5 comments about Oracle Database 11g New Features (Osborne Oracle Press).

1. I was a fan of Mr. Freeman, until I read this book.
   
   I bought it along with similar book wrote by Sam Alapati. I started reading this one first as there are big names associated with this book, Tom Kyte and Arup Nanda.
   
   Well, this book was rushed to the printers. It has tons of errors. The examples, diagrams, don't match the description. The explaination is too short or incomplete.
   
   If you are choosing between this one and the Sam Alapati one, then save your money and go for the other one.
   
   I have read both, and the second one is 10 times better than this book.



2. Packed. Packed with examples and the answers to the 'why' questions. You can read Oracle's manual to get the 'what', but if you want to know the 'why' and the 'how' to get the most from 11g, this new features book is packed. Packed full of goodies. Packed like Santa's sleigh. Complete thumbs up!



3. This is a must have for anyone interested in upgrading an Oracle database to 11g. The author clearly explains new concepts in this release. What separates this book from others is the real life examples used to illustrate the value of the new features, not simply a definition of the syntax. I was especially interested in the Data Warehouse section. Highly reccommended!



4. This is a great book, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who needs a succinct starting point for Oracle 11g. Robert Freeman has once again published the essential reference for early adopters of 11g. This book is an excellent overview of the Oracle 11g database's new features. I would recommend this to DBAs and programmers who want a concise overview of the key new features available in 11g. Robert provides enough detail to let you identify which features will benefit you the most without getting so far into the details that it becomes burdensome to read. That's what manuals are for. This book has done an excellent job in hitting the most important points for all the new features, showing how to use them and providing accurate, workable code and syntax. The author's style is engaging and keeps you interested which is in direct contrast to other books. The feature-specific commentary by Arup Nanda which runs throughout the book also provides additional practical insight.



5. Other reviewers may have negative opinions, but I think the book is well worth the cost - especially if you bill your time. Yes, the material is covered in Oracle's New Features docs, and yes, this volume is not for either the beginner or the true expert. Remember, these books have to be written well before the new product is actually available, so there are naturally some discrepancies and small errors; these are rather benign in their impact.
   
   However, Freeman has done a great job for those of us "in the middle" who are neither beginners or world-class experts. The explanations and "here's why you care" approach make for an approachable read and a value-directed understanding of the material. The practical tips aid understanding and will save a great deal of (billable?) time.
   
   I would still recommend reading the Oracle documentation, and of course these new features must be tested in the crucible of real environments. But buy the book, enjoy the organized approach and the time you'll save by studying it. I recommend it to my user group and co-workers.

5 comments about Oracle Database 10g Real Application Clusters Handbook (Osborne Oracle Press).

1. I personally found very interesting the description of 10g Cache Fusion internals and GRD etc. which is covered in a consistent, readable and understandably manner in this book. I believe the book might also be interesting for 9i RAC DBAs as the author make comparisons between 10g and 9i RAC functionality and resource management internals. It is not a replacement for the official 10g RAC documentation but a must-have complement.



2. I did a fair level of research before purchasing this book. One of the reasons that biased me toward it was the fact that one of the RAC specialists from Oracle India carried with him as a reference.
   The book goes into great detail on RAC internals and oracle locks/enqueues, and as the author points out, some chapters/topics require several passes to sink in. The book is no hands-on step by step installation/management handbook, although it does cover a two node cluster installation. The author focuses on understanding the concepts underlying Oracle RAC, as he sees this as key to being successful in managing and supporting the technology. As in all things computer, only hands-on experience brings this to bear.
   I would like to see more practical information on the different ways in which services can be configured, used and monitored.
   I also found the coverage of the $CRS_HOME/bin utilities too light.
   All in all, a great reference and invaluable concepts guide which would be well supplemented with a practical hands-on book.



3. On some of the topics this book is excellent.Looks like this book focussed on topics those are not covered in other books or manuals.
   
   I suggest first read some simple installation and administration manuals.
   Later refer this book for specific information.Then you can take more from this book.
   
   THanks,
   Mansoor.



4. I had the fortune to work with Gopal on a RAC troubleshooting project. While a book cannot replace the real person it is a good summary of his experiences learned over many customer engagements.
   The book covers all aspects of RAC from the history lesson and installation overview, to locking and even extended RAC. My favorite chapters are 10 "RAC Performance Management" and 14 "RAC Troubleshooting". They should be mandatory reading for any DBA supporting RAC. Require your developers to read chapter 16 "Developing Applications for RAC" before they start coding.



