Book Reviews



By Heather La Bash

Franck Boston, Fotolia

PHP: The Good Parts

Programmers new to PHP will appreciate Peter MacIntyre's PHP: The Good Parts. After covering basic PHP syntax, variables, and data types, the author explains how to avoid the most common misuse of PHP elements and how to avoid writing ineffective code. Discover how PHP adds strength to object-oriented programming and "delve into advanced PHP concepts and integration, including regular expressions, XML, and Ajax."

PHP: The Good Parts

Peter MacIntyre

O'Reilly, 2010

ISBN 0596804377

US$ 29.99, UK£ 14.94

http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596804381

RESTful Web Services Cookbook

The 100 recipes in this book help the reader best use REST, HTTP, and the web's infrastructure. Allamaraju teaches you to understand each recipe by including problem statements with instructions for solving each scenario. The text gives implementation guidelines and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each solution, allowing the reader to create the best implementations for different projects.

RESTful Web Services Cookbook

Subbu Allamaraju

O'Reilly, 2010

ISBN 0596801688

US$ 39.99, UK£ 22.32

http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596801694

The Art of Assembly Language

Whether you are new to programming or only have experience with high-level languages, The Art of Assembly Language provides "a comprehensive, plain-English, and patient introduction to 32-bit x86 assembly for non-assembly programmers." In this second edition, author Randall Hyde has updated the text to reflect changes in HLA and to support Linux, FreeBSD, and Mac OS X operating systems.

The Art of Assembly Language, 2nd Edition

Randall Hyde

No Starch Press, 2010

ISBN 1593272073

US$ 59.95, UK£ 47.49

http://nostarch.com/assembly2.htm

Blender 2.49 Scripting

If you are comfortable modeling and rendering in Blender but want to learn to automate laborious tasks and create results only possible through scripting, Blender 2.49 Scripting is your book. The author presents real Blender problems and solves them with Python scripting. Each section analyzes solutions to different problems that can be applied to solve a wide range of scripting challenges.

Blender 2.49 Scripting

Michel J. Anders

Packt Publishing, 2010

ISBN 1849510407

US$ 39.99, UK£ 22.49

http://www.packtpub.com/blender-2-49-scripting-language

GIMP Bible

GIMP Bible is geared toward digital artists and photographers interested in using the GNU image manipulation program (GIMP) in their production pipeline. GIMP Bible not only provides thorough instruction in all of GIMP's tools, filters, and plugins, it also covers advanced topics, including best practices, GIF animation, and customization and scripting with Python and Scheme. This free graphics editor runs on Linux, Windows, and Mac OSes.

GIMP Bible

Jason van Gumster, Robert Shimonski

Wiley, 2010

ISBN 9780470523971

US$ 49.99, UK£ 20.79

http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470523972,descCd-description.html

Professional Android 2 Application Development

Author Reto Meier teaches Android developers best practices and how to leverage Android's newest features. In a series of sample projects, the reader works to develop knowledge and explore new development techniques, such as building map- and GPS-based services and incorporating telephony and networking APIs into applications.

Professional Android 2 Application Development

Reto Meier

Wrox, 2010

ISBN 9780470565520

US$ 44.99, UK£ 18.49

http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/productCd-0470565527.html

Cryptography Engineering

This thorough introduction to the major areas of cryptography includes message security, key negotiations, and key management. The authors discuss the importance of cryptography, then show you how to integrate cryptography seamlessly into your products. You will learn the many components of cryptography, including "block ciphers, block modes, hash functions, encryption modes, message authentication codes," and more.

Cryptography Engineering

Niels Ferguson, Bruce Schneier, Tadayoshi Kohno

Wiley, 2010

ISBN 9780470474242

US$ 55.00, UK£ 29.33

http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470474246,descCd-description.html

Beginning Android 2

Writing for people new to mobile development and perhaps Java development, author Mark L. Murphy helps readers acquire a solid foundation in building mobile applications with Android. Readers will learn how to use Android as a development platform and cover such topics as creating user interfaces, location tracking, and working with different Android versions and screen sizes, as well as with other features unique to mobile devices.

Beginning Android 2

Mark L. Murphy

Apress, 2010

ISBN 1430226293

US$ 4.99, UK£ 24.93

http://www.apress.com/book/view/1430226293