IT programming books related reviews
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Mastering Oracle SQL
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Sanjay Mishra, Alan Beaulieu
Rating: 5/5
Title: Mastering Oracle SQL
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Sanjay Mishra, Alan Beaulieu
Rating: 5/5
This book is really helpful. Lots of examples, tips and techniques. I found some critical examples I was looking for a long time. Beginners as well as advance users will definitely benefit from this book.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: McSe Readiness Review Exam 70-028: Administering Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 (Mcse Readiness Review)
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Jill Spealman
Rating: 3/5
Title: McSe Readiness Review Exam 70-028: Administering Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 (Mcse Readiness Review)
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Jill Spealman
Rating: 3/5
I have not taken the MSoft test yet, but I have found this book helpful. The book is broken down into sections and then discusses each objective with review questions. It comes with a interactive CD-ROM for testing with your PC. You can also purchase more test through the vendor. The book list several references for each objective.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Joe Celko's SQL for Smarties: Advanced SQL Programming (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems)
Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann
Authors: Joe Celko
Rating: 5/5
Title: Joe Celko's SQL for Smarties: Advanced SQL Programming (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems)
Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann
Authors: Joe Celko
Rating: 5/5
Being a professional Database Administrator using Ingres, I wanted a good SQL reference book and I found it. This book does not teach you SQL it is designed for those who are already familiar with basic conventions; what it does do is to highlight areas where you could improve the efficiency of the code you write. This resides on my desk permanently and should be treated as a reference bible rather than a tutorial. The gems it contains cannot be absorded at first reading...you will refer to it again and again. A fine book and a great buy.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2000 DTS Step by Step
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Carl Rabeler
Rating: 4/5
Title: Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2000 DTS Step by Step
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Carl Rabeler
Rating: 4/5
Unlike "Professional SQL Server 2000 DTS" by WROX Press, this particular book does not cover (nearly) every topic under the umbrella of Data Transformation Services. It does, however, address as many relevant aspects to DTS functionality as possible throughout the development of a 'data movement application'. Having worked with SQL Server since 1998, I can vouch for the concise teaching approach this book follows. It certainly stands out as the best book I've seen to both help introduce SQL Server professionals (especially juniors) to DTS as well as serve as a quick reference for more seasoned veterans. I can only hope future SQL Server Step-By-Step titles closely follow the great model of practical real-world relevance and clear instruction demonstrated by Mr. Rabeler's book.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Professional Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 Admin
Publisher: Apress
Authors: Kevin Kline, Christian Gross, Tom Walsh, Dwayne Seiber
Rating: 5/5
Title: Professional Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 Admin
Publisher: Apress
Authors: Kevin Kline, Christian Gross, Tom Walsh, Dwayne Seiber
Rating: 5/5
I was lucky to have Sharon Dooley in a Learning Tree class and she really knows her stuff. This book has some great articles on tuning SQL Server (good rules-of-thumb) as well as some good troubleshooting techniques. As a SQL Server DBA, this is a must have book
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Online Training Kit (It-Online Training Kit)
Publisher: Microsoft Pr Rating: 3/5
Title: Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Online Training Kit (It-Online Training Kit)
Publisher: Microsoft Pr Rating: 3/5
I passed the SQL Server Admin exam on the first try, but only after supplementing the online training kit (OTK) with three other books, plus BOL, plus Transcenders, plus several months of practice on live systems.I rate this training material only 3 stars not because it is bad material - for an OTK it's 'okay' - but because I found that an OTK is not a good way to self-train in SQL Server 7 Admin. It's just too easy to hypnotically click-thru the lessons without really absorbing anything.There's no easy way to take notes, no way to use a hi-liter, no way to bookmark important sections. Plus, I found myself hitting the 'repeat' button over, and over, and over again to clearly comprehend what was being said (I'm not talking sound quality - that part was fine).This OTK is 'okay' as a resource for reviewing, but not as your primary training material.My suggestion is to use the good ol' hardcopy training manual, supplemented with BOL, Transcenders, and lots of hands-on practice.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Apache: the Definitive Guide (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Ben Laurie, Peter Laurie
Rating: 2/5
Title: Apache: the Definitive Guide (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Ben Laurie, Peter Laurie
Rating: 2/5
The authors jump in with an example configuration, but never explain how each element of the configuration relates to the rest. For example- do alias statements take precedence over <directory> blocks ? Does it matter what order an alias or scriptalias directive appears in your file ? We are never told. In addition, there is a lack of continuity between one experiment in configuration and the next. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's unclear who the intended audience is. I'm sure at some point I'll get some value from the API documentation, but as a newbie to Apache, I've learned considerably more through trial and error on my own than by reading this book.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP by Example
Publisher: Que
Authors: Toby Butzon
Rating: 5/5
Title: PHP by Example
Publisher: Que
Authors: Toby Butzon
Rating: 5/5
Let's get right to the point. This is the Rosetta Stone of PHP books. This book and PHP go together like the Lone Ranger and Tonto (especially episode #114 titled "Tonto vs Microsoft "). All of the ancient PHP secrets will be answered within the pages of this book. If you have any inclination to start up your own website, or just want to do your part as a good American, I suggest you high tail it to the checkout page and buy yourself a copy of this book.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: SQL Server 2000: A Beginner's Guide (Book/CD-ROM)
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Authors: Dusan Petkovic
Rating: 4/5
Title: SQL Server 2000: A Beginner's Guide (Book/CD-ROM)
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Authors: Dusan Petkovic
Rating: 4/5
Definitely not for the complete beginner. If you have an idea about what a database is and what you want out of your database then this is a great book. My experience with databases is fairly minimal, but I had some experience prior to reading this book because I built a web application that used Access on the back end. I understood database structure and had a context to read the book, so when I would read about something I would think to myself how I could use that information. Without this frame of reference, I would have been lost and this book would have been abysmal.That said, for me this book was an excellent read. I LOVED this book. I found no significant errors in the book (a small typo here or there). I used it to prepare for the Microsoft class on Desiging and Imlementing a Database Design using SQL Server 2000. I am a network engineer by trade and was afraid that I would be left behind in this class, so I needed to get up to speed quickly. This book provided huge amounts of clear and concise information to me in a very short time, and in the class I was probably the most knowledgeable student (not bad for a network engineer in a room full of DBAs and web programmers). In fact, there were multiple occasions where the information I learned in this book let me answer questions in the class that the instructor could not, and I also pointed out several instances where my instructor was just plain wrong. In summary, if you have some sort of database experience using a different product, this will get you up to speed very quickly on the vast majority of the aspects of SQL Server 2000. I commend the author on his writing style. I would have given it 5 stars if the audience for the book was more clearly defined by the title or the back page.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP Essentials
Publisher: Muska & Lipman/Premier-Trade
Authors: Julie C. Meloni
Rating: 5/5
Title: PHP Essentials
Publisher: Muska & Lipman/Premier-Trade
Authors: Julie C. Meloni
Rating: 5/5
I have only read the first few chapters in this book. However, I was so impressed with the author's simple and concise manner for explaining the basics of HTML, Database Structure, SQL and of course, PHP, I did an author search to see what other tech books Ms. Maloni has out. Unfortuneatley, she only has one other, on Flash.. and I don't need it. But if she ever puts out any other books on topics which I am learning about.. hers will be the first I buy.
