5 comments about Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide (Definitive Guides).

1. Well written, plenty of examples, very easy to read and follow. As someone who is new to SQL*Plus, I appreciated that. Once I got things installed and running, it was easy to get right into iSQL*Plus (running SQL commands through a browser interface) - really cool. The chapter on Create HTML Reports was very nice as well.
   
   I found this book very helpful.



2. I have found this book to be a really great guide that is easy to follow. The author provides a gentle, but thorough introduction to topics like creating reports, writing scripts, customization etc. He offers methodologies and alternatives beyond the syntax that you can find in the manual. For example, he presents and evaluates six ways one can achieve some kind of if-then-else flow control in SQL*Plus.
   
   [...]



3. The glories of the command line. SQLPlus [I am not going to write that irritating asterix] is an acknowledgment of the reality that for many large computer programs and operating systems, a command line utility is vital. The book explains this for the specific instance of hooking to Oracle's database. It is meant as a definitive reference. Showing every command, often accompanied by example code.
   
   For an Oracle DBA, a good acquaintance with SQLPlus is probably mandatory. From the book, you can see how to quickly interrogate the database and get results in various useful paginated formats. Plus, and vitally, you can see how to build script files that can be run, where these files encode your experience in amassing customised sequences of commands specific to your needs. Exactly analogous to batch files in most operating systems, and just as useful.
   
   Along those lines, SQLPlus is conceptually not that hard. When using Oracle, it is often far more important, and harder, to design optimal tables for a given problem.



4. Oracle SQL Plus: The Defnitive Guide
   Jonthan Gennick
   1-56592-578-5
   
   This book is great for those using the SQL Plus tool. I use SQL Plus for Oracle 8 and 9. This book covers up to 8i but I have not had any trouble using the commands in 9i. I have not tried the commands listed on 10g yet. The book is easy to use since the topics are split into reasonable chapters and the font is large enough to read with the book beside the keyboard. I also like the chapters that list commonly used items in tables. One example would be the chapter listing the user_ and all_ views. The chapter covering the SET command is one I use frequently. This book is fairly specific to the usage of SQL Plus itself and does not delve too deeply into the inner workings of the Oracle database, but it does have examples in SQL query language and PL/SQL stored procedures. If one is looking for a book on SQL itself, I recommend another title. If one needs a book on SQL Plus, get this one.



5. This book covers the basics of using SQL*Plus for adhoc querying through using it for batch processing. An excellent, extremely readable reference.

5 comments about The Definitive Guide to MySQL 5, Third Edition (Definitive Guide).

1. This book is great for anyone getting started with MySQL. The book does an excellent job of helping the reader learn MySQL on both Windows and Linux systems, with most examples being run in tandem across both platforms. The books review of MySQL administration tools and clients is very in depth, and probably the best single-source coverage I have seen on the topic.
   
   The chapter on integrating MySQL with OpenOffice and MS Office is unique to this book, as far as I know and I think several readers will get their money's worth simply from that. Using MySQL as a productivity tool instead of a programming tool changes the approach for several MySQL users.
   
   The fundamentals section of the book, which includes DB design, security and some of the newer features of MySQL (stored procedures and triggers) is a very nice overview, even for seasoned MySQL users. The administration chapter is probably my favorite, as I am a System Admin. This chapter provides examples and instructions about backups, migrations, performance tuning and replication.
   
   
   The final section on programming was a nice introduction to programming with/against MySQL, but was brief for nearly all topics, but understandably so. There are dozens of books on PHP and MySQL alone, so a few chapters on PHP, Perl, Java and VB are good introductions, but other material should be sought after for an in-depth project.
   
   All in all the book is very thorough, and makes an excellent addition to Apress's Open Source line of books.



2. This is bar-none the best MySQL (all-inclusive) book I've ever used. I've been using MySQL for about 5-6 years (maybe longer I've lost count). In projects from Personal stuff to Commercial and Corporate sites. I feel like I know a lot about MySQL simply by using and Admin'ing it for most of this time. I've learned a great deal from "The Definitive Guide to MySQL 5" and am making immediate use of several things that have made significant improvements to the current project I'm working on...and has given me ideas as to how to improve on a few sites I didn't think I could improve much on.
   
   I would recommend this book for ANYONE interested in MySQL 5. It's well organized, and provides enough information to use virtually anything related to MySQL 5.
   
   Thanks to Michael Kofler for such a well written and organized book!
   
   The only things I would have preferred just a tad more detail on is the use of Cursors in Stored Procedures. Aside from that this is an EXCELLENT resource I highly recommend.



