The main reason I’ve been so quiet of late is because I’ve been focusing on entries for Nokia’s @DVLUP challenges in the hope to earn some XP and get some fantastic goodies. Just about finished on my last project and decided to have a breather (also they extended my current challenge, more time is always good for QA).
While up, I was looking at all the resources out there that are available to fellow programmers and developers (yes, there IS a difference so get off my back 
), more importantly those that are friendly to my family strained wallet. In other words, FREE.
One of the biggest out there is Syncfusion’s "Succinctly" series, one of the largest free (and still growing) set of technical books covering everything from languages, to source control systems and beyond.
So let’s see what we got.
It feels an age ago when Syncfusion started sending out tweets about new ebooks they were giving away for free alongside their commercial offerings. Surprisingly, it’s only been just over a year. I got the first Succinctly book (JQuery Succinctly) back in May 2012 only a couple of months after grabbing the initial release of Metro Studio.
It was truly amazing that such a resource was being given out for FREE no less, they weren’t the longest books (averaging around 100 pages) or even bulging at the seams but they told you exactly what you needed to know to get the job done. For the price, they were just out of this world.
The series has continued since that time with a staggering 19 books already out and the promise of much much more, it just goes to show how much Syncfusion value the community and it is a great business vehicle to get you interested in their commercial offerings.
The free stuff doesn’t stop there as Syncfusion also offer an Icon repository tool with over 2500 icons called MetroStudio (or should that be ModernStudio now ).
Here’s a brief run through what all books are currently available and what to expect from them.
(Excerpt from http://www.syncfusion.com/resources/techportal/ebooks)
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Unit Testing Succinctly
by Marc Clifton
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
Learn the basics of unit testing, different ways to implement it, and why it may not always be a good idea.
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TypeScript Succinctly
by Steve Fenton
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
Jump into Microsoft’s open-source superset of JavaScript with TypeScript Succinctly.
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WPF Succinctly
by Buddy James
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
Create applications with stunning UI while separating your front end from your business logic and data.
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F# Succinctly
by Robert Pickering
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
If you’ve never tried your hand at functional programming, or are simply looking for a new tool to add to your skill set, F# Succinctly by Robert Pickering is the book you’ve been waiting for.
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Windows Store Apps Succinctly
by John Garland
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
Make your transition to developing Windows Store apps as smooth as the Windows 8 UI.
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GIS Succinctly
by Peter Shaw
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
Learn the ins and outs of geographic information systems.
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Data Structures Succinctly Part 1
by Robert Horvick
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
Learn different types of data structures and how to interact with them while being mindful of their operational and resource complexity.
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Data Structures Succinctly Part 2
by Robert Horvick
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
Round out your knowledge of data structures and how to work with them in the second volume of Data Structures Succinctly.
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iOS Succinctly
by Ryan Hodson
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
The companion to Objective-C Succinctly, and your practical introduction to developing for iOS
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Objective-C Succinctly
by Ryan Hodson
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
Learn Objective-C from the syntax up with code samples and detailed explanations of properties, methods, memory management, and much more.
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Knockout.js Succinctly
by Ryan Hodson
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
The Knockout JavaScript library is an invaluable tool for building dynamic, data-bound web UIs with minimal code. Knockout uses the Model-View-ViewModel design pattern, allowing simplified communication between your data and views, and easier code maintenance.
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C++ Succinctly
by Michael McLaughlin
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
Are you an experienced C# developer looking to ease your way into C++? Author Michael McLaughlin walks you through C++ from types and functions to lambda expressions and the standard C++ library while relating these concepts to their parallels in C#.
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ASP.NET MVC 4 Mobile Websites Succinctly
by Lyle Luppes
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
The proliferation of mobile devices has forced developers into a mad rush to adapt their websites to function on any device in addition to the conventional desktop or laptop. With ASP.NET MVC 4 Mobile Websites Succinctly by Lyle Luppes, you’ll learn how to create mobile-friendly websites using the powerful MVC 4 framework while minimizing duplicate content, leveraging jQuery.Mobile and HTML 5, and enhancing performance.
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LightSwitch Succinctly
by Jan Van der Haegen
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
Visual Studio LightSwitch may be one of the most under-utilized development tools available to professional and amateur developers alike. Designed specifically for creating data-centric business applications, LightSwitch alleviates some of the tedium involved in the development cycle by making the creation of screens, data entities, data relationships, queries, and more simpler and easier.
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JavaScript Succinctly
by Cody Lindley
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
If you’re an intermediate JavaScript developer and want to solidify your understanding of the language, or if you’ve only used JavaScript beneath the mantle of libraries such as jQuery or Prototype, JavaScript Succinctly is the book for you.
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HTTP Succinctly
by Scott Allen
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
With HTTP Succinctly, you’ll learn all about something you use on a daily basis, perhaps without realizing what goes on behind the scenes. Equipped with the information in this book, you’ll be able to write better web apps and services, and debug them when something goes wrong.
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PDF Succinctly
by Ryan Hodson
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
PDF Succinctly is your primer for understanding the components of PDFs, how text and graphics are added to them, and how the final PDF is compiled. This e-book also includes an introduction to iTextSharp, a C# library that provides an object-oriented wrapper for native PDF elements.
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Git Succinctly
by Ryan Hodson
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
With Git Succinctly by Ryan Hodson, you can get up and running with one of the fastest-spreading revision control systems out there. Complete with vivid diagrams, clear code samples, and a careful walk-through of primary features, this free e-book is your quick guide to how Git operates, what its advantages are, and how you can incorporate it into your own workflow.
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jQuery Succinctly
by Cody Lindley
| Formats: Amazon Kindle and PDF
jQuery Succinctly was written to express, in short-order, the concepts essential to intermediate and advanced jQuery development. Its purpose is to instill in you, the reader, practices that jQuery developers take as common knowledge. Each chapter contains concepts essential to becoming a seasoned jQuery developer.
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You cannot argue with the price and the wealth of information in each book is just fantastic. Need I say more?
Pros
- Great range of books
- Each book is aimed at the beginner, little or no foreknowledge is required
- Available in PDF or Kindle so choose your reader
Cons
- Most books cover only one way of doing things, e.g. the GIT book talks about GIT command line (aka unix) but I’m a UI guy
- So hard to have Cons when what you get is way more than what you pay for it, by a mile
You really cannot go wrong here, whether you want to learn more about the topics at hand or need Icons for your project, it would seem Syncfusion is the place to look. If nothing else, you have learned valuable lessons from known developers for the price of a click.
Happy hunting!
See further details about the series either on Syncfusion's site or from my Dark Genesis blog.
