Description: Don't waste time on 1,000-page tomes full of syntax; this book is all you need to get ahead in XML development. Renowned web developer Sas Jacobs presents an essential guide to XML. Beginning XML with DOM and Ajax is practical and comprehensive. It includes everything you need to know to get up to speed with XML development quickly and painlessly.

Jacobs begins by presenting an overview of XML--it's syntax, rules, vocabularies, and the hows and whys of validity. She also covers the current state of XML support in today's web browsers. Next, Jacobs covers all of the basic essential uses of XML. You'll learn how to display XML data using CSS, and transform XML data using XSLT. You'll even learn about dynamic XML scripting using the XML DOM.

Description: Vertex and pixel shader programming allows graphics and game developers to create photorealistic graphics on the personal computer for the first time. And with DirectX, programmers have access to an assembly language interface to the transformation and lighting hardware (vertex shaders) and the pixel pipeline (pixel shaders). Direct3D ShaderX begins with an introduction to vertex and pixel shader programming and moves on to a wide array of specialized shader tricks contributed by 27 experts in game and graphics programming. These range from character animation and lighting to photorealistic faces and non-photorealistic rendering. Special effects shaders are also presented, including those for such effects as bubbles, rippling water, animated grass, and particle flows.

Description: In the 90s, Microsoft did the impossible and released a programming tool that let everyone write programs to run on Windows. I was so excited about that tool, Visual Basic, that I wrote a series of books on it and introduced nearly a quarter of a million people all over the world to programming.

Now Microsoft has done it again with the release of the Express tools. With nearly every home now having a computer and most people having access to the Internet, being able to take control of the computer and write your own programs is more useful and exciting than ever. So I decided to do it again.

Description: Containing 277 business case studies that illustrate nearly every aspect of Excel, this book presents real-life business problems and works them through to their solutions. In addition to exemplary solutions, each case analysis considers alternate approaches and gotchas, and includes a summary of the necessary commands and functions. Excel files that can be downloaded and worked through step-by-step are included for each case.

Description: In 2000, Jakob Nielsen, the world??�s leading expert on Web usability, published a book that changed how people think about the Web??�Designing Web Usability (New Riders). Many applauded. A few jeered. But everyone listened. The best-selling usability guru is back and has revisited his classic guide, joined forces with Web usability consultant Hoa Loranger, and created an updated companion book that covers the essential changes to the Web and usability today. Prioritizing Web Usability is the guide for anyone who wants to take their Web site(s) to next level and make usability a priority! Through the authors??� wisdom, experience, and hundreds of real-world user tests and contemporary Web site critiques, you??�ll learn about site design, user experience and usability testing, navigation and search capabilities, old guidelines and prioritizing usability issues, page design and layout, content design, and more!

Description: SAP Query Reporting is everything an SAP user needs to know to create your own reports in SAP using Query tools, no programming required! Designed as a hands-on learning aid, you will be able to follow along and perform each new skill learned on your own SAP system. The book's tutorial style, step-by-step instruction will teach you everything you need to know to use the SAP Query tools, including its configuration, advanced usage, and integration to Microsoft. Additionally the book gives best business practice recommendations for the technology and internal business use of the tools. Learn to:
* Understand query security, table reads, and table joins
* Perform basic and advanced calculations
* Incorporate pictures and graphics into reports
* Configure shortcuts and tran codes, schedule jobs and email PDFs
* Utilize SAP Reporting with Microsoft Office applications

Description: Developers are hungry for a concise, easy-to-use reference that puts essential code "phrases" at their fingertips. JavaScript, and the related AJAX, is hot and there is little to no information on how to use JavaScript to develop AJAX-based applications. While there are many JavaScript books on the market, most of them are dated and few cover the most recent developments, such as AJAX.

JavaScript Phrasebook is the guide to JavaScript and AJAX that you can and will take with you everywhere. Skipping the usual tutorial on JavaScript and introducing AJAX as one of the first published works on the topic, the JavaScript Phrasebook goes straight to practical JavaScript and AJAX tools, providing immediately applicable solutions for frequent tasks and code so flexible that it is easily adapted to the your individual needs.

Description: Do you want to master Flash video work, and work your way toward creating awesome, mind-blowing, interactive web applications? Well, don't go any further--this full color book is all you need to step into the future.

When Flash Professional 8 was released, it seemed as if we'd embarked on a web video revolution almost overnight. Up until then, web video was a morass of competing players, technologies, standards, codecs, and playback quality. The inclusion of the On2 VP6 codec, the FLV Playback component, alpha channel video, and the Flash 8 Video Encoder has ended the infancy of web video, creating an instant benchmark with no stops in between.