Fundamentals of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Development
Doron's rating:
  4.0
On May 26, 2012 Doron Katz wrote: Detailed and complete coverage
Another iOS book, and a definitive chunky book to go through, but this book isn’t designed for someone who has to read it cover-to-cover. This book is in fact a complete A-to-Z of concepts and topics in iOS, that should cover almost all of what you need. Beyond this book, you can focus on a specific topic. The second iteration of this book also introduces new iOS 5 concepts such as ARC memory management, the concept of adding private declarations within the implementation files and so forth, bringing your reference book up to speed with what’s current. Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
4.0
On May 8, 2012 Doron Katz wrote: Perhaps too elementary
very designer-oriented book, but quite elementary for those of you who have had some experience in designing interfaces. Dan Saffer presents in his work, a comprehensive collection of gestural resources, the science of kinesiology, ergonomics and physical computing to deliver patterns in gestural designing. The book is quite easy to read, with the author logically setting out the processes involved in prototyping and documenting how the user should interact with the device application, in an intuitive and anticipative way. Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
4.0
On May 6, 2012 Doron Katz wrote:
The author, Eric Sarrion does a great effort in bringing an introductory-cum-intermediary level explanation of JQuery UI libraries and widgets, organised in a logical sequence of widget-by-widget explanation of what the particular UI object is, why it's used, what events it exposes, in a pleasantly easy-to-read style. As a self-professed JQuery novice developer, Ifound this book to be straight forward and clear, especially with the first three chapters which discuss the more theoretical side of things before you start getting into the standard widgets.
Full Review >
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UI Patterns for Mobile Applications
Doron's rating:
4.0
On Mar 29, 2012 Doron Katz wrote: Quintessential wireframing helper book
A quintessential catalogue for mobile developers, this is a no-frills systematic guide to common patterns. It tries to be device-neutral but does illustrate good and bad patterns on both droid and iOS devices in an easy to navigate and follow reference book. It doesn't spent too long on explanations but provides a fantastic depth of every possible combination, allowing you as the developer to pick and choose in building your entire application navigation and controls.
Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
5.0
On Mar 8, 2012 Doron Katz wrote: Concise and well-thought out book
The recent iBooks Authoring tool released by Apple has given amateur book writers and enthusiasts a direct enablement to self-publish their own interactive books to Apple's bookstore, in a similar way that developers have been given access to the app-store. Nellie McKesson delivers soon after the iBooks Authoring release with a handy book that guides the user through the basics of laying out the structure of the book.
Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
3.0
On Mar 1, 2012 Doron Katz wrote: Good in some areas and easy to read.
This book does indeed seem like a pre-released even though it has alredy been published, but it feels a bit incomplete in many areas, which was the general gist I got from reading this book and comparing it to various other books that I have come across. The second thing I noticed was the way the author structured this book, starting with a theoretical background of JQuery followed by the various controls (such as lists, navigation), leaving out DOM and selector stuff, which falls under the more fundamental JQuery literature, which means this book is catered towards people who have a basic/general understanding of JQuery. Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
4.0
On Feb 24, 2012 Doron Katz wrote: Advanced but well explained
After the introductory video warning us that the topics are quite advanced, I decided to review the predecessor set of videos, Mastering Git which went through the basics. Whilst reviewing that set of videos is beyond the scope of this review, it is vital that anyone who is new to Git take that up first as you will be completely lost if you attempt the master version without the pre-requisite knowledge of the first set. Full Review >
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Solutions & Examples for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Apps
Doron's rating:
5.0
On Feb 10, 2012 Doron Katz wrote: Fantastic predictably, reliable and an oracle of answers,
The follow on from iOS 4 Cookbook, which I thoroughly enjoyed by Vandad Nahavandipoor, is the opposite of what you might find being the more concise O'Reilly books on specific iOS topics, that I normally review. Depending on how your mind operates, this book may be an excellent first book, otherwise it makes an even greater secondary reference book. It is certainly not concise, but it doesn't have the problem that normal iOS books have of going through chapter by chapter skimming certain topics, this one has it all. Full Review >
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A Comprehensive Guide to Building, Packaging, and Distribution
Doron's rating:
4.0
On Feb 8, 2012 Doron Katz wrote: Concise reliable micro-book
Essential iOS Build and Release by Ron Roche is another of those 'micro-books', a concise book with a scope solely focused on how to build for testing and publishing your iOS App, whether it's AdHoc, App Store or through Enterprise distributions. It takes you through the over-complex routes that would get a developer to get the App to have the appropriate provisioning profiles and certificates. Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
4.0
On Jan 3, 2012 Doron Katz wrote: Thick yet juicy
This book centralises the science of designing interfaces, void of any specific platform or device but rather allows the reader to think spatially in terms of UX for the thumb. Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
4.0
On Nov 15, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Good for novice readers, a bit cartoonish for me
Another from the head-first series, this book presents in a more graphical-than-normal explanation of JQuery, from novice-to-intermediate, filled with a lot of examples. Many people would tend to enjoy reading books this way, and I can appreciate that for some this is the best way to learn a new language, but going on from previous titles such as Head First Java, I still haven't enjoyed the structure as much. Full Review >
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Building Viral Experiences with OpenSocial, OAuth, OpenID, and Distributed Web Frameworks
Doron's rating:
4.0
On Sep 23, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Great, detailed, comprehensive.
