5 comments about Professional SQL Server 2005 Programming (Programmer to Programmer).

1. I found this book extremely helpful in wrapping my brain around some very difficult to grasp concepts. The author writes in a way that's very easy to understand (especially with such a difficult topic such as SQL programming).



2. I've never been a fan of the Wrox product line, but purchased this book on the recommendation of a friend.
   I couldn't be happier. The author is one of the most knowledgeable, and he writes in an accessible style.
   I've heard some gripes about how he discusses the organization of his book a little too much, but the reasons for these passages are to reinforce the importance of the concepts being covered in relation to other concepts.
   I'd recommend this book to beginners who are fast learners, or to old hands that want to pick up a new trick or two.



3. The second topic I looked up I ran across this problem...
   
   Page 353:
   
   He says there are four different isolation levels you can set - that was in SQL Server 2000 - this book is about SQL Server 2005. Where is SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL SNAPSHOT?
   
   Chapter 12, 'Transactions and Locks' is almost a cut and paste from his 'Transactions and Locks' chapter in SQL Server 2000 Programming!
   
   Encryption - Let's see - 2 pages, and 3/4 of a page is a copy of an image from BOL.
   
   His 2000 book is better.



4. When working with databases, there's querying, and everything else. A DBA might set up a database; an advanced user might progam stored procedures and triggers, ponder indexing, effectively use cursors, etc. - but if you just want to know how to write a query to accompish a task, this is *not* the right book to help you learn. Check out 'SQL Server 2005 T-SQL Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach' by Sack.



5. This is an excellent follow to his book on Professional SQL Server 2000 Programming. If you're going to be doing a lot of true SQL server programming, there is no better guide out there.

5 comments about Data Mining with SQL Server 2005.

1. Some people commented on the poor editing: typos & some wrong pictures. True. (It detracts, but you can figure it out easily)
   Some stated that it is not a good general overview of Data Mining. True (though it has a bit of a summary)
   Some stated that is doesn't discuss business applications in detail. Yes, (it only makes brief reference to them).
   Some stated that it is very vendor specific. Hello, read the title - SQL 2005.
   
   It is a must read for anyone who wants to take maximum advantage of SQL Server 2005 Data Mining. It goes thru all the algorithms, tells you how each one works, how to tune them & how to embed them into your applications. It compliments the Books On-Line materials, tutorials & sample code that ship with the product.
   (interesting how people pay for a textbook & never bother to read the copous amount of materials that ships with the product.)
   
   It does give you a bit of background in DM, & does walk you thru using the tools (SSMS & BIDS) used to create & administer the Data Mining.
   It doesn't talk about using the Data Mining Viewer controls in Visual Studio 2005.
   
   It is an easy read & very informative. Especially if you go to the trouble of downloading the samples & data from the web site & actually build the models with the book & step thru the code.
   
   While it isn't really an indepth treatment of DMX in the way that "George Spofford's MDX Solutions" is for MDX. It does give you more than enough examples to be able to create, train & predict from the models.
   
   It also gives enough to embed your DM models into your applications, Use them from Excel & take full advantage of the DM built-into SQL Intergration Services.
   
   If you want an DM Overview for business use - check out Barry Lindof's book



2. I was really impressed with this book. It had a great introduction to demystify the typic of data mining. Since the learning curve on this topic is so high, these first few chapters are essential. It then immediately jumps into a practical example to help the reader bring it all together. The chapters get progressivily more difficult through the book and there's a chapter for each of the algorithms. The author team did a fantastic job and I'd highly recommend it.



3. I have only recently started to get involved with Data Mining. I have been doing back end work with Analysis Services for a couple of years and we're ready to move on to the next level.
   
   This book was amazing! The background in Analysis Services and Databases helped a lot, but the book covered all the topics in an easy to understand order. Sure, the chapters on the different algorithms can be very in depth, but apart from explaining the actual mathematical formulas, there is a huge amount of information about each algorithm that each developer MUST use when designing a Data Mining solution.
   
   One of the reviewers commented that they can still not write a DMX statement. I'm confused by that statement! I am writing DMX statements using only the information I got out of this book. Sure, there are a few spelling mistakes here and there, but using the sections in the book where the syntax is fine, I've managed to run all the queries without issues.
   
   I highly recommend this book.



