Customer Reviews

"Programming with the PFC 6.0"

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I thought the examples were very good. The book does a good job helping the student build simple PFC applications. On the downside, you have to be careful and use the libraries the ship with the book. Some chapters use different lib paths. At first I had problems and had to call the publisher. Once this was worked out all was OK (in all fairness, on the first page, the book DOES tell you what libs to use for each chapter. But who REALLY looks at directions!).

I have been developing in PB for three years, and this is my first dive into the PFC. This was a good place to start. Don't expect the book to be a reference though. It does a great job of 'scratching the surface', but really is not a reference.

All in all, high marks

I knew very little about the PFC. This manual did an excellent job of explaining each service and its functions. This manual is much better than the PFC information that comes on the PB disks. This manual is not reference manual, it is a LEARNING GUIDE. I highly recommend this for someone not familiar with PB and wants to learn the PFC.

Good 'guided tour' of the PFC. The author does a good job explaining HOW to implement it by going through examples. This book cuts right to the chase. There is no fluff, little arcane theory, just plain language. Good Job.

Yes, technically it's a book. But it's really a self-teaching, self-study PFC guide. Picture taking a PFC class without actually going to one - that's what this book gives you.

It starts out with PFC basics, then leads you step by step in building a PFC application. I was impressed with the use of real examples. It seems the author's philosophy is teaching by example - rather than by description. After you build a PFC application, the services are added one by one. Bob Hendry does a great job explaining each service in easy to understand language. Something the PowerBuilder PFC documentation does not offer. Section Four is a non-technical discussion ion PFC development and management issues. In the last section, you are led through two working examples on how to extend the PFC. This chapter was a bit confusing and took a bit of work on my part to understand.

On the downside, the table of contents is a bit weak. It really needs to be beefed up.

All in all a great piece of work. Don't expect to read this book on the train. It is a companion manual to actual PFC development and really requires you to be at your computer to use the book. If you are a PFC beginner, this is for you.

I've read through the glowing reviews of this book and have this mental picture of those same authors, lost on a desert island and praising the taste of seaweed because it was the only thing to eat. I too bought this book. Before I go on, let me say, that it is not the material presented that I am critical of, but the lack of any real editing or QA. Page 1 thru 236 are "Section One: Overview". This is the least of it's problems. The pages appear to be photo-copies, rather than printed material and more than a couple of critical objects necessary to complete the course were missing from the lab disk. Bob Hendry's very good effort has not been given a respectable treatment by the publisher.

Clear examples, easy to read language. Great way for a beginner to learn the basics of the PFC

A real practical self teaching guide to getting started with the PFC. Good overview of the key services and examples of service extension.

This is a very good place to start on PFC. It goes thru all the main PFC classes and I learned a lot from this book. The lab exercises are great.

The only drawback is that there are a large number of typos in the book and there should be a proper contents and index page.

Also, it will be useful if the author supplies two versions of the lab exercises - one which is not solved and one which is solved. Right now, he gives only the solved version, so it makes you lazy to do the exercises when you have the solution.

Over all, a must buy for any one wanting to learn PFC. Good job by the author.

I am a consultant who has been developing applications using PowerBuilder for the last 5 years who has never used the PFC; so, I thought this would be a quick way to learn it. However, the book has directions that don't make sense and the first time I did an exercise, it failed with a bad runtime reference. It might be a good companion book if you're actually taking the class; at least you can ask the instructor why things aren't working. But to buy the book as a vehicle to learn the PFC, it's useless.

The directions in the book are confusing. Unless you have LOT of time to devote to deciphering what they are telling you to do you'll never be able to figure it out.