There used to be a category of "articles" on here called "Books". In an attempt to reduce the amount of redundant content I have moved them all in to this one article.

They represent (in descending order) the books that I must have with me wherever I am to spend any amount of time as a developer. The first one is my all time favourite.

If you've got one that you rely on constantly, let us all know about it using the "comment" link.

Before you go ahead and buy any of these books it's an idea to consider O'Reilly's online option at Safari. It could save you a lot of money.



Dynamic HTML, (2nd Edition) "The Bible"

This book is A MUST for any self respecting domino developer. Not to be confused with a "how to learn dynamic html" book, this is a complete reference for HTML, CSS, JavaScript and the DOM. What isn't in this book aint worth knowing.

I take my copy wherever I go (well work anyway, I don't take it in the bath or anything) and cannot imagine life without it. This is the only book that I can honestly say I use everyday....



You can buy it from amazon.co.uk or amazon.com...



Lotus Notes & Domino Essential Reference

I remember seeing this in a book shop and thinking: "I must buy that book", although I never got round to it. It's one of those that act purely as a reference and is chock full of examples. Nothing worse than books that insist on telling us all about who invented the language, where they were and why they did. Who cares!? And if I see another "Hello World!" example, why I'll ......

Thanks to Daniel Vaughan I've been reminded of the book and I'll maybe even buy it this time. In his words: "....it is the only book that has a permanent place on my desk :)" And he is a "Senior Technical Consultant", so there.

Don't just take his word for it though look at the reviews on the Amazon sites below.


You can buy it from amazon.co.uk or amazon.com...



HTML and XHTML

This book goes a bit further than being just a reference as it offers a few interesting insights in to such things as:

History of Internet
History of HTML
Reasons for xHTML 1.0 (ie HTML 4.01)
How to create XML and DTDs


A definite must if you are conscious of designing site that are compliant with the W3C standards. (Not that domino is capable of that anyway) or if you just want to know everything there is to know about HTML.

You can buy it from amazon.co.uk or amazon.com...



Domino 5 web Programming with XML

The first of its kind as far as I'm aware. This books tackles the pitfalls in developing with XML and Java in Domino release 5.

I bought the book thinking that that was all it was about. However, the first 8 or 9 chapters could be skipped by anyone with an above average knowledge of domino development. There is even a paragraph on how to start the Domino Designer!!

Later on the book does get quite deep and is definitely worth a read by anyone about to get in to this area.

You can buy it from amazon.co.uk or amazon.com...



Domino Development With Java

Learning Java is one of those things that, no doubt like many others, I've never quite got around to doing. Not only is it finding the time but also the inclination. Why do I need to learn Java? There is nothing I'm aware of that can't be done with a LotusScript agent (unless we are talking Servlets, that is). The one thing that tempts me is the idea that one day I'll quit domino and move on to something like WebSphere. Who knows what IBM have in store for the two products!?

There are lots of books out there aimed at the Domino/Java market, of which I only own one other, which I stopped reading when it started talking about what Java is and when/where/who made it. I don't care. Domino Development With Java doesn't. It just gets in there with examples. Most are by way of screenshots which is a nice way of picturing what is going on. There is then a description of all the Classes, Methods, Properties and whatever of the Domino Java implementation, with the odd example thrown in.

Now, I have to be honest and say I didn't buy this book. It was kindly sent to me by the publishers in the hope I would link to it. How can I refuse after that? However that is not to say that, having glanced through it, when I come to learn Java this will not be the first book off the shelf.

You can buy it from amazon.co.uk or amazon.com...

Or, read more about it at the publisher's own site:
http://www.manning.com/patton2/