Steven Mandel

Lately, it seems that every computer book that you find is a weighty tome of at least 500 or 600 pages. You groan just thinking about having to schlep another monster-size book around. It is so nice then to inform you that sometimes good things do come in small packages. This book, while only 200 pages, contains lots of nuggets that will appeal to all levels of developers. Chapter one covers an exhaustive list of navigation short cuts that you will find in Visual Studio 2003. If you want to master getting around in Visual Studio, this is a great chapter to have nearby. I would urge Ms. Kurata to update this chapter to include Visual Studio 2005 shortcuts as well. In chapter two's topics on Windows Forms is an important discussion on how to use the Windows Form's error pro... (more)

.NET Book Review: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Stored Procedure Programming in T-SQL and .NET

With the release of a major new version of SQL Server, it's incumbent on developers to take time to refresh and enhance their knowledge of this new version of T-SQL (Transact SQL) and stored procedure programming. The challenge is to find a good book that will cover the highlights but not give you a hernia in the process. Dejan Sunderic's book fits this bill. The book consists of 21 chapt... (more)

Programming ASP.NET 2nd Edition

Now that ASP.NET has hit its stride, the number of books out that deal with it on an intermediate level has increased nicely. The problem, though, is that if the books all cover the same topics, how do you decide which one to buy? I have several criteria that I look at in making that decision. Firstly, how does the book read? Is the writing crisp and clear or does it plod along? Does the... (more)

.NET Book Review: Murach's SQL Server 2005 for Developers

This book is an update of an earlier version that was written for SQL Server 2000. It employs the Murach approach of dual pages that repeat and enhance the concepts being presented on each page. If you're new to SQL Server 2005 you'll gain a lot from this book. It has three goals: to teach T-SQL (Transact SQL), introduce you to the new .NET CLR integration, and introduce you to the new g... (more)

.NET Gotchas

You might be wondering what this book is all about. As the author explains, the dictionary's definition of a gotcha is "an unexpected usually disconcerting challenge, revelation, or catch". Mr. Subramaniam defines the gotchas in his book as "those things that pop up unexpectedly when you're programming in .NET. … In this book I focus on the .NET framework and features that have co... (more)