No comments about Oracle SQL.

4 comments about Oracle Wait Event Tuning: High Performance with Wait Event Interface Analysis (Oracle In-Focus series).

1. As the editor for this book, I'm probably biased, but Steve Andert has carefully condensed the work of noted Oracle wait event tuning experts into a concise, on-point book.
   
   Free of theory and jargon, the text explain Oracle wait event tuning in plain English and has an excellent code depot of working scripts to explore the Oracle wait Interface and get started fast finding Oracle bittlenecks.
   
   Best of all, it's half the price of other books on the subject!



2. This is no boring white paper. It was an easy to read informative look at a new way of tuning. As an Oracle DBA II, I am by no means an Oracle expert, but this book allowed me to understand what tuning with the wait interface is all about. It gave me a comprehensive understanding of what the wait interface can display system wide. I was also very happy that there where "working scripts" that actually worked.!!!
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone from a DBA I to a DBA III. It might not even hurt if a few sysadmins read it too...
   
   Did I mention I liked the scripts?



3. The subject of Oracle Wait Tuning (OWT) is gaining popularity among more and more DBAs. This book takes the subject of OWT and presents it in a clear and easy manner. By removing the mystery and mystic and presenting the techniques you can learn without being buried in all the details. Note that this book does point you in the right direction when you need more detail. I suggest "Optimizing Oracle Performance" by Cary Millsap for deep detailed information. The Oracle Wait Interface book from Oracle Press is a good book right after this one.



4. Less practical example and heavy marketing attitude , if compare to other reference on oracle performance titile, other than tuning 101 (it's dummy).

5 comments about Oracle Job Scheduling: Creating Robust Task Management with dbms_job and Oracle 10g dbms_scheduler (Oracle In-Focus series).

1. Managing jobs in Oracle 9i and below was a pretty straight forward process; start the job queue processes and submit a PL/SQL Block using dbms_job. If you wanted any level of detail you had to wrap the dbms_job functionality around a package and some other tables. Job scheduling was basic and it generally worked. Any complicated scheduling or interaction with the OS and you were out of luck and had to revert to cron.
   
   I'm not sure what I expected when I started reading Oracle Job Scheduling, by Dr. Tim Hall, a few days ago. I've got a decent handle on dbms_job and have used it extensively for all sorts of maintenance tasks. How different could job scheduling in 10g be? Believe me, it's different.
   
   Dr. Hall explains how the new dbms_scheduler packages works and the details of each call. In addition he explains in detail how the new INTERVAL type works and gives very through examples. Chapter 4 is by far the most valuable chapter as it explain four different methods to schedule dependant jobs. The examples in this chapter are an extension of Tims experience in the real-world implementing solutions. Later on, the book explains about how to monitor the new scheduler and how to view the job logs.
   
   I've got to admit I breezed over the sections on OEM and OS Scheduling. I don't use OEM and there's nothing I really need to know about cron.
   
   This book was a good read. Don't get me wrong, it's no A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs and Me. It's a technical book through and through. I would definitely recommend it if you are planning on using the Oracle job scheduler to implement complex business schedules.
   
   Oh, and by about the third time I saw:
   -- ****************************************************
   -- Copyright 2005 by Rampant TechPress
   -- This script is free for non-commercial purposes
   -- with no warranties. Use at your own risk.
   --
   -- To license this script for a commercial purpose,
   (...)-- ****************************************************
   
   I was ready to barf.



2. Tim Hall is the brains behind http://www.oracle-base.com and has produced more tips and explanations over the years than most in the Oracle community.
   
   This book is his first and covers the small but really rather crucial area of scheduling systems administration tasks using the Oracle schedulers.
   
   The book does a good job of covering the capabilities of the scheduler and does come with some ready worked scripts. The combination of the two of these should ensure that by the time you have worked through the examples you are able to schedule your own tasks reliably and effectively.
   
   I was somewhat distracted by the cartoons that introduce each chapter and by the repeated printing of the same legal disclaimer at the top of each example script. In places two the writing style was clear but rather ponderous - reading more like a manual than an addition to the manual set.
   
