Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Unleashed (2nd Edition)

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Unleashed, 2E offers a variety of topics for system and database administrators to help them learn new features of the product and to solve problems they face on a daily basis. It shows them how to build upon their working knowledge of the product and take their experience and knowledge to a higher level. This new edition of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Unleashed covers the latest updates and service packs to SQL Server 2000, including full support for XML, notification services, and SQL Server CE.

Professional J2EE Programming with BEA WebLogic Server

Despite its wordy title, Professional Java 2 Enterprise Edition with BEA WebLogic Server actually is one of the better books that you can get for learning JSP-based programming with Java and Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs). By highlighting practical matters--including setting up and running the popular BEA WebLogic Server, and benchmarking performance--the authors manage to cover the essentials of EJB-based development in a friendly and intelligent style that's ideal for any aspiring Java EJB developer.

The focus on hands-on matters begins with installation and configuration of BEA WebLogic Server, one of the more widely used platforms for running EJB applications. Most books cover EJBs more theoretically and leave deployment by the wayside. By focusing on an actual EJB product, the authors can talk about what works and what doesn't work in real applications. For examples, a single case study for a chain of pizza shops gets enhanced in stages, first with a Web front end for ordering pizzas, then with other features--including call-center support, e-mail, and XML. A section on converting an ASP version of a front end for this sample application into a JSP version is a highlight.

The latter half of this text turns into a primer on benchmarking. A benchmark (called the Grinder) measures performance, with a wide range of choices for EJBs that run on WebLogic. Different Java Virtual Machines (JVMs) and choices for implementing the applications (for example, stateful vs. stateless EJBs) are tested, and the numbers of concurrent users (up to 400) are varied. The result is a solid glimpse into the choices that give the best performance on WebLogic.

Besides covering the basics of building e-commerce applications with JSPs and EJBs, this book has a genuinely practical side. The case study is very useful, as is the plentiful performance advice. Smart, friendly, and well organized, this title strikes an excellent balance between presenting information on some of the latest Java technology and APIs, and showing just how to do it on a real EJB platform and with real code. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

• Introduction to Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE)
• Getting started with BEA WebLogic Server: features and administration
• "Webifying" existing applications
• Introduction to JavaServer Pages (JSPs)
• Overview of BEA dbKona and htmlKona for simpler JSP/servlet development
• JSP architectures (Model 1 and Model 2)
• Using Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs)
• Session beans, including stateless session beans
• Entity beans (container-managed and bean-managed persistence)
• Converting ASPs to JSPs
• Sending e-mail and the Java Message Service
• Security issues for Web applications, including authentication, SSL, and authorization
• Introduction to Wireless Markup Language (WML) and wireless applications
• Stress-testing performance for Web applications
• Grinder (custom benchmark for performance testing)
• Comparative benchmark scores (comparing JVMs, stateful and stateless beans, entity beans, and clustering options for up to 400 users)
• Case study for chain of pizza shops with e-commerce features and call centers
• JSP syntax reference

Windows Assembly Language & Systems Programming

Windows Assembly Language & Systems Programming
Provides Windows programmers with details of and deep insights into the inner system functions of Microsoft Windows Essential for Win95 and other advanced Windows programmers Ideal for software developers who are moving applications from Windows 3.x t o Windows 95 Includes disk of example programs, source code, documentation, and utilities

In this book and disk set, Barry Kauler explains the exacting details of Windows programming at the system level. He dissects the fundamentals of hardware man agreement and explores the history and advanced architectural details of Windows, the PC processor family, and systems programming in Real and Protected modes. For everything from BIOS, direct hardware access, and virtual machines to real-time events and options for managing program transitions, Kauler gives the how-to information and example code advanced software developers need for the full range of Windows systems-level programming for Windows 3.1 to Windows 95. For programmers new to Windows, this book demystifies assembly language programming for Microsoft Windows. Kauler thoroughly examines the basic concepts of Windows, and reveals systems programming tips and tricks. He explains the architectures of the microprocessor hardware, and how these features affect programming; introduces object-oriented programming from a nuts-and-bolts perspective; demonstrates how to write complete object-oriented assembly language programs in as little as nine lines; shows how to interface C and assembly code; takes readers "inside" Windows to learn the architectural details that Microsoft never publicly documented; explains how to move between Real and Protected modes; illustrates the art of thinking from 16 bits to 32 bits and back again; and provides detailed, hard-to-find reference information. Plus, Kauler's companion disk is a treasure trove of example programs, useful source code, further documentation, and powerful utilities.

VoIP Hacks : Tips & Tools for Internet Telephony (Hacks)

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is gaining a lot of attention these days, as more companies and individuals switch from standard telephone service to phone service via the Internet. The reason is simple: A single network to carry voice and data is easier to scale, maintain, and administer. As an added bonus, it's also cheaper, because VoIP is free of the endless government regulations and tariffs imposed upon phone companies.

VoIP is simply overflowing with hack potential, and VoIP Hacks is the practical guide from O'Reilly that presents these possibilities to you. It provides dozens of hands-on projects for building a VoIP network, showing you how to tweak and customize a multitude of exciting things to get the job done. Along the way, you'll also learn which standards and practices work best for your particular environment. Among the quick and clever solutions showcased in the book are those for:

• gauging VoIP readiness on an enterprise network
  
• using SIP, H.323, and other signaling specifications
  
• providing low-layer security in a VoIP environment
  
• employing IP hardphones, analog telephone adapters, and softPBX servers
  
• dealing with and avoiding the most common VoIP deployment mistakes
  

In reality, VoIP Hacks contains only a small subset of VoIP knowledge-enough to serve as an introduction to the world of VoIP and teach you how to use it to save money, be more productive, or just impress your friends. If you love to tinker and optimize, this is the one technology, and the one book, you must investigate.

Running Linux

Earlier editions of O'Reilly's Running Linux served as central guides on installing, configuring, and using the OS. The third edition of this guide covers the kernel through version 2.2.1 and will prove especially useful to those with high technical aptitudes and a well-tested willingness to experiment with their computing environments.

The explanation of how to rebuild the kernel--a particularly daunting task for many--deserves special praise, as do the sections on configuring network links and servers. Users will find that the informative, prose-heavy style packs maximum information into this book's pages. For example, the purpose of a Linux element is described and then the reader is shown various ways of using it, complete with explicit statements of what you type and what you get in response. Back this book up with a good command reference (Linux in a Nutshell is solid), and you'll be well on your way to Linux mastery. --David Wall

Topics covered: KDE and Gnome windowing systems; Samba, file, and system management; shells; windowing systems and networking; installation on Alpha, PowerPC, Motorola 680x0, and Sparc boxes.

Mac OS X Unix 101 Byte-Sized Projects

Mac OS X Unix 101 Byte-Sized Projects

Unix is no longer someone else's OS. With Mac OS X built on top of it, Unix is becoming a household name, and more and more Mac users are ready to take it on. This book is for them!

Based on a popular series of Unix tips, this book promises to deliver what most other Unix guides fail to: comprehensive tutorials and instruction on specific Unix subjects, commands, and projects, not just a handy reference guide. Arranged into 101 mini tutorials in 11 key technology areas, this book provides all the tricks, techniques, and training that you need to understand how the system works and start using it immediately. You will quickly learn the basics to working with the Unix command line as well as work on specific tutorials/exercises, including: browsing and searching the directory file-system; viewing, searching, and processing file content; using text editors; shell scripting; cool commands; and more.