.NET and COM: The Complete Interoperability Guide (2 Volume Set)

Book Description

The focus of the book is on COM Interoperability (since it's a much larger subject), and the heart of the discussion is broken down into four parts:

Using COM Components Within the .NET Framework
Using .NET Framework Components from COM
Designing Good .NET Framework Components for COM Clients
Designing Good COM Components for .NET Framework Clients

The scope of the book is just about everything related to using "unmanaged code" in the .NET Framework. Technologies built on top of COM Interoperability are also covered-Interoperability of Windows Forms Controls and ActiveX controls, Interoperability with COM+, and Interoperability with Distributed COM (DCOM). Although Platform Invocation Services is a separate technology from COM Interoperability, there are many areas of overlap, so including in the book is a natural fit. All of these technologies are a core part of the Common Language Runtime and .NET Framework, and will likely be used not only as the path of migration for existing software projects, but for brand new software development for the next several years.

Download Description

The focus of the book is on COM Interoperability (since it's a much larger subject), and the heart of the discussion is broken down into four parts: Using COM Components Within the .NET Framework; Using .NET Framework Components from COM; Designing Good .NET Framework Components for COM Clients; Designing Good COM Components for .NET Framework Clients. The scope of the book is just about everything related to using "unmanaged code" in the .NET Framework. Technologies built on top of COM Interoperability are also covered-Interoperability of Windows Forms Controls and ActiveX controls, Interoperability with COM+, and Interoperability with Distributed COM (DCOM). Although Platform Invocation Services is a separate technology from COM Interoperability, there are many areas of overlap, so including in the book is a natural fit. All of these technologies are a core part of the Common Language Runtime and .NET Framework, and will likely be used not only as the path of migration for existing software projects, but for brand new software development for the next several years.

Customer Reviews:

It's Back!.......2007-06-14

My co-worker had a previous edition of this book (now set) and it was the bible for any question regarding .Net/COM interop. When he left the company and took the book with him I was sad. Now it's back in print, however, and happy days are here again.

I'm not going to pretend that I'm a COM God; I'm mostly a desktop .Net component developer who has to expose the component to both managed and unmanaged (COM) clients. This book was invaluable for walking us through some of the trickier steps of integrating our new component with the main client (QuickBooks accounting software) in a way that supported new version deployment and backwards compatibility.

The way that Nathan describes best practices for exposing managed libraries to COM is clear and concise (as much as you can be when talking about COM, I suppose). It directly led to several utilities and build steps we added in order to create better components.

I highly recommend this book set.

Complete Reference.......2007-05-12

I read Troelsen's book on COM/.NET interroperability. This two volume set easily exceeds in content. Both books provide valuable information that I use regularly in developing .NET solutions that use COM as clients and servers. If I had to have only one selection, I would choose these books (Adam Nathan's) for the extensive content.

the one I turn to.......2005-07-17

Never one to skimp on books, I ordered three with almost exactly the same title on COM/.NET Interop when I needed some information on the subject. Adam Nathan's book is by far my favorite. I've never found an answer in another book that wasn't in Nathan's (and have found many in his that I didn't find anywhere else).

It seems like this book isn't as easy to get on amazon as it once was--a pity, because it's the first (and maybe only) Interop book you'll need. Maybe he'll come out with another edition as .NET changes...

Truly is the Complete Guide.......2004-12-09

This book has been an invaluble resource on a .NET/COM interop project I've been working on. Don Box's quote on the cover sums up the title nicely, "This is the last book that should be written about COM programming. There is nothing left to say."

Since I'm a published author myself, I first bought a book on this topic from my publisher Microsoft Press. While accurate, it left a lot to desire. Very little advanced information was provided. However, this title from Adam Nathan's and Sams Publishing leaves nothing out, including extensive references.

If you are working with COM objects from .NET, or vice-versa, this book will be an excellent resource.

Comprehensive interoperability book.......2004-10-21

Often finding an appropriate and effective bridge to .NET is a time consuming and problematic task, we had to do a lot of research and benchmarking to find an optimal solution. Having this book by Adam Nathan will save time and effort on building these bridges.

The material in the book is intended for use by experienced professional developers, it's certainly not an entry level tutorial, but the author's style, detailed description supported by examples makes it easy to read and follow. A short introduction to .NET and managed code concepts is provided in the first section of the book. I discovered, however, that this book may be helpful to the people who have no previous COM knowledge, due to the very descriptive and illustrative style.

