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CoffeeScript
Trevor Burnham - 2011
It provides all of JavaScript's functionality wrapped in a cleaner, more succinct syntax. In the first book on this exciting new language, CoffeeScript guru Trevor Burnham shows you how to hold onto all the power and flexibility of JavaScript while writing clearer, cleaner, and safer code.CoffeeScript: Accelerated JavaScript Development offers a thorough introduction to this new language, starting from the basics. You'll learn to use time-saving features like list comprehensions and splats, organize your code into modules with extensible classes, and deploy your work to multiple environments. Each chapter is example-driven and includes challenging exercises to push your CoffeeScript know-how further. Through the course of the book, you'll build a fast-paced multiplayer word game-writing both the client (with jQuery) and server (with Node.js) in CoffeeScript. And because the two languages are so deeply intertwined, you'll deepen your understanding of JavaScript along the way. CoffeeScript makes it easier than ever to write powerful, standards-compliant JavaScript code. CoffeeScript: Accelerated JavaScript Development lets you start doing it today.
Scalability Rules: 50 Principles for Scaling Web Sites
Martin L. Abbott - 2011
It's an essential read for anyone dealing with scaling an online business."--Chris Lalonde, VP, Technical Operations and Infrastructure Architecture, Bullhorn "Abbott and Fisher again tackle the difficult problem of scalability in their unique and practical manner. Distilling the challenges of operating a fast-growing presence on the Internet into 50 easy-to understand rules, the authors provide a modern cookbook of scalability recipes that guide the reader through the difficulties of fast growth."--Geoffrey Weber, Vice President, Internet Operations, Shutterfly "Abbott and Fisher have distilled years of wisdom into a set of cogent principles to avoid many nonobvious mistakes."--Jonathan Heiliger, VP, Technical Operations, Facebook "In "The Art of Scalability," the AKF team taught us that scale is not just a technology challenge. Scale is obtained only through a combination of people, process, "and "technology. With "Scalability Rules," Martin Abbott and Michael Fisher fill our scalability toolbox with easily implemented and time-tested rules that once applied will enable massive scale."--Jerome Labat, VP, Product Development IT, Intuit "When I joined Etsy, I partnered with Mike and Marty to hit the ground running in my new role, and it was one of the best investments of time I have made in my career. The indispensable advice from my experience working with Mike and Marty is fully captured here in this book. Whether you're taking on a role as a technology leader in a new company or you simply want to make great technology decisions, "Scalability Rules "will be the go-to resource on your bookshelf."--Chad Dickerson, CTO, Etsy ""Scalability Rules "provides an essential set of practical tools and concepts anyone can use when designing, upgrading, or inheriting a technology platform. It's very easy to focus on an immediate problem and overlook issues that will appear in the future. This book ensures strategic design principles are applied to everyday challenges."--Robert Guild, Director and Senior Architect, Financial Services "An insightful, practical guide to designing and building scalable systems. A must-read for both product-building and operations teams, this book offers concise and crisp insights gained from years of practical experience of AKF principals. With the complexity of modern systems, scalability considerations should be an integral part of the architecture and implementation process. Scaling systems for hypergrowth requires an agile, iterative approach that is closely aligned with product features; this book shows you how."--Nanda Kishore, Chief Technology Officer, ShareThis "For organizations looking to scale technology, people, and processes rapidly or effectively, the twin pairing of "Scalability Rules "and "The Art of Scalability "are unbeatable. The rules-driven approach in "Scalability Rules "makes this not only an easy reference companion, but also allows organizations to tailor the Abbott and Fisher approach to their specific needs both immediately and in the future!"--Jeremy Wright, CEO, BNOTIONS.ca and Founder, b5media 50 Powerful, Easy-to-Use Rules for Supporting Hypergrowth in Any Environment "Scalability Rules" is the easy-to-use scalability primer and reference for every architect, developer, web professional, and manager. Authors Martin L. Abbott and Michael T. Fisher have helped scale more than 200 hypergrowth Internet sites through their consulting practice. Now, drawing on their unsurpassed experience, they present 50 clear, proven scalability rules-and practical guidance for applying them. Abbott and Fisher transform scalability from a "black art" to a set of realistic, technology-agnostic best practices for supporting hypergrowth in nearly any environment, including both frontend and backend systems. For architects, they offer powerful new insights for creating and evaluating designs. For developers, they share specific techniques for handling everything from databases to state. For managers, they provide invaluable help in goal-setting, decision-making, and interacting with technical teams. Whatever your role, you'll find practical risk/benefit guidance for setting priorities-and getting maximum "bang for the buck." - Simplifying architectures and avoiding "over-engineering"- Scaling via cloning, replication, separating functionality, and splitting data sets- Scaling out, not up- Getting more out of databases without compromising scalability- Avoiding unnecessary redirects and redundant double-checking- Using caches and content delivery networks more aggressively, without introducing unacceptable complexity- Designing for fault tolerance, graceful failure, and easy rollback- Striving for statelessness when you can; efficiently handling state when you must- Effectively utilizing asynchronous communication- Learning quickly from mistakes, and much more