   Overall then the book does what it sets out to do, but in places both the writing and , presumably, house style detracted from the content.



3. This book has pretty good examples of using the scheduler package. It dealt with the time-based scheduling very well. However, Oracle 10gR2 has event-based scheduling also which is a very powerful feature and which is what more people will be interested in. Hopefully, there will be a new revision to this book pretty soon incorporating event-based scheduling.



4. I bought this book after browsing the DBMS_SCHEDULER sections of the 10.2 manuals. I didn't find anything that wasn't already better explained in the manuals. A lot of DBMS_SCHEDULER functionality was missing (e.g. creating job chains).



5. In answer to some previous reviews, the book was written against 8i, 9i and 10gR1. The book was finished and with the publishers before the release of 10g Release 2, so it doesn't contain event based scheduling.
   
   The scheduler updates in 10gR2 are explained on my website.
   
   Cheers
   
   Tim...
   PS. I rated this post to match the current average rating, so as not to affect the overall rating of this product :)

5 comments about High Noon: The Inside Story of Scott McNealy and the Rise of Sun Microsystems.

1. While I harbor no great love for Microsoft, I have even less for people who whine about a problem when they should be working on a solution. In my opinion, Scott McNealy is in that category. His constant verbal bashing of Microsoft detracts from what should be a positive message of Sun's advances in technology. Java, the crown jewel of software development at Sun, is a sound technical achievement. No one can examine the technical specifications of C#, the language developed at Microsoft, and not recognize its' Java "roots." In this book you learn about McNealy and I was gratified to learn that there are people at Sun who are just as frustrated at his "first whiner" tactics.
   While Southwick goes to great lengths to maintain an even-handed approach, there is still a clear, although slight bias towards Sun. However, it does not detract from the quality. In my opinion, what lessened the value of the book was the emphasis on the personality of McNealy rather than that of Sun. As a major technology company, it is far more interesting than its' talkative CEO. From my perspective, Sun chief scientist Bill Joy is a more interesting personality than McNealy. A superlative, extrapolative thinker, Joy is someone to be listened to.
   The complex interactions between Sun, IBM, HP, Oracle and Microsoft is one of the most fascinating events of our time. Simultaneously competitors as well as cooperators, how they move together dictates the rate of technical progress. This means far more to me than a series of negative comments about Bill and his group. Therefore, more ink should have been spent describing how these companies interact.



2. Unlike most books of the high-tech, hero-worship genre, these authors actually did their homework and then wrote an intelligent, well organized history of Sun Microsystems and Scott McNealy. Given the multiple transformations that Sun has gone through (workstations, chip design, software design, servers, memory systems, enterprise hardware and software, and Java), as well as its famous feud with Microsoft and Mister Bill, that is no easy task, but they provide a succinct (225 page) and unbiased view that will be of interest to anyone who is interested in learning more about these subjects. The endnotes are particularly helpful.
   
   Although the authors were not able to interview McNealy (he turned down their request), they do include intelligent observations about him and Sun from knowledgeable persons both within and outside Sun. Given the shallowness of McNealy's public comments and statements in other interviews to date (one suspects that he is finally learning to put a governor on his mouth), the omission is not noticeable.
   
   It is rumored that Ms. Southwick is in the process of preparing a similar volume about Oracle and Larry Ellison. If so, it will be a welcome improvement over the swill (e.g., "The Oracle of Oracle" by Florence Stone) that has been published about them to date.



3. After recently taking on some professional responsibility for a large Solaris farm after a long hiatus (about a decade) from Sun technology, I thought this might catch me up with the company and products. It did provide some good info, but this work is over four years old, an eternity in technology. It certainly did not reflect Sun's rapid decline in market cap and Linux debacles, both of which landed it on the front page of the WSJ a few weeks ago.

   I might have rated this four stars a few years ago. The only qualms are that the author should have presumed a more technical, computer-literate audience, and the audio quality was inferior (I listened to the unabridged Audible version).




