Book Review: MongoDB: The Definitive Guide by Kristina Chodorow (O'Reilly, 2nd Edition)

This is a very organized, detailed, and very easy to learn book.

As a developer who had just heard about MongoDB, I was able to get up and running with the first four chapters itself. The next four chapters focuses on indexing, aggregating, collecting, and using MapReduce. This is more than enough to get you into full swing. The rest of the book covers administration, replication, sharding, etc.

Whether you are MongoDB developer, administrator, or deployment person, you will find a lot of relevant information for your projects in this book. 

Video Review: Software Architecture Fundamentals - Part 2 by Neal Ford and Mark Richards

If you have read my earlier review http://santoshonsoftware.blogspot.com/2014/04/video-review-software-architecture.html, this is a continuation of the same series for Part 2.

No architecture is a silver bullet. One of the videos explains the trade-offs in choosing different solutions for the same problem. You have to give up something for the greater good. The videos provide coverage on comparing architectures, web services and messaging, SOA architectures, etc. I really enjoyed the video series as this was a much needed thing at this point in my career. I feel confident about being a great architect, defending my design, sticking to industry standards, and providing robust and future-proof solutions to complex IT problems.

Again, I would have given 6-stars to this series but am allowed to give only 5. 

Video Review: Software Architecture Fundamentals - Part 1 by Neal Ford, Mark Richards

Neal Ford and Mark Richards are legendary folks in the Software Architecture world so naturally I was excited to get my hands on this video, part 1.

Being an "Architect" means different things to different people. It is a very complex, scary, world. The expectations are boundless. There are all kinds of architects in the IT world and I had a poor understanding of it before I went through this video. I was impressed by the coverage of all aspects and types of architects. Whether it is continuous delivery, tooling, navigating the political landscape, documentation, design patterns, etc - all are covered in great depth. The feeling is refreshing after you finish this series. A good sense of humor from both the architects keeps the interest piqued.

 The demand and pay for architects is at an all time high. It is the best time in the IT industry to become an architect. The challenges are endless and the bar is really set high. This video puts things in the right perspective and would be instrumental in your success as an architect.

Once you go through this video, no one would be able to challenge your knowledge of what an architect should be or should not be doing. I would have given this 6-stars hands-down but the current system lets me give only 5-stars. 

Book Review: Learn to program with Scratch A Visual Introduction to Programming with Games, Art, Science, and Math

Learn to Program with Scratch

A Visual Introduction to Programming with Games, Art, Science, and Math

By Majed Marji

Publisher: No Starch Press

Released: February 2014

Pages: 288

This is one of those books that I didn't read but feel confident to review. Let me explain - I let my 9-year old read it instead. My kid was thrilled to receive this book and try out the exercises. It rarely came to me for any explanation except for installation of Scratch and some random troubleshooting. 

This is definitely a book I would recommend to any kid. It is very clear and examples are very simple and easy to follow. It kept my kid motivated and is helping him spend his summer vacation well. 

Video Review: Douglas Crockford JavaScript Master Class (O'Reilly)

Having read Douglas Crockford's Javascript articles and blogs, I was naturally inquisitive to try out his JavaScript Master Class. Overall, I found the contents to be very good and relevant today even though this was released in 2009.

Of course, some tracks could have been done a little better. For example, the starting video of "History of the language" is 44 minutes. It should have been trimmed to under 10 minutes, in my honest opinion. I would have liked more coverage on the other sections rather than 44 minutes on the history.

I finally understood the various inheritance mechanisms in JavaScript thanks to the coverage on pseudo-classical  prototypical  and functional inheritance. The coverage on the "Theory of the DOM part one and two" provide insights into the complex DOM model and how the browsers render them.

There are many snippets throughout the video that are enjoyable thanks to Doug's sense of humor. Overall, a good buy for those that are new to JavaScript. This doesn't qualify as a "Master class" but it is very good nevertheless. 

Book Review: Samsung Galaxy S4: The Missing Manual by Preston Gralla (O'Reilly)

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is a beautiful, sophisticated piece of art. Nothing short of amazing. However, to be able to use it like a pro, the manual that ships with the phone is pretty insignificant. You could either discover by talking with fellow S4 owners or look up videos online. This book seeks to put all that information in a simple-to-understand format so you can easily go through it step-by-step.

Wow, I didn't know my Galaxy S4 could do that! Many a time, this was my reaction when I read about something that I wasn't aware of. The book has a lot of graphics and screenshots that make it a real pleasure to read and understand. When I got my new S4, I had often wondered what certain options meant and how some apps were used and this book actually covered those topics very well. I actually started using some of the apps, like S Health, after reading this book.

Of the many things I learned, I could sync my calendar with Google Calendar and Outlook, start watching movies and TV shows while they are loading, send pictures and videos wirelessly to your TV, etc. Pretty neat book and expansive coverage overall. This book is actually 485 pages but you should be able to skim through it pretty fast. 

Book Review: The LEGO Build-It Book, Vol. 1 Amazing Vehicles By Nathanael Kuipers, Mattia Zamboni Publisher: No Starch Press

The LEGO Build-It Book, Vol. 1

Amazing Vehicles

By Nathanael Kuipers, Mattia Zamboni

Publisher: No Starch Press

Released: July 2013

Pages: 136

When I showed the book cover to my 8-year old son, he just couldn't resist the temptation. He kept on asking me to get the book for him which I eventually did. I must say this book has made him happy and engaged.

I am glad that the book has a one-pager with a "bill of materials". That allowed me to take a printout with me and my son to the Lego shop "pick  a brick" section. If you already have a couple of Lego toys for building cars, you probably don't need to buy the parts at all.

The graphics in this book are really crisp and delightful unlike the Lego manuals. The detail step by step instructions make it easy to make progress for a kid. If you have Super Speedster Item: 5867, then you don't need to buy the parts.

Have fun for hours with your kids. I loaded the ebook on my laptop and projected to my big screen TV and enjoyed with my son.