Pro C# 3.0 and the .NET 3.5 Framework (Pro)
Andrew Troelsen - 2007
Since that time, this text has been revised, tweaked, and enhanced to account for the changes found within each release of the .NET platform (1.1, 2.0, 3.0 and now 3.5)..NET 3.0 was more of an augmentative release, essentially providing three new APIs: Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Windows Workflow Foundation (WF). As you would expect, coverage of the "W's" has been expanded a great deal in this version of the book from the previous Special Edition text.Unlike .NET 3.0, .NET 3.5 provides dozens of C# language features and .NET APIs. This edition of the book will walk you through all of this material using the same readable approach as was found in previous editions. Rest assured, you'll find detailed coverage of Language Integrated Query (LINQ), the C# 2008 language changes (automatic properties, extension methods, anonymous types, etc.) and the numerous bells and whistles of Visual Studio 2008. What you'll learn Everything you need to knowget up to speed with C# 2008 quickly and efficiently. Discover all the new .NET 3.5 featuresLanguage Integrated Query, anonymous types, extension methods, automatic properties, and more. Get a professional footholdtargeted to appeal to experienced software professionals, this book gives you the facts you need the way you need to see them. A rock-solid foundationfocuses on everything you need to be a successful .NET 3.5 programmer, not just the new features. Get comfortable with all the core aspects of the platform including assemblies, remoting, Windows Forms, Web Forms, ADO.NET, XML web services, and much more. Who this book is forIf you're checking out this book for the first time, understand that it targets experienced software professionals and/or students of computer science (so please don't expect three chapters devoted to "for" loops). The mission of this text is to provide you with a rock-solid foundation to the C# 2008 programming language and the core aspects of the .NET platform (object-oriented programming, assemblies, file IO, Windows Forms/WPF, ASP.NET, ADO.NET, WCF, WF, etc.). Once you digest the information presented in these 33 chapters, you'll be in a perfect position to apply this knowledge to your specific programming assignments, and you'll be well equipped to explore the .NET universe on your own terms. "
Apprenticeship Patterns: Guidance for the Aspiring Software Craftsman
Dave Hoover - 2009
To grow professionally, you also need soft skills and effective learning techniques. Honing those skills is what this book is all about. Authors Dave Hoover and Adewale Oshineye have cataloged dozens of behavior patterns to help you perfect essential aspects of your craft. Compiled from years of research, many interviews, and feedback from O'Reilly's online forum, these patterns address difficult situations that programmers, administrators, and DBAs face every day. And it's not just about financial success. Apprenticeship Patterns also approaches software development as a means to personal fulfillment. Discover how this book can help you make the best of both your life and your career. Solutions to some common obstacles that this book explores in-depth include:Burned out at work? "Nurture Your Passion" by finding a pet project to rediscover the joy of problem solving.Feeling overwhelmed by new information? Re-explore familiar territory by building something you've built before, then use "Retreat into Competence" to move forward again.Stuck in your learning? Seek a team of experienced and talented developers with whom you can "Be the Worst" for a while. "Brilliant stuff! Reading this book was like being in a time machine that pulled me back to those key learning moments in my career as a professional software developer and, instead of having to learn best practices the hard way, I had a guru sitting on my shoulder guiding me every step towards master craftsmanship. I'll certainly be recommending this book to clients. I wish I had this book 14 years ago!" -Russ Miles, CEO, OpenCredo
Unity 3.X Game Development Essentials
Will Goldstone - 2009
With no prior knowledge of game development or 3D required, you will learn from scratch, taking each concept at a time working up to a full 3D mini-game. You'll learn scripting with C# or JavaScript and master the Unity development environment with easy-to-follow stepwise tasks. If you're a designer or animator who wishes to take their first steps into game development or prototyping, or if you've simply spent many hours sitting in front of video games, with ideas bubbling away in the back of your mind, Unity and this book should be your starting point. No prior knowledge of game production is required, inviting you to simply bring with you a passion for making great games.
