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
If you use Oracle SQL on a regular basis, and are looking for more power without turning to procedural SQL, greater understanding of what's possible with Oracle SQL, and overall greater mastery of the language, then this book definitely deserves a place in your library. A beginner might find him/herself a bit overwhelmed with the depth of the book, but with effort, the knowledge gained from it will prove invaluable. Those already familiar with Oracle and SQL, will still find it very enlightening and enabling.One very nice feature in the book is how the authors are very good to point out gotchas you might encounter, and particularly workarounds to limitations in Oracle's implementation of SQL. In this way the book falls squarely into the role for which it was intended, i.e., mastering the topic--knowing the inherent strengths and shortcomings of the product, and how to leverage the strengths while working around the shortcomings.Throughout the book the authors include coverage on new features availble in Oracle 9i, and they are very careful to point out which features covered are available in the various older releases of Oracle (as well as which ones are not).Mastering Oracle SQL passes the practicality and timeliness rating with flying colors. I've already been able to use several tricks I've learned from the book to great advantage in my daily work.In summary, if you want to get beyond the simple examples in most books covering SQL, and a better overall picture than what the references and the Oracle documentation have to offer, Mastering Oracle SQL will be an invaluable tool in your hands.With respect to the lack of an example database mentioned in other reviews, the authors have now posted a zip file in the 'Examples' section of the book's web site ... which includes sql to create and populate the example database used in the book.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: The Guru's Guide to Transact-SQL
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Authors: Ken Henderson
Rating: 5/5
Title: The Guru's Guide to Transact-SQL
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Authors: Ken Henderson
Rating: 5/5
Theres so much good about this book that I don't know where to start. For one thing its absolutely loaded with code. Hundreds and hundreds of examples. Good code too. I'm using some of it as I write this. The writing is also very good. Other reviewers have commented on this and I agree. I find this guy really easy to read. The text flows really well. Great code + great text = one heck of a book.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: MCSE: SQL Server 2000 Design Study Guide (Exam 70-229)
Publisher: Sybex
Authors: Marc Israel, J. Steven Jones, Marc Israel, Steve Jones
Rating: 4/5
Title: MCSE: SQL Server 2000 Design Study Guide (Exam 70-229)
Publisher: Sybex
Authors: Marc Israel, J. Steven Jones, Marc Israel, Steve Jones
Rating: 4/5
This is an excellent book written at the "professional beginner" level discussing issues of database design and planning with SQL server 2000. Excellent design and configuration tips, Good explanations of difficult concepts, however, the practice tests are somewhat lacking, and while it covers all of the relevant material, the book fails somewhat as a study aid specifically for the 70-229 exam, where many other Sybex books excel. The book is well worth the money as a useful tool for a relatively new SQL 2000 DBA, however, don't rely on it too heavily for the test.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Kalen Delaney
Rating: 5/5
Title: Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Authors: Kalen Delaney
Rating: 5/5
What I love about this book is that it really shows you the full story of SQL Server, starting with a broad history of the product, and eventually delving down into the deep internals of the system.
I recently had to to deal with an old Sybase database, and found this book helpful, because Kalen's discussion of the internal storage and retrieval of data really applies across many database technologies. And of course, it has also proven invaluable for working with SQL Server too!
This book is directed to people who want to know what SQL Server can do and how to use it. No marketing hype here, just good solid material.
The only downside is the index, which for MS Press books, is in a too-large text, does not indent things well, and does not always group things in the most useful fashion. But this is not a fault of the author, and does not lessen the greateness of this book.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: OCA/OCP: Introduction to Oracle9i SQL Study Guide
Publisher: Sybex
Authors: Chip Dawes, Biju Thomas, Chip Dawes, Biju Thomas
Rating: 2/5
Title: OCA/OCP: Introduction to Oracle9i SQL Study Guide
Publisher: Sybex
Authors: Chip Dawes, Biju Thomas, Chip Dawes, Biju Thomas
Rating: 2/5
There is no such thing as an error free technical book, but this one sets a new high-water mark for errors. Don't even begin without incorporating all the changes from the errata - which cover perhaps 3/4 of the errors. And there are even errors in the errata! The book has lost so much credibility with me that I find myself reading with considerable skepticism. Fortunately I have several years of Oracle SQL experience, so if something looks suspicious I just go to OTN to check. All that said, the book is well designed as far as subject presentation (tho I would move data types to beginning), uses lots of clear (& usually correct) examples, and covers most of the material needed. I would probably purchase it again.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: MCSD: SQL Server 6.5 Database Design Study Guide
Publisher: Sybex Inc
Authors: Kevin Hough
Rating: 5/5
Title: MCSD: SQL Server 6.5 Database Design Study Guide
Publisher: Sybex Inc
Authors: Kevin Hough
Rating: 5/5
I am always searching for SQL books that offer me quick reference and assist me in teaching others SQL. I became very excited when I first did my quick scan of this book. I have several items that I always look for when reviewing SQL books. This book had them all (in great detail). I am recommending this to all my young Visual Basic/SQL developers (and experienced developers) for reference.
