 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group For the bookshelf Various reviewers |
Building a Unix Internet Server
reviewed by Ash Nallawalla
If you wish to set up a Linux box on the Internet, this is a book for you. George Eckel has detailed the major steps you need to take to configure Linux on a PC for an Internet service and get it on the net.
The book comes with a CD-ROM containing Linux Slackware 2.0.1. By no means the latest version, it is fine for someone who needs to get started. That the CD-ROM did not contain the requisite Internet service source or compiled code such as httpd, gopherd and the like is a disappointment. So, in a sense you need to set up Linux on a box, then get hooked up to a provider, fetch the various tools yourself, configure them and then you can claim to have an Internet server.
The book is light on installing Linux, leaving you to follow the instructions provided on the CD-ROM. Following a brief introduction to the Net, Eckel devotes two chapters to business use of the Internet. The next five chapters are devoted to the concepts of getting hooked up, some tools you can use, and legal and security considerations.
The core material is covered in Part III, Setting Up and Managing Internet Services. In some detail, the chapters cover the setting up and management of FTP, freeWAIS, ZDIST, Gopher, and WWW services. The details include specific entries in numerous configuration files, hence the book is not merely theoretical. Well worth a read.
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George Eckel: Building a Unix Internet Server ISBN 1 56205 494 5 Published by New Riders Publishing 325 pages RRP US$38.00 |
Quandary: A computer entertainment magazine
reviewed by Bob Burt
Entertainment, in reference to computers, obviously conjures up thoughts of games and perhaps their more youthful computer adherents. Quandary, a new Australian publication based in Fremantle, certainly caters for the younger computer games players, but it is not primarily aimed at children, nor is it limited exclusively to
games - the newly-emerging educational and reference packages often rate more than a mention.
The second issue of Quandary contains two major features - one explores the distinctions between role-playing and adventure games, whilst the other results from an interview with the makers of Flight of the Amazon
Queen. A substantial portion of the magazine is assigned to reviews, including a quick look at eleven recent releases, ranging from
Alone in the Dark 3 to Wolf, reflections on Ween:The Prophesy and Cruise for a
Corpse, discussion of five software packages for children, including Around the World in 80 days and, finally, two "edutainment" items,
Coral Reef: The Vanishing Undersea World and Ghosts.
Minor features, or "Columns" as they are called, include news of emerging software, a readers' forum, special advice and tips relating to packages reviewed in the current issue and some thoughts on reality in the fantasy world of computer games.
Quandary thus caters to a wide field of interest. The journal is well produced, colourful and liberally illustrated and should appeal to gamesters of all ages, but particularly to those who enjoy puzzle-oriented material and a strong story line.
Quandary appears 6 times a year and is distributed Australia wide through selected newsagents. You can subscribe directly through the publishers if you prefer.
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Quandary Publications PO Box 166 North Fremantle WA 6159 RRP $5.95 Subscription (6 issues): $33.00 |
Teach Yourself Game Programming in 21 Days
reviewed by Andrew Livett
SAMS Publishing has a good reputation for books that explain clearly the essentials of computer programming and hardware applications. This title meets the needs of the curious student or budding programmer wanting to turn their talents to game programming.
The author is versed in mathematics, computer science, and electrical engineering and has been writing games for computers since the days of the TRS-80; he has worked from Windows programming to virtual reality systems and is a co-author of
Tricks of the Game-Programming Gurus and contributes to Game Developer magazine.
The clear and interesting style will quickly teach you how to create your own game software through hands-on exercises and examples. A companion CD includes source code from the book, a full games engine, game development tools, and more.
Mastering programming techniques, such as joystick control and use of graphics, takes just a few days. Then you move on to special effects, input devices, VGA graphics, animation, and so on.
The course is well structured with effective short term goals. At the end of each chapter there is a quiz and a series of exercises (answers are at the back of the book). Inside the front cover is a day-by-day planner to help you keep the 21-day schedule.
To take full advantage of the book you will need to devote a substantial amount of time to the course (estimated minimum 4 hours per day) for 21 days. However, your efforts will be well worthwhile. Also required is a C compiler and the library manager LIB that comes with your C development system. The Library Manager is used to create a library of the functions you are to learn. A text editor is needed to edit programs; even though you don't need to type in
anything - the source code and executables for each day are on the CD - you will want to experiment with the programs.
You will also need a good supply of coffee or Coke and - as the author says -
"an open mind, because what you're about to learn will change the way you think about computers and programming."
| Andre LeMothe: Teach Yourself Game Programming in 21 Days ISBN 0 672 30562 3 Published by SAMS 948 pages plus CD RRP $64.95 |
4GL
reviewed by Major Keary
Chances are you won't see too much - if anything - about 4GL in ordinary computer magazines. 4GL is
fourth generation language, the development of which began in the early 1970s; it is now the backbone of
Informix, claimed to be the most widely distributed relational database on UNIX platforms. The vendors have their own publishing arm, Informix Press, which has released several titles ranging from programming, concepts and use for Windows, database administration, online performance tuning, SQL guide, and tutorials. Prices range from $30 to $90. Of special interest to those who use
Informix, they could be of interest to computer science students. Prentice Hall is the Australian distributor.
