Library
The system development world is going through a dual stage focus shift. The items on this page are my recent attempt to survive and thrive in that shift.
HTML and the web
My introduction to the information age came in the late 60's. Back then it was paper tape and teletype using secure lines. In the early 70's, it was telex. I was on-line again in the early 80's through CMS messaging and TI Silent 700's operating at 300 baud over phone lines. The late 80's and early 90's were the age of the BBS, GOPHER and the beginnings of e-mail. The web is here now and information sharing requires HTML. In programming, learning is solely a function of doing.-
HTML: The Definitive Guide, 3rd Edition
Well written and informative, this August 1998 O'Reilly book is the technical basis for this site. Browse the site to determine if I learned any thing from the book. The site is entirely written in native XHTML 1.0 Transitional (O.K. HTML has now been depreciated (Feb. 13 2000) Object Oriented Methodology
My introduction to OO occurred in 1993 when I attended a Coad seminar on the subject. At the time the technology was fairly new to the mainstream. No one that I talked to really understood it. Time passes and methodologies mature. Objects always made sense for graphics. Now it may make sense for elements of business methods.-
Object-Oriented Technology: A Manager's Guide by David A. Taylor is an excellent introduction. I cheated a little on the graphic. My copy is actually the first edition (Oct 1991). I suspect that the current edition is even better. -
Object-Oriented Modeling and Design for Database Applications, 1/e by Michael Blaha and William Premerlani (Prentice Hall 1998). I obtained this book for two reasons. The first reason was that the applications that I develop typically require lots of shared data I have always had difficulty understanding encapsulation in that context. The second reason was that I got it for a buck at the Plano Book Sale) It seemed to be a logical place to start. I was wrong. I did not get far before I determined that UML might be useful as a tool to understand the author's notation. I've put this one on hold for a now. -
Rational Software's Rational Rose came to the rescue with a "UML Seminar on CD". I received the disk on Oct. 5, 1999. I have not yet reviewed it. Java and beans
My impression is that Java is here to stay. More over, my skill set and my experience is ideally suited for middle tier software.
Enterprise JavaBeans, by Tom Valesky (Addison-Wesley, July 1999) was my introduction to EJB's. The book is o.k. but it required more Java expertise than I had to fully understand the code exampels. I'll have to visit it again when the time comes.-
I was introduced to Cooljoe at a Sterling seminar on September 17, 1999 which included hands on sessions. I actually wrote my first JavaBean at that seminar but was not able to test it in the time allotted. Unfortunately I was alone in confessing that I did not finish. Again I blamed the lack of an understanding of the Java language. I will be spending more time on Cooljoe when my NT machine arrives. In this case "strategic commitment" is a tad expensive. The product requires Windows NT SP4 with a minimum 128 meg of ram. Oh well, it was time to upgrade anyway. -
Java How to Program 3/e, Deitel & Deitel, ( Prentice Hall, 1999). The book, advertised as the most widely used university-level Java textbook, is great so far (chapters 1 & 2). I have seen Other books recommended, but this one is one of the first that I found that covers Java 2. It starts a little slow because it is designed to be useful for non-programmers. A little review never hurts.
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