3 comments about Joe Celko's Analytics and OLAP in SQL (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems).

1. I found this gem in the usual aisles at my favorite bookstore among other technical books. Yet, this is a book on SQL, OLAP, Warehouse and metrics that is great because "he cuts to the chase". So many technical books have way too much information and boring paragraphs with little real world examples or insights or lessons learned.
   If you enjoy databases and data analysis, this book is great. I'm going to check out other books by this author because I think he is on to something in providing information and insights to technical domains.
   Great job!



2. Ideal para las personas que tienen experiencia en base de datos y desean introducirse en el mundo de los sistemas de análisis de datos. No es un libro para todo tipo de público ya que requiere ciertas habilidades en SQL, específicamente sobre vistas y agrupaciones. Ampliamente recomendado.



3. There's very little useful information in here beyond what you'll find in Celko's SQL for Smarties book, which is a good reference, albeit full of errors. What's especially disappointing to me is that several sections from that book were moved into this new volume, but only lightly edited, if at all, thereby perpetuating many typos and technical errors from several editions ago. Technical books really need better editing if they're going to be good teaching tools, otherwise they just wind up misleading and frustrating the reader. In this case, I feel like I bought a bunch of outtakes and remixes from an artist whose recording contract demanded additional albums when only the first was truly inspired.

5 comments about Joe Celko's SQL Programming Style (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems).

1. Too many database books are written by developers whose expertise is OOP and not SQL. While I don't agree with Mr. Celko on every point, keep in mind that he was on the SQL Standards Committee for 10 years. Even if you don't agree with him on every point, his level of expertise is undeniable - unless, perhaps, the questioner can provide evidence of greater knowledge and expertise.
   
   This book is to SQL grammar and style as "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White are to English grammar and style. Mr. Celko explains, in terms that should be easily understood, why SQL should be written in standard SQL while still allowing that there can be exceptions just as verbal communications, in any language, should follow the standard grammar of the language unless there is good reason to slip into a localized dialect.
   
   Where one reviewer rated the book with 1 star because that reviewer disagrees with Mr. Celko on a single point of database design, his antagonistic remarks have nothing to do with the point or the value of this book.
   
   As the editorial review states, this book is not for beginners. If you have been programming SQL for a year or more and you want to fine tune the quality of your work, this work is something you should surely read.



2. Wading through badly written SQL is a nightmare on the best of days. Proper--and consistent--attention to capitalization, indentation, and other formatting standards makes SQL much more readable and therefore maintainable. The standards outlined in this book are for the most part very well thought-out, and a great starting point for creating a set of enterprise SQL development standards. If more SQL developers would read this book, I would have many less headaches in my day-to-day work, so I believe this is a valuable purchase.



3. This is a great reference for how to write clear, concise, and efficient SQL. If you are looking for good ideas for SQL coding standards, you will find them here.
   
   In my career, I've seen a lot of poorly written, nearly incomprensible SQL, which is always harder to maintain. I just wish more novice SQL developers and DBAs had read this book.



4. If this review finally goes in, I shall be pleased but surprised, There is something wrong with Amazon's linking. I have spoken to support and they don't know what it is. Anyway...
   
   This is a mixed bag, but mostly very good. Lots of excellent information about different versions of SQL vs. standards, and fascinating excursions into the underpinnings of coding systems, measurements, scales, ratios, etc. We should all be a lot more aware of the work that has been done and codified in many international standards. Apart from anything else, it would save people from re-inventing so many wheels - and making some of them square!
   
   There is an excellent and much-needed stress on the need to use relational thinking when you are working in the SQL environment, with the focus on natural keys and set-oriented processing. He rightly decries the use of "external locator" keys (which most of us call "surrogate" keys, though he defines that term differently) - anyway, basically the "Identity" type. He is perhaps a little too extreme in pretty much absolutely outlawing them, but I agree with the general principle. They are an expedient pushed by people who don't understand relational design. Natural keys are much better. (But I have to agree with another reviewer that the SSN is problematic. Coming to the US from Canada, I couldn't believe the SSN was not a check-digited number, unlike the Canadian SIN, or any credit card number, or banking ABA's. I guess the age of the system was one issue. But the result, anyway, is that duplicate SSNs exist and that they are frequently invented or stolen.)
   