4. I bought this book specifically to gain insight into the output I've gotten from using a couple of the data mining algorithms; unfortunately, there's even less on output interpretation than there is in the SQL server help files. Flipping through the book leaves the impression that the authors are trying to be everything to everyone, and end up only scratching the surface except in describing the algorithms.
   
   I would have given it a 3 star rating anyway because it is useful to understand how the algorithms work, but went with 1 star to balance out one of the authors giving himself a 5.



5. 1) The book uses many examples based on the AllElectronics database. However, the book does not provide the AllElectronics database. Nowhere on the net where you can download AllElectronics database, even on the publisher website. This book is supposed to show us how to design and run data mining on SQL Server 2005, but it fails to do that since the examples in the book are not runnable. I've read many books about Data Mining for SQL 2005. All of them have runnable code except this book.
   
   2) At page 45, the author used the Customer_id as a data column in Customers table in database schema of a mini data mart, but later on, in the examples, he uses CustomerId as data column. In many places in the book, I found many inconsistencies between the database schema and the column names used in the query. Since the authors did not bother to provide the schema of the database, it is very confusing to keep track of what is going on after an MDX query.

5 comments about Understanding MySQL Internals (Understanding).

1. MySQL is assuming increased importance as an enterprise database and has become the de-facto standard with web hosting companies. A number of books have appeared in recent years, covering various aspects of MySQL. In Understanding MySQL Internals, Sasha Pachev, a MySQL-focused consultant and former member of the MySQL development team, takes us on a tour of how MySQL works and how it is built.
   
   Starting with an overview of MySQL history and architecture, the book quickly moves us through working with the source code to build and run the product in a debugger. Drawing on his deep experience with the software, Mr. Pachev explains the coding conventions used to develop MySQL and why you should use them when modifying the software yourself.
   
   The author delineates the different functional "modules" (a term he coined himself to better explain the database, technically speaking there are no defined modules in MySQL's architecture) of MySQL and how they interrelate. Herein lies the key to how this book teaches the reader the vast intricacy of such a complex piece of software. The author recognizes the subject is huge and the source code changing. What he does in the book is serve as our tour guide, driving us through the various areas and explaining as much relevant information as he reasonably can. He constantly illustrates key pieces of source code and data structures; but perhaps more importantly he makes reference to the actual source files utilized by each functional component of the system, while encouraging us to explore further on our own. His approach is very much "top down".
   
   As he takes us on this tour, the author explains many of the design decisions behind the various MySQL components, often imparting the historical perspective behind them. I appreciate how, throughout the book, the author shares some of his "inside information" about MySQL's development. There is also a section where he examines the code stability of each module and speculates on what the future may hold for each module. The author's writing style is clear and easy to read. I found Understanding MySQL Internals interesting and fun, and surprisingly easy to read for a book covering such a sophisticated piece of software. The author also does a good job explaining the engineering trade-offs of different MySQL configurations. Speaking of configuration, the book shows you how to add your own configuration option to the mysqld daemon.
   
   Chapter 7, the largest chapter in the book, is 41 pages long. It covers the MySQL storage engine interface. This chapter explains how to integrate your own custom storage engine into MySQL and contains the source code for two custom storage engine examples (one for MySQL 4.1, the other for version 5.1). You can download this source code from O'Reilly's web site. Despite this one long chapter, the book is surprising short, only 234 pages.
   
   I believe this book has value outside of MySQL. It does a good job showing how MySQL is essentially a well designed piece of software: a high-performance, reliable Unix server. The book also touches on the multi-platform aspects of MySQL design. Those of you designing other types of server software may benefit from studying how MySQL is constructed.
   
   This book isn't for everyone, but if you are serious about MySQL in particular or database software design in general then this title certainly deserves a look.



2. Sasha Pachev's UNDERSTANDING MYSQL INTERNALS: DISCOVERING AND IMPROVING A GREAT DATABASE provides clear insights into one of the most popular open source codes on the market. It comes from a former member of the MySQL development team, so offers the author's own insights into the program's creation and use, covering everything from communication protocols between client and server to the parser and optimizer that execute SQL commands, advantages and disadvantages of using threads, and more technical insights.



3. Sasha knows the mysql code well, and he has done a fantastic job of presenting it. This is an important book for anyone who would like an enhanced understanding of mysql, including DBAs who might need a detailed understanding of locking or replication to. And it's a must-have for anyone working on a storage engine.



