Reviews (3)

useful, but has factual errors (partly Microsoft's fault)
OK, I'm modifying this since some of the RAID confusion seems to have originated in the MSDN docs, rather than with the author.
Use as a Sudy Guide
This is a lightweight book designed to be easily carried with you. The size is such that your palm can almost fit the whole book. It uses cheap newsprints for its pages which make it lighter than it would normally have. It has a little more than 330 pages but the main part has 220 pages, the rest are for the practice tests and answers.
A Pretty Good Introduction and Sample Exams
This is a book designed purely to get you a passing grade on the Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist 70-431 test on Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Note that this test is not concerned with the use of a database, there's nothing on areas like programming in T-SQL. Instead it's oriented more to the database administrator.
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Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Computer Books: Database    4. Computers    5. Computers - Certification    6. Database Engineering    7. Database Management - General    8. Database Management - SQL Server    9. Database design    10. Electronic data processing personnel    11. Examinations    12. Microsoft software    13. Sql (Programming Language)    14. Study guides    15. Tests    16. Computers / Technical Skills    17. Databases & data structures    18. SQL   

Reviews (81)

A lot of the information relates to older release of SQL server
This book would be fantastic if I would still run an older release of the SQL server ... and the stored procedures part is still very relevant. The XML and HTML parts (where I've expected most) unfortunately do not cover the new abilities of the SQL Server 2005, so I guess we just have to wait for a new release of this book.

Best Book for Hoardcore SQL Server
This book is for experienced SQL developers. No fancy stuff. I found it very useful, since you will find lot of material you won't find anywhere else. It can be a good source for those who tries to handle SQL Server administration by not using Enterprise manager (such doing a backup, reindexing databases etc.). But in any case it's a very good addition to your library. Great job by Ken Anderson.

This is the book for SQL Developers/DBAs
I have about $2000 worth of the book on asp.net, cfml, Microsoft SQL server, Oracle DB book, and other tech related books.Most of the books I had are poorly written and the authors are trying to make "quick buck".This book is very well written and in-depth of Microsoft SQL Server.Highly recommanded! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Client/server computing    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computers    4. Computers - Data Base Management    5. Database Management - General    6. Database Management - SQL Server    7. Programming Languages - HTML    8. Programming Languages - XML    9. Relational Databases    10. SQL server    11. Computers / Database Management / General    12. Database software    13. HTML    14. SQL    15. XML   

Editorial Review

In the SQL database community, Joe Celko is a well-known columnist and purveyor of valuable insights. In Read more

Reviews (45)

Book overrated
This book is overrated.Many of the examples contain errors which will consume a lot of your time.I ended up spending more time figuring out where the mistakes were (in the descriptions of the examples or in the example themselves) than I did actual learning.While I do not doubt Joe's expertise in the subject I do find that he has difficulty explaining things.For me this book was a waste of time.A co-worker of mine has the 2nd edition, and the book is half the size of the 3rd edition.That version probably has a lot fewer mistakes and might be worth reading.As far as the 3rd edition, I threw mine in the trash.

Not for Beginners, best for enthusiasts
Don't be tempted to buy this book unless you have at least a year of experience writing complex SQL and a reasonable knowledge of the underlying data structures and database paradigms. In fact the author has a brief gripe about beginners criticising his book as not being suited for them. The book is not designed for beginners. However, if you have a suitable level of experience then this book is a must. Full of technical know-how and the supporting theory or logic in most cases. The kind of knowledge, that takes decades to accumulate, jumps off every page. If you have done a few of those same hard yards you will quickly appreciate the benefit from the distilled experience on offer. The book is written in an easy conversational style that makes even the hardest stretches of logic easy to digest. The short and concise code samples demonstrate the points made in the text very well. Solutions to every day problems are built up step by step, with each step clearly showing the progression of the logic and the potential pitfalls. In short anyone with intermediate SQL skills or higher will get tremendous advantage out of this book, I thoroughly recommend it.
Willful Ignorance of Relational Database Design
I only read the relational concepts sections, so I can't speak to the SQL, but I doubt that I'd trust any part of the book. The author seems to be confused about the difference between primary and surrogate keys, and I could not determine if he even understands what a primary key IS!
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Database    2. Computers    3. Computers - Data Base Management    4. Database Management - General    5. Database Management - SQL Server    6. Programming - General    7. SQL (Computer program language)    8. Computers / User Interfaces    9. SQL   

