IT programming books related reviews
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: OCA/OCP: Introduction to Oracle9i SQL Study Guide
Publisher: Sybex
Authors: Chip Dawes, Biju Thomas, Chip Dawes, Biju Thomas
Rating: 5/5
Title: OCA/OCP: Introduction to Oracle9i SQL Study Guide
Publisher: Sybex
Authors: Chip Dawes, Biju Thomas, Chip Dawes, Biju Thomas
Rating: 5/5
I am an applications developer (insulated from extensive SQL usage) who use little bit of SQL
Ex :select * from contact order by created desc,
select * from contact where row_id in (select row_id from another table etc)..
Nothing complicated..
I purchased the book (with the thought that my knowledge with SQL is above average)..Did the first assesment test(chapter 1) in the book and failed disastrously. Having been brought to the harsh 'reality',started studying the book, religiously answering the questions in the chapter etc.Completed all the chapters, took the bonus exams(from the book) ,again took all the chapter exams ( at the sametime referring to sections where i made a mistake).redid the assesment test as well
Best of all, my friend who also passed the exams sent me a question paper ( that be purchased in ebay) based on Jason Couchman's book OCP Introduction to Oracle 9i:SQL Exam guide. Took that exam( about 111 questions)..and everytime went back to the book reading the chapters and sections where i got it wrong
So on a net scale, studied the book twice
THE EXAM:
Appeared the exam yesterday and passed with 85 %..all those which i got wrong were obscure topics (ex :view name that u will use to find constraints in a column, syntax for modifying a constraint etc)There was not a single questions on roles.privileges,grant option,admin option etc. I will also not agree with those who said the book was over emphasising aggregates,group functions etc. there were quite a few questions in the exam and u will use it very often
As a matter of fact, the question paper from jason was very very closely aligned with the questions i got in the exam.My objective b4 going over the certification was to learn the basics..and i am not sure if any other book could have done a better job. Examination was secondary for me..
If passing the exam is primary for u..don't miss the simulation exams of Jason Couchman ( of course u need to study )..but if u want to learn every aspect of SQL ( ex :Soundex which even a senior DBA might not use once a year)..go for this.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP Black Book
Publisher: Coriolis Group Books
Authors: Peter Moulding
Rating: 4/5
Title: PHP Black Book
Publisher: Coriolis Group Books
Authors: Peter Moulding
Rating: 4/5
PHP Black Book is an extensive PHP guide. It has everything you need to start building dynamic PHP powered web pages. The only thing that PHP black book lacks is a section devoted to seperating your HTML from the PHP, but in depth information about this can easily be found at phpbuilder.com PHP black book taught me a lot aboout and i found it very in depth and informative. I would reccomend someone to at least have some basic knowledge of another scripting language before using this book, however it is not mandatory. One of the best things about this book is that all the chapters are so complete, that you dont have to read through the whole book before you can start making PHP scripts. After about 4 chapters of reading and practising (about 8-10 hours all together) you should have enough knowledge to start building PHP applications. Another 5 hours of reading will get you into making database driven applications as well as some session handling. After these initial 12-15 hours you should have mastered most of the basics of PHP and databases. You can also read all the other chapters depending on what kind of project you are working on.All in all, PHP Black book is the definitive source for solving your Dynamic site design problems...
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Oracle SQL Tuning & CBO Internals
Publisher: Rampant Techpress
Authors: Kimberly Floss
Rating: 4/5
Title: Oracle SQL Tuning & CBO Internals
Publisher: Rampant Techpress
Authors: Kimberly Floss
Rating: 4/5
I found this book intresting and a useful addition to my library. The information spans multple version ( I and many I work with still support Oracle8i) which is an advantage. A hard read from front to back, buy great for looking up specific information on specific SQL tuning needs.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Designing SQL Server 2000 Databases for .Net Enter
Publisher: Syngress
Authors: Travis Laird, Robert Patton, Jennifer Ogle
Rating: 2/5
Title: Designing SQL Server 2000 Databases for .Net Enter
Publisher: Syngress
Authors: Travis Laird, Robert Patton, Jennifer Ogle
Rating: 2/5
This book has nothing to do with DESIGNING sql 2000 databases. It is simply an administrative guide to sql 2000 - Ch1: SQL Server Overview Ch2:Installing and configuring ch3: Scalability and Availability ch4:Designing and Creating dbs Ch5: Security ch6: Admininistration and Active Directory ch7: backup and recovery ch8: english query ch9: import/export data Ch10. Analysis server (olap) ch11:XML ch12: Replication ch13: programming tools Ch14: Performance Tuning The only chapter that has designing of dbs, is ch4 which mainly deals with filegroups, autogrow features, etc. Nothing about design. If you want a good admin book for 2000 buy this, otherwise look elsewhere for a desgin book.