5. By far one of my favorite books on RAC internals.
   
   I especially like the section on Cache Fusion and how locking works with Oracle 10g RAC and OPS.
   
   My only request is that it covered more details on command line utilities but other books cover that so not that big of a deal.
   
   It really is the guru internals guide to RAC for consultants!
   
   I have the other book by Gopal on Oracle 10g Wait tuning and that is a great tech reference as well.

5 comments about Oracle Database 10g PL/SQL Programming.

1. This is book did help me learn PL/SQL; however, it did it in a very painful manner. The book could have easily been condensed to half the size and still convey the same information, only clearly and to the point. Many of the chapters have long coding examples that are followed by a line-by-obvious-line description about what is going on. It's tempting to skip the code explanations; however, there is the occasional hidden piece of useful information in them that forces you to sift through the junk. To make matters worse, much of the code is needlessly commented. You know what type of comments I'm talking about; there will be a comment that reads '-- declare a variable of type varchar' and then a declaration immediately afterward. Wow, thanks for doubling the code size and killing some more trees. Topping that off, in some of the examples, the comments don't actually match what the code is doing. Grrr.
   
   I invested a lot of time in reading this book and after it was all said and done my feeling on it was, meh, I guess I learned something. The book is pretty good, it's just needlessly big, too big and time consuming for the value that it brings to your skill set.



2. This is the best pl/sql book ever!! It's a complete reference for PL/SQL programation lenguaje, that covers from the basics topics like data types to advanced fueatures like inter-session comunication. Its includes hundreds of examples, online code and a complete reference for Oracle 10g packages and utilitys. This is the ultimate PL/SQL book.



3. When I started studing PL/SQL...
   I got recommanded this book.
   Now I satisfied my choice because of contents of this book.
   I recommand this book.



4. Let me start by stating that I agree with Frank N. Loreti's review of this book, and one part in particular: this book was not written by educators. And I would like to add that they don't seem to be terribly good writers, either.
   
   Some examples from the first three chapters (plus one page of chapter 4) to illustrate my point:
   
   On page 72, it reads: "Boolean variables, when combined with an IF-THEN block, do not need to be provided with a comparison value if only comparing to TRUE." First, Boolean variables aren't "combined" with an IF-THEN, they are *used* as part of the [Boolean] condition of the IF-THEN. And second, writing that they don't need to be provided is, educationally speaking, not very wise; it suggests that it's a specific feature of the language, a short cut if you will, when in fact it's a mere consequence of how the evaluation of Boolean expressions work.
   
   On pages 108 and 109, I think it's a glaring omission that the writers don't mention whether the PL/SQL CASE statement uses 'fall-thru' or not. For several reasons, I don't expect this to be the case, but if it's not used, how is the 'CASE with different variables' treated? In other words, in the example at the bottom of page 109, is only Steve printed, or all names? Come to think of it: in the example before it, what happens if the conditions in the CASE overlap? (E.g., change the second WHEN-condition to
   v_price BETWEEN 30 AND 50
   What happens then if v_price equals 35? Will only the first WHEN-statement block be executed? Will both be executed? Will an exception be thrown? Less likely, but not impossible: maybe a compile-time error is given?) It's hard for me to understand how any decent programmer can overlook the fact that these 'details' need to be discussed.
   
   On page 110, loops are discussed: "We cover three different types here: Simple loops. The most basic kind of loop, they include LOOP, END LOOP, and some method of EXIT." Since 'different types' of loops are discussed, the plurality in 'Simple loops' suggests that there are several types of simple loops --and it seems they are called the 'LOOP', and 'END LOOP'... or something. Of course, this is not the case: there's only one type of simple loop. It starts with the keyword LOOP which is followed by a statement block that may/should contain an EXIT statement, and it ends with the keywords END LOOP.
   
   You don't have to be a professional writer to sense that you can't end a section with a couple of bullet points (just like, apparently and unfortunately, you can't end a chapter without a useless summary) so you'll need at least an extra line of text, but unfortunately the writers of this book don't have the finesse to cross that bridge unnoticed. For example, at the beginning of chapter 4 a list of topics for that chapter is given in bullet points, followed by the following recommendation:
   
   "As these features are demonstrated, think about how they can be used to improve the functionality, performance and design of your applications."
   