The Adobe Photoshop Cs3 Book for Digital Photographers
Scott Kelby - 2007
Here's what Jeff Kent, the Hot One Editor at Professional Photographer, has to say about the book: "In a how-to published by Peachpit Press, Scott Kelby, best-selling author on Adobe Photoshop, delves into CS3 to uncover the most important and useful techniques for digital photographers. Our judges liked Kelby's direct approach with step-by-step instructions. In this new edition, Kelby shares even more secrets from the top pros."Shutterbug magazine chose The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers as a Top Digital Book of 2007. Here's what Joe Farace of Shutterbug has to say about the book: "Scott Kelby's name on a Photoshop book is like the Dodge brand on the front of a pickup truck. You know it's built RAM--or pixel--tough. Combining his famous twisted wit with unwaveringly straight tutorials, Kelby takes you through a detailed tour of Photoshop CS3 by showing how to use the new features. No fluff; just page after page of well-illustrated tutorials showing photographers how to get the most out of the new features, commands, and effects found in the latest version of Adobe's flagship. It will get you up to speed on CS3's new features faster than you can all by yourself."Scott Kelby, the #1 best-selling Photoshop author in the world today, once again takes this book to a whole new level as he uncovers the latest, most important, and most exciting new Adobe Photoshop CS3 techniques for digital photographers. This major update to his award-winning, record-breaking book does something for digital photographers that's never been done before-it cuts through the bull and shows you exactly "how to do it." It's not a bunch of theory; it doesn't challenge you to come up with your own settings or figure it out on your own. Instead, Scott shows you step-by-step the exact techniques used by today's cutting-edge digital photographers, and best of all, he shows you flat-out exactly which settings to use, when to use them, and why.That's why the previous editions of this book are widely used as the official course study guide in photography courses at college and universities around the world, and this new edition for Photoshop CS3 exposes even more of the top pros' most closely-guarded secrets.Learn How The Pros Do It Each year Scott trains thousands of professional photographers on how to use Photoshop, and almost without exception they have the same questions, the same problems, and the same challenges-and that's exactly what he covers in this book. You'll learn:- The sharpening techniques the pros really use. - The pros' tricks for fixing the most common digital photo problems fast! - How to get great looking prints (that actually match your screen!) - A whole chapter on the latest, most requested Photoshop special effects! - How to color correct any photo without breaking a sweat. - How to process Raw images, plus how to take advantage of all the new Camera Raw features in CS3! - The portrait retouching secrets only the pros know about! - How to add real automation to your work. - How to show your work like a pro!Plus a host of shortcuts, workarounds, and slick "insider" tricks to send your productivity through the roof! If you're a digital photographer, and you're ready to learn the "tricks of the trade"-the same ones that today's leading pros use to correct, edit, sharpen, retouch, and present their work-then you're holding the book that will do just that.
Programming Pearls
Jon L. Bentley - 1986
Jon has done a wonderful job of updating the material. I am very impressed at how fresh the new examples seem." - Steve McConnell, author, Code CompleteWhen programmers list their favorite books, Jon Bentley's collection of programming pearls is commonly included among the classics. Just as natural pearls grow from grains of sand that irritate oysters, programming pearls have grown from real problems that have irritated real programmers. With origins beyond solid engineering, in the realm of insight and creativity, Bentley's pearls offer unique and clever solutions to those nagging problems. Illustrated by programs designed as much for fun as for instruction, the book is filled with lucid and witty descriptions of practical programming techniques and fundamental design principles. It is not at all surprising that
Programming Pearls
has been so highly valued by programmers at every level of experience. In this revision, the first in 14 years, Bentley has substantially updated his essays to reflect current programming methods and environments. In addition, there are three new essays on (1) testing, debugging, and timing; (2) set representations; and (3) string problems. All the original programs have been rewritten, and an equal amount of new code has been generated. Implementations of all the programs, in C or C++, are now available on the Web.What remains the same in this new edition is Bentley's focus on the hard core of programming problems and his delivery of workable solutions to those problems. Whether you are new to Bentley's classic or are revisiting his work for some fresh insight, this book is sure to make your own list of favorites.
