No comments about Data Services with Silverlight 2.

5 comments about High Performance MySQL.

1. A great overview of MySQL, with a cursory introduction to virtually every field a DBA will encounter over the years. The book is aimed at someone who has already used MySQL, but does not require in-depth knowledge - it's well written and should serve as a great starting point for further research. Jeremy covers: indexes, engines, query tricks, backup, security, and more. For a seasoned DBA, this book may not offer as much, but for the rest of us, it's a highly recommended read!



2. This is an overall solid book, covering all aspects of running a MySQL database, from the impact of various flavors of hardware to architecting database clusters. However, I was expecting more details and insight about configuring and scaling MySQL. What are some of the finer points of implementing database clustering or federation? How does indexing and caching work in MySQL? How much will data fragmentation impact performance? In the end, even though the title suggests it covers advanced topics, I didn't learn much new from this book.



3. Having written LAMP-based web applications, I read High Performance MySQL hoping to gain a deeper understanding of how MySQL operates at a relatively low level and how to deal with ongoing frustrations (especially replication).
   
   I was quite pleased. As others have noted, the book is readable and the authors' tone inviting. While the book does rigorously avoid discussion of low-level implementation details (e.g. "the query is parsed" is left as a black box step in the execution process), this does not detract materially from the message. The chapter on replication is one of the best treatments of this topic I have seen.
   
   I only have a few criticisms. First, there are a number of typographical errors of varying severity, though I understand that the most egregious ones (e.g. in code) have been fixed in newer printings. Second, while the book is titled, "High Performance MySQL," it might be more aptly called, "High Volume MySQL." The contents seem highly directed toward sites that run simple queries against huge tables, neglecting somewhat the many sites (e.g. ecommerce) that may run very complex queries against small to medium size tables, but for which optimization may be just as important. This focus is unsurprising given the lead author's career at Yahoo!, but prospective readers should at least be aware of the bias.



4. I'm Certified MySQL Associate and preparing for the next exams (Developer and Admin)... and I must say I didn't liked the book.
   
   It offered nothing new for me... so if you're at a high level in MySQL it will not help you that much.
   
   I saw some slides by Jeremy that were by far more informative and compact than the whole book.
   
   To keep it short the complete title should have been: High Performance MySQL for MySQL beginners.



5. High Performance MySQL opens with a quick chapter describing various MySQL installation options including binary packages and compiling from source code. The next chapter describes the different storage engines available in MySQL and why you would want to choose one over another. This is the book's first hint of what you can do to improve database performance: picking the right table type.
   
   Skilled software developers use benchmarking to gain insight into how their software is performing and database benchmarking should be part of that strategy. A brief chapter introduces some database benchmarking strategies and tools.
   
   Chapters on indexing and query performance follow, describing some of the most important skills to master. Following that, replication and load balancing are discussed. Backup and recovery options are covered, as is the topic of security.
   
   A somewhat thin trio of goodies rounds off the book in the appendices: the SHOW STATUS / SHOW INNODB STATUS commands, the mytop tool, and the phpMyAdmin user interface.
   
   Overall, I found many possible areas for performance improvement that I had not thought of before. At 278 pages, a lot of material is crammed into this book. It's a quick read and if you're a MySQL admin or a developer using MySQL, you're bound to find something useful here!

5 comments about Beginners Guide to SQL Server Integration Services Using Visual Studio 2005.

1. Learning SSIS is one of the most challenging skills for any developer. But this book has made it really easy for any starting developer. This book was specifically written for starting developers as it show the specific steps on how to develop an application from the scratch. Experienced developers will know a trick or two based on the things covered here. The book actually exploits all the possible functions that could be used in SSIS so experienced developers will have the chance to rediscover some of these functions and apply them to their application.
   
   The book is written in learning stages: each part of the SSIS application along with its Visual Studio 2005 counterpart for application development is discussed. These functions are then tested to an actual application. Actual screenshots are used to give the developers an idea on how the application development progresses.
   
