Two Ways To Teach
In my previous life as a tech support for office workers, I heard this a lot from customers, "Oh, I don't want to know how it works. I just want to know what to do. Can't you just write down the steps for me?"
I've always resisted that approach because I fundamentally believe that using computers is so complex - and changes so often - that if you don't understand "how it works" you just won't be able to use one effectively.
So when I read the "Developer's Notebook" series introduction, I started to be deeply suspicious. "It's the no-nonsense code that solves problems, stripped of page-filling commentary ..."
Hmmmmm ... I've often wished for a little more commentary in some of those books. But I pushed ahead anyway.
A Pleasant Surprise!
First, the format really is light and refreshing. One of the series features is margin notes. Printed in a 'hand written' font, they turned out to be a lot friendlier and more useful than footnotes. Jeff Webb's writing style is light and friendly too! A perfect match for the format as well. If you have ever wished for an adult version of a "Dummies" book - one that didn't insult your intelligence and was aimed at professionals rather than newbies - this is your book!
The promise of code, right from the start, is really kept! The first excercise is on page 4. The first VB code is on page 6. Publishing a spreadsheet to a SharePoint server is on page 7. And a Web Services exercise is on page 9. And it gets better (worse?) from there. In addition - true to the 'future' orientation of the book - it's all about using XML in Excel 2003.
Wow! It's the "jump in the ocean" approach to learning how to swim. Just like a Microsoft seminar!
And support worked for me too!
I discovered a small detail that wasn't quite right in the book and sent Jeff an email about it. I got a very helpful reply ... and quite quickly too! But PLEASE don't bombard Jeff with a lot of trivial email! I know how tough it is to answer it and still get some work done!
So ... Is there a down side?
The introductions warn you right up front that if you don't know your way around a VB editor, you might feel a little lost sometimes. That's true. Little details that a longer (dare I say, "more boring") book would include are missing. But the "big idea" here is that you're watching a real guru do the magic. And a real guru probably wouldn't stop to explain about "Personal.XLS" either. If you already know about it, this book has the new and useful stuff you're looking for. If you don't, you might need something that starts closer to the beginning.What else could go wrong?
There are two possible scenarios for you, as a developer, with respect to the tidal wave of new technologies pouring from Microsoft.
- You work for a company that has already committed to Microsoft's SharePoint Team Services, InfoPath, ASP.NET, ADO.NET and XML and the rest of it.
If so ... What are you waiting for? Buy this book and go for it!
- You see the potential for incredibily sophisticated information systems that can result from all of these new technologies and you want to know more!
The bottom line here is that companies like IBM (with their Java and Eclipse products) and Novell (with their new focus on Linux and the Mono project) have some pretty good moxie too. Learning all this stuff is like buying stock in an attractive and forward looking new company. Even really good ones sometimes go bankrupt.
The Bottom Line
Jeff Webb's new book delivers exactly what it promises at an attractive price with no frills. Web page support is up to O'Reilly's excellent standards too! It may not be what everyone is looking for, but if you want a really forward-looking and compact read into the future of programming with Microsoft technologies - Buy this book!
List Price: $29.95 US
ISBN 0-596-00767-1
August, 2004
