Editorial Review

PHP and MySQL are popular open-source technologies that are ideal for quickly developing database-driven Web applications. PHP is a powerful scripting language designed to enable developers to create highly featured Web applications quickly, and MySQL is a fast, reliable database that integrates well with PHP and is suited for dynamic Internet-based applications.

PHP and MySQL Web Development shows how to use these tools together to produce effective, interactive Web applications. It clearly describes the basics of the PHP language, explains how to set up and work with a MySQL database, and then shows how to use PHP to interact with the database and the server.

This practical, hands-on book includes numerous examples that demonstrate common tasks such as authenticating users, constructing a shopping cart, generating PDF documents and images dynamically, sending and managing email, facilitating user discussions, connecting to Web services using XML, and developing Web 2.0 applications with Ajax-based interactivity.

The fourth edition of PHP and MySQL Web Development has been thoroughly updated, revised, and expanded to cover developments in PHP 5 through version 5.3, such as namespaces and closures, as well as features introduced in MySQL 5.1.

Reviews

Complete resource for practical PHP/MySQL Web applications, July 14, 2001
This is such a good book that I wanted to take the time to write a review and give it 5 stars, which it richly deserves. The other glowing reviews helped me to choose this book over others, and they were right on the money.

I'm an experienced C/C++ programmer on Windows, but I knew nothing about PHP and MySQL -- and very little about Apache and Unix -- prior to opening this book. I've now read about 80% of it and, in the process, I've built a commercial-grade Website with user registration and shopping cart facilities, which was my objective. Reading this book was a very efficient use of my time -- it gave me exactly what I needed to build a practical Web application system with PHP and MySQL, and very little extraneous stuff.

The main prerequisite for this book is a working knowledge of HTML, and just a little background in procedural programming. Some of the earliest examples use HTML tags for tables and forms, with PHP use thoroughly explained, but without many notes on the HTML. A beginning programmer can learn effectively from this book, but as an experienced programmer I felt that it also worked well to bring me up to speed quickly on a new language.

Another value of this book not mentioned in other reviews are the many good recommendations for organizing your PHP code (applying basic software engineering principles) as your Web application gets larger and more complex. Many, many Websites have been built haphazardly and are now difficult to maintain because they haven't followed the excellent advice in this book.

I did notice the typos mentioned by other reviewers, but after reading 80% of this (867-page) book I feel they are very minor and really do not detract from the book significantly at all.

All in all, this is one of those rare books that is probably worth ten times the amount that you pay for it, and much more if you use it effectively.

Sams vs. O'Reilly PHP & MySQL books: Which one to buy?, October 14, 2002
I have just started learning some PHP & MySQL development using "PHP & MySQL Web Development" published by Sams and "Web Database Applications with PHP & MySQL" from O'Reilly. Prospective readers might be wondering the difference between the two in deciding which one to buy, so I hope to shed some light on the issue.

Sams: The Welling and Thomson book is more "hands-on" in that it takes the reader step-by-step in developing an e-commerce website. The chapters are organized in a goal-oriented manner: PHP, MySQL, the basics of e-commerce, security, and design of the site.

O'Reilly: The Williams and Lane book is structured in a similar way by showing readers PHP and then MySQL. Examples to reinforce concepts are also provided. While the O'Reilly book also tries to take the reader in developing an e-commerce site, it is a bit more theoretical. Also, there are some differences in focus: the O'Reilly book has a section on using JavaScript while the Sams book has a final chapter on creating PDF files using PHP.

If I had to choose just one book, I would go with the Sams book due to its more gentle learning curve. However, I believe that the O'Reilly book is no slouch, and I will probably come to appreciate it more once I gain more experience in PHP and MySQL development.

One last word about my programming background: I knew a bit of Perl, Java, HTML, and JavaScript before tackling PHP and MySQL. I consider myself to be an "advanced beginner" (an oxymoron, of course). To get the most out of these two books, you should know HTML well enough to read it (you should at least recognize some tags) and it would definitely be helpful if you have some programming experience. You could very well make PHP your first programming language, but I would advise against it. Start with something like Perl (whose syntax is very similar to PHP's).

I highly recommend both books to prospective PHP and MySQL developers who are willing to spend some time and effort.

sleek and purple, July 30, 2001
Although it has a purple spine, this book contains everything a person would hope to know about php and mysql. From the basics of php 4.0 to mysql privleges, Welling and Thomson provide quick easy and painless reading.

It provides it's message to the windows crowd, which in itself is a beautiful concept; usually books about php and mysql are directed at unix users (rightfully so, I admit). I am a user of windows, and the php installation instructions for either the windows build of Apache or MS IIS were definately adequate.

The php crash course chapter is an especially good reference. For example, other books I've purchased on php ignored some of the useful variations of the if-then control structure. The chapter on php session control was beautifully simple, although at first it came as a surprise, since other php books didn't cover it (session control was first implemented in php 4.0).

I did have some difficulty installing and using the gd image library, since most of the sites listed in the book didn't exist. Windows users, just remember that the php.ini file needs to be edited (remove the semicolon before the gd dll) and the gd dll needs to be moved into the php working directory. Of course, maybe that's intuitive and I'm just a moron.

In conclusion, it's a good book.

Impressed, April 22, 2001
You never know what your really going to get when you buy a book online but I am totally happy with this purchase. This book offers real world examples and full source code for many of the PHP/MySQL projects developers tackle on a day to day basis. Details can be found on: Image generation, cookies, user authentication, shopping carts, content management, mailing-lists, PDF document generation and a lot of detail on how to set up and install both PHP and MySQL on your server. The authors do not only show you the code but explain what's happening so that you can customize the scripts for your own use and they do this very well. This book is aimed at intermediate web developers who are familiar with HTML, some type of programming (ASP, Perl), but you certainly do not have to be an expert programmer to understand what's going on. All and all-the best web programming book I've bought, period.

Excellent book - poor publishing (1st & 2nd edition), May 7, 2003
* Note: I refer here to both the first and second edition *

This is the book I purchased to get started on server-side scripting; it probably says "user-level intermediate-advanced" to avoid lawsuits; I had no prior knowledge of server-side programming, and no trouble understanding.

It is divided in four logical parts:
(1) PHP tutorial
(2) MySQL tutorial
(3) General discussion on server-side scripting & e-commerce (very interesting)
(4) Projects

This book does an excellent job at explaining PHP & MySQL to the beginner, and goes much beyond the frustrating "intermediate" level where similar books often stop. It assumes a working knowledge of HTML, which everyone interested in this book already has in all likelihood.

It is cleverly written, clear and concise. The authors share their extensive experience with the reader, notably in the third part where common pitfalls are discussed.

The index is well done, which makes this book an excellent desktop reference in addition to being a good tutorial.

The CD contains all the code for the examples, the complete book in searchable PDF, and other goodies like the Apache Server and PHP.

My recommendation: go to phpide.de and download PHPTriad to install & configure Apache/PHP/MySQL on your PC, or have someone knowledgeable do it manually for you to avoid headaches.

The only reason I can't give five stars to the first or second edition is the number of mistakes/typos in the code examples. The upload code doesn't work, PDF generation uses obsolete functions even in the second edition, etc.

Although most of the code supplied as example functions properly, it is annoying to know that a book written to teach you to program contains errors in the programming examples.

The second edition adds a chapter about XML and removes outdated URLs. Otherwise, it is the same book (including code typos).

Combined with the PHP & MySQL manuals available for download from their respective sites, allow a week or two of reading and you should have everything needed to start working.

All things considered, I strongly recommend this book.

PS: if your heart balances between ASP & PHP for server-side, consider that more servers are PHP-enabled, since it is cheaper (free).
If you want to stay in known terrain and use JScript, than go for ASP.

Fantastic guide to building data-driven websites!, January 22, 2003
I bought this book when I was just getting started on a website for my neighborhood, and although I am an experienced developer with knowledge of ASP, JSP and SQL, I had not personally worked with PHP or MySQL before.

In less than a month's time, using only this book and the PHP language reference (included with PHP) I was able to build a website with user logon, discussion forums, user-customizable profiles with the option to upload pictures of themselves, and online web email. I wrote all of this from scratch, using the examples from this book, and this book alone.

For those of you who are learning to develop "live" (ie. non-static HTML) websites, and you've chosen to use only open-standards technology to do so, I can't imagine a better book to assist you than this one. It does a fantastic job of explaining things in simple terms, and provides a very good overview of PHP and MySQL, covering the subject matter clearly and concisely, without a lot of additional, unnecessary verbage.

I was originally going to develop my website using JSPs, but learned that my ISP did not support JSPs, only Java servlets (!), so I was forced to look at PHP as a faster, easier way of developing the site. It has been an exciting learning experience, thanks mostly to this book. The book is worth the price, and then some.

Excellent feature demonstration -- a buyer!, November 4, 2002
I don't write alot of reviews, and hardly ever give 5 stars, but this one is worth it. This massive text (800+ pages) includes all of the basic elements that either a beginner or an advanced user may look to a text for assistance with (note: these subjects, PHP and web databases, are traditionally self-taught at this time, a good text is ESSENTIAL!). The CD includes open source licensed Apache, PHP and MySQL (Linux and WIN), and all code from the book.

The book format is logical and good for self-pacing; early sections teach PHP language features (including arrays, regular expressions, objects/classes), then MySQL language and calling constructs (RDMS design theory, SELECT, UPDATE, INSERT, and advanced SQL). Later chapters discuss implementing user authentication and security, session mgmt and other advanced concepts. Final chapters (over 250 pages) provide ample example web database applications that probably cover about any project you would use these languages for (including shopping cart, content mgmt, web-based e-mail, mailing list mgr and a web-based forum). The final chapter describes using PDF to format text documents (my ISP does not provide this module therefore I skipped that section).

I recently began a private web database project and made the decision to proceed open source (PHP, MySQL) versus going the Microsoft way (ASP, SQL Server). This meant I had to learn PHP and MySQL. I purchased 4 books and the Welling & Thomson text was most utilized of all. My only gripe is they don't provide summary reference sections on PHP and MySQL functions / commands. You will probably just download the official user manuals for these anyway.

This book is well worth the price, IMHO.

Scads of example applications, October 20, 2004
In open source usage, the book describes a powerful and popular combination of PHP and MySQL to build websites. Each program has several texts devoted solely to it. But it is in the interaction between the two that often developers need assistance on.

The book does start with chapters exclusively on explaining PHP, and other chapters on MySQL. In themselves, you might find these to be concise and useful explanations.

But the meat of the book is given in several chapters, where each chapter is devoted to making one common application. Like constructing a shopping cart. Or a Web-based email service. These are things that you have surely experienced as a user. Now you get to see how to code them in PHP and MySQL. Which explains some of the book's size. There are 10 chapters in this section. Enough to give you plenty of examples to draw ideas from.

Kindle Edition is a Rip-Off, July 6, 2010
Although i love the book itself and would give it a 5 star rating, i have to say that the Kindle edition is a blatant rip off. First, its the same price as the paperback with a CD-Rom included, second, they did not bother to make the sources of the CD-Rom available (via a Website) to those who bought it electronically ... . Searched in vain for a link to an online resource for the examples until i got confirmation that this is not included in the electronic delivery (even though its full price) ...

In short: A Wonderful book., July 5, 2001
I purchased this book after having carefully studdied many books about the subject. I fell for this book, simply because it got the best rating and when I went to my local book store and scanned it, I had to own it. It starts out with a PHP crach course (syntax and semantics), moves over to cover string manipulation, expressions, function calls etc. All in all, very simple stuff that you should be able to grasp easily, are you known to other high level programming or scripting languages. Then you get introduced to basic database design, dynamic image generation etc. What makes the book special however, is that the whole second half of the book, shows you real world examples of things like session control, user authentication, shopping cart management, a mailing list manager, an email web-interface, web-forums and more. This second part is what you really will learn from! The book should be called "Real World PHP and MySQL development." The only little thing that I miss in the book, is a reference list of all common functions for PHP. I am not complaining though, the book does not state to be a reference book! ... Read more

Editorial Review

If you know HTML, this guide will have you building interactive websites quickly. You'll learn how to create responsive, data-driven websites with PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript, regardless of whether you already know how to program. Discover how the powerful combination of PHP and MySQL provides an easy way to build modern websites complete with dynamic data and user interaction. You'll also learn how to add JavaScript to create rich Internet applications and websites.

Learning PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript explains each technology separately, shows you how to combine them, and introduces valuable web programming concepts, including objects, XHTML, cookies, and session management. You'll practice what you've learned with review questions in each chapter, and find a sample social networking platform built with the elements introduced in this book.

This book will help you:

• Understand PHP essentials and the basics of object-oriented programming
• Master MySQL, from database structure to complex queries
• Create web pages with PHP and MySQL by integrating forms and other HTML features
• Learn about JavaScript, from functions and event handling to accessing the Document Object Model
• Use libraries and packages, including the Smarty web template system, PEAR program repository, and the Yahoo! User Interface Library
  
• Make Ajax calls and turn your website into a highly dynamic environment
• Upload and manipulate files and images, validate user input, and secure your applications

Reviews

Wow - The Book to read to learn PHP, October 27, 2009
Here is my background:
Java, Cold Fusion, ASP.net, C#, Rails; sys admin for Windows and Unix boxes.

Picked up several books to learn PHP - yuck!

Picked up this book. Wow. In 2 days I was on my way!

1. all the code examples actually work. Yes, it's true. I know it's shocking.
2. the explanations are excellent. Wow can this person communicate. Again shocking.
3. Tons of examples. Talking is great but I learn through code examples. There are plenty here. That is why in 2 days you will be like: Wow I can code in PHP.
4. Here is the best part - Nixon helps you setup everything so it works. I mean in less than 30min I was running PHP via Apache on my Windows using Mysql. I have days with other books trying to make things work because the author did not care enough to actually help me do setup.

Then pick up the PHP Web Dev Wellin/Thompson book and bang with Nixon's - you are a PHP intermediate level programmer.

Really - that easy.

I wasted so many hours with other books - crap. Live and learn.

Thank you Robin Nixon. This book is a godsend. With the hours I saved, I am partying - yee ha!

Need more like this...but more careful proofing next time!, December 23, 2009
I had to come back and re-review this book. I'm taking off two stars off my rating, one for the overload of typos I found as I got deeper into the book and for some of the examples NOT being "real world" enough. I know that sounds picky but many of the examples could have served better as real scripts but instead he made some questionable choices that will make you pretty much have to start from scratch to make your own. They just could've been more practical.

On the positive side, I do agree with what's already been said about the author communicating well. The reason I was really excited about this title and why I'm loving it so much as I go through it is that it focuses on combining all three and talks about real-world situations. You might read a PHP or javascript book that does the job teaching you those on their own but when it's time to close the book and use them on a real website, you'd be lost or Googling a LOT of things. Most "cool" sites do a good job of making their scripting languages work well together, and this book will show you how to do that, and it serves as a good jump-off for more advanced scripting later. It's like the author said "I know what you're trying to accomplish, here's how to do it."

Good job.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, January 9, 2010
It is rare that I am so inspired to write a review for something. This book made learning easy. I must say that without the experience of taking a Java programming class at my college (the only programming experience I have), I would have likely had to make use of additional sources to fully grasp the PHP - object oriented section of this book. But even so, I still highly recommend this book to anybody wanting to create a highly functional website.

After spending about 2 weeks with it, I am already building dynamic websites that are impressing even myself. It is written very well and has great examples for practice coding. FIVE STARS without question!

A great starting point for aspiring web developers, July 21, 2009
I had the pleasure of being a technical reviewer for the book, and this follow-up to O'Reilly's Learning PHP & MySQL is an enormous improvement over its predecessors. Robin Nixon maintains a comfortable, conversational tone throughout the text, so newcomers to the topic should not find the material daunting. The contents are very well targeted to novices of the craft, cutting out needless technical details and jargon to focus on what a new developer ought to know to create a functioning website. This is not a reference manual or intended for advanced users, but most people will find something useful within its pages, even if all you're looking for is a refresher on the topics.

An Excellent Introduction for Beginners, March 18, 2010
Writing an introductory book on a topic like web programming is always difficult because the audience is varied. The readers will range from complete newbies who have never written a program before to experts in other technologies writing their first web pages, or perhaps even experts in other web technologies using these technologies for the first time.

PHP, MySQL & JavaScript perhaps goes a bit fast for someone with no programming experience whatsoever, but does not assume expert programmer status. The PHP and MySQL sections are very well explained and would be great for someone with little experience. For someone with a lot of experience in other programming languages, the PHP section might be a bit slow, but can fairly easily be skimmed to get the main content.

The MySQL section was a great, but somewhat short, introduction to relational databases. A little more depth might be helpful. Many volumes have been written on relational databases, elsewhere, however.

The JavaScript section went at a good pace for someone who already has quite a bit of programming experience. It might be a bit fast for someone at the level that the PHP section assumes. Readers who are new to programming will have enough information to write working code, even if they don't understand all of the nuances behind the language.