With the inception of Google+, along with the already-dominant Facebook and Twitter, it is important that developers who are supporting existing applications, look to extend their brand across the social-sphere, and this book, Programming Social Applications , aims to educate the readers on the various options available out there today. The author, Jonathan LeBlanc starts off with the basics, underlying the various containers that make up a Social Application, before looking at the arguments between proprietary and open-source implementations. Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
5.0
On Sep 11, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Easy to follow, 62 pages of bliss
I have just finished reading Just Spring, by Madhusudhan Konda, after taking on some minor roles in certain Java projects. With Spring now the renowned framework when Java is mentioned as an approach to a solution, it is vital that the fundaments of the framework is understood, and having a book that is solely focused on that idea, separating non-essential information and allowing the reader to enjoy the Spring framework in itself, no interference with Hibernate and other concepts, the author does an amicable job. Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
4.0
On Jul 27, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Concise and focused, good as a reference
Okay, today we are going to review JQuery Mobile, by Jon Reid. To put up the disclaimer, I have always been hesitant to touch jQuery or javascript, coming from a Flex background, but having seen a lot of impressive sites and mobile apps built purely out of HTML5/CSS3 and JQuery, I thought I might have to give this book a go. Full Review >
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Unleash Multicore Performance with Grand Central Dispatch
Doron's rating:
4.0
On Jun 23, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Comprehensive and essential part of iOS to warrant a book on it's own
A very important topic in my opinion, whether you are working on the Mac or iOS platform, is grand central dispatch, understanding the mechanics of queue marshalling and this book does the trick. It's short in size, but with iOS4 and Blocks, it makes working with something on the main thread, on a split thread, more comprehensible, and the author provides concrete examples on how to utilise them, but it's definitely not for the novice developers.
But for efficiently tweaking your code, for an intermediate developer, this book is a must, and I am a fan of Nahavandipoor, having read his previous book on Graphics. But I am happy with content level, I perhaps would keep this book as a reference and then dig deeper into it later, and even though I am primarily iOS (not Mac OSX) developer, it is good to understand how the principles work in iOS's cousin, the desktop OS. Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
4.0
On May 31, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Small but powerful, gets you rolling fast
I am the curious minded and for me, looking to play with the Android SDK has been on my to-do-list for a while. I did review an Android book by O'Reilly a few weeks back, but it was through the use of Java and the Android SDK officially. As a Flex developer by background, I have been eagerly awaiting this book,Developing Android Applications with Flex 4.5 by Rich Tretola, as it gives me the chance to experiment with Flash Builder 4.5 and creating Android applications with the more familiar Flex. Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
4.0
On May 11, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: The prime first Android book for Java developers
Learning Android is my first foray into learning native Android development. I was really taken aback by the style and structure of the book, as the author based each of the modules/chapters around a major project application, Twitter that you would create. He would then iteratively create a more improved version of the app, as you learn more and more things. I found this method to be a stellar way of learning, and something others should be doing, for other books and languages.
Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
5.0
On May 8, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Concise, Useful and just the book Ive been waiting for
The first android book that I am going to review, but this book in particular is on how to develop Android applications with Flex, more specifically. The book, titled Developing Android Applications with Adobe Air by Véronique Brossier is the book I have been waiting for a while. While there are tons of resources on developing droid applications natively with Java and the Android SDK, a book for Flex developers on how to leverage their existing skills has been quite scarce, or at least non-centralised. Full Review >
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A Beginner's Guide to Core Graphics and Core Animation
Doron's rating:
3.0
On May 4, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Good solid Graphics Background but not enough meat in CoreAnimation
A subset topic in Objective-C/Cocoa, Graphics and Animation guides the reader on one of the most daunting subjects for a beginner, CoreAnimation, Core Graphics and UIKit Drawing.