   But not everything is presented at once. In the early chapters of the book, developers will first learn the basics on software development using SSIS and Visual Studio 2005. The actual use of the software development tool is presented later.
   
   These basics are enough for the build a simple application. Once the basics are covered an exercise is presented so that developers can immediately apply what they have learned. As the chapters progresses, advanced functions and skills are presented. It is again presented through a series of screen shots so that developers could understand how it is done. Once enough information has been presented, another battery of tests so that skills will be used in the actual scenario.
   
   If you are looking for a good book to start developing SSIS with Visual Studio 2005, this book provides a great start. This book could easily become a good reference book as the skills of the developer progresses in SSIS and Visual Studio.



2. This book was worth the money for me. While I am familiar with DTS and SSIS, I've never used them and therefore had no experience for getting started. This book was enough to show me how to create working-though-simple SSIS packages that I can put into production in my work environment. I have yet to find a reference that was easy to read and without speed bumps from one step to the next; this book is the same in that regard. If you need everything spoon-fed to you, you may have problems. The examples are also very simple; they do not go into more advanced details and I can already see I will need more information for certain concepts. But if you need "Hello World" examples to get you going, this is the book you need. But before you do, you will need Visual Studio .NET with Business Intelligence installed an an SQL server that will run SSIS packages.



3. If you can create an SSIS package, and understand most of what the different toolbox object are, this is not the book for you. If you don't even know ho to create an SSIS package, and need to do so quickly, buy this book. In a couple hours, you'll be proficient in the basics of SSIS.
   
   Packt asked me to review this book, and their timing was perfect--I was ready to start an SSIS project but had no experience. I was a heavy DTS user, and the difference between DTS and SSIS blew my mind. The first two chapters are a reference of the different flows, transformations, sources and destinations available, and the rest of the book is essentially a workbook, full of how-to examples for very common tasks. Even if what you need to do isn't covered,
   
   I did hope there would be a section on the new "fuzzy" objects, but there was none. This book also does not discuss way to organize your solutions and projects, but this also was left to more advanced books.
   
   I've loaned this book to several coworkers, and all have found it useful. We all came up to a basic understanding of SSIS very quickly, and have a good enough understanding to pick up more advanced examples.



4. The book is pretty basic and easy to understand for creating and executing packages, but does not cover the deployment of packages. There is no mention of setting up the variables or deployment in this book. I give it a 1 star because I can create the packages, but I can't do anything with them.



5. I am new to SQL and SSIS and have been on a mission to master SSIS in SQL 2005. I have purchased about a dozen books, but have yet been able to use most of the books because they are too advanced (even though most say they are for new users).
   
   On my last round of book purchases I picked up Jayaram's "Beginners Guide to SQL...", this is BY FAR the BEST book I have purchased on SSIS! I have actually been able to walk through each one of the examples in the book to gain better understanding of how SQL SSIS works. The books has a lot of excellent screenprints (they do not have figure numbers, but they follow they text and I wasn't confused without the numbers).
   
   The writing style of the book was really straight forward and to the point step-by-step directions, so that you can follow along with a sample database.
   
   Please note in the title of this book it says 'for beginners', so some of the more advanced topics may not be in this book, but it definitely sets you up to have a basic concept and then you can move on. This book allowed me to be able to open the other books I have purchased (and gave me a clue what they were saying).
   
   I would recommend purchasing this book if you are new to SSIS and would like to have a textbook style reference that you can refer back to see how to setup the different SSIS concepts.
   
   -SB

5 comments about Joe Celko's Trees and Hierarchies in SQL for Smarties, (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems) (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems).

1. I bought this book awhile back and skimmed through it. The last month I have been trying to get a clients adjacency list database to run fast enough for reporting and used the nested set. I has been a great solution to this problem.
   While I could have found it on the web, I wouldn't have known what I was looking for with out reading about it first.



