Tad Anderson

This is the perfect book for the beginner and the advanced MVC developer. It is a one stop shop for learning the ASP.NET MVC 3 Framework. It starts out with a nice little sample application that will get beginners up to speed fast. It then covers the MVC Pattern in detail and how it relates to Domain-Driven Development, Repositories, Dependency Injection, and Automated Testing. Next the is a chapter on the C# features a good MVC developer needs in their tool belt, as well as the Razor syntax. This chapter does a good job of introducing the Razor view engine. Then there is a chapter on the essential tools MVC developers should understand. This chapter covers Ninject, Unit Testing and Moq. In the next three chapters the authors take you through building a real application. Everything is included from the views to the repository (using Entity Framework 4.1), to the databas... (more)

Book Review: Enterprise Architecture

After reading Architecture Principles and Enterprise Architecture at Work I decided I would also read this book and Enterprise Governance and Enterprise Engineering as well. I am starting Enterprise Governance and Enterprise Engineering now. This series is great!!! I recommend every Enterprise Architect buy the series. This book was the first of the series. It is only 145 pages long, but it is packed full of valuable information. This book puts Enterprise Architecture into context. It gives a complete picture of Enterprise Architecture. It starts with a great chapter on why Enterpr... (more)

Communicate... Because in IT, If You Build It, They May Not Come

Finding the perfect balance of influence between IT and the Business Owners (I will resist the urge to refer to them as B.O.) is not easy. I usually find that most projects are influenced by one or the other in an unbalanced manner. The story is usually goes like this... The business feels that technology should not be a factor in making sound business decisions. In the business owner's eyes, whatever the solution is, the IT department should be able to support the technology that comes with that solution. This is bad when a custom software package is the solution. .NET/SQL Serv... (more)

Book Review: Architecture Principles

My first look at his book was in PDF format. My friend let me borrow his copy. I liked it so much I printed it and put it in a three ring binder. I liked that so much that I wanted something more permanent so I bought the book. The book is pretty pricy for it's size, so you are not paying for quantity, you are paying for quality and it is worth it!!! Anyone familiar with Software Architecture understands that quality attributes need to be identified, balanced against one another, and then met through tactics. Principles are a key to unlock the door that has quality attributes hid... (more)

Book Review: UML 2 and the Unified Process

The first thing I imagine I should address is why the heck I am reviewing a book that is over 5 years old. I have owned the first edition since its publication and have continued to use it on every project as a reference. When the second edition came out I really wanted it, but there was always another book on my wish list that I needed to also have. Since I had the first edition, I opted for the other book. That continued for longer than I anticipated. So here it is 6 years later and I am holding a copy of the second edition!!!! The reason I am choosing to review it is that is a... (more)