   It's suggestions like these that simply make my toes curl.
   
   Add to all this the absence of a decent structure (the books keeps jumping from simple features to advanced features and back, fragmenting the explanation of both), and the authors should consider themselves lucky I'm still giving this book 3 stars...



5. I "subscribe" to this author and publisher for texts on this topic. I like the writing style and layout of the book. There enough explanation to be thorough, and enough practical examples to be useful outside of pure theoretical discussion. Plus, there are plenty of references in the appendix, so those pages are essentially a "Nutshell."
   
   However, I think I prefer the layout of the 9i edition. The flow was nicer: a structured outline, then some examples. In the 10g edition, the flow seems to have changed: a briefer description in paragraph form, then a lot more examples.

5 comments about Oracle PL/SQL Programming, 4th Edition.

1. Steven's book is the best reference available for PL/SQL. No other book comes close. While he may cover Oracle user-defined types and object-relational technology, I regret that he only approaches the use of PL/SQL as a procedural language. Still, it's the best reference on the market for PL/SQL.



2. No doubt you must own this book if you start learning PL/SQL or if you want to improve your coding. Steven reveals many traps that may be in your code. It explains how to take advantage of multiple techniques like BULK COLLECT.
   
   It may serve as a reference book too



3. It is clear, concise, and as far as I can tell, correct. The writing is friendly, and the examples useful. I learned far more about PL/SQL from this book than from the Oracle documentation. I recently heard the author speak at a conference, and his good personality is reflected in the book.



4. As with the three previous editions, all of which I own, this book sets the standard for PL/SQL texts. Crammed with information, it provides a thorough and insightful reference and always has a place on my desk.



5. I've worked with Oracle and PL/SQL on and off for ages. I never really took a dive into the details of anything until recently. I knew the basics of PL/SQL blocks, writing procedures/functions and some of the "advanced" column/data types and interactions with them(XML with XPath, for example).
   
   Being a professional software engineer for some time now and working with Oracle regularly has lead me down a path of basic knowledge. This book took that knowledge and pushed the boundaries further than I could have imagined. Great detail, simple/concise/powerful examples and explanations coupled with the author's ability to write with humor make this a wonderful read from beginner to intermediate.
   
   Advanced users/developers may find it useful merely as a reference, however. It is something that will surely be worn out as time goes on.

5 comments about Expert Oracle Database Architecture: 9i and 10g Programming Techniques and Solutions.

1. If you work with Oracle this is a manual you need on your desk. Not just for DBA's but also for developers who will derive a good insight into how they should be developing their code.
   Very technical but not to the point that brain freeze occurs.
   Would highly recommend it.



2. I actually helps you understand, rather than just throwing information at you (as many books do)



3. This book is accurate and undoubtfully an excellent source to learn more about the Oracle Database.
   Tom is an author full of humor with a versatile approach to performance. In his book he shows his approach to performance and put light on common practice like database independence and read-write consistency or like constraints enforced by triggers and autonomous transaction.
   No doubt I learned a lot in this book!



4. This is hands down the best book I've read on Oracle. It should be mandatory reading for anyone working with an Oracle database. Period.
   
   I have close to 15 years of experience with Oracle, and have designed and developed large scale (>1TB) transactional systems. I've worn the hats of DBA, architect, developer, consultant, etc. The information in this book is invaluable.



5. Wow, could this be the best computer book ever written? Well, if you are using Oracle and you want to understand how Oracle works, it just might be. It's packed with performance information, and even if you are not using Oracle this will be helpful for any (esp for Postgres users)

5 comments about Oracle Database 10g OCP Certification All-In-One Exam Guide (Oracle Database 10g Handbook).

1. It is an excellent opportunity to get ready for the exam. Even if you are not familiar with the RDBMS concepts, this book will help you to get ready for your OCP. A lot of examples and exercises in a book easy to read is complemented with a set of self-test exams in the CD ROM making this the complete tool to get your OCP.



2. As i saw, before buying this book, it's an excellent and complete reading for those interested in acomplish the certification. Don't forget to do all of the exercises!
   