   As a self-described "old fart" he castigates the design errors that may be committed by those (like me!) who grew up in the age of punched cards and magnetic tape. But surely few current database designers have ever seen a punched card, and rarely encounter a good old sequential fixed-length-record file, let alone a mag tape. The model that leads them astray these days is not the sequential file, but the Excel spreadsheet! Time and again I see HORRIBLE designs, violating all the normal forms from 1 to 3 and beyond, based on the columns of an Excel spreadsheet. Another factor is the lack of relational training - how many people have read Codd or Date? and the harm done by the early PC databases that were just a kind of disorganized dumping-ground for data, draining meaning from the term "database."
   
   Some of his mandates are perhaps a little too absolute "Don't use cursors" - well, 99% of the time, very true. You should be thinking sets, not serial access. But there are a few occasions where a cursor can be a useful weapon in your armory and can even execute faster than a set manipulation. Not many, but a few - beyond the outlying cases he describes. Similarly with triggers - yes, generally DRI is far preferable (if your DBMS supports it). But if you want customized transaction audit capture, triggers are the natural way to go.
   
   A few beefs:
   
   There's a sprinkling of typos, and I did spot one actual error: on p 114, he presents "WHERE a = b + 2" as the alternative to "WHERE a + 2 = b - 4." Oops! Obviously the valid alternative is "WHERE a = b - 6."
   
   The discussion of Camel Case is too limited: there are a lot of variations and his definition is at odds with the widely used Microsoft definition, which would have been worth mentioning. For MS, camel case is like "thisCase" and Celko's camel case, "ThisCase," is called Pascal case.
   
   I found his advice on formatting and display of code sometimes odd. Often when he showed example A and then "see how example B is more readable " - I thought example A was clearer! He refers to studies on visual perception, eye movement, etc., but I am not sure that such studies done in the context of reading normal prose are valid for SQL, or other programming-type text. Comprehension likely occurs in different stages or chunks.
   
   Also, surely Hungarian notation is found in strongly-typed, not weakly-typed, languages. In a weakly-typed language like REXX, a variable can be a string one minute, an integer the next. What prefix can you use? Whereas in VB, for instance, up to version 6, MS recommended prefixes to remind the programmer of the fixed type as defined, so he would not be tempted to write "intAccountID = "New Customer" or suchlike.[...]
   
   Summary? Well, OK, I've listed a few problems, but overall, get this and study it - there's lots of fascinating and rewarding material, from someone who has been working in this field a long time and has gone very deeply into many aspects of it. Many of the SQL examples will really stretch your brain - his other books do that too!



5. I'll expand on that when I have time; but for now, real quick:
   PROs:
   
   - As usual for Celko's books, you get this feeling of conversing with a knowledgeable and overall very likeable individual with a good sense of humour (he got me laughing on page 2, see his comments on the making of fine furniture).
   
   - Good justifications are given for many rules of thumb that, as of now, you're likely to be adhering to on faith.
   
   - A number of unobvious, sharp, mind-stretching tidbits (an ever-present feature of Celko books).
   
   - Very good bibliography. Celko is not a "narrow specialist": reading pointers he gives are varied and very interesting. Also, links to a lot of net material. Great.
   
   - He writes simply.
   
