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Designing Systems for Internet Commerce is the first book I've seen that goes in the opposite direction, relying almost exclusively on bulleted lists to walk the reader through the elements of designing and implementing an electronic commerce system. I have mixed feelings about this approach. On the one hand, if the reader is using the book as a reference and doesn't care about its cover-to-cover readability, Designing Systems for Internet Commerce is packed with useful information in a compact, easily digested format. For the reader in search of a book with something akin to a traditional narrative structure, however, the constant flow of high-density information can be a real turn-off. I brought the latter viewpoint to my examination and came away flat, which is reflected in the below average "readability" score at the end of this review.
Their writing style aside, Treese and Stewart manage to pack a lot of information into Designing Systems for Internet Commerce. Both authors are high up in Open Market, a Massachusetts electronic commerce software producer; their expertise certainly adds value to the book. It also gives them the opportunity to discuss their company's own electronic commerce product. I was a bit concerned when I started reading a chapter summarizing how a product sold by the authors' company met the electronic commerce needs described throughout the book, but there are several reasons why I think the discussion was carried out appropriately:
-- Curtis D. Frye (cfrye@teleport.com)
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Explanation of ERCB rating scale: No stars = unacceptable, 1 Star = marginal, 2 Stars = average, 3 Stars = above average, 4 Stars = exceptional.