Customer Reviews

Dreamweaver MX: The Complete Reference

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

All I can say is "wow". I've been using Dreamweaver for a while now building html pages, but Dreamweaver MX is a little overwhelming. There are different server models and databases to choose from, and so much to learn. This book addresses all of those areas that I was unfamiliar with using a readable style that made me want to read it from cover to cover. It's more than just a reference -- it has a tutorial approach that covers all the topics yet is useful as a teaching guide as well. This book will never make it to my shelf. It will be on my desk where I can refer to it while I work.

I now have four books on Dreamweaver. This is my latest acquisition that I bought the old fashion way, through a bookstore, which gave me time to really preview the numerous books on this top selling software. The reason why I bought this book was because of the additional detail that you don't find in the other books. It's not just a 'what do the buttons do' software book. If you are only interested in building static web pages then another book may do, but if you are wanting to add dynamic pages, where the viewer inputs data into forms, then that's a whole other level of web building that most books don't cover. If your a novice and haven't had schooling in Web and Server applications (ASP,Coldfusion, etc)and database applications, this will help bring you up to speed. I applaud the layout and content that these authors have created. It focuses on building web applications with Dreamweaver MX, not just web pages, and definately fulfills a need.

I never knew there was so much to learn to build a dynamic Web site. This book really does a great job laying out all of the different technologies that are needed. I've been using DW 4, but all of this application server stuff has my head spinning. This book has chapters about each application server that really helped me decide which direction to go. Those chapters alone make the book a worthwhile purchase, but there's also a chapter on database design. I never knew what I was doing wrong before with my databases, but it is clearly spelled out in this book. Also, SQL is clearly explained in a chapter. These are great topics for a Web developer, because it is stuff that I didn't know before, but also stuff that I needed to learn. This is like 8 books in one. Really a great deal. I'm only 1/4 of the way through it! The CSS chapter was also exceptional. All of the techniques I've seen in the book are up-to-date with the latest trends in Web design. The best part of it is that it doesn't read like some dry reference manual. The writing is easy to follow.

The shift from Dreamweaver or even Dreamweaver UltraDev to MX is and astonishing leap. MM has thouroughly redesigned the work method to allow for true rapid development of dynamic web envirionments.

And then they didn't publish a manual that documented all that they did.

This doorstop of a referance guide and its affiliated online code provide a concise roadmap through the features and their use. Necessarily, this means guiding the user through an overview of database design, SQL, and scripting for over 3/4's of the book.

Foe example, one of the new integrations of DW MX is "remoting", the ability to utilize web services technology in Coldfusion.To a serious developer this is heaven sent. Needless to say the explanation is somewhat arcane.

The real bottom line is that if this kind of material isn't your cup of tea, then DW MX probably isn't either.

In fact you may want to invest in the book before you venture into the software. Not upgradung or GoLive may be a better product choice for some.

not enough material about how to use dreamweaver itself. This book has lot of short chapters just about everything but does not goes into detail. It even has a chapter about how to design a relational database, a chapter about SQL and its syntax ???

There is no way that a single book can cover all web technologies as this book tries to.

Disappointed ..

I'm returning this book to get the Dreamweaver MX Bible instead

Many people are giving this book a bad review because they are confusing reference for training. This book covers a lot of ground and can fill in many blanks left in other books on the subject. BUT If you are just starting out with Dreamweaver - TRAINING FROM THE SOURCE can not be beat!

If you are familiar with Dreamweaver this book is exactly what it claims to be a reference!! When you forget how to do a certain something, or you need to do something you've never done before - look it up & you will almost always find something on the subject you are searching for. Many times it's just what you need. Other times it's enough to get you started.

Hope this helps clear things up!
Happy creating!

I don't understand where some of these reviews are coming from. I've looked at probably a dozen different Dreamweaver MX books, and this one is by far the most comprehensive examination of building web sites that you'll find. They really cover everything in here, in an easy-to-read style that makes you want to read the book from cover to cover. The chapters that introduce ASP, JSP, CF, PHP, and ASP.NET would make a great book on their own -- they are classic. The chapters on CSS, Javascript, and server-side Flash programming in DW are also top-notch.

I gave it 2 stars because the content - all 1,000+ pages of it - doesn't match the title. It should be called "Web Programming - The Complete Overview."

If you want to learn to use Dreamweaver specifically, look elsewhere. Of a thousand pages, exactly FOUR are dedicated to creating a form within Dreamweaver, two to creating a site map. There are whole chapters on ASP, Coldfusion, JSP, PHP, SQL, server authentication - notice that none of those topics are Dreamweaver-specific and all of them could easily be found in books specific to those topics.

I hate it when programmers try to write for end-users. The content usually wanders woefully off-topic as they pursue what interests themselves rather than their readers. If you want a book for using Dreamweaver, this isn't it. If you want an overview and concepts about various types of web programming, you might like this.

Dreamweaver MX The Complete Reference is a bit overwhelming at first, but so is the Studio MX Suite. This book takes on the daunting task of explaining the ins and outs of DMX plus introduces the reader to Fireworks MX and Flash MX files. FMX and FLMX are part of the Studio MX Suite and I found it quite helpful to have an introduction as to how to integrate those files with DMX.

If you read UD4 The Complete Reference or are knowlegeable about the web, then definately skip Chapter 1. Beginning with Chapter 2 though, hang on to your hat! The chapters are arranged by task and by server technology. For example, Chapter 9 deals with DMX's Advanced Page Design Tools. It begins with templates and ends with the link checker. Developing ASP pages is covered in chapter 15 and PHP is covered in chapter 18. This arrangement makes it easy to find answers to your questions. Depending on your needs, you may not have to or want to read all of the chapters.

On the whole, I've found DMX TCR a very good resource to have nearby when I need a quick answer. The only problem I've found is that a few of the chapters are slow in getting "to the good stuff".

This could be an excellent book, but the organization, the jumping and assumptions made is very annoying to say the least. When I read that files can be downloaded to work with examples, I'm expecting some organization here. I download the files and unzip it and I am a little bit ticked to see how things are labeled. Most books have folders for individual chapters. Well, I had to go on an hunting expedition.

The book in my opinion doesn't clearly take the user in a sensible order of learning. When I hit Chapter 4 (pg 98 to be exact) and this whole discussion of slicing files in Fireworks just left me like huh. Direct quote..."The actual design that you use it up to you." If, I'm following the examples in the book, why would I be creating a design of my own. There are several examples in chapter 4 that made me want to scream and when I visited Chapter 5, I closed the book and put it on my shelf. It's hard enough trying to grasp a software program, I shouldn't have a hard time trying to figure out what the authors want me to do!!