Reviews (33)

The very big and so poor
DON'T BUY THIS BOOK! This is almost 1400 page book can teach nothing, unstructured not clear presentation of information can confusing students. It seems like authors don't understand some times what they are talking about. Not clear presentations of examples can to mislead readers.
Too much and not enough
I also had this book as a text for a database design class in college. While reading it, I kept thinking to myself that I had learned more about practical database design from "Dummies" books. As a professional application developer, I would have to say that this book's only value is as a (seldom used) theoretical reference.

Terrible book
This book seems to be emblematic of the problems many technical textbooks suffer.Whole chapters and series of chapters seem to be there just to take up space.Entire sections of redundant or extraneous information, or no information at all, can be found everywhere.The useful information in this 1400-page book could probably be expressed in 100 pages.It would be much easier to understand in that format as well, since extracting it from this morass is nigh-impossible.Useless drivel is expressed in tedious detail again and again, while actual useful information is in one or two obtuse sentences that are easy to miss or misunderstand. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Database    2. Computers    3. Computers - Data Base Management    4. Database Engineering    5. Database Management - General    6. Computers / Database Management / General   

Reviews (16)

Milton C
Pros:
Recommended Study Guide and possible as Reference
I used this book to prepare for pl/sql exam and scored 49/57. It is a good study guide. I have not had difficulty going through the book since I was exposed to the pl/sql language when I was studying for the exam (1z0-001, Introduction to oracle 8i sql and pl/sql). This was a huge benefit for me and I only spent about three weeks reading the book. I will say that this exam (1z0-101) is built on the first one (1z0-001). I am not sure if it is also built on the exam (1z0-007). You will need to know the basics of pl/sql to fully understand this book.
Thanks to Steve O'Hearn!
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Editorial Review

If specialization is for insects, those of us who have only two legs arebound to need reminders when we sit down to perform a specialized task. Forthose times in which the specialized task at hand involves the latest version ofMicrosoft's high-end database management system (DBMS), Read more

Reviews (14)

Concise reference manual
This good and concise sqlserver administration reference manual has a complete online version on microsoft.com/technet.

Best for administration
I haven't found a better book for sql admins. This book is extremely informative. I worked for a year with SQL 7 and have been studying and working with SQL Server 2000 for a year and a half. I passed Exam 70-228 in large part due to what I learned from this book. If you are looking for a how-to book that shows just exactly how to accomplish tasks associated with creating and maintaining SQL 2000 this book is for you. This is an excellent book if you want to understand how SQL Server 2000 works as well.

Great Book
A lot of SQL Server books give you the same information included already in Books Online. SQL Server 2000 Administrator's Pocket Consultant is an excellent complement for Books Online, TechNet and MSDN. It covers similar topics, but it digs in where necessary, provides best practices, tips to the internal operations, explaining how SQL Server actually works, with unique information only available in this book.
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Reviews (3)

First Rate Book
This book is an excellent introduction to both PL/SQL and general coding principles.It is a good book for beginners and old dogs alike. It provides simple, clear and useful introductions to advanced topics such a INSTEAD OF TRIGGERS, BULK COLLECTS etc.My team is now using it a our "best practice" document for PL/SQL coding.Well done Misha and Paul.
An excellent text on PL/SQL
As I began reading, the attribute which came foremost to my mind was "readable".It covers all of the basics in a fashion readily comprehensible to those with even modest exposure to programming.We can always do better, but for most of us, if we go only as far as this text takes us, we will do far better than many of our contemporaries in the industry today.
Best Beginning Book on Programming EVER
This is just wonderful.Clearly written, easy to read, loads of basic tips.This is the perfect book for someone trying to get into the industry.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. Database Management - Oracle    5. Database Management - SQL Server    6. Oracle (Computer file)    7. Oracle (Computer software)    8. PL/SQL (Computer program language)    9. Programming - Software Development    10. Programming Languages - SQL    11. Computers / Programming / Software Development    12. Databases & data structures   

