Is your data dragging you down? Are your tables all tangled up? Well we've got the tools to teach you just how to wrangle your databases into submission. Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science, and learning theory to craft a multi-sensory SQL learning experience, Head First SQL has a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works, not a text-heavy approach that puts you to sleep.

Maybe you've written some simple SQL queries to interact with databases. But now you want more, you want to really dig into those databases and work with your data. Head First SQL will show you the fundamentals of SQL and how to really take advantage of it. We'll take you on a journey through the language, from basic INSERT statements and SELECT queries to hardcore database manipulation with indices, joins, and transactions. We all know "Data is Power" - but we'll show you how to have "Power over your Data". Expect to have fun, expect to learn, and expect to be querying, normalizing, and joining your data like a pro by the time you're finished reading!

Studying for a difficult four-hour exam on project management isn't easy, even for experienced project managers. You want to remember everything that you're learning about project management, but your brain is working against you! Your brain craves novelty, and most PMP certification prep books are anything but novel. When you keep putting down a boring book instead of studying, it's because your brain doesn't think the information in it is worth learning. Your brain has more important stuff to think about, like how to keep you alive and out of danger—and it doesn't think that failing the PMP exam qualifies as life-threatening!

So how do you trick your brain into thinking that your life does depend on learning everything you need to know to pass the PMP Exam? Head First PMP is the answer! Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science and learning theory, Head First PMP has a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works—a multi-sensory experience that helps the material stick, not a text-heavy approach that puts you to sleep.

Head First PMP offers 100% coverage of The PMBOK® Guide principles and certification objectives in a way that's engaging, not tedious. This book helps you prepare for the PMP certification exam with a unique method that goes beyond answers to specific questions and makes you think about the big picture of project management. By putting project management concepts into context, you will be able to understand, remember, and apply them—not just on the exam, but also on the job.

You're not alone.

At any given moment, somewhere in the world someone struggles with the same software design problems you have. You know you don't want to reinvent the wheel (or worse, a flat tire), so you look to Design Patterns--the lessons learned by those who've faced the same problems. With Design Patterns, you get to take advantage of the best practices and experience of others, so that you can spend your time on...something else. Something more challenging. Something more complex. Something more fun.

You want to learn about the patterns that matter--why to use them, when to use them, how to use them (and when NOT to use them). But you don't just want to see how patterns look in a book, you want to know how they look "in the wild". In their native environment. In other words, in real world applications. You also want to learn how patterns are used in the Java API, and how to exploit Java's built-in pattern support in your own code.

You want to learn the real OO design principles and why everything your boss told you about inheritance might be wrong (and what to do instead). You want to learn how those principles will help the next time you're up a creek without a design pattern.

Most importantly, you want to learn the "secret language" of Design Patterns so that you can hold your own with your co-worker (and impress cocktail party guests) when he casually mentions his stunningly clever use of Command, Facade, Proxy, and Factory in between sips of a martini. You'll easily counter with your deep understanding of why Singleton isn't as simple as it sounds, how the Factory is so often misunderstood, or on the real relationship between Decorator, Facade and Adapter.

With Head First Design Patterns, you'll avoid the embarrassment of thinking Decorator is something from the "Trading Spaces" show. Best of all, in a way that won't put you to sleep! We think your time is too important (and too short) to spend it struggling with academic texts.

If you've read a Head First [book], you know what to expect--a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science, and learning theory, Head First Design Patterns will load patterns into your brain in a way that sticks. In a way that lets you put them to work immediately. In a way that makes you better at solving software design problems, and better at speaking the language of patterns with others on your team.

Want to get to know the latest (J2EE 1.4) versions of Servlets and JSPs so well that you can pass the Sun Certified Web Component Developer (SCWCD) 1.4 exam? No problem! Head First Servlets & JSP will show you how to write servlets and JSPs, what makes the Container tick, how to use the new JSP Expression Language (EL), and much more. You won't just pass the exam, you will truly understand this stuff and be able to put it to work right away.
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Imagine a world without eBay...unthinkable! How would you get that Farrah Fawcett poster, retired Beanie Baby, or first-edition pet rock? Handling over a gazillion (OK, we exaggerate--it's actually only 1 billion) page views each day, server-side Java makes eBay work.

Isn't it time you learned the latest (J2EE 1.4) versions of Servlets & JSPs? This book will get you way up to speed on the technology you'll know it so well, in fact, that you can pass the Sun Certified Web Component Developer (SCWCD) 1.4 exam. If that's what you want to do, that is. Maybe you don't care about the exam, but need to use Servlets & JSPs in your next project. You're working on a deadline. You're over the legal limit for caffeine. You can't waste your time with a book that makes sense only AFTER you're an expert (or worse one that puts you to sleep).

No problem. Head First Servlets and JSP's brain-friendly approach drives the knowledge straight into your head (without sharp instruments). You'll interact with servlets and JSPs in ways that help you learn quickly and deeply. It may not be The Da Vinci Code, but quickly see why so many reviewers call it "a page turner". Most importantly, this book will help you use what you learn. It won't get you through the exam only to have you forget everything the next day.

Learn to write servlets and JSPs, what makes the Container tick (and what ticks it off), how to use the new JSP Expression Language (EL), what you should NOT write in a JSP, how to write deployment descriptors, secure applications, and even use some server-side design patterns. Can't talk about Struts at a cocktail party? That'll change. You won't just pass the exam, you will truly understand this stuff, and you'll be able to put it to work right away.

This new exam is tough--much tougher than the previous version of the SCWCD. The authors of Head First Servlets and JSP know: they created it. (Not that it EVER occurred to them that if they made the exam really hard you'd have to buy a study guide to pass it.) The least they could do is give you a stimulating, fun way to pass the thing. If you're one of the thousands who used Head First EJB to pass the SCWCD exam, you know what to expect!