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Rating: 
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"First let me say this is an extremely well written and useful book. I
am very happy I purchased it.
My primary interest was in understanding and creating addons. I am a
programmer of nearly 50 years experience (yeah, punched cards all the
way to C++ and Java) so what I was primarily after was a good intro to
AddOn development. The explanations of XML and lua were well done and
useful. and the character position development teaching project
well-conceived."
I wrote that to the author when asking him a question about the example I was building. I got a quick and courteous reply, and was able to fix my problem.
About the last third of the book is devoted to AddOn development. It covers the subject well without talking down to an experienced programmer, and seemed to me to also lead the novice in a comprehensible way. A tough line to walk, but they did it well.
As for the rest of the book, I found the list and explanations for the AddOns mentioned well thought out. Admittedly I didn't need it much (I have been playing WoW way too long and knew most of them already) but they would have been very useful when I was first starting to get interested in AddOns.
My only real criticism of this book is its title. The first two thirds are devoted to existing AddOns, not the development of AddOns, and that makes the title more than a little misleading. For me, that two thirds came as an unexpected bonus to the AddOn development section, which met my needs and expectations well.
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This book is perfect for the experienced programmer who wants to start
adding his own MODS to the WOW UI immediately but does not have time for
beginners programming 101, an Introduction to WOW, or the time to do in
depth research.
My son recently asked for a program to help with the management of his guild
and of course I volunteered. How can you say no?
After browsing the somewhat nonexistent documentation that was available I
found this title. In ONE DAY you are up and running your first hook.
By reviewing the front section, the add-ons, one acquires a comprehensive
list of example add-ons. This list provides one the resources he needs to
mine the information he needs to "Get-R-Done." It is very helpful to NOT
have to wade through hundreds of web pages, tutorials, and a million lines
of code for the right "example" to handle a particular process. It also covers addons in a manner that even non programmers will find VERY usefull.
In the last section, Dan and James do not waste much paper on beginners
programming but set you on a path straight to heart of the matter. Though
this book will give the novice programmer the tools he needs to get started,
it is much more valuable to the experienced professional who wants to get
in, get the job done, and get out.
This book provides you the information resources and links to the tools you
need to get started in a timely manner. Way to go Guys.
Rating: 
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I agree with many of the other reviewers who felt this book's title was somewhat misleading, or at least not descriptive of its true content. However, I do understand why prospective buyers would probably prefer not to think of themselves as dummies.
In addition, this book was dated as soon as hit the shelves. As other reviewers have noted, some of the addons recommended by the authors no longer function correctly in the current version of World of Warcraft. Other recommended addons still work, but have largely fallen out of favor as newer addons with improved features have taken their places. Nevertheless, the descriptions of what the addons do and how they can be used is still a useful introduction to many concepts in WoW.
In short, I would only recommend this book to people who are:
1. afraid of talking to other players,
2. uncomfortable reading online forums and asking questions, or
3. unwilling to learn how things work by trial, error, and experience.
For any serious potential addon authors out there, you will probably learn more from looking at existing addons' code and by actually speaking with other authors.
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This book is wonderful. I tried for months on end to try and self teach off of various websites on how to properly write .lua code and XML for addons. I finally broke down and purchased this book and it has helped leaps and bounds over anything I learned on various websites because it teaches from the ground level up. The first section of the book is perfect for someone who is just starting WoW or just starting to explore various WoW Addons. The second section is geared more towards people like me who are just starting to or want to learn how to create their own addons for the game. If you are new to programming or even new to writing .lua and XML scripts I recommend you purchasing this book.
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Unless you are wanting to learn how to create your own macros, don't buy it. The book is out of date with World of Warcraft. I learned how to do everything online (regarding add ons). I guess it would be ok for the basics for writing your own add ons for the game.
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