The author clearly has an extensive experience of COM and a good knowledge of Microsoft .NET. That's why the material is not just an abstract presentation, but a systematically organized guide, focused on potential problems and difficulties a developer may face. However, it is still only focused on COM/.NET interoperability, most probably I would need another book about Java, CORBA working with .NET. The book, as already mentioned, is not an introductory or general conceptual tutorial on programming or architecture, but a very detailed and comprehensive interoperability reference, and it is definitely worth its price. Also the length of the book, about 1600 pages is well justified. Another positive side of the book is that examples are written in VB, C# and managed C++.

Average customer rating:

Caution, Do Not Rely Solely on this publication
Not enough and hard to read
Good Book, Bad Supplemental Material

Complete Guide To Servers And Server+
Michael Graves
Manufacturer: Cengage Delmar Learning
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1418020230

Book Description

The Complete Guide to Servers and Server+ is more than just an exam guide to the CompTIA Server+ Exam. It's also a blueprint for a career in server management. With its easy-to-read style, The Complete Guide to Servers and Server+ serves as a good training manual and will serve as a valuable reference after obtaining your certification. This book takes the approach that a good server manager should know the ins and outs of building a server from scratch. With this emphasis throughout the book, The Complete Guide to Servers and Server+ is an essential part of any network manager's library.

Customer Reviews:

Caution, Do Not Rely Solely on this publication.......2007-05-31

I too have just completed the Server+ exam, the previous day, and like the other reviewer I also thoroughly agree, there was considerable information on the exam that was not covered at all in this book. Things like NAS/SAN, iSCSI/FCIP, fibre channel and service tools. Plus, although the author did touch on UPS's, there were questions asked that he did not cover and subsequently were not represented in this book.

What I really find galling though in light of past publications that this individual has written (A+ and Network+ to name a couple) is the numerous grammatical and or missing words I came across while reading this book. We have all heard of Intel but why was AMD called American Micro Devices and not Advanced as it should be? Clearly, either this tome was rushed into publication and the publisher didn't bother or had a rather piss poor proofreader in looking over this book. Consequently, I'd be hard pressed to want to use a future write from this author and/or use this publisher again (Thomson).

It's clear, DO NOT EXPECT TO PASS THE EXAM IF THIS IS THE ONLY PUB YOU PLAN TO USE. Previous hands on experience working with servers is very much going to be in one's favour!

Not enough and hard to read.......2007-02-19

I just got back from the Server+ test, and I passed the exam. However half of the questions on the exam were not mentioned in this book. This book touches mostly the hardware, and the writer clearly has this background. However there is so much more then hardware, no matter how great his passion about server hardware is. This is why this book is not enough for the exam. In-depth information is missing about the server and the network, and too much information is given on things not needed for the exam. Also, though the book is written in a loose attitude, the writer is actually sometimes hard to understand in what he writes. Even though this book gives a lot of information, I can now hardly believe this is a Comptia approved studybook for the Server+ exam.

Good Book, Bad Supplemental Material.......2006-12-09

I'll make this review short and to the point -- the book itself is a great learning tool, and is a very easy read. However, I was quite disappointed to see that only odd-numbered questions have solutions to them in this book. It appears that you need to spend ANOTHER $20+ to get an e-resource CD that includes all solutions. At $75, this is an absolute ripoff. Unfortunately, there aren't many other Server+ books offered at this time.

In summary, buy this book to review all the Server+ objectives, but look elsewhere for practice questions.

Microsoft Content Management Server 2002: A Complete Guide (Microsoft Windows Server System Series)

Average customer rating:

Worthless for beginers and experts alike.
Poor Layout. Not for beginners.
Authoritative Reference for Content Mgmt. Server
Book needs more focus. Maybe OK for a beginner.
Keep a copy handy to every employee who uses MCMS

Microsoft Content Management Server 2002: A Complete Guide (Microsoft Windows Server System Series)
Bill English , Olga Londer , Todd Bleeker , Shawn Shell , and Stephen Cawood
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0321194446

Amazon.com

Microsoft Content Management Server (MCMS) may be relatively new on the Web-publishing scene, but it's very closely integrated with the Windows infrastructure and therefore an attractive option for many organizations. Microsoft Content Management Server 2002: A Complete Guide is both a tutorial and a reference in which the authors strive to explain the Microsoft Way of rising to the Web publishing challenge. You'll want this one close at hand if you're involved in setting up or maintaining a MCMS site. Preferably, you'll have read the chapters that deal with architecture and design--which collectively make up about half of this large paperback document--well in advance of installing the first MCMS component. Better yet, you'll have had the various members of your Web publishing team (network people, Windows administrators, database experts, and so on) read, ahead of time, the chapters that concern them.

