<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: I wanted to learn Crystal Reports 9 and this was excellent
Review: Already a SQL, VB, and .NET programmer, I wanted o add CR to the repetoire. I picked this book up from Amazon and was pleasantly surprised with the depth and descriptions. If you're looking for a book that gives you the low down on CR, pick this one up. I also travel as a consultant often and this book is not a 1,200 page tome either (which I appreciate). Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing for the Non-Beginner
Review: Here are the good points:
. the examples do follow through many of the features of Crystal Reports 9 Here are the bad points:
. there is a lot of unnecessary verbiage which pads out the size of the book; the verbiage is intended to make the text friendly, but for someone trying to determine how a feature works, it is highly obstructive and irritating
. the typeface in which the book is set is quite difficult to read
. the examples do not pass on understanding of the principles of each feature; the attempt to grasp a general concept gets drowned in the details
. many features (too numerous to mention) are glossed-over, including advanced features needed by the enterprise programmer
. the index includes references which are totally useless (e.g. McLuhan, Marshall who has absolutely nothing to do with the topic) and lacks completely necessary references
. while not a "1,200 page tome" (see another review) it is a 639 page tome While the title includes the word "Master", this book is really for the programming beginner. For example, veterans do not need another tedious review of object-oriented programming, or SQL, or Basic language syntax, and so on. Seeing as there are entire libraries on these topics, the reviews are necessarily inadequate anyhow.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for Developers.
Review: I have been using crystal reports for several years; I really wanted to learn how to correctly deploy reports on the Web. This book really helped me out in that area. I went from knowing nothing about Crystal Report version 8.5 and 9.0 web features to implementing custom reporting solutions that will be used for our clients. We had several ideas on how reporting should be implemented and thank goodness Crystal has already done that for us. This book even showed me how to use the existing code provided by Crystal and implementing it with our applications. In past I have had problems with correctly displaying reports within a web browser. It also helped me cleared all the confusions. If you are trying to make sense out of web deployment give this book a try. I would also recommend "Crystal Reports 9 The Complete Reference ISBM 0-07-222519-X" by Osborne.
Good Luck
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing for a beginner
Review: I'm a Crystal Reports beginner. This book is not useful at all. You can easily create a simple report by following the steps described in first two chapters. However, after that, I was totally lost. The book describes a lot of things available in Crystal Reports without following samples. There are samples available for each chapter on the web. However, there was no connection between the samples and the book. I don't how the sample reports were produced and I just couldn't learn how to create reports by just reading the book. I'm very disappointed at the book.
Rating:
Summary: Great framework, Great examples
Review: This book really explained the new concepts in Crystal Reports 9 for me. That's good for me because I'll be able to apply these new features right away. One of the reasons the book worked for me is because it provides a framework for the features of Crystal Reports. My only complaint is that there were a couple of sections where I would liked more depth (though the book is already a brick), but it gives me enough information to find what I need. Since I'm primarily a programmer, the Visual Basic 6 and ASP were especially helpful--lots of good examples provided. I didn't need the chapter that introduced O-O but I thought it was really well written.
Rating:
Summary: has to be the worst
Review: This has to be the worst title I have picked up in a while. The author rambles on and on and on about things that have nothing to do with Crystal Reports. Endless filler material here with sample code that looks like it came straight from the Crystal web site. In terms of report design and use, Crystal: The Complete Reference (Peck) is a much better book and I wish I could swap this one for it!
Rating:
Summary: Best & Comprehensive
Review: This is one of the best and most content rich of all the Crystal Reports books.
Contains everything from the most basic usage to the more complex reports, formulas, SQL and programming issues.
If you are an instructor and need a book to use teaching CR this is the book for you.
<< 1 >>
| 