2. When I started looking into managing hierarchical data I found a lot of short articles that provided bits and pieces of the big picture, but nothing gave a good in-depth review of everything I needed to know to handle hierarchies.
   
   One trend that began to develop was that the best information on the subject was coming from Joe Celko, a rather prolific author/speaker on all things SQL.
   
   Joe Celko has a book in publication called SQL For Smarties, and this book had some basic information on handling hierarchies, which he followed up with Trees and Hierarchies in SQL for Smarties, a truly excellent book on the subject.
   
   This book is not for the faint of heart, but it really is a must-read for those who are looking to handle hierarchies in SQL.
   
   The book only addresses MySQL once, and while in that section it repeats Joe's opinion of MySQL not being a real database, users of MySQL 5 can rest assured that the stored procedure examples in the book work without modification (thanks to Joe and MySQL 5 both using the standard PL/PSM stored procedure syntax).
   
   Overall this is an excellent book for those looking to implement hierarchical data in SQL.



3. While a little advanced (... the title does say for smarties...) this is one of the few IT books I have ever bought which I read more than once. It's a great mix of brain baking concepts and memory jarring discussions of things you probably slept through your sophomore year. If you've been working with or teaching yourself SQL and are looking to move on to the next step, Celko's books are an excellent place to start.
   
   Note to MySQL users - as of MySQL 5 you can create everything written in this book, although you will need to remove the ATOMIC keyword from the procedures.



4. It's not what I expected.
   
   I'm doing alot of SQL programming now and there's also alot of self-joins and just simply alot of analytics in my new position using SQL. I thought this book would help me in this area but was wrong.
   
   If you have computer science background think of this book as trying to do binary trees and linked lists in one table. It uses one table fields to try to get to the left and right nodes and back to the root node. Don't get me wrong, if this is what you need to do then this book is right for you. However, if you want to do real life advanced application programming using SQL to get your job done I would highly recommend to review other books. Sincerely, JP



5. The implementations for trees in SQL described in this book are great.
   
   However if you don't need to understand it really deep you just need to read Celko's article that you can easily find around the web.

3 comments about Pro SQL Server 2005 Integration Services.

1. Not sure how to study it since there is no source code to download. I can not believe it.



2. I've read several books on SSIS and this is by far the best yet. Explains it at a more advanced and PRACTICAL level than the others while still being easy to follow. Higly recommended. Source code is available at apress.com.



3. Not sure why even one reviewer can rate this bad, this author is awesome. He is very encouraging, he had me drawn by his enthusiasm and love for SSIS. I am still making my way through the book, but wow, I am truly impressed, not only with the way the author elucidates the info, but by the power of SSIS.
   
   Microsoft rocks......

5 comments about Pro SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Pro).

1. I began this book with limited Reporting Services experience, not really knowing what to expect. What I found in every chapter was that the authors really took the time to explain the nuances of this technology that can only be understood from working with it in the real-world and not on a sample database with simple reports. I also learned much more about basic and advanced queries that really helped me out with parameters and stored procedures. I would definitely recommend this book for everyone new to reporting services and those who would like to get answers to detailed reporting scenarios.



2. This book has been well written. Concise, but to-the-point. Coverage on Share point portal and Microsoft CRM is the most comprehensive comparing all the other SRS books in the market. I would recommend you buy this book as well as Wrox to be complete.



3. Well not a good book at all. If you don't have anything else in the office to read or do...and just want to know what Reporting services is all about, you can go throught the book in few hours.



4. This books serves as a great learning tool and reference for people learning RS or for those of us that use it on a daily basis.



5. 
   Loved the writing style. I really appreciated that instead of boring us with an introductory chapter to RDL (Report Definition Language), they sneak it in here and there, keeping the info flowing at a good pace. Plus they wrote the book based on a real-world project they worked on, which makes it easier to grasp the concepts. I give this an A+ and will look for Apress books first from now on ;)

5 comments about Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Integration Services (SQL Server Series).

