IT programming books related reviews
Product: Book Paperback
Title: SQL Server 2000 Fast Answers for DBAs and Developers
Publisher: Glasshaus
Authors: Joseph Sack
Rating: 5/5
Title: SQL Server 2000 Fast Answers for DBAs and Developers
Publisher: Glasshaus
Authors: Joseph Sack
Rating: 5/5
A must for the SQL Administrator's library. The book is very detailed and had saved me many hours of research and troubleshooting within 2 weeks of purchasing it. More helpful than O'Reilly or Sams
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP and MySQL Web Development
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Luke Welling, Laura Thomson
Rating: 4/5
Title: PHP and MySQL Web Development
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Luke Welling, Laura Thomson
Rating: 4/5
Being a web designer for over 2 years, I have found the want and need to better understand the back-end of the web. I found myself designing pages and sites that I knew if I had the knowledge, I could make better navigable and provide more interaction with the user.
I had heard a little about PHP, being Open-Source and quite scalable. I decided to purchase this book because I knew that most web applications utilize some form of database.
Although there are some quite apparent gramatical and syntactical errors, this book is the perfect level for those who know about programming, and the concepts that are required (OOP etc...) It provides several real-world examples of web applications and how the authors went about developing said projects. If you have a understanding of a programming language (not just HTML) and how RDBMS works, then this book is perfect solution for you.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: MCSE Administering SQL Server 7 Exam Cram (Exam: 70-028)
Publisher: Coriolis Group Books
Authors: Jeffrey Garbus, David Pascuzzi, Alvin Chang
Rating: 1/5
Title: MCSE Administering SQL Server 7 Exam Cram (Exam: 70-028)
Publisher: Coriolis Group Books
Authors: Jeffrey Garbus, David Pascuzzi, Alvin Chang
Rating: 1/5
Pathetic! Hey Garbus! Did you take the same test everybody else did? You focus primaily on syntax. I had a couple of them. You MENTION the GUI applications that use the Stored Procedures. That's what's on the exam! The SP's aren't on the exam. Sure, I can figure out what you are writing about but its an exam CRAM not a "here-is-the-most-efficient-way-to- administer-SQL-Server" lesson from your classes. Hey, guy, if you prefer to work with command-line. Go back to MS-DOS.Do NOT buy book! If you want to cram goto (pun intended): http://leuthard.ch/mcse/braindumps.shtml The Dumps there are great! BTW, I have used Exam Cram for every exam that I have taken (6) and passed. Loved them like a friend with the answer key. No, I don't have the key. This book was pathetic. (The NT Server 4.0 Enterprise was OK.) Enough said.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Getting Started With SQL Procedure: Version 6
Publisher: SAS Institute, Incorporated
Authors: Sas
Rating: 3/5
Title: Getting Started With SQL Procedure: Version 6
Publisher: SAS Institute, Incorporated
Authors: Sas
Rating: 3/5
Basically, this is a list of SQL procedures with short explanations; you see (very quickly) the trees, but not the forest. The book most appropriate for intermediate or advanced SQL (Structured Query Language) users; it is not an introduction, as implied by the title. First, if I were "getting started" with SQL, I would want to know why I needed to learn it. With the important exception of the `Join' chapter (roughly equivalent to "Merge" in SAS), the book does not explain the SQL's advantages compared with other database managers-there is little context.
Although published by the SAS Institute, the book offers few contrasting examples of SQL and SAS. Except on one page ("When to Use Joins and Subqueries," page 56) from the `Join' chapter, the book does not directly compare SQL to SAS or any other statistical language or database manager. Similarly, there are few examples showing how to use them together. Instead, there's a very dry, nuts-and-bolts list of SQL procedure terms and very brief programming examples. Contrast this with the SAS Institute volume, "SAS Guide to the SQL Procedure" which directly compares non-SQL SAS and SQL procedures, and is written in a more conversational and interesting manner.
Looking at SQL only, the book does not explain adequately the laundry list of described procedures. Why and when, for example, would I want to create an "empty table (one that has variables but no rows)?" At times, many alternatives for a single SQL task, but there is little guidance about which one is better under what conditions. The concise language results in a relatively short book, but the instructions and sample programs are often truncated and confusing. In the following excerpt, for example, example, the language is terse, apparently contradictory, and refers to an "operator" that has not yet been explained:
"ALL does not suppress duplicate rows. When you use ALL, PROC SQL does make a second pass of the data to eliminate duplicate rows after it performs the set operation. Thus, using ALL is more efficient than not using it. ALL is not necessary with the OUTER UNION operator. See Output 2.2 for an example."
