Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!jxh
From: jxh@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Cynic's Guide, part 5:  Bookshelf
Message-ID: <5638@cup.portal.com>
Date: 19 May 88 18:24:36 GMT
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More books from my shelf:

User Interface:
  The Elements of Graphing Data, William S. Cleveland, Wadsworth 1985
						(ISBN 0-534-03729-1)

"Copyright 1985 Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., Murray Hill, New Jersey"
^That says quite a bit by itself, but I didn't even notice it until today.

This is another book that everyone should read.  It lays down some laws about
what is right and wrong in making graphs (not necessarily computer-generated),
but goes further and actually *justifies* the dogmas handed down, and does
so quite well.  All of the concepts presented are based upon experiments in
human perception.  Very compelling!

Another one for User Interace:
  Color and the Computer, ed. H. John Durrett, Academic Press 1987
						(ISBN 0-12-225210-1)

...and speaking of human perception, here is an extremely detailed treatment
of color vision and its effect on the perception of information presented by
computers.  It is a set of papers, so it ranges widely across different
applications.  The first few papers are quite theoretical, defining Color
Science and so on, but the overall premise, that of computer-generated
color displays, keeps it on track for implementors (like me).  The paper about
process control gives a nice example of allocation of colors to meanings, and
exhorts the programmer to be sparing and consistent in their use; good advice
for any programmer doing anything at all.

I realize that I'm doing book reviews while this started merely as a list.
(Be consoled: I offer recommendations only after serious consideration.)
Shall I continue?  Does anyone out there second my nominations of these for
the Great List?  Does anyone out there manage to stagger out of the bookstore
having spent less than $300? :-)  Honestly, sometimes I think I like *reading*
about programming better than I like *doing* programming.

-Jim Hickstein, VSAT Systems, Inc., San Jose, CA
jxh@cup.portal.com   ...!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!jxh