Hacking World of Warcraft (ExtremeTech) by Daniel Gilbert, James Whitehead II
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Book Reviews of Hacking World of Warcraft (ExtremeTech)
Book Review: Guide to Making Full use of World of Warcraft features.
Summary: 5 Stars
Whether your a noob or a l33t player of World of Warcraft, there is always a way to improve your ability of play and this guide is the way to go. Want to make your own macros, but don't know how, then this guide gives you a brief and decent guide to do that. Curious about add-ons, but not sure whether they will work or if they will get you in trouble with Blizzard, this guide gives you a starting place and information to help you.
The 'Hacking World of Warcraft Guide' is a book for anyone who plays WoW, that wants to improve their ability to play, but either doesn't know how or is unable to figure out where to start. Having been in the predicament in which it seems that one-more second could decide the difference between victory or defeat, I know this book helps lay out the ways to improve game-play.
Now despite the name of the book, it doesn't let you hack World of Warcraft. It gives a player a description of features both available at first glance and those hidden just below the surface of the game. Ever wonder how to chain actions, spells, or abilities with one button, this book helps setting that up. Every see screenshots with maps or gadgets and want to know what those are, the book gives an overview of add-ons and options that are available either already in the game or where to find them online. It even warns about programs that Blizzard allows and doesn't based upon past problems. The book even gives you, the reader, fair warning about the dangers of using programs, both on your computer and with Blizzard, so you can't claim you didn't know.
Overall the book gives an overview of features, options, and other such things that can add to your gaming experience. While not as straight forward as Brady Guides, it gives a decent grasp of things for playing World of Warcraft.
Book Review: Great tool for any WoW gamer
Summary: 5 Stars
"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.
Book Review: Perfect for the experienced proffesional
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Book Review: The resource I've been looking for.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've followed many online tutorials but since most of them were disjointed, being written by various different people the writing styles & techniques used could kind of become confusing at times.
The first half of the book gets you started in using addons and introduces you to some of the better know higher quality addons available and takes you through configuring them. If you are new to WoW then this is the part of the book you will be interested in.
The second half is all about how addons work, and then takes you through the creation of a very simple to some fairly robust addons. For those that learn by doing and find it easier with a book than online this is the book for you.
It doesn't assume knowledge on your part which makes it very easy for the novice with little to no programming knowledge to pick it up, follow the examples and write your very own addon. It may take 2 or 3 passes before you fully grasp the concepts however.
Those of you who are already familiar with other programming languages like Javascript, PHP, C or anything of the like, you will find this a great primer.
The best part is the addons you create with the book are genuinely useful, in fact the first one, a coordinates system is something I've been looking for myself, and it handles the function better than other addons I've found.
Book Review: Great help
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all, I didn't buy this book, my wife bought it, which could easily entail an entire discussion about how the impossible can, in fact, REALLY happen...but that must wait for another time! Quick take away regarding this book: I liked it a lot!
I am a software developer turned business man, so I have a background in programming (but haven't had to write code for about 7 years now). So, from that perspective, the code sections weren't much of a problem, but getting an understanding about how WoW addons function was very helpful. I wasn't quite as interested in the early sections of the book (although it was good to know about some of the existing addons)...my interest was on creating my own addons from scratch. In that regard, the book was great, and the steps were clearly laid out on how to create the Whereabouts addon.
This book is not intended to be a complete primer on EVERYTHING you need to know about writing WoW addons, nor is is meant to be a review of every single existing addon (they change)...rather, it is a nice balance that starts with what existing addons do, and leads into what to do if you'd like to try writing one of your own. In that regard, I think the book did a very decent job!