   -----------------------
   
   CONTRA, the one and only problem: the book appears to be written in a terrible hurry, which is manifested by the following occurrences (not exhaustively):
   
   - Sometimes the author has something to say, but does not say it intelligibly (e.g., section 1.2.7)
   
   - Sometimes he doesn't have anything to say, but gibbers on anyway (e.g., section 3.15)
   
   - Sometimes he belabours the obvious or maybe even spurious: for example, there's too much of this "unlearn OO to understand SQL". One doesn't need to unlearn what one knows to learn something he doesn't; there's no clear-cut distinction: for example, operating on STL collections is very set-like, quite SQL'ish actually: you provide a predicate and it's then applied internally in a set-scoped operation. Matlab is very similar. BLAS is very similar. Fortran is similar. Iow, thinking in sets is an important thing to point to -- once; but after that it's beating a dead horse; move on already. Especially since it isn't really as black-and-white as the author suggests.
   
   (4) The book is very inadequately indexed: index is very small; nothing can be found. What's SQL/PSM? I don't think it's been defined anywhere, but perhaps I missed it; off to index I go... and find nothing there. How nice. I mean, come on -- a five-page index in a technical book?
   
   (5) Dropping French. Is it really necessary? "Sistemé International d'units", OK.
   
   There's more stuff to talk about, both good and bad; but I've no time to write it up right now. So, finally: is it a worthy book?
   
   Well, the book is flawed but not useless by any means. It's not a must read, but if you got a few discretionary bucks and a bit of free time, it's worth reading. I've learned a few interesting things here; ~1/3rd of the reading has been pleasant: in addition to knowing a lot of stuff, DB-related and beyond, Celko's got a real good sense of humour and a gift of gab. Were this book a brochure one-third its current size sold for five bucks, I'd give it five stars. OK, ten bucks.

5 comments about Real World Microsoft Access Database Protection and Security.

1. A good book will find the reader. I would like to thank Mr. Robinson for a well written read. Besides all the other things I have in my life to do I was able to finish his work in about two weeks. I have read all the other reviews; there is nothing I can add. I can however tell you that if you are into Access database (and you know if you are) then this book is an imperative. I have had many books on Access database pass my way, nothing compares with Mr. Robinsons' book on security and protection.
   
   Mr. Robinsons' is the first technical book on Access I have ever read from cover to cover with a never ending want to turn the page to see what Mr. Robinson was going to teach me next. I'm going to begin a reread of his work and this time I'm going to use the examples with both Northwind and my own database to incorporate his methods; especially enjoying combining the OS and workgroup security to provide my data a secure base from my clients, friends and enemies.
   
   His book provided me ample margin to take copious notes along with my read, it will prove helpful in preparing for deployment. Mr. Robinson is a professional database administrator and this book is written as from such, you will think like he does at the end of this read and be the better for it. Mr. Robinson is a wonderful dbase admin, author, and now teacher. Again many thanks for his efforts and a heartfelt appreciation for my newly gained knowledge. Should Mr. Robinson ever have a worldwide tour on the subject, sign me up.
   
   All of the reviews are positive, I suggest a review of Mr. Robinsons' Table of Contents and more important, the wonderful Index. A review of these documents will give you better insight into the level of Access database security Mr. Robinson clearly and distinctly explains. Mr. Robinson has the world's attention on this security subject and rightfully deserves it.
   
   The Table of Contents and Index may be found at:
   
   View the table of contents (http://www.vb123.com/get/AccessSecurityBook_TOC.pdf)in PDF format.
   View the index file (http://www.vb123.com/get/mapindex.pdf) in PDF format.
   
   Tom Pickett
   May 9, 2006
   Berea, South Carolina USA



2. All of the other reviews pretty much say it all, but I wanted to place a more recent review in the list. Although I have just started using some of the basics Gary clearly discusses, I am anxious to get to the rest. Being able to secure Access has always been in the back of my mind. Now I know I can tackle the issue and get it done in a consistent manner that I can carry into all my Access projects. Thanks for the good work Garry.



