IT programming books related reviews
Product: Book Paperback
Title: The Guru's Guide to SQL Server Stored Procedures, XML, and HTML (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Authors: Ken Henderson
Rating: 5/5
Title: The Guru's Guide to SQL Server Stored Procedures, XML, and HTML (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Authors: Ken Henderson
Rating: 5/5
I bought the first Guru's Guide -- The Guru's Guide to Transact SQL -- as a way to fine-tune my SQL skills when I began a new job as a SQL Server Admin / Developer. Nearly two years later, I still find myself reaching for that book for almost every unique SQL problem that I encounter, and I am rarely disappointed. When I saw that Henderson had written another SQL book, I expected another winner. I was not disappointed.The coverage of stored procedures, user-defined functions, and XML was first-rate. And the relatively short chapter on .NET was loaded with reasons why every SQL Server developer should be embracing this new techology.The Essays on Software Engineering were extremely well-written. The intermingling of personal experiences and reflection with the technical details of the topics was done just right. It added a certain amount of relevance to the section that made it feel less like a theoretical lecture and more like the sharing of information by a well-respected colleague. One who has obviously experienced these things and knows what he is talking about. On the surface, these essays may seem a bit out of place in a book about Stored Procedures and XML but, in fact, they fit very well with the overall theme of the book: SQL and Stored Procedure development is "real" software engineering and needs to be treated as such if you are going to be good at it.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: MCSE/MCSD: SQL Server 7 Database Design Study Guide
Publisher: Sybex Inc
Authors: Kevin Hough
Rating: 1/5
Title: MCSE/MCSD: SQL Server 7 Database Design Study Guide
Publisher: Sybex Inc
Authors: Kevin Hough
Rating: 1/5
This book is a trap, basic errors and references to features of the 6.5 version are normal. Don't waste your time and money.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Writing Apache Modules with Perl and C
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Lincoln Stein, Doug MacEachern
Rating: 1/5
Title: Writing Apache Modules with Perl and C
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Lincoln Stein, Doug MacEachern
Rating: 1/5
It's all in Perl. The book says "Apache Modules with Perl and C" but really, it's all in Perl. The only mentions I've seen in C are the very very beginning, and the end that restates the Apache documentation. If you bought this book thinking it will have sample C code, you would be wrong.If you like Perl, then this is the book for you, but if you prefer C, as I do, then you will have wasted your money.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Admin911: SQL Server 2000
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
Authors: Brian Knight
Rating: 4/5
Title: Admin911: SQL Server 2000
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
Authors: Brian Knight
Rating: 4/5
If you're thinking of buying this book, because you've tried everything in Microsoft's online manual "Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Performance Tuning Guide" and are still having some performance problems, then this book could be your solution. It helped me solve some of the problems I was having with our productive server and helped me understand some basics a bit better than before. It does not contain everything you need to know, but gives you some ideas how you have to look for further information and what you have to look for.It contains some good reference material, but not all of the hidden features. As with every book under 1000 pages this is not THE bible for the DBA but is a complementary book that will provide some invaluable information not found elsewhere. This book was well worth the price..