Overall the book is a good starting off point for anyone wanting to learn web development with PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript. Readers with little programming experience should be able to follow the discussion without much trouble. The information is organized in a orderly way, so more experienced developers can skim or skip over what they already know.

Best Book Introducing PHP, MySQL and JavaScript, July 17, 2010
Perhaps your like me where learning to write code for myself to be very difficult. I never took a computer programming classes so I lack many fundamentals and concepts. I've always had an easier time with HTML and CSS as those are not programming languages rather just input and output with properties and structures to learn.

As for learning a programming language like PHP (server-side) or JavaScript (browser-side) I've tried it all. From taking to websites that offer the basics and concepts such as free resources like W3Schools and Tizag. Sure, I start reading the code and know what going on but fundamentally, to write my own stuff, it was very difficult.

Found out about this book and it offered the three technologies I have been most earning to learn. This book does a great job to introduce each technology, the concepts about it and takes you step by step with some good code examples. It then goes to have you bring it all together to build your own simple dynamic social site, albeit, extremely bareboned, you'll see the power in using all three.

Here is a breakdown of each part:

1. PHP
2. MySQL
3. JavaScript
4. Emerging Technology (AJAX)
5. Building your own with what you learned

Its a good way to learn as it keeps you focused on a certain subject. Also, the pace is not too fast. As for starting with PHP, its a good way to lead into MySQL. Finally, by the time your starting to learn the basics of JavaScript, you'll already be familiar with what was taught in PHP regarding variables, strings, functions, arrays and objects.

Introducing AJAX really elevates ones perspective of the potential of using all three together to create dynamic and live websites.

This book will not make you an expert in any of the technologies, but it does its job. It introduces you programming like no other book I've read before. Trust me, I've tried to learn from tutorials, websites and books that focus on just a single technology and none comes close to helping me learn.

This is the first book to read for anyone interested in becoming a web developer that has never learned a programming language before.

excellent, useful, to the point, June 12, 2010
I had to buy the book for a graduate course in college. I'm quite experienced with both PHP and MySQL and thought it might not be too useful to me, because it assumes no prior knowledge, but I was wrong. PHP starts from the very beginning - variables, conditions, loops, objects, arrays, etc; MySQL section begins with relational database basics and then ties MySQL and PHP together. I pretty much jumped through the basics for PHP and MySQL but even if you are familiar with these subjects, in those chapters you can find hints that are surprisingly useful. I know no JavaScript but I now feel quite comfortable also thanks to this book.
The book is written well, to the point and lists some important basics with appropriate examples. It doesn't spoon feed it to you but accompanies the learning process well. With it and a little google'ing, you are covered. I decided to keep it even after I'm done with the class and use it as a reference book for future work.

A great book to get in the door with all three languages, March 9, 2010
So I came into reading this one with a background of knowing XHTML and CSS. I've played a very tiny bit with javascipt, but as far as really being able to do anything at all with it I was lost.

This book is a great intro to all three of these different languages. The author does a good job of explaining everything very clearly and uses good examples of how what your leaning works. The review questions at the end of each chapter are also great.

I would recommend anyhow who is thinking of learning these core web languages to pick this book up. Its a great investment and mine is all ready getting plenty of use.

Great Start!!!, April 8, 2010
I am new to PHP and MySQL and this book got me up and running in a hurry. I thought the information was organized well and had a nice flow to it. As a reference I would say I was an intermediate ASP coder before starting to learn PHP with this book. I would highly recommend this book to a beginner!

A very useful guide book, August 2, 2010
It's really hard to believe it covers php, mysql and javascript in such a small book. It describes and introduces these languages in a very clear way. The author's writing ability is amazing. I hope he can write more books like this to help people learn new programming language efficiently. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes has established itself as the gold standard for introductory SQL books, offering a fast-paced accessible tutorial to the major themes and techniques involved in applying the SQL language.Forta's examples are clear and his writing style is crisp and concise.As with earlier editions, this revision includes coverage of current versions of all major commercial SQL platforms.New this time around is coverage of MySQL, and PostgreSQL.All examples have been tested against each SQL platform, with incompatibilities or platform distinctives called out and explained.

Reviews

Very good job at its intended job, January 16, 2000
Ben Forta has done a great job distilling the most pertinent basic SQL concepts into simple, easy to read form. Befitting its "10 minute" moniker, this is a wonderful book for new SQL programmers. But it's also subtly different in a way that will particularly suit folks coming into SQL for the first time as part of their involvement in using web database development tools such as ColdFusion and Active Server Pages.

One one level, any new SQL programmer using any DBMS will appreciate the easily digested coverage of the fundamental query and update basics. The books is well-written, an easy read, and goes beyond those basics without going too far.

Even moderately experienced readers will be well-served by the clear, simple discussions of important topics (like data manipulation and aggregating functions, grouping data, subqueries, views, etc) that can be easily forgotten, as well as other topics (such as using transactions, constraints, triggers, etc.) that can get lost in wading through other more voluminous tomes. Ben presents a very nice balance of fundamental topics.

But there's more to this book than being a simple intro to SQL. That audience of web db developers is an exploding one, and they bring some unique needs for which Ben provides a valuable perspective. Most SQL books have some DBMS-specific bias, despite SQL's purpose as a tool for accessing any kind of database in a consistent manner. Web application development environments like ASP and CF are also similarly database-agnostic. There are subtle points about using SQL in such environments that are different from using it, say, in a query builder or in a client/server environment.

Ben, who was lead author of the highly regarded ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit, presents the subjects in a manner suitable to such programmers and the way they'd code SQL and use its results, and he also sprinkles in discussions of how to take care of cross-platform issues on particular tasks, and often offers specific solutions for the most popular DBMS's used by that audience, such as Access, SQL Server, and Oracle.

On still another level, other books also get bogged down in issues of database design, creation, administration, security, etc. Important though those topics are, most development shops are growing to a point where those tasks are being handled by different people, and the developer who simply wants to code retrieval and update applications is challenged to find a good intro sql book that doesn't wade into detail on topics that they may not yet be able to understand, let alone ever need to perform. There are other great books that do cover those subjects, and readers would do well to seek those out as they progress in their learning.

It certainly makes it challenging to find (and no less to write) a SQL book. There are just so many potential audiences. For its intended purpose though, "Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes" is very well done. As in his previous books, Ben is right on the money--and for a very low price, at that!

Easily Understood by a 13 year old, August 20, 2000
I am only 13 years old and understood every line of this book!

This is a great book to get you started in database management using SQL. The format of the book is one I've never seen, I love it. He first explains a new concept, compares it to other previously learned concepts, and then gives an example. Following this he explains the example. There are lots of other things helpful in his technique as well, such as showing the examples for Oracle users (a Database management program).

The thing that I really like is the perfect balance of explanations and examples. It is hard to find a page in the book without at least one example.

Upsides to this book
---------------------
not to many words
easy to handle concepts
well written
great for beginners

Downsides to book
------------------
Not the best book for reference, but not bad.
not for advanced SQL users

Over all, the best computer book I've ever read, don't hesitate to get yourself a copy.

Quick and Dirty, as it Implies, September 16, 2003
I generally don't write reviews of products unless they are fantastic or absolutely horrible. This is FANTASTIC.

If you have programming experience and some familiarity with MS Access, this is a great book for you. I was able to go through the entire thing in 8 hours, take notes and import 3500 records from an old database into a new one with much greater ease.

Pros:
-It differentiates between SQL Server, Oracle and the SQL specification on several examples.
-An introduction to advanced features is given in the last few chapters with examples.
-Small book allows quick scanning

Cons:
-Not very visual. Organization of information and the layout of it is done well, but as far as pictures go, they are absent.
-Title is somewhat deceiving, 10 minutes if you are only trying to find an example to use for reference.
-Not for those who have little or no programming experience. Explains functionality of code and the big picture. On more complex examples, details on sections of code are left out and assumed to be understood.

If you..., October 10, 2006
Update (Dec 1, '06): updates marked with >>>

-don't know which program you will be using for SQL and have no knowledge of SQL commands, this book is directed at you and you should get it.

-know which program you will be using, get a book on your specific program, because there is enough variation between the programs that another book will serve you much better.
>>>I think I will change this recommendation -- if you don't know SQL, consider this book regardless of which program you are working with.

-are familiar with a few commands in SQL, look for a different book because you will probably breeze through this book and not gain nearly as much as if your time was spent reading something else.

I was in the first category and found this book to be an excellent introduction. With the exception of 2-3 of the 18 lessons, this book is quite clear...those 2-3 lessons just take a bit more time getting familiar with the concepts. You won't find yourself breezing through the chapters in 10 minutes each, with the possible exception of the first 5 or so, but the lessons do only take about 20 minutes on average and are straight-forward.
>>>The book teaches by example, which I'm typically not a big fan of, but this book pulled it off well.

So, if you are brand new to SQL and don't know what program you will be using, buy this book and take an hour each day for a week to read it.
>>>If you are new to SQL, consider buying this book, but... you may also benefit from the free tutorial on w3schools . com, which is found under the PHP section. Having now done some MySQL for a website, I can certainly say this book is useful and I gained from its pages but I would also recommend the free tutorial before purchasing (both because it is free and because it is actually a very good tutorial on both PHP and MySQL).

Absolutely Fabulous Lesson in SQL, January 18, 2001
If you are new to Database Application Design/Web Based Application Design, as I am, you will find this title most helpful in getting you off the ground. I bought this book in hopes that it would help me build SQL statements into my ASP pages, and it has done that and more. This book is an easy read and very clearly explains the basic concepts of the SQL language, techniques, capabilities, etc. It also offers a concise look into the way databases are designed and how they function. The book does a wonderful job of remaining non-proprietary, and is quick to point out when you are learning something that is specific to one Database Management System or another. This is a wonderful little book to add to your reference library if you wish to spend little and learn tons.

Good as a basic intro, but don't depend solely on this book, October 18, 2000
This book is clearly aimed at the beginning SQL programmer with little or no knowledge of relational databases. It's a good intro that will quickly get the reader up to speed at writing some very simple queries and updates on an existing database.

However, in working with other programmers, I've learned that it's true about a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. If your only knowledge of SQL and relational databases comes from this book, you're in danger of missing out on some very basic information, such as how to normalize a database or perform an outer join.

If you learn SQL from this book, you'll quickly want to get another book on SQL that's more complete to fill you in on this missing critical information. Unless for some reason you need to start programming in SQL as soon as possible (in other words, before you understand what you're doing), just skip this book and buy just the more complete book.

A Good Introduction and Quick Reference, February 4, 2001
Structured Query Language (SQL), if it is a foreign tongue to you, after reading this book carefully, you'll speak SQL. From the start, the author explains the purpose of the language, to query relational databases, and he also defines what relational databases are. He covers how databases are tables of data containing columns and rows. In a well-organized sequence of chapters, he describes how each SQL command affects those rows and columns. My suggestion with the text is to divide its reading into two parts. If you're new to computer programming, read Chapters 1-16, then try an online free SQL tutorial on the Web for awhile. Once you get comfortable with searching for data, come back and do the last chapters, which have a programming emphasis. With constant practice, SQL programming can become straightforward and quick for you. The book has clear descriptions and is useful for the newcomer to SQL.

Excellent SQL introduction!, June 11, 2001
Great book for those who know nothing about SQL but need to get up to speed quickly. As a developer who just inherited 4 database driven projects, the book had helped immensely. Halfway through the book (page 90) you are doing advanced table joins!

Four things make this a must have for SQL beginners: easy to read chapters with great explanations (I found reading cover to cover more helpful than the '10 minute' per chapter approach), a focus on e-commerce implementations in all exercises/examples, caution boxes when MS SQL Server, Oracle, and others' code may differ - with examples of the differences, and lastly the completely populated e-commerce MS Access database is available for download.

Now on to the intermediate books!

Nicely layed out for quick access, May 14, 2001
If you are reading this book to learn, the examples provide easy understanding to the most common SQL statements for both selecting and manipulating data. Its worth trying the examples as a learning tool, and the scripts and populated Microsoft Access database is available from the authors web site (along with a few errata). If your using it as a reference, the nicely layed out contents, pages, and index provide for finding the information quickly. ASP programmers who are writing SQL to access databases for the web will particularly find this a useful guide to constructing the SQL SELECT statements to retrieve data. The book mentions more advanced features such as stored procedures and triggers which will at least give you a taste of things to learn. I suspect that as readers databases grow slower, however they may be searching for more information on indexing and keys.

Great Starting Book, April 18, 2005
The title is "Teach yourself SOL in 10 minutes" so you should know that this is just a starting book and not a complete explanation of the language. And as a starting book this book is great! If you want to learn how to build multiuser relational databases then I would look for a book that doesn't have "in 10 minutes" in the title, but if your looking to get the jist of SQL then this book is for you. I bought the ebook edition and was able to download it instantly. The author includes links to 2 free database utility's, one of which he wrote, that are worth the price of the ebook alone! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Detailed information & instruction on the latest version of Access, January 11, 2007
This book teaches you how to design and maintain databases, search them for information, and build attractive forms using the new version of Access. There's also material on Access programming for automating common tasks. Access 2007 is quite a bit different from previous versions, and has a brand new interface. Once you master Access's new style, you'll be able to build databases rather quickly. The problem is that with Office 2007, you get no printed user guide at all. To learn about the thousands of features included in the software, Microsoft expects you to read the online help. The Microsoft help screens are helpful if you're looking for a quick description of something. If you're seeking information more on the art than science of Access, such as chart creation, you'll find nothing of real use there. This book excels at teaching aspects of Access that involve more wisdom than dictionary definition. This book is divided into seven parts, each containing several chapters:

Part One: Storing Information in Tables. In this part, you'll build your first database and learn how to add and edit tables that store information. Then you'll pick up the skills you need to stop mistakes before they happen, browse around your database, and link tables together.
Chapter 1. Creating Your First Database
Chapter 2. Building Smarter Tables
Chapter 3. Mastering the Datasheet: Sorting, Searching, Filtering, and More
Chapter 4. Blocking Bad Data
Chapter 5. Linking Tables with Relationships

Part Two: Manipulating Data with Queries. In this part, you'll build queries, apply changes, and summarize vast amounts of information.
Chapter 6: Queries That Select Records
Chapter 7: Essential Query Tricks
Chapter 8: Queries That Update Records
Chapter 9: Analyzing Data with Crosstab Queries and Pivot Tables

Part Three: Printing Reports. This part shows you how to use reports to take the raw data in your tables and format it into attractive printouts, complete with fancy formatting and subtotals.
Chapter 10: Creating Reports
Chapter 11: Designing Advanced Reports

Part Four: Building a User Interface with Forms. In this part, you'll build forms, which are customized windows that make data entry easy, even for those new to Access.
Chapter 12: Creating Simple Forms
Chapter 13: Designing Advanced Forms
Chapter 14: Building a Navigation System

Part Five: Programming Access. Shows how to use macros and Visual Basic programming to automate complex tasks and solve common challenges.
Chapter 15: Automating Tasks with Macros
Chapter 16: Automating Tasks with Visual Basic
Chapter 17: Writing Smarter Code

Part Six: Sharing Access with the Rest of the World. In this part, you'll learn how exchange data between Access and files such as text documents and Excel spreadsheets. You'll also see how to use Access to interact with some of Microsoft's server software such as SQL Server and SharePoint Server.
Chapter 18: Sharing a Database with Multiple Users
Chapter 19: Importing and Exporting Data
Chapter 20: Connecting Access to SQL Server
Chapter 21: Connecting Access to SharePoint

Part Seven: Appendix. This book wraps up with an appendix that shows how to customize the Quick Access toolbar to get easy access to your favorite commands.

I found this manual to be head and shoulders above all of the cheap "shovelware" books on such subjects that often have all the information you need, but are disorganized. I haven't seen any of the new versions of the "Que" books that always come out on Access, but I haven't been that satisfied with them in the past. I recommend this book for anybody planning on using Access 2007.

Easy to understand and written in an interesting manner., September 10, 2007
I have a number of years of programming and system experience, but had not been exposed to Access. I decided to rewrite my business systems using Access to convert them from the Paradox system that I had used for years. Using this book and Microsoft Office Access(TM) 2007 Inside Out (Microsoft Office Access Inside Out), I have already rewritten more than half of my systems in a couple of weeks, working on them for a couple of hours each evening. Granted, I am still not an expert, but I have been able to write Virtual Basic macros, designed and completed a number of tables for my data base, forms using multiple subforms, selection boxes, and functional buttons, and a number of professional looking reports. The use of these two books has greatly shortened my learning curve and helped me to be productive in much less time than it would have taken without them.

Still missing, May 27, 2008
I'm not a complete newbie to Access or to database design, but I would still qualify as a beginner. This manual spent too much time on things I already know how to do (like set up a table with basic relationships) and not enough on the things I have not quite figured out (like how to create subforms that pop up at helpful intervals).

