No comments about SYBASE, INC.: Labor Productivity Benchmarks and International Gap Analysis (Labor Productivity Series).

3 comments about MCSE Fast Track: SQL Server 7 Database Design (Covers Exam: 70-029).

1. I bought the Readiness Review, thinking it would help me, but the book is worthless. This Fast Track book is basically the same price and a lot better. It is broken down exactly for the exam and is easy reading. Only thing is lacks is a test similator like the Readiness Review has.



2. The information in this book is useful as an introduction, but it is not detailed enough to pass 70-029. Without using Transcender exams you wouldn't have a hope of passing.



3. Skimmed over the foundational stuff, and provided some in-depth advice about how to pass the exam. Assumes that you already have experience with the product, and don't need a primer (or a braindump).

No comments about Sql Fundamentals & Visio Essn Sys Analys (2nd Edition).

5 comments about Learn MS SQL Server 7.0.

1. This book is too basic. It gives no information on the product other than screen shots and instructions on point here and click. I would not recommend this book for a technical person at all. In the areas that it does attempt to get into some useful information (i.e. data warehousing) the approach was out of left field and suddenly it became very complex. I ran into problems with some of the pointing and clicking, but had no explanation on how to deal with them. I cannot suggest this book for anyone. I would have rated it zero stars, but this format does not give that option. I would say a refund is in order.



2. This book is highly recomended to every one interested to get a very quick overview of the product without going deep in the subjects. It is ideal as the first book about the SQL Server 7, because the software is too complicated to be covered in just one book. I think the reader who rated the book as 1 star is an advanced user and bought the wrong book for him. Target for novices, the book is perfect!



3. I have seven MS SQL Server books and I recommend Ramalho's book as the best jump start guide. The book is cookbook style with many step-by-step screen shots and will get you running faster than any other without having to read endless pages of jargon-filled text even if you didn't know how to spell SQL. Once you create your first database, however, you will need other books, as Ramalho's does lack detail. DO NOT expect one book to be enough to learn SQL from. The best companions I've found are Sam's "Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes" for fast access to instructions on specific tasks, and QUE's "Special Edition Using SQL Server 7.0" for looking up details. CAUTION: if you are relying only on books to create your first SQL 7.0 database, I strongly encourage you to read Using's Chapter 6 on Tables and Datatypes. Proper datatype selection is (I think) the most important aspect of efficient database building. Happy "sequeling".



4. While I had some SQL education way back in college, I needed to quickly get up to speed with SQL Server 7.

   As a technical user it left me disappointed with the lack of depth, but I would still have been disappointed if I were less experienced - a large amount of information in the beginning chapters is slightly incorrect, or the screenshots don't match the text (presumably the book was written against a pre-release version of SQL Server 7).

   Try another book, no matter what your experience level is.




5. The book was a waste of my money. Mr. Ramalho has taken a subject that is exceedingly comprehensible and sent it into the realm of mystery. His thoughts and explanations are desultory. It's as though he wrote the book on a bunch of 3x5 index cards, shuffled them and handed them off to the publisher. His explanations are incomplete and lack continuity. I spent more time in the "HELP" menu of MS SQL than I did reading the book. The tome left me with a bald spot from scratching my head. Don't the publishers have anyone who proofreads their technical texts? Probably not, else they would have those very people writing the books. It is a rare skill, an art, to be conversant and knowledgeable in a technical subject and also be capable of clearly relaying that knowledge. Most technical people are great at what they do, but lousy at explaining the intricacies of the subject. Mr. Ramalho is likely a whiz at MS SQL. Writing about it - he missed the broad side of the barn. I know whereof I speak, having a BA in journalism and the ability (albeit self-proclaimed) to wield the pen as a broadaxe or deftly finger it like a scapel. I am sure that the author is guilty of one sin only: failure to review and revise. Revisiting and revising are the essence of good writing, be it fiction or fact. Write and rewrite. Set the material aside for a few days and then repeat the process until you are satisfied. With all due respect, the author apparently finds satisfaction in mediocrity.
   Malcolm Hein

1 comments about SQL Windows 5: Developer's Guide.

1. This book is oriented to an old version of SQLWindows (5) but it is still an useful book. Sqlwindows doesn't have many books and this one seems to answer more than one question. I have found myself many time stucked in a problem and then realized that in this book there is a solution to my problem. (No ActiveX issues nor Web).

No comments about The Informit SQL Server Reference Guide: Techniques, Insight, and Practical Advice on SQL Server.

5 comments about Oracle PL/SQL: The Complete Video Course.

