IT programming books related reviews
Product:
Title:
Publisher: Rating: 5/5
Title:
Publisher: Rating: 5/5
All doubts you could have about PL/SQL is solved in this book. It pays the investment! Amazing.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: OCP Developer PL/SQL Program Units Exam Guide
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Authors: Steve O'Hearn
Rating: 5/5
Title: OCP Developer PL/SQL Program Units Exam Guide
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Authors: Steve O'Hearn
Rating: 5/5
For me this book worked for the OCP exam (53/57 questions correct in 32 minutes). With this book it took me 1 week to prepare for this exam (weekday evenings and most of the weekend).If you want to do the PL/SQL program units exam this book is definitely the book to go for. I did not find any errors in this book. In the test questions from ORACLE I found no questions that was not explained in the book in a very understandable form.Beeing a not native speaker I can not really comment on the style of writing but I found it very readable.This book mentions one very import thing about the exam: read the questions first and than read the source code. I found that sometimes you actually do not need the (lengthy) source code in order to answer the questions.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours (3rd Edition)
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Ryan Stephens, Ron Plew
Rating: 1/5
Title: Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours (3rd Edition)
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Ryan Stephens, Ron Plew
Rating: 1/5
I knew some SQL and chose this book to drill it in since I hadn't used it in a while.
This book is pretty basic, but that was expected.
Whenever I read a review that mentioned errors in a book I didn't really see the big deal or imagine how bad it could be, but it is a big deal and it's a royal pain in the you know. In this book there are errors in examples, in quizes, in syntax, you name it. And this is the 2nd edition too.
Even more important, the examples are not good at all. I know what they are trying to say because I know some SQL but I feel bad for the beginner. The examples are not relevant to the particular components they are trying to teach half the time.
I will never get one of these books again, the lack of care put into the editing alone says something about Sams.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP and MySQL Web Development, Second Edition
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Luke Welling, Laura Thomson
Rating: 1/5
Title: PHP and MySQL Web Development, Second Edition
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Luke Welling, Laura Thomson
Rating: 1/5
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The book appears to be very informative; the contents seem to cover PHP and MySQL quite extensively. Using the book's directions to set up PHP (from the included CD) however, has been fruitless.I was able to install MySQL and Apache on my W2K box quite easily. The instructions for installing and configuring MySQL were easy to follow. Testing MySQL revealed a successful installation.Setting up Apache was a breeze. The directions were clear and easy to follow. The Apache Web server also tested successfully.I expected that installing PHP would be a no-brainer as well. The book recommends a manual installation, but when describing the automatic install, isn't clear that it's an either-or choice. I ignored the automatic setup and proceeded with the manual installation.The manual process involves unzipping PHP and copying the PHP folder to the root of drive C. The next ambiguous step was choosing between the CGI or ISAPI implementation of PHP. The differences were explained, and the authors indicated either would work.I chose the ISAPI option, which involved copying an apache/ISAPI DLL to the root PHP folder. There was no mention whether you needed to disable, rename or remove the CGI's DLL, also in the PHP root. I left it in place.The next step involved creating C:\USR\, moving and copying files there and to C:\WINNT\, C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\, the Apache HTDOCS folder and then editing a couple files.The \USR folder instructions caught me by surprise. I also use RedHat and know the USR directory is specific to Linux. At first I wondered if this was a cut/paste error. The authors could have indicated that the USR directory, native to Linux, is necessary on the Windows PC for compatibility reasons.The C:\WINNT\PHP.INI file required specifying a couple paths to PHP folders. The examples in the book were inconsistent - The first showed a path without quotes surrounding it, the second entry, on the following page, did have quotes. I was able to look through the existing entries in the INI file to determine that quotes were being used. I used quotes too.Editing the Apache CONFIG file was confusing as the book used path examples with conflicting slashes (C:/PHP/ and C:\PHP\). The file had examples that Windows entries should use the back-slash. There were also three entries to append to the file for CGI option. Again, the book did not indicate that they should not be inserted if you are using the ISAPI module.After restarting the Apache service, the PHP test page (PHPINFO) would initiate a file download in the browser. If run from the HTDOCS folder, it would display a blank page.I repeated the steps of the installation, then installed (very carefully) on a second W2K machine. All efforts produced the same results.At this point I opened the README that came with PHP. It appears that the authors's instructions for installing PHP are pretty much a copy/paste from the PHP readme. BUT, the readme included information that the slashes in the Apache CONFIG file are irrelevant, they could be mixed without impact (C:/PROGRAM FILES\APACHE GROUP/HTDOCS\).Regarding the three additional (CGI mode) lines in the PHP.INI recommended by the book - the readme has the same information, but indicates that it would be "suicidal to use them".That's as far as I made it last night. I'll continue working on it over the weekend, but will look at third party docs for a definitive reference.While I'm new to PHP, I've been in the IT field more than fifteen years. I grew up on DOS 3.3, saw QEMM come and go, could write CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC's from memory, host a dozen domains and code VB and HTML on a daily basis. The inability to get past the installation process is frustrating. Buying a highly endorsed book on PHP that contradicts itself, and the docs included on the CD, is especially disappointing.Since my purchase, I have seen reviews that reference incorrect code in the body of the book. If these reports are true, I'd have to second-guess each error I encounter. Coding and math share the same rule, either it's correct, or it's not.The reason I chose "one star" is for the lapse in "attention to detail" I have found in documenting what should be a painless start. While I'll have PHP up and running soon, first-time coders may not be so successful.I hope the authors will post corrections to errors discovered in this book and provide a link to that site somehow. I'm looking forward to learning PHP as I continue through this book, but would like to correct the errors before getting to them.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: SQL Tuning
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Dan Tow
Rating: 5/5
Title: SQL Tuning
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Dan Tow
Rating: 5/5
Having read most of the Oracle performance tuning books on the market, I have to say this is absolutely the best pure SQL tuning book you can buy. The author teaches a unique approach to SQL tuning. He uses 'graphs' to map out the best sql plans. Though the author is an Oracle specialist the technique works with all SQL databases. He does not provide tips for the best type of join or whether 'in is better than exists'. He teaches a repeatable methodology that works. So you can solve your SQL tuning issues without guessing.