4. An excellent overview of the MySQL codebase, philosophy, and the design decisions that have made MySQL what it is today. Even though I have never touched the MySQL source before (it can be a daunting beast for the uninitiated), Sasha's explanations made me comfortable with the 'internals' and finally lifted the 'magic veil' off the engine. 'MySQL internals' has a perfect balance of high-level explanations, and low-level code samples to help you understand the inner workings of the database.
   
   After reading this book you should be comfortable enough to tackle the source, and you'll also have deep understanding of the storage engines and how to configure them, how the query parser works, how the optimizer decides on the execution plan, and much more. This is a must read for any DBA, or a programmer who wants to see a great example of a high-performance, reliable UNIX server.



5. I have been working on a project to make some changes to MySQL server
   operation. Learned a lot through code review & trial and error! Recently
   purchased this book and it is excellent! Wish we had it months ago.
   
   The author knows what he's talking about. Provides a great overview of the
   architecture, file and subsystem layout. Also provides great information on using the 'built in' debug capability of the server -- very useful!
   
   I was expecting to be disappointed, I was not. The content was right
   on the mark for those folks interested on working on server internals.

5 comments about Oracle Database 10g SQL (Osborne ORACLE Press Series).

1. The disorganization of topics is staggering. It covers a number of useful aspects about using Oracle SQL, but it fails to develop complete ideas. It can serve as a quick reference to moderately skilled programmers but so can the Oracle docs.
   
   Beginners may wish to try Learning SQL by Alan Beaulieu, and intemediates are better off with Oracle by Example by Alice Rischert, alas old hack are still looking for a book.
   
   Good Points:
   - Identifies the deference between ANSI/86 and ANSI/92, albeit in an indexed note on page #46. An improvement over labeling ANSI/86 as Oracle Proprietary syntax like another author does in a competing book.
   - SQL*Plus does show how to set a default editor.
   - Nice coverage of ROLLUP, CUBE, RANK, and MODEL functions.
   - While mislabeled as security (alternatively, missing content), the concept of roles, privileges, grants and synonyms is covered well in Chapter 9.
   - System reference cursors are covered at the basic level adequately.
   - There is an introduction to large objects but narrowly explored without useful examples.
   
   Weaknesses:
   - Non-equijoins are not well explained or demonstrated in Chapter 2.
   - Aggregation functions and behaviors are incompletely developed and limited to rather small examples in Chapter 3 without a nice reference to the other treatment in Chapter 7.
   - The SQL*Plus coverage should be more toward the front, and it presume a knowledge of the environment - clearly a bumpy road for a beginner.
   - The concept of scalar subqueries is missing, a single row subquery that returns a single column.
   - ANY and ALL are covered but not SOME, while they all work similarly the coverage is incomplete.
   - The differences between subqueries and correlated subqueries is not well developed. The key difference that a correlated subquery resolves for NULL values is an aside on page #176. The tuning chapter on page #537 and tip on page #175 fail to qualify when you should use correlation.
   - The DECODE and CASE statements have limited demonstration only in SQL statements, and the idea of merged and conditional inserts is limited to two pages in Chapter 8.
   - PL/SQL coverage is a like hopscotch and the Oracle documentation a better guide, especially to a newbie.
   - How to select the fields from a nested object or collection is missing.
   - Collections in Chapter 13 are dizzy and a comic relief of Johnny Depp reprise with scissors should snip the chapter out.
   - High performance tuning in Chapter 16 is missing.



2. The book is good for beginners, especially who do not know SQL. The book talked about basic SQL syntax, and SQL Plus at the beginning. It also covers advanced SQL at the second part which I just ignored.



3. It is a very good book for both who are beginning to learn SQL from scratch or those who are not too familiar with Oracle SQL databases. It introduces a lot of new 10g functionalities. Examples are given in almost most functions for easy understanding of practical usage. However, the book does not explain enough about the concept of storage about the Oracle 10g.



4. Oracle Database 10g SQL - Is a good book to read or reference concepts in detail. Author has covered good amount of concepts from basics of SQL to advanced SQL queries. But we were disappointed to find that the book doesn't come with exercises at the end of each chapter to practice and play on the concepts understood.



