The application (and, therefore, the usefulness) of this book is in doubt. From an application point of view, this reviewer wonders how many people would buy it to maintain their computer, given the fact that they would recognize from the title that it could help them maintain their microcomputer. (Assuming they recognized the need to maintain their computer, which is doubtful.) The title, unfortunately, does not convey an invitation to purchase it. The usefulness of the book depends, of course, on the buyer’s opportunity to convey its contents to solve a problem or fulfill a gnawing need, i.e., how to get longer life and greater solution reliability from his or her computer. This reviewer, as in most cases, found some good and useful chapters, while others were less good and useful.
Chapter 1, Software Backups, is creditable, in that it gets one to realize the need for backups. Chapter 2, on software problems, was much too specific for the general reader and, frankly, boring. It seemed to be selling the need for a consultant. Chapter 3, entitled The Computer Itself, was good, but written more for the computer technician. The author makes a good point about asking for hardware documentation, since most buyers generally don’t ask for this type of documentation.
This reviewer found Chapter 4, on cables, connectors, etc., not interesting. Most people would never follow the procedures to make their own cables. Chapter 5, on disks, is very good and all personal computer owners would be interested. Chapter 6, Peripherals, is also very good, readable, and understandable. It should be a “must” for all printer owners. Chapter 7, on Security and Privacy, is excellent and should be read by everyone concerned with security, privacy, and accidental entrance into computers.
I found Chapter 8, Operating Documentation, to be too short. The text should be longer, with more information and data. The author stresses the importance of documentation, then says too little about it. Maybe more “war stories” would have been helpful. The section on audit trails is atypical; it is an important area, but not much is said. I found Chapter 9, Program Documentation, to be very weak and uninteresting. Flow charts and data flow diagrams are the only good points I saw. This chapter is inappropriate for a computer user.
In Chapter 10, New Software, the author provides us with Figure 10.1, Steps in Requirements. The definition is excellent, although he states that you don’t need to do these steps for smaller systems; I do not concur, nor do I agree that they are cumbersome. These steps need to be done for all systems and they should end up in a written document called a specification. The author does state “if the package has been sold for some time, you can assume that it has been tested through use in the field [with] the best testing procedure available.” I believe this is misleading and self-serving, and it indicates the industry attitude towards software--let the buyer do the quality assurance. This is wrong. Industry should do their own QA. I do like the author’s point that “you should carefully consider whether you wish to invest your time helping the manufacturer debug the software.” Most buyers don’t realize this.
The author also points out that good documentation is very difficult to write and very costly. This is true, but good documentation may be worth the time, effort, and cost because good documentation helps to assure a reliable system, helps in acceptance testing, and helps if changes are every necessary. Overall, this is a very good chapter.
Chapter 11, Getting Help, has a lot of good information, especially on sofware maintenance. Maybe the book should have been entitled Computer Hardware/Software Maintenance Handbook.
In closing, Bellin did a very creditable job in a particularly difficult, yet important, area. Despite some of my criticisms, I hope that I have been objective. The supporting data, forms, and references should also be useful to a buyer who might realize later that they are there. A recent newspaper article was entitled “Computers, also, require tender care.” Bellin’s book supports that statement.