More Effective C#: 50 Specific Ways to Improve Your C#
Bill Wagner - 2008
If you are serious about developing with the C# language, you need this book." -Bill Craun, Principal Consultant, Ambassador Solutions, Inc. "More Effective C# is an opportunity to work beside Bill Wagner. Bill leverages his knowledge of C# and distills his expertise down to some very real advice about programming and designing applications that every serious Visual C# user should know. More Effective C# is one of those rare books that doesn't just regurgitate syntax, but teaches you how to use the C# language." -Peter Ritchie, Microsoft MVP: Visual C# "More Effective C# is a great follow-up to Bill Wagner's previous book. The extensive C# 3.0 and LINQ coverage is extremely timely!" -Tomas Restrepo, Microsoft MVP: Visual C++, .NET, and Biztalk Server "As one of the current designers of C#, it is rare that I learn something new about the language by reading a book. More Effective C# is a notable exception. Gently blending concrete code and deep insights, Bill Wagner frequently makes me look at C# in a fresh light-one that really makes it shine. More Effective C# is at the surface a collection of very useful guidelines. Look again. As you read through it, you'll find that you acquire more than just the individual pieces of advice; gradually you'll pick up on an approach to programming in C# that is thoughtful, beautiful, and deeply pleasant. While you can make your way willy-nilly through the individual guidelines, I do recommend reading the whole book-or at least not skipping over the chapter introductions before you dive into specific nuggets of advice. There's perspective and insight to be found there that in itself can be an important guide and inspiration for your future adventures in C#." -Mads Torgersen, Program Manager, Visual C#, Microsoft "Bill Wagner has written an excellent book outlining the best practices for developers who work with the C# language. By authoring More Effective C#, he has again established himself as one of the most important voices in the C# community. Many of us already know how to use C#. What we need is advice on how to hone our skills so that we can become wiser programmers. There is no more sophisticated source of information on how to become a first-class C# developer than Bill Wagner's book. Bill is intelligent, thoughtful, experienced, and skillful. By applying the lessons from this book to your own code, you will find many ways to polish and improve the work that you produce." -Charlie Calvert, Community Program Manager, Visual C#, Microsoft In More Effective C#, Microsoft C# MVP and Regional Director Bill Wagner introduces fifty brand-new ways to write more efficient and more robust software. This all-new book follows the same format as Wagner's best-selling Effective C# (Addison-Wesley, 2005), providing clear, practical explanations, expert tips, and plenty of realistic code examples. Wagner shows how to make the most of powerful innovations built into Microsoft's new C# 3.0 and .NET Framework 3.5, as well as advanced C# language capabilities not covered in his previous book. Drawing on his unsurpassed C# experience, the author reveals new best practices for working with LINQ, generics, metaprogramming, and many other features. He also uncovers practices that compromise performance or reliability and shows exactly how to avoid them. More Effective C# shows how to Use generics to express your design intent more effectively Master advanced generics techniques, such as constraints, method constraints, and generic specialization Use the multithreaded techniques you'll need to work with the .NET framework every day Express modern design idioms using the rich palette of C# language features Successfully mix object oriented and functional programming constructs Create composable interfaces and avoid confusion in public interfaces Use extension methods to separate contracts from implementation Program successfully with C# closures and anonymous types Write more effective LINQ queries Make the most of LINQ Lazy Evaluation Queries and Lambda Expressions Distinguish and convert between delegates and expression trees Efficiently utilize nullable types and partial classes Use implicit properties for mutable, nonserializable data You're already a successful C# programmer-this book can help you become an outstanding one.
Eloquent JavaScript: A Modern Introduction to Programming
Marijn Haverbeke - 2010
I loved the tutorial-style game-like program development. This book rekindled my earliest joys of programming. Plus, JavaScript!" —Brendan Eich, creator of JavaScriptJavaScript is the language of the Web, and it's at the heart of every modern website from the lowliest personal blog to the mighty Google Apps. Though it's simple for beginners to pick up and play with, JavaScript is not a toy—it's a flexible and complex language, capable of much more than the showy tricks most programmers use it for.Eloquent JavaScript goes beyond the cut-and-paste scripts of the recipe books and teaches you to write code that's elegant and effective. You'll start with the basics of programming, and learn to use variables, control structures, functions, and data structures. Then you'll dive into the real JavaScript artistry: higher-order functions, closures, and object-oriented programming.Along the way you'll learn to:Master basic programming techniques and best practices Harness the power of functional and object-oriented programming Use regular expressions to quickly parse and manipulate strings Gracefully deal with errors and browser incompatibilities Handle browser events and alter the DOM structure Most importantly, Eloquent JavaScript will teach you to express yourself in code with precision and beauty. After all, great programming is an art, not a science—so why settle for a killer app when you can create a masterpiece?
