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  3. Why would you hate a book !

Why would you hate a book !

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  • R Raj Lal

    Christian Graus wrote:

    Who would bother reading fiction ?

    Da Vinci Code was my last :)

    Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.


    Vista Gadget Book: Creating Vista Gadgets using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. Sample chapter here Selling Your Gadget

    S Offline
    S Offline
    Steve Thresher
    wrote on last edited by
    #36

    I just watched the film, saved myself hours:)

    AxisFirst For Business

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    • L leppie

      12. No pictures/diagrams/visual objects.

      xacc.ide - now with TabsToSpaces support
      IronScheme - 1.0 alpha 3 out now

      B Offline
      B Offline
      Brady Kelly
      wrote on last edited by
      #37

      That doesn't rule out all books; until work got in the way, I was quite engrossed in Petzold's Punisher[^]. Once you get over not having visual objects, which can be easy, considering most people read fiction without them, and Petzold's prose is good, it keeps you reading; enlightening and entertaining at times, analytical at others, and more didactic elsewhere.  It is an epic saga: he starts out assuming the reader knows nothing of how Windows applications work, with a brief but complete explanation about the message loop and windows, before gradually moving forward into how WPF basics operate.  It is slow reading, because I can't help not just scan it; he has me reading every sentence.

      Semicolons: The number one seller of ostomy bags world wide. - dan neely

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      • V Vikram A Punathambekar

        No Ctrl + F.

        Cheers, Vikram.


        The hands that help are holier than the lips that pray.

        R Offline
        R Offline
        Raj Lal
        wrote on last edited by
        #38

        there is a binary algorithm (index) you can use there :)

        Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.


        Vista Gadget Book: Creating Vista Gadgets using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. Sample chapter here Selling Your Gadget

        V 1 Reply Last reply
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        • B Brady Kelly

          That about sums up most technical books commonly on the shelves, as well as many blogs, articles, and my last favourite, "How to Videos".  I can't remember the last video offering that disgusted me so, but it was something like, "How to select text in Word".  X|

          Semicolons: The number one seller of ostomy bags world wide. - dan neely

          R Offline
          R Offline
          Raj Lal
          wrote on last edited by
          #39

          Brady Kelly wrote:

          That about sums up most technical books

          unfortunately I have to agree with you there but once in a while you come across a very nice, thoroughly research and structured book which makes everything else worth.

          Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.


          Vista Gadget Book: Creating Vista Gadgets using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. Sample chapter here Selling Your Gadget

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          • S Steve Thresher

            I just watched the film, saved myself hours:)

            AxisFirst For Business

            R Offline
            R Offline
            Raj Lal
            wrote on last edited by
            #40

            nah ! the book was astonishing but the movie is not up to par

            Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.


            Vista Gadget Book: Creating Vista Gadgets using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. Sample chapter here Selling Your Gadget

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            • M Marc Clifton

              There are very things worth hating in life, and certainly the energy required to hate is not to be expended on a mere book (including religious books). Marc

              Thyme In The Country Interacx My Blog

              R Offline
              R Offline
              Raj Lal
              wrote on last edited by
              #41

              Marc Clifton wrote:

              including religious books

              you mean programers are religious ?

              Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.


              Vista Gadget Book: Creating Vista Gadgets using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. Sample chapter here Selling Your Gadget

              1 Reply Last reply
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              • G Gary Wheeler

                My wife was an English major. I remember for one of her graduate courses, the professor required one of his own books for the class. The book was available in a university-printed loose-leaf version for about $10, and a published hardback version for over $60. Needless to say, you can guess which one the S.O.B. required for the class :mad:.

                Software Zen: delete this;

                S Offline
                S Offline
                Smithers Jones
                wrote on last edited by
                #42

                back when i studied, prof of mine recommended one of his books which would cost about 80 eur normally, but offered it for 12 eur for his students in a hardback version.