3. Gary Robinson is a master at Access security and this book proves it! This is one of the books that stays on the shelf close to me when I am developing. It has great resources for setting up different types of security and he provides forms and code to help you develop security based on your needs. I highly recommend this for developers, especially those who are just designing more complex databases and need a good background on security. He is such a great resource that I subscribe to his newsletter now! I can only hope that he writes another book soon! A+



4. This was a great find. I just wish I had read it sooner. There are things in here that every Access developer should read. Lots of good advice, techniques, and code samples. Very well-written and easy to follow. Right to the point. I especially appreciate the humility that Garry shows in his writing. He obviously knows more than most about Access, yet he gives credit where it is due and provides lots of links for the reader to go out and get the background themselves.
   
   I have read some of the other (excellent in their own right) big books on MS Access, and there were a couple of "non-security" things in here that I did not find elsewhere (not to mention the security issues that were new to me). I highly recommend this book for anyone who may be creating a multi-user database.



5. Real World Microsoft Access Database Protection and Security
   I found it to be a good rescouce of the various stages of MSAccess DB developing protection for a data base. The end user would also benefit by having a reliable data base.
   Braxton Foist

5 comments about Joe Celko's SQL Puzzles and Answers, Second Edition, Second Edition (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems).

1. A marketing slogan at the back of the cover says "This little collection of puzzles is something to bash your head against while waiting your SQL epiphany". A little bit too promising.
   
   The problems in the book look very much like typical problems that I have to solve at work every day. Any mid-level SQL developer could probably write a book of the same kind and usefullness by just logging every problem they solved at work for a period of a year. For this reason, if you did a lot of SQL work, you won't find anything useful in this book.
   
   If I am presented a puzzle, I expect it to look impossible to solve at first, and once you get on track of finding a solution, solving it would turn out to be a lot of fun. The "puzzles" in this book are not like that.
   
   As other reviewers already noted, the answers are a bit disappointing, too. I sent the book back to Amazon within a day. I'd rather spend $5 on return shipping than $30 on a worthless book.



2. This book is for a typical sql programmer. Some puzzles took me hours of fun trying to solve them on my own. Trying to solve the puzzle that will run on all databases(Oracle,MS-SQLSERVER OR SYBASE, Informix).
   Once in a while, I found that there's a specific database function that can be replaced a bunch of line of code.
   If you are new to SQL this is not a book for you. But this book have good mental exercises for the typical SQL programmer.
   My only negative comment is that the solutions is right after (within or the next page)of the puzzle.
   Somehow you can glanced at solution sql itself.



3. I agree with "online shopper"; these puzzles do not present anything out of the ordinary for a day-to-day SQL programmer. If you are looking to learn some basic principles and patterns, this book will definitely satisfy you. If you are looking to be stymied and actual beat your head against the wall, you bought the wrong book. I ended up selling my book within a week.



4. Buen libro. Presenta retos difíciles de vencer. Ideas ingeniosas, útiles en el campo laboral. Requiere alto nivel técnico para su comprensión, pero al igual que los otros libros de Celko, es excelente.



5. Short Review:
   This book is for all of them who enjoy little puzzles or just something which gives them challenge. Some puzzles took hours to solve and some were straight forward. This book teaches you some basic principles and patterns as well satisfy your need for brain teasers.
   
   Detail Review:
   This book for all the SQL programmers regardless of database language you prefer. Book contains examples in different languages (SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, Informix etc). If reader is absolute beginner this book is not what reader needs to start. This book is perfect for someone who has industry experience or has deep understanding of different SQL concepts.
   
   This book contains 75 different puzzles. Each puzzle starts with puzzle definition or question and follows by multiple answers. Answers vary by either techniques or programming languages, in many cases both. Puzzles contained in this book are like typical day to day work problems, many time any developer can find the solution if they spend some time on it. However, some problems are quite unique in their own way and reading them gives broader idea of database programming.
   
   One thing I will note about book is the quality of the puzzle, as other reviewer has noted some puzzles are just not puzzle but simple problems which can be solved easily by experienced developer. Not all developers are on same level and I am sure every reader has their own opinion and choice.
   