   Good reading



3. This book is very good not just for clearing OCP but also reference for novice as well as experienced DBAs . The authors have covered the exam syllabus very concisely without leaving anything yet keeping the volume to a minimum .
   However for the part 2 exam , one might have to read oracle manuals thoroughly especially for resource management and scheduler concepts .
   The pratice test CD that comes with the book is very helpful.



4. I passed OCA exam thanks to this book and with a little help of SelfTest software.
   Very good writing. Authors definitely know the subject practically.
   It is a good reading on Oracle RDBMS internals. And more entertaining than the Oracle Concepts Guide.
   Again - their writing style is excellent, they do not over-complicate things and manage to explain complicated subjects simply and clearly.
   I wish they wrote something on efficient oracle design :).



5. I recently took the Oracle 10g Administration Workshop class and purchased this book in preparation for the OCA exam. While the book itself did a great job of covering some of the basic, under-the-hood topics you need to know (not just for the test, but to be a decent DBA), it fell short in a few areas.
   
   1. The screen shots and examples in the book aren't consistent with the latest versions of Oracle Enterprise Manager/Database Control. The version I downloaded and installed for Windows just a few weeks ago was occasionally different than the images I saw in the examples. Sometimes, the differences were minor (just a slight variation on the name of a link, for instance), but other times they were a little more severe (columns that don't appear in the version I downloaded, or functionality that seems to have been moved).
   
   2. The last chapter in Part 1 of the book covers a topic that's an objective for the OCP test, not the OCA one (at least according to the Oracle site as of this morning). Not a big deal and it's good info to know, but if you're studying specifically for the exam you might not want to spend time on info that isn't directly relevant.
   
   3. I could live with 1 and 2 above, but this is by far the worst part... The companion CD includes practice tests for the OCA and OCP exams, one of the main reasons I bought this book. Before I cracked open the book, I took the test labeled "OCA" to get a sort of baseline read on my current preparedness. Having taken the instructor-lead course Oracle recommends for preparation, I thought I should do reasonably well.
   
   I scored a 23%. To make matters worse, the questions themselves were baffling, at times covering subjects I hadn't even heard of. I was completely disheartened. Did I sleep through my $3000 class, or was I just that dumb (please don't answer that)?
   
   A couple of days later, I figured it out: the software was bunk. The tests were mislabeled (that is, the one labeled "OCA" was actually the practice test for the more advanced "OCP" certification exam and vice versa).
   
   Furthermore, many of the questions themselves have typos. I found a few, for instance, that don't actually state the question, going right from the background info to the possible answers. You'd get a "question" that looked like this:
   
   Jill has four bananas. Mike has three apples.
   
   A) Monkey.
   B) Six.
   C) Spaghetti.
   D) None of the above.
   
   Or, in at least one case, a question that told you what the actual answer was before giving you the choices:
   
   What's 4+2?
   
   B is the correct answer. 4+2 equals 6.
   
   A) 3
   B) 6
   C) 18
   D) Pi
   
   One last beef with the included practice tests... After completing the test, you're given the option of reading a review of the questions you missed. Great feature that all practice test software should give you. While reviewing your misses, though, there's an utterly useless "References" portion that always just refers you back to the text. Doesn't tell you which page to look at for more info, or even which chapter. Just ever-so-helpfully tells you that there's more info on that question SOMEWHERE in the book. Thanks for nothing.
   
   
   Clearly, more of my problems were with the companion CD than with the book itself. If I reviewed only the text on its own merits, I'd probably give it 4 stars instead of just three. Likewise, the CD would only get 2 on its own.
   
   Again, though, it's imperative that you don't rely solely on this text for the exam (or for learning the software itself, for that matter). Download it and install it, get familiar with EM as it is now. Look on the Oracle site to find out whether or not the exam topics have changed. And, if you can afford it (or sweet talk your employer into it), take an instructor-lead class. It's a requirement for the OCP cert, anyway.
   
   Oh, and in case you wanted to know... I took the test yesterday and did, indeed, pass.

5 comments about Oracle Database 10g: The Complete Reference (Osborne ORACLE Press Series).

1. I purchased this book as a reference to O-R features in Oracle. Loney covers O-R features in about 4 chapters or so. I thought the coverage provided a good introduction, but lacked the depth I expected. I found more methods and details in the Oracle online reference manual.



