The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group O’Reilly Pocket References - for the bookshelf Major Keary |
Pocket references for programmers and software developers are not seen much, but for those who have a need for a compact, concise reference there is a range published by O'Reilly. Each one is 178 x 110 mm and about 10 mm thick, just right for a pocket or to slip into a laptop bag.
Two recent releases in the series are Samba and ActionScript for Flash MX. These are not inexpensive alternatives to the proper, full-blown references from O'Reilly. They are strictly just-the-facts books distilled for programmers who want a concise listing of commands, operators, and the like.
The content is well organised and well indexed so as to make information easy to find. There is some explanatory material, but most of each book is given to terse statements - the facts-of, in the case of ActionScript, syntax, variables, datatypes, etc., and in the case of Samba, configuration file options, configuration value types, Daemons, and Samba distribution programs.
A warning contained in the Samba reference is indicative of the intended audience:
"This book does not include enough information for an inexperienced Samba administrator. Running Samba entails operational and security concerns, and its options have subtle interactions and side effects ....".
Well worth looking at; there are copies in the library.
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Colin Moock: ActionScript for Flash MX Pocket Reference ISBN 0-596-00514-8 Published by O'Reilly, 138 pp., RRP $29.95 incl. GST |
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Jay Ts et al.: Samba Pocket Reference ISBN 0-596-00546-6 Published by O'Reilly, 133 pp., RRP $29.95 incl. GST |
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Reprinted from the February 2004 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
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