Vandad Nahavandipoor dedicates his book to the UI aspect, focusing on parts which are just touched upon in the more general iOS books, such as working with UIFonts, Gradient Drawing, as well as the more complex 3D Transformation and moving of objects along paths. Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
4.0
On Apr 29, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Quintessential to Developers as well as Managers
The book focuses on a prescribed methodology, formulated by the Project Management Institute, structured via Microsoft's management tool, Microsoft Project 2010. Okay, well I don't use and won't use MS Project, as I use a mac, but applying basic principles to other tools, such as Merlin for Mac I still find this book to be potent in helping me manage my own project, or a project with a collaborator. Full Review >
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Fundamentals of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Development
Doron's rating:
4.0
On Apr 5, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Thick and juicy, touches on everything
This is my first uncut book that I am reviewing, and despite having that label, having being released without being edited in this current rough form, I find it to be quite the contrary. I haven't found any rough parts of the book, and the organisation of the book is exemplary. Full Review >
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An O'Reilly Breakdown
Doron's rating:
4.0
On Mar 29, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Essential, Informative, Interesting
Another of the video books I get form O'Reilly, this topic particularly interested me. Unit Testing is one which isn't as widely talked about in iOS literature but is an essential part of development. This excellent video provides an insight, beautifully segmented to provide an easy to understand flow into unit testing. How to set up and layout your tests, and the rationale behind why you should be testing. The most obvious that Dan tells us, is the fact that you won't see your app on the app store unless it's tested and works. Full Review >
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A Developer's Guide
Doron's rating:
4.0
On Feb 23, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Short, great, meat-y and useful.
Always thought PayPal needed it's own dedicated book and here it is. Michael Balderas provides a concise book (yes it's a bit small) that details how to use the PayPal API, working with PHP and Objective-C (although I doubt the relativity of Obj-C considering iOS developers won't be able to make use of third-party payment APIs), you will learn to integrate PayPal into your website or application.
Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
4.0
On Feb 21, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Short but useful
A concise reference 'cookbook' guide for developers who want to integrate 'free' public data into their website or application, Pete Warden provides a guide to the APIs. The organisation of the book is quite logical, based on the subject of data you want to work with, such as websites, services, information on names of people, search APIs, and so on. Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
4.0
On Feb 6, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Excellent How-to-do Cookbook
Pretty much a 'cookbook', is why I decided to review this book, being a big fan of other O'Reilly cookbooks. I am not one to want to read up on basics when you have to skip pages and chapters. With a reference book like SQL Pocket Guide, the author does a great job with this third-edition in dividing the chapters according to function and purpose of a task, from trying to remember how to do the different types of JOINS, to DateTime conversions working with Cubes. Full Review >
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An O'Reilly Breakdown
Doron's rating:
4.0
On Feb 3, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Good topic, but drags on for bit
This is the first O'Reilly video I have reviewed, after mostly being a book reader. Unlike going to sites like Lynda.com to get out whole courses, this is a concise set of videos that total up to 1-2 hours, that serve a specific purpose. This is not for the intermediary developer, but someone in-between, who wants to learn how to do a specific thing. Full Review >
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Solutions & Examples for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Apps
Doron's rating:
5.0
On Feb 1, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Brilliant reference book! A must for iOS Devs
One of my most anticipated sort of book, a cookbook for iOS. After falling in love with other Cookbooks, such as the Flex and SQL cookbooks, this book gets the most prominent spot on my bookshelf (or e-book shelf). For the intermediary developers, this book follows the same cookbook format in providing concise and essential reference to all the components of an iOS application, for the iPhone or iPad. Full Review >
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Analyzing Data from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Other Social Media Sites
Doron's rating:
4.0
On Feb 1, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Great but hacking required!
Hot off the press this month, this book combines techniques and methods for aggregating and mining data from the most popular Social Networks, such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Written as a cookbook, the author does not hide the fact that the reader will have to get 'knee-deep' in Python development, and to be a bit savvy in Javascript/HTML5 is also advisable. Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
4.0
On Jan 29, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Desk essential for jQ developers
Like most O'Reilly cookbooks, this follows the same usual familiar pattern and serving the same purpose, of being a quick fire reference to how to do most things, without the author waffling on, that is commonly associated with most books that are thicker. If you have read a previous cookbook you would know that this book only serves those who have have the basic understanding of how this technology works, have worked with it before or have read a more comprehensive introduction to JQuery. Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
5.0
On Jan 27, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: The missing supplement to Office goodness
A huge update for Mac Users who have been trying to keep their enterprise-applications on-par with their Windows counterparts, and with Microsoft's great leap, Office 2011 for Mac is definitely the 'missing manual' for users like me. Full Review >
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The Guide for Discriminating Downloaders
Doron's rating:
3.0
On Jan 24, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Great for newbie or your parents
If you are to give a new iPad to a friend or family, this is the book that goes with the iPad. Or why not bundle it as an ebook within the iPad? Peter Meyers disseminates the App Store into categories, based on whether the user is looking for Apps for Work for instance, sub-categorising that into TO-DO Lists and Making Calculations, thus giving the user the ability to search by activity/need. Full Review >
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Doron's rating:
4.0
On Jan 24, 2011 Doron Katz wrote: Review of Designing Interfaces, Second Edition by O'Reilly Publishing
Jennifer Tidwell presents an essential guide to how to plan the User Interface of your project, whether it be for a website or mobile. Presented in a consistent sequence, the book adds a great wealth of knowledge to the why and what sort of layouts to design... Full Review >
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