This team-authored book uses a variety of strategies in communicating information to the reader. These include discussion of design issues (generally quite effective in making the reader think about the situation on his own site), narrative elucidation of procedures with frequent screen shots, and code listings (generally under-commented and therefore less useful than other elements). In any case, this is from-the-source documentation of an expensive software package. You'll benefit by having it around. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to install, configure, and use Microsoft Content Management Server 2002. Sections deal with the general architecture of MCMS, and its particular ways of facilitating page design, user interaction, and workflows. Integration with Visual Studio--the chief advancement in the 2002 version--gets lots of attention, as do security and user rights managements. The Publishing API (PAPI) is covered in greater depth here than anywhere else.

Customer Reviews:

Worthless for beginers and experts alike........2005-07-06

This book has too many flaws to count. It has no focus. It contradicts itself in many places (sometimes within the same paragraph!). The organization of the chapters is completely alien and ensures a beginner will be confused. The rambling, repetitive prose and authors' habit of inventing and making extended use of non-standard terminology renders the book useless to developers. The authors' complete lack of common sense makes it a poor choice for admins. I really can't imagine who this book is for. EVERY chapter I got frustrated with text about half way through and looked up the information in MCMS's online help instead. In EVERY instance, the MS documentation was more clear and helpful.

Here's a sample paragraph from Chapter 2, Installing Microsoft Content Management Server:

"Creating the Necessary Windows User Accounts"

"The system account will need read/write permissions on the SQL database. In addition, ensure that this account is not the same as the local administrator account and that it is not the IIS anonymous account. In reality, you'll need to create two accounts, not one. The first will be the CMS system account. The other will be the CMS administrator account. The system account will be used to read and write data to the database. The administrator account will need to be the first administrator to access the CMS Web application."

If you don't find that painful to read, and you think that provides all the information you need to "Create the Necessary Windows User Accounts", then you might like this book. Otherwise, you'll be better off with the online docs.

Poor Layout. Not for beginners........2004-07-21

I bought this book to help my client evaluate CMS 2002. First few weeks with the book was agonising to read through. The author explains in verbose text about something and you have to read through it all coz you dont know what is fluff or where he might say something useful! I read through the documents that came with CMS 2002 last week and there is one called SiteDevl.chm which has a chapter on how to Use VS.net to create a CMS web site. I finished the whole chapter in about an hour creating my site simultaneously. Since I did a web site from scratch I had a better understanding how to use various CMS components! First read this help file before you buy this book.
I went through the first 286 pages of this book and was yet struggling. Then I read through this help file that comes with CMS which has 36 pages now the difference is like day and night! Since there are no other good book available you have to get this book just coz you odnt have a choice.
There is a new book written by Stefan Gossner from MSFT coming out soon. He is a regular contributor on CMS message boards on msdn. Seems very knowledgable. I havent got the book yet, I have reserved a copy when it is out.

Authoritative Reference for Content Mgmt. Server.......2004-06-14

What drew me to this book was Bill English's name. I've known Bill for a few years (I'm a Windows Server MVP, Bill is an MVP on the Exchange side), and am usually quite impressed with his writing, his teaching, and his work. Yet, there were a number of other names that are associated with this book. I don't know who was responsible for which parts, but this is truly an all-star cast of technical experts on Microsoft Content Management Server.

Content Management Server can be a tantalizingly ominous program. On the surface, it appears so simple, however - under the covers is a very complex and detailed series of modules for managing content on web servers. Essentially, it covers birth to retirement of the content of web publishing. And, diferent from many other programs of this type - it is aimed at all levels of content creators. It's aimed at the Pro Web Master, but also provides the capacity to allow the typical Business or Marketing type to create and submit content - and to allow it to be reviewed before it is published out to the web site by defining 'roles', and assigning responsibilities and rights to these roles. This flexibility and control is what makes Content Server special.

