Book Review: Internet Programming

Review: Internet Programming

Internet Programming
Kris Jamsa and Ken Cope
Jamsa Press
588 pages + disk, USD $49.95
ISBN 1-884133-12-6

Nowadays Internet is everywhere, but still programming it is a job for the real pros. Internet Programming tries to bring a beginner look to this interesting subject, without forgetting more advanced users.

The book begins with an introduction to computer networks. You learn how computers communicate and how networks are structured. The next chapter takes you a bit deeper by explaning the ISO/OSI network and client/server model. After you know networks in general, the book gives you technical details about the basic protocols of the Internet, the TCP/IP protocols.

This continues all the way from User Datagram Protocol (UDP) to SLIP and PPP. After about 150 pages of more or less technical details, the actual programming begins. Firstly, the very basics of the famous socket implementation are explained. Although this book mainly focuses in the WinSock API, the UNIX style Berkley sockets are also described, as the Windows Sockets have been developed from them.

Next, the Internet Domain Name System (DNS) will become clear. When you have the knowledge to get a IP address from a host name, you are ready to learn the Finger user information protocol. You also learn about asynchronous sockets and raw sockets. What's more important, the e-mail and FTP protocols are described very informatively.

If that wasn't enough, you also learn something about the WWW itself, without forgetting security and firewalls. After all, the book is suprisingly comprehensive. If I could stop here, the book could get good, if not excellent ratings. But there are cons too.

There are three things I don't like in this book. Firstly, you get way too often empty sentences like "As you have learned" or "As you might know". I think books are read from cover to cover and not like hypertext, jumping from one topic to another. Secondly, the index of this book really brings it down (sorry Carl). Also, the Internet standards are based on RFC documents. Still, this book doesn't contain the simplest index of those RFCs. This makes it difficult to find them in case you need more information. You can however find the RFC numbers from the text.

As a conclusion this book is almost good if you forgive the glitches. Three starts of five - add a plus to that if you can live without a good index.