The TCP/IP Guide is the culmination of over 4,000 hours
of organization, writing, illustration and editing effort. All this work has
been dedicated to one purpose: providing you with a Guide that is clear,
understandable and easy to read, so you can learn about TCP/IP effectively
and enjoyably. The TCP/IP Guide includes numerous features that help it to
achieve this goal. I have divided these features into two groups: those
associated with the Guide's material and structure, and those related to its
presentation and use. The following are the most important content-related
features of The TCP/IP Guide (some apply only to the electronic edition, not
the print book):
- Extensive Coverage: The TCP/IP Guide is over 1,600 pages in
length, and covers dozens of different TCP/IP protocols and
technologies. It includes far more details on key TCP/IP protocols than
most comparable general resources.
- User-Selectable Detail: Most of the sections of The TCP/IP
Guide include both an overview topic that provides a high-level look at
a protocol or concept, and a fully-detailed section for those who want
to delve into the subject more deeply. This allows you to choose the
level of detail you require. References are also provided to the
defining standards for each protocol, if you want to read even more
information.
- Informative "Key Concept" Summaries: The TCP/IP Guide
includes hundreds of "key concepts" summary paragraphs, which help you
quickly understand the critical concepts in understanding TCP/IP. They
are also useful for reviewing material you have previously studied.
- Notes, Background and Related Information Inserts: Where
appropriate, special "inserts" in the text call attention to tangential
information, or make specific reference to recommended prerequisite or
related information elsewhere in the Guide.
- Hierarchical Organization: The TCP/IP Guide is organized
using a hierarchical structure, rather than just having dozens of
unrelated chapters listed in sequence. This allows you to see at a
glance how the various components, concepts and protocols are
categorized and how they relate to each other.
- Complete Explanations: The TCP/IP Guide endeavors to not only
describe the "what" of TCP/IP, but also the "how" and the "why". It
anticipates common questions and concerns that someone learning the
material might have, identifies potentially confusing concepts, and
explains them completely.
- High Understandability: Despite including a lot of detail,
The TCP/IP Guide has been specifically written to be understandable. It
does not assume that you are already a networking expert.
- Excellent Readability: The TCP/IP Guide is written in a
first-person, casual, friendly style to help prevent you from getting
bored as you read it. You will feel more like a friend is explaining how
TCP/IP works than a professor is lecturing to you.
- Up-To-Date Material: The descriptions in the TCP/IP Guide are
up to date, based on changes made to key technologies (including
Internet Protocol version 6, IPv6) through the start of 2004.
- High-Quality Illustrations: The TCP/IP includes over 300
high-quality, full-color diagrams. Most of these include a caption that
allows you to quickly understand them without having to read the entire
accompanying text.
- Helpful Examples: To help make difficult material easier to
understand, most discussions include examples to supplement the regular
descriptions of technologies and concepts. Many of these are
illustrated.
- Tables For Data Presentation: The TCP/IP Guide includes over
300 tables to neatly present large amounts of data, and for other
purposes such as exhibiting sample files and output.
These features enhance the presentation and usability of the electronic
version of the Guide:
- Electronic Distribution: The TCP/IP Guide has been designed
from the start for electronic presentation and takes advantage of its
many benefits. These include low cost, instant download (when purchasing
over the Internet), portability, scalability, hyperlinking, searching
and more.
- Standard PDF Format: The TCP/IP Guide is distributed in
standard PDF format, and can be used with Adobe Acrobat software version
5 or higher, available on virtually all computer platforms.
- PDF Bookmark Table of Contents: The TCP/IP Guide uses PDF
bookmarks to present its table of contents on the left side of the
screen. This allows you to refer to the structure of the Guide at any
time while you read the material, and jump to any topic at will.
- Hyperlinked Table of Contents, List of Figures and List of
Tables: All topics, figures and tables are listed near the front of
the TCP/IP Guide and every entry is hyperlinked for your convenience.
- Thousands of Cross-Topic Hyperlinks: In addition to the links
mentioned just above, there are over 3,000 hyperlinks between topics.
This allows you to quickly jump to the place where a concept or
technology is defined when you see it used in a related discussion.
- High-Speed Full-Text Search: The TCP/IP Guide comes with an
electronic text index that lets you instantly find all occurrences of
any word or phrase in the document, and jump from one reference to the
next. More advanced search options are also available.
© 2003-2017 Charles M. Kozierok. All Rights Reserved.
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