AnyBook4Less.com	Find the Best Price on the Web Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Home  |  Store List  |  FAQ  |  Contact Us  |
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money Keyword AuthorISBN

Title: MCSD/MCP+SB FrontPage 98 Exam Cram (Exam: 70-055) by Ed Tittel, Kurt Hudson, James Michael Stewart ISBN: 1-57610-398-6 Publisher: The Coriolis Group Pub. Date: 10 December, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.99

Your Country USA Canada United Kingdom Australia Austria Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands Switzerland Currency AutoUSD CAD GBP EUR AUD CHF Delivery Only cheapest delivery All delivery options Include Used Books Are you a club member of: Barnes and Noble Books A Million Chapters.Indigo.ca

Average Customer Rating: 2.78 (27 reviews)

Rating: 3
Summary: Just for pass the exam.
Comment: If you want to pass this exam, it will be useful. Because the contents focus on the main certification objectives. The cram sheet is really useful for the exam.

Rating: 3
Summary: Surveys the needed topics, but provides little content
Comment: Of all the Exam Cram books I have read, this one is the most like an expanded set of exam objectives, and the least like a resource. Its greatest use is in providing a framework for studying elsewhere (online docs, other books). While that is an important and useful function of an exam preparation book, such a focus means that the exam candidate absolutely MUST learn from other sources -- another book and a lot of FP98 practice. So it's no surprise that the "Need To Know More?" sections at the end of this book's chapters are longer than those of many other Exam Cram books.

So, what is this book good for? If you have FP98 experience, and have studied a comprehensive book on the subject (I heartily recommend "FrontPage 98 Unleashed".) you are still left with the question, "Have I covered all the exam objectives?" While you can download the objectives from Microsoft, these are not explained in enough detail there to make one comfortable. Another value of this book to the exam candidate is in the "Need To Know More?" sections. When you stumble over a particular issue, the book gives you somewhere to begin your search.

WEAKNESSES: Content. Content. Content. There are just far too many subjects that are introduced but never explored in useful detail. You can compensate for this scarcity of content by using the book as a study plan, while sitting at your computer with FP98 running. But this combination will never provide you with the insights gleaned only from extensive on-the-job experience. The book is almost totally lacking in the many caveats that accompany development with FrontPage 98. Other books on FrontPage 98 are the only answer here.

Another problem rests in mistaken concepts provided by the authors. They assert that the programming languages used to develop a web site have no affect on performance. Just compare C++ components for data access with those written in J++. They repeatedly claim in test questions that FP98 has no 3 column page template, despite the fact that it appears in their own screen capture of the template dialog, and is described in their own text on the subject. Multi-site publishing is said to be a capability of FP98, even though their own italicized note on multi-site publishing explains that you must publish individually to each site.

STRENGTHS: Rather than a book with inadequate content, we may take advantage of this book's use as an extremely detailed listing of exam objectives. Its end-of-chapter bibliographies are valuable. The last two text chapters, "Web Servers, Server Management, And Server Extensions", and "Site Analysis, Design, And Maintenance", are more substantial than earlier chapters. The "Cram Sheet" included with the book is excellent.

CONCLUSIONS: Not the best effort of its talented authors or of Exam Cram (Coriolis). It does have a place as a final review, to help you identify weak areas in your knowledge of FP98. If you need to learn FP98, read the comprehensive, "FrontPage 98 Unleashed".

Rating: 1
Summary: DO NOT DEPEND ON THIS FOR THE TEST
Comment: I'd call this as the EXAM SCAM series rather than EXAM CRAM. The real exam is much harder than the practice questions covered by the book. Plus, there are an awful number of glaring mistakes in this book that someone who knows FP well will begin to unlearn some of the stuff. So, beware. I found this book totally useless. Microsoft online help is probably the best cost-free solution to prepare for the exam. I found it the hard way. Watch out for the 'simulation' traps in the exam. Also, there are a number of questions on user setup, server configuration, etc. that are not covered at all in this book. Do not even read about FP Editor. There are hardly any questions.