3. This book is indeed a valuable resource for those who wish to have a deep understanding and interoperations of MySQL. However, by no means believe this book is for a MySQL beginner. I am college educated and frequently self-teach on many topics within the technical field. I bought this book with the hopes of getting a foundational understanding of MySQL and have a database up and running in the first few chapters. The first chapter does carefully explain what a relational database is, its features, and limitations, but then gets lost into the murky realm of administrative tools, user interfaces, and database design. The book finally gets around to giving the reader the first command to creating a database on page 268 (chapter 11). By this point the author gives the impression that getting a database started just a formality rather than the start of something fun and exciting. (Am I crazy for thinking databases are fun?)
   
   In general, I found this book a hard read. It's very dry and in my opinion, not well laid out. This book is for someone who already has foundational knowledge in MySQL and some programming. The author seems to have a thorough understanding of the topic, but is not good at teaching to underlings such as myself. I'm not going to toss the book, but keep it on my shelf as a reference. In the mean time I need to find another book on MySQL.



4. 'The Definitive Guide to MySQL 5' by Michael Kofler is in its 3rd Edition for the simple reason that this is a GOOD reference book. Jam packed full of nearly 750 pages worth of excellence, this book isn't just a reference manual, but a learning TOOL as well. The glowing reviews for this book are not without a legit reason, this is a wonderful guide that belongs on the desk of any and all MySQL developers. Pick up this book to learn and excel... you won't be disappointed!!
   
   ***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED



5. The book opens with an introductory database example (Chap 3), an opinion poll. The author spends nearly a page in his attempt to justify why MySQL is more suited to his example than a text file. This justification is not only uneccessary but outright wrong. The sample SQL also contains a glaring error that is likely to confuse the newer MySQL user
   
   "In order to generate a table with the two columns /id/ and /choice/, the following command would suffice: CREATE TABLE votelanguage (id INT, choice TINYINT, ts TIMESTAMP);". If you are new to MySQL, you may be wondering about "ts TIMESTAMP".
   
   At every page I have turned to and begun to read, I have found at least one similarly minor/distracting error: "changes in boldface" followed by lines of code with no boldface, "the following will insert a data record with a value of 4: INSERT into t VALUES (3)", etc, etc, etc...
   
   There are numerous sections of text that are terribly written, almost as though they have been badly translated from another language. Chapter 4, for instance, opens with "The end user should never see MySQL as a program. Instead, a convenient program or several web sites should be used to provide access to the database, assist in the input of new data and execute backups
   "For such tasks, you can use the commands mysql, mysqladmin and mysqldump ...". Presumably he mean't that these commands are not the interface through which the typical user will see MySQL.
   
   I said the book is not definitive - I say this because its focus is incredibly broad. It covers a wide spectrum of MySQL-related topics, primarily dealing with specifics of language interfaces (by sheer volume of pages). It covers nothing in true depth (with several item specific chapters containing the "Tip" that "In this chapter you will learn about /this/ only superficially. However, ... will be described elsewhere in the book ..."
   
   Every time I open this book, I find errors or cryptic paragraphs that I have to deconstruct in order to understand the author's point. Often times, even when the author is quite clear, I find his points to be in error. For example, returning to the initial opinion poll: the author implies that if your result set were merely the vote option and number of votes for that option, it would be simplest to just store that in a single file. But if you wanted to store individual votes or comments or IP addresses, you would need MySQL!
   
   Infact, due to concurrency issues, MySQL would be far better suited to the simple tally counter.

5 comments about Mastering Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (Mastering).

1. I give this book five stars not because the entire book is great, but because chances are there will be a few parts that 'serve' you well - which is most likely why you buy this book. One or two of these gems (such as adding Encryption to a connection string to automatically encrypt all data moving from sql server onto the network) will be worth the price of the book many times.
   
   The intro on things like normalizing is weak and chances are you will not learn anything here (if you do not know the basics about normalizing a database schema, then chances are some tutorials on the internet will help you better).
   
   Sections on backups, locks, internal workings of sql server, smo objects for custom management apps, logs, etc are all well written and helpful.
   
   A few performance metrics for various typical approaches would have been appreciated, the type of things you have to dig through white papers for.



2. I have bought this book for my teaching purposes targeting a "new starter" group. Introductory chapters are good. It has abundant representative pictures. But as the topics progres the book becomes having a little problematic. If you think to buy this book as a self study guide, it is maybe better to look for another one.
   On the other hand, SQL Server Express Edition does not have so much book-style resources. This may force the reader to buy this book (as in my case!)
   But as a last opinion, this book is not a "must have book"



3. .
   
   Microsoft has developed a FREE, yes that is FREE, SQL application that is actually rather good.
   