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Professional SQL Server 2000 Programming
Publisher: Wrox
Authors: Robert Vieira
Rating: 2/5
Title: Professional SQL Server 2000 Programming
Publisher: Wrox
Authors: Robert Vieira
Rating: 2/5
Rob's book for SQL Server 7.0 was the best book I could suggest for developers new to programming TSQL. The 2000 edition continues his style with new information on functions, xml, and other new features of SQL 2000 but he still presents everything (this book is over 1300 pages long) and presents it clearly.There are other books out there, but this one is the best. Rob really knows what he is talking about - I haven't found any errors or bad advice - something that just isn't true for the other entry level TSQL programming books (even those from MSPress). Most importantly - this book reads well, its not a regurgitation of SQL Books Online, its real explanations written with an everyman tone.Alot of topics (mostly covering different services of SQL 2000) are not covered completely (if it did, the book would require a forklift). If I have one complaint, its the chapter on WMI which seems to have been written by a different author and just tacked onto the end of the book - its there, but it just doesn't read as well. If your looking for an advanced book - check out Ken Henderson's Gurus Guide and Ben-Gan / Moreau's Advanced TSQL (which I'm reading now and is great). But if your a newbie, this is it.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: .NET Enterprise Design with Visual Basic .NET and SQL Server 2000
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Jimmy Nilsson, Jimmy Nilsson
Rating: 5/5
Title: .NET Enterprise Design with Visual Basic .NET and SQL Server 2000
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Jimmy Nilsson, Jimmy Nilsson
Rating: 5/5
Although I haven't read this book, I wanted to make sure the above review does not discourage people from reading this book. This book is not about teaching Visual Basic.NET or SQL Server fundamentals. Instead it explains how to create an N-Tier architectue using those technologies. Furthermore, of course there won't be "complete" samples in a book like this. A decent size N-Tier application could possibly take a couple of hundred pages to thoroughly explain (look at the IBuySpy or Fitch and Mather applications). Instead (it appears from the sample chapter/table of contents) that the authors focus on specific points in the distributed application to examine closely. To reiterate, if you want to learn simple VB.NET or SQL Server - Don't buy this book or you'll end up frustrated like the fellow above. If you would like to learn about DNA or N-Tier architectural concepts (or if you would like to migrate your existing DNA skills to .NET) I would highly recommend this book.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Transact-SQL Programming
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Lee Gould, Andrew Zanevsky, Kevin Kline
Rating: 1/5
Title: Transact-SQL Programming
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Lee Gould, Andrew Zanevsky, Kevin Kline
Rating: 1/5
Despite the cover, this is not a 7.0 book. I believe it was written for 4.2 or 6.5 because many of the source listings use techniques that have been deprecated for years, even by Microsoft (e.g., old-style joins). This thing really needs an update. I found no less than 10 examples that wouldn't work on 7.0.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: SQL/400 Developer's Guide
Publisher: 29th Street Press
Authors: Paul Conte, Mike Cravitz
Rating: 5/5
Title: SQL/400 Developer's Guide
Publisher: 29th Street Press
Authors: Paul Conte, Mike Cravitz
Rating: 5/5
SQL/400 Developer's Guide is an outstanding resource for anyone - beginners, students, programmers and database administrators - who needs to learn Structured Query Language and/or the AS/400 database - DB2 UDB/400. This is not another preachy, sleep inducing tome on database theory. It contains many practical examples you can implement immediately. You will learn to develop professional databases for real business applications. The authors are articulate and thorough in their coverage. It is obvious they "enjoy" database design and programming. We have waited a long time for such comprehensive coverage. This book was worth the wait!
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Microsoft SQL Server: What Database Administrators Need to Know
Publisher: Prentice Hall Ptr
Authors: Jeffry Byrne, Jeffry L. Byrne
Rating: 5/5
Title: Microsoft SQL Server: What Database Administrators Need to Know
Publisher: Prentice Hall Ptr
Authors: Jeffry Byrne, Jeffry L. Byrne
Rating: 5/5
This is an excellent tool for the administration of MS SQL Server. I has important information for DBA's and some usefull information for developers. It has detailed explanations of SQL Server tuning, Replication and SQL Security. An absolute must read for SQL Server Administrators!
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Inside Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 (Microsoft Programming Series)
Publisher: Microsoft Pr
Authors: Ron Soukup
Rating: 5/5
Title: Inside Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 (Microsoft Programming Series)
Publisher: Microsoft Pr
Authors: Ron Soukup
Rating: 5/5
Without question, this is the most comprehensive guide to SQL Server I have ever read. Ron Soukup skips over the 'entry level' crap and plunges directly into the heard of the Server architecture. If you are SQL Server DBA, this one is a must!
