Pro OpenSolaris: A New Open Source OS for Linux Developers and Administrators
Harry J, Foxwell, PhD & Christine Tran
Apress, 280pp.
ISBN: 978-1430218913
Reviewed by Brandon Ching

Choosing a development environment for either desktop or web based application development is generally a trivial thought experiment. Most experienced developers have their preferences and generally don’t deviate much unless a new method or tool becomes available that better fits their development needs. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Book Review, linux, OpenSolaris, service management facility, zfs

Sexy Web Design
Elliot Jay Stocks
SitePoint, 172 pp.
ISBN-13: 978-0980455236
Reviewed by Brandon Ching

I do not have a single creative bone in my body! OK, that’s probably an exaggeration but when it comes to designing an innovative, attractive, and useable web site, I definitely could use a helping hand. As a web developer, I am generally responsible for the data in our sites rather than the look & feel; that’s the UI team’s domain!

However, not all developers have access to professional UI resources and, depending on the situation, many of us often wear a number of different hats. As such, Sexy Web Design by Elliot Jay Stocks is a book that seems made for folks like me who know a little something about the basics of web design, but are nowhere near creative experts. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: basics, Book Review, Developer, ENT, experience, fact, fundamentals, help, IT, research, review, sexy web design, technique, UI

Cloud Application Architectures: Building Applications and Infrastructure in the Cloud
George Reese
O’Reilly Media, Inc., 204 pp.
ISBN 978-0596156367
Reviewed by Brandon Ching

Cloud computing has thrust itself into the technological spotlight as a powerful yet somewhat enigmatic solution for a scalable and cost effective alternative IT infrastructure. The opportunities offered by cloud computing hint at the potential for seemingly limitless extensibility in both storage and processing power. Yet despite the promises of cloud computing, application and infrastructure development in the cloud has its own challenges and inherent limitations. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Amazon, Book Review, cloud computing, EC2, infrastructure, Reese, S3

Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide
Amy Shuen
O’Reilly Media, 266 pp.
ISBN: 978-0596529963
Reviewed by Brandon Ching

Some say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that is indeed the case, then Amy Shuen has written an informative guideline for all of us to flatter the likes of Google, Flickr, Amazon, and Facebook. In Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide, Shuen analyzes the Web 2.0 movement by deconstructing the strategies used by successful web companies large and small; then explains the how and why of their success through Web 2.0 principles. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Book Review, social networking, strategy, web 2.0

Rails for PHP Developers
Derek DeVires, Mike Naberezny
The Pragmatic Bookshelf, 406 pp.
ISBN 978-1-934356-04-3
Reviewed by Brandon Ching

As a long time PHP developer, the advent of Ruby on Rails as a mainstream web development platform never quite peaked my interests; nor the interest of the majority of developers I have worked with over the years. The running joke being that if we simply used Ruby instead of PHP, there would most certainly be a buildEntireProject() method that would do all of our work for us. However, times change, and as developers it is our responsibility to explore new and different methods of getting work done; no matter how fruitless our initial expectations are. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Book Review, Developer, PHP, Rails, Ruby