   This book will get you up and running on SQL; database concepts and design; trouble shooting your databases as well as introducing you to Visual Basic Express...another FREE app from Microsoft
   
   It isn't as robust as SQL Server, but is far better than Access.



4. Microsoft realeased a free version of SQL Server to compete with mySQL and it's actually quite excellent, especially given its price tag. This book makes the book claim to have you 'mastering' SQL Server, but of course no single book could do that. Instead, it provides a very comprehensive tour-de-force of all the features, bells and whistles, and relies on you - dear, Internet-connected reader - to research areas of particular interest to you.
   
   The biggest flaw is that there's not enough information to get you up and running in the first place. Literally, the installation instructions for SQL Server Express are esoteric, and there's a couple of missing pieces of information, without which you're going nowhere. But a little digging around on the Net will have you running fairly quickly.
   
   Overall, a great little book for the price.



5. I have been creating applications that use Access for the last few years, so it has been awhile since I used SQL Server.
   
   With this book I got up to speed on client/server databases, permissions, stored procedures, triggers, T-SQL. It should be the start for anyone who is interested in this "free!" new SQL Server.
   
   I found it very helpful, well written, succinct.

No comments about Refactoring SQL Applications.

2 comments about Beginning SQL Server 2005 Express for Developers: From Novice to Professional (Expert's Voice in .Net).

1. This is an excellent book for learning SQL Server 2005 Express. I started learning MS Access in 2003 when my wife asked me to develop a database for her to use at work. At the time I knew only the words "relational database". Over 99% of what I needed to know to develop that contact and resource management database to its fully featured capability came from multiple books.
   
   The expectations have changed over time and now I need to use SQL Server 2005 Express as a back end with Access as the front end for that database. Knowing nothing about SQL Server 2005, I needed a very good book to help bring me up to speed. I found that in Robin Dewson's "Beginning SQL Server 2005 Express."
   
   From the installation of SQL Server 2005 Express through an explanation of Triggers and Reporting Services, there is a clear and concise explanation of each aspect with the opportunity to Try It Out. I needed to know all of what he presents and I was especially interested in Installation, Security, and Database Backup, Recovery, and Maintenance. The Installation chapter explains very carefully and clearly authentication mode, service accounts, user instances, etc. The Security chapter clearly explains logins, server roles, database roles, and schemas. The Database Backup, Recovery, and Maintenance chapter is also clear and carefully written with information on types of backups, detaching and attaching a database, and transaction logs.
   
   The Chapter headings are:
   1. SQL Server 2005 Express Overview and Installation
   2. SQL Server Management Studio Express
   3. Database Design and Creation
   4. Security
   5. Defining Tables
   6. Creating Indexes and Database Diagramming
   7. Database Backup, Recovery, and Maintenance
   8. Working with the Data
   9. Building a View
   10. Stored Procedures
   11. T-SQL Essentials
   12. Advanced T-SQL
   13. Triggers
   14. Reporting Services
   
   Robin Dewson is a very good teacher with the gift of knowing how to present a concept and then build concept on concept. He also provides helpful tips on things to do and not to do.



2. I have been querying SQL Server databases for six years using .Net. This book took me inside SQL Server and showed me how to manage tables, relations, stored proceedures, indexes and triggers.
   
   The book achieves great mix of instruction and best practices. At times, I found myself wanting to know more but the book is already over 400 pages.

5 comments about Practical Business Intelligence with SQL Server 2005 (Microsoft Windows Server System Series).

1. Data warehouse projects are notorious for running late, costing a fortune, and failing to deliver much more than a conference room full of fancy flow sheets. I worked on developing a complex data warehouse in the years before SQL Server 2005, and I wish this book had been available when I started.
   
   Although this book provides a good overview of the pertinent features of SQL Server 2005, it is not an enclycopedia of Analysis and Reporting Services. That is ok. The greatest value is in having each topic area organized around an practical example, and in presenting the example from a business-value and project-management approach that too many IT "experts" fail to apply:
   1. Clarify the business problem that needs to be solved.
   2. Define how to meet the business requirments
   3. Design the architecture and data model
   5. Work up the technical solution (testing along the way)
   6. Manage the deployment, security, updating, and maintanence issues
   The book also has a healthy focus on the real issues of data quality. Along the way, the authors sprinkle gems about why some approaches work better than others.
   
   Programmers who are not responsible for project design can still benefit from knowing how a well-run project would work. And anyone responsible for Business Intelligence projects definitely needs the knowledge contained in this book.



