"Delphi" again; who would've guessed... Years ago I used Delphi 1, followed by Delphi 2, then stopped using it. I can't remember why, really. I did use Clarion for Windows and VB a bit, so maybe it was just too many things going on at the same time. Anyhow, my new job requires Delphi, so another library of books is coming up. At first blush, I do like it quite a bit (again). If I really have to switch from C++ to something else, or have to add a second daily computing language, Delphi is probably the nicest thing around. It can't replace C++ for pure machismo pain, but it's definitely a close second. (Sep 2001) (No comments yet)

Bucknall, Wordware, 2001
It's a mini-Knuth for Delphi. Several very interesting algorithms are developed in pure Delphi. It's great reading, since you get to see how a real slick Delphi programmer programs (Bucknall is one of the lead programmers at TurboPower). The only thing I didn't like was that the code at times is full of little $IFDEFs for Delphi 1. I would have thought Delphi 1 could have been left out of consideration by now, but of course, I may be wrong. I got through most of the book in about two days, without doing any hands-on coding, just reading. I'm absolutely convinced I'll go back and use quite a bit of the code in here as I get further along in my current projects. (2/2002) (No comments yet)

Teixeira - Pacheco, Sams, 2002
Somebody didn't think through the design and title real well. The first few times I saw this title, I was absolutely convinced it was the same book that's distributed with the Delphi 6 package. The title is identical, it's about the same number of pages and the cover is very similarly designed. Only the Borland book has no authors (and we all know what to think of books without authors). After getting my hands on the book in a bookstore and seeing with my own disbelieving eyes that this is indeed something totally different, did I relent and use somebody elses money to buy it. Again, I bought (but this time didn't pay for) a book from Sams and again, unexpectedly, it turned out allright. It's 1200 pages, so it should last for a while, but you can get through 100-200 pages a day assuming you've got nothing much else to do. So far, I'm happy. I'm learning stuff and I'll probably become a better human being through it. (Added Jan 2002) (No comments yet)

Marco Cantu, Sybex, 2001
I'm digesting this book onion style, layer by layer. Skim, skim and skim again. So far, I'm very pleasantly surprised. It's full of good stuff and thin on light material. Usually, I avoid anything "Mastering" as it's usually on the dumb side of "for dummies". I usually avoid Sybex too, for similar reasons. This book does not support any of my favorite prejudices about either category, however, so maybe I was wrong. Unlikely, but possible (I'm very humble about those things). (Added Sep 2001) (No comments yet)