                "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." (DNA)

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                • N Nnamdi Onyeyiri

                  Which uni was this?

                  Nnamdi Onyeyiri

                  P Offline
                  P Offline
                  phannon86
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #43

                  University of Essex[^]

                  He who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man

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                  • R Raj Lal

                    Recently we had a great discussion on why would you read a book !, if you missed that here[^] is the link This also begs another important question: Why would you hate a book ! Here are some of my reasons 1. Lack of cohesive organization and planning is annoying. 2. If the book is repetitive. 3. If the author mentions topics before they have been properly introduced, 5. When the layout of the book is beginners and it claims to be "professional" in the title. 6. If the book covers more than an overview of all the features, but provides very little "best practice" advice beyond the basics. 7. Book which teaches to to write an applications but won't necessarily teaches to do it well. 8. If the book is not properly researched 9. Approach of having multiple authors cover the same topics without enough editing to make it one cohesive piece. 10. If the book writing is complex or the author is prejudice So what's your reason ?

                    Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.


                    Vista Gadget Book: Creating Vista Gadgets using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. Sample chapter here Selling Your Gadget

                    RaviBeeR Offline
                    RaviBeeR Offline
                    RaviBee
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #44

                    Quartz. wrote:

                    what's your reason ?

                    Not enough substance - eg: more long-winded full blown code examples instead of short snippets. /ravi

                    My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com

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                    • R Raj Lal

                      there is a binary algorithm (index) you can use there :)

                      Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.


                      Vista Gadget Book: Creating Vista Gadgets using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. Sample chapter here Selling Your Gadget

                      V Offline
                      V Offline
                      Vikram A Punathambekar
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #45

                      Only if you are looking for a specific, (often) technical word. I search using some phrases I remember. No, I never claimed to be normal.

                      Cheers, Vikram.


                      The hands that help are holier than the lips that pray.

                      1 Reply Last reply
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                      • R Raj Lal

                        Phannon wrote:

                        extremely expensive and/or overpriced.

                        I agree , If you want to buy a book directly from barnes and noble or borders book store it comes with an "ouch"

                        Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.


                        Vista Gadget Book: Creating Vista Gadgets using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. Sample chapter here Selling Your Gadget

                        E Offline
                        E Offline
                        Ed Poore
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #46

                        Quartz. wrote:

                        If you want to buy a book directly from barnes and noble or borders book store it comes with an "ouch"

                        I thought that's what University libraries were for? Ours recently introduced a scheme where we can return books back to the library through other libraries. And vice versa, i.e. we can borrow other uni's books and return them through ours. After exams I plan to check out a copy of Code Complete and begin reading it, if I think it'd be worth getting my own copy then I will. As far as I know Graduates can also use the library so if you stay near London then you've got access to a vast (spans something like 7 floors) collection of books absolutely free. Recently it was announced that IC (Imperial College) also are pretty kind on fines for late books, having only made £6,000 last year compared to another Uni (can't remember which one)'s whopping £168,000 profit from fines.


                        I doubt it. If it isn't intuitive then we need to fix it. - Chris Maunder

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                        • R Raj Lal

                          Recently we had a great discussion on why would you read a book !, if you missed that here[^] is the link This also begs another important question: Why would you hate a book ! Here are some of my reasons 1. Lack of cohesive organization and planning is annoying. 2. If the book is repetitive. 3. If the author mentions topics before they have been properly introduced, 5. When the layout of the book is beginners and it claims to be "professional" in the title. 6. If the book covers more than an overview of all the features, but provides very little "best practice" advice beyond the basics. 7. Book which teaches to to write an applications but won't necessarily teaches to do it well. 8. If the book is not properly researched 9. Approach of having multiple authors cover the same topics without enough editing to make it one cohesive piece. 10. If the book writing is complex or the author is prejudice So what's your reason ?

                          Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.