2. I recently started my first job as a full time dba using sql server 2005 and am working on a data warehouse for the first time. This book helped me immensely in understanding what I am doing and how to do it. It's a steep learning curve in a tough environment but immensely rewarding.



3. This book delivers exactly what the title promises -- A practical guide to learning and understanding Microsoft SQL Server 2005 BI. I've purchased more than a dozen books on the subject. This is the one that offers the most understandable and concise explanation of the capabilities of the product without a lot of fluff. It is my "go to" guide whenever I need a refresher.



4. I cannot recommend this book highly enough! On a topic that regrettably, is otherwise extremely short on practical and accessible information - Practical BI achieves that in a very effective and concise manner, introducing practical BI concepts and terminology then applying them.
   
   John and Roger cover off the Microsoft BI platform quite admirably. The heart of Practical BI is constructing real-world solutions. Each chapter consists of a case study that begins with the customer's business goals, and then guides you through to the solution in a detailed and thorough manner - complete with source code that actually works - fully and completely.
   
   That's the kicker for me - the source code provided along with the book covers the cost of the book - many times over. It is very reassuring to fall back on the solid working source examples, and to pick up from where you have the time and desire to apprentice. It is a pleasure to work through this book - the lessons take, even novices, a long way down the road to mastering Microsoft's BI world.
   
   For my BI Intro Presentation to our Toronto SQL User Group - TSQL.ca, I will be presenting exclusively large sections of this book. The book gets you anxious to roll up your sleeves and get working in BI. The case study examples are very pertinent to the real world. Well done John and Roger!



5. BI is about turning data into useful knowledge.
   
   This book is geared towards the beginners of SQL 2005 BI. It differs from many other books in the market in that it defines the general architecture of a SQL 2005 BI. They involve OLTP, ETL, DW, OLAP, and query and reporting (Reporting Services).
   
   The author describes each step in a case method so the reader can understand when and how SQL 2005 BI can be utilized to meet a business requirement.
   
   I have found author's suggestions on buildling an effective DW and how it relates to building an effective OLAP Cube to be particularly useful.
   
   The downside is that this is not particularly detailed and it is missing many pieces such as MDX. But it is not meant to be a comprehensive reference but a mere introduction to the possibilities of SQL 2005 BI. To that end, the book does its job well.

5 comments about Microsoft Reporting Services in Action (In Action series).

1. The content reveals a lot of details of RS. However, I had a hard time to make the samples running.



2. Being a Microsoft trainer, and needing to get up to speed in a hurry, I found this book - luckily. This book was able to give me the answers to the "how do I do..." questions I had, and then enabled me to explain these concepts to my students.
   
   Teo's style is easy to read, and he makes it easy to see how you can apply his examples to your reporting needs.
   
   If you need to get up to speed on Reporting Services in a hurry, and need a book you can refer to in the future, this is the one.



3. I found this book to have lots of information, but if you learn best by hands on examples, this is not the book for you. The author shows you a report already done and gives a quick explanation of how he got there. It is not a step-by-step type of book. As a lot of the examples shown do not have a how-to to go with it, I found this book not a good place to start. There are others that are more hands-on and step-by-step which are easier to learn from.
   
   Having said that, if you've had some Reporting Services experience and are just looking to brush up on techniques and/or learn additional techniques, then this book will probably save you the tediousness of having to go through a step-by-step example that you have already done in the past.



4. The project: create a secure, distributed, Internet-facing, interactive ASP.Net reporting application for a Very Large Customer. The schedule: short. The budget: low. Amazingly, we got it done, and I credit Teo and this book with helping us meet our requirements.
   
   The Microsoft Reporting Services 1.0 documentation is not very useful to the newcomer, and with 7 months' experience now, I can also say it's not very useful to the rising journeyman. The product is quirky, with surprising gaps and baroque security features. Without expert guidance from someone who has worked with the RS dev team I don't see how anybody would get much done with Reporting Services 1.0.
   
   Teo Lachev worked intensively with the Microsoft dev team and the book shows it. Perhaps one of the reasons other reviews here gripe about the examples is that the most useful examples are the non-trivial ones in the second half of the book. Report authoring is the easy part! Delivering your reports to your users in the ways they demand is the hard part, and in my opinion this is where Teo's book shines.
   
   It is no exaggeration to state that without Teo's book, and in particular his discussion of custom security extensions for Reporting Services, we would have failed to deliver the goods. But we succeeded... thanks Teo.



5. Very good book, lots of useful info that goes beyond the normal documentation.

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.

2 comments about Beginning MySQL (Programmer to Programmer).