4. If you were on a desert island from 1982 to 1999, this book might have extra value to you. Otherwise, you may already know a great deal about what's covered in this book.
   
   "High Noon" is quite readable but doesn't dig very deep. It provides a good, albeit Pollyanna-ish introduction to Sun's history and to McNealy...up until 1999. Did I learn anything? Yes, for example, I hadn't known that Gosling architected NeWS. But the level of this book isn't that much deeper than a Reader's Digest article.
   
   If you don't know much about Sun's pre-2000 past and want a quick survey, "High Noon" may help you.



5. Well, here I am, after reading the book for about two weeks every morning, and I am left with no deep impressions about either Sun or Scott.
   The book appears to be a collection of newspaper articles. My first impression from the title of the book was that it talks a lot about Scott McNealy, which the author clearly failed to achieve. I guess the author could have rather written two books - a biography on Scott and business history of Sun. The book fails to achieve either of these satisfactorily.
   I was hoping to know a lot about Java and Solaris, and although there were three chapters dedicated to Java, they didnt leave a lasting impression on me. The author seems to be unaware of other battles going around which would give Java a tough time to evolve.
   Finally, the book doesnt really form a story. Its more like every chapter can be read almost independent of each other.

2 comments about Oracle 9i Programming: A Primer.

1. I used Sunderraman's 8i book during my undergrad for a database systems course. He describes exactly what is needed to interact with Oracle. I would recommend this item for anyone in a hurry to write code to interact with oracle databases.



2. I have used this text book in my graduate database course, both as an instructor and also as a student. This is one book which has lots of example queries, JDBC stuff, servlets, XML and other material. The end of chapter toy projects are also very interesting. I would recommend this book for any student who is beginning to learn oracle programming and also for other people to refresh concepts of oracle.

5 comments about Oracle9i New Features.

1. it's not just that this book is a poor study aid for OCP testing. the fact is, oracle determines what it feels the most important new features are in a given release. this book, doesn't match up with that list in the way that it should. obviously, the most important new features for each user of oracle will be different for each case. for example, where i work the XML additions are huge, but i could care less about RAC. but regardless of that, oracle determines what it feels the most important new feature are. it then sets up an outline for its OCP testing based on that list. i expected this book to closely follow those features specifically - it does not.
   i also must say the limited humor offered by this book is unfunny and at time quite off. consider this sample from the section on list partitoning: "we opened a store in berkely... we got tired of the nep-marxists demanding we stock posters of lenin and stalin, so we closed the store" if I wanted to hear partisan politic humor there are plenty of books out there by folks like limbaugh, moore, coulter, franken, etc. i need to learn oracle, not hear about how the author feels berkely is full of neo-marxists. please.



2. I didnt think this book was as good as some others seem to think.
   Not all new features are included, some are skirted over and I have discovered many infuriating errors (eg on creating an spfile you dont startup the database by pointing to it with the 'pfile=' parameter as it says on page 33).
   I wouldnt rely solely on this book to pass the ocp exam.



3. It is a good book.

   But if you are planning to give OCP Oracle 9i new features exam read other book also.




4. This book is a good overview of Oracle 9i new features but if you want to pass the 9i upgrade exam this book will not be sufficient and you will need to go back to full reference manual.



5. I've been using Freeman's books for OCP upgrades in the past and they were good. This time he hasn't written an OCP book, I still got this one hoping to use it as a supplemental training material.

   Let's make it clear - it is not an OCP upgrade guide! It doesn't provide any practice questions and doesn't follow the test objectives closely enough.

   But as a new features overview this book is really nice. It gives you an impression that you met this guy somewhere in the office and he got a minute to tell you about the 9i. The book is easy to read, full of humor. It is also not too long and it took me one evening to read it. But, frankly, some topics are just barely mentioned.

   Overall, it's a great starting point to learn about 9i.

5 comments about The Silicon Boys: And Their Valley of Dreams.

1. This was one of the best Silly Valley stories I've read yet. Kaplan does a very good job offering a historical and chronological storyline that educates the reader while holding interest. Hence an educational book that also happens to be very unique and authentic.