   The idea on which the book is written is very simple - "Think out of the box". The problems are real, the solutions are real and multiple answers from wide verity of participants - this makes this book worth the time. Every solution has its own flair and taste. If any problem is attempted with right technique and sound theory it is always easy to reach resolution.
   There is no source code available to download for this book so reader will have to write everything by their own. It is good in one way as ideally all readers should try to solve each puzzles by their own, however, source code will sure help many ways.
   
   Rating: 4 Stars
   
   Summary: I think this book should be there available for every database developer who has reached advanced level. If developer can solve most of the puzzles from this book he sure is advanced level developer, if not while trying to solve them he will reach advanced level.
   
   Pinal Dave
   Principal Database Administrator
   (blog.sqlauthority.com)

1 comments about Oracle Tuning Power Scripts: With 100+ High Performance SQL Scripts (Oracl in-Focus).

1. This isn't a review. amazon lists this book as having 1200 pages, but the publisher only claims 500 while another vendor says 480.

3 comments about SQL for MySQL Developers: A Comprehensive Tutorial and Reference.

1. Van der Lans offers an impressively thorough education in MySQL 5. It is remarkable how much capability is offered for free in the open source MySQL. The book can also be used to learn generic SQL from scratch. Some early chapters give a quick recap, that should be understandable to an experienced programmer, who does not know SQL. If this describes you, the biggest adjustment to learning it might be its declarative nature, as opposed to the procedural ethos of most programming languages.
   
   One striking feature of the book is the extensive explanation of SELECT. This is the key statement of SQL, and you need to be facile with it. Nine [sic] chapters are devoted to SELECT. Gives you some idea of both the power and complexity of the command. Rarely do other SQL books allocate so much space to a rendition of SELECT. Often, they teach you the basic modes of using it, and then you are left on your own. (Gee, thanks!) Whereas here, for example, an entire chapter is about the SELECT HAVING clause, and another chapter is on the SELECT LIMIT clause. Across these nine chapters are enough worked examples that you can fruitfully mine.
   
   Later chapters delve into more specialised aspects of SQL. Sure, these are all significant. But maybe the most useful is the idea of stored procedures and functions. Vital to optimising performance.
   
   Lest this very mass of detail prove offputting, keep in mind the "Reference" in the book's title. You don't have to read it all at once. As you go thru it, you should develop an intuition of what can be safely relegated to a later reading, when you have specific need of those topics.



2. Over the last 5 years, I would say I've at least read every book available on MySQL and bought my fair share.
   
   This book is by far the best one available on some of the advanced features of MySQL. It's better than even the Bible and Cookbook series on things like stored procedures, even though it spends too much time on the basics. I loved the large text, but wish there had been more meat on stored procedures, triggers and events (which is why I picked it up to begin with). There are insider knowledge gems sprinkled throughout that will definitely add spice to your SQL, so it's worth a look.
   
   I don't know why even in 2007 authors insist on repeating the MySQL documentation,--it's a MASSIVE amount of wasted space, since anyone using this stuff will be familiar with the online documentation and helpful user commentary. There were a few typos, but that's pretty par for the course. The section on PHP, though, was pretty useless and not particularly good code-wise (in my humble opinion).
   
   One day someone will put out a really advanced cookbook, that doesn't waste space explaining super simple things like "select * from table," but until then it's a great resource. If you can get it at a discount, like on a Borders reward coupon (which they give out like candy) grab it. Clearly, the Europeans still have something to teach us about MySQL! :o))



3. I just received the book yesterday. I opened the book, browsed the table of content and immediately noticed one of the topic on "Select" I can utilize directly in my work (as a professional software engineer). I updated my code today in my office. A single statement update replaced a chunk of our existing code and it all works out beautifully.
   
   Never have a book that pay for itself so fast.
   
   If you program SQL and all you use is the stuff you remembered since your college days, buy this book and read. You will be surprised!

4 comments about SQL for eServer i5 and iSeries.

