IT programming books related reviews
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP and MySQL
Publisher: SitePoint
Authors: Kevin Yank
Rating: 5/5
Title: Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP and MySQL
Publisher: SitePoint
Authors: Kevin Yank
Rating: 5/5
I bought this book and am very happy with it. I've bought a lot of books on PHP that really suck, not because the author didn't know the subject, but because the author stunk as a teacher. This isn't a reference book, it's a how-to tutorial and it succeeds at what it set out to do. It teaches PHP and MySQL to newbies. I've used it and have loaned it out to others in my company and they love it. Read this one first and then, if you want to, move on to more in-depth books on PHP.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP Programming for Windows
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Andrew Stopford
Rating: 4/5
Title: PHP Programming for Windows
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Andrew Stopford
Rating: 4/5
This is a nice little book on a very specific topic. In my opinion the author spend too much time (actually half of the book) revisiting basic concepts that any PHP developer should know pretty well, still he manages to provide very interesting information on topics that you hardly find covered elsewhere, like integrating PHP with COM, .NET, ADO or Active Directory
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Mastering Oracle SQL
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Sanjay Mishra, Alan Beaulieu
Rating: 1/5
Title: Mastering Oracle SQL
Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Sanjay Mishra, Alan Beaulieu
Rating: 1/5
It's a good book but it misses a beat here and there on the more difficult topics. It is worth a try, as all the Oracle books are silly.
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
I question whether the authors took the beta exam or the live exam. This book is so heavy on syntax that it completely misses the mark. While it is good to know the syntax and how to do things in query analyzer, this is not what the test is about. None of the GUI tools are covered.This book really falls down when it comes to questions given on the live exam from the perspective of "You're the consultant on site. How would you do this? Or this is what was done, will it work?"If you want to study for the exam then I suggest the following:Use McSe : Sql Server 7 Administration: Training Guide : Exam : 70-028 (The Training Guide Series) ~ Brad McGehee, et al / Hardcover / Published 1999 OR MCSE: SQL Server 7 Administration Study Guide ~ Lance Mortensen, Rick Sawtell / Hardcover / Published 1999 Use TranscenderUse Books Online or better yet buy the actual documentation set.Good Luck!!Steven C. Grigsby, MCSE, MCT, MCP+I
Product: Book Paperback
Title: PHP and MySQL Web Development
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Luke Welling, Laura Thomson
Rating: 5/5
Title: PHP and MySQL Web Development
Publisher: Sams
Authors: Luke Welling, Laura Thomson
Rating: 5/5
I have read this entire book. It's a good book, I would recommend to anyone who is interested in PHP and MySQL. Unfortunately, it looks a little bit think that may discourage you at first but it covers all what you need.
Product: Book Hardcover
Title: MCSD: SQL Server 6.5 Database Design Study Guide
Publisher: Sybex Inc
Authors: Kevin Hough
Rating: 2/5
Title: MCSD: SQL Server 6.5 Database Design Study Guide
Publisher: Sybex Inc
Authors: Kevin Hough
Rating: 2/5
There are far too many technical errors in the text and many of the answers to the questions both in the book & in the supplied test exams are wrong. The exam engine supplied is bug-ridden and the questions are far too easy to provide proper preparation for the MCSD exams. Many of important topics are skimmed over for example Stored Procedures take up less than 10 pages. This book appeaers to have been rushed into publication without the technical checking & editting that I expect from a publisher such as Sybex. Save your money - it's a major disappointment.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: MySQL/PHP Database Applications
Publisher: Wiley
Authors: Jay Greenspan, Brad Bulger
Rating: 5/5
Title: MySQL/PHP Database Applications
Publisher: Wiley
Authors: Jay Greenspan, Brad Bulger
Rating: 5/5
This book is not well explained overall. As I It is hard to find a book convined MySQL and PHP, but I recommend to look for another book. Even I have other programming languages and databases knowledge, it is hard to follow this sloppy book.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Beginning SQL Server 2000 DBA: From Novice to Professional
Publisher: Apress
Authors: Tony Bain, Michael Benkovich, Brian Freeman, Baya Pavliashvili, Joseph Sack
Rating: 5/5
Title: Beginning SQL Server 2000 DBA: From Novice to Professional
