Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional with MSDN Premium Review

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(More customer reviews)VS Pro + MSDN Premium is pretty much the sweet-spot in Microsoft's development tool subscription offerings if you're a serious individual developer who wants access to all of the MS software in a dev/test environment.
It's important to note that Amazon only sells the "Retail" license option, and if you go to one of Microsoft's official resellers (via the list on the MSDN site) you can buy the same thing through their Open license program and get a two or three year version of the MSDN Premium subscription for just slightly more than the Retail one-year subscription price!
If you have an active MSDN Premium subscription when VS 2010 launches, you'll get upgraded to the next higher tier of subscription for free (according to the MSDN and VS 2010 site) which will get you more commercial-use licenses for things like Expression Studio 3, and more of the new VS 2010 tools. See those MS sites for details.
The MSDN Premium subscription gets you access to almost all of Microsoft's software offerings of operating systems (workstations and servers), SQL Server, and their application products. Note that:
These are licensed (with a few exceptions like one full copy of Office) for Development and Testing purposes only. So if you use an MSDN Windows 7 license on your home PC and you use it for playing a game or doing your taxes or email etc., then you're in violation of the license.
They're licensed for a single named individual's unlimited use (for dev and test), so you can set up 100 huge Windows Server systems if you want, but if you have a second developer or anyone else use any of them then you're in violation of the license. You can't just buy one subscription and share the software with all your programmers.
The licences you get are perpetual (unlike with some other Microsoft programs like Empower) and do not expire when your subscription runs out. So if your subscription does expire, you can still use the versions of VS and the other software you had at that time.
If you don't need all the server OS versions and the commercial-use copy of Office, then you might consider the cheaper MSDN subscription offers. If you just want to learn to develop on Microsoft systems, then you can do a lot with the free Express editions of Visual Studio C#, C++, VB, SQL Server, etc. and you may not need to spend any money at all.
If you're a member of a big team that wants to buy completely into the Microsoft way, then there are even more ridiculously expensive team versions of the software you can buy (but you have to pay for each developer separately as here).
If you're a company developing a software product for Windows, you can sign up *very* cheaply for up to two years for the Microsoft Empower program that gives you five MSDN subscriptions and other goodies I believe (though the licenses expire at the end of the term) if you commit to shipping a commercial product within that time.
But if you're a single serious developer who wants access to pretty much the full suite of development tools (minus the fancy high-end team stuff) and all the MS operating systems, server software, applications, and you need a new version of Office for yourself, then this is the one to buy (or talk your boss into), preferably via a two or three year Open license version since it's only slightly more expensive than this one-year Retail version.
G.

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Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional Upgrade Review

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(More customer reviews)This is definately the best Visual Studio ever. I've been using it ever since the beta was released and bought the upgrade the very day my beta expired. I am amazed that so many things I wish VS did, now it does. I recently had to develop something in VS 2003 [due to framework requirements] and felt totally crippled after having the luxuary of Visual Studio 2008. Definately worth the upgrade!

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Visual Studio Pro 2008 Win32 English UPG DVDGeneralCategory:ApplicationsSubcategory:Visual StudioDistribution Media:DiskPackage Type:License w/DVDPlatform:WINSystem Requirements / OS Required:32-Bit WinUNSPSC CodeUNSPSC Code:43232407

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Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction Review

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(More customer reviews)It was a pleasure to find out that this book had been updated when I reads news of it. CC2 is a great one-stop 'place' to go to when you want a great excuse to apply Stephen Covey's 'Sharpen The Saw' principle. This updated version has some solid, fantastic, expert instruction on designing from scratch, whether it's OO, writing better routines, psuedocode, nested loops, or at the higher level: agile methods, etc..
McConnell's approach of talking to you, the programmer, is ideal: not too much humor, and an easy to read, but professional approach in the way he donates the contents of his brain: i.e. McConnell's lengthy experience in the field.
I read just a couple of paragraphs in a chapter before work one morning, and the advice I picked up saved so much time that same day. And it wasn't even specific to coding instruction. It was a piece of advice on a philosophy on how he personally determines how much upfront design he should settle on before coding.

Reading Software Construction material of this caliber, as compared to some, yet another, new book on a specific language that might look impressive to know, is what makes for a solid programmer.
Refreshing your overall S/W construction knowledge gives you so much more of your life back, because you will have way less bugs and a lot more fun maintaining the high-quality code you are now writing because of CC2.
I mentioned already that he covers OO, but I wanted to emphasize the excellent material he offers in this area. I am now seeing the benefit of measuring the quality of your classes by this guideline: are they true Abstract Data Types. ( rather than just trying to use the syntax that the language provides to its potential).
Great job on a rather thorough re-write of a S/W development staple.



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Widely considered one of the best practical guides to programming, Steve McConnell's original CODE COMPLETE has been helping developers write better software for more than a decade. Now this classic book has been fully updated and revised with leading-edge practices—and hundreds of new code samples—illustrating the art and science of software construction. Capturing the body of knowledge available from research, academia, and everyday commercial practice, McConnell synthesizes the most effective techniques and must-know principles into clear, pragmatic guidance. No matter what your experience level, development environment, or project size, this book will inform and stimulate your thinking—and help you build the highest quality code.

Discover the timeless techniques and strategies that help you:

Design for minimum complexity and maximum creativity
Reap the benefits of collaborative development
Apply defensive programming techniques to reduce and flush out errors
Exploit opportunities to refactor—or evolve—code, and do it safely
Use construction practices that are right-weight for your project
Debug problems quickly and effectively
Resolve critical construction issues early and correctly
Build quality into the beginning, middle, and end of your project

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Software Project Survival Guide (Pro -- Best Practices) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was disappointed in this book - perhaps it was a problem with expectations. McConnell's previous books - Code Complete and Rapid Development -were very well written and provided valuable insights into best practices in the computer industry. By attempting to do the same thing here, the author missed the mark. The Software Project Survival Guide presents a road map marked with good practice applied in a mature organization that understands the nature of software and responds rationally, providing the resources and time required to do the job right. The overwhelming majority of people who are taking on their first project management job will have few, if any, of the benefits that this book takes for granted.
Don't get me wrong. This is a great collection of really good ideas and it's really well written, but it doesn't give much guidance to the first-time project manager who needs to deal with misdirection and misunderstanding from those who he or she reports to. The book presents a fine set of suggestions on "Techniques for Really Good Project Management," but there isn't much on "Survival."

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Equip yourself with SOFTWARE PROJECT SURVIVAL GUIDE. It's for everyone with a stake in the outcome of a development project--and especially for those without formal software project management training. That includes top managers, executives, clients, investors, end-user representatives, project managers, and technical leads.

Here you'll find guidance from the acclaimed author of the classics CODE COMPLETE and RAPID DEVELOPMENT. Steve McConnell draws on solid research and a career's worth of hard-won experience to map the surest path to your goal--what he calls "one specific approach to software development that works pretty well most of the time for most projects." Nineteen chapters in four sections cover the concepts and strategies you need for mastering the development process, including planning, design, management, quality assurance, testing, and archiving. For newcomers and seasoned project managers alike, SOFTWARE PROJECT SURVIVAL GUIDE draws on a vast store of techniques to create an elegantly simplified and reliable framework for project management success.

So don't worry about wandering among complex sets of project management techniques that require years to sort out and master. SOFTWARE PROJECT SURVIVAL GUIDE goes straight to the heart of the matter to help your projects succeed. And that makes it a required addition to every professional's bookshelf.

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