1. I am a developer and it is the first time I learn about this topic. I would like to jump in and start coding right away. Most of the time, the author explains the topic by using screenshots without working samples. This book may be used as a reference book if you already has experiences with Integration Services. It is definitely not a tutorial book.



2. I had to jump into a SSIS project for a financial company dealing with mission critical data feeds. There were multiple vendors with different delivery mechanisms and various file formats. Between gathering files and delivering them there were a lot of complex validations and transformations. It had to run every day and be bullet proof. I could not have done it without this book. I purchased two others prior to this one and they were little help. I turned to this one because Kirk's site was so useful. He had worked through things that I was working on and explained them well. The book was exactly what I needed. I refer to it regularly and it has information that cannot be found anywhere else. Kirk is the SSIS guru. This is the book to get.



3. I bought this book in late 2006 as migrating from DTS to SSIS. It was the best rated SSIS book back in late 2006, guess those reviewers had different expectations from mine. Although this book gave me overview of each feature of SSIS, it did not help me much for doing actual projects past year. I learned more about specifics of using SSIS from internet (googling about functions or properties) than this book.
   
   I totally agree with some reviewers saying that this is a paper version of BOL. If you are looking for some simple overview of SSIS, this may be the one for you.



4. I learn by doing, and this book didn't work for me. While I am sure this books has all the answers I wouldn't know where to look to find them. It is too long to get practical results in a resonable amount of time, and it is a dry read.



5. On page 191, it says there is an Appendix B "Expression Syntax and Cookbook". In fact, there are only two pages reference sheets.

5 comments about Access Cookbook, 2nd Edition.

1. Those familiar with Access may not be familiar with O'Reilly's Cookbook series. The Cookbook series takes common tough problems and provides simple recipes, often with multiple alternative takes, to solve the problem. The value is not only in reference, it also shows you new techniques for using Access or VB is new ways that you may not have thought of.
   
   I highly recommend this book for any experienced Access user, or anyone looking to become an Access expert. This book will stretch your skills and make it easier to nod your head yes when your boss asks you to solve some tricky problem.



2. This book I would recommend for people who use Access as their back end, and need to add some automation to their back end. It deals mostly with using VBA to solve problems, like:
   * How to create an input box where you can get some better info than the standard VBA one
   * Call Excel functions, and apply them to Access data
   * Figure out which users have a shared database open, if you're
   doing a blended Access/CF solution
   * Managing report printing (see next set of bullets)
   
   I recommend checking out this book under the following circumstances:
   * You have internal and external clients hitting your database. In a situation like that, you can have your internal users access the database using a well-designed Access application, which this book will give you some tricks on how to create.
   * In the alternative, you want to manage and analyze your data, and create print reports. That's where Access just as a stand-alone application gives a substantial advantage over any Web technology.
   
   For a ColdFusion developer, there are some topics in this book that probably wouldn't do much good:
   * Adding Smart Tags functionality to a database - if you're expanding beyond the reach of Microsoft Office, Smart Tags prove to be a nifty proprietary parlor trick
   * Using Access' security management tools to manage user rights to database objects. If I run a Windows server, I would use Challenge and Response to create NTFS based permissions on my pages in my application that manage data. Otherwise, I'll use application-based usernames and passwords, same net result.
   * Exporting Access data as XML using pre-defined schemas. Not bad, but ColdFusion has far better technology.
   
   Don't get me wrong - those last three bullets are not any disrespect to this well-written, well-organized guide. I'm just looking at, "What topics would interest you if you're a ColdFusion developer?"
   
   If you do want to learn more about Access database development as an art unto itself, this is not the place to begin. This is the place to arrive at.