I bought this Missing Manual after having a really good experience with the Missing Manual to Dreamweaver CS3, but while the Dreamweaver book had helpful step-by-step tutorials to cover concepts that would apply to a wide range of websites, this book seemed to only cover the specific case of building a customer/sales database.

Helped me tremendously, August 11, 2009
This book helped me tremendously. I had NO EXPERIENCE with access, and was put into the position of creating a database at work. I went through the training videos offered through work, and they were no help. I borrowed Access For Dummies, and that was marginally helpful, but with the MM I was able to design the database from scratch. I plan on ordering more from this series.

Access 2007: The Missing Manual, March 15, 2007
Title: Access 2007: The Missing Manual
By: Matthew McDonald
First Edition: December 2006
Series: The Missing Manuals
ISBN 10: 0-596-52760-8
ISBN 13: 9780596527600
Pages: 751

This book is light reading. The style is light and easy to enjoy. The author is definitely a wordsmith and has total control over the tone of the book. Some of the chapters start with non issues to people interested in Access, but this seems to be his writing style: a neutral or buffered start so you do not bolt before you get into that chapter.

This book is heavy reading. After a few paragraphs of light introduction, each sentence is packed with actions to take, issues to ponder, tables to study, and much more. The actions to take could not be done in one night. Look forward to a week, at least.

Annoying things for me:
1. His use of 's.
Code's means "code is" and not "code's use" in the sentence [not the possessive but the contraction].

This happens all the way through the book, so heads up.

2. His use of double negatives.
I found it harder to concentrate on the meaning when there was no evidence that it was not found [see what I mean?]. "no reason you can't get a little fancier" [page 531]. Why not just say:
You could get a little fancier?
You could get a little fancier within reason?

This happens all the way through the book, so heads up.

I liked the following chapters quite a bit:
Chapter 4 blocking bad data
Chapter 15 automating tasks with macros
Chapter 16 automating tasks with visual basic
Chapter 17 writing smarter code

Part Six was the best
Chapter 18 sharing a database with multiple users
Chapter 19 importing and exporting data
Chapter 20 connecting access to sql server
Chapter 21 connecting access to SharePoint
These last two chapters were the very best in the book, depending on whether you were more interested in the sql server database or the collaborative issues surrounding SharePoint.

On page 640, one of the top reasons to switch to Sql Server: Real security

So does Access have Unreal Security? Not enough of a fine grained model? That is real reassuring...

OK, so I did read it, scrutinize it, check the fine points. When I mention that it is worth 5 stars and every penny you might have to spend to get it, that takes everything into account. The book asks questions like: Can you trust Microsoft? [Page 641], so some balanced point of view is being used by the author. Well done.

I really like Access 2007 and find it to be a quantum leap forward. Try it, you'll like it.

Frederick J Eccher Jr
MBA
M.S. Management of Information Systems
A.B. Psychology
B.A. Biology
CIO, Community Partners
President, Board of Directors, Saint Louis Visual Basic Users Group
[...]

Great Information, August 11, 2008
After reading this book cover to cover, I was able to put together my first database and understand alot more of Access. I have had a difficult time grasping this software and have read 3 other books before this one. The Missing Manual was filled with great information and was easy to read.

Access 2007 The Missing Manual, June 7, 2008
This is one of the best technical manuals I have read. Everything is easy to find and easy to understand. I have several manuals where you spend hours trying to find the answer to a question only to be frustrated in either not finding the answer or the answer being so vague that it makes no sense. This book does not do that; answers are both understandable AND quick to find. I highly recommend this book.

Access 2007: The Missing Manual

Learn Access 2007 From Head To Toe!!, July 16, 2007
'Access 2007: The Missing Manual' by Matthew MacDonald is another gem in the line of Missing Manual books. Filled with 700+ pages of material, if you are new to Access or even a seasoned pro, there is a little bit of something for everybody in this book. A fantastic layout, wonderful content, and one of the most user-friendly books out there, if you use Access for any length of time and want to become a better user or are a new user and want to discover how to use Access, this is the ONLY book for you.

An absolute marvel which richly deserves the title 'Missing Manual' as this keeps up with the past quality works expected from this line.

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Missing Manual Access Review, July 9, 2009
The manual is well written and presented for the beginning to intermediate access user. Since it is a complete manual it does start out a bit basic but quickly gets more advanced. The author does a good job presenting examples of Access databases to teach not only the program but also proper database design. I like the prgression of more advanced program features and integration of Visual Basic into the manual. The only real downside is that the manual is a bit hard to read, smaller font size and harder to read typeset. Overall I would recommend this book for both training and reference. The author's writing style is extremely readable with no editing errors and good presentation.

Good resource book, January 17, 2008
This is a great book, much better than almost all of the other reference books out there. I like the relaxed yet concise and accurate Missing Manual approach though in places it may not be as "funny" as the author's had hoped. That aside, this is a super guide for all of us self taught Access lovers. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Microsoft® SQL Server 2008 R2 Unleashed

 

Ray Rankins

Paul Bertucci

Chris Gallelli

Alex T. Silverstein

 

Includes full coverage of SQL Server 2008 in addition to R2 coverage

 

This is the industry’s most comprehensive and useful guide to SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2. It presents start-to-finish coverage of SQL Server’s core database server and management capabilities, plus complete introductions to Integration, Reporting, and Analysis Services, application development, and much more.

 

Four expert SQL Server administrators, developers, and consultants have packed this book with real-world information, tips, guidelines, and samples drawn from their own extensive experience creating and managing complex database solutions. Writing for intermediate-to-advanced-level SQL Server professionals, they focus on the product’s most complex and powerful capabilities, and its newest tools and features. For example, you’ll find invaluable information on administering SQL Server more efficiently, analyzing and optimizing queries, implementing data warehouses, ensuring high availability, and tuning performance.

 

The accompanying CD-ROM contains an extraordinary library of practical tools and information including sample databases and all code examples. Whether you’re responsible for SQL Server 2008 analysis, design, implementation, support, administration, or troubleshooting, no other book offers you this much value.

 

• Understand the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 environment, R2’s newest features, and each edition’s capabilities
• Manage SQL Server 2008 more effectively with SQL Server Management Studio, the SQLCMD command-line query tool, and Powershell
• Efficiently manage security, users, backup/restore, replication, Database Mail, and database objects–from tables and indexes to stored procedures and triggers
• Increase availability with clustering, database mirroring, and other features
• Use new Policy-Based Management to centrally configure and operate SQL Server throughout the organization
• Use SQL Server Profiler to capture queries and identify bottlenecks
• Improve performance by optimizing queries, design more effective databases, and manage workloads with the new Resource Governor
• Develop applications using SQL Server 2008’s enhancements to T-SQL and SQLCLR, .NET integration, LINQ to SQL, XML, and XQuery
• Make the most of Analysis Services, Integration Services, and Reporting Services–especially Microsoft’s new R2 reporting improvements
• Improve data security using Column-level and Transparent Data Encryption

 

 Ray Rankins, president of Gotham Consulting Services, has worked with Sybase and Microsoft SQL Server for more than 23 years and is coauthor of Sybase SQL Server Unleashed, Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Unleashed, and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Unleashed. Paul Bertucci, founder of Database Architechs, has more than 30 years of experience in database design, architecture, replication, tuning, integration, and high availability. Chris Gallelli, president of CGAL Consulting Services, specializes in database administration, tuning, and programming. Alex T. Silverstein is managing principal and chief architect of Unified Digital Group, LLC, a developer of custom SQL Server and Microsoft .NET solutions.

 

CD-ROM includes:

• 15 additional chapters
• Code samples, scripts, and databases utilized within the book
• Free version of SQL Shot (performance & tuning software)

 

Category: Database / Microsoft SQL Server

Covers: Microsoft® SQL Server 2008 R2

User Level: Intermediate—Advanced

 

Reviews

Useful technical reference for SQL DBA, November 28, 2010
Microsoft keeps adding new functionality to SQL server so the latest version, SQL 2008 R2, has become vastly complex. So much so that Microsoft has divided up their DBA certifications into three specializations: core DBA and developer and BI. Correspondingly, technical books on SQL 2008 tend to be divided up along the same lines. Thus I would have thought it would be impossible to cover the whole in a single book. But this book attempts to do just that. And it does a pretty good job, in my opinion. Of course it cannot go into great depth on any one subject, but it goes into enough depth to be useful to a practicing DBA in any of the three categories.

They manage it by making the book huge. So huge that, apparently, it can't all be printed in a single book. So when you buy the book, you get a book that is around 1700 pages (1550 pages of text and about 100 pages of index and 50 of front material) and in the back of the book is a CD that contains another 800 or so pages in PDF files. To put it in other words, the first 41 chapters are printed in the book, but chapters 42-56 are in digital format in the companion CD. So technically all of the chapters are in the book but only some of them are printed in the book.

I have found that with many technical books, after you get the book, you have to hunt around on the internet for sample databases, code listings, sample files, etc., as if they hadn't finished developing the code till after the book was published. And in my experience this hunt too often ends, at the cost of too much of my time, with limited success or complete failure. It was a pleasant surprise to find that all of the code and samples referenced in this book are on the companion CD included in the back of the book. And the code is very handily organized by chapter and by specific listing. I didn't check all the code, but I looked up and tried numerous chunks of code that was of special interest to me and I didn't encounter a single example of code referenced in the book that was not on the CD and in identical format.

Turning to the content of the book, it covers the basics - editions of SQL, installation, backup and restore, table structure, indexes, etc. In the CD is a section (chapters 42-50) for SQL developers that seems to hit all the important new stuff in SQL 2008. And there is also an impressive section of 3 chapters on the CD for BI including not only SSAS, but also SSIS and SSRS.

But I focused more on the relatively new technology, especially the stuff I am interested in. I couldn't think of a single topic that was not covered, at least to some extent. I found the following were discussed in enough depth to be useful to me: transparent data encryption, table compression, auditing, resource governor, service broker, table partitioning, and the use of various DMVs. I examined and tested the code in all of these areas and found only one query that didn't work - Listing 24.22, which is supposed to return details on partitioned tables. I did not test it on their sample database, but on one of my own development databases that is partitioned. It required the change of only one variable, and I have considerable experience with partitioning, but couldn't get it to work. I must admit I didn't spend a lot of time trying to debug the query though.

I found only one example of poor editing, and that was a case of repetition of the same several paragraphs of text on p. 29-30 and again on 42-43.

In conclusion, I recommend this book as a useful resource for any type of SQL DBA to have on hand. It not only has useful discussions of almost every topic in the SQL 2008 R2 world, but it has a lot of useful code.

Content is excellent, October 26, 2010
To update the knowledge to the latest software is a must for all software folks of the SQL Server related field. This book has been written with more experience and is well organized. And there are many tips and notes those will be useful.

I bought this book at a nearby Borders store and thought print ink is light (especially images). But it is readable (I just finished one reading and need to read again more intensively) and with tons of information. I believe this book is comprehensive and a must read. And companion CD contains more useful information such as bonus chapters and test databases, those should not be missed. Overall it is worth the price and time to spend on this book.

Great book!, December 14, 2010
Very good book , covers pretty much all 2008 and R2 features in a very readable way. Its a thick book and also contains extras on the included cd which the authers could not fit in. Some of the chapters are a bit thin and possibly dont go into sufficient detail but overall 8/10. I have many IT books but this one is a good read rather than the usual struggle ! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Far Inferior to SQL 2005 70-431 Equivalent Text, March 19, 2009
The Microsoft Training Kit text for SQL Server 2005 exam 70-431 (for which Hotek was a contributor, but not primary author) is one of the best technical books I have ever come across. I have read every page at least twice, some sections several times. It covers a wealth of complex material in an organized, well-written manner. I hoped the SQL 2008 version would be an update of the SQL 2005 text, adding coverage for new or updated SQL 2008 features.

Alas, the SQL 2008 edition has been completely rewritten, with Hotek as the only author. I have read the first 100 pages and intend to read the entire text, but am not happy. The content is poorly organized, poorly edited and flat-out incorrect on some important points. (Errors regarding multiple instances were commented on by earlier reviewers. This error was not just stated once, but was repeated.) In more than one end-of-section mini-quiz, the questions are for material not covered in that section.

Hotek claims, more than once, to have worked on "millions of databases". Huh? If he worked on a different database every hour, and worked a ten-hour day for 300 days per year, that would total out to 30,000 databases a year, or 300,000 over ten years. Mike would have to have worked over thirty years to get close to his first million databases!

That said, Hotek is a really smart guy, with tons of SQL Server experience. His contributions to the SQL 2005 text were interesting and useful. Unfortunately, his expertise does not translate to authorship of books like this, and he has been poorly served by his technical editors (if there were any) at Microsoft Press.

NOTE: I submitted the above two-star review on March 19, 2009. I subsequently completed the entire book, some sections more than once, but found no reason to upgrade the rating, either for content or editing. Most of the questions on the Transcender practice exam cannot be answered using Hotek's book. My advice to those prepping for the 70-432 exam is to use the excellent text for the 70-431 exam, augmented by study of new SQL 2008 features like filestreaming and policies. Good luck!

This book is better than they say!!!, August 9, 2009
I must say I was concerned about this book given the other comments - the only value appeared to be in the CD with the practice exams (the other recommended book "The Real MCTS SQL Server 2008 Exam 70-432" does not include practice exams). So I went ahead and purchased both books - "The Real MCTS..." for studying and this book for the Practice Exams.

What I discovered is that "The Real MCTS..." does not go into enough depth in a number of areas. Reading through the book and doing the exercises left me inadequately prepared. Running through the practice exams showed that I still had quite a bit to learn in some of the new/enhanced technologies (certificates/encryption, mirroring, partitioning). I have started going back to Mike Hotek's book - and have found (to my surprise given the negative comments) the information, explanations & exercises a great sight better than in The Real MCTS book.

Do not let the other reviews put you off. Even with the mistakes this book is way more worthwhile than it is made out to be.

It is a good book after all, November 20, 2009
I've just passed the 70-432 exam and I waited for this to actually review the book. It is a good book after all. I read some negative postings here. Yes, it is true, there are some errors (both in the book and in the tests) and also some typos...But if you actually take your time and study the material and get over the typos, this book can really help you pass the 70-432 exam. This has been my first Microsoft certification, I have studied only this book and I took the exam at the first try. Again, you have to sweat a little bit for this...I love the way in which the material is organized. I didn't like the errors and the typos in there, so I'm going to give it 4 stars out 5.

Thin on actual content, May 26, 2009
Exam candidates using this book will quickly find it suffers from actual lack of technical content. Mike Hotek would have been better of spending less time talking about his experience and conquests over problems and more time giving actual examples of T-SQL that you can use against your own data. Also the sample questions do not cover nearly enough breadth of the chapter content, you get 1 or 2 summary questions per section, when there are lots of examinable facts just glossed over in the text. If you want to be able to wrote learn stuff its a very poor resource. You have to take the book and then get resources of the web, and real exams in order to fill up on the required content. Not recommended.

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-432), June 16, 2009
It has taken me a while to come back and review this book. The reason it has taken so long is because there is not much positive to say about the book.

First, the book feels very poorly edited. By the time I was done reading the book, red pen in hand, I felt more like an editor than someone studying a subject. I bought the book to learn about SQL Server 2008 but even I was able to find several factual errors. The most annoying errors were the numerous places where you are asked to answer questions about subjects that had not yet been covered, and at times never covered. This was not only present in the book, but also in the practice software. Eventually, it seemed rather pointless to attempt the practice software until after reading the whole book, even though it allowed for chapter specific practice. Beyond that there were also more grammatical and composition errors than one would like to see in a textbook.

Second, this book throws a lot of information at you and it tries to explain what that information is good for; however, it often reads more like Microsoft's SQL Server Books Online than a teaching manual. This being the case there is little reason to buy what is given away for free.

What I did like about the book was the real life examples. Putting in a scenario to help you understand what can be done with what you are learning is great. I only wish the book had many more of these.

For the most part I trusted that the author knew what he was talking about, despite the errors. From reading the book I could tell that this guy knows his stuff, unfortunately, when I was finished I did not feel like that knowledge was passed on very well. This was after reading each chapter two and sometimes three times, plus taking notes.

In contrast, I just finished another Microsoft Press book, which I found immensely helpful, easy to understand, and with just one reading I retained 80% or more of the content. With that in mind I felt better about my assessment of this book. The difference is night and day.

Bottom line, I would not recommend this book. You can find a list of what you will be tested on from Microsoft's website, and from there you can use the Microsoft Books Online and some other Microsoft Press books to cover what you do not know.

Solid test engine, but book needs editing, May 13, 2009
As previous reviewers have already pointed out, there are a plethora of inaccuracies with the SQL Server 2008 edition comparisons in Chapter 1. For this, I'd suggest referencing Microsoft's edition comparison list at http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/editions-compare.aspx

Other than Chapter 1, the information in this book is there but a bit thin. I also noticed the lesson reviews tend to "jump ahead", so to speak. For example, the lesson review for Chapter 6 Lesson 2 is on page 144. It gives a scenario about moving orders older than 30 days from the orders table with the least amount of performance hit. It's a 2 part answer and one involves the SWITCH operator. The book doesn't explicitly delve into SWITCH until Chapter 6 Lesson 4 (page 151).