I saw one negative review of this book and found the persons comments amateurish. His complaint was essentially that the author did not include information specifically about SQL Server that Microsoft gives away for free on their website and that many other books have repeatedly rehashed.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: MCDBA SQL Server 7 Test Yourself Practice Exams (Exams 70-028 & 70-029)
Publisher: Osborne Publishing Rating: 4/5
Title: MCDBA SQL Server 7 Test Yourself Practice Exams (Exams 70-028 & 70-029)
Publisher: Osborne Publishing Rating: 4/5
This book I bought as part of the MCDBA boxed set from Syngress, and it's the only one of the batch that's really worth your money.The questions in the book are very hard, and although the format is a bit different than in the real test, it's my personal opinion that these are harder than on the real test.Each question has elaborate answers telling you both why the correct answer is correct, and why the incorrect answers are incorrect. Here, I learned much about SQL Server that I didn't know before, so with this book, you not only test your knowledge; you also learn while you do it.More than one author has contributed to this book, and it's my impression that the section(s) on the design test are more thoroughly worked out than the ones on the administration test.My only real gripe with this book is that some questions (most in the administration section) seem to have erronous answers, but it's not many.This book will not teach you SQL Server, but if you know the product already, this book can help you prepare for the test(s).
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Database Implementation Training Kit (Training Kit)
Publisher: Microsoft Press Rating: 5/5
Title: Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Database Implementation Training Kit (Training Kit)
Publisher: Microsoft Press Rating: 5/5
My company bought this training kit for me and I really enjoy reading it. I had some three months experience with SQL Server 7.0 and this kit tells me some of the details. I'm more used to Oracle but SQL Server is also fun!
Product: Book Paperback
Title: MCSA/MCSE/MCDBA: SQL Server 2000 Administration Study Guide, 2nd Edition (70-228)
Publisher: Sybex
Authors: Rick Sawtell, Joseph L. Jorden, Lance Mortensen, Joseph Jorden, Lance Mortensen, Rick Sawtell
Rating: 4/5
Title: MCSA/MCSE/MCDBA: SQL Server 2000 Administration Study Guide, 2nd Edition (70-228)
Publisher: Sybex
Authors: Rick Sawtell, Joseph L. Jorden, Lance Mortensen, Joseph Jorden, Lance Mortensen, Rick Sawtell
Rating: 4/5
Coming from Oracle background I am currently using this book to prepare for my MCDBA certification. I would not rate myself as beginner because I have dealt with MS SQL Server on many occasions but not heavily. I am pacing myself with one chapter a day. So far I read about 5 chapters and I would admit that the content is good. Like any other technical book, this one also has some mistakes. In my case I started seeing the mistake on pages 145 and 146. On those pages the authors stated that to see the file id you need to run in the SQL Analyzer the stored procedure sp_helpdb. That is not true at all it should be sp_helpfile. I caught that mistake quickly because I really understood the previous information given and related to file, and I also tested the stored procedures listed in the book. I did check the errata on sybex website nothing is listed concerning that mistake but there are some other corrected mistakes though on the website.
As I always do I don't rely on one source for my certification exams. I have got another book and I am planning to get a third one too. I will go through all of them before I go take the exam end of May. I will try to post another review after I took exam.
My overall impression on this book is the book is well-written and easy to follow. So far I am getting useful information out of the book. And that helps me understand the objectives on the exam. I am doing pretty good with the review questions at the end of the chapters. After going through half of the book I think I like what I see and I would recommend this book but not as the only source to study for the exam.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP3: Programming Browser-Based Applications with PHP
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
Authors: Dave Medinets
Rating: 3/5
Title: PHP3: Programming Browser-Based Applications with PHP
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
Authors: Dave Medinets
Rating: 3/5
I feel this book is well written, however lacking some content. For those needing database connectivity, the examples in this book are beautiful, well defined, and easy to understand. I have personally used the content of the book to help me build 3 live production databases. I have needs for other areas of PHP now, and what I need is not covered in this book. I'll need to get another book for other areas of PHP, but I won't complain. This book has helped me tremendously on the job.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Php Fast & Easy Web Development (Fast & Easy Web Development)
Publisher: Premier Press
Authors: Julie C. Meloni
Rating: 2/5
Title: Php Fast & Easy Web Development (Fast & Easy Web Development)
Publisher: Premier Press
Authors: Julie C. Meloni
Rating: 2/5
The step-by-step instructions and code samples are great for the beginning programmer, but there is no code overview which lists the entire program in its completion. This makes it harder for a beginner programmer to get to the next level, as they can't understand the big picture, seeing how the pieces fit together.The captions, labels, and descriptions, though, make it easy for almost anyone to pickup.