2. "The Silicon Boys and Their Valley of Dreams" is a well written description of Silicon Valley at it's peak. It describes the culture of the valley during the nineties. It is an interesting peek into the a world of driven software developers and venture capitalists and everyone else in their galaxies. It focuses on companies and names we've all heard of: Apple, Oracle, Netscape, Microsoft, Intel, and many more. For anyone in the technology industry, this book is a good window onto the 90s - pre dotcom mania.



3. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. For anyone interested in the culture of Silcion Valley it is a must read. Yes, as other reviewers pointed out it jumps around quite a bit. Both in terms of pace and interest. However, taken as a whole it provides exciting stories of busines, personal flare, finance, and technology. A good read for anyone with at least a vague interest in the subject matter.



4. I believe this is the only book I have ever literally thrown across the room. Where to begin describing its offensiveness? Let's see....It purports to be about Silicon Valley (I think)and yet completely misses the point of the place. Silicon Valley did not become the place it did because wealthy VCs attended charity events and had breakfast at Buck's. It was a great deal of study and hard work that got us here -- topics clearly far beyond Kaplan's breezy competence.
   
   People who admire Paris Hilton will probably like this book, too. It's pitched to her level.



5. "The Silicon Boys: And Their Valley Of Dreams" by David A. Kaplan is amazing. It tells of so many amazing stories of how technology has advanced so far, and of the people and companies that helped it happen. One great story is how MS-DOS beat out the CP/M operating system in the early days of computing. Another intriguing story told in this book is the rise and fall of Netscape, which was, at one point in time, the world's leading web browser software, and had an amazing history with its stock price. There is also a very interesting chapter in this book about the "KT Fund" which is now a prestigious and very successful investment fund that has many very wealthy people investing in it, such as Bill Gates, Steve Wozniac, Paul Allens, and more. A good read, though a little fast because you cannot put it down! Overall, I recommend this book strongly.

5 comments about Oracle DBA Guide to Data Warehousing and Star Schemas (Prentice Hall PTR Oracle Series).

1. Allow me to bestow some well-deserved praise upon Bert Scalzo's terrific "Oracle DBA Guide to Data Warehousing and Star Schemas". A true gem - I won't go on another Oracle project without it.
   
   What Bert provides here is nothing short of a clear and crisp recipe for success for implementing Oracle-based data warehouses. It fills in a much-needed area of dimensional data warehousing best practices, by describing precisely how to coax the best achieveable Oracle performance from dimensional data models.
   
   I can't tell you how many projects I've been on where I've had to compromise physical data models in order to address perceived "shortcomings" in Oracle's ability to efficiently service dimensional queries. Using Bert's book on my most recent project, we followed his "recipe", and were able to consistently achieve the ideal query optimization plans and aggregate navigation behaviors - simply - without any of the usual hassles that I have (unfairly) come to associate with large scale Oracle data warehousing.
   
   To data warehousing newbies I humbly suggest: pick up any one of Ralph Kimball's terrific texts on data warehouse design, and then if you are rendering it in Oracle, buy this book and follow its advice. The resultant system will be simple, powerful, and fast.
   
   Bravo Bert - a great contribution to the field.
   
   Jim Stagnitto
   Llumino, Inc (www.llumino.com)



2. The author definitely has an arrogant style of writing. The book just talks about one way of doing things without being open about other possible better ways of designing and implementing efficient techniques. Oracle features such as partitioning, materialized views, external tables are not done enough justice.
   
   Data warehouse requirements are much more than the two-dimentional approach discussed. There is minimal or no discussion of performance at the system level taking into account infrastruture, architecture, query optimizaion, front-end tools etc.
   
   A very narrow outlook on datawarehouse implementations.



3. Gives the straight scoop on how to make the star transformation work right. Not wicked technical, a book for doers. Non-nonsense, read it in a day, then get the job done. Just what a practitioner needs (at least it is just what I needed). Thanks.



