Book Features: Perl, P3P, Blogging, C#

Here are some interesting books we found lately.

 

Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference

The amount of information with which web developers need to stay current is tremendous. Apart from the seemingly endless list of acronyms–HTML, XHTML, CSS, DOM, and ECMA, for starters–web developers also have to know the details of a variety of web specifications and their implementation in each version of each browser they are developing for. The complexity is compounded by a lack of coordination between those who make the browsers and those who define the standards.

 

The book, Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference (2nd edition) by Danny Goodman, provides a single source for all the information a web developer needs. It contains all the knowledge needed to create sensible single- and cross-platform web applications. It covers specifications, including HTML 4.01, XHTML, CSS Level 2, DOM Level 2, and JavaScript 1.5, as well as the latest browsers–Internet Explorer 6 (Windows), Internet Explorer 5.1 (Macintosh), Netscape Navigator 6 and 7, and Mozilla 1.0.

 

This book is for any web content developer who wants to use DHTML to add sophisticated features to web pages and enhance the experience of site visitors. If readers have experience with basic web page creation, but are new to the world of dynamic content, then this book will jump-start their efforts. Experienced web programmers will find the browser compatibility information invaluable. This book is the only DHTML reference a web developer needs.

 

Learning C#

Jesse Liberty, author of the best-selling books “Programming C#” and “Programming ASP.NET,” has written Learning C#, an entry-level guide to learning the C# language. Written in a warm and friendly manner, the book assumes no prior programming experience, and provides an easy introduction to Microsoft’s premier .NET language.

 

Most C# books are written for experienced C++ and Java programmers. If you are a novice programmer, or have experience in VB6 or other procedural programming languages, and want to learn C#, you’ve been out of luck–until now. “Learning C#” helps readers build a solid foundation in .NET, and shows them how to apply their skills through the use of dozens of tested examples. They will learn about the syntax and structure of the C# language, including operators, classes and interfaces, structs, arrays, and strings. The book then demonstrates how to develop various kinds of applications–including those that work with databases–and web services.

 

The book also includes an introduction to the Virtual Studio .NET Integrated Development Environment (IDE), a tool designed to help in writing .NET applications. Once they have mastered the subjects in “Learning C#,” readers will be ready to move on to more advanced programming guides, with an aim to developing Windows and web applications. Liberty includes pointers to many print and online resources that will help readers in this pursuit. Regardless of their programming background, or lack thereof, readers will find that “Learning C#” sets them firmly on their way to mastering the essentials of the C# language.

 

Essential Blogging

Blogging (from the term Web Log) has exploded. Some people estimate that there are 500,000 blogs online and another 1,500-3,000 blogs coming online every day. One of the reasons for blogging’s irrepressible growth is that anyone can run a blog–a web site offering commentary that can range from personal diary entries to political analysis to technology observations.

 

The only thing potential bloggers lack is detailed advice on how to choose, install, and run blogging software. Written by bloggers who use the tools every day, the new book, Essential Blogging, is a no-nonsense guide to the technology of blogging. The book gives detailed installation, configuration, and operation instructions for the leading blogging software: Blogger, Radio Userland, Movable Type, and Blosxom. It also includes practical advice and insider tips on the features, requirements, and limitations of these applications.

 

The authors of the book are all leading bloggers and creators of blogging software. J. Scott Johnson is the leading documentor of Radio Userland, Cory Doctorow runs the high-profile boingboing.net, Ben and Mena Trott wrote the popular Movable Type blogging software, and Rael Dornfest is the author of Blogger.

 

“Essential Blogging” is an indispensable guide for anyone who has internet access and a voice to share, or who has ever wanted to be even a little bit dangerous. For serious bloggers, this book is all you ever need.

 

Web Privacy with P3P

For as long as there have been commercial sites on the World Wide Web, there has been a clash between the need of web-based businesses to collect information about users and the end user’s right to privacy. The Platform for Privacy Preferences Project, or P3P, has emerged as an answer that may satisfy the wishes of both parties. Developed by the World Wide Web Consortium, P3P gives users more control over the amount of information they disclose about themselves as they browse the Web. At the same time, it allows web sites to declare to browsers what sort of information they will request of users. Their privacy policies are embedded in the code of the site, so browsers talk to the web server just below the surface.

 

Web Privacy with P3P by Lorrie Faith Cranor, explains the P3P protocol and shows web site developers how to configure their sites for P3P compliance. Cranor, who is chair of the Platform for Privacy Preferences Project (P3P) Specification Working Group at the World Wide Web Consortium and coauthor of the P3P 1.0 specification, explains the inner workings of the P3P protocol while maintaining a hands-on implementation approach.

 

The book begins with an introduction to P3P and an overview of online privacy concerns and the laws governing online privacy. Cranor discusses existing privacy technology, such as encryption tools, filters, and identity management tools. Cranor then explains the inner workings of the P3P protocol and shows web developers how to configure their sites for P3P compliance. The book gives step-by-step instructions for creating a P3P policy, compact policy, and policy reference file. The book then shifts to show software developers how to build P3P compliance into their products, with a chapter on PPEL, the W3C-developed specification for declaring user preferences, and a chapter devoted to guidelines for developing user interfaces for P3P user agents.

 

The number of web developers using P3P continues to grow. P3P support is now built into the newest browser version, including Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. The book explains how the P3P features work in these browsers, and the impact they will have on your web site.

 

Like most consumers and web developers, knowledge about web privacy is very minimal. Without proper knowledge, we disclose information unnecessarily and be abused in the long run. Anyone interested in learning and addressing privacy issues should read this book and take your understanding about privacy on a higher level.

 

Perl CD Bookshelf, Version 3.0

The Perl CD Bookshelf, Version 3.0 gives Perl programmers convenient online access to a library of O’Reilly’s Perl books–all from a CD-ROM drive. Seven of O’Reilly’s best-selling Perl books are included on this CD-ROM (4,259 pages of O’Reilly references and tutorials), fully searchable and cross-referenced, so programmers can search either the individual index for each book or the master index for the entire collection.

 

Included are the complete, unabridged versions of these titles:

 

“Perl in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition”
“Learning Perl, 3rd Edition”
“Programming Perl, 3rd Edition”
“Perl Cookbook”
“Perl & XML”
“Perl & LWP”
“Mastering Perl/Tk“

 

Packaged with the CD is the paperback version of “Perl in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition.” Purchased individually, these books would retail for $279.65. In this exhaustive and ultimately portable format, they retail for only $119.95.

 

Formatted in HTML, “The Perl CD Bookshelf, Version 3.0,” can be accessed with any web browser. No other resource makes so much valuable information so easy to find and so convenient to use. Knowing that Perl is one of the most in-demand programming language, this collection puts you on the right track.