Reader reviews

It does the job, though it took some patience to get through.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. Useful as a reference, less so as a straight read from cover to cover.

Better than I expected. Rare to find a technical book this well judged.

This is the third book I have read on windows desktop this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.

Some sections were excellent and others felt like filler.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. Borrow it first if you can, or at least check the table of contents carefully before buying.

Good book. The writing is direct and the author is honest about limits.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. A good addition to a technical library, as long as you know what you are buying.

Some sections were excellent and others felt like filler.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. Borrow it first if you can, or at least check the table of contents carefully before buying.

Genuinely excellent — I finished it in a week and immediately started again.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The chapters on javascript are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.