5. Maybe a little disorganized, but overall a pretty good reference. Lots of odd omissions though. For instance, the SUBSTR function can take negative number parameters but that is not shown. In the numeric functions, where are the GREATEST and LEAST functions? There is a list of conversion functions but no examples. If you've ever pulled your hair out over a deeply nested DECODE, you know some good examples would be nice. A few of the SQL*Plus SET commands are scattered here and there, but there is no list.
   Bottom line... not bad but needs more work.

5 comments about iBatis in Action.

1. The book is concise, good structured and it's enough expresivo. This is the first book that I read in English and I understand in its entirety.
   
   Congratulations Clinton



2. I now have a much better insight into iBatis because the authors provided both background design and detailed information about the product. It was much better than the documentation I found via the web (there's lots to be said for technical and editorial review of a book).
   
   The setup and code examples are excellent. I also like the writing style and structure of the book. Clear and logical.
   
   However, I would like an expanded section on using the Spring DAO with iBatis, as this is now the recommended approach over the iBatis DAO.
   
   Although I was already using iBatis, this book is a welcome addition to my library.



3. This is very good book with nice examples and I think this is even better book for users who have never used any form of ORM



4. claro y conciso..
   con ejemplos puntuales ,, este libro se deja entender a pesar de estar en ingles y de que mi nivel en java no es tan alto.



5. Since this is the only book available on Ibatis, so i purchased it.
   But the latest version of ibatis has a lot of changes and this book is based on the older version.
   I got a lot of information on ibatis online.
   Download ibatis and go through the docs( there is Ibatis_SqlMap.pdf ) and same some money ;)

3 comments about Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Programming For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).

1. This book is excellent. I have not worked actively with databases in many years and was trying to learn more about SQL 2005 commands. The book is written in a very logical step-by-step way so you don't get lost or clobbered with a whole lot of lingo that makes you feel inept. Recommend this to anyone who is trying to get a good grip on the subject.



2. I have a few months experience with SQL Server but was able to glean enough from this book to put together the stored procedures, views and security measures I needed for my ASP.NET application in about 2 days. This definitely opens up the door for going in many different directions for someone who doesn't have any experience with T-SQL. Some of the latter chapters assume a moderate familiarity with SQL Server and don't presume to explain any of these concepts. Having come with minimal experience on SQL Server to T-SQL I got somewhat lost in this area. I recommend you at least have read about or used SQL Server enough to make sense of these sections before delving into the final chapters.



3. The author seems like a senior expert, I respect that. However, this book doesn't cover some of the basic t-sql command in detail. When you see some commands that you have never seem them on the previous content, don't be surprised or think you miss something.

5 comments about Joomla! Template Design: Create your own professional-quality templates with this fast, friendly guide.

1. I thought I would learn to make joomla templates. But this is just a makeover of one of the standard themes.
   
   I read the entire book and didn't read anything new.
   
   I could not imagine that the publisher of this book read it too, because he would have thrown it in a bin



2. I bought this book to learn how to create Joomla templates. Look at chapters 1, 2 and 3. NOT A SINGLE WORD HOW YOU DO IT.
   
   In chapter Two 3 screenshots how you can change the Rhuck template without coding. But nothing as how this gets done.
   
   In chapter Three the author has the nerve to start with "We continue with our modified Rhuck template" - the changed template he forgot to describe in chapter Two.
   
   Yes, very useful information about what I don't want to know about. Like which color picker to choose, this is a nice editor, that is a great photo editor, and you set it up like this.
   
   Sorry, but if I want to learn how the NVU editor or Dreamweaver works, I look for different titles. That has nothing to do with coding templates.
   
   I expect some guidance as how to change the template css, the related images and the module positions so a newbie template editor can get acquainted with the beginnings.
   
   In fact, if you try on your own, you will find that the author KNOWS you're going to run into trouble on page 15. He describes the area below the top=newsflash as 'this area's space is hardcoded in the xhtml'. If you try to switch the menu's from left to right that little bit sits nicely in the way. The authors knows it, but doesn't care to mention it.
   
   It's like learning English as a second language, and dumping the sonnets of Shakespeare on your desk with the remark "This is what you can achieve if you master the language."
   
   The examples from the website? I tried to install the supplied templates, but even that doesn't work. A complete waste of money.
   
   The book is very expensive. I'd expect a LOT more for this kind of money. Not the first time I am snookered out of money by Packt, but it is most certainly the last time.
   
