Writing Solid Code (Microsoft Programming Series)

Writing Solid Code (Microsoft Programming Series)
Steve Maguire | 1993-01-01 00:00:00 | Microsoft Press | 256 | Microsoft
"This book has useful things to say and an engaging way of saying them...a worthwhile addition to the shelves of any full-time programmer." - PC Week. Here, from a former Microsoft developer, are super secrets for developing bug-free C programs. Maguire provides examples of how bugs are caught at Microsoft (using actual case histories) and shows how readers can use these proven programming techniques to get products to market faster.
Any programmer worth their silicon knows that it is wiser to invest time preventing bugs from hatching than to try to exterminate them afterwards. And this is one of the best books for developing a proactive attitude towards electronic entomology. Follow Maguire's advice, and your testers, supervisors and customers will love you. Recommended.
Reviews
A classic that is dated in some respects (C language?) but still has much to offer. Should have a spot on every developer's and project manager's book shelf.

Deserves an update.
Reviews
"Writing Solid Code" contains a creative list of excellent ways to improve your software coding ability, with an emphasis on techniques that simplify and speed up the debugging process. The book is written toward the C language, but most of the advice can be generally applied to any language. I have both a Bachleors and a Masters Degree in Computer Science, and very few of these valuable techniques were mentioned anywhere in my undergraduate or graduate degree courses.



I strongly disagree with boastful reviewers who poo-poo the advice as "obvious." Most good advice is obvious once you have heard it. I highly doubt that these reviewers knew all or even most of these tricks before reading, or could enunciate supporting reasons for doing each. Likewise, sure, a rare few pieces of advice are outdated, and you probably hate Microsoft. So what? Avoiding this book for those reasons is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater -- short sighted.



This is an excellent book. I highly recommend it.
Reviews
Certainly no book can cover all the best practices to write best code but this book has done good attempt. Must read for all the fresh grads and developers before they start writing production code!
Reviews
This book quickly reminded me that the "old school" rules to software development will always apply, no matter how many new labels you put on it (e.g. Agile). It was recommended to me by a college professor aside from the regular classroom reading we had to complete. And I was more than happy I purchased it and added it to my bookshelf.
Reviews
This book has been recently recommended to me by Amazon based on my previous purchase habits and I decided to go take a look at its description. At first, I was little bit skeptic about the value of a book published in 1993 and prepared with Word for Windows 2.0 because software programming has changed a lot since then! However, it was a very low risk purchase because of its very low price tag so I decided to give it a try and I have been pleasantly surprised!



This book is the proof that that there are few things in programming that are timeless. Errors of the past still occur today. The programming language used for the examples is C but what is taught is also applicable to C++ programming as well. Topics discussed in the book are: assertions, integrity checks, stepping through code with a debugger, how to not design interfaces that are error prone, avoid language features that are error prone and finally the author conclude his book by describing the attitude that a programmer should have. Among other things, a programmer should prioritize safe code before micro-optimizations. All these concepts are written in a style easy to understand filled with anecdotes that make this book a pleasant read.



To conclude, I have not been blown away by the content of this book but I have learn one thing or two and I am glad that I have read it especially with its very low price tag.



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Faster Smarter HTML & XML (Bpg-Other)

Faster Smarter HTML & XML (Bpg-Other)
Michael Morrison | 2002-12-13 00:00:00 | Microsoft Press | 352 | Microsoft
Now you can code your own Web pages--and produce impressive features and effects--faster, smarter, and better. This friendly, high-energy guide makes it easy learn about HTML, XML, style sheets, Dynamic HTML (DHTML), eXtensible HTML (XHTML), and more.
Reviews
I love this book! It's been a few years since I worked exclusively in HTML and this book was a great review even if I did skip some. But it has more than HTML, it introduces scripting, CSS, XML and I believe XHTML. So far I'm on the CSS section.



The reason I love this book is that it's a great read and very easy to follow. The author makes sure you know what you're doing and introduces things slowly so you can get confident with them. This book may not be a reference book but it really is great for beginners in any of the technologies it introduces.



