Steve Robbins

In a nutshell, this updated UNIX classic covers everything you'll ever need for threads, TCP/IP and RPC programming—with reusable code examples that explain syntax along the way. Robbins and Robbins explain the essentials of UNIX programming, concentrating on communication, concurrency, and multithreading techniques and why, when, and how to use them. They also show how to design complex software to get the best from the UNIX operating system. Using short code snippets to illustrate how to use system calls, they also include a number of hands-on "projects" that very quickly help readers expand their skill levels. The book includes chapters on files, signals, semaphores, POSIX threads, client-server communication, and remote procedure calls. There are also short examples, working code, and simplified libraries for use in network communication applications featured throughout the book. The updated Second Edition includes all-new chapters on the Web and multicast and a completely revised and updated RPC chapter.

INCREASING PERSISTENCE "Of all the books addressing the puzzle of student success and persistence, I found this one to be the most helpful and believe it will be extremely useful to faculty and staff attempting to promote student success. The authors solidly ground their work in empirical research, and do a brilliant job providing both an overview of the relevant literature as well as research-based recommendations for intervention." ?GAIL HACKETT, PH.D., provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs; professor, counseling and educational psychology, University of Missouri, Kansas City Research indicates that approximately forty percent of all college students never earn a degree anywhere, any time in their lives. This fact has not changed since the middle of the 20th century. Written for practitioners and those who lead retention and persistence initiatives at both the institutional and public policy levels, Increasing Persistence offers a compendium on college student persistence that integrates concept, theory, and research with successful practice. It is anchored by the ACT's What Works in Student Retention (WWISR) survey of 1,100 colleges and universities, an important resource that contains insights on the causes of attrition and identifies retention interventions that are most likely to enhance student persistence.?? The authors focus on three essential conditions for student success: students must learn; students must be motivated, committed, engaged, and self-regulating; and students must connect with educational programs consistent with their interests and abilities. The authors offer a detailed discussion of the four interventions that research shows are the most effective for helping students persist and succeed: assessment and course placement, developmental education initiatives, academic advising, and student transition programming. Finally, they urge broadening the current retention construct, providing guidance to policy makers, campus leaders, and individuals on the contributions they can make to student success.