Given this lack of context, it is perhaps not surprising that the overall organization is not very helpful for the beginner. This work does not persuade one to learn SQL's many special terms and language. The eight pages of the JOIN chapter, the most useful and best-written section of this 78-page book (this includes ten pages relevant only for users with SQL Query Window software, and a 6-page index), hardly justifies the ridiculous price of more than $100. This concise book may be very useful for intermediate/advanced users who need to quickly review something, but it is a disappointment for the beginner.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Dreamweaver MX: PHP Web Development
Publisher: Peer Information
Authors: Bruno Mairlot, Gareth Downes-Powell, Tim Green
Rating: 4/5
Title: Dreamweaver MX: PHP Web Development
Publisher: Peer Information
Authors: Bruno Mairlot, Gareth Downes-Powell, Tim Green
Rating: 4/5
The bad news first - The first 50 pages do a fairly decent job of explaining what PHP/MySQL are, and how to get them running on your system, but I found myself feeling as if they assumed I knew a few things that I in fact did not. Took me a week (and a few visits to some user forums) to finally get my WinXP (NTFS) system configured correctly - and I'm sure they were simple fixes that I needed. I recomend having other PHP/MySQL documentation nearby before starting. You'll want them anyway to dig deeper once you're through with this book.All that aside - once the applications are running smoothly this book does a wonderful job of not only walking you through the process of building a database-driven site, but explains the whys and why nots. I consider myself quite comfortable and familiar with DW, but even I learned a few new tricks.I'd gladly pay more if the book included more help with set-up, but it's still the best I've found and I'll be trying other titles from Glasshaus.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Learning PHP 5
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: David Sklar
Rating: 3/5
Title: Learning PHP 5
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: David Sklar
Rating: 3/5
I picked up this book shortly after PHP 5 became available, expecting that because it's specifically about PHP 5 it would give some attention to PHP 5's new features over PHP 4. Most specifically I wanted to read about PHP 5's completely new Object Model, which is not a minor change. This book only mentions objects and classes in passing though, so it wasn't helpful to me at all in that regard. The chapter on working with databases has been helpful to me. It focuses mainly on PEAR DB but includes some good information about PHP 5's improved MySQL functions.
It's still a helpful book for programming PHP in general, and I do check it from time to time to brush up on syntax or look at example code. It reads pretty well and the examples are solid. If you're coming to PHP with prior experience in Java, Perl, or anything similar, you'll probably find the pace pretty slow. If you want a well-rounded introduction to PHP you'll do well with this book. If you're looking for information on more advanced topics like object-oriented programming, look elsewhere.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: MCSE/MCSD: SQL Server 7 Database Design Study Guide
Publisher: Sybex Inc
Authors: Kevin Hough
Rating: 4/5
Title: MCSE/MCSD: SQL Server 7 Database Design Study Guide
Publisher: Sybex Inc
Authors: Kevin Hough
Rating: 4/5
When my company went to MS SQL 7 I wanted a source that tells me what I needed in a complete but easy to understand manner. This book does it in a manner that everyone should be able to take advantage of. I'm using this book so much at work and home that I bought a second copy.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Core PHP Programming: Using PHP to Build Dynamic Web Sites (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Pearson Education
Authors: Leon Atkinson
Rating: 4/5
Title: Core PHP Programming: Using PHP to Build Dynamic Web Sites (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Pearson Education
Authors: Leon Atkinson
Rating: 4/5
I found this book most helpful. I came to PHP from reading webmonkey.com's tutorial, and wanting more. I got it.I've found the odd mistake, and differences in the code on the CD from that in the book, but overall it's great. I'd of preferred more info on what to do when it all goes wrong.
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Publisher: Rating: 5/5
Title:
Publisher: Rating: 5/5
This book is outstanding. It comes with several PL/SQL examples to illustrate each of the concepts presented - and is an indispensable tool for me at work. I can honestly say this book has helped my career as an Oracle consultant, by keeping my skills on the cutting edge.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: SQL Server 7: A Beginner's Guide
Publisher: Osborne Publishing
Authors: Dusan Petkovic
Rating: 5/5
Title: SQL Server 7: A Beginner's Guide
Publisher: Osborne Publishing
Authors: Dusan Petkovic
Rating: 5/5
I am an experienced Access user with some knowledge of SQL. I have found in this book exactly what I need to learn SQL Server from the beginning on. The part of the book concerning Transact-SQL is especially well written for someone like me. I recommend this book to all MS Access users who are upgrading to SQL Server 7.
