subset of the language that is smaller, yet practical and powerful. With this engaging book you can now benefit from ""Minimal Perl,"" even if all you know about Unix is grep. You will learn how to write simple Perl commands-many just one-liners-that go far beyond the limitations of Unix utilities, and those of Linux, MacOS/X, etc. And you'll acquire the more advanced Perl skills used in scripts by capitalizing on your knowledge of related Shell resources. Sprinkled throughout are many Unix-specific Perl tips. This book is especially suitable for system administrators, webmasters, and software developers.

Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 Bible [With 2 CD-ROMs]


David B. Harris - 2005
    Comprehensive, beginning-to-advanced coverage of Debian GNU/Linux, which boasts an estimated installed base of 1.75 million servers and a year-to-year growth rate of 25 percentDebian GNU/Linux is free, supported by HP, and is often cited as the most stable and reliable Linux distribution-which makes it a great alternative for users put off by Red Hat's pricey Enterprise Linux and unsupported FedoraWritten by an active and widely recognized member of the Debian community and featuring a foreword by the Debian Project LeaderFeatures the basic distribution on one CD-ROM as well as a mini disk that allows users to explore Debian GNU/Linux without actually installing it