Product: Book Unknown Binding
Title: Sybase SQL Server 11 Unleashed
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Ray Rankins, Jeff Garbus, David Solomon, Bennett W. McEwan
Rating: 4/5
Title: Sybase SQL Server 11 Unleashed
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Ray Rankins, Jeff Garbus, David Solomon, Bennett W. McEwan
Rating: 4/5
Slightly out of date now (Sybase 12.5 is the current version) but still very useful. I originally purchased my copy when I started at Sybase as a new employee (though I had been using Sybase software for about 10 years prior to that). I have had my copy now for nearly 5 years, and I still use it as much as ever - though I left the employment of Sybase a long time ago (so this is not an official endorsement). And I'm not the only one in the office to use it - the book is a very good general reference on Sybase - forget the manuals. This book covers most things you want to know - whether you are a DBA or a developer, but perhaps not always in as much depth as you'll need.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Core PHP Programming: Using PHP to Build Dynamic Web Sites (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Pearson Education
Authors: Leon Atkinson
Rating: 1/5
Title: Core PHP Programming: Using PHP to Build Dynamic Web Sites (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Pearson Education
Authors: Leon Atkinson
Rating: 1/5
I bought this book hoping it would expand upon the online documentation. However it is infereior to the online docs. It doesn't offer any helpful sample code. Also, some of the information in the book is incorrect. For example, the function mysql_connect_db requires that it be assigned to a variable. Throughout the book the function is called without being assigned to a variable. After hours of trying to figure out why I could not get my scripts to work, I went to online and immediately found my answer. So, if you you want to learn PHP stick to the online documentation. Save the trees.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Beginning Php 4 (Programmer to Programmer)
Publisher: Peer Information
Authors: Chris Lea, Allan Kent, Ganesh Prasad, Chris Ullman
Rating: 3/5
Title: Beginning Php 4 (Programmer to Programmer)
Publisher: Peer Information
Authors: Chris Lea, Allan Kent, Ganesh Prasad, Chris Ullman
Rating: 3/5
This is a wonderful book. It tought me a lot of what I now know. The only problem is their examples. In some cases, they aren't complete. They tell you to go search for it out of another example they gave, basicly. Also, some of these examples just don't work at all. I copied one straight from the book and it had many errors so I decide to try and just download it from their website. That had the same if not more errors. If you're a person who just likes reading this stuff but doesn't copy examples to test your knowledge, this is the book for you. Otherwise, I wouldn't get it...
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Special Edition Using SQL (SE Using)
Publisher: Que
Authors: Rafe Colburn
Rating: 5/5
Title: Special Edition Using SQL (SE Using)
Publisher: Que
Authors: Rafe Colburn
Rating: 5/5
SQL has come from the dusts and cobwebs of Codd-Date academia journals to a business use language. Rafe has written one of the best books I have browsed through. I develop in MS Access and the jump from Access to SQL Server or Oracle is intimidating. Even though MS says that the transition is easy, these are essentially different animals with different properties and behaviours.The content design means that one can improve on one's knowledge of any (generic) product and still have an intro to a specific product.The tips pages on the inside covers are a very good idea.In such a high quality book however, the quality control of content does have a few bad spots.And Rafe, stay away from words like "egregious" - we're here to learn SQL not English
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Basic & SQL Server: William R. Vaughn (Microsoft Programming Series)
Publisher: Microsoft Pr
Authors: William Vaughn
Rating: 5/5
Title: Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Basic & SQL Server: William R. Vaughn (Microsoft Programming Series)
Publisher: Microsoft Pr
Authors: William Vaughn
Rating: 5/5
I have read many of Mr. Vaughn's books, attended his lectures at VBits and have personally conversed with him on SQL issues. Simply put, this book is a must-read for all serious VB developers looking to unleash the power of Visual Basic when dealing with SQL server issues. Written with a nice touch of humor, Bill does a great job of singling out both good and bad methods of data access. Previous commentors who bashed his books obviously have not even read them. My recommendation: BUY THIS BOOK!
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP Pocket Reference, 2nd Edition
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Rasmus Lerdorf
Rating: 2/5
Title: PHP Pocket Reference, 2nd Edition
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Rasmus Lerdorf
Rating: 2/5
You'll spend hours trying to find references because of how poorly it has been organized. No index; no rhyme or reason to the subject order; essentially a useless book.In adition there are but brief descriptions of each function -- what one could usually surmize from the general naming convention.Because of it's size, however, I would re-purchase a second edition, if the publisher would only add an index.