*This* is what makes this book special. English (Microsoft MVP), Londer (of QA - a training firm in the UK), Bleeker (CTO/ Consulting firm to Fortune 100), Shell (Dell Pro Services), Cawood (MCMS Product Team - Microsoft) are some of the brightest folks working with this product, and they know it well. The thickness of the book is because of depth. Specific sections of the book deal with any portion of CMS that you might encounter, from deployment, to management, to security, and to optimization. It also educates you on how you can use code (your choices are open to any .Net language) to modify some behaviors, enhance and further control the functions of the server.

My experience with CMS is that it can either be the very worst of nightmares, or the best thing for managing your web servers / farms. This book can definitely put you on the track of productive suite rather than uncontrollable mess of code and tags. In conjunction with Application Center Server, Content Management Server provides a complete toolset for staging, deploying, proofing, controlling and validating your web servers.

Your chances of success with this software are greatly enhanced with the written knowledge of these technologists.

Book needs more focus. Maybe OK for a beginner........2004-01-13

First, a note on my background, since it may have increased my frustration with this book. I have been developing (ASP/COM, ASP.NET) for a long time, and have built numerous custom DB-driven content mgmt systems from scratch. So, I was hoping for a quick introduction of the CMS paradigm this product uses, followed by specific guidance on how to implement realistic sites with the product. Not what I got. This material might be more helpful to a traditional "webmaster" role (who knows just a little C#), but if you already understand concepts like templates and publishing workflows the book wastes a lot of your time.

The book does not need to be 1000 pages long:
- Code examples are often repeated throughout a section with only one line changed.
- Entire blocks of text are clearly copied and pasted from one section to another.
- The book spends inordinate time on topics that are not relevant to using the product, for example the material in Chapter 4 on project mgmt.

My other major complaint is that it is written more in the style of a manual (e.g. Now we are going to list all the properties and methods of a channel. Next, we do the same for a template.) rather than following a flow of how a site actually gets built and the types of pages one really needs to develop. Why is it not until page 853 that the topic of "what about content that is already in SQL Server somewhere" comes up? That is something one deals with all the time on real development projects!

Admittedly, some of my disappointment is more with the product itself rather than just the book. MS-CMS is apparently intended as a replacement for sites that just add new HTML pages whenever they add content. I thought the age of sites like that, where the data was not part of the overall enterprise systems, had ended several years ago.

Keep a copy handy to every employee who uses MCMS.......2004-01-13

Microsoft Content Management Server 2002: A Complete Guide is a good enough title for this book, but given the thorough coverage, accessible writing style and excellent organization, it could just as easily been have been called the Content Management Server 2002 Encyclopedia.

The value in this book is it's breadth of coverage and succinctness of the explanation of the topic. The general approach of the book is to give a general explanation of a topic and then to provide specific instructions with examples. It is possible to reference a particular topic and use the information in it without having to read a large part of the book.

Book Description

This revised edition provides a learn-by-doing tutorial with real-world business examples for programming in todays most powerful client-server environment. From the basics of tables, displays, loops, and conditional operators to tuning and troubleshooting techniques to enhancing system performance, this tutorial is a must for anyone developing in the SAP environment.

Customer Reviews:

Not enough........2002-12-04

I attended the ABAP academy and received certification. Prior to the academy I read this book. I found it to be better than nothing but other students found the ABAP Objects book to be more current. The ABAP Object book also provides a demo R3 system. This allows the student to practice at home and be more creative. Win 2000 and MS SQL 2000 are required for the demo version. Go with ABAP Objects.

Good Reference.......2002-04-20

It is a good book as a reference, but not advisable as a tutorial.

A good primer and resource to turn to.......2001-07-12

This book is a great primer for those who have some general programming knowlege, and who are self starters. I have gone through three other similar books, and found this to be the most useful. It will get you started, but you will quickly yearn for more meat and examples, which can be found in the next book in the series.

Better books available.......2000-08-31

Though it does say introduction to ABAP I guess I was expecting more, for instance the book dosn't even review the ABAP editor until a three page appendix in the back of the book. Many pages of the book are wasted repeating program code but never really reviewing what is going on. There never really is a mention of how to manipulate tables in this book so if you need to work with anything other then internal tables (who doesn't) you'll have to find the information elsewhere.

