Book details of 'McGraw-Hill's Encyclopedia of Networking & Telecommunications'

Title	McGraw-Hill's Encyclopedia of Networking & Telecommunications
Author(s)	Tom Sheldon, Thomas Sheldon
ISBN	0072120053
Language	English
Publisher	McGraw-Hill Osborne Media

---

Back to shelf Computer networks
Amazon.com info for McGraw-Hill's Encyclopedia of Networking & Telecommunications

Score:

Vote for this book

The Virtual Bookcase Reviews of 'McGraw-Hill's Encyclopedia of Networking & Telecommunications':

Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
This is a worthy reference. The listings cover the topic, and the descriptions are reliable. If explanations are not always of specialist level, that is only to be expected. This is an encyclopedia, not a specialty tome. No bias is detectable either for or against any particular vendor or operating system culture (with the possible exception of frequent citations to the Google search site). A number of specific products and companies are listed (or discussed in related entries), but the items included are important, and it would be difficult to identify any left out that should have been incorporated. The explanations are clear, easily understandable without a significant technical background, and concentrate on fundamental concepts. Related entries are listed, sometimes quite extensively, although there is no indication (such as the use of italics or a special typeface) when a term used in one listing is defined elsewhere. The writing itself is easy to follow, and there is enough humour to lighten the reading load without detracting from the issues under discussion. The material is not deep, in most cases. There is, for example, a gloss over the creation of MS-DOS outside of Microsoft, as well as the origins of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) in the earlier GML (Generalized Markup Language). In the latter case, this simplification means that the importance of function, in generalized markup, is submerged in the discussion of formatting. However, an encyclopedia, and a networking encyclopedia, at that, is usually seen as giving a "once over lightly" precis of a subject, so a lack of profundity is not to be disparaged. A fairly important aspect of the work is the inclusion of Internet and Web references for further research. Of course, many books nowadays contain Web references, but Sheldon has included some very important and valuable resources. There are also a substantial number of citations, frequently half a dozen or more in a single article. In many books, this many URLs (Uniform Resource Locators, page 1293) would indicate an attempt to pad material without doing research, but the listings in this work were obviously chosen with care. Most point to established organizations, increasing the probability that the URLs will still be good by the time the book makes it into print. There are also frequent directions to the Linktionary site, which also acts as an update reference. (Unfortunately, as of this writing, the site is not fully available. When the site is complete, considerable material that was excised from the print version will be added back.) I could quibble about certain items, but the points would be petty. In common with most technical security people I would object to the assertion that an attacker is "commonly called a hacker." In fact, the entry on page 84 uses the phrase twice in one paragraph. But when you start complaining about that level of detail, you know that there isn't much to criticize. (The article on "Hacking and Hackers" gives more balance, in any case.) The entry for virus is short, but at least doesn't make any serious errors. And, in a general text, that appears to be quite an accomplishment. The end pages of the book contain praise from an extensive fan club. Overall, this acclaim is justified. The book is a very useful resource, suitable for any level. The novice will find introductions to a variety of topics, with basic but reliable explanations. The professional will find starting points and further resources for a variety of technologies that may lie outside their area of particular expertise. The material is quite up to date: surprisingly so, given the scope of the work. The similarly sized, CD-ROMed, and priced "Microsoft Encyclopedia of Networking" (see reviews) does not compare in range of topics, quality of research, or depth of coverage: Sheldon wins on all counts. I have no reservations about recommending this work as a useful communications reference. copyright Robert M. Slade, 2001
Add my review for McGraw-Hill's Encyclopedia of Networking & Telecommunications

Book description:

Packed with over 1400 entries and over 3000 links, this is the ONLY interactive encyclopedia for the networking and telecommunications industry. Updated to include coverage of all the latest technologies including Cisco, Microsoft, Nortel Networks, 3COM, and more.