3. When I started my job, my first assignment was develop several Access databases. What they wanted was beyond what I knew of Access. After buying this book and Access Database Programming and Design, I was well on my way to develop a quite advanced Access database application. I would ask myself, "I wonder if I can..." After consulting this book for the anwser, BAM! I found it there. This book covers everything from simple VBA to advanced techniques such as incorporating a email system into a database, linked dropdown combo boxes using SQL, and creating VB Form control that tells you who all is currently in a database using ADO and VBA! I would say anyone wanting to cook a mean Access database should definitely pick this one up. It is an invaluable reference if you want to develop professional Access databases with incredible functionality!



4. The Access Developer's Handbook Set (search ISBN: 0782140114) and in particular, Volume 1: Desktop Edition (search ISBN: 0782123708) is my definitive resource to approximately 4 years of Access development. I've got more stickies and highlights in this set than all other Access books combined. So when I came across the Access cookbook and realized that the same two indispensible authors (Getz & Litwin) put together a resource of Access developer solutions, I had to have it.
   
   This book has not let me down. It is certainly geared towards the intermediate to advanced Access professional developers who already understand the basics of Access and more importantly, who also understand the shortcomings of Access and the benefits of getting around those shortcomings. There are about 170 solutions in this book that are segmented into 18 chapters of high-level topics such as Queries, Forms, XML, UI, VBA, Windows APIs, even Smart Tags. I would be really surprised to find someone who picked up this text, thumbed through the solutions, and found that there was nothing they could get out of this book.
   
   I would say that if you are developing a professional Access front-end and/or database, you owe it to yourself to buy this book and review each solution before you release or ship your product. I did, and found either new answers and existing improvements to many of the things I was struggling with during my development cycles.



5. I'll keep this brief, as my title says it all. I have been developing access applications on a professional level for many years. Have several applications that large companies use to run there business. This cookbook has helped me in more ways then I can count. I wish I could find more like it. I use it just as a cookbook. Look thru to find a similiar situation that I am trying to solve. The examples are written very well. The code is very exact and on the money. While most of the examples listed are not always exactly like what I'm trying to solve, it definitely gets the creative juices flowing on how to solve my problem.
   
   The other good things, there are several useful "tips" that you can use to implement in many of your applications that will help the users have a better experience.
   
   Definitely a must have if you wish to write serious applications.

4 comments about Oracle SQL Tuning Pocket Reference.

1. Yesterday, I saw this pocket book, then I decide to buy it because...
   * Clear clarification on which optimizer (cost-based and rule- based) is used for a specific situation and its problems.
   * Sorts, indexes, IN/EXISTS, OR/UNION, Loop, joins with tables...etc related performance issues and rating , giving a reader a reminder on the criteria to write a well-performed SQL.
   * What is bad SQL?How to use SQL Hints?
   * How to analyze table with DBMS_STATS package?
   * How to pre-define outline for your execution plan ?

   I have bought DBA checklist and Oracle with UNIX, they are my nice partners as well. Haha...I still remember I deal with a staging database problem in my work, I cannot find a solution from a THICK and HEAVY book but from them.

   If you need handy guides, pocket references are excellent and light, haha...I want to buy RMAN reference later :D, they seem a series of fiction.




2. This is the best book I've seen for tuning Oracle SQL.
   It is well written, up to date (includes 9i info), and full of examples and real world experiences. All packed into 100 little pages!
   Many of the Oracle books I've purchased (especially the tuning references) are just sitting on the shelf collecting dust. They're too big, and filled with a lot of 'dead weight'. I've already read this pocket reference twice (it's suprising how much more of it 'sticks' the second time around) and gathered more useful knowledge than all my other sql tuning books combined.
   I know this is called a pocket reference simply because of it's size, but it's really more of an instructional manual than just a reference.
   Every Oracle developer and DBA should read this book ...at least twice.



