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Books - Computer

While the whole paperless revolution never really happened, much of my tech references are done online (for example, the function reference at PHP.NET is invaluable - that's often opened in a browser window/tab).

That said, I'm still a book lover and think that there is a valid need for dead-tree references.

What follows is a list of those books that spend more time on my desk next to my computer than on my (overstuffed) bookcases. (Top 10 Index)

Dynamic HTML - Danny Goodman

My version is the 3rd edition (an improvement over the 2nd, which I also have); it covers JavaScript, CSS, DOM. This is the O'Reilly Flamingo book.

While I prefer the O'Reilly Rhinoceros book (David Flanagan's JavaScript) for that specific use, this is the best overall book for DHTML and - specificially - CSS that I own. This is the CSS bible for me. While only a portion of the book, I find it clearer (at least in a reference way) to Eric Meyer's Cascading Style Sheets book (O'Reilly salmon book), which is dedicated to the same subject.

Learning Perl - Randal L. Schwartz & Tom Christiansen

This is the O'Reilly llama book. Along with the fatter, more in-depth Camel book (by Wall et al), this the basic Perl book. Intro to the language, regex, operators and so on, with a flip attitude.

For a computer book, it's slim: My (2nd) edition runs under 300 pages (the camel book is over three times that size). However, the info packed in there is clear and concise.

Professional SQL Server 2000 Programming - Robert Vieira

In the course of learning SQL Server and T-SQL, I bought a handful of books, and this one - part of the WROX series - is better than all the others combined.

Vieira clearly knows his subject, and he's not above dinging MS for some stupid implementations. He also tries - with humor and repeated advice - to enforce best practices (Don't put spaces in column names, fer christ's sake!).

The DBA who recommended this book to me had also purchased another thick book dedicated to replication; she took back the latter and used the chapter(s) in this book to learn more. How's that?

SQL for Dummies - Allen G. Taylor

A "dummies" book may seem an odd choice, yet I had a DBA recommend this to me, oh, over a half dozen years ago and I'm glad he did. It was a great intro, and still fills a need. I recommend it to everyone who is trying to learn this wacky SQL stuff.