Reviews (17)

3 Day Read and Review
Setting expectations:My last Oracle training was for my OCP certification on Oracle 8i but needed to be up to speed on 10g in less then 3 days.
so...so
It is okay book to get started.

Possibly the worstbook - ever
This is possibly the worst book in this category I've ever seen.I'm an experienced SQLServer DBA and thought this book would be fairly useful as a starting place for getting into Oracle.Its a total dud.It looks like the authors have picked a whole bunch of random bullet points out of the Oracle help files and thrown them together with a mild semblance of organisation.I would bet that a 'dummies' book would be better!!!!!!!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Database    2. Computers    3. Computers - Data Base Management    4. Database Management - General    5. Database Management - Oracle    6. Relational Databases    7. Computers / Database Management / General    8. Oracle   

Features

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Reviews (7)

Great first SQL book, and useful reference
I'm no SDE, but I had a need to learn enough SQL to enable me to hit my company's Data Warehouse tables directly and employ some complex joins.This was the book recommended to me, and it did the trick.I sat down and began reading it and was quickly writing increasingly complex queries.I found the explanations easy to follow, and the format intuitive.The only fault I found is that there is a lack of more complex join examples, as when there are more than one field being joined on or more than two tables being joined.

Inadequate
Half of this 450 page book surveys basic SQL, and the other half is on features Oracle added to SQL in versions 9i and especially 10g. The book seems to have been intentionally "crippled" to limit it to the category of introductory overview, because much of what you need to know to work with Oracle SQL is simply not there:
Good overview of Basic DML & advanced features
I will agree with other reviewers that cite this book as an excellent resource. It is well organized and easy to follow from topic to topic without getting lost. The examples are well introduced and written with few minor errors. These will be easy to spot for someone who has used any flavor of SQL.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computers    3. Computers - Data Base Management    4. Database Management - Oracle    5. Oracle (Computer file)    6. Programming Languages - SQL    7. SQL (Computer program language    8. SQL (Computer program language)    9. Computers / Data Base Management    10. Computers / Database Management / General    11. Computers / Programming Languages / SQL    12. Oracle    13. oracle sql, sql, oracle dba, oracle 10g   

Reviews (3)

Excellent book for SQL developers!
The best SQL 2005 book for developers that I've seen so far!
Useful Information - Conceptual Organization Lacking
This book contains much useful information on SQL Server 2005 T-SQL enhancements, but it regularly employs functions and constructs in its examples that are only explained in later passages. Specifically, when attempting to absorb a new concept by examining a code example, you must also contend with looking up items which have not yet been covered. This is a mild stumbling block but it hurts the flow of the book.
Great help...
This book is a great help for beginners or those transferring from the SQL 2000 to SQL 2005. Well-written and comprehensive with detailed guidelines for DBAs and developers, it helps answer any questions one might have in their day to day work with SQL server. You will find great tips and useful examples; a great way to expand your knowledge of stored procedures, new functions used in SQL 2005, and offers a means of combatting common errors. Highly recommended! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Client/server computing    2. Computer Books: Languages    3. Computers    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. Microsoft .NET    6. Programming Languages - SQL    7. Relational databases    8. Computers / Programming Languages / SQL    9. SQL   

Reviews (5)