1. MYSQL is an open-source standard DBMS now and is a great way (free) to get yourself started in learning about web design and how to create databases. This is a great book to use a starter guide to learning MYSQL or for people who have learned some MYSQL on their own and want a guide and/or resource for learning more intermediate topics.
   
   The first thing the author goes into how to get/install/configure MYSQL whether it be on a Windows or UNIX environment. There are some differences between the two setups on the different OS so it's an important first chapter. The next chapter covers how to create a relational database while explaining good design with normalization, relationships (one to many, many to many, etc), understanding what a data model is, and showing some good database examples. Jumping into creating your tables before you understand design theory can be disastrous down the road when you realize you need to re-design your tables which can lead to hours of extra work.
   
   Then of the meat of the book (Chapters 5 - 10) goes into explaining the SQL (Structured Query Language) in how to create a table, retrieve data, update, append and delete data. The author spends a good amount of time on the basics of SQL and shows some good examples. After the basics it shoes the MYSQL specific syntax more complex queries and uses working examples for each of them. The author does a great job of going through the syntax first then shows some examples and then goes through using the new syntax in a database project as well.
   
   The rest of the book (Chapter 11 - 16) goes into administration tasks such as exporting and copying databases, managing transactions, setting up security and optimizing and performance issues. The final 3 chapters goes into using different web technologies (PHP, ASP.NET and Java) to interact with MYSQL databases and show data on a web page. A very nice change of pace that can prove helpful if you want to get into web development as well.
   
   Overall this a great book on MYSQL that really explains the important topics with some great examples.



2. I advise every person who want to learn MYSQL to Buy this book , it's learn you the following :
   an introduction to database systems .
   an introduction to strucure query language (SQL).
   simple way to learn the mysql .

4 comments about Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition (SQL Server Series).

1. The book provides a good overview of SSCE; although I did find quite a bit of repetative content, especially in the introduction and first 2 chapters.
   There are heaps of exercises and code examples to assist both the novice and experienced SSCE developer/administrator/windows mobile programmer and covers everything you'll need to know to get your first application running and/or synchronising with SQL Server 2005.
   [...]



2. The sheer size of the book was pleasantly surprising considering the subject matter. I was expecting something a lot smaller.
   
   I agree with the other commenter that parts of it are a bit repetitive, but in the author's defense, it's a very fine line between being thorough and being repetitive and it's a lot better to err on the right side. I think he was clearly trying to make sure that newer developers got a firm basis in the technology even if it could be a little much. And, other than the first few chapters, there's nothing even approaching redundant.
   
   The strenght of the book is the depth of examples. Can I say that every single scenario I've ever encountered or can envision was covered? Probably not. Can I say that every scenario that you'd expect to encounter and many advanced ones that you run into rarely are covered - Absolutely. The code is there for all of it and the examples clearly state everything you need to understand about the example. Moreoever, I have not been through every samplem but I've been through a lot of them approaching just about all, and I have yet to find a problem with them.
   
   All in all I think the author did a phenomenal job and although it's a fairly dry (albeit critical) subject matter, the book is never boring. The coverage is always thorough and never leaves you wanting. He did as good of a job as can be done on this subject and his attention to detail is commendable.
   
   If you're interested in doing Sql Ce development, this book is a must have.



3. SQL CE based app uses - VS, SQL Server, .NET, .NET CF, Windows Mobile and SQL CE.The book explain the landscpae and how various pieces fit together.
   
   The developer who want to learn all MS technologies can find it useful as example walkthrough them VS, SQL Server, .NET, ADO.NET, .NET CF, Windows Mobile, IIS Security technologies
   
   Ofcourse must for teams who are developing using SQL CE.



4. SQL Server Compact Edition is meant for storing data on mobile devices such as Smartphones and PDA's or for inclusion in applications running disconnected on some user's laptop in an isolated environment. This wonderful book written by Prashant Dhingra and Trent Swanson, two Microsoft developers, is a large book about a small topic, SQL Server Compact Edition. The authors take the time to cover every aspect of working with Compact from installing it and working with the tools necessary to building your database, to programming, to synchronization with a central server, to (my favorite topic) tuning and (my least favorite) security. The book's approach is to provide you with plenty of explanations and documentation, but then to focus on step by step instructions so that you can do the things you need to do with this handy tool.
   The topics are not limited to the developer's side of the box, but instead spread out to cover installations, maintenance and various methods of synchronizing the data with central sources. All of it is covered in a great deal of depth, making this a very thorough book. They even go so far as to show you how to tune queries and adjust the database structure to optimize performance and enhance integrity. It's a very thorough book.
   If you're just getting started with SQL Server Compact, I can recommend this book as a must read. If you need to just support Compact, not necessarily develop on it, this book is also very useful.