Books Drop

Webster's New World Student Writing Handbook

2010-03-02T12:33:50+01:00

Now more portable and easier to navigate!

Webster's New World Student Writing Handbook, Fifth Edition has been refreshed and updated to give you a more portable and efficient reference for all of your high school and college writing needs!

From essays to feature articles, from book reports to scripts, you'll get coverage of all thirty-seven types of student writing, good writing principles, subject-specific writing samples, and important considerations for writing and the Internet. You'll enjoy updated coverage and improvements including:

All-new sections on term papers
A sleek interior design that makes content easier to navigate
Brand-new coverage of specific considerations when writing for various subjects, including English, social sciences, science, business, and technical subjects
Expanded content on job applications, college application essays, special program admission essays, and scholarship essays
A companion Web site features concrete examples of the topics covered in each core subject area

Acclaimed by fellow students, educators, and parents, Webster's New World Student Writing Handbook is your one-stop reference for writing top-quality essays, term papers, and reports—on any school subject.

==> Download <==

WordPress Bible

2010-03-02T12:30:58+01:00

Install WordPress and go beyond blogging

WordPress is so flexible that developers are now tapping it to create robust applications for content, contact, and e-mail management. Whether you're a casual blogger or programming pro, this comprehensive guide covers WordPress from the basics through advanced application development. Learn how to use custom plugins and themes, retrieve data, maintain security, use social media, and modify your blog without changing any core code. You'll even get to know the ecosystem of products that surrounds this popular, open-source tool.

Enhance your blog's findability in the search engines and beyond
Discover hooks and leverage the WordPress event-driven programming interface
Create WordPress widgets in only a few minutes
Explore alternate uses of WordPress
Enhance your blog with WordPress MU
Ensure your plugins maintain future compatibility
Create highly customizable and dynamic themes using template tags
Learn best security practices as a user and developer

==> Download <==

Beginning HTML, XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript

2010-03-02T12:11:34+01:00

An indispensable introductory guide to creating web pages using the most up-to-date standards

This beginner guide shows you how to use XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create compelling Web sites. While learning these technologies, you will discover coding practices such as writing code that works on multiple browsers including mobile devices, how to use AJAX frameworks to add interactivity to your pages, and how to ensure your pages meet accessible requirements.

Packed with real-world examples, the book not only teaches you how to write Web sites using XHTML, CSS and JavaScript, but it also teaches you design principles that help you create attractive web sites and practical advice on how to make web pages more usable. In addition, special checklists and appendices review key topics and provide helpful references that re-enforce the basics you've learned.

Serves as an ideal beginners guide to writing web pages using XHTML
Explains how to use CSS to make pages more appealing and add interactivity to pages using JavaScript and AJAX frameworks
Share advice on design principles and how to make pages more attractive and offers practical help with usability and accessibility
Features checklists and appendices that review key topics

This introductory guide is essential reading for getting started with using XHTML, CSS and JavaScript to create exciting and compelling Web sites.

==> Download <==

Professional SQL Server 2008 Internals and Troubleshooting

2010-03-02T12:00:03+01:00

A hands-on resource for SQL Server 2008 troubleshooting methods and tools

SQL Server administrators need to ensure that SQL Server remains running 24/7. Authored by leading SQL Server experts and MVPs, this book provides in-depth coverage of best practices based on a deep understanding of the internals of both SQL Server and the Windows operating system.

You'll get a thorough look at the SQL Server database architecture and internals as well as Windows OS internals so that you can approach troubleshooting with a solid grasp of the total processing environment. Armed with this comprehensive understanding, readers will then learn how to use a suite of tools for troubleshooting performance problems whether they originate on the database server or operating system side.

Topics Covered:

SQL Server Architecture
Understanding Memory
SQL Server Waits and Extended Events
Working with Storage
CPU and Query Processing
Locking and Latches
Knowing Tempdb
Defining Your Approach To Troubleshooting
Viewing Server Performance with PerfMon and the PAL Tool
Tracing SQL Server with SQL Trace and Profiler
Consolidating Data Collection with SQLDiag and the PerfStats Script
Introducing RML Utilities for Stress Testing and Trace File Analysis
Bringing It All Together with SQL Nexus
Using Management Studio Reports and the Performance Dashboard
Using SQL Server Management Data Warehouse
Shortcuts to Efficient Data Collection and Quick Analysis

==> Download <==

Professional XMPP Programming with JavaScript and jQuery

2010-03-02T11:55:49+01:00

Create real-time, highly interactive apps quickly with the powerful XMPP protocol

XMPP is a robust protocol used for a wide range of applications, including instant messaging, multi-user chat, voice and video conferencing, collaborative spaces, real-time gaming, data synchronization, and search. This book teaches you how to harness the power of XMPP in your own apps and presents you with all the tools you need to build the next generation of apps using XMPP or add new features to your current apps. Featuring the JavaScript language throughout and making use of the jQuery library, the book contains several XMPP apps of increasing complexity that serve as ideal learning tools.

Learn about XMPP's instant messaging features, such as rosters, presence and subscriptions, and private chats
Covers XMPP stanzas, stanza errors, and client protocol syntax and semantics
Discusses service discovery, data forms, and publish-subscribe
Addresses XMPP programming-related topics such as application design, event handling, and combining existing protocols
Details the best ways to deploy XMPP-based applications
Explains how to use Strophe's plugin system and how to create your own plugins

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

==> Download <==

Silverlight 3 Programmer's Reference

2010-03-02T11:52:32+01:00

This valuable reference—in full color—explains the major new release of Silverlight 3 which is dramatically improved over previous versions and makes the development of powerful Rich Interactive Applications (RIAs) achievable for everyone. Packed with examples and written by a highly-seasoned team of developers and designers, this book guides you through the languages, tools, and techniques that are used to build applications on the Silverlight 3 platform (Build 40522). Each chapter provides a mini-tutorial on the respective topic, and the examples serve to both educate and inspire you. The information in this book is structured to help prepare you for the real-world challenges you may face when building applications on the Silverlight platform. By the end of the book, you’ll have gained a thorough understanding of how Silverlight applications are architected, developed, and designed.