Good, but a little outdated
This video course applies to Oracle Forms Developer 6.0 (and makes references to Oracle 8i).If you are using Developer 10g you'll still be able to follow along, but the instructions for a few steps will be incorrect.That said, I was still able to determine what to do--it wasn't a show-stopper.Make sure you go to their companion web site to download the latest excercises rather than the ones on the CD.(See PTR's website for their interactive companion websites.) You will need to have an Oracle database available to you so that the schemas can be installed.You run a PLSQL script to install them.I used Oracle Personal Edition 10g, but the Express edition should work too. SQL, PLSQL, and knowledge of database concepts is a prerequisite for the course.The only paperback book you receive is the one that has the exercises in it.A pdf version of the exercise book can be accessed in the course using the eBook tab.You will need an Internet browser and Apple Quicktime to view the course videos.The CD comes with old versions of Netscape Navigator and Quicktime.I didn't install them, but went out on the web and downloaded the newest version of Quicktime and used my current version of Internet Explorer.Then, I just copied the direcory with the course material to my hard drive and doubleclicked on the Index.html file.There are 13 lectures videos, each with a demonstration video.After viewing the video you use Developer to work the exercises.There are usually several exercises for each lecture.Topics covered are: Oracle Forms Concepts, Mandatory Forms Objects, The Data Block and Layout Wizards, Oracle Forms Files, The Object Navigator, The Property Palette, The Layout Editor, Master-Detail Forms, Text Items and Display Items, Buttons, List Items, Radio Groups, and Check Boxes, Trigger Basics, Creating Triggers of Various Types, Forms Built-Ins, Lists of Values (LOVs), Alerts, Canvas and Window Concepts, Content Canvases and Windows, Stacked Canvases, Toolbar, Canvases, Subclassing, Visual Attributes and Property Classes, Object Groups and Object Libraries, Template Forms, Calling One Form from Another, Running Oracle Reports from Forms, Passing Parameters to Reports, Menu Modules, and Menu Security.
Excellent!
This is a great book. I was able to apply what I learned very quickly to develop a Forms application. The labs and exercise answers are very detailed and easy to understand. It is the best Forms book by far for those who want hands-on, practical experience. I feel confident that I can tackle more complex assignments because I have a firm grounding based on this book and its excellent companion video CD. My advice is, don't spend $1000 or more for a class - buy this book!

This is the Oracle Forms training solution.
I have read several books on Oracle Forms development and this is by far the clearest and easiest to learn from. Oracle Forms is not the best environment to develop in, but this course and the included workbook take you through step by step and provide feedback in the form of detailed answeres. Further, the problems in this book and solutions actually WORK unlike other books on the subject. It is well worth the... Thank you for this setup, it has cleared up a lot of questions and provided the steps needed for developing working forms! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computers    3. Database Management - General    4. Database Management - Oracle    5. Relational Databases    6. Video - Non-Fiction    7. Computers / Database Management / General    8. Database software    9. Databases & data structures   

Reviews (12)

Code depot access
All Rampant books contain a user id and password on page 13 for the reader's access to the code depot. The code depot is only available to readers. The code depot is not intended to be used without reading the book.

I cannot download book scripts.
I bought the book. It says, goto rampant.cc/html_db.htm, and download scripts.
Thorough and well organized with great examples
I am currently working on a project that requires Oracle Application Express (APEX) and was fortunate to have this book. Note that although the book's title indicates HTML-DB, it is based on the latest Oracle Application Express 2.0. The authors have done an exceptional job in providing great technical content along with useful examples.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Database    2. Computers    3. Computers - Data Base Management    4. Database Management - General    5. HTML (Document markup language)    6. Relational databases    7. Computers / Database Management / General    8. Database software   

Reviews (2)

Proof-reading needed
This book apparently underwent no proof-reading. Careless and obvious mistakes abound. The publisher's errata page is of little use although the book has been published for nearly two years. Considering that this is a book you rely on to pass an exam, this is close to irresponsible.
Very complete coverage
I just passed my Oracle 1Z0-043 test after using this book as my sole study source, in addition to an Oracle installation I set up at home.The book does a great job of covering all the material I encountered on the test. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - General    2. Computer Books: Database    3. Computers    4. Computers - Certification    5. Database Management - Data Warehousing    6. Database Management - Oracle    7. General    8. Computers / Technical Skills    9. Computing and Information Technology   