   For beginners this is worthless. You don't learn anything that you can't find on the Internet with some searching. Actually, I bought this book because I need to code a 1.0 template - and even there it fails miserably.
   
   Barry North book "Joomla a user's guide" teaches a LOT more in a single chapter about creating templates.



3. This is the best and really the ONLY book out there for Joomla. Now, I have to admit that I don't really like Joomla. However, I'm a web designer and occasionally I have to create or work on sites in Joomla anyway.
   
   At first, I bought another Joomla book but all it did was left me confused. It didn't help me and didn't talk at all about fixing up a template to reflect a client's logo and branding which is what I usually need to know. And forget about online documentation for Joomla; it's just not out there. And the interface is not intuitive at all, so you'd think documentation would be a given.
   
   But THIS book is completely awesome and it does what it says it does. The author showed me clearly how to make a Joomla site look the way I need it to look AND in the process, she explained many things about Joomla to me that made no sense at all to me before (for example, why Joomla does some of the things it does, what parts of it spit out html tables and what parts I can really control with my template CSS, etc). Also, the author explained how to make multi-level unordered menu items work (I had previously torn my hair out over wondering why that didn't work in Joomla) -- turns out you need to install a module.
   
   And even beyond Jooma itself, I also picked up quite a bit on how to properly implement web standards and use CSS, which I'd been needing to brush up on. This book has actually helped me with many aspects of my job in general, not just making a Joomla template!
   
   I still don't completely understand why people choose to use Joomla, as I still find the admin interface to be confusing and badly worded, but as long as people use it, they'll need designs for it This book is the only thing out there that makes this possible. I totally recommend it.



4. I have 3 books on Joomla and this is the only book that truly helped me through getting an original design (from another party) into one of my Joomla sites. I run three sites with Joomla, all for non-profit organizations and therefore have to do my work on night and weekends. I'm a web professional and know the concepts of building sites but I'm a manager and don't build sites everyday for a living. This book got me through the template basics in way that allowed me to implement an original design that had no references to typical Joomla page layout areas, in a couple of days. By taking you through the process of designing a Joomla template from scratch I was finally able to understand how a web page was generated by Joomla and how I could eliminate much of the "noise" in the default setup. It's possible that a web beginner may find some things difficult and perhaps a comprehensive description of the Joomla content engine will not be found but I heartily recommend this book if you need a jump start of creating templates for Joomla.



5. The style of the book worked very well for me. It was a great balance of solid instructions and visual examples that made it very easy to understand and follow. I have other books by this author and highly recommend for the novice to those more advanced who may need a refresher.
   
   Kudos to the author and Amazon for carrying this selection!
   
   R. Pettway

4 comments about Beginning Transact-SQL With SQL Server 2000 and 2005.

1. Paul's book was incredibly helpful with completing my T-SQL project. I was struggling with reading some stored procedures and DTS packages and couldn't get my brain around what the heck was going on inside management studio. So... I picked up Beginning Transact-SQL and had those sprocs pegged in no time! Paul made following the code a cinch and I'm now able to write and document ETL in no time. Paul's book really was a life (and job..?) saver!



2. I don't consider myself a techie but recently became interested in learning more about SQL and how it can help me do my job more efficiently. I found the structure, content and style of this book to be very useful in my quest to teach myself the program. It was easy to understand and helped me to learn the basics with a hands-on approach. My lack of experience caught up to me in some of the later chapters but overall I found the book extremely informative and I've benefited greatly from reading it.



3. The authors have experience both as T-SQL developers and trainers, and it shows. Essential concepts and techniques are explained clearly without talking down to the reader. There's thorough coverage of the most commonly used T-SQL elements, in an easy-to-read style. It's well organized and includes appendices and a good index, making it easy to use as a reference. I work with both SQL Server 2000 and 2005, so it's ideal that the book covers both environments.
   
   There are tons of code samples; most of them use the AdventureWorks database so reproducing them is easy. The exercises at the end of each chapter are good practice - not too difficult, but still good at reinforcing the content (answers are in the back of the book). Parts of my work involve reporting, so I found the chapter on doing Reporting Services development helpful as well. The biggest drawback I've found to this book is that my copy keeps getting borrowed..