Nmap Cookbook: The Fat-free Guide to Network Scanning
Nicholas Marsh - 2010
Every Nmap feature is covered with visual examples to help you quickly understand and identify proper usage for practical results.Topics covered include:* Installation on Windows, Mac OS X, Unix/Linux platforms* Basic and advanced scanning techniques* Network inventory and security auditing* Firewall evasion techniques* Zenmap - A graphical front-end for Nmap* NSE - The Nmap Scripting Engine* Ndiff - A Nmap scan comparison utilitySimplified coverage of Nmap 5.00 features.
The Little Schemer
Daniel P. Friedman - 1974
The authors' enthusiasm for their subject is compelling as they present abstract concepts in a humorous and easy-to-grasp fashion. Together, these books will open new doors of thought to anyone who wants to find out what computing is really about. The Little Schemer introduces computing as an extension of arithmetic and algebra; things that everyone studies in grade school and high school. It introduces programs as recursive functions and briefly discusses the limits of what computers can do. The authors use the programming language Scheme, and interesting foods to illustrate these abstract ideas. The Seasoned Schemer informs the reader about additional dimensions of computing: functions as values, change of state, and exceptional cases. The Little LISPer has been a popular introduction to LISP for many years. It had appeared in French and Japanese. The Little Schemer and The Seasoned Schemer are worthy successors and will prove equally popular as textbooks for Scheme courses as well as companion texts for any complete introductory course in Computer Science.
Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code
Martin Fowler - 1999
Significant numbers of poorly designed programs have been created by less-experienced developers, resulting in applications that are inefficient and hard to maintain and extend. Increasingly, software system professionals are discovering just how difficult it is to work with these inherited, non-optimal applications. For several years, expert-level object programmers have employed a growing collection of techniques to improve the structural integrity and performance of such existing software programs. Referred to as refactoring, these practices have remained in the domain of experts because no attempt has been made to transcribe the lore into a form that all developers could use... until now. In Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Software, renowned object technology mentor Martin Fowler breaks new ground, demystifying these master practices and demonstrating how software practitioners can realize the significant benefits of this new process.
Coders at Work: Reflections on the Craft of Programming
Peter Seibel - 2009
As the words "at work" suggest, Peter Seibel focuses on how his interviewees tackle the day–to–day work of programming, while revealing much more, like how they became great programmers, how they recognize programming talent in others, and what kinds of problems they find most interesting. Hundreds of people have suggested names of programmers to interview on the Coders at Work web site: http://www.codersatwork.com. The complete list was 284 names. Having digested everyone’s feedback, we selected 16 folks who’ve been kind enough to agree to be interviewed:- Frances Allen: Pioneer in optimizing compilers, first woman to win the Turing Award (2006) and first female IBM fellow- Joe Armstrong: Inventor of Erlang- Joshua Bloch: Author of the Java collections framework, now at Google- Bernie Cosell: One of the main software guys behind the original ARPANET IMPs and a master debugger- Douglas Crockford: JSON founder, JavaScript architect at Yahoo!- L. Peter Deutsch: Author of Ghostscript, implementer of Smalltalk-80 at Xerox PARC and Lisp 1.5 on PDP-1- Brendan Eich: Inventor of JavaScript, CTO of the Mozilla Corporation - Brad Fitzpatrick: Writer of LiveJournal, OpenID, memcached, and Perlbal - Dan Ingalls: Smalltalk implementor and designer- Simon Peyton Jones: Coinventor of Haskell and lead designer of Glasgow Haskell Compiler- Donald Knuth: Author of The Art of Computer Programming and creator of TeX- Peter Norvig: Director of Research at Google and author of the standard text on AI- Guy Steele: Coinventor of Scheme and part of the Common Lisp Gang of Five, currently working on Fortress- Ken Thompson: Inventor of UNIX- Jamie Zawinski: Author of XEmacs and early Netscape/Mozilla hackerWhat you’ll learn:How the best programmers in the world do their jobWho is this book for?Programmers interested in the point of view of leaders in the field. Programmers looking for approaches that work for some of these outstanding programmers.