Publisher: Apress
Authors: Tony Bain, Michael Benkovich, Brian Freeman, Baya Pavliashvili, Joseph Sack
Rating: 5/5
Packed with practical, real-world information for anyone involved with SQL Server Administration, "Beginning SQL Server 2000 DBA: From Novice to Professional" is one of the most complete administration books available. It is not without its problems but they are generally pretty minor and in fact somewhat humorous at times. For example, page 84 has a section titled "Upgrading to SQL Server 6.5" and page 90 a section titled "Upgrading to Earlier Versions of SQL Server". Obviously you don't upgrade to an earlier version nor do you upgrade from 2000 to 6.5. So, while there are errors, they are so obvious as to not be a big problem. When it comes to the technical details where accuracy is critical, I didn't find any obvious errors. So what does the book cover? It starts with the different types of DBAs, the different versions of SQL Server 2000 available, installation methods and resolving installation problems. After getting everything installed and working correctly it moves on to working with the database with things like creating a database, basic considerations for databases (such as raid levels), and everyday administrative activities like making the database read-only, removing databases, adding databases, changing the path, creating and deleting tables. One of the things I liked about this section (and most of the sections of the book) was that it explained how to do each task by using the database manager and by using the Transact-SQL language. Each of the sections follows logically from the prior one. With all the database management section completed the next part covers doing queries, joins, creating indexes, and similar tasks, basic backing up and restoring databases, generating a database script, creating and adding jobs, working with security and authentication, user permissions, roles, application security, ODBC, ADO, performance monitoring, and other tasks.Although it was mentioned in brief in an earlier chapter, chapter eight provides a thorough treatment of backup and recovery. This is a very important chapter, I have run across many, many SQL installations where people did not understand the correct backup and restore procedures for SQL and made a complete mess of their system using copy and paste techniques. The author does an excellent job here and it will keep you out of trouble if you follow his advice. The remaining portion of the book covers replication (a particularly well-done chapter), writing Transact-SQL code, creating views, error handling, writing triggers, data warehousing, data analysis, and creating a data transformation package using the data transformation package editor. Due to the breadth of coverage "Beginning SQL Server 2000 DBA: From Novice to Professional" is exactly as advertised and useful to both the complete novice and the experienced professional. Note that although it covers some of the more common uses of T-SQL for administrative purposes it is not a book on programming, it is a book on administration and within that defined area it is excellent. "Beginning SQL Server 2000 DBA" is a highly recommended read.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Professional Apache (Professional)
Publisher: Wrox Press
Authors: Peter Wainwright
Rating: 5/5
Title: Professional Apache (Professional)
Publisher: Wrox Press
Authors: Peter Wainwright
Rating: 5/5
I have to say, for the first time I feel like I have been duped by all the stars and the praises showered on this book by amazon customers. This book is good, but does not justify its exhorbitant price.Almost 70-80 % of the book is just an explanation of the httpd.conf file. (This is the configuration file for the server that controls almost all its functionality). If you read the documentation for apache (which is inside the config file!) carefully, you will see that this book just repeats the explanations in slightly modified text and larger font. To summarize, read the config file, drop the book, and save some money for Christmas.
Product: Book Paperback
Title: Sybase SQL Server 11 Dba Survival Guide
Publisher: Sams Pub
Authors: David S. Solomon, Brian Tretter, Ray Rankins
Rating: 4/5
Title: Sybase SQL Server 11 Dba Survival Guide
Publisher: Sams Pub
Authors: David S. Solomon, Brian Tretter, Ray Rankins
Rating: 4/5
I have several Sybase reference books and this is the one I keep handy. While not as in depth as some of the references I've seen, it's a very good tool for when you want to look something up fast or to jog your memory. Often, I'll start with this book and go elsewhere if I need more depth. It's organized pretty well and is often adequate by itself. I'd like to see an update for the 11.5 version of Sybase. A lot of the examples still reference version 10.x (not a big deal however).