1. This is a great book on the topic of SQL within the realm of IBM midrange platforms. It covers not only the obvious topics (interactive SQL, basic SELECTs etc.) but goes in depth on the topics of QM Manager, SQL within iSeries Navigator and interfacing SQL with MS Office. It is big on the practical aspects of SQL and is easy to read and understand.



2. This book has two aspects. Basically it's on the SQL programming language (Yes, Martha, it's a language).
   
   On the one hand it is aimed at the IBM i5/iSeries developers the tools they need to effectively use SQL in their applications.
   
   On the other hand it is equally aimed at the experienced SQL programmer that is now moving to the i5/iSeries who needs to know the particular twists and kinks in the implementation as well as the tools available on the system to support development.
   
   It's clear the future of data base interaction lies in SQL. It's also clear that without a book on the specific dialect of SQL spoken by the particular version you are running you can't write effective code. The structure of each data base engine is just a bit different. I don't believe that any of them meet the full standard.
   
   This is a novice to Intermediate level book. It starts with the simple SELECT statement and goes through JOINS, UNIONS, Sub-Selects, enough that the user can probably do what he wants. The book spends a good bit of time on converting from the older DDS/RPG based software.
   
   This book is an excellent start. It's hand's on enough to make sense, detailed enough to get you through the first through months of work before you're ready to tie into the details of advanced SQL -- Let alone the always coming next version.



3. Any programmer can copy and modify code to make a workable program. The real programmer creates code to meet the needs of the project. In order to stand out in todays world, it is absolutely essential that every available tool be brought to bear in order to hone the skills of the programmer. This book is written to help every level of programmer to use SQL in order to take full advantage of todays Systems and todays and tomorrows data needs. Kevin writes in an easy to read and understand style so even the novice programmer can find it useful. He also provides plenty of technical information to expand the edge of the programmer who already knows everything and doesn't usually use references. This book is a must have for the programmer working in this environment.



4. We are new to SQL and have found this book to be invaluable. Especially when added to some other books we have. Kevin has gone out of his way to answer questions and help. This is a must have book for any iSeries Shop that is using SQL and Embedded SQL.

5 comments about Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2000 Administrator's Pocket Consultant (It-Administrator's Pocket Consultant).

1. A lot of SQL Server books give you the same information included already in Books Online. SQL Server 2000 Administrator's Pocket Consultant is an excellent complement for Books Online, TechNet and MSDN. It covers similar topics, but it digs in where necessary, provides best practices, tips to the internal operations, explaining how SQL Server actually works, with unique information only available in this book.
   
   I always want to know how things work because it helps me to understand the behaviour of a system. In many cases if you don't know how things work it could drive you to some misunderstandings. Here is where SQL Server Pocket Consultant helps out and Stanek has excellent teaching skills.
   
   The book is very compact and full of information. It's all in the details. Chapter 2 "Configuring and Tuning" is a real gem. It helped so much with server and database tuning. Chapter 5 "SQL Server Security" is excellent on the security details. Chapter 7 provides deep detail of DTS and BCP. The final part of the book is the best, in my opinion. It covers performance, maintenance and optimization.
   
   The book's small size makes it easy to take with you where ever you go and its good enough that you'll want to. Overall excellent guide ot sql server.



2. I haven't found a better book for sql admins. This book is extremely informative. I worked for a year with SQL 7 and have been studying and working with SQL Server 2000 for a year and a half. I passed Exam 70-228 in large part due to what I learned from this book. If you are looking for a how-to book that shows just exactly how to accomplish tasks associated with creating and maintaining SQL 2000 this book is for you. This is an excellent book if you want to understand how SQL Server 2000 works as well.



3. This good and concise sqlserver administration reference manual has a complete online version on microsoft.com/technet.



4. It is a very good book to have for reference. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for answers to SQL Server 2000. It gives good detail on configuration and tuning and it also explains how to set up SQL Mail, which I couldn't find in some books I have read. I pretty much use this book every day on the job.



5. If you work in SQL 2000 and do any administration then you are going to love this book. It does not get in depth as some other books but everything is easy to find and you do not have to search hundreds of pages to figure out what you need to find.
   
