Reader reviews

Decent, but uneven. Some chapters are much stronger than others.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. 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.

Exactly the book I needed. Straight to the point and genuinely useful.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

Three stars feels about right. Useful, but not essential.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. Useful as a reference, less so as a straight read from cover to cover.

A worthwhile addition to my shelf, with realistic expectations.

This is the third book I have read on programming 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. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

Worth every page. I have already recommended it to two colleagues.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

Not for me. The pacing did not work and I struggled to finish it.

This is the third book I have read on regular expressions this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The chapters on regular expressions are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. I would look elsewhere unless you have a specific reason to need this particular title.