Old Version of SAP.......2000-01-12

Like every other book for ABAP beginners, this one only covers version 3.x of SAP. We're installing 4.6b, so I'm not sure how much it will help. If you have the 3.x version of SAP, it's not a bad book.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

Average customer rating:

Difficult Subject, Easy Read
Not about the current release

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Joseph W. Habraken , CHRIS WILL , and Joe Habraken
Manufacturer: Alpha
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0789721864

Book Description

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Windows 2000 Server serves the beginner to intermediate network administrator in explaining Windows 2000 Server from installation through set-up and administration. After instructing on the configuration and management of users and groups in the domain, the later chapters of the book discuss the uses and benefits of Active Directory, how to expand your network, installing an Internet Information Server, and Troubleshooting Windows 2000 Server.

Customer Reviews:

Difficult Subject, Easy Read.......2001-01-18

Great book... I set up a couple of different labs (several servers) with the info in this book. I also really appreciate the chapters on Active Directory and Group Policy. I didn't know anything about these (being an NT person) and this book explained their setup and use better and quicker than some of the bigger reference books on Windows 2000. This book is really useful as a starting place for getting up to speed with Windows 2000 Server.

Not about the current release.......2001-01-13

Started using this book to set up win 2K-server. found that what the book showed and what I saw on the screen were two different things. This book was probably written with an early beta of Win 2K server. I am bringing it back to borders.

Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

Average customer rating:

Easy to understand, but not enough content
Peter Norton's complete guide to MS Windows 2000 server
Dependable Norton

Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Tom Burke , Peter Norton , and Irfan Chaudhry
Manufacturer: Sams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 067231777X

Book Description

Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Windows 2000 Server is the one source reference that gives you everything they need to use the vast resources that this product provides. This book is designed to be used initially as a learning tool and troubleshooting aid for tips on getting your system set up and ready for use. Then you can explore its various features and maximize your use, on the basis of a solid understanding of the Windows 2000 anatomy and underlying architecture. The book also serves as a handy guide to optimize the performance of your operating environment and applications in order to meet your specific needs. This book presents a broad range of ideas and techniques, not one cut and dried way that only works for a small portion of the intended audience.

Download Description

Customer Reviews:

Easy to understand, but not enough content.......2001-01-25

Peter Norton is tradirionally a great "teacher". His use of everyday expressions to explain complex technological terms, his choice of illustrative examples and his selection of graphical illustrations make the book easy to understand. If you are like me, seeking to take an exam on the subject, then you will need other materials to supplement the areas that were not included in the book. The areas of Windows 2000 Server that were covered will be my only source of future reference.

Peter Norton's complete guide to MS Windows 2000 server.......2000-06-22

Peter Norton shows the way to Windows 2000 networking. I found this book easy to refer, understand the concepts and install. The fine tuning and upkeep of the server has been extensively shown.

Dependable Norton.......2000-06-17

I have normally associated Peter Norton with his computer disk utilities which have certainly saved my bacon a few times. O f late he has turned to producing high quality reference books

I was extremely impressed with this publication. Having read the companion book Windows 2000 Professional, this book follows on nicely. I guess it is not a book for beginners but it leads a lot of us lapsed network jockeys through detail we had messed with but not fully comprehended. There is a very good sections on IIS which is little understood by most and one on the Internet which everyone thinks they understand.This book gets to the heart of Internet networks, though not as comprehensively dealt with as in his Windows 2000 Professional, it concentrates on the server aspects. Security and management of the server are covered well.This is a must read for Administrators. In fact he and his co authors seems to cover everything very nicely with as much nitty gritty to make it a reference book to be held in the ready.

All in all this is a very good book for those familiar with networking but not so familiar with Windows 2000 Server. There is also enough detail for newbies to get a good understanding .

Customer Reviews:

One of the BEST!.......2000-04-04

One of the best exam prep study aids that I've used! Software is easy to use. Text is well written & is enjoyable to read. Good insight and guidance as to the types of questions to expect on some of the Core MCSE exams. Chapter summaries & review exercises help reinforce the material. Self tests help user to build knowledge & confidence as they are preparing for certification.

Average customer rating:

MCSE complete user guide
Jason Sirockman
Manufacturer: New Riders, McMillan Computer Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Setting Up a Linux Intranet Server Visual Black Book: A Complete Visual Guide to Building a LAN Using Linux as the OS

Average customer rating:

Network gurus are giants among men-NOT!!!
Best picture book to get Linux/Samba running
The worst book about Linux that I have read to date.
Technically poor, misleading, poor editing
Bold, where now computer user manual has gone before

Setting Up a Linux Intranet Server Visual Black Book: A Complete Visual Guide to Building a LAN Using Linux as the OS
Hidenori Tsuji , and Takashi Watanabe
Manufacturer: Coriolis Group Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1576105687

Amazon.com

Heavily visual books have become popular lately, but mainly for elementary subjects. In Setting Up a Linux Intranet Server Visual Black Book, a team of authors and designers brings the picture-intensive approach to Linux. It's a welcome move that simultaneously heralds Linux's improving ease of use and the willingness of the computing mainstream to investigate the operating system.