   Although I've been working in SQL since 6.5 this book still comes in handy when I need to do something that I haven't done in awhile or need to confirm something.

1 comments about The Official New Features Guide to Sybase ASE 15.

1. Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) 15 is the newest relational database management system (RDBMS) from Sybase and succeeds ASE 12.5.3. The numeric skip reflects the superstitious avoidance of "13" (Europe and the Americas) and "14" (China). The skip also reflects upon the scale of changes in the two releases; the query processor, for instance, was completely rewritten in ASE 15. Most of the authors are database administrators at Nielsen Media Research where they participated in beta testing of ASE 15. The book appears to be a byproduct of their beta testing and subsequent production usage.
   
   After a mild jibe at Larry Ellison (Oracle CEO) on the first two pages, we encounter the disclaimer "SYBASE, INC., AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES DO NOT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONTENT OF THE BOOK. SYBASE DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY FOR INACCURACIES, MISINFORMATION, OR ANY CONTENT CONTAINED IN, OR LEFT OUT OF THIS BOOK." I'm rather dumbstruck by the disclaimer and the usage of "official" in the book title. It smacks of false advertising and the inclusion of "official" in the title is not beneficial.
   
   Progressing to the introduction we see that the intended audience is (primarily) database administrators, technical managers, system architects, and developers. The first two chapters provide an overview of the new features and some pre-15 features. A layered approach has been well-established with these two chapters. (But have the authors created an onion or a cultured pearl?)
   
   The heart of the book follows with chapters on semantic partitions and very large database (VLDB) support, scrollable cursors, query processing (features, performance issues, and availability of processing metrics), computed columns, and functional indexes. The topics are covered thoroughly (purpose, extensive sample code, usage rules, benefits, limitations, and impact to current code are usually included). Many subtle feature complexities are addressed within these topics. Some of the thoroughness is provided by pasting large SQL outputs (e.g., outputs of sp_help for all 12 valid combinations of clustered/nonclustered and local/global indexes are included). Shorter chapters on the graphical plan analyzer, software asset management, and server installation complete the new features.
   
   The authors provide considerable repetition throughout the book. The same DDL for the Rental table is specified on pages 243, 247, and 250. This can be helpful since the reader is not inconvenienced with having to flip back pages to understand specific contexts - unless he is checking to see if there had been a subtle change to the table definition to illustrate a point. A blanket statement at the beginning of the book that states that DDL code is unchanged within sections of the book would have been helpful. On the top of page 199 a subtle critique of the old Oracle optimizer is made: "Remember, ASE uses a cost-based optimizer, not something like a `rules-based' optimizer." Three sentences later we have "ASE employs a cost-based optimizer or query processor." The difficulty that many technicians have in presenting well-written information is shown on page 113: "A global index can also be prefixed. Prefixed global indexes are available for all data partitioning strategies. Non-prefixed global indexes are not supported in ASE 15 as the industry deems this concept to not be useful in real applications." A good editor would have been helpful.
   
   On page 152 the authors characterize non-scrollable cursor processing: "In prior releases of ASE, subsequent fetches from a cursor set were often performed within a while loop. The while loop would check for @@sqlstatus of 2." A check for @@sqlstatus UNEQUAL to 2 is actually intended. A better practice is to check for a status value of 0 for the "while" loop and have a separate "if" check for 2 after the loop. Still, the valid point is made that one will have to check both @@fetch_status (new) and @@sqlstatus with scrollable cursors.
   
   Some mention of the Volcano query processing system, which the ASE query processor is based upon, would be nice. (Why did Sybase choose this model? What are its theoretical strengths and weaknesses?) But I readily admit that this would have been a fringe benefit.
   
   The latter part of the book covers some pre-15 improvements: multiple temporary databases, Monitoring Diagnostics API (MDA) tables, JAVA, XML and Web Services. I wish that the authors had also included the "kill with statusonly" command. This option for "kill" does not seem to be in any of the current (June 2006) Sybase documentation.
   