This book covers:

· XAML basics

· Silverlight 3 Tools for Visual Studio 2008, Expression Blend 3 and Silverlight Runtime and SDK

Transforming text with render transforms

· Using graphics, visuals and adding media for a richer user experience

· Building application, making it come alive and responding to user activity

· Setting up a control project and using a custom control in an application

==> Download <==

Accelerated C# 2010

2010-02-09T21:19:01+01:00

C# 2010 offers powerful new features, and this book is the fastest path to mastering them—and the rest of C#—for both experienced C# programmers moving to C# 2010 and programmers moving to C# from another object-oriented language. Many books introduce C#, but very few also explain how to use it optimally with the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR). This book teaches both core C# language concepts and how to wisely employ C# idioms and object-oriented design patterns to exploit the power of C# and the CLR.

This book is both a rapid tutorial and a permanent reference. You'll quickly master C# syntax while learning how the CLR simplifies many programming tasks. You’ll also learn best practices that ensure your code will be efficient, reusable, and robust. Why spend months or years discovering the best ways to design and code C# when this book will show you how to do things the right way from the start?

Comprehensively and concisely explains both C# 2008 and C# 2010 features
Focuses on the language itself and on how to use C# 2010 proficiently for all .NET application development.
Concentrates on how C# features work and how to best use them for robust, high-performance code

What you'll learn

How C# works with and exploits the CLR
How to use arrays, collections, and iterators
How to handle events with delegates and anonymous functions
How to design and use generic types and methods
How to thread efficiently and robustly
How C# anonymous types, lamba expressions, and extension methods work and how to use them

==> Download <==

Introducing .NET 4.0: with Visual Studio 2010

2010-02-09T21:15:55+01:00

Microsoft is introducing a large number of changes to the way that the .NET Framework operates. Familiar technologies are being altered, best practices replaced, and developer methodologies adjusted. Many developers find it hard to keep up with the pace of change across .NET's ever-widening array of technologies. You may know what's happening in C#, but how about the Azure cloud? How is that going to affect your work? What are the limitations of the new pLINQ syntax? What you need is a roadmap. A guide to help you see the innovations that matter and to give you a head start on the opportunities available in the new framework.

Introducing .NET 4.0: with Visual Studio 2010 is designed to provide you with just that roadmap. It serves as a no-nonsense primer that will help experienced .NET developers understand the impact of the new framework and its associated technologies.This book will keep you updated on the changes and help you to seize new opportunities confidently and quickly.

What you'll learn

Get an overview and brief history of each new or changing technology that puts it into context
Familiarize yourself with key concepts and opportunities through highly accessible tutorials
Understand how to perform common tasks in new technology areas such as pLINQ
Gain expert performance tips
See examples of real-world applications of each technology to help you learn how a technology can be put to work

==> Download <==

Pro Dynamic .NET 4.0 Applications: Data-Driven Programming for the .NET Framework

2010-02-09T21:12:21+01:00

As a developer you are likely painfully aware that not all features of an application can be anticipated when the software ships. In order to cope with these eventualities and save yourself time (and perhaps money), it makes sense to write your applications in such a way that end users can be made as independent of the developers as possible. Giving your users the power to make changes to the way the application operates once it has shipped gives them more control over the way the application works, while reducing the frequency with which you need to redistribute application files, creating a win-win situation.

This book explains how to give users the power to create additional data-entry fields, validation logic, and new reports without assistance from the application developer. You will learn how to do this for both desktop (C# and WPF) and web (ASP) applications.

What you'll learn

How to allow the user to create validation logic at runtime
How to define and instantiate controls at runtime and the pitfalls of doing so
How to create data-driven reports using Excel, Crystal Reports, and SQL Server Reporting Services
How to design a database structure for optimizing data-driven applications
How to build a user interface that allows users to modify their application visually

Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone wanting to distribute an application in which the user needs to be as independent of the developer as possible. By using the techniques described in the book, the user will have the power to make modifications to his own applications, and the developer will reduce the frequency with which he needs to redistribute EXEs.

==> Download <==

Networking Bible

2010-02-09T21:06:08+01:00

Everything you need to set up and maintain large or small networks

Barrie Sosinsky

Networking Bible

Create a secure network for home or enterprise

Learn basic building blocks and standards

Set up for broadcasting, streaming, and more

The book you need to succeed!

Your A-Z guide to networking essentials

Whether you're setting up a global infrastructure or just networking two computers at home, understanding of every part of the process is crucial to the ultimate success of your system. This comprehensive book is your complete, step-by-step guide to networking—from different architectures and hardware to security, diagnostics, Web services, and much more. Packed with practical, professional techniques and the very latest information, this is the go-to resource you need to succeed.

Demystify the basics: network stacks, bus architectures, mapping, and bandwidth
Get up to speed on servers, interfaces, routers, and other necessary hardware
Explore LANs, WANs, Wi-Fi, TCP/IP, and other types of networks
Set up domains, directory services, file services, caching, and mail protocols
Enable broadcasting, multicasting, and streaming media
Deploy VPNs, firewalls, encryption, and other security methods
Perform diagnostics and troubleshoot your systems

==> Download <==