The practice test engine, on the other hand, is one of the best I've ever seen from MeasureUp (their test engines are usually solid anyways). There were a lot of real-life scenario-type questions on there that were scarce in the book. It was also very good about pointing you to good reference materials for each question (some of which were obviously not the book). I took the exam yesterday and passed on the first try, but firmly believe it was the MeasureUp test engine that put me over the top.

In most cases, the practice exams are supplemental to the book. In this case, however, the book seems to be the supplement. Overall, I found this book to be okay at best. If you're wise, you'll do outside referencing anyways... while both on the job and studying. With that said, there's probably better material out there for 70-432. I must give this one an average review because the Chapter 1 epic fail, in particular, just cannot go unpunished :(

Inaccurate data very early on in the book, February 24, 2009
In Chapter 1 of the 70-432 Sql Server 2008 implementation and maintenance, it lists out the basic features of "all" versions of sql server, but it leaves out Enterprise.

For all editions, it says that multiple instances are not allowed, yet when i check on the official sqlserver 2008 site it tells me all editions support up to 16 instances except the enterprise version, which supports 50 instances.

Such simple facts wrong so early in the book. is this a sign of the quality of the rest of the book? has anyone else used this book yet? Im thinking of just sending it back if its that inaccurate.

Pretty good, but..., October 22, 2009
The book and content are pretty good, however there seems to be too many mistakes for the author and publisher to have actually verified the content. The inaccurate chapter tests are a little troublesome. One answer indicated to use the sp_filestream_configure option to turn on filestreaming. This doesn't exist, you need to use sp_configure with the appropriate option! When configuring database options you may need to turn on advanced options (sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1). Also (and this is not an isssue with the book), I see that installation of the AdventureWorks sample database via the downloaded msi install is hit or miss. It was a miss for me. Instead I downloaded the scripts in the zip file, modified the sql script for the DW database and manually loaded it. I havn't tried the test engine yet, so I don't know how accurate that is. Hope this information helps someone. This book seems overall reasonably good in the chapter steps, just beware that you may have to wing it a bit here and there (what else is new in IT?). I'll try to put in another review if I pass (or not) the exam and how helpful this was towards that goal.

The Book is only as good as the reader, August 10, 2010
I want to start out by identifying myself. I'm a SQL DBA I've got around 8 years of experience, I've got my MCITP for SQL 2005 for Database Administration. So I've read the 70-431 book cover to cover and I can understand some of the criticism of this book, but will address that later.

I bought this book to train for the 70-431 test, I didn't upgrade my cert but choose to take 70-431 & 70-450. Now I studied the book like crazy, I made flash cards, I used the CD in the back of the book, but I did not rely on it. Anything that I felt was not flushed out as well as I liked I would study on MSDN, or great blogs like Paul Randal's. I read several white papers, and was able to use a lot of the knowledge in the work place, which re-enforced my studies..... And I passed the Cert test. Mike's knowledge of SQL Server is great, but there are a lot of sections where Deep Dives will reveal more detail and may even contradict what is written. But bottom line if you study the book, the concepts, and the practices, and know them inside and out then this book is enough to prep you for the exam.

If you want to be a SQL Rockstar, (Google Brent Ozar and SQL Rockstar and read his article), then this is a beginning and you have a lot more work to do. But that goes with a lot of things in life, if all you are willing to do is crack open this book, study it's questions, and do nothing more to prepare for this exam then you are missing a lot of SQL Server Knowledge and while you *might* pass the test you will be a so/so DBA, then that is your choice.

But Dear Reader it is up to you to get that knowledge and Mike does a great job of providing you a diving board to spring from. The question remains, how far do you want to go as a SQL DBA and how hard are you willing to chase it? A book is a book. The reader determines what is achieved with the knowledge they derive from the book.

IN COMPARISON TO 70-431

There is a review that states that this book is far inferior to the 70-431 book. And I would agree.

I would, however, like to point out that Microsoft has tried to specify the SCOPE of DBA training. Whereas 70-431 had to address DBA, Database Developer, and BI (until BI was later split out on it's own path), 70-432 only covers DBA items, and the scope of the exam is also narrowed.

So is 70-431 a better more inclusive book? Yes, but it should be.

It is like saying the Star Wars Trilogy is a more complete story than just Empire Strikes Back.

Yes it should be it is 3 movies not 1.

And yes 70-431 should be, it was meant to cover 3 subjects not 1 (even thoug it was weak on BI which is why they split it out).

This is a very Good book, and I recommend it to anyone who is studying to take the 70-432 exam.

Let's see, (pull's out check list)
Fan boy mentions of Paul Randal and Brent Ozar.....Check
Find a way to bring Star Wars into the conversation....Check

well I think that covers it I hope this review helps you decide if you will buy the book or not.

Good Book for Aim Intended, March 26, 2010
I have used this book to prepare for 70-432 and passed it yesterday. This book does its job to prepare you for what is expected in the exam. I have used the test question in the attached CD and found that these question test your SQL 2008 knowledge more thoroughly than what is actually tested in the exam. Of course this book is not intended to teach you SQL 2008 as there is more to it then just this book. Question in actual certification exam are more conceptual and they have covered some material from SQL 2008, some from SQL 2005 and even some concepts from SQL 2000.
I will recommend this book whoever wants to study for the exam. If you already have substantial hands-on experience in SQL 2008, this book is still suitable for you to brush up some concepts, which you may not have used in real world, i.e. your company might be using only one of the high-availability solution among Clustering, Mirroring or Log shipping. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Single most authoritative guide from the inventor of the technique.
* Presents unique modeling techniques for e-commerce, and shows strategies for optimizing performance.
* Companion Web site provides updates on dimensional modeling techniques, links related to sites, and source code where appropriate. ... Read more

Reviews

Practical Wisdom, May 5, 2002
There are a lot of data warehousing books out there that try to answer the question: 'Why'? Why data warehouses are needed to help businesses make better decisions - why the OLTP systems that run the business can't do this - and sometimes even why businesses ought to invest in data warehouses. These books were terrifically useful to us years ago, when we needed help (and scholarly footnotes) in our data warehouse project proposals. This book is not one of those - it is all about:

How

How to actually design and build a repository that will deliver real value to real people. In this reviewer's opinion, Ralph Kimball's many contributions related to the 'how' of data warehousing stand alone.

An engineer wishing to jump-start his or her data warehouse education would need to read Ralph's Data Warehouse Toolkit first edition, his Data Webhouse Toolkit... a bunch of "Data Warehouse Designer" Intelligence Enterprise magazine articles... AND lurk on the Data Warehousing List Server...for a few years (all terrific resources - by the way) - in order to stockpile the knowledge that is crisply presented here.

No shortcuts taken by the authors that I can spot: all of the toughest dimensional design issues that I've tripped on - and that I can remember surfacing on in discussion groups over the past few years - are addressed in this significantly updated text. Not all of the solutions are 'pretty' - but it is clear that they thoughtfully address the problem. This approach, in my opinion, instills student confidence - and lets us know that we are getting sound instruction - not dogma.

The authors have been listening to and addressing the data warehouse community's 'pain' through periodicals and posts for years - but this book pulls these point solutions together very nicely. I learned a surprising number of really useful new techniques, and was genuinely enlightened by the 'Present Imperatives and Future Outlook' section.

As in the first edition, there is minimal philosophical lecturing, and zero religion. Instead, we get generous helpings of real-world case studies - aptly applied to progressively more advanced series of design concepts.

This style absolutely works for me. And I suspect that engineering mindsets typical of the folks that build these things will likely agree. In short, the Data Warehouse Toolkit Second Edition will significantly lighten the load of books that I carry between data warehouse engagements.

Jim Stagnitto
Llumino, Inc.
www.llumino.com

Top-notch course in dimensional data warehouses, August 27, 2002
If you want to understand data warehouse design either as user, architect or developer, you need to read this book cover to cover.

Things I like about this book:

* Coverage of all core principles in dimensional data modeling using examples. Ralph does not just lecture to you -- he shows you how to put it into practice

* Coverage of a vast variety of domains. This alone makes the book a must-read

* Recap of major principles at the end of the book to bring it all together

* Excellent writing -- Ralph does not treat you like a dummy; neither does he assume that you have an IQ north of 200

* When you purchase this book, you are in effect purchasing a sliver of the combined knowledge of both authors in the data warehousing field. Highly recommended

I implemented a data warehouse using some of these principles back in 1999. The project was a resounding success and is the most popular application in the financial services firm that I implemented it in. (Infact when I lost my job at an Internet company, they immediately offered me a job based on this implementation). The only sad part to the whole story is that we made a few mistakes in implementation that are now very difficult to correct because the data warehouse has become core to the business -- we have too many end-user applications riding on it!

Data Warehousing is in the eye of the beholder, June 6, 2003
Data Warehousing is more of an art than a science - but then again what isn't?

There isn't a standard blueprint that can come close to solving most data issues. Data Warehousing (DW) involves constant tweaking and the goal of good DW project management is minimizing the associated operational cost.

I have been a fan of Ralph Kimball as he writes as a person who has been through many implementations. With Mr. Kimball there isn't a miracle cure being touted - stay away from publications that claim such a cure.

Mr. Kimball approached the subject with good advices and encourages the readers to watch out for the pitfalls and follow best-practices in design implementation. It is similar to working with a well experienced supervisor.

The core to successful DW implementations is - LISTENING. Listening to the users on their needs and gauging the software resources available at your disposal.

Trade-offs in design versus cost/performance are a must. You will never have all the resources you need to implement the DW of your dreams. And if you did, chances are very high that once the DW is ready for use the business cases have changed making the design redundant.

Mr. Kimball will help in passing these information and much more. It also goes in good technical detail for suggested modeling of data.

I hope this review is helpful, please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

An Indispensible Book, June 7, 2003
After six years of creating data warehouse applications, making a plethora of mistakes and learning stuff the hard way, I wish I had had this book at the start! Every other page offers a solution to some problem or other that I have had. In the project I am just starting I am facing new challenges and am finding help with them as well. The best part is how solutions I used in the past which were appropriate for those problems are contrasted with solutions for problems like the ones I am facing now. Almost as bad as solving a problem the wrong way (or overlooking it entirely) is reusing an old solution that does not fit the new problem. This book clearly spells out when each solution is appropriate. I can not speak too highly about how useful this book will be for you!

As essential as the first edition, March 31, 2003
I was undecided if I should buy this book after having read the first edition, but I'm happy I did.
The second edition updates many of the concepts contained in the first and includes some new chapters on hot topics like CRM and Telecommunications (which is the most important sector for dw at least here in Italy where I live).
I think that Kimball books are everything that's needed to design good, robust and flexible data warehouses, and this book maintains his high quality standards.

The Ultimate Powerhouse, June 17, 2002
This book deserves merely a one sentence review.
"Simply awesome" . As one of my friends had to say,
"We depend on Ralph Kimball for our livelihood"!

This IS the book on Data warehousing. Follow this book
and you will never fail. I have had solutions to all
of my design issues from this one book.

A must to every IT professional's personal library,
not necessarily restricted to DW professionals

Nilesh Sahita, November 12, 2002
Excellent work. When I first saw it I thought it was mere rewrite with simple correction of the first edition that I had bought in 1996. Thankfully I still sit down with the second edition and I realized how much additional insight I would have missed had I not read the second edition. It is very well written, thought provoking and easy to follow and yet conveys many complex concepts.

Congratulations to Ralph and Margy.

More than just a great read, June 10, 2006
In my mind this book is defintely the most definitive guide to dimensional modeling. Although there are some chapters (the last two that deals with process and other issues, the biggest part of the book is solely about dimensional modeling. Yes the first chapter deals with what it is (in general), why we would like to use dimensional modeling and some myths and caveats. However, from chapter 2 through 12, the book is hand-on.

Chapters 2 - 5 is for me the most impressive chapters of the book as it takes several business processes that is common in many businesses and discuss the design of the star cshemas in great depth. However, nowhere in the book is any design upheld as a panacea -- everywhere the book discusses at great length the possible problems and the design decisions to be made. It thus emphasizes that there is no "one-size fits all" in dimensioanl modeling.

Chapters 6, 7 and 8 deals with CRM, Accounting and HR respectively, while chapters 9 - 14 deals with different industries and their peculiar problems. The industrues are: Telecomms and utilities, Transportation, Education, Healthcare and e-commerce. Each chapter introduces new design guidelines and new problem areas anbd their possible solutions. Chapter 15 deals with the Insurance industry and essentially serves as a nicesummary of the proposed techniques as most are emplyed in the Insurance case study.

If you do not have a fairly good understanding of dimensional modeling after reading this text I would be very surprised.

However, it is more than just a read to know about dimensional modeling. The way the case studies are handled and the problems identified and discussed also makes it a true reference book. I think evrybody involved in dimensional modeling should have one on his/her desk.

Now I understand data warehouses, March 7, 2009
This book is a great primer on data warehouses: what they are for, how data should be organized in the warehouse, and what you can do with it. There's no code or programming - just a solid explanation of the concepts along with many good examples.

This book was perfect for me. I have data that I needed to analyze; I understood normalized relational databases and pivot tables; I'd heard the jargon such as "star schema" and "snowflake schema" but didn't know exactly what they meant. This book put all the concepts together and moved my level of understanding up to a new level. I am not building the data warehouse myself but now I can talk the talk with those who are.

I had been using pivot tables in Excel to do some analysis, but had been frustrated at times by not being able to get things to work out as I wanted. After reading this book, I understand why - it was because I had not organized the underlying data correctly. To anyone with a relation database background, the organization of data in a data mart or warehouse is very different and goes against one's instinct to normalize and eliminate redundant data. Getting past that was key to getting my data right, and that's what this book did for me.

However, if you are the person who will actually be building the data warehouse, you will need to go beyond this book to one that shows you how to actually do what you need. For example, this book does not go into "details" like ETL - how you actually get data into the warehouse from the transaction database - and the other practical details you will need to know. This book is also database and tool agnostic - those are all details that you will need to find elsewhere once you understand the concepts here.

My only quibble is that this book is quite pricey for what you get.

A tool rather than a toolkit, July 2, 2007
This book delivers exactly what it says. Except that word "toolkit" in its title - you'd better think about this book being a single tool, not a whole toolkit. Ralph Kimball actually has a whole lot of books on data warehousing published, this is one of them, a tool in the toolkit. This one seems like a good starting point to the entire series, and it only shows a single facet - the dimensional modeling.

The book explains the basic principles of creating dimensions and fact tables in a data warehouse (assuming a relational star schema), and then dedicates a chapter per industry to show how those principles apply to sales, order management, CRM, accounting, human resources, financial services, telecoms, logistics, education, health care, e-commerce, insurance etc. Each one appears to be significantly different from the others.

There is a couple of teaser chapters starting with "we have that other book covering this, but will brief you out". Nice and makes you want to read the other books too.

The book also includes guidelines to the warehouse building process, in terms like "know your business sponsor", "talk to your users" and so on. Difficult to say what it has to do with dimensional modeling, perhaps it's included in all the books in the series.

There is no word on software, hardware, physical architecture, tuning or performance in this book. It is a textbook in dimensional modeling, period.

The book is written clearly, has a handful of simple and uniform diagrams and is easy to follow. It only leaves you wondering just how exactly large is the whole data warehouse area, how many pieces you need to collect yet.

Recommended. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

I need more stars... Bravo Jeffrey, December 8, 2001
Jeffrey Friedl's "Matering Regular Expressions" does a facinating job in taking you through the jungle (and I mean jungle) of RegExp.

I am a Perl/CGI programmer, and I had considered myself good at RegExp even before I read this book. Most of the things I knew were from Programming Perl, 3rd edition (chapter 5, Pattern Matching). But I still decided to give Jeffrey a chance since I was having some trouble with my Parse::Syntax module, which is designed to parsing *any* programming language and highlighting the syntax accordingly (provided it has a syntax/grammer file written for the specific language). The accuracy of the parser (and more importantly the speed) does depend on well crafted regular expressions.

As I started reading the book, I couldn't stop. I took it to my school's cafeteria with me and no one could make me leave untill I finished the whole book. I was excited. I was pleased! Here is the outline of tha chapters:

Chapter 1 and 2 introduce you to regular expressions and give some basic regex examples. Mail utility and date matching is two of them.

Chapter 3 mostly talks about conventions that all the regex tools follow and their differences.

Chapter 4 deals with Traditional NFA, POSIX NFA and DFA regex engines and their pros and cons. What you'll like the most is the details provided by the author on each and every single example. He also uses a lot of step-by-step illustrations to take you deeper into the regex engine itself and see/feel how it works. He shows the point of backtrackings and provides awesome benchmarks. He uses such examples of matching a quote, allowing escaped quotes inside the pattern, matching C-style comments, IP addresses and many more.