Head First Design Patterns
Eric Freeman - 2004
At any given moment, somewhere in the world someone struggles with the same software design problems you have. You know you don't want to reinvent the wheel (or worse, a flat tire), so you look to Design Patterns--the lessons learned by those who've faced the same problems. With Design Patterns, you get to take advantage of the best practices and experience of others, so that you can spend your time on...something else. Something more challenging. Something more complex. Something more fun. You want to learn about the patterns that matter--why to use them, when to use them, how to use them (and when NOT to use them). But you don't just want to see how patterns look in a book, you want to know how they look "in the wild". In their native environment. In other words, in real world applications. You also want to learn how patterns are used in the Java API, and how to exploit Java's built-in pattern support in your own code. You want to learn the real OO design principles and why everything your boss told you about inheritance might be wrong (and what to do instead). You want to learn how those principles will help the next time you're up a creek without a design pattern. Most importantly, you want to learn the "secret language" of Design Patterns so that you can hold your own with your co-worker (and impress cocktail party guests) when he casually mentions his stunningly clever use of Command, Facade, Proxy, and Factory in between sips of a martini. You'll easily counter with your deep understanding of why Singleton isn't as simple as it sounds, how the Factory is so often misunderstood, or on the real relationship between Decorator, Facade and Adapter. With Head First Design Patterns, you'll avoid the embarrassment of thinking Decorator is something from the "Trading Spaces" show. Best of all, in a way that won't put you to sleep! We think your time is too important (and too short) to spend it struggling with academic texts. If you've read a Head First book, you know what to expect--a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science, and learning theory, Head First Design Patterns will load patterns into your brain in a way that sticks. In a way that lets you put them to work immediately. In a way that makes you better at solving software design problems, and better at speaking the language of patterns with others on your team.
Why Software Sucks...and What You Can Do about It
David S. Platt - 2006
. . . Put this one on your must-have list if you have software, love software, hate programmers, or even ARE a programmer, because Mr. Platt (who teaches programming) has set out to puncture the bloated egos of all those who think that just because they can write a program, they can make it easy to use. . . . This book is funny, but it is also an important wake-up call for software companies that want to reduce the size of their customer support bills. If you were ever stuck for an answer to the question, 'Why do good programmers make such awful software?' this book holds the answer."--John McCormick, Locksmith columnist, TechRepublic.com "I must say first, I don't get many computing manuscripts that make me laugh out loud. Between the laughs, Dave Platt delivers some very interesting insight and perspective, all in a lucid and engaging style. I don't get much of that either!"--Henry Leitner, assistant dean for information technology andsenior lecturer on computer science, Harvard University "A riotous book for all of us downtrodden computer users, written in language that we understand."--Stacy Baratelli, author's barber "David's unique take on the problems that bedevil software creation made me think about the process in new ways. If you care about the quality of the software you create or use, read this book."--Dave Chappell, principal, Chappell & Associates "I began to read it in my office but stopped before I reached the bottom of the first page. I couldn't keep a grin off my face! I'll enjoy it after I go back home and find a safe place to read."--Tsukasa Makino, IT manager "David explains, in terms that my mother-in-law can understand, why the software we use today can be so frustrating, even dangerous at times, and gives us some real ideas on what we can do about it."--Jim Brosseau, Clarrus Consulting Group, Inc. A Book for Anyone Who Uses a Computer Today...and Just Wants to Scream! Today's software sucks. There's no other good way to say it. It's unsafe, allowing criminal programs to creep through the Internet wires into our very bedrooms. It's unreliable, crashing when we need it most, wiping out hours or days of work with no way to get it back. And it's hard to use, requiring large amounts of head-banging to figure out the simplest operations.It's no secret that software sucks. You know that from personal experience, whether you use computers for work or personal tasks. In this book, programming insider David Platt explains why that's the case and, more importantly, why it doesn't have to be that way. And he explains it in plain, jargon-free English that's a joy to read, using real-world examples with which you're already familiar. In the end, he suggests what you, as a typical user, without a technical background, can do about this sad state of our software--how you, as an informed consumer, don't have to take the abuse that bad software dishes out.As you might expect from the book's title, Dave's expose is laced with humor--sometimes outrageous, but always dead on. You'll laugh out loud as you recall incidents with your own software that made you cry. You'll slap your thigh with the same hand that so often pounded your computer desk and wished it was a bad programmer's face. But Dave hasn't written this book just for laughs. He's written it to give long-overdue voice to your own discovery--that software does, indeed, suck, but it shouldn't.