4. I bought the book, based on previous positive critics here (Amazon). The implication was that this book covers the new features of SQL Server 2005. Well, the first one that I was looking for, the PIVOT (crosstab) is not even mentioned, let alone covered even briefly. I did not search all the new features, but if you want a book that cover both old and new features, this one is certainly NOT the one that you should look for.
   The publisher rep tried to tell me that no one book could cover all subjects. This is true, but for a book that specialize in T-SQL and T-SQL only, the features should have been covered, or, at least mentioned briefly.
   I've found books that cover the new features only, or the old features only. The quest is not over for me, yet.
   ZA

5 comments about Optimizing Oracle Performance.

1. I purchased this book and did not open it for about 4 months. After reading the first 25 pages or so I became motivated to read more and finish it. It took me about 2 weeks to read through the entire book. The author does a really good job of detailing how to use Oracle tracing to troubleshoot performance related issues. With no shortage of Oracle performance tuning books this is definitely one of the better ones. This book must be one of the best performance related books because you can read it cover to cover. The book is packed with detail so you will reread several pages a few times, kind of like being in college and spending a couple of hours reviewing a couple of pages out of Calculus book.
   
   If you are at all serious about becoming better at Oracle tuning this is a great book to read.



2. I like the wait approach very much. DIS buk prezNts a scientific approach 2 prob diagnosis & performance optimization. DIS aLowz optimization F4tz 2 b consistent & repeatable. DIS buk tAkz Oracle prob diagnosis & tuning out of d realm of bn a BWO art.



3. This book is so interesting that on a couple occasions I've fallen asleep reading it, because I want to "find out what happens next" -- not because it is boring. Even the chapter on queueing theory that has a lot of math in it is understandable and interesting, even though I have a mild aversion to math.
   
   It has highlighted a lot of very useful techniques to ensure you focus on the true problems, and not the various ratios we've taken as absolute truth for so many years. I can't wait to try these concepts out!



4. There are certain "camps" in the worldwide Oracle community. For example, there is the "Oak Table Network" of "Oracle scientists" who seek thorough understandings of issues backed up by details, tests and proofs. Contrasting is the "Silver Bullet" family of field-tested generals who prefer rules of thumb and quick fixes even it means some false understandings and occasionally being wrong. Cary Millsap (of the Oak Table Network) stands as someone respected by both sides.
   
   Cary Millsap worked at Oracle for 10 years on system performance before co-founding Hotsos in 1999 [...]. He is one of the most trusted sources on matters of Oracle system performance, and "Optimizing Oracle Performance" is considered his finest work (4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon). The best way to learn more about him is to see for yourself. Here are some of his most popular articles:
   
   "Diagnosing Performance Problems" from Oracle Magazine. A brief summary of what is covered in this book[...]
   
   "Introduction", the first chapter from "Optimizing Oracle Performance."Chapter 1: [...]
   
   "Case Study", the 12th chapter from "Optimizing Oracle Performance."Chapter 12 (Case Study): [...]
   
   "Performance Management: Myths and Facts." One of his most popular articles.[...]
   
   "Why a 99%+ Database Buffer Cache Hit Ratio is Not Ok." Another of his more popular articles.[...]
   
   While everyone will have their own favourite parts of the book, I think most readers would agree that getting a good taste of the author's performance tuning philosophy is one of the highlights. "Method R", not to be confused with "System R" (ie. SQL), is not about looking at STATSPACK, cache hit ratios, or V$ tables and guessing. The author wanted to devise a system to identify and resolve the top performance concerns of an organisation with reliable, predictable results. The first few chapters put this method in writing in perhaps the best way since the introduction of "YAPP" (Anjo Kolk).
   
   "The performance enhancement possible with a given improvement is limited by the fraction of the execution time that the improved feature is used." - Amdahl's Law
   
   After several years of research, the author discovered that Extended SQL Trace Data was at the centre of "Method R". Some of the articles should give you a good taste of what Extended SQL Trace data is, if you didn't know already. By the time you finish reading this book you will know exactly how to collect and interpret all the little "ela=17101 p1=10 p2=2213 p3=1 ..." within into something meaningful. For some, that justifies the price tag right there.
   