Reviews (6)

Well done.Oracle Education look out!
I'm a developer and DBA who had not written PL/SQL in over a year.I used this book as a refresher.
Provides a solid foundation
The book provides very solid foundation of PL\SQL. It wisely covers the basics and repeats them in a format which isn't too redundant. For example, there are several chapters on Loops (simple, cursor, while, nested etc). This makes sense since loops are extremely important part of PL\SQL. The PL\SQL code examples are very well thought out and the test questions are very thought provoking.
not deep
It is not as good as Alice Rischert's "Oracle SQL by example". Looks like it is written for people who never programed before. So it teaches how to program using examples of pl/sql. Might be good for beginners. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Operating Systems    2. Computers    3. Computers - Data Base Management    4. Database Management - General    5. Oracle (Computer file)    6. PL/SQL (Computer program langu    7. PL/SQL (Computer program language)    8. Relational Databases    9. Sql (Programming Language)    10. Computers / Database Management / General    11. SQL   

Editorial Review

To help you design Microsoft database servers that must achieve the best possible performance, Read more

Reviews (73)

One big comprehensive book about SQL Server engine
This book is about SQL Server as of query and data access engine, not as of a whole product. It in fact covers the architecture of the SQL Server and its internals related to actually processing the data. This book indeed won't answer many practical HOW questions if any, instead it shows you the way SQL Server works on the inside so that you can apply this knowledge as you see fit.
Best for SQL Server internals
The best book I've seen. I've been working on SQL Server since 1997. Great for a technically inclined DBA or developer.

Excellent Book by the master
I attended one of the seminars of the author and was thoroughly impressed by her knowledge on the matter and decided to buy her book.I am very pleased that I decided to do that.This is a very good book and a very good buy.
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Reviews (11)

Good Book for Exam 700
I took the exam within one month from the day I bought this book and scored 87%.Read the book twice and took the sample test on IBM site.

Just what you need
Great book. covers everything you need to know for the exam. Completed one chapter each day after reading the tutorials on the IBM site and gave the questions at the back. Wrote the exam on the 8th day and got 92%. Will definitely recommend the book

A very good book for exam 700
This book helped me to prepare for the exam well but I felt this book should have had some more information about UDT /UDF .
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Reviews (16)

Great book ofr those using the SQL Plus command line or GUI tool
Oracle SQL Plus: The Defnitive Guide
the glories of the command line
The glories of the command line. SQLPlus [I am not going to write that irritating asterix] is an acknowledgment of the reality that for many large computer programs and operating systems, a command line utility is vital. The book explains this for the specific instance of hooking to Oracle's database. It is meant as a definitive reference. Showing every command, often accompanied by example code.
great guide
I have found this book to be a really great guide that is easy to follow.The author provides a gentle, but thorough introduction to topics like creating reports, writing scripts, customization etc.He offers methodologies and alternatives beyond the syntax that you can find in the manual.For example, he presents and evaluates six ways one can achieve some kind of if-then-else flow control in SQL*Plus.
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Reviews (8)

Very easy to implement SMO from scratch
Having never written C# or C++ or DMO, I was able to quickly read parts of this book and successfully create a C# program using SMO/RMO to create my transactional / merge replication republishing environment. I had little experience using Visual Studio. I've been focused on T-SQL for SQL development for the past 8 years as a development DBA. When I looked for a book to quickly bring me up to speed in SMO/RMO, I chose this book because it is explicit and gives great examples. I look forward to using it for Reporting and Notifications. It makes learning new SQL 2005 skills exciting!

A very precise book
This is a very good book.It is quite compact and does not waste time and pages on huge examples that would not make any sense at the end.The only issue, at least for me, is that it includes only the new features of the Sql Server.As a result if you are a beginner with SQL Server you need to buy an introductory book before you read this one.

Not what I needed
After reading other reviews, I ordered this book. I've worked with SQL Server since version 4.2 and just wanted a resource for new features. I was very disappointed. I found very little of use.