3. Purchased a few years ago, this little guide has provided the best return on investment when compared to more bulky works on the subject of Oracle database tuning. The word "reference" was probably chosen over the word "guide" in the title of this book because the former would seem to imply usage solely for quick lookups on various related subjects. However, this work is really a step-by-step primer that can be used alongside online Oracle database reference manuals. Because this book is so short, it can be digested in a matter of hours. During such a short time period, the reader is exposed to topics ranging from Oracle rules-based and cost-based optimization to database statistics gathering and SQL hints. And all this information is presented in a practical manner that includes many examples that will help the reader start off on the right path.



4. I typically like these little pocket reference books from O'Reilly and this one is no exception. However, this is more than just a reference, it's a nice primer on Oracle SQL tuning. It's a pretty safe bet that you'll get your $10 worth out of this book pretty quickly.

5 comments about Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference.

1. Where's the index?? A REFERENCE is something you pick up to find a particular needed peice of information. Without an index you have to scan everywhere trying to find what you are looking for. What a waste of time! Dont' even waste the 10 bucks for this piece of junk...



2. This small booklet "ORACLE PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference" in this new 2nd edition is exactly what you need as PL/SQL (PL/SQL is the ORACLE procedural language extension of SQL) programmer (and is even more important for casual PL/SQL programmer).

   "ORACLE PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference" assumes that you are running at least ORACLE 8i and it covers ORACLE 9i as well (ORACLE 9i features are marked as such).

   The content and coverage of the book is very good from my perspective. Even the more exotic features that I just can't remember, like e.g. the AUTHID stuff for PL/SQL procedures, are covered in this book. Even if you do not remember the exact keyword to look something up in the index, the book is still small enough to brose over every page in a couple of minutes to find your solution. All of the ORACLE 9i features (that I know of) are explained like e.g. "bulk binds" (cool PL/SQL performance feature).

   The language and the new index are very good.

   Even though this is a relatively small book, there are examples for almost every topic covered (although not big ones).

   This is NOT the right book to learn PL/SQL and it will not teach you any SQL. If you want to learn PL/SQL, I recommend the other books (by the same authors) from O'Reilly that are all VERY good.




3. Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference
   Steven Feuerstein
   O'Reilly - 4th Edition
   http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596514044/index.html
   
   This book covers the most common topics in PL/SQL in a compact format. The format is "pocket reference" which is considerably smaller than a standard book. The information is still complete. It appears the publisher accomplished this by eliminating blank pages between chapters, avoiding the use of large type for chapter headings, and beginning the next chapter a few lines after the previous. This format is convenient for people who need to use the reference often.
   
   The items covered are numerous and relevant making the book a good value. The reference does not cover the SQL language itself outside the context of PL/SQL programming. It also does not go into extreme detail on how Oracle is working behind the scenes. It focuses on how to perform the task at hand then moves onto the next topic. This is good for those just looking for an answer but would not provide the detail to someone studying the inner workings of Oracle itself.
   
   Some of the items covered that I found most useful were:
   
   Cursors
   Exception handling
   Transaction management
   Syntax of various loops and the case statement
   Bulk operations
   Packages
   Procedures
   Syntax of triggers
   Differences between 9i and 10g
   Functions
   
   Overall this is an inexpensive, quality reference for those who program PL/SQL.



4. Steven Feuerstein, Bill Pribyl and Chip Dawes' ORACLE PL/SQL LANGUAGE POCKET REFERENCE provides the fourth edition of a popular pocket guide which will serve as a quick reference in take-along tote format. PL/SQL's information covers records, functions, language elements and more, in a new edition that includes Oracle Database 11g elements from function results to compound triggers. New sections on Oracle's built-in functions rounds out the update.



5. The 'Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference' is a good pocket reference for Oracle 11g but I feel that this subject matter is tough to condense in size. I feel that this isn't a niche book that really accomplishes much. I'll still give it 4 stars because it's handy but I think you would be more apt to pick up one of the bigger Oracle PL/SQL books by O'Reilly instead.
   
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