4. I bought this one in 2005. At that time I had some experience with MS SQL Server data warehouses but none with Oracle.
   I had the fortune to use this book when I was member of the team for the creation of a DWH for a big company, as Oracle is in my opinion the only choice you have for medium to huge DWH.
   As a DWH developer and designer I find this book really handy. There are some arguments I don't agree with the author since you cannot speak generally and each implementation has its own issues, but overall the book does help you lots.
   I think it is a shame that is such an old version, these days everyone is using 11g or at least 10g but most of the material in the book can work as well with latest versions.
   It is somehow difficult at the beggining to figure out how to use all the information in the book but Bert has done a great job describing each problem and pointing out the choices you have to solving them.
   I really recommend this one for anyone with some knowledge of Oracle and who is interested in the creation of a Data Warehouse project. The price of the book gets paid off very quickly when you revieve congratulations for the improvement in running queries, and later on more sponsorship from management, which is at the end the ultimate goal of any Data Warehouse.
   Thanks Bert, I look forward for your next edition.



5. Excellent job of covering various types of databases. If you work with a data warehouse and cannot clearly define what a fact, dimension, or cube is, that's probably why your warehouse acts like a big slow-running database (i.e., it was never designed properly). This book will show you the way.

No comments about Practical Oracle Security: Your Unauthorized Guide to Relational Database Security.

5 comments about OCP Oracle9i Database: Fundamentals I Exam Guide.

1. This book blows. I read to book cover to cover and it misses alot of the key concepts covered on the exam. It dosen't go into enough detail in areas that need to be and goes into to much detail into subject such as utilities such as OEM. I don't even remember the book covering NLS topics. I suggest ordering a different prep book for this exam and buying STS software.



2. I used this Oracle Press book, the Sybex book, and the Self Test Software prep questions to pass the Oracle Fundamentals I exam.

   This book has received justifiable bad press. I bought it anyway, as I did not want to risk missing any material that might be presented in the "official" Oracle exam guide. I'm sure you'll buy it for the same reason.

   The Oracle Press book was difficult to read. The issues go beyond spelling errors and the many "Oracle 8I" references that should say "Oracle 9i". I can correct these errors myself. This book has serious editing issues that will impact your ability to understand the concepts presented. The author knows his stuff but the editor really dropped the ball. Oracle should take pity on certified hopefuls and rewrite it.

   However, not all is lost. You can avoid getting mired down in Oracle's presentation by printing the exam objectives from the Oracle web site and focus your studies around this outline. Consider buying the Sybex book as an added guide. Pull details from both books using your exam ojective outline. The only exam objective I found to be missing from the Oracle Press book was on NLS. NLS is covered in the Sybex book.

   Good luck!




3. I used this book to prepare for my Exam 1z0-031 but not as main reference. I used it to supplement the Sybex Study guide. It has some errors but I would say it is a decent book to use as preparation tool. I liked the practice exam questions. I did not have to buy any sotware for my practice exam questions. Those already in this book helped me.
   I give 3 stars and I will definitely recommend this book as supplement to the Sybex study guide if you are preparing for OCP exam Exam 1z0-031.



4. This book does not cover all the details for Fundamentals II. It is a good source for reference. The CD accompanied with the book has wrong answers for the questions. You may need to refer additional book(s), may be sybex one along with this one.



5. I read this book cover to cover..twice!!! The authors did a terrible job explaining the Architectural Components in depth. For any novice or beginner, how would you expect to get a grasp on storage structures(tablespaces,indexes,blocks) if you're getting a half ass instruction on what the main key components are? Their explaination of the buffer cache was no more that 10 lines of text. Nothing mentioned about the different structures within that cache. And the same goes for the other components.
   
   And as the other reviewer indicated, its terribly organized.The index in the book is a total joke.
   
   I think this is a great book for beginners who want to have a "general" understanding of Oracle,but if you want to conceptually understand the material and not blow $125, don't purchase this book.
   Get Sybex. Its does exactly opposite of what this book does. It Covers just about everthing you need to understand as a junior dba and test taker.