The one con I can think of is that this is a slightly older book and some of the code doesn't seem to work any more. However, most of the code does and at least he teaches you the techniques and stuff. That is what's really important.
Reviews
I'm new to web programming & design, and this book was extremely useful.
Reviews
The book was written for absolute beginners. It assumes the readers don't know anything about the web. It is not a good reference at all. Everything was written in an essay-like format; it makes it very hard to spot or even find tag names or key words. After wasting my time in the first 2 chapters, I am going to buy another book.
Reviews
This book is great, in fact, I used it in order to make my own page.
Reviews
This book is nice book, but has some bad parts to it as well. This certainly not a book for people who already know HTML and are just looking to get all the fine little details that make websites so good. There is no coverage on HTML forms, colored scrollbars, details in anchor tags, or anything like that. Its very thorough in the stuff it covers, but misses too much to make up for it. I was severly dissapointed

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Troubleshooting Microsoft Windows XP (Cpg-Troubleshooting)

Troubleshooting Microsoft Windows XP (Cpg-Troubleshooting)
Stephen W Sagman | 2001-12-18 00:00:00 | Microsoft Press | 328 | Microsoft
Troubleshooting Microsoft Windows XP provides fast answers to problems that can arise when using the Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional operating system. The book addresses common issues with the new user interface, the taskbar and toolbars, printing, faxes, games, and dial-up connections. Each section features a diagnostic chart with clear, step-by-step solutions to try right away, plus alternate solutions to try if the problem is more complex. Screen images illustrate what users see on their computer as they work through the steps.
Reviews
This troubleshooting manual for Windows XP is a great reference for anyone who is using XP. Although it hasn't been updated to the latest SP version it is still very useful when one needs help to resolve many problems associated with XP.. An additional use I find for it, is purchasing extra copies and giving them to friends and family who use XP and have the occassional failures I experience with it. It's not the most thorough tool you will ever own, but it is a very good reference when you don't know what else to try.
Reviews
This book is great for beginning and intermediate users in my opinion when it comes to the basics of troubleshooting windows xp. If your looking for more indepth information i would recommend microsoft windows xp inside and out.
Reviews
Yes I purchased this book (kick me) should have put the money in a blender and turned the switch. This book at best covers only the very basic problems one might encounter, and fix with windows help files. If you have anything but an extremely minor problem, stay away from this one.

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Microsoft Visual C++ .Net Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft))

Microsoft Visual C++ .Net Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft))
Julian Templeman,Andy Olsen,Michael Hudson,Tyrone Howe | 2002-01-23 00:00:00 | Microsoft Press | 626 | Microsoft
This intuitive, self-paced learning system makes it easy for developers to teach themselves how to draw on the power of Microsoft Visual C++, and to see how Visual C++ compares with other popular development languages. Developers learn C++ by following step-by-step instructions with numerous high-quality code examples-all created specifically for this book. Developers can quickly grasp and master the latest enhancements and changes to Visual C++, including its powerful .NET features and services.
Reviews
To summarize, I hate this book because you can't use it without reading it through from page one. I use this book for a class I am enrolled in. One of our projects is to build a simple windows game. So, I look up how to display a bitmap. Displayed are two lines of code along with the instructions "find the Form_1Paint function that handles Paint events". Where should I look? The instructions do not hint at where it is and certainly the function can't be found by searching the code. The only way to understand what they are talking about is to actually go through every tutorial in baby-step fashion because every page on the book tells you something such as "Continue with the CPPDraw application from the previous excersise" (p.365). Well I don't want to read the whole )@$#%ing book to find out how to draw a bitmap. When I finally do figure it out I am guessing I could show someone how to do it in 10 lines of code so they wouldn't have to read 100 pages of baby-step drivel. If you want to find out how to do any one thing in .Net with this book expect to have to spend several hours reading the previous 100 pages from where it is supposedly explained. Microsoft Press should consider making encryption a core of their business. They are really good at it.
Reviews
The book wades through managed C++ code, and it is very good. However, the author doesn't do a good job of maintaining consistency and explaining the code. I will credit the author for having very good OOP style, but the writing is far from satisfactory. Another thing to note is that the author does a good job of explaining Exception Handling, but in the early parts of the book, any reader can get easily confused.
Reviews
Poorly written and not text book quality. Many code errors incorporated into text. If this is the best that Microsoft has to offer, it will seriously impeed their marketing efforts of .Net to academic institutions and student population.
Reviews
I found this book to be disappointing. Like so many other programming books it supposedly starts off at a pace for a beginner. However, it spends too much time on basic syntax, which I assume most programmers are familiar with, or are familiar with other programming languages and could make the adjustment quickly to basic C++.