                          Vista Gadget Book: Creating Vista Gadgets using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. Sample chapter here Selling Your Gadget

                          J Offline
                          J Offline
                          John M Drescher
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #47

                          1. The book makes frequent references to some other book that you do not have and it is not specifically mentioned in the description as a requirement to read this book. 2. Errors in the book or examples that do not compile.

                          John

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                          • R Raj Lal

                            Recently we had a great discussion on why would you read a book !, if you missed that here[^] is the link This also begs another important question: Why would you hate a book ! Here are some of my reasons 1. Lack of cohesive organization and planning is annoying. 2. If the book is repetitive. 3. If the author mentions topics before they have been properly introduced, 5. When the layout of the book is beginners and it claims to be "professional" in the title. 6. If the book covers more than an overview of all the features, but provides very little "best practice" advice beyond the basics. 7. Book which teaches to to write an applications but won't necessarily teaches to do it well. 8. If the book is not properly researched 9. Approach of having multiple authors cover the same topics without enough editing to make it one cohesive piece. 10. If the book writing is complex or the author is prejudice So what's your reason ?

                            Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.


                            Vista Gadget Book: Creating Vista Gadgets using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. Sample chapter here Selling Your Gadget

                            J Offline
                            J Offline
                            Jeremy Tierman
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #48

                            13. A marketing book under a technical disguise :mad:

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                            • R Raj Lal

                              Recently we had a great discussion on why would you read a book !, if you missed that here[^] is the link This also begs another important question: Why would you hate a book ! Here are some of my reasons 1. Lack of cohesive organization and planning is annoying. 2. If the book is repetitive. 3. If the author mentions topics before they have been properly introduced, 5. When the layout of the book is beginners and it claims to be "professional" in the title. 6. If the book covers more than an overview of all the features, but provides very little "best practice" advice beyond the basics. 7. Book which teaches to to write an applications but won't necessarily teaches to do it well. 8. If the book is not properly researched 9. Approach of having multiple authors cover the same topics without enough editing to make it one cohesive piece. 10. If the book writing is complex or the author is prejudice So what's your reason ?

                              Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.


                              Vista Gadget Book: Creating Vista Gadgets using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. Sample chapter here Selling Your Gadget

                              M Offline
                              M Offline
                              Member 96
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #49

                              Does no one read fiction any more? To me the word "book" brings to mind fiction first, all other forms a distant second. I rarely, almost never, buy any non fiction books any more. If it's data I need I can find it all online.


                              "The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." - Walter Bagehot

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                              • G Gary Kirkham

                                Christian Graus wrote:

                                Who would bother reading fiction ?

                                Not me, at least not lately. I have never really read IT books at least in the sense that you typically read a work of fiction...cove to cover. I use the code examples in the book to teach me and only read the text to show me what I didn't understand about the code. If a book is weak on code sample, I don't buy it.

                                Gary Kirkham Forever Forgiven and Alive in the Spirit For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Me blog, You read

                                M Offline
                                M Offline
                                Member 96
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #50

                                Some would argue that.... oh wait, this isn't the soapbox, never mind... ;)


                                "The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." - Walter Bagehot

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                                • R Raj Lal

                                  Recently we had a great discussion on why would you read a book !, if you missed that here[^] is the link This also begs another important question: Why would you hate a book ! Here are some of my reasons 1. Lack of cohesive organization and planning is annoying. 2. If the book is repetitive. 3. If the author mentions topics before they have been properly introduced, 5. When the layout of the book is beginners and it claims to be "professional" in the title. 6. If the book covers more than an overview of all the features, but provides very little "best practice" advice beyond the basics. 7. Book which teaches to to write an applications but won't necessarily teaches to do it well. 8. If the book is not properly researched 9. Approach of having multiple authors cover the same topics without enough editing to make it one cohesive piece. 10. If the book writing is complex or the author is prejudice So what's your reason ?

                                  Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.