Chapter 5 deals with writing efficient regular expressions for NFA engines. It also re-vists some of the examples provided in the previous chapter and fine-tunes them.

Chapter 6 and 7 deals with Tool-Language specific features of Regex engines. Chapter 6 is dedicated to Awk, Tcl and GNU Emacs, whereas chapter 7 is entirely dedicated to Perl, good over 100 pages of Perlism.

It's true that there're features that Perl 5.6 offers when it comes to regex that didn't exist at the time this book went to press, (lookbehinds, for example). But this no way makes this book dated. Just take my word for it. Jeffrey put together a great masterpiece that will not die for many years, no matter how fast the technology tends to enhance
Haven't read anything more exciting than this for many years.

Those wise birds!, May 3, 2001
I got Mastering Regular Expressions in 1998 and I peek back regularly and it am proud to say is one of most used and useful books I own.

Regular expressions are for everyone. They are simple to write and can be close to impossible to read and even unimaginably harder to understand. But reading comes after you can craft one.

And this art of crafting RE is explained in astonishing detail and analysis in this book. Reader is carefully guided through basics, differences and common and uncommon pitfalls. Some of the parts are definitely not for the faint hearted! And this is especially true for parts that cover Perl RE. While main topic is Perl RE engine, a deep-enough travel through different RE dialects is made to help RE-crafting in almost any tool that supports REs.

I've used the methods described in the book in tools as different as MS VC++, various editors, search engines and programming (Perl, PHP, C++, ...). The ability to use RE usually impressed people to the point they were sure I am using some incredible magic.

But I must say that the most useful feature delivered in this book was ability to PARSE, UNDERSTAND and FIX a (slow, broken, strange acting) RE. This can be slowly absorbed by reader's (open) mind while carefully reading the book. The difference between meant/written can be as extreme as it can get in RE. I can (proudly) say I've been able to fix several complex REs, by simply (one could say blindly) following the rules laid in the book.

My opinion is thath without this book real understanding of RE is almost impossible. I recommended it all of those who use programs that support (any form) of RE engine. It will help them solve some (hard) problems incredibly fast!

Simply Outstanding, September 26, 2002
I bought this book on a whim, mainly because I try to buy (and read... ugh!) a hard-core technical book every month or so, but mainly because my UNIX scripting abilities have become rusty with disuse. I used to be able to write a tight, 10-line csh script to mangledit thousands of files at a single time. Now I hack away at files manually with vi. The other day, I even forgot how to search & replace. My kung fu isn't nearly what it used to be.

It usually takes me about a month to slog through a new book (especially academic texts, which are great but make you want to have a stiff martini before each new chapter) but I tore through Friedl's book in a few days. It's an outstanding reference for understanding & learning to use regular expressions.

Regexes can be cryptic to say the least, but Friedl offers many examples, broken down into step-by-step instructions and explanations of how each regex works (in many cases, right down to the individual character level). He covers a variety of platforms and languages - the hardcore Perl enthusiast will enjoy this book greatly, but he offers fairly equal time to alternative languages like Java and the "grep" family.

All that said, this book is an outstanding technical reference, pure and simple, for two reasons:

- Friedl uses an interesting new typesetting convention to illustrate which sections of text are regular expressions, and which sections are not. It's hard to describe (and impossible to reproduce here) but they look like 90-degree braces at the upper-left and lower-right corners. This is a FANTASTIC approach and I for one would love to see this extended to other technical books.

- Speaking of other things I would love to see extended to other technical books, THIS BOOK HAS ALMOST NO ERRORS! This is even more impressive considering the fact that, with regular expressions, screwing up EVEN A SINGLE CHARACTER is significant. Nothing [upsets]memore than spending $50-100 perfectly good dollars on a sloppy, error-laden, grammatically-challenged, poorly-edited, ill-reviewed and badly-structured book (which pretty much describes 90% of all the technical books out there). He made a few mistakes, the vast majority of which are extremely trivial in nature, and all of which were quickly posted to his website as errata. If only the other 90% of the technical authors out there were even half as diligent.

All told, this book belongs on your bookshelf.

i wish all tech books were this good, March 7, 2002
I can't say enough good things about this book.

Regular expressions are such a powerful concept, but some of that power would be easy to miss if not guided correctly through the topic. Jeffrey Freidl does a great job of making a potentially very dry subject interesting, even while getting very involved in all the complexities that are inherent in such a powerful abstraction. He also does a good job of presenting both the general topic of regular expressions and the specific characteristics of the various tools available to process them.

This is a book that you will come back to many times. I actually read it as a precursor to learning Perl several years ago. Then just recently I revisited it while taking a class on compiler construction and found that it still had useful insights for me. If you're a committed programmer, this book should be on your shelf.

Also, the criticisms I've read in reviews here are pretty misguided. It is "chatty", because the author has a genuine enthusiasm for his subject. It is also not a "teach yourself regular expressions in 24 hours" kind of book. There are actually lots of cookbook style examples, but the main point of the book is to give you a solid enough understanding of the general topic that you don't need examples to craft your regexes. In this case, little patience as a reader will be much rewarded.

So good, I bought it twice!, January 5, 2003
In spite of the vow that Friedl would not put himself (and his family) through the rigors of writing a followup to his first edition, I sure am glad he made the decision to write a second edition. Over 5 years ago, I got the first such book and found it to be a humbling experience -- realizing just how little I *really* knew about regular expressions (in spite of thinking my skills were quite advanced in that area).

Now, years later and as an instructor of UNIX at North Lake College in Irving, Texas, I highly recommend this book to even our first year students. Friedl's clear explanation of this topic and the manner in which he presents the material makes it comprehensible to even those that have never had experience with regex's before. Like Perl's Larry Wall, Jeffrey Friedl has a strong background in natural languages. That contributes not only to bhis lucid writing style but also helps in terms of understanding regex's as a "little language".

This 2nd edition is particularly welcome because of its extensive coverage of regular expressions in the context of Java. That ons aspect alone is sufficient to get the updated second edition (to say nothing of the enhancements in Perl since the first edition of the book).

Learning Perl? Buy this first!, February 7, 1998
I made the mistake of buying a bunch of books on Perl to try to learn Perl programming. I made progress, but it was slow -- and it beat me down. Then I bought THIS book. Perl's implementation of Regular Expressions is a great deal of the functionality of that language. This is true to the extent that trying to read Perl script without knowing Regular Expressions is tedious at best. This is not just another computer book. Jeffrey Friedl has put his heart and soul into this work, and it shows. He even offers free updates (in the truest, most honest sense of the word) from his own web page. This is the best programming book I own.

After reading this book, Perl script reads like USA Today! Save yourself lots of heartache. Buy this book, Mastering Regular Expressions -- read it -- THEN learn Perl!
Jeff Morris

Will help you make sense of a daunting subject., June 7, 2000
This is a book about Regular Expressions 'for Perl and Other Tools' but really it's a book about Perl. Other tools are covered, but coverage is a bit woolly, so if you are reading it to get the low-down on Python's RegEx capabilities etc. this book won't get you far. I can't help that feel that if the book had just concentrated on Perl, rather than giving sketchy coverage of `Other Tools', it could have been even better (and would have definitely got five starts). That said, the extra coverage (particularly the RegEx engine material) was very interesting and has turned out invaluable in practice.

If you are an absolute beginner to Perl or programming you will need another book(s) to get the most out of this one, but it is a gentle and thorough introduction that won't leave you scratching your head, which is a feat in itself considering the complexity of Regular Expressions.

This is an excellent book for getting the most out of Perl's RegEx capabilities, you will close the back cover feeling that you genuinely have Mastered the subject. It is without doubt the best book available on the subject, nicely written, with a friendly and un-patronising tone (grammatical errors aside), you can't really go wrong with this one.

There could have been some more useful real world examples/projects included, and the book could probably do with an overhaul (it was published in 97) to accommodate Perl 5.6 and other developments (O'Reilly are you listening?), but it is still the best out there.

If RegEx is a subject you need to get to grips with, this book is the solution.

Masterfully written; bit of overkill for nonprogrammers, January 23, 2000
Whether you are searching text documents with BBedit or flagging Usenet articles with Newswatcher, learning to use regular expressions can make your life a lot easier. Regular expressions ("regex") are text strings that allow you to search for complex variations of words and phrases. For instance, with the simple regex "gr[ea]y" you can flag any instances of the words "gray" or "grey". While a lot of applications support regex, finding out how to use this powerful function can be very difficult. There is suprisingly little online documentation of regex.

Friedl's excellent book fills this void. In the introductory material, he covers what a regex is and how to use the regex language to do your own searches. The rest of the book, however, is aimed at programmers only, dealing with how various programming languages (such as Perl) implement regex. If all you want to do is use regex for searching text files or flagging Usenet articles, most of the book will not be useful to you. However, until someone comes out with a pocket manual of regex, Friedl's book is the only game in town.

PHP programmer says: EXCELLENT value! Everything's here., January 3, 2001
If you are an intermediate-or-better PHP programmer who wants to get a handle on regular expressions, you'll find this book so incredibly handy. I'm only a few chapters into the book and already I get the gist of regexs and how to use them with PHP... plus the Perl examples are very, very clear (the author stays focused on regex, Perl is just used to put it in a program's context, so he explains clearly what is going on with each line and you can see how it would translate easily to PHP)... the first chapter of this book did more to explain regexs than spending weeks searching the web for a *clear* tutorial.

I suspect I'll skip most of the second half of the book-- after all, it's called "mastering regular expressions," and I don't really want to master them, I just want to be really good and then keep going with other stuff. (The author spends chapters looking at nearly EVERY regex tool out there, etc... which is not useful to me since I know I'm going to be using regexs 99% of the time in PHP.) If there is anything I could change about this book, it would be to put the first five-or-so chapters into a separate slim volume and *PLEASE* include a quick reference card for all the metachars! (that's my next purchase...)

But listen, if you want to LEARN regexs, this book does the job, the writing is crystal-clear, the mini-quizzes every few pages are excellent, the typographic conventions (used to really make the expressions clear) are clever and smart, and this book has EVERYTHING you will EVER need on regular expressions, in your entire life. Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Get Educated, June 25, 2009
This book is a wonderful comprehensive review of the key components used for SQL Server 2008 certification (exam 70-448). It covers SSIS, SSAS and SSRS in such a manner as to provide great background alongside some basic hands-on exercises to perform.

There is a practice exam disc included with the book which really helps in terms of studying for the exam and another disc with an evaluation copy of SQL Server 2008. All of this can take you from doing what I would call "cowboy SQL work" to a more professional, well founded, and optimized approach towards working with BI tools used with SQL Server.

The authors provide some good practical real-life recommendations on how to apply some of the techniques covered which helps round out the training. Collectively, this text has opened my eyes to more features and functionality in SQL than I did before picking it up and offers a way to actually apply the learning material -- albeit at a simple, high level. Just the same, one can always go deeper and experiment with some of the techniques. In the first chapter alone I learned of a technique that solved a problem which a consulting firm I worked with had an allergic reaction towards solving. I'm thinking the consulting firm might have benefited from this book.

I'm grateful that a careful reading of the exercises does allow one to complete the the vast majority of exercises and not have to deal with a problem so often faced in similar type texts -- nobody proof-read the thing to make sure the commands were accurate and actually worked! Seems like a pretty basic concept but this is so often not the case.

My only warnings to readers is that initial installation of the SQL Server evaluation software and setting up the DB's used as examples can prove tricky (but this is a MSFT issue, not one with the book or the way in which the conveys information). Why is it that sample DB's and installation of same cannot be made easier as it was with SQL 2005 early on? And I have a bit of a bone to pick regarding the Measure Up practice exam which has some out of synch references to the materials in the book. For example, the exam references Chapter 1 Lesson 5 yet the book has only 3 lessons in Chapter 1.

Finally, in the back of the book is a coupon code for taking the exam -- practically worth the price of the book. Your biggest investment will be the time necessary to study for the exam but in today's economy that would be a great investment to make.

My review on MCTS books for exam 70-448, May 29, 2009
Effective though I didn't appear exam so far. Covered a lot of topics effective for exam. But to do professional work I believe books for SSIS, SSAS and SSAS data mining are necessary individually. Data mining(Chapter 9) contents are too brief to understand. Best practice and Exam tips are really helpful. Also real life case examples are helpful. As a novice this is a good book to study.

Book includes 200 sample questions and SQL server 2008 E/E CD for 180 days trial.

Solid coverage of the exam material, July 26, 2009
Great book. I thought the layout was well done and flowed very logically. The examples, if studied carefully, provided good insight to the concepts and the functionality that is available in the BI stack. There is a lot of material on the exam and I'm impressed at how much was able to be packed into the 600 or so pages. One definitely has to work the examples to get the full understanding, though.

I do have to say that, to me, one of the drawbacks of the book was the set of practice exam questions that was included. I thought the questions were good enough, but the explanations were lacking. There wasn't enough detail as to why the answers were right or wrong. I've always used the Transcender exams to supplement any written material so that may be causing some of the bias, but I thought the explanations could have gone deeper than they did.

(Side note: I also purchased the Transcender exams for this exam. The combination of book and exam prep worked well for me. Passed the exam on the first try!)

I would definitely recommend purchasing the book. It not only met my expectation of an exam prep book, but it will also stay on my shelf as a reference book.

good book for exam preparation, September 20, 2009
This book provides a good preparation for MCTS exam. It concisely addresses topics examined in the exam. It successfully avoids the temptation of going into too much details but covers everything necessary to be succesful in the exam. It is absolutely a good book to get the certification.

Great Resource for the 70-448 Exam!, May 5, 2010
I bought this book with the intention of using it and the practice exams included to study for my 70-448 exam, and I couldn't be more pleased with it. I passed the exam and I owe a lot of my success on the exam to this book. Without this book I would have not known which areas to study and passing the test would have been much harder. The book is organized very well, is well written, and prepares you to perform well on the exam. I have been using the MS BI tools for several years now so I didn't intend to get much out of the book besides a passing score on the exam, but I ended up learning about quite a few things I had never utilized in each of the tools. Good luck to anyone taking this exam!

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Training Kit series, March 31, 2010
The "Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Training Kit" series was highly recommended to me by an Instructor. I agree with the Instructor's recommendation. The Microsoft Training Kit series includes sample exams that also give you the following info. after you've completed the exam: 1) detailed explanations (with additional references) for the correct answers, 2) an assessment of your total score and the areas to concentrate on to improve your score. --- My money was sell spent. --- Lynne

Pass the 70-448 or use it toward the upgrade exams., September 6, 2009
I am glad this book is available as it is one of the few sources of information for the 70-448. I personally used this book to use to study for the upgrade exams where I could not find specific books for the test.

I enjoyed reading the book and it suited my needs well. I recommed that any person interested in BI start with this book, create a good foundation of knowledge, build best practices and then progress to individual books based on their focused are of study. For example WROX SSIS 2008 would be a great companion as a reference guide. I am disappointed that the MS exams do not focus on each specific technology, but that is a complaint of MS certs, not this book. This book is a wonderful guide for the information contained in their exams. For a newbie to SSIS SSAS SSRS, or a person seeking information for an upgrade exam, no other book comes close.

1/3 of the way through the book, February 12, 2010
I am not getting full value from the book because my laptop will not install the included software. The included disk to install SQL was defective with multiple files being unreadable. It does have a link to download and install the software so I do have a valid copy, just not on my machine's OS.

The steps to follow for each exercise are clear and self-explanatory, however I have no way to review its accuracy.

Having 3 authors means having 3 points of view. Sometimes diametrically opposed and sometimes obviously wrong. I get the feeling all 3 authors are very knowledgeable on the subject, but sleep deprived while writing it, and any reviewer was asleep while reading it.

This book requires knowledge outside the scope of the book. You can get this knowledge on-line, but I have to wonder if you have deep understanding and used dimensional modeling why you would want to purchase this book in the first place.

There is no doubt this book would prepare you for the Exam which is its only goal. I am disappointed that SQL 2008 is so dependent on the OS and the utilities built into it. Based on the web traffic, hundreds or thousands of people have hit the same problem. ("The MOF compiler could not connect with the WMI server." is my error. I haven't found a solution for my XP Home OS.) ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reduce stress with timesaving database shortcuts


Explore database basics and build tables and reports that corral your data

Access has undergone an extreme makeover! Whether you've used one of the older versions or this is your first exposure to Access, here's where you'll find the essentials you need to make this database system work for you. Cruise around the new interface, team up Access with other Office applications, use wizards to automate your work, and much more.