It does give a few important introductory points on the new managed classes, to its credit. However one-half of the way through the book the author begins to leave C++ and give "glimpses" of the .Net features of C++, which are much too vast to cover even simplistically in such a small space. The topics quickly became so far from what I wanted to learn about C++ that it was hard to believe they were covered in the same book as the simplistic syntax lessons at the beginning. I came away from this book more confused as to what I could do with C++ .Net than before I read it.

I don't know who this book is intended for, but it is definitely not for those wanting an tutorial on core .Net C++ without the excessive syntax explanations that fill the first half of so many programming books.
Reviews
C++ user manual does not come with a Visual C++ software. this book is not good, but you have to buy it as the user's manual. Now you see microsoft's monopoly.

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Writing Solid Code (Microsoft Programming Series)

Writing Solid Code (Microsoft Programming Series)
Steve Maguire | 1993-01-01 00:00:00 | Microsoft Press | 256 | Microsoft
"This book has useful things to say and an engaging way of saying them...a worthwhile addition to the shelves of any full-time programmer." - PC Week. Here, from a former Microsoft developer, are super secrets for developing bug-free C programs. Maguire provides examples of how bugs are caught at Microsoft (using actual case histories) and shows how readers can use these proven programming techniques to get products to market faster.
Any programmer worth their silicon knows that it is wiser to invest time preventing bugs from hatching than to try to exterminate them afterwards. And this is one of the best books for developing a proactive attitude towards electronic entomology. Follow Maguire's advice, and your testers, supervisors and customers will love you. Recommended.
Reviews
A classic that is dated in some respects (C language?) but still has much to offer. Should have a spot on every developer's and project manager's book shelf.

Deserves an update.
Reviews
"Writing Solid Code" contains a creative list of excellent ways to improve your software coding ability, with an emphasis on techniques that simplify and speed up the debugging process. The book is written toward the C language, but most of the advice can be generally applied to any language. I have both a Bachleors and a Masters Degree in Computer Science, and very few of these valuable techniques were mentioned anywhere in my undergraduate or graduate degree courses.



I strongly disagree with boastful reviewers who poo-poo the advice as "obvious." Most good advice is obvious once you have heard it. I highly doubt that these reviewers knew all or even most of these tricks before reading, or could enunciate supporting reasons for doing each. Likewise, sure, a rare few pieces of advice are outdated, and you probably hate Microsoft. So what? Avoiding this book for those reasons is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater -- short sighted.



This is an excellent book. I highly recommend it.
Reviews
Certainly no book can cover all the best practices to write best code but this book has done good attempt. Must read for all the fresh grads and developers before they start writing production code!
Reviews
This book quickly reminded me that the "old school" rules to software development will always apply, no matter how many new labels you put on it (e.g. Agile). It was recommended to me by a college professor aside from the regular classroom reading we had to complete. And I was more than happy I purchased it and added it to my bookshelf.
Reviews
This book has been recently recommended to me by Amazon based on my previous purchase habits and I decided to go take a look at its description. At first, I was little bit skeptic about the value of a book published in 1993 and prepared with Word for Windows 2.0 because software programming has changed a lot since then! However, it was a very low risk purchase because of its very low price tag so I decided to give it a try and I have been pleasantly surprised!



This book is the proof that that there are few things in programming that are timeless. Errors of the past still occur today. The programming language used for the examples is C but what is taught is also applicable to C++ programming as well. Topics discussed in the book are: assertions, integrity checks, stepping through code with a debugger, how to not design interfaces that are error prone, avoid language features that are error prone and finally the author conclude his book by describing the attitude that a programmer should have. Among other things, a programmer should prioritize safe code before micro-optimizations. All these concepts are written in a style easy to understand filled with anecdotes that make this book a pleasant read.



To conclude, I have not been blown away by the content of this book but I have learn one thing or two and I am glad that I have read it especially with its very low price tag.



Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download