   There are two appendixes. For those who believe in certification, the first appendix is a useful sample ASE 15 certification exam with 80 questions and answers. The second appendix is on three fictional use cases involving historical data, XML storage, and an order processing system using cursors. These describe business issues and the advantages and limitations of several design options. This appendix may be of use when trying to persuade management to upgrade to ASE 15. This technical book is somewhat unusual for its type in that the authors have interspersed marketing and management perspectives throughout the book. The table of contents is detailed and the index is comprehensive.
   
   The authors have provided a thorough guide to the new features of ASE 15.0. Are there any reasonable alternatives? The Sybase online documentation is voluminous and free, however the "What's New for ASE 15" section is only 16 pages long. Printed versions of the online documentation will cost $600+. The Administrator's Guide to Sybase ASE 15 by Jeffrey Garbus and Ashish Gupta is also about 460 pages long. Its scope is all (or almost all) of ASE and therefore there is less material for the new features. Data partitioning, for example, is a terse seven pages in Garbus and Gupta versus 92 pages in Taylor, et al. (Note, however, that this chapter includes 25 plus pages of sp_help outputs.) Finally, there are good technical articles in the International Sybase User Group Technical Journal issues, which are spread out over quarterly issues during 2004-2006. Collectively, they are about 100 pages long and cover most, but not all, of the topics in The Official New Features Guide to Sybase ASE 15. In particular, a "Capturing Query Plan Metrics in ASE 15" Technical Journal article is an excerpt from this book.
   
   If you are already using ASE 15 (why are you reading this review?) then this book is probably not worthwhile. You should have enough familiarity with the basics so that the above-listed alternatives will address your needs. If you are not yet on ASE 15 then I recommend the book as your introduction to ASE 15. In this context I rate it as a cultured pearl. There is a lot of new material to digest; using summary references or Sybase technical documents is not the approach to take. The difference is that this book provides guidance. A final thought is whether the authors plan to provide a revised edition. Additional security features, archive database access, (scalar) user defined functions, and shared disk clusters should all be in 15.0.2 by the summer of 2007.

5 comments about OCA/OCP: Introduction to Oracle9i SQL Study Guide.

1. Good book, very thorough, equally useful for study-reading and reference.
   My one complaint was the end-of-chapter tests and practice tests, which were much more detailed and more difficult then the exam itself. I wasted time trying to perfect my knowledge until I purchased an 'Exam-Prep' software kit and found I was getting 90%+ on tests, instead of the 40 and 50%+ with the Sybex tests.
   When I took the exam - sure enough 90%+
   For the next exam I'm buying the Sybex book and 'Exam-Prep' software kit together!



2. 
   I just passed the 1z0-007 exam yesterday. I dont have a lot of experience with oracle, but this book helped me learn all the important concepts for the exam and helped me pass it in my first attempt.
   
   I recommend this book to anyone who is looking to pass the exam. However, the usefulness of this book ends there. It is not very useful and the explanations are not detailed enough for learning more about the technology itself.



3. I bought this book and i am still preparing for the certification. So can't really say how useful it will be for the exam. But while reading it, i think it has a great style and really pertinent information.
   I am confident this book will help me successfully complete the exam.



4. I just passed 1Z0-007 a few hours ago making 90% (47 of 52) first try. Trust me, If I ONLY studied this book, I would have failed. This book has so many mistakes that it will make you go crazy. It's completely outdated. It doesn't have the current exam objectives. The wording and content placement of this book is terrible. I should have bought the oracle 9i OCP: sql studyguide by Oracle Press.
   
   Get the Self Test Software. It will save you a retake.
   
   I'm studying Oracle's 10g PL/SQL book and Self Test for the next test.
   
   I can't wait to be an OCA!



5. è arrivato un pò oltre i tempi di stima della spedizione, ma nel complesso tutto bene