2. This is the best book about Oracle 10g I have ever used. It can be read from one end to the other getting comprehensive knowledge of Oracle features. Or you can use it as a reference looking up just in one chapter. Each chapter is independent and clearly explain about the topic in such a manner that you can easily understand it even if you have not read the rest of the book.
   
   I would say this is a must have book if your going to use Oracle 10g. As some one else said it is not a book about configuration, it is a book about the features.



3. Price about $20 less than Borders. Like the book says "it is a complete reference". Very helpful.



4. This book is excellent to know the basics of the Oracle 10g Administration, as its name says, is a complete reference about the whole database software, includes a big part of PL/SQL and complete chapters about tuning tips and security, It's a must for an Oracle DBA, but I put only 4 stars because I think Lonely tried to cover a lot of things in this book, and obvious, it only mention the keys for eache point; and if you want the complete solution for one topic, you need to consult other resureces like OTN. Whatever, is an excelent reference.



5. Very bulky, Really covers a great deal. Not good for new programmer who wasnts to learn Oracle from Scrach.

5 comments about Oracle Database 10g RMAN Backup & Recovery.

1. I had bought his book on Oracle 9i RMAN Backup and Recovery...
   And very much impressed with the technical details and examples given in the book... Same way, the book on 10g also excels in technical depth and details...



2. We had to install and configure Oracle10g 4 node RAC with ASM+FLASHBACK and implement backup/recovery procedures using RMAN and Veritas Netbackup. This book covers everything I need to know in depth.



3. Backup and Recovery is one of the most critical tasks that a DBA has to perform. Sadly, it is also one of the most misunderstood. RMAN should be the tool of choice for backup and recovery for Oracle databases. There is so much that can be done with RMAN.
   
   What Robert and Matthew do is break it down piece by piece. There is a great intro and they build on that in subsequent chapters. If you want to link RMAN directly with your backup software (i.e. Veritas, EMC, Legato, etc..) then the authors show you how. I used the Veritas piece to link RMAN in and it worked flawlessly. They go over the latest features including block changing files (for faster incremental backups), merging level 1 and level 0 backups (for faster recoveries without the overhead of backing up the whole database), and even cover what the flash recovery area is and how to use it. There is so much great material packed in this book. Yeah, you can try and read Oracle's docs, but rather than just show you how to do it, the authors also teach you why to do it.
   
   You can read this book chronologically or use it as a reference. The authors writing style make this book a great joy to read. They also include a lot of great examples in case you like to learn by seeing.
   
   I would highly recommend this book if you are an Oracle DBA, whether you use RMAN or not. Afterall, RMAN is what you should be using :).



4. I had no idea about backup and recovery but after reading this book and trying out the examples, I can say with confidence I can recover a RMAN backed database. Written extremly well!!! One of the good technical boooks I have read....



5. RMAN is the present and the future of Oracle solution for backup.
   It has a simple concept, but a great variety of commands, by this way, as a solution for all the complexity inside the RMAN solution, Oracle Database 10g RMAN Backup & Recovery come as a special "friend" to help us discovering all posibilities inside Oracle RMAN software.

No comments about OCP Oracle Database 11g: New Features for Administrators Exam Guide (Exam 1Z0-050) (Osborne Oracle Press).

5 comments about Oracle Database 10g Performance Tuning Tips & Techniques.

1. A "must have" Oracle book for anyone who works with Oracle on a day-to-day basis. The database efficiencies I have been able to obtain for my clients by simply using Rich's book as a point of reference are well worth the cost in purchasing it.
   
   Adam Suber, Event Chairperson, Southeastern Michigan Oracle Professionals (SEMOP) Group.



2. This book manages all concepts, basical and advanced, and the reader can review and fortify concepts. The OCM Author with explains in an easy mode Oracle Products. Excellent book.



3. I love reading this book. I typically read a few pages before bed. It's filled with lots of practical examples and suggestions. Very thorough explanations. Some of the examples could do with a little more explaining but overall it's still very useful.



4. I highly recommend this book as a handy reference to keep at your desk. It is full of handy tips and a great assessment for reviewing your own environnment.



5. Hi,
   
   This book is great for DBA and Developper alike. I would recommend it to anyone working with Oracle, even if you're not working to solve performance issues. With all those tips at hand never your application will suffer from poor programming.
   
   Guillaume