Desktop Magic
reviewed by Major Keary
The adage, you can't judge a book by its cover, is certainly true of Desktop Magic. It is not really about DTP, as I supposed, but is a useful text about information management, or what is known as IT.
Information Technology has no precise definition and did not rate a mention in computer dictionaries until very recently: "A general term used to refer to all aspects of technology that encompass the creation, storage, display, exchange, and management of information for business, artistic, scientific, recreational, or personal use" (Prentice Hall's Dictionary of Computing).
The book concentrates on the management of electronically prepared and published documents. It does touch on printing, serious DTP software, and the use of PostScript; however, it is more concerned with the use of computer technology in document preparation, treating standard generalised markup language (SGML), hypertext, and hypermedia in some depth.
It deals with topics such as:
An interesting chapter, Electronic Publishing is Changing Careers, discusses what we perceive as IT in the context of potential employment opportunities. The author provides sample job descriptions, such as that for a technical publications manager whose qualifications should include:
A good acquisition for libraries, particularly at secondary schools for its value as a career information resource.
John Wood: Desktop Magic
ISBN 0 442 01772 3
Published by Van Nostrand Reinhold
RRP $65.95
Data Exchange for OS/2 Programmers
reviewed by Tony Stevenson
Dynamic Data Exchange, better known by its acronym DDE, is a protocol for dynamically transferring information between running applications, even if those applications come from different vendors. For example, a spreadsheet could share a graph with a word processor. A significant advantage of DDE is that data exchanges can, if so desired, be completed without user involvement. This approach contrasts with the familiar user-driven "copy and paste" using the clipboard.
Historically its origins lie in the Microsoft Windows operating environment (in version 1.03 released in 1986), but today it is also found as a feature of the OS/2 operating system. The differences between the implementations of these two versions of DDE are covered in detail in one of the chapters of this book.
The technical nature of Glenn Puchtel's book means it is geared for programmers. However, the author has provided an analogy of the DDE protocol (based on people attempting to have a conversation) which gives even the most non-technical person an understanding of what DDE is, and why it is needed.
The book is ideal reference material for anyone involved with DDE in an OS/2 environment. In the past, it has been difficult to acquire knowledge about DDE because of a dearth of good documentation and practical examples. This book, based around sample C programs supplied on a companion disk, fulfils those needs. However, to gain the most from the book, you should be familiar with the OS/2 operating system, Presentation Manager, and the C programming language. Presentation Manager, of course, is the graphical user interface (GUI) and application programming interface (API) for OS/2.
The purpose of the sample programs is to illustrate implementation of DDE in both a server and client application. As well as learning aids, the code can be used later as test and debugging tools when creating your own DDE applications.
If you have been looking for a book that provides both an overview and an in-depth analysis of the DDE protocol for OS/2, as well as specifications for DDE messages, structures, and APIs, then look no further.
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Glenn Puchtel: Dynamic Data
Exchange for OS/2 Programmers ISBN 0 471 13120 2 (previously 0 442 01949 1) Published by Van Nostrand Reinhold 172 pages RRP $77.95 |
Open Systems for Better Business
reviewed by Tony Stevenson
The choices available to us today for selecting computer hardware and software are staggering, but the ability to communicate or exchange information via computer is, unfortunately, far from standardised.
This book discusses open systems, the idea of which is to standardise the exchange of information between computers by breaking free from vendor-specific (proprietary) communication protocols.
For open systems to be successful, standards must be formulated. The difficulty of achieving agreement makes that process both time-consuming and frustrating. To facilitate the process various standards organisations have been established; some of the well known ones are ANSI (American National Standards Institute), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) and OSF (Open Software Foundation). The appendices of this book contain comprehensive details about both the standards groups and the standards they have evolved.
Despite what might appear at first to be a dry subject, the author has written a book that is not only factual, but entertaining as well. Senn explains, in a readable style, what open systems are (which is difficult in itself given there are numerous definitions of what constitutes an
open system), why they are needed, what the difficulties are, and how much has been achieved so far. Her use of automotive analogies are a simple, but extremely effective way of highlighting the need for standards.
Even if you are not specifically interested in open systems there are two chapters in the book about information protection that should be mandatory reading for anyone involved with information technology.
However, if your work involves direct contact with open systems this up-to-date and comprehensive guide to open systems deserves attention.
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Ann Senn: Open Systems for Better
Business ISBN 0 442 01911 4 Published by Van Nostrand Reinhold 398 pages RRP $94.95 |
Reprinted from the September 1995 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