The authors have hit their subject at precisely the right angle too. By choosing to use the Visual Black Book style on Linux-based intranet servers, they nail the application that's most interesting to the small-office users who are their audience. This book will help the casual network administrator get a Linux machine working as a file, printer, Web, and electronic mail server.

The format relies on illustrating sequential steps with a combination of line drawings, screen shots, and command-line listings. The text that describes what's going on in the steps includes callouts, so there's never any question about what part of the illustration is relevant. The format isn't great for communicating conceptual information, but it will help you accomplish the basic tasks quickly and enable you to look into denser reference on a more solid footing. --David Wall

Topics covered: Building a local area network (LAN) server with Linux (Red Hat Linux 6 appears in the examples), installation, basic command-line operations, users and groups, and heterogeneous networking with information on Samba for Windows and netatalk for Mac OS. Coverage of specific services includes the Apache Web server and electronic mail with sendmail and qpopper.

Book Description

This book describes how to build a small-scale LAN using Red Hat Linux 6.0 as a server on networked, PC-Unix, and other hardware platforms. It includes well-diagrammed and documented explanations of everything from basic Linux knowledge and how to install and set up Linux as an intranet file server, to managing Linux operations and security. The instructions and explanations are presented in an informatinve, easy-to-follow visual format suitable for both beginners and intermediaate computer users. A topic-related comprehensive glossary and command reference are also included.

Customer Reviews:

Network gurus are giants among men-NOT!!!.......2001-06-05

I think the map metaphor is appropriate here: We want to get to point B; a simple map shows us the way. Does that mean we don't check our oil, inquire about road conditions, ask friends about traffic, etc.? I think not, and this book does NOT tell us to follow blindly. What it does is show that Linux server setup is NOT rocket science, and will get simpler as the distros mature. These self-styled gurus are puzzle phreaks, not problem solvers.

Best picture book to get Linux/Samba running.......2001-03-24

I'm glad I didn't read the reviews before getting this book. I needed to get Linux running first, then I'd learn it later. This book works exactly as planned. Pictures step you through getting Samba to work, and I took an old 486 and made it work on our network. Now I've got a box on which I can learn Linux, and it's already useful on my network.

The worst book about Linux that I have read to date........2000-06-12

I purchased this book knowing that there is a wealth of quality information available for free about Linux, but I was hoping that this would be a convenient reference documenting a variety of services authoritatively.

Sadly, this book is riddled with an apalling number of factual errors, near constant misleading comments, and nigh-unreadably strained English. The factual errors for the most part won't get the reader into trouble right away (though there are some worrying errors), but this added to the cookbook approach can provide either a dangerous feeling of adequacy or a voodoo approach to system administration - "I just did it this way because the book told me to".

I cannot encourage people to buy this book; it is very inconsistent in practices, it gives directions without rationale, and it gives no pointers to places where adequate documentation can be found.

I would give this book negative stars if I could, as I consider this book harmful to some and useful to none.

Technically poor, misleading, poor editing.......2000-04-03

1) The authors failed to acknowledge the different versions of Windows (Win95/98 & NT) which can have quite different setups.

2) There is no such thing as "Linux has built-in stability and security..."

3) Linux is not "only" a server OS, we use it on desktop everyday.

4) ...just because computers are connected by a LAN does not classifies it as an "intranet"

5) TCP/IP is NOT the most common method to network PCs on a LAN -- Ethernet is.

The publisher claims "guarantee" on their technical accuracy. If this is the best they can do, I'll be very careful buying another Coriolis's book. The authors failed to understand what an intranet server really does, the book title is misleading.

Pros: earn 1 star for pretty pictures, but if you are serious about learning Linux this book "won't" give you a good start.

Bold, where now computer user manual has gone before.......2000-02-29

This computer user manual is a visual treasure, full of wealth of hands on, easy to follow, non-nonsense instructions on getting a Linux operating system up and running on a Local Area Network. Functionality, wonderfully diagramed procedures and ease of use are the strengths of this book.

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