                                  Vista Gadget Book: Creating Vista Gadgets using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. Sample chapter here Selling Your Gadget

                                  R Offline
                                  R Offline
                                  Robert Royall
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #51

                                  26. The book references the Northwind or AdventureWorks databases but assumes you installed them with SQL Server instead of giving you a copy on CD or a link to download them.

                                  Imagine that you are hired to build a bridge over a river. The river gets slightly wider every day; sometimes it shrinks but nobody can predict when. Your contract says you can't use concrete or steel - the client only provides timber and cut stone (but won't tell you what kind). Gravity changes from hour to hour, as does the viscosity of air. Your only tools are a hacksaw, a chainsaw, a rubber mallet, and a length of rope. Welcome to my world. -Me explaining my job to an engineer

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                                  • M Member 96

                                    Some would argue that.... oh wait, this isn't the soapbox, never mind... ;)


                                    "The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." - Walter Bagehot

                                    G Offline
                                    G Offline
                                    Gary Kirkham
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #52

                                    It's the greatest work of Non-Fiction ever written...wait, this still isn't the soapbox. :-D

                                    Gary Kirkham Forever Forgiven and Alive in the Spirit For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Me blog, You read

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                                    • M Member 96

                                      Does no one read fiction any more? To me the word "book" brings to mind fiction first, all other forms a distant second. I rarely, almost never, buy any non fiction books any more. If it's data I need I can find it all online.


                                      "The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." - Walter Bagehot

                                      S Offline
                                      S Offline
                                      Shog9 0
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #53

                                      John C wrote:

                                      To me the word "book" brings to mind fiction first

                                      I see you've been reading too many programming books... ;P

                                      Citizen 20.1.01

                                      'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master - that's all.'

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                                      • R Raj Lal

                                        Recently we had a great discussion on why would you read a book !, if you missed that here[^] is the link This also begs another important question: Why would you hate a book ! Here are some of my reasons 1. Lack of cohesive organization and planning is annoying. 2. If the book is repetitive. 3. If the author mentions topics before they have been properly introduced, 5. When the layout of the book is beginners and it claims to be "professional" in the title. 6. If the book covers more than an overview of all the features, but provides very little "best practice" advice beyond the basics. 7. Book which teaches to to write an applications but won't necessarily teaches to do it well. 8. If the book is not properly researched 9. Approach of having multiple authors cover the same topics without enough editing to make it one cohesive piece. 10. If the book writing is complex or the author is prejudice So what's your reason ?

                                        Omit Needless Words - Strunk, William, Jr.


                                        Vista Gadget Book: Creating Vista Gadgets using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. Sample chapter here Selling Your Gadget

                                        C Offline
                                        C Offline
                                        Christopher Duncan
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #54

                                        Given that it's more in the hands of your publisher than your own I doubt this will help much, but here goes. A great many of us dislike books that are "sold by the pound." Many publishers think that in order to justify the price, a tech book has to have a high page count. In fact, most techies I talk to want the clearest and quickest path to figuring out technology XYZ, and we often don't read a tech book cover to cover. We zero in on the chapter we need to hit a deadline, and we don't want to wade through 50 pages that are mostly screen shots of a Visual Studio wizard that the publisher wanted to bump the page count. Since much of this is a marketing decision you may have to arm wrestle your publisher to actually keep the page count down, but if you can say more with less, you'll be a rock star in the eyes of your peers.

                                        Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com

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                                        • L leppie

                                          12. No pictures/diagrams/visual objects.

                                          xacc.ide - now with TabsToSpaces support
                                          IronScheme - 1.0 alpha 3 out now

                                          P Offline
                                          P Offline
                                          peterchen
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #55

                                          "Anna Karenina" ain't for you then :D

                                          We are a big screwed up dysfunctional psychotic happy family - some more screwed up, others more happy, but everybody's psychotic joint venture definition of CP
                                          blog: TDD - the Aha! | Linkify!| FoldWithUs! | sighist

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