Discover how to
* Create a new Access database
* Import and export data
* Build forms for efficient data entry
* Search tables for specific data
* Construct custom reports
* Customize your database navigation ... Read more

Reviews

Great beginning book, but one significant shortcoming..., March 7, 2008
My spouse volunteered to take on a data collection and manipulation project for a non-profit using Access. Here is her report:

I was familiar with the basics of relational database design, and had used Access to a limited extent about 8 years ago. I had a good understanding of the data and how it would be used, so designing a robust database was pretty straightforward. My limitation was the nuts and bolts mechanics of using Access, especially the new 2007 version. I collected about 5 books on Access 2007 from the library, and this is the one really dove into, and ultimately ended up buying. I would say that if you are using Access 2007 you should be sure to buy a book specific to 2007, not earlier versions.

I really like the format of the book--it is organized into logical sections that are easy to follow. I especially like the way the infomation is presented-- there are plenty of examples with adequate illustrations, but the basic ideas are well explained before the examples, so that I found it easy just to sit down and read it to absorb most of the basic ideas. Then after I had acquired a good overview of, say, forms and their applications, I went back to the examples to try them out on my own data. Many of the other books I used explained the concepts only through the examples, so unless you were actually sitting at the computer following each and every step it was difficult to gather the fundamental concepts.

I think the sections on basic database design concepts would be adequate for those not so familiar with relational databases.

I did find one major omission that is critical enough that I ended up buying another book to supplement this one. I did not find any reference to action queries such as update, append, and delete. These have been really crucial to me as I consolidate date from many different sources, and the lack of info on action queries is glaring! (I'll admit that I didn't read EVERY word of this book, so I guess it is possible that I somehow overlooked it, but I was read the first 250 out of 350 pages pretty carefully.) I ended up buying "The Unofficial Guide to Access 2007" by Jim Keogh to supplement, but I'll warn you even that one has misinformation on the format of update queries...

All in all, though, I found this book to be a great basic introduction--concisely written, in an easily digested style. Very useful.

Lots of issues ..., July 23, 2008
I bought this book for the same reason I buy any "For Dummies" book, to decrease my ramp up time on a particular subject. Generally I can blow through one of these books in a few days and move on to more advanced books on that topic. Disappointingly, I was unable to achieve this goal with 'Access 2007 for Dummies'.

First of all this book starts out assuming that you have a database to work with and makes no effort in teaching you how to build a database from the ground up. Continuing on the assumption that you have your own database (filled with data) that you are going to be working with, the author has to stay in a "high level mode" for the rest of the book. Most of the book has vague references and examples that read something like "If you have X type of data in a Y type of structure you may want to try something like Z". Well, I don't have a my own database filled with this type of data, so, I went looking on the publishers web site for example databases to work with. I was happy when I found out there were example databases on the publishers site, but further disappointed to find out that these examples are rarely used. This makes following along by example next to impossible. The few times when these example databases are used they don't entirely match up to the screenshot's in the book . Which brings me to books use of screenshots. Screenshots are generally a good thing when working with a GUI application such Access. However, the screenshots are off little use due to the fact that the screenshots are of the entire application window, rather than being cropped to show you the control in question. So, when the author is referencing a specific control such as a small button you have to hunt and peck your way through the grayscale image trying to find the button that looks depressed.

After all of the fore mentioned pitfalls I still continued through the book. I was really interested in getting to the sections on charting and switchboarding. Once again, I was disappointed. The author claims that Access 2007 has no charting capability and the reader should use Excel or PowerPoint instead. First of all, this is incorrect. Charting is available in Access 2007 via the "Design View" in a report. Secondly, the author gives no instruction on how to create charts in Excel or PowerPoint as he advises the reader to do. The chapter on switchboards is all of 11 pages long (mostly screenshots) and contains next to no information on how to get these set up and working. As a matter of fact I could not get any of the switchboard examples to work properly with the example databases provided by the publisher.

In the end I ended up learning quite a bit about Access. However, most of what I learned was done with online research while trying to stumble through this book. Getting through this book took me about 4 times longer than it should have due to a the above mentioned problems. All and all this ended up being a waste of time for someone who was short on time in the first place.

Access 2007, May 30, 2007
Great step-by-step guide for someone who is forced to delve right into the tool with little prior database knowledge.

Good Introduction to Access and the new Ribbon, February 20, 2007
Access is the most popular database program in the world. The reason is two fold:

1. It's very easy to use. Microsoft has gone to a great deal of effort to make the program fit in with the rest of the Office system so that knowing Word or Excel gives you a good bit of the background you need to use Access.

2. Access is part of the Microsoft Office package, so you probably get it when you get Word and Excell.

There's always a question about just how good Access really is. And the answer is that it's pretty good for databases up to perhaps 50 megabytes with no more than a few thousand accesses a day. Above that go to something bigger like SQL Server.

This book starts with a discussion about databases in general and what you might use one to do. Then,like all of the books on the other Office 2007 packages, it begins talking about Microsoft's new Ribbon interface that replaces the look that Access has had for years.

The Access front end is very powerful. It has been worked on for years to keep you from having to learn how to program in the direct language the database engine understands -- SQL.

That's my main complaint about people who use Access, and the books written for them. Just a few pages introducing SQL and giving the reserved words for the Access (Jet) database would be a big help.

Very basic manual, not good if you need detailed information, February 25, 2009
This is a very basic manual, good if you are just beginning to learn the product, or have little training on it. I would not recommend it if you are wanting a book to help you write complex queries or create your own complex forms, reports, etc.

Authors have lost touch, February 20, 2010
I was incredibly disappointed with this book. For instance by page 12, no screen prints or pictures have been provided to support the convoluted language meant for those already familiar.

This was a waste of time for me as a beginner. How can you progress if the "techie" language is not further broken down and, demonstrated.

Now who is the dummy?

Hard to see Screen Pictures, September 19, 2010
The writting and verbage of the book is OK but it is near to impossible to read the 'screen shots' of the book. I've seen the earlier "ACCESS 2003 for DUMMIES" and the screen shots are bigger and crystal clear and easy to see and read.

Access 2007 for Dummies, February 10, 2010
This is the second "Dummies" book I've purchased from Amazon. Every book I've ordered from Amazon has always arrived when promised and always in mint condition. As the advertisments for the Dummies books claim, they're an excellent source for reinforcement for what you already know, or an easy to understand and follow book if you're new to the subject. The Access 2007 for Dummies is no exception. I took a seated class on Access and SQL. Access 2007 for Dummies made my understanding of the subject matter complete. The book is a good reference for experienced Access users and I would highly recommend it for the beginner in addition to the text book you're using for the class.

Phew!, July 25, 2008
Much needed. I took a course (with no handouts). This book not only refreshed the memory and is a great reference, but also gave me some new tips.

GREAT for computer dummies!!, May 14, 2008
I know little to nothing about computers but this book was laid out so that even I could understand what was supposed to be happening!! Thank you so much for helping me to expand my business and make life more simple!! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Excel provides an easy-to-use, powerful spreadsheet environment that helps you handle calculations and data more effectively - with simple ways to enter and edit data, work with formulas and functions for complex calculations, format worksheets and work with colorful charts, and publish documents to the Web. With MICROSOFT EXCEL 2007 STEP BY STEP, you'll learn all the ins and outs of working with Excel features, including the exciting new interface for this latest version of Office. This information-packed guide provides numbered steps and hands-on examples that show you how to get the most out of Excel. With this book, you'll learn how to work with tools to make worksheet entry faster, make your Excel documents more attractive, present information visually with charts, sorting and filtering data, publish documents on the Web, and lots more. The companion CD provides all exercise source files so that you get hands-on with Excel right away.

The smart way to learn Office Excel 2007--one step at a time! Work at your own pace through the easy numbered steps, practice files on CD, helpful hints, and troubleshooting help to master the fundamentals of working with the latest version of Excel, including how to navigate the new user interface. You'll learn how to create a wide-variety of documents, how to present information visually with charts, and how to add graphics to your spreadsheets. You will discover how to work with features to make data entry faster, how sort and filter data, how to create dynamic lists with Pivot Tables, and even how to publish your documents to the Web--plus more! With STEP BY STEP, you can take just the lessons you need or work from cover to cover. Either way, you drive the instruction--building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Includes a companion CD with hands-on practice files. ... Read more

Reviews

Still counting the errors!, September 19, 2007

Being new to Excel 2007, I figured this book would be the best place to start, given that it's published by Microsoft Press.

I'm about halfway through, and though I have garnered some useful information, I found the book to be so full of errors(and bonehead moments) that it has become a form of entertainment just anticipating the next one.

The first little omen was on page xxiv, where under the Creating and Managing Presentations header, the bullet item "Creating Effective Presentations" appears twice. OK, nobody is perfect.

The very first exercise instructs you to open an existing workbook file, "Exception Summary". The very next instruction is to close the file. This wasn't an error, but it was pretty funny.

There are files and folders missing from the companion CD, missing instructions, instructions that lead you down rabbit holes...

To their credit, Microsoft does maintain an error log on their website, but at least one of the listed "fixes" is still wrong, as far as I can tell.

I wonder if Microsoft Press is hiring proofers...

Poor quality control. The errors and other problems make this a frustrating book to learn from, January 2, 2008
Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft))

I have to agree with another reviewer. This book is full of errors including example files that range from already completed or missing pieces. The book is hard to follow because some of the commands are not what is in the actual Excel product. The book lacks symbols or pointers for the keystroke instructions. The book has you making permanent changes and additions to Excel and not removing them. Need I go on.

Yes, I am learning some things the hard and slow way. Maybe this book was printed before the product was released but that is still no excuse for the lack of review before it was printed.

I had purchased the Step-by-Step Powerpoint 2007 book and it was excellent -- great directions, in the left margins small icons for the keys to press, and every example on the CD was correct. And believe it or not the instructions matched the Microsoft product.

I should have read the reviews before I purchased this book. This is my opinion.

Step By Step Office Excel 2007, September 29, 2007
This book looks good on the surface; However, The descriptions do not match the screens that I have on my version of Excel 2007. It is very difficult to follow and I would not recommend it to anyone new to this software.

I do not recommend buying this book, March 22, 2009
I am an expert user of Excel 2003, and I have used many Step-By-Step books in the past which have proven to be helpful. I have only rated this book a 1 since there is not a zero rating. This book should never have been sponsored or released by Microsoft Press.

As indicated by previous raters: the errors are very abundant; the instructions are provided only as tips; and the actual exercises are almost meaningless. After completing the first four chapters of the book, it appears that the only intent of the author is to provide assistance to previous expert users of Excel 2003 on how to navigate the new cryptic menuing system of Excel 2007.

If you are a beginner or intermediate user of Excel, please find another source for learning this product.

Curtis Frye should be ashamed, April 19, 2009
Yes, there are errors in this book, but a quick search will bring you to the author's page with a listing of errata. However, this is not the only problem with this book.

First, the examples make very little sense. The reader never knows what she is using for the example. Features that make Excel a powerful program are so poorly written in the exercises that my students at a local community college had no idea what they did after following the steps.

Solver, Goal Seek, and Scenarios are usually features people love when they discover what these can do. However, in this book, it isn't even slightly clear as to what is happening.

Save your time and find another tool to learn Excel (Like the Missing Manual Series). Mr. Frye (the author) should teach a class before he writes a book (and if he has taught, he should read his reviews from students - I can send my students' reviews)

full of errors, February 21, 2010
* full of errors
* Great Topics
* full of errors
* I bought it for the MS Excel CERT/Test
* full of errors
* Cussed out the who so ever(s) that made it full of errors.
* full of errors
* In one of the most complex parts of book of using the Advanced Excel Solver - I spent a hour re-writing the section.
* full of errors
* I will post a updated after taking the MS Excel CERT/Test
* Please Note: full of errors
* Note to Microsoft: Fire everyone who "Green-lighted" the book for print and hire ANYONE else.
* full of errors

Step by Step Office Excel Windows 7, February 14, 2010
The only problem with this new edition is that I can not get the practice files to down load and I can not contact anyone to assist me with this problem. This is very sad because in the past these books have been an excellent teaching tool!

This book is a waste of your time!, November 17, 2009
The book is titled "Step by Step" which would lead one to believe that it is designed for the novice user, right? Well the CD practice files that come with it wont even install on my months old Gateway home computer. I've spent half the day troubleshooting this problem with no F#%^$&%$%#! luck thus far.

In my initial browsing of the book at the bookstore, it seemed that it was very thorough with lots of visuals, but I am now thinking that the book just has way, way too much information--pretty much all of it useless for the novice user. Not user friendly in the least.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!

Good Step by Step for Excel 2007, April 11, 2009
This book and its exercises are good for an experienced Excel user who wants to master the Office Excel 2007 way of doing things and to learn the new styles, formats, and other functionality of 2007. If you are unfamiliar with Excel spreadsheets, you need to start with something much more basic. For a power user of an earlier edition of Excel, this book is very good. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Great book, difficult practice exams, June 24, 2009
I purchased this book as soon as it was released, and used it as my exclusive study material for the exam. I took my exam today and passed by a healthy margin. Although I use SQL Server on a daily basis at my job, much of the content of the exam goes beyond my typical day-to-day development tasks, and I don't believe I would have passed the exam had I not used this material to prepare for it.

The only bad thing I have to say about this book involves the Practice Tests provided on the CD. Very frequently, questions would deal with topics that simply were not covered in the book itself. Typically the questions would ask for highly specific syntax to perform fairly obscure tasks. The questions direct you to the chapter and section of the book where the topic is covered, but it was very common for me to find no reference at all to a question's topic when I referred to that section (or when I search the PDF version of the book.) The good news is that each test question, and its answers, are fully explained. But the bad news is that I felt like the practice questions were testing me on materials that simply weren't discussed in the book. This made me feel unprepared for the exam, and it made me question whether the book was incomplete, or if the practice questions were actually beyond the scope of the exam.

In the end, the actual exam had none of the obscure questions I had grown used to seeing on the practice exams, and I believe that every question on the exam itself was covered adequately in the book. So if you're studying for this exam, and you feel like the practice tests are causing you to reconsider taking it, you should probably give the exam a shot. I got a 10% better score on the actual exam than I did on the best practice test I took from the CD.

Don't Bother, September 25, 2009
This rather dull and pedantic book nominally covers the exam material, but the book's organization and samples are far less detailed than the usual Microsoft Press books. Also, the writing was so poor I gave up about half way through and instead bought the 70-433 Transcender exam. The Transcender exam has far better examples and explanations as well as instant feedback.
Don't waste your money with this book. Instead, spend another $30 and get the Transcender product and you'll do just fine on the exam.

Ben H.
MCSD
MCDBA
MCSD.NET

Great book, Bad practice exams., August 29, 2009
The book:

Great book, covers all of the exam topics very well and in a concise manner. You'll learn everything you need to know by doing the practice lessons that are at the end of every chapter. Even if you're not writing the exam, this book would be great for someone wanting to learn about SQL 2008 changes on the developer level. Highly recommended!

The practice exams that are included:

Are horrible for the most part. Many of the questions are overly complex and some make no sense. For example, to have a persisted view, what SET options have to be set to on. Choose all that apply (from a list of 10 or so possible answers)...nobody with a life is going to know that or even need to know it. Also some of the answers are quite wrong, tried a few of the queries and they failed, even though they were marked as right. I honestly wouldn't even use the practice exams and instead use MeasureUp or SelfTestSoftware.

In summary, the book is great, I went over the book for about a month and a half, and combined with my experience I scored 100% on the exam.

I passed, using this book mostly., May 6, 2010
FWIW, I passed the test with this book and it's practice exam as my primary, but not exclusive, resources.

PROS:
The book gives a good overview of what's up with 2008 and what's on the test. It divides it all up into neatly digestible sections. It's clearly written.

One of the best things about the book is that it comes with a practice exam on CD. The practice exam has roughly 30 questions for each of the 7 sections:

Implementing Tables and Views
Implementing Programming Objects
Working with Query Fundamentals
Applying Additional Query Techniques
Working with Additional SQL Server Components
Working with XML Data
Gathering Performance Information.

It comes with some source code, so I was able to play around with the concepts in my own instance of SQL Server. Very cool.

CONS:
It's a little longish. Could have been more concise. (Then again, this is a problem I have with almost all the tech books I get these days.) Some of the sample code code have been a little clearer by using simpler examples. The practice exam questions were harder than the ones on the test. (This might be a good thing. If you can pass the practice one you should be able to pass the real one.)

In sum, I wouldn't say it's a perfect book but it really helped me and I doubt I would have made the grade w/o it.

I love it, I hate it, March 3, 2010
I do have a love/hate relationship with this book. There are nice things on it and others that I really dislike.

The positive side, it is a clear and concise book. Explanations are easy to follow, plenty of graphics and not a lot of "blah blah blah" trying to explain a simple T-SQL statement or query; that's good, I really love those kind of books because don't make me waste my precious time :-) To give you an example, I found very clear its explanation about SQL2005/2008 partitions; the previous SQL2005 cert book, 70-431, put more details and more complex examples on that particular topic, that could confuses you a bit.