1. I bought the video expecting a better speaker. The woman who is the lecturer has a very heavy Russian accent, pauses often in mid sentence, blinks a lot and lacks dynamic presentation skills. The content seems ok, but a better presenter would improve the video greatly. Also, I can't understand why the cameraman doesn't center the camera.



2. A deft and knowledgeable hand who ably presents lean and well thought out material, Ms. Silvestrova avoids the trap of spending too much time attempting to create a glossy and slick presentation, and quickly gets down to the business of teaching PL/SQL. Her slight accent was melodious, and served to inject freshness into the teaching of a technical subject.

   I found this course not only highly satisfying, but also very effective in making PL/SQL an easily approachable subject. The emphasis obviously is placed on teaching a technical subject in a down to earth fashion, not on entertaining the audience with a glitzy set and air brushed actors. If the latter is what you want, better wait for the Walt Disney version (or buy one of the slickly produced competing PL/SQL videos on the market - this is experience speaking here). However, if you are a serious student, who seeks a sound introductory foundation and a solid immersion into the heart of intermediate PL/SQL, delivered by an apparently seasoned professional, then look no further. A+




3. Both this book and the similiar Oracle DBA book are magnificent. Each in their subject area is the most effective training books I've ever used, and I've had to read WAY too many in my career. The PL/SQL book gives superb examples- each example is a complete runnable block, not an excerpted fragment. So you don't have to flip all over the place to understand how the statements work together ot to test it out yourself. The book's diagrams are also very good. The explanation text is lucid and well organized. I really dont see how the books could be much better unless they could do a Vulcan Mind Meld!
   The video on the other hand is quite disappointing, really almost useless. I had real difficulty understanding the instructor. The pronunciation and mangling of english constructs results in a presentation that is very difficult to follow - especially considering you are trying to learn a difficult and complex technical subject. Buy the book (seperately), and you will have the best tool for learning PL/SQL short of a personal tutor. Makes the Complete Reference series seem like random monkey typing!



4. With over twenty years in large scale IT development using Java/C++/C/Assembly languages on HP-UX/Solaris/AIX/Windows 2000/NT platforms, but a neophyte with PL/SQL, I needed a PL/SQL package that would assume no background knowledge in PL/SQL, get me up to speed fast, and at the same time be comprehensive. In other words, I wanted everything. This package no only satisfied this need, but opened up new avenues of thought concerning approaches to database programming. The book is simply matchless (it should get 6 stars--an extra star for the terrific exercises that incorporate hidden pearls of IT wisdom), and yes I have perused others on the market. Ms. Silvestrova demonstrates that she is a consummate professional. The flow of the book, depth of the hands-on exercises, and scope of material is an inimitable combination. This so far may sound over-glowing, but a workman is worthy of her hire. I would recommend this package to any introductory or middle level PL/SQL student. If you desire to be a competent PL/SQL professional, look no further. If you desire to have a guide that provides you with a solid answer to specific types of PL/SQL problems, look no further. However, if you seek a slick product that spoon feeds you programming palaver (under the guise of teaching), fly you fool: you have many under-performing options available. The video is as effective as any video can be on a Sequential Non-Event Oriented and Non-GUI programming language. It provides a visual venue that reinforces and compliments what the student should have accomplished in the workbook. Let's avoid any petulance or semantic superciliousness: Yes, Ms. Silvestrova has a slight accent, but no more than how someone from Alabama would sound to a New Yorker or vice-versa. She is easy to listen to, and more importantly, easy to learn from.
   Buy it, try it, apply it!!!



5. One star is way to high of a rating for this book!! I bought this set hoping that I would get in-depth knowledge of the PL/SQL programming language. I was greatly disappointed. First of all, I have no clue how the author, Elena Silvestrova, got her job with Columbia University. The presentation material was read directly out of the book. She did not elaborate on any examples at all. Isn't that the point of a video course??? Many times she would read an example incorrectly and then move to the next slide then catch her mistake and go back to the previous slide to correct her mistake! The video was very unorganized and not edited well at all. You could pick the book up and literally read the entire video course with her. Elena Silvestrova has a very heavy accent and it's quite hard to make out what she is reading. Her presentation skills are very poor and she stumbles through sentences. You would be better off to just to skip this one as I have put mine back in box. I stopped this course after chapter four and had to come to this site and leave my comments.

No comments about Oracle Workgroup Server Handbook.

No comments about Accelerated MCP Sql Server 7 Administration (Accelerated Series).

No comments about SQL en 20 étapes faciles.