Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Data Analysis or The Productive Programmer

Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Data Analysis: Your Visual Blueprint for Creating and Analyzing Data, Charts, and PivotTables

Author: Denise Etheridg

Welcome to the only guidebook series that takes a visual approach to professional-level computer topics. Open the book and you'll discover step-by-step screen shots that demonstrate over 110 Excel data analysis techniques, including:

* Identifying trends in your data
* Sorting, filtering, and identifying lists
* Creating, editing, and checking formulas
* Calculating interest rates and depreciation
* Performing simple sorts and filters
* Hiding rows or columns in a PivotTable
* Adding and removing chart data
* Querying an Access database
* Assigning digital signatures
* Solving a formula with a data table

"I was stuck on an Excel problem for two days. Finally, I opened one of your books, and there was a macro to accomplish exactly what I needed! You made me look good to the boss."
-Rob L. Meerscheidt(The Woodlands, TX)

* High-resolution screen shots demonstrate each task
* Succinct explanations walk you through step by step
* Two-page lessons break big topics into bite-sized modules
* "Apply It" and "Extra" sidebars highlight useful tips

Interesting book: American Jezebel or Lafayette

The Productive Programmer

Author: Neal Ford

Anyone who develops software for a living needs a proven way to produce it better, faster, and cheaper. The Productive Programmer offers critical timesaving and productivity tools that you can adopt right away, no matter what platform you use. Master developer Neal Ford not only offers advice on the mechanics of productivity-how to work smarter, spurn interruptions, get the most out your computer, and avoid repetition-he also details valuable practices that will help you elude common traps, improve your code, and become more valuable to your team. You'll learn to: Write the test before you write the code Manage the lifecycle of your objects fastidiously Build only what you need now, not what you might need later Apply ancient philosophies to software development Question authority, rather than blindly adhere to standards Make hard things easier and impossible things possible through meta-programming Be sure all code within a method is at the same level of abstraction Pick the right editor and assemble the best tools for the job This isn't theory, but the fruits of Ford's real-world experience as an Application Architect at the global IT consultancy ThoughtWorks. Whether you're a beginner or a pro with years of experience, you'll improve your work and your career with the simple and straightforward principles in The Productive Programmer.

Table of Contents:

Foreword     vii
Preface     ix
Introduction     1
Why a Book on Programmer Productivity?     2
What This Book Is About     3
Where to Go Now?     5
Mechanics
Acceleration     9
Launching Pad     10
Accelerators     18
Macros     33
Summary     35
Focus     37
Kill Distractions     38
Search Trumps Navigation     40
Find Hard Targets     42
Use Rooted Views     44
Use Sticky Attributes     46
Use Project-Based Shortcuts     47
Multiply Your Monitors     48
Segregate Your Workspace with Virtual Desktops     48
Summary     50
Automation     51
Don't Reinvent Wheels     53
Cache Stuff Locally     53
Automate Your Interaction with Web Sites     54
Interact with RSS Feeds     54
Subvert Ant for Non-Build Tasks     56
Subvert Rake for Common Tasks     57
Subvert Selenium to Walk Web Pages     58
Use Bash to Harvest Exception Counts     60
Replace Batch Files withWindows Power Shell     61
Use Mac OS X Automator to Delete Old Downloads     62
Tame Command-Line Subversion     62
Build a SQL Splitter in Ruby     64
Justifying Automation     65
Don't Shave Yaks     67
Summary     68
Canonicality     69
DRY Version Control     70
Use a Canonical Build Machine     72
Indirection     73
Use Virtualization     80
DRY Impedance Mismatches     80
DRY Documentation     88
Summary     93
Practice
Test-Driven Design     97
Evolving Tests     99
Code Coverage     105
Static Analysis     109
Byte Code Analysis     110
Source Analysis     112
Generate Metrics with Panopticode     113
Analysis for Dynamic Languages     116
Good Citizenship     119
Breaking Encapsulation     120
Constructors     121
Static Methods     121
Criminal Behavior     126
Yagni     129
Ancient Philosophers     135
Aristotle's Essential and Accidental Properties      136
Occam's Razor     137
The Law of Demeter     140
Software Lore     141
Question Authority     143
Angry Monkeys     144
Fluent Interfaces     145
Anti-Objects     147
Meta-Programming     149
Java and Reflection     150
Testing Java with Groovy     151
Writing Fluent Interfaces     152
Whither Meta-Programming?     154
Composed Method and Slap     155
Composed Method in Action     156
Slap     160
Polyglot Programming     165
How Did We Get Here? And Where Exactly Is Here?     166
Where Are We Going? And How Do We Get There?     169
Ola's Pyramid     173
Find the Perfect Tools     175
The Quest for the Perfect Editor     176
The Candidates     179
Choosing the Right Tool for the Job     180
Un-Choosing the Wrong Tools     186
Conclusion: Carrying on the Conversation     189
Building Blocks     191
Index     199