The negative side is that this is intended to pass the Microsoft certification, not just a mere T-SQL or developer book. If that was the case, I could give a higher rating. But people who get or buy this book (not me on this case) are investing their money in something will help them to pass the Microsoft test with little or not effort, assuming you read it from cover to cover. I do not feel or I do not think that's the case here or the book allow you to do that. Explanations are short, the book itself is thin, so all obscure and weird options that we do have in T-SQL won't be here, in fact, they are not. And that's misleading, because when you seat for the real test, Microsoft will try to "kill" you with really strange T-SQL options and queries that you barely see in real world.

At this point you maybe wonder why I bought it? well ... I opened it in a popular bookstore and enjoyed the way has been written. I need to improve my programming skills, not my dba skills, and this book satisfies that need. I am currently not pursuing this cert. and because that reason, I believe is or was money well spent.

If you're new or not an experienced T-SQL programmer, do not rely on this book only to pass the Microsoft test, get another resource, like "Microsoft SQL Server 2008 T-SQL Fundamentals" from Itzik Ben-Gan. Itzik's book is pure gold, awesome book. Both provide a better coverage for the 70-433 test.

Excellent preparation material, March 29, 2010
I, as well as others, used this book as my only preparation material for the exam. I have always used the Microsoft Press preparation material for all my exams. In all cases, I have passed the exam with a good margin - this was no exception.
The book material was the typical high-quality content that I've come to expect from Microsoft Press and its authors. The relevant exam topics were covered quite well in most cases. After making two passes through the book, I felt ready for the exam. There were a few chapters that I felt should have been placed in different areas of the book, but only because they would have led into one another better in a different order, as opposed to the frequent forward references they made. I also felt that a little more attention to TRY...CATCH blocks, collations, and RAISERROR would have been nice to see - especially the interaction between TRY...CATCH and RAISERROR.
The practice exams, on the other hand, were a bit more dubious. While I felt the book was an excellent preparation, when I took the practice tests, I felt like the book was insufficient. After my second pass through the book and another attempt at the exams, I had the feeling that the practice tests were a bit unrealistic. Many of the questions covered topics that were not addressed in the book, or gave very detailed and almost obscure questions on topics that were not addressed. Additionally, there were a good number of management questions that didn't seem to fit the scope of the exam. These questions led me to realize that I was prepared for the exam, despite a low score on the practice tests - a realization that was quite accurate. However, the advantage to these questions was a good bit of research that was useful on the exam.
Overall, the preparation material of this book is excellent, though the practice exams are a bit lacking and incorrectly-targeted. I certainly recommend the book for anybody that would like to take the exam - just don't put too much stock in the test exams.

VERY incomplete, December 16, 2009
This book doesn't even come close to covering the topics in the 70-433 exam. That wouldn't be such a problem is MS didn't market it as a preparation spcifically for that exam. I think that is very unethical.
If you go for the test without a considerable amount of SQL2008 and other version experience or training you are going to be in trouble when you take the exam.
Maybe that explains the steep discount. At least the book will make up a part of my reference library.

Useful for certification but not sufficient for other purposes, August 8, 2009
It is not well prepared and organized. Author must put more effort to organize information, exclude unnecessary ones and include useful materials. Still it is useful for certification purposes, not in all aspects yet useful.

Goog book, November 24, 2009
I took the exam 433 with help of this book from MS and BOL, Book of APress. This book covers nearly all topics of MS-exam (70-80%). It is suitable for the beginning of developments with SQL2008. For a more complete study see other sources too. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Not just syntax, but the theory behind it, December 15, 2008
I'm half way through this book and I am totally impressed. The author not only explains T-SQL syntax very systematically, but also explains enough of the theory behind it to help you understand why. This makes it much easier to optimize your syntax and avoid logical bugs in your code. This is not an introductory level SQL book, but it's not a book for experts either. I have been writing SQL for years and I have learned a great deal from this book already. I highly recommend this book if you are looking to take your SQL skills from basic/intermediate to a more advanced level.

Excellent book - clear focus and ordered presentation, December 4, 2008
I have worked with T-SQL for about 11 years, but nevertheless immediately pre-ordered this "Fundamentals" book when I saw a blog post about it - for three reasons: (a) I wanted to fill in any missing gaps in my understanding of the language, (b) I wanted to learn what was new with the 2008 offering, and (c) I have heard Itzik Ben-gan speak and read his blog for sometime and always find his presentations to be excellent. I was not disappointed.

For me, this has been one of those rare reads, where I can see where the topic is going but it is never dull because I either learn something new about the subject or the presentation clarifies what I already knew. I especially like how the book continually reinforces how T-SQL is built on set theory and predicate logic.

Great read and reference. I highly recommend it.

Kudos to the author.

There just is no point in writing another book on T-SQL after this, February 9, 2009
Film director Stanley Kubrick would make a film in a specific genre, after which there was almost no point in making movies in that genre any more. War movie - Paths of Glory, political satire - Dr Strangelove , historical film - Spartacus, science fiction - 2001 A Space Odyssey, horror - The Shining. Itzik Ben-Gan managed to do with his book what Kubrick did with his films. There just is no point in writing another book on T-SQL after his.

The first thing I looked for when I picked the book at the post office was the section on Outer Joins. A common question when using outer joins that is the source of lot of confusion is whether to specify a predicate in the ON or WHERE clause of the query. Itzik explains it definitively: " You can see that with respect to rows from the preserved side of an outer join, the filter based on the ON predicate is not final. In other words, the ON predicate does not detremine whether the row will show up in the output, only whether it will be matched with rows from the other side. So when you need to express a predicate that is not final - meaning a predicate that determines which rows to match from the nonpreserved side - specify the predicate in the ON clause. When you need a filter to be applied after outer rows are produced, and you want the filter to be final, specify the predicate in the WHERE clause. "

If only I this book existed ten years ago I would have avoided some of the mistakes I made through the years, only because some fundamental things were never clearly explained. Itzik fills the gaps for an exprienced DBA and gives a perfect basis for a novice. The fundamentals become crystal clear so that building on top of it is easy. Perhaps this can be best illustrated by the following example:

"Can you figure out how to write an UPDATE statement that swaps the values in col1 and col2? In most programming languages where expressions and assigments are evaluated in some order (typically left to write) , you need a temporary variable. However, because in SQL all assignments take place as if at the same point in time, the solution is very simple:

UPDATE dbo.T1
set col1= col2, col2 = col1;

In both assigments the source column values used are those prior to the update, so you don't need a temporary variable."

Now why did no other book I read ever give this simple example?

Common Table Expressions are explained really well, especially updating and deleting data using CTEs. Actually, the book covers all the 2005 and 2008 related enhacements ROW_NUMBER, RANK, DENSE_RANK and NTILE, Recursive Queries, APPLY,CROSS APPLY, OUTER APPLY,EXCEPT and INTERSECT, TRY...CATCH, TOP Enhancements, PIVOT UNPIVOT, DDL Triggers, MERGE. But it covers it in such a way that nothing seems complicated. We should give it to all out C++ programmers as well.

It was a pleasure reading the book

Thinking in SQL, March 14, 2009
I'm primarily a C++ and Java developer who hasn't worked on SQL for a while. I needed a book to refresh my T-SQL but didn't want to invest in beginners book so I tried to borrow one. This is the one I got my hands onto.

In a pleasant surprise, the book turned out to be a lot more than a refresher. Years ago I learned SQL from books/tutorials that first list the syntax of SELECT query, with all its options, and then explain it. That approach could lead to a lot of misconceptions, such as I thought SELECT clause was processed before the GROUP BY clause. So I never understood why sometimes SQL server laughed at me. It was like I was taught how to translate from English to SQL; so my spoken SQL was more like English than native SQL.

This book teaches you how the SQL queries are logically processed in the head of SQL server. It's like it teaches you the grammar of SQL from the perspective of its native speaker. So ultimately you learn how to think in SQL; an essential step in mastering any language.

On the flip side, the book has a lot of repetition of concepts. He states the concept in the beginning of the section and then in every example he repeats the whole concept. Considering the book is targeted for beginners, I'm willing to ignore it.

I would recommend this book to beginners and struggling professionals.

MS SQL Server 2008: T-SQL Fundamentals, June 16, 2009
This book is excellent. I began reading this book with a limited knowledge of SQL picked up from basic trial and error coding. Most of the time I did not know why or how something worked, only that it did work or in many cases did not work without hours of revision. After reading this book I now have a very good understanding of how code should work and why.

Itzik Ben-Gan is a wonderful author, who really understands how to teach a subject. Instead of just throwing code out there at you for a specific result, he often goes through it line by line letting you know exactly what each step is accomplishing. One of the greatest things about this book is the time taken to emphasize the order in which things are processed in SQL Server. This may seem trivial, but after knowing this I can honestly say 90% of the coding errors I ever suffered where due to not knowing the processing order.

The bottom line is, I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in knowing T-SQL.

A Clear Standout, April 15, 2009
There are tons of SQL books on the market; this author's books shine above the rest.

Itzik Ben-Gan has become a favourite author. Most books tell you how to write a query- Ben-Gan tells you WHY one method is more EFFICIENT than another.

Anyone who has written a compiler or parser knows which tokens get picked first. Ben-Gan explains how the SQL-engine in SQL Server parses your query so you can write better SQL scripts.

This book is great- so are his others.

Awesome for advanced T-SQL users, and intimidating for a novice., May 4, 2010
DON'T buy this book if you're a T-SQL beginner. The name made me think the book would be geared toward basic/foundational concepts. This is absolutely not the case, however I'm very excited about having this as a terrific mid to advanced level reference down the road.

I've been a SQL System Administrator for many years, but never needed to understand the queries, just how to protect, backup and recover the databases. Thank goodness my husband was able to translate for me! For this reason I give it a 1.5 star rating for new users but a 4.5 rating for T-SQL administrators. Once I was able to understand what he was trying to say, and reference the [] website to break the queries into manageable bites, the lights came on.

I have now purchased a few other T-SQL books and without a doubt, this unique reference will become my master. However I couldn't do this without taking the first lessons in more introductory material. Can't wait to be a guru and actually understand this beast of a book!

Lives up to the title - best book I've found on SQL Fundamentals, September 13, 2009
I'm not a SQL programmer or DBA. I use SQL to query databases and write reports in SSRS (Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services). I was looking for a book that would explain SQL fundamentals in a user-friendly manner and this is it. Mr. Itzik Ben-Gan writes like a teacher, not a technician. He gives you the technical details followed by real life explanation, with code and results; that a non-tech can understand. This book gives you the foundation you need to expand your SQL knowledge.
Should you buy it if you are using SQL 2005? Yes, even though 2008 is in the title, Mr. Ben-Gan covers both SQL versions, explaining differences between the versions.

Good Book!, October 28, 2010
I recommend this book to everyone who want to start learning T-SQL from the ground up.
All the topics are explain in a understandable way and you can complete your learning with the
proposed exercises.

Superb Learning and Resource Book, December 10, 2009
This book is an absolute 5.

The information is given in a way that makes it easy for anyone to understand with great sample problems at the end of each chapter. I found myself continually reading it and couldn't put it down, which for a technical book is unheard of!

There were many places where I thought I had known how different areas worked and then I read this book. This is a must have not only as a learning tool but as a reference for those once in a while situations when you get to use new or otherwise novelty features of SQL Server's T-SQL.

If you had any doubt whether or not to purchase this book, I would highly encourage you to do so! ... Read more

Editorial Review

High Performance MySQL is the definitive guide to building fast, reliable systems with MySQL. Written by noted experts with years of real-world experience building very large systems, this book covers every aspect of MySQL performance in detail, and focuses on robustness, security, and data integrity. High Performance MySQL teaches you advanced techniques in depth so you can bring out MySQL's full power. Learn how to design schemas, indexes, queries and advanced MySQL features for maximum performance, and get detailed guidance for tuning your MySQL server, operating system, and hardware to their fullest potential. You'll also learn practical, safe, high-performance ways to scale your applications with replication, load balancing, high availability, and failover. This second edition is completely revised and greatly expanded, with deeper coverage in all areas. Major additions include:

• Emphasis throughout on both performance and reliability
  
• Thorough coverage of storage engines, including in-depth tuning and optimizations for the InnoDB storage engine
  
• Effects of new features in MySQL 5.0 and 5.1, including stored procedures, partitioned databases, triggers, and views
  
• A detailed discussion on how to build very large, highly scalable systems with MySQL
  
• New options for backups and replication
  
• Optimization of advanced querying features, such as full-text searches
  
• Four new appendices

Reviews

Turbo Charging MySQL, November 13, 2008
Well, the first thing you want to do when you finish a book like this is go on and on about how impressed you are. This is one of the best database technology books I've read, and the best one on MySQL.

Digging into the book I would say I was an intermediate DBA. With 12 years experience on Oracle I was a seasoned DBA. And although I've used MySQL for about 10 years, I had not used all of the high end or newest 5.0 and 5.1 features. After reading this book, or while reading it, you'll be ready to dig into everything from MySQL master-master replication (not to be confused with multi-master), creating a logging server, optimizing your query cache, or even using some of the Google MySQL patches to add some much needed but missing feature to MySQL.

The book is organized pretty well. Keep in mind that this is not a beginner book. If you're looking for more general across the board MySQL book, I'd recommend the APress Pro MySQL by Kruckenberg and Pipes Pro MySQL (Expert's Voice in Open Source). It is also very good, but hits more of the beginning topics (as well as some advanced ones). So given the intermediate to advanced audience, this book dives right into benchmarking and profiling at the beginning.

Queries... those pesky SQL commands that you send to your database. They're so important to performance, yet so sadly misunderstood. This book devotes two chapters to the topic, one about schema and index optimization, and one about query performance. These two work together. You need to understand indexing to make best use of them, and how to write good queries to get only the data you need. The indexing chapter hit on index types supported by MyISAM, and ones for InnoDB. It talked about rebuilding, and when it's important, and statistics, and how they are different across the different storage engines. And this is a key point. Going into this book with my Oracle background, I had a lot of questions about how the optimizing engine aka the cost-based optimizer, works and interacts with the storage engines. It's all laid out here in clear detail. It was pretty obvious that these others are closely involved with the actual database development, and/or interviewed some of them to get the information correct. This is something I've had a hard time finding in other books, and really key to understanding how to optimize and tune queries. Where does the query cache sit, when and how are queries parsed, when does the optimizer pickup statistics, and how does it use them. You'll learn all the ins and outs of the explain facility, which you'll of course need to know to tune queries.

The next chapter on advanced features covered the query cache in detail, how to set it up, how to tune it, and how to monitor it. The chapter also covers UDFs, cursors, stored procedures, views, full-text searching, merge tables, partitioning and so on. One other topic it really investigated was distributed (XA) transactions. You might at first think these are an advanced topic that most users don't need to know about unless your application uses them. After all, who needs to query tables in a remote database when your application can connect and do that? Well it turns out MySQL is using XA transactions internally all the time within it's storage engine architecture. One case is when you have a transaction which uses two storage engines, ie tables with different storage engine attributes. But that's not all. MySQL also treats the binary log mechanism to be a storage engine in it's own right, so interaction between your InnoDB table transactions, and the binary log is effectively an XA transaction.

The next two chapters talk about server settings, and optimizing the OS and Hardware. All important topics, and given substantial coverage. Hand these chapters to your storage engine guru, system administrator or read them yourself if you wear all those hats!

A chapter on Replication, of course we expected to find a. What you'll be glad about is that it's 65 pages of the nuts and bolts of using replication after the five minutes it took you to set it up in MySQL. It'll help you keep your databases in sync, and help you identify them when they're not. What, my replication slaves might be out of sync? There is also coverage of the new row-based replication, and how it may help alleviate many of the current limitations of MySQL replication. There is also solid coverage of various replication topologies, from single master and many slaves, to distributed master, master-master, and how to create a logging server. You'll also learn why MySQL doesn't support multi-master replication, which is where both masters received updates, and are forced to resolve conflicts, and a whole host of new problems.

After that come a few chapters on topics outside the database tier, but equally important, from load balancing, to HA, tuning your webserver to caching and so on.

The finishing chapters include backup, security, and using the built-in server status commands. And finally a chapter on other tools for interacting with and monitoring your MySQL database.

Ok, great... a wonderful book. Any criticisms. Well I save those for last because they're really minor. If you read the book cover-to-cover you'll probably take notes like I did, so you'll be doing your own summarization. But at the end of various chapters, so chock full of new and very useful information, I sometimes wished there was exactly that, a summary of the topics, and quick list of bulletpoints. That would give one an easy way to look up advice for tuning specific areas and so on.

All-in-all though this book is really a tour de force for understanding MySQL database technology. Go get a copy!

Huge improvement over 1st edition, October 4, 2008
If you read the first edition and were underwhelmed, this is a vastly improved book. This second edition is entirely rewritten, more than twice as long, and covers a wide array of topics in depth, giving detailed advice and analysis in every chapter. The authors' advice on Innodb tuning, query optimization, and advanced replication issues is very strong. If you are responsible for a non-trivial MySQL installation, get this book.

