Books

Here is a list of the books that I have read or am in the process of reading - and what I think of them. Unfortunately this list is getting out of date, there are books I have sat on my shelf and not had time to add to this list.

programming

Perl for the web

ISBN: 0-7357-1114-3

This covers more information about making applications which are likely to be called repeatedly from a web server than application development.

Perl for C Programmers

ISBN: 0-7357-1228-X

Subjects covered include basic OOP and structs, file system functions, modules, inline c and GUIs. Quite a good read. This book came in second hand condition and therefore is lacking a nice cover.

The Complete Reference - Python

ISBN: 0-07-212718-X

This is the only book in the 'complete reference' series that I have and I'm quite impressed. The book is close in format to the Black Book series, covering functions and classes in depth. The book opens with a comparison of Python to over languages which is good if the reader is unfamiliar to the language. Threads, network programming and GUI is also covered. Do not be daunted by the book's physical size as the paper is quite thick.

C++: Black book

ISBN: 1-57610-777-9

Quite a good read. Seriously good information in this book. Most of the focus is on C++ objects. File handling, pointers, overloading, operators etc are all covered in depth.

C++ in 21 days (second edition)

I found this book when I was doing an errand with my wife. This would probably not have gone to a good home but we saved it

The beginners guide to C++

I found this book when I was doing an errand with my wife. This would probably not have gone to a good home but we saved it

Java 2: Black book

ISBN: 1-58880-097-0

This book was bought for me some time ago when I was studying Java at college (1999). The most notable things which have changed from Java 2 tto 5.0 are Date and typed ArrayLists (and some Swing). But most remains the same. This is without any doubt the largest book on my shelf. Remains excellent and I have read from cover to cover twice now!

C. Programming: A Modern Approach

ISBN: 0-393-96945-2

I rate this book closely to Advanced UNIX programming. I advise that anyone who plans to read AUP purchase this book first as important parts of AUP require prior C knowledge. Most important features covered are linked lists, structs, file IO and pointers.

Engineering problem solving with ANSI C

ISBN: 0-13-061607-9

This is somewhere between a book on engineering and c. The actual C is intended for someone who is familiar with computers and maths. This book was originally purchased as I wanted some engineering knowledge, believe it or not, it caught my eye.

Turbo C++ programmers guide

ISBN: no ISBN

This covers most of the features of the TurboC++ compiler and streams. Not much to note though. Sadly TurboC++, buy today’s standards is not a brilliant compiler but this book is very old, I’ve had it an age.

C++ for dummies

ISBN: 1-56884-163-9

This covers some surprisingly intermediate concepts of C++. I purchased this in 1994 after TurboC++ programmers guide, at the time this made a lot more sense. I can’t count the number of times that I was going between the IDE and this book. Almost everything you need to get coding C++ is covered in this book, all be-it beginner or intermediate level.

C for dummies

ISBN: 1-56884-915-X

This does what it says on the cover, it’s C for dummies, but ... not everything that is c, it’s what a dummy needs to know.

Visual C++ 6.0 programmers guide

ISBN: 1-57231-866-X

This really is just for those who need to know how to use the various parts of the IDE. There are some sections in the book which are not directly related the IDE, but these are few and far between. One thing to note is that the code style influenced me slightly, I used to write functionname(&ptr,x,g,j), however, the general style in this book I found helps code legibility, functionname( &ptr, x, g, j ), isn’t that just more useful?

Essential Linux Device Drivers

ISBN: 0132396556

This book details how the kernel talks to the hardware from the ground up. The approach is to use basic techniques to lay the ground work for later chapters. A better review will follow shortly!

Solaris Application Programming

ISBN: 0138134553

This book has yet to be read but the first chapter does have a good overview of CPU design.

unix

Advanced UNIX Programming

ISBN: 0-13-141154-3

Positively the best book on UNIX programming that I have read. It’s packed full of knowledge. This is more of an encyclopaedia of information than a regular text book. The reader should have some foundation of C before attempting to read this, but then who picks up a book on ‘Advanced UNIX Programming’ without expecting that? From the beginning this book taught me things that I was not aware of and continues throughout the book. Highly recommended. I seriously advise the buyer invests 10 minutes to cover this with a clear sticky back plastic as you will have this book open for weeks before closing it.

UNIX Internals A practical approach

ISBN: 0-201-87721-X

This book is great. It contains all the structures and information required to get coding for a SCO kernel. Although the cover states that this book is for SCO, don’t let that put you off. At almost every chance the author states where code is SCO specific.I’ve read many books on unix and linux and this is by far one of the best, you should not be afraid to get your sleeves rolled up for this book, and that’s what makes it such a great read.

Linux game programming

ISBN: 0-7615-3255-2

Well, it’s not as bad as the other reviews make out only if you have no idea how to start programming a game in Linux. I suppose the content would be better put into a shorter how-to (if one does not already exist that is). I had no idea how to start writing a game in Linux, didn’t know where to start, but there are some basic guidelines in this. The book covers some very basic theory such as game loops and very basic AI principles.

The UNIX programming environment

ISBN: 0-13-937681-X

The issue which I have is a little out dated compared to the one now advertised on Amazon with same ISBN. Topics covered such as shell and C programming. Covers mainly what the programmer needs to keep in mind for user space programming.

