In its previous (1994) incarnation as "LAN Times Encyclopedia of Networking," Sheldon was publishing into a world when the Internet was an obscure province of college students and defense contractors, a fast microcomputer capable of word processing probably had a 486 processor and represented an investment comparable to a good used car, and most people thought the "@" character on their keyboards was for some mysterious use in preparing invoices. Nevertheless, that 1994 edition sold tens of thousands of copies before being superseded by this second edition in 1997. For such a book to survive under the same authorship as the definitive publication of its type for seven years, making it to a third ("millennium") edition scheduled for release in January 2001, is a truly outstanding accomplishment. Indeed, LAN Times itself is no longer with us, having ceased publication in 1998, but its encyclopedia and original author remain.
Like Stevens on TCP/IP, Knuth on programming, Sedgewick on algorithms, Tannenbaum on operating systems, or Terman on electronics, this book has earned a place on the shelf of nearly every serious worker in the field of its coverage, and that field is remarkably broad. Retaining its fundamental benefit of strict vendor independence, this is a true one-volume encyclopedia containing at least a definition of all of the important terminology and acronyms from networking, cabling, telecommunications, and related disciplines. Nowhere else is it possible to find in one place explanations of everything from IEEE 802 nomenclature to EIA-568 cabling diagrams to Novell networking architecture to ISDN to VoIP. Some articles on major subjects such as Ethernet or TCP/IP run for significant numbers of pages wtih charts and illustrations.
One warning: this book is not a tutorial. It can be fun to read, just like flipping around in a conventional encyclopedia can be fun if you are of such a mind to do it, but you cannot learn material in depth from an encyclopedia. The intended reader of this book is either the working professional or the advanced student who will want to have it handy at all times in order to be able to refer to it. If you find yourself lying awake at night wondering "What is the official maximum length of a 10Base-T segment?" or "How fast is an OC-48 circuit?" then this is the book for you.
The world of computer networking has progressed enormously since this 1997 edition was published, and it will be interesting to see how well the January 2001 edition keeps up. Unix, especially in the form of Linux, has grown tremendously in importance, much of it as the expense of Novell and OS/2. Bandwidth has increased to the point where streaming multimedia is practical, even to residential locations through cable modems and DSL. Wireless protocols of all sorts are on the verge of becoming a major influence in the field. The drive for standardization and interoperability is no longer imposed externally by military fiat, but now fends for itself in the marketplace.
Interesting times deserve such an interesting book.
As with every encyclopedia, this one is in alphabetical order and covers terms like IXC, frame relay. IMA, java, java beans, modem standards, PKI, routers, spoofing, SPX, SQL, VPNs and so many, many more. Sheldon's book is a must have reference for all network professionals.
Included is a cd-rom, which is a fully searchable, and cross-referenced version of the book, making your learning portable. Many of the r terms have hyperlinks for further research on the internet. Also I was very pleased to see so many illustrations included as visual aides enhanced the learning process.
As a computer instructor, this manual has already come in handy in several networking classes and I am sure it will be so in the future. You can find this and many other computer related titles at the McGraw-Hill web site.
It is a mine of concise and well-organized information. The "Related Entries" listings make the book easy to use, the "Information on the Internet" references are excellent gateways to further reading. The book contains a wealth of graphics and diagrams to clarify the readers understanding.
I am now working for one of the giants of global networking, a new job, for which the book can take a lot of credit. The CD on my laptop will ensure Encyclopedia of Networking remains a constant reference.