   So in essence I would have re-named this book "Method R: Optimizing Oracle Performance Using Extended SQL Trace Data," because that is basically what this book is about. There are some reasonably "stand-alone" chapters on other topics, for instance on the Oracle Fixed View tables (Chapter 8) and on Queueing Theory (Chapter 9), but that is not the primary focus of the book.
   
   Those that are expecting a more broad treatment of the subject of performance tuning may be justifiably disappointed that it basically covers only this narrow aspect. However, it is covered very well, and it isn't really covered anywhere else. The author makes no apologies for this, claiming that extended SQL trace data is the only resource you will ever need for diagnosing and solving performance problems.
   
   "You cannot extrapolate detail from an aggregate." - Cary Millsap's preference of SQL extended trace data over fixed views (system-wide average performance characteristics)
   
   Indeed, some people might contend that the author spends a little too much time stating his beliefs, defending them, and patting himself on the back. But I think it adds a certain flavour to the book, and I respect an author who backs up his statements.
   
   "Proving that V$ data are superior to extended SQL trace data because of the 'missing time' issue is analagous to proving that its safer to be in a room with a hungry bear if you'll just close your eyes." - Cary Millsap
   
   The book can be a tough read in the sense that the author goes very deep into the material, and generally each subject is treated thoroughly. Chapter 9 on Queueing Theory can be a particularly overwhelming chapter. But the material is served in bite-size pieces, and broken up with tips, tricks, stories, diagrams and code (sometimes 3+ pages worth at a time, embedded directly in the middle of a chapter). There are even worthwhile exercises at the end of each chapter.
   
   In the end, I enjoyed this book and I'm glad I got it. I don't consider it a "must have" for your Oracle collection, but I definitely feel it is quite worthwhile. I recommend it especially to those who read his articles and were very comfortable with his writing style and philosophy, and also to those that need a book on extended SQL trace data (because this is basically the only one). But even those in the "Silver Bullet" camp will be glad to add another tool to their belt.
   
   Thumbs up.



5. This book covers Oracle 8 and 9. But its technical explanations are very much valid for Oracle 10g.
   
   Although the author's beautiful explanation of 10046 traces and waits are worth its weight in gold, much of the information could have been condensed into fewer pages. Regrettably, most of the book are fillers. The author tries to explain much of his thoughts in mathematical formuls (nothing difficult) but it didn't add to the comprehension of the topic.
   
   One thing which made this book stand out was the problems and exercises at the end of each chapter. They were helpful, and unique among Oracle books, in enabling the reader to understand the topic more thoroughly.
   
   Overall, I recommend this book. But I have read better, and more comprehensive, books on the Oracle performance.

5 comments about SQL: Visual QuickStart Guide (3rd Edition) (Visual QuickStart Guide).

1. I am an IT instructor and don't usually have good things to say about computer books. But I couldn't keep quiet about this book which works well in my SQL for SQL Server class and would work just as well in a SQL for MySQL class. Beginning students don't have many choices in SQL books that help them learn the ropes and then don't stop at the definition / syntax level. After several other tries, this one hit the sweet spot of practicality, theory, data, examples, curriculum breadth for a basic SQL course, depth for advanced students, and supplemental information.



2. A terribly written book but has many useful examples and only costs $20. The author has no command of the English language at all. The only reason why such poor writing got past the editors in the first place was probably because they had no idea what the hell the author was talking about and thought it was hopeless to fix. Beware.



3. In my opinion, a technical author's writing ability is just as important as his knowledge of the subject material. I've been disappointed in so many books where the author is undoubtedly an expert in his field, but couldn't effectively organize and translate his thoughts in a way that made sense to me. Based on the review by "Dave" below, I almost lumped this book into that unfortunate category. I'm so glad I happened to flip through a copy of it, because this is a fantastic book. In fact, it's one of the best technical books I've ever owned.
   
   Fehily's writing style is clear and concise. In a typical chapter, he gives an overview of the topic, then demonstrates it with many relevant and progressively complex example queries. This teaching style works so well for so many people--give us a basic idea of what's going on, then SHOW us how it works in the real world. All of the examples are based on a simple but effective sample database that can be downloaded from the publisher's website (you can download an Access database, or scripts that will create the appropriate tables in the RDBMS of your choice).
   
