The main reason I have been so quiet of late is because I have been focusing on entries for Nokia’s @DVLUP challenges in the hope to earn some XP and get some fantastic goodies. Just about finished on my last project and decided to have a breather (also they extended my current challenge, more time is always good for QA)

While up, I was looking at all the resources out there that is available to fellow programmers and developers (yes, there IS a difference so get off my back ), more importantly those that are friendly to my family strained wallet. In other words FREE.

One of the biggest out there is Syncfusion’s “Succinctly” series, one of the largest free (and still growing) set of technical books covering everything from languages, to source control systems and beyond.

So let’s see what we got.

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It feels an age ago when Syncfusion started sending out tweets about new ebooks they were giving away for free alongside their commercial offerings. Surprisingly it is only been just over a year. I got the first Succinctly book (JQuery Succinctly) back in May 2012 only a couple of months after grabbing the initial release of Metro Studio.

It was truly amazing that such a resource was being given out for FREE no less, they weren’t the longest books (averaging around 100 pages) or even bulging at the seams but they told you exactly what you needed to know to get the job done. For the price they were just out of this world.

The series has continued since that time with a staggering 19 books already out and the promise of much much more, it just goes to show how much Syncfusion value the community and it is a great business vehicle to get you interested in their commercial offerings.

The free stuff does not stop there as Syncfusion also offer an Icon repository tool with over 2500 icons called MetroStudio (or should that be ModernStudio now )

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Here is a brief run through what all books are currently available and what to expect from them.

(excerpt from http://www.syncfusion.com/resources/techportal/ebooks)

|
Unit Testing Succinctly
by Marc Clifton
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFLearn the basics of unit testing, different ways to implement it, and why it may not always be a good idea. |
TypeScript Succinctly
by Steve Fenton
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFJump into Microsoft’s open-source superset of JavaScript with TypeScript Succinctly. | |
WPF Succinctly
by Buddy James
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFCreate applications with stunning UI while separating your front end from your business logic and data. |
F# Succinctly
by Robert Pickering
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFIf you’ve never tried your hand at functional programming, or are simply looking for a new tool to add to your skill set, F# Succinctly by Robert Pickering is the book you’ve been waiting for. | |
Windows Store Apps Succinctly
by John Garland
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFMake your transition to developing Windows Store apps as smooth as the Windows 8 UI. |
GIS Succinctly
by Peter Shaw
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFLearn the ins and outs of geographic information systems. | |
Data Structures Succinctly Part 1
by Robert Horvick
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFLearn different types of data structures and how to interact with them while being mindful of their operational and resource complexity. |
Data Structures Succinctly Part 2
by Robert Horvick
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFRound out your knowledge of data structures and how to work with them in the second volume of Data Structures Succinctly. | |
iOS Succinctly
by Ryan Hodson
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFThe companion to Objective-C Succinctly, and your practical introduction to developing for iOS |
Objective-C Succinctly
by Ryan Hodson
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFLearn Objective-C from the syntax up with code samples and detailed explanations of properties, methods, memory management, and much more. | |
Knockout.js Succinctly
by Ryan Hodson
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFThe Knockout JavaScript library is an invaluable tool for building dynamic, data-bound web UIs with minimal code. Knockout uses the Model-View-ViewModel design pattern, allowing simplified communication between your data and views, and easier code maintenance. |
C++ Succinctly
by Michael McLaughlin
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFAre you an experienced C# developer looking to ease your way into C++? Author Michael McLaughlin walks you through C++ from types and functions to lambda expressions and the standard C++ library while relating these concepts to their parallels in C#. | |
ASP.NET MVC 4 Mobile Websites Succinctly
by Lyle Luppes
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFThe proliferation of mobile devices has forced developers into a mad rush to adapt their websites to function on any device in addition to the conventional desktop or laptop. With ASP.NET MVC 4 Mobile Websites Succinctly by Lyle Luppes, you’ll learn how to create mobile-friendly websites using the powerful MVC 4 framework while minimizing duplicate content, leveraging jQuery.Mobile and HTML 5, and enhancing performance. |
LightSwitch Succinctly
by Jan Van der Haegen
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFVisual Studio LightSwitch may be one of the most under-utilized development tools available to professional and amateur developers alike. Designed specifically for creating data-centric business applications, LightSwitch alleviates some of the tedium involved in the development cycle by making the creation of screens, data entities, data relationships, queries, and more simpler and easier. | |
JavaScript Succinctly
by Cody Lindley
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFIf you are an intermediate JavaScript developer and want to solidify your understanding of the language, or if you have only used JavaScript beneath the mantle of libraries such as jQuery or Prototype, JavaScript Succinctly is the book for you. |
HTTP Succinctly
by Scott Allen
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFWith HTTP Succinctly, you will learn all about something you use on a daily basis, perhaps without realizing what goes on behind the scenes. Equipped with the information in this book, you will be able to write better web apps and services, and debug them when something goes wrong. | |
PDF Succinctly
by Ryan Hodson
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF_PDF Succinctly_ is your primer for understanding the components of PDFs, how text and graphics are added to them, and how the final PDF is compiled. This e-book also includes an introduction to iTextSharp, a C# library that provides an object-oriented wrapper for native PDF elements. |
Git Succinctly
by Ryan Hodson
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDFWith Git Succinctly by Ryan Hodson, you can get up and running with one of the fastest-spreading revision control systems out there. Complete with vivid diagrams, clear code samples, and a careful walk-through of primary features, this free e-book is your quick guide to how Git operates, what its advantages are, and how you can incorporate it into your own workflow. | |
jQuery Succinctly
by Cody Lindley
Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF_jQuery Succinctly_ was written to express, in short-order, the concepts essential to intermediate and advanced jQuery development. Its purpose is to instill in you, the reader, practices that jQuery developers take as common knowledge. Each chapter contains concepts essential to becoming a seasoned jQuery developer. | |

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You cannot argue with the price and the wealth of information in each book is just fantastic. Need I say more?

Pros:

• Great range of books
• Each book is aimed at the beginner, little or no foreknowledge is required
• Available in PDF or Kindle so choose your reader

Cons:

• Most books cover only one way of doing things, e.g. the GIT book talks about GIT command line (aka unix) but I am a UI guy
• So hard to have Con’s when what you get is way more than you pay for it, by a mile

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You really cannot go wrong here, whether you want to learn more about the topics at hand or need Icons for your project it would seem Syncfusion is the place to look. If nothing else you have learned valuable lessons from known developers for the price of a click.

Happy hunting.

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As if that were not enough, there is more. Seems Syncfusion are really in the giving spirit this month and in celebration for all their efforts and free ebooks they are also offering three lucky readers one of their premium essentials products for FREE ( excluding the Enterprise edition)

All you have to do (same as with the Succinctly books) is comment on my Dark Genesis blog leaving a mail address that Syncfusion can contact you on and THREE lucky winners will be chosen to receive an essentials package of their choice from the list below (one per winner) :

• ASP.NET
• ASP.NET MVC
• JavaScript (Beta)
• Mobile MVC
• Silverlight
• Windows Forms
• Windows Phone
• WinRT (XAML)
• WPF

There is no rush in selecting should you be picked as a winner, check out the trials first and when your happy let them know which one you want.

Free draw ends 2nd August2013

**Note – You don’t need to put your email in the comment, just post using one of the services where we will be able to contact you 😀

Good luck

Simon (darkside) Jackson

Engineer, industry executive, research enthusiast. Avid learner with diverse interests in coding, game development, Mixed Reality (AR/VR/XR) and reinforcement learning. 25+ years of experience working in multinational corporations and startups.

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