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
I'm an AS/400 programmer with over ten years experience with RPG, DDS, and DB2/400. I've been working with SQL/400 for a little over a year. I wish I'd had this book when I started learning SQL! It has very thorough introductions to all the essential DDL and DML statements. Although I'm somewhat beyond the "basics" level now, I've also found lots of help with more advanced issues. The explanation of transaction isolation levels and record locking is better than I've found anywhere. Also, the complex rules for "system" vs. "SQL" naming are finally comprehensible. The authors seem to know SQL/400 very well, judging from the numerous "nitty-gritty" technical fine points that are provided in footnotes. This is really the kind of book that an AS/400 developer needs to become a good SQL programmer, too.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Learn MS SQL Server 7.0
Publisher: Wordware Publishing
Authors: Jose Ramalho, Jose Antonio Ramalho
Rating: 5/5
Title: Learn MS SQL Server 7.0
Publisher: Wordware Publishing
Authors: Jose Ramalho, Jose Antonio Ramalho
Rating: 5/5
I have seven MS SQL Server books and I recommend Ramalho's book as the best jump start guide. The book is cookbook style with many step-by-step screen shots and will get you running faster than any other without having to read endless pages of jargon-filled text even if you didn't know how to spell SQL. Once you create your first database, however, you will need other books, as Ramalho's does lack detail. DO NOT expect one book to be enough to learn SQL from. The best companions I've found are Sam's "Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes" for fast access to instructions on specific tasks, and QUE's "Special Edition Using SQL Server 7.0" for looking up details. CAUTION: if you are relying only on books to create your first SQL 7.0 database, I strongly encourage you to read Using's Chapter 6 on Tables and Datatypes. Proper datatype selection is (I think) the most important aspect of efficient database building. Happy "sequeling".
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Professional PHP Programming
Publisher:
Authors: Jesus Castagnetto, Sascha Schumann, Harish Rawat, Chris Scollo, Deepak T. Veliath
Rating: 4/5
Title: Professional PHP Programming
Publisher:
Authors: Jesus Castagnetto, Sascha Schumann, Harish Rawat, Chris Scollo, Deepak T. Veliath
Rating: 4/5
I was looking for a PHP book that wasn't just a reprint of the manual (like most of them are). This book is great for newbies and expirienced programmers alike. This is the book that'll be on your desk 24 a day -- since you'll keep refering back to it. Should be on every serious PHP developer's book shelf. The only thing I didn't like about the book was that the chapter on PHP and XML didn't provide as much details as I was hoping for. But since I got it really cheap using a coupon from UnderTag.com, I can't really complain.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Beginning E-Commerce with Visual Basic, ASP, SQL Server 7.0 and MTS
Publisher: Peer Information
Authors: Matthew Reynolds
Rating: 5/5
Title: Beginning E-Commerce with Visual Basic, ASP, SQL Server 7.0 and MTS
Publisher: Peer Information
Authors: Matthew Reynolds
Rating: 5/5
This book is an excellent way of getting your hands wet in the e-commerce arena. It is very comprehesive and guides you step by step over the basics in implemeting an online store. It goes into fine detail explaining the basics behind ASP and SQL, and does a great job explaining n-tier solutions. And if the book is not enough, there is a great forum in the wrox web site in which most questions are answered by its members. It is a must buy guide if you're trying to deploy your own e-commerce site.