   True to the Visual QuickStart approach to teaching, the layout of this book is highly effective. Most pages have plenty of whitespace. There are no long, rambling paragraphs. Instead, there are lots of summary tables, bulleted lists, and, as mentioned earlier, example queries. And it's the example queries that set this book apart from other introductory SQL books. There are literally hundreds of examples that you'll actually refer to regularly when you start writing your own SQL statements. Even Dave acknowledges that! I also own Ben Forta's excellent "Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes," but this book is much, much better.
   
   All of the usual introductory SQL topics are covered (SELECTs/INSERTs/UPDATEs, functions, joins, grouping, subqueries, etc.), but they are covered so thoroughly and effectively that calling this a beginner's book seems like an understatement. Admittedly, I'm only a casual SQL user, but this book is now the only one I go to when I need to brush up on a topic or find an example query to help get me going.



4. SQL Second edition,
   
   The book starts out fairly basic by covering what a DBMS is and what a forward slash versus a back slash means in terms of file path and how they relate to different operating systems. From there you get into the fundamentals of database building. From there you get into the command line utility (still an important function technology).
   
   The meat of the book really starts in chapter 2 where you will learn about relational databases and what a key is. Primary keys are essential in the relational database. You will also learn about tables and their importance.
   
   Chapter 3 you are back to the basics of SQL. You will learn more about syntax and how to decipher common syntax errors. Data types are also covered to some extent.
   
   Chapter 4 is all about tables, how to construct them, keep them clean, filtering them, sort them and how to retrieve the information you are looking for. You will learn the basics of conditional statements.
   
   Chapter 5 Lets have some fun with operators (no not the kind that you talk to on the phone but the kind you build using expressions to extract information also known as the function. Creating strings; who thought it could be so much fun. In this chapter we also get top create, change and clean up strings and their friends from next door the substrings.
   
   Chapter 6 It's party time with Aggregate functions and expressions. While were at it we can summarize some data using statistics and aggregate values. While were at it we can filter a little more.
   
   Chapter 7 Lets do some JOINing. Here we learn about creating table aliases and then joining the tables. The importance of the operator WHERE instead of JOIN syntax. And then there's the CROSS JOIN lurking in the background just waiting to return all possible combinations of rows between two tables. This chapter covers many different JOIN syntax's'
   
   Chapter 8 The child to the query also known as the sub querie (inner query of an outer query, how sub queries work with other sub queries, comparing sub queries. ) This chapter is all about sub queries
   
   Chapter 9 Lets join a UNION of sorts. Not the dues paying kind but the kind the compares the results with queries. You can learn how to create a EXCEPT operator for finding differences in rows of the queries that you are combining.
   
   In chapter 10 we learn about INSERTing, DELETE(ing), UPDATE(ing) it's all about the rows in tables and using syntax to alter them.
   
   Chapter 11 Is about creating tables, working with Nulls, specifying values, specifying keys.
   
   
   Chapter 12 we learn about indexes, creating them and dropping them.
   
   Chapter 13 covers setting up the view. You will learning about updating a view and dropping a view.
   
   Chapter we learn about executions- executing transactions that is.
   
   I have been using this book for a couple months now. When I started using it my skill level was somewhere between beginner and intermediate. After having used this book I feel pretty secure in saying that I am now at the intermediate skill level. I achieved this through the use of this book. It's very well written, easy to follow. Each chapter has these cool little tips for getting things done.
   
   Everything the book walks you through it walks you through doing it in MySQL, postgre05, Microsoft SQL server and Oracle.



5. Most of the titles in the Visual Quickstart Guide series that I've acquired have been very useful and "SQL" by Chris Fehily is no exception. I use SQL relatively rarely and this book is an excellent reference and refresher when I need a fast immersion in SQL.
   
   The Visual Quickstart Guides teach by - you guessed it - visual examples and this is no exception. Fehily's writing style is spare and direct with few wasted words. There is a somewhat generalized introduction to the nature of SQL. The Introduction is actually a model of what such a chapter should be like. It is direct, to the point and covers the major things, in general, that you need to know about SQL.
   
   He then moves deeper into the basics of SQL before advancing on basic SQL operations, such as retrieving data from a table, operators and functions, summarizing and grouping data and so on. Reading this book alone will not make you an expert SQL programmer, but it will certainly help you do more than muddle through basic SQL operations, which generally are all you need.
   
   I've had this book on my shelf for a long time and, as I said, when the need for me to deal with SQL arises, it's the first reference I pick up.
   
   Jerry