IT programming books related reviews
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Unleashed (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Ray Rankins, Paul Jensen, Paul Bertucci
Rating: 5/5
Title: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Unleashed (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Ray Rankins, Paul Jensen, Paul Bertucci
Rating: 5/5
I have read around 12 SQL books. If there is a highly rated SQL book, I probably read it. Along with "Microsoft SQL Server Performance Tuning and Optmization", this book is the best there is. This would be the book I will take with me if I had ended up in some isolated island with a SQL Server I had to manage. If you are some GUI button pushing SQL monkey, get this book fast and master its contents, only then you will become a real SQL DBA. One note, I also highly recommend "Inside SQL Server 2000" from Microsoft. But that book is not quite as comprehensive as this one.
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
This is a wonderfully insightful book. I learned more in the first chapter than I've learned in the entirety of other SQL books. For example, I learned that row positioning problems (e.g., computing a median) don't require a cursor. This one insight alone opened a whole new way of coding SQL for me. I learned how transactions *really* work - something no other book gave me. I carry this book to and from the office with me - that should tell you how much I value it.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: SQL: The Complete Reference, Second Edition
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Authors: James R Groff, Paul N. Weinberg
Rating: 3/5
Title: SQL: The Complete Reference, Second Edition
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Authors: James R Groff, Paul N. Weinberg
Rating: 3/5
This book need a re-write to bring it up to the latest SQL standards. If you are still using Pre-SQL92 systems, this book is a pretty good reference.However, it leaves out important new information such as the new JOIN syntax.I recommend you check other texts to ensure this is the *one* that you want.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Core PHP Programming: Using PHP to Build Dynamic Web Sites (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Pearson Education
Authors: Leon Atkinson
Rating: 3/5
Title: Core PHP Programming: Using PHP to Build Dynamic Web Sites (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Pearson Education
Authors: Leon Atkinson
Rating: 3/5
I don't know what to say but its style and presentation is bad. It doesn't look like a reference nor a text book. I think manual comes with php from www.php.net is better than the book. But don't take my words for it, check out book at bookstore or library and you'll see.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft SQL Server 7 in 10 Minutes (Sams Teach Yourself)
Publisher: Sams
Authors: William Robison, William Robinson
Rating: 3/5
Title: Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft SQL Server 7 in 10 Minutes (Sams Teach Yourself)
Publisher: Sams
Authors: William Robison, William Robinson
Rating: 3/5
After reading "Teach Yourself Microsoft SQL, Quick steps for fast results, in 10 Minutes," by Ben Forta, Mr. Robison's pales. The material in general is good, however the details are presented in a string of possible command parameters ... - making it difficult to follow for the novice.I would suggest that the book be rewritten along the lines of Mr. Forta's approach.
Product: Book
Title: Administering SQL Server 7: Complete Administration Reference
Publisher:
Authors: Divya Chaturvedi, Paritosh Pathak
Rating: 1/5
Title: Administering SQL Server 7: Complete Administration Reference
Publisher:
Authors: Divya Chaturvedi, Paritosh Pathak
Rating: 1/5
I was presented this book and told 'learn how to set up sql server'. Not from this. Aside from grammatical problems that make it hard to read, it presumes you know all the ms-isms, the microsoft way of naming or doing things (my 15+ years experience is on other systems). Of several dozen attempts to locate a term or item in the index, none were successful. Best guess; if you know an older sql server, or are well immersed in ms and its methodologies, this book might be useful to learn V7. If not, look elsewhere.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: MCDBA Administering SQL Server 2000 Study Guide (Exam 70-228)
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Authors: Joyjit Mukherjee
Rating: 4/5
Title: MCDBA Administering SQL Server 2000 Study Guide (Exam 70-228)
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Authors: Joyjit Mukherjee
Rating: 4/5
Considering the limited availability of MCDBA certification guides on the market, this has to be one of the better ones. The material is well layed out, and for the most part, covered in appropriate detail. However, the chapter on Replication (Chapter 13), is excessively long and could be broken up into more concise and focused chapters. Some of the exercises aren't always explained very clearly, or have too many typos, i.e. (Exercise 12-1 "Using a DTS Package to Transform Data"). Several steps for this critical exercise are missing and one needs to refer to Books Online to get the correct result. In addition, there are too many references to SQL Server 7.0 that were obviously missed during editing (particularly in Chapter 13). More hands-on exercises are needed and perhaps a greater emphasis on using T-SQL statements for performing traditional DBA tasks. However, the "Two Minute Drills" are excellent. They help test your understanding and retention of subject matter, and are good review tools. Lastly, be sure to read and follow, "Some Pointers," in the PREFACE section of the book, as this is what one needs to do to master the material, and ultimiately be successful during the 70-228 exam.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Transact-SQL Programming
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Lee Gould, Andrew Zanevsky, Kevin Kline
Rating: 3/5
Title: Transact-SQL Programming
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Lee Gould, Andrew Zanevsky, Kevin Kline
Rating: 3/5
I'm very disappointed with this book. I'm a great fan of O'Reilly books, but this one was a bad surprise ... I received my copy only yesterday and have read just one chapter (chapter 15 with only 14 pages) but have found so many errors that I'm not sure about the quality of the rest. On page 490, the syntax for the "Create Trigger" doesn't mention there is a DELETE trigger (I'm sure the authors are aware of it, but it's misleading to a novice). What is even worse: it doesn't mention the "not for replication", the "with append" and the "columns_updated". On page 491, it says there can only be 1 (one) trigger specified for each action, but SQL Server 7.0 supports many triggers. On page 495, the author explain a "ROLLBACK TRIGGER" that simply doesn't exist in SQL Server. On page 498, the author state that there are 16 levels of triggers, when actually there are 32 on SQL Server 7.0. On page 501, the author says that BCP doesn't take constraints into consideration, but there is a "CHECK CONSTRAINTS" option to make it happen.Well, I don't have much space here, but the point is that the author didn't take the time to read the "Books Online" on the CD that is part of the book! My conclusion it that, contrary to what appears on the cover of the book, SQL Server 7.0 isn't treated properly. Now, in every page, I feel the need to check the correctness of what is written.Shame on you, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.Shame on you Kevin Kline, et al.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: SQL Anywhere Studio 9 Developer's Guide (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: Wordware Publishing, Inc.
Authors: Breck Carter
Rating: 5/5
Title: SQL Anywhere Studio 9 Developer's Guide (With CD-ROM)
Publisher: Wordware Publishing, Inc.
Authors: Breck Carter
Rating: 5/5
This book is simply a must-to-have for db-developers; it presents a complete and compact reference for experienced developers as well as it offers a comprehensive immersion in SQL Anywhere to beginners and less experienced ones.
If I had to use only one word to express my opinion about this book I would just say: RELIEF. Relief of not getting drowned again in hundred of pages of irrelevant topics, misleading information, decorative pictures and tools descriptions.
I highly recommend this book to application programmers, as myself, accustomed to flirting with different db-engines but still seeking a solid understanding relational db paradigms.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: SQL for Dummies
Publisher: For Dummies
Authors: Allen G. Taylor
Rating: 2/5
Title: SQL for Dummies
Publisher: For Dummies
Authors: Allen G. Taylor
Rating: 2/5
If you want to do any serious SQL db work, don't get this book. If you only want a general, superficial explanation and minimal understanding of SQL, and don't really need to do any serious work (such as your manager) then this book is for you.
