As most writers will testify, writing a book entails a fair amount of hard work. It follows that one needs a reason for undertaking the task in the first place. The easiest motivation to understand for writing a book, and perhaps the most common one, is the desire for monetary reward. I do not know what inspired J. K. Rowling to write her...

As I write this, Java is just beginning its second decade. Unlike many other computer languages whose influence begins to wane over the years, Java’s has grown stronger with the passage of time. Java leapt to the forefront of Internet programming with its first release. Each subsequent version has solidified that position. Today,...

In recent years, a large amount of software development activity has migrated from the client to the server. The client-centric model, in which a client executes complex programs to visualize and manipulate data, is no longer considered appropriate for the majority of enterprise applications. The principal reason is deployment—it is a...

This book deals with the architecture of the network subsystem in the Linux kernel. The idea for this book was born at the Institute of Telematics at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, where the Linux kernel has been used in many research projects and its network functionality is modified or enhanced, respectively, in a...

The Formal Semantics of Programming Languages provides the basic mathematical techniques necessary for those who are beginning a study of the semantics and logics of programming languages. These techniques will allow students to invent, formalize, and justify rules with which to reason about a variety of programming languages. Although...

Slate-style computers have been around for a few years, but it took Apple to make them catch on with the general public in a big way when it introduced the iPad. This small, less than a pound-and-a-half wonder has sold millions of units in its first year for good reason: It’s well designed, feature rich, and opens up a world of...

Is perfectionism a good thing or does it get in our way? In The Perfectionist's Handbook, clinical psychologist Jeff Szymanski helps readers navigate their way out of the "perfectionism paradox": if your intentions are good (wanting to excel) and the...

Contextual computing has been around for several years with a variety of names such as pervasive computation and omnipresent computing. Recently there has been a drive toward making personal digital assistants (PDAs) more aware of their environment. For example, a cell phone may sense that it is in a conference room and reason that it should...