Customer Reviews

Crystal Reports 10: The Complete Reference

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The text is one of the first available for Crystal Reports 10. It does a good job of covering all the basics. It even goes into some "intermediate" details in various sections. If you're new or fairly new to Crystal Reports, then the book will be a valuable reference to you.

If you're an experienced Crystal Reports developer, then this book will probably not get too much use. It lacks the hard-hitting details that would make it an excellent standard resource, and it's shy on the "topics for gurus" sections commonly found in complete references. One thing that is good about the book is the scope--there is not much left out entirely, so even an advanced developer will find bits of useful information, particularly when using Crystal Reports in new ways or on new platforms, etc.

If you're familiar with the earlier renditions of this book (i.e., for Crystal Reports version 8.5, etc.), then you will find this rendition exactly as expected.

This book delivers exactly what the title promises. It goes through Crystal Reports 10 screen by screen and feature by feature. It is well laid out and has lots of screen prints. There is way too much verbiage, at least for this reader.

So what's the problem? The book desparately needs examples of how you actually DO some of the things it talks about in such detail. Crystal gives you some really nice sample reports, but they are all finished, not exactly easy to break apart and understand. If this book had some case studies (eg, now lets build the chart report of Quarterly Sales by Employee), I would have found it a whole lot more useful.

Come to think of ut, I would trade this book in a minute for something more task-oriented and hands-on.

I have to say I'm disappointed in this book. Normally I don't buy McGraw-Hill "Complete Reference" books because generally I find them lacking sufficient detail and depth to do any real programming. I bought this book because there aren't an abundance of Crystal 10 books out yet and because Crystal Reports documentation is notoriously bad, but this book has lived up to my McGraw-Hill "Complete Reference" expectations. I find the book lacks sufficient detail and code samples to be of any real use for integrating Crystal Reports into an application. Specifically, I'm working with Part II, Crystal Reports 10 on the Web.

This book has been an invaluable resource in creating and publishing reports with Crystal Reports 10. I've been able to give it to new designers to get them up to speed and also use it to look for answers to quick questions on new features. Overall, this is the most versatile book I've found on Crystal Reports 10.

This is a very good, thorough book with lots of examples included. I have bought other books by the same publisher and have been very pleased with all of them.

If you can buy only one book on Crystal Reports of any version, get George Peck's "Crystal Reports XX: The Complete Reference". As a contract programmer I have had to land on my feet with Crystal reports of the various levels. If I find one for which I do not have the Peck's guide, I buy it immediately. His guides are practical, consistant and clearly written, unlike Crystal's own documentation. On the few times I have had a question, I have gotten good answers quickly from the author's company.

I have been using Crystal Reports for years and consider myself an expert, yet George Peck et al have done it again. No matter what you think you know, you will learn something and for beginners, there is no more comprehensive reference than this one. I highly recommend this book, for learning or reference.