the trouble with books like these is that, you get sucked into it/them, and can spend literally months on end going through them, working the exercises, reading reference papers etc. etc. it is megafun ;)
to me at least, the books might _appear_ to be dated, but the vantage point they offer to inspect the networking landscape is invaluable. in some ways, as john-barth says in 'chimera':
"the real magic is to understand which words work, and when, and for what; the trick is to learn the trick. ... and those words are made from the letters of our alphabet; a couple-dozen squiggles we can draw with a pen. this is the key! and the treasure, too, if we can only get our hands on it! it's as if - as if the key to the treasure is the treasure!"
the trouble with books like these is that, you get sucked into it/them, and can spend literally months on end going through them, working the exercises, reading reference papers etc. etc. it is megafun ;)
to me at least, the books might _appear_ to be dated, but the vantage point they offer to inspect the networking landscape is invaluable. in some ways, as john-barth says in 'chimera':
"the real magic is to understand which words work, and when, and for what; the trick is to learn the trick. ... and those words are made from the letters of our alphabet; a couple-dozen squiggles we can draw with a pen. this is the key! and the treasure, too, if we can only get our hands on it! it's as if - as if the key to the treasure is the treasure!"