BSD Hacks

ISBN: 0-596-00679-9

This book covers a lot of topics in short, many of the hacks are user contributed. Listing all the topics here would take too much space. This book would be ideal for a new system admin. Most of the system admin features that a linux user migrating to BSD is after are covered in this book.

For dummies - Linux Programming

ISBN: 0-7645-0691-9

Second worst book ever. Very basic shell scripting guide.

Absolute OpenBSD: UNIX for the practical paranoid

ISBN: 1-886411-99-9

Absolute OpenBSD coveres some very unique features of OpenBSD, such as secure levels and pf. There are some good examples of firewalls at the end of the book. One interesting chapter in this book covers compiling your own bsd kernel, which is something that is not covered in depth anywhere that I know of.

Practical UNIX & Internet Security (2nd edition)

ISBN: 1-56592-148-8

For a 900-page document this book did not keep me occupied for too long. It might be that most of the text is common place, some obvious and old flaws are discussed along with mediocre system security such as file permissions, pid owners etc, and some basic ipv4/ports.

Managing AFS - Andrew File System

ISBN: 0-13-802729-3

Unfortunately I have not had time to read this book cover to cover like the rest. Building a file store network is something which takes much time, especially when you have to meadle with the kernel modules time and time again so that the afs module is up-to-date with the rest of the kernel (dpkg can help, but it’s still a chore). There are many points that must be covered with AFS, all explained there in. Had I ordered from Amazon and not one of the shops I would have had it sooner.

Building firewalls with OpenBSD and PF 2nd Edt

ISBN: 83-916651-1-9

Brilliant book that covers everything you need for a single node firewall. Certain things could be covered in further depth though such as CARP/pfsync and route-to/reply-to which are required for building larger corporate firewalls. That aside this book is tops, highly recommended for anyone who wants to be a firewall admin.

The Apache Modules Book: Application Development with Apache (Prentice Hall Open Source Software Development) (Paperback)

ISBN: 0132409674

Nick Kew makes a very good introduction to building Apache modules, but I’m not so fond of the copy of RFC2616 at the rear of the book, I personally think this space could have gone towards something a little more useful like some other examples of modules or coding style, or maybe even using a different language to make modules. Who knows. This point is moot however, as all developers of anything to do with web software should know this RFC very well. Aside from this, I keep this book on my self along side Advanced UNIX programming. Prentice Hall seem to publish very good books. Well done Nick Kew.

Linux - I didn’t know you could do that...

ISBN: 0-7821-2612-X

Worst book ever. Very little technical substance.

Pluggable Authentication Modules

ISBN: 9781904811329

Yet to finish reading this book gives a good deal of information on how to hook into the PAM system.

Crypto

ISBN: 0140244328

This tells the history of the cryptographic evolution and how it’s saved online shopping as we know it today, with an interesting twist at the end that shows the origin of the RSA algorithm that lies behind the most popular SSL protocol.

non-computer books

Fundametals of Electronics

ISBN: pre ISBN

Really technical book, degree level material.

The origin of species

ISBN: 1904633781

This book was revolutionary when it was originally released. Charles Dawin cites many sources throughout the book which makes it feel more like a review of other work, but it’s still a brilliant read if you’re ever curious about the current theories about evolution. Some really interesting subjects are covered.

The selfish gene

ISBN: 019857519X

Richard Dawkins makes reading about evolution extremely interesting. I cannot put it in words just how clearly the facts are put forward with such brilliant logic that makes one really think with every paragraph. The writing style is also fantastic.

Birds in your garden

This book was given to me. It has a lot of good pictures of birds that you're likely to find in your garden in the UK, written by Bill Oddie.

Butler's Guide to Gentleman's Grooming

This book is a wonderful guide to how to present yourself (I'm still trying to put some of it into practice). There's a lot of valuable tips here.

Sharp Practice

Here's a book that I didn't think anyone would ever write but it turned out to be thoroughly enjoyable. How many people thought I'd be possible to write a book about shaving, after all that's something we all do just fine right? Well, Anders Larsen can soon teach you a thing or two within these gripping pages that you wouldn't have thought about - and it'll probably save you a few pence or two.

It'd be hard for anyone to write a book about shaving without quite a few history lessons in how we've been pushed from double edge safety razors to multi blade cartridges.

Unless you're expecting a text book on the subject of shaving and how to take exams in the subject I can't see that any buyer of this would be less than fully pleased with this. That said, I'm sure you'd do well in an exam after reading since you'll learn a lot and there can't be much left other than getting your own experience.

The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights

I don't often feel like picking up fiction books but this had me absorbed from cover to cover. I highly recommend this if want to escape for a minute or two. If you read the book, try and avoid watching any of the television versions of the story as they'll ruin all the images in your head.

The Adventures of Robin Hood

Robin Hood is a great adventure story that must be read. Although, I think there must be plenty of different stories this doesn't mention Maid Marian so much. Very highly recommended, there are many tales of great doings and many bold speeches.

A Little Bit of Everything For Dummies (Kindle Edition)

Unlike other Dummies books, this contains a variety of topics, worth a read if you want to cover some new topics in brief.

What Did We Use Before Toilet Paper?: 200 Curious Questions and Intriguing Answers

Very insightful questions explained in an entertaining way