Amazing must have, December 28, 2008
If you have ever so much as sneezed near a MySQL statement you must read this book. I have been using MySQL and reading other books for at least a decade but had no idea how much I didn't know (had never thought of this way). This book is very well written, very useful and practical, detailed for complex concepts but high level for noob-esk items. At first I found the structure odd but after finishing I wouldn't change it. Even if you are not looking for 'performance' there is so much useful MySQL fundamentals clearly explained it is extremely useful. Just as a case in point, I lent it to a graphics designer whoes code is abstracted by an automated framework and it still helped him to make drastic improvements by more clearly understanding the impact his requests had. He has since not only purchased the book but passed it on to several others. Did I mention he was a graphics designer recommending a book about 'that database stuff'?

Hope this helps, best regards and may your coding be bug free...

Excellent book for advanced users, August 31, 2008
The title of this book is very appropriate. Great coverage on performance, reliability, backup & recovery. Definitely not an introductory book.

There were a couple of places where the writing was hard to follow, but I'm sure that'll be fixed in the next printing.

Outstanding, December 6, 2008
The second edition of this book is far superior to any documentation or other books on MySQL that I have read. The content is extremely useful (see the table of contents), the writing is excellent and the explanations and diagrams are so lucid and elegant. The workarounds and other nifty pieces of advice are also valuable. I often couldn't put it down, which is unbelievable for a database text!

Outstanding book on tuning MySQL, August 20, 2008
I work with MySQL in a web server environment every day and performance
is always an issue. This book is simply excellent. The authors are quite knowledgeable -- they not only tell you what settings to you, but also include why. They debunked a lot of misconceptions I held about getting the best performance out of the server and when to use MyISAM v. InnoDB.

I especially appreciated the deep background into server operation and how data is stored and queries processed with the different storage engines. If you are thinking of using MySQL on a large project, you need this book.

There's a good reason this is a 2nd edition -- a great book.

Very useful... just very useful., November 11, 2009
How come I did not comment on this book before? Its been some time since I got it, read it, and used it! That's what this book is... useful, very useful. We had to optimize a DB, specially a huge table with millions of numbers and managed to go from tens of seconds to milisecs. I would say it was.. well, very useful;)

Seminal book on MySQL performance, March 3, 2009
If you want to scale MySQL, this book is a requirement for you. The real world experience covered by the team of authors of this seminal book on MySQL is unmatched. Your knowledge of this topic won't be complete until you've read the book. This is not necessarily an easy read if you haven't used everything covered in the book, but it's worth buying if only to cover the topics that apply to you.

Great for beginner to advanced, February 20, 2009
This book is great for anyone (Developer, DBA, etc.) that touches MySQL. From beginners to the advanced user, you will learn something. High Performance MySQL is a must read for anyone building something with MySQL.

Good guide and starting point for advanced projects, January 17, 2009
I purchased this book when starting a project wherein I needed to utilize replication, Federated tables, and some other moderately advanced features. Beyond just how to use these features, this book provides insight into tips and methods that only practice can provide. You save time sidetracking time sinks and are shown tools you might not have been aware of. If you need to do more than access a few tables and change a column or two, pick this book up. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Best Beginner's PHP and MySQL Book Out There, May 18, 2009
I have been trying to learn PHP and MySQL for a couple of months now. I have read (well, started) about 4 beginner's books. I would understand a little bit of it, but then the more I got into a book, the more confused I would get. It just seemed like things were either coming at me too fast or the writing style didn't flow, at which point I stopped learning. Not so with Head First PHP & MySQL. This book I absolutely cannot put down. The style makes learning so easy and fun that I just want to keep reading it. The funny thing is, the first time I saw a Head First book, I thought the layout would hinder my learning, not help it. Boy, was I wrong.
Another great thing about this book is the flow. Most PHP and MySQL books start off with about 3-4 chapters of PHP, then 3-4 chapters of MySQL, then the rest of the book teaching you how to use the two programs together. But by the time I got to the chapters learning how to use them together, I had forgotten half the PHP from the first chapters! This book has you writing scripts using PHP AND MySQL in chapter two. but you don't feel rushed.
Let me close in describing who I think this book is good for, and who it isn't. If you are three days away from a test in these two subjects, and just need to cram to pass the class and don't care about learning, just passing, then get another book. There are books out there that have specific areas dedicated to each term (variable, array, etc) summed up on two pages. Once you learn something in this book, you will keep using it throughout the book, which is very helpful. I personally have to do things myself, more than once, to pick them up, and this book covers that perfectly, without making one second of this book boring.
If you are looking for a specific PHP and MySQL reference to sit on your desk, and quickly look in the index, find a term, and use it, get another book. As the authors state, this is not a reference book. It is meant to be a learners book, read in sequence.
If you know some HTML and CSS (didn't seem to me like you even had to know very much), are completely new to PHP and programming in general, and want to learn in a way that allows you to retain what knowledge you pick up, BUY THIS BOOK! It is excellent. All the examples do a wonderful job of illustrating what you just went over in that chapter. Both writers are truly gifted, and have an excellent writing style. The layout is perfect. I can't shower enough praise on this book. Brand new beginners to intermediate level programmers will all benefit from this book. Two thumbs way up!

Maybe I'm spoiled, February 23, 2010
PHP is a difficult subject matter. These guys do a pretty good job of helping you understand and get the concept. Good beginner book. However, there are some problems. As stated in some of the other negative reviews, there is a lot of ambiguous text throughout the book where 'solutions' are given but no instruction is given on what to do. Occasionally there are parts where you are told "Now start coding!" with a few things left out. For example: In Chapter 9 you are told to create your first function out of already existing code. However, at some points of the lesson there is no instruction given on how to apply the 'return' statements of that function. Sure, if you're very focused you can figure it out, but when you put full trust into this book, you're constantly asking yourself "Am I supposed to do this? Is this part of the lesson? Will I turn the page and will it say 'Hey the page didn't work right? Here's why!'"

The learning format is a bit disorganized because the book is supposed to be 'rebellious' and 'fun' to read. But the constant placement of 'help comments' all over the page keeps your eyes bouncing on every page.

I've reported a few errors and for all those who do choose to buy this book...FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, ENABLE PHP ERRORS so you can catch theirs! (Not a lot, but hair-pulling errors)

Bottom Line: You WILL learn PHP
Bottom Bottom Line: You will at times STRESS learning PHP because of the book.

Heads First PHP & MySQL is the way to get started!, January 29, 2009
I've been a big fan of the Heads First series for a long time. The format of the Head First books is unique, engaging and effective. One could consider the Head First series to be comic book like. This is one of the series' great virtues. The interactive layout and thoughtful way illustrations are integrated to text in order to explain 'hard to get concepts' really works.

I use the series to learn and teach advanced programming topics. All the exciting things about the Heads First series shines through in PHP & MySQL.

Heads First PHP & MySQL is for beginners. There is little prerequisite knowledge required to get benefit from the book. I have learned from years of teaching and mentoring that beginners learn best when presented with information in a way that is fun and hands on. Heads First PHP & MySQL meets this requirement with no problem.

The book covers the range of topics that is standard for having a good foundation in programming in general and programming in PHP in particular. After finishing this book the reader will be able to create a data driven web site in PHP, leveraging that special relationship between the PHP programming language and the MySQL database. The reader will know why and how PHP and MySQL go hand in hand.

The book throws in some extra tidbits. For example it teaches you how to make a data drive Rss Feed. It's a good example that has real world bearing.

Again, this is a beginners book. I caution 'bosses' that while giving this book to aspiring PHP developers is a good thing to do, you should not think that the book will create production ready coders. Coding in a production environment requires experience that is beyond the scope of this work.

This being said, I look forward to reading an follow up volume to this work titled, Heads First Really Programming in PHP and MySQL in which the topics of object oriented programming in PHP and implementing the basic software design patterns are explained in a way that only a Heads First book could.

Heads First PHP and MySQL is a great beginners book, one that should be on the bookshelf of every up and coming PHP developer.

unacceptable, October 13, 2009
The reason I bought this book was because I breezed through the Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML in less than a week and found it to be a superb tutorial. I soon found out that NOT ALL HEAD FIRST BOOKS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL however. Head First PHP & MySQL has a horrible format for training someone. You're reading along and it's telling you about various concepts and you're thinking ok, am I supposed to code this now? But instead of spelling out exactly how the code should be written in PHP they never get that detailed. They just keep using hypothetical labels, as if you're having a conversation with someone who has no intention of actually making such a page. Then after covering about 5 new concepts they finally tell you to stop and create a page that displays this, moves that, inputs this, calculates that (as if you've been doing this long enough to already know all the details by memory). Even if you do manage to piece together what they want you to do, it always has errors because they intend for it to be that way! After agonizing for hours about what I could have done wrong, I finally just gave up and decided to read past it where I encountered "So... such and such didn't work right? Here's what you need to do to fix it," followed by "better, but we still need to change blah blah blah for it to work," followed by "we're getting there, but you should have done blah blah blah," each time telling you to upload the page and test it out again. You may get some general concepts or techniques out of just reading through the book, but don't expect to be able to follow along and get any real hands-on experience.

Another great Heads First title, February 14, 2009
This book gets you writing database driven applications right from the start. The book makes learning PHP and MySQL interesting by getting you writing useful programs right away, adding the theory as you go. I can't tell you how many books I've given up on just because they chose to tell you every possible PHP function and syntax variation before they even began to show you how all this is related to an actual database application. The Head First books are just plain fun. Get a few practical apps up and running, then go back to the reference books to learn the nuances of the language.

Omits crucial details, poorly written, August 23, 2010
I bought this book for my wife, a print graphic designer trying to move into web design. She's found it confusing. When she asks me for clarification, it's clear that the authors never really tried out the book on a non-engineer.

1. The first example throws a mailto: link in a web page. My wife wasted an hour configuring her desktop email client (she normally uses gmail) before turning to the next page to see "haha, that's not actually related to anything we want to do".
2. The next example is sending email from a server. This would have been a great example ten years ago, when you could actually get mail out from a random machine without it being discarded as spam.
3. SQL statements are displayed without semi-colons. It's mentioned once, but this book is supposed to be for beginners.
4. The first example of SQL is vulnerable to SQL injection. Fine, it's the first example, but at least say it isn't suitable for production code.
5. Later on, they talk about SQL injection, but the solution they give is to remove unsafe characters, rather than the preferred method of parameterized queries.

These are a handful of specific problems I've seen. I'm sure there are more. In general, it's mostly written to the level of a beginner (which I wanted), but it has too many errors in the details for a beginner to actually follow along.

Also, the examples have the longest names I've ever seen. I don't see what the reader is going to gain by being forced to type "date_this_happened_on" repeatedly.

Not one of the better head first books, May 2, 2010
This book shows much promise, but when it comes down to it you spend more time trying to figure out what the author failed to tell you you needed to do to get the examples to work. To make it even more difficult, the downloadable code does not include code for each of the checkpoints or "test drives" so you cannot always compare your code to a working version of what it should look like up to that point. And there are a lot of times where you will have to spend up to an hour on google trying to figure out what the hell you need to do to get something working where the author does not bother to give you a certain gem of info to help you along. Usually the author has you "download the code" and run it to see how it works. That defeats the purpose of learning how to do the code based on examples. To learn to code, you need to go through and type in the code, not just download and run the final product! There are several instances in ch 6 and 7 where the author leaves out steps for entire sections of code that are required to get the project to work, so you end up spending way too much digging through the final code to find what you need to get your mid chapter program to work. Also, the author does a lot of the HTML coding that is "deprecated" and goes against what is recommended in Head First's great book on HTML with CSS and XHTML. I don't expect to have to do a lot of banging my head against the wall to figure out what is going on in a Head First title, but that's what ended up happening.

Best Learning Book I've Ever Bought!, November 3, 2009
This was the first HeadFirst book I've ever bought and it was my final choice after trying to decide from several in the book store. And I must say, this was by far the BEST choice!

I've picked up other books in the past when trying to learn PHP and they left me more confused than anything. But the HeadFirst PHP & MySQL actually explains things to where I can understand them instead of just assuming I'll somehow understand it on my own.

I got about half way through the book and was able to venture off writing my own web apps and had the ability to understand more complex functions and syntax. This book was an awesome foundation for beginning PHP!

The reason I left one star off was after a few chapters, they become not-so-clear on where or how to add the code to the work-along scripts and therefore it leaves you using the downloaded ones off their site. I'd rather write it all out myself to help me understand it, practice writing it, and help memorize technicalities of the syntax.

But all in all, this is an awesome book and a great one for anyone serious about wanting to learn PHP.

Good book. Couple of errors. Interesting style, October 8, 2009
I purchased three PHP/MySQL books to get a feel for the language and learn how to do things. I was skeptical with this book given how strange it appeared. I liked the style where they really asked you to think about possible answers to things before they told you how to do it. In some cases this was far too early and overly silly given you could really have NO clue whatsoever, but it's fun to look back and see how your guesses worked out. I think Head First is on to something. If you actually do the pencil and thinking exercises without just going for the answer you really do pick things up nicely.

I'll compare this against other books, but I did not love the way it had you do certain things early in chapters you would never do in real coding. Why teach you to write code you won't write, only to say you should do it the way they end. I'd have started with how it should look and explain why you shouldn't just do repetition or you should have clean files with calls to other PHP files, so think that way. I found it confusing at times to have to shift gears from thinking about how to do something then realize I just learned it the wrong way and I'd have to do it another way.

In all this was a helpful book. There are some errors in the book's code as well as the downloadable code online. Mostly with sticky forms. This was annoying as I thought it was an exercise to figure out how I screwed up when I first encountered it. Still, the book was entertaining and kept me interested and coding in my first experience with the language. It really brought concepts together and I can see a number of things I'll use in the real world. But for the code errors I'd have given it a four.

So far I love it!, July 19, 2010
I was skeptical about using this book because of the mixed reviews here. But I went ahead and got it anyway and I'm very glad I did! I'm only on chapter 3, but so far I feel like I've retained so much more in these first 100 pages (out of just over 750 pages in the book) than any of the other tutorials I've used! The style is very laid back, as if you were being taught by a friend (rather than some tech-geek). So far they have started with a fun little project about a guy whose dog was kidnapped by aliens and you are helping him track it down via a website we are building for him.

This is the first time I've ever given a review, but I felt compelled because I feel the book is just that good.

It might not be right for the seasoned pro, but that's obviously not who the book is targeted for. I myself am a graphic designer with ActionScript3 experience and have found the book to be great for someone of my level...

Hope that helps, enjoy! :) ... Read more

Editorial Review

The smart way to learn Office Access 2007--one step at a time! Work at your own pace through the easy numbered steps, practice files on CD, helpful hints, and troubleshooting help to master the fundamentals of working with the latest version of Access, including how to navigate the new user interface. You will discover how to create a database, produce forms, reports, and queries, and how to filter data. You'll also learn how to restrict data access, how to customize your database and how to use VBA to create Web pages based on your data--plus more. With STEP BY STEP, you can take just the lessons you need or work from cover to cover. Either way, you drive the instruction--building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Includes a companion CD with hands-on practice files. ... Read more

Reviews

the fog is clearing, February 9, 2007
This is a good book for a beginner. The examples are very good at walking you through the basics. The terminology/screen shots actually match what Access 2007 looks like. Some of the other books out there don't. Trust me, that creates alot of confusion. This book helps lay the foundation for creating very simple databases. If you have something more complicated in mind, you will need another book. What that book is....I'm not sure. After 2 books, I'm still looking.

Not like previous Step by Step series, April 19, 2009
I teach Access at a local community college. In the past, I used the Access 2003 Step by Step and found it a good starting point. I should have looked at this book before I used it for my Access 2007 class. Not one page is devoted to relationships between tables. The only information is in the Glossary where it is defined as "An association between common fields in two or more tables." The reader is never told about Primary Keys, other than a mention to "notice the Primary Key icon ... to the left of the ShipperID field. The value in the Primary key field is used to uniquely identify each record." With this kind of detail, the publisher should have saved some trees.

The examples for importing from various other programs are so weak that they leave the reader with no real idea of what is involved in a real life situation.

Three people authored this book, yet not one of them ever thought to include the why of tasks, only the how.

Save your time and pass on this edition. Maybe the editors will look at the shoddy work, read some of the reviews, and find authors who understand Access and can communicate how the program is to be used.

A great getting started guide, April 10, 2007
This was a great getting started guide. It will help an end users Access from just starting out to intermediate. If you're looking to become proficient at macros and VBA, this is just the tip of the iceburg, but will still make a good starting point depending on your experience with previous versions of Access. It's clear examples and companion CD make learning the material easy and straight forward. Unless you're already pretty familiar with access I recommend you follow along with hands-on. There's a lot to know about Access 2007, and you won't remember much without a little practice.

Access Step by step, October 9, 2008
This is a good book for someone who is starting and wants to create simple databases, which of course will never be used.

As someone wrote earlier, this book is for parrots or monkeys. It shows you to click buttons.

However, Databases are complex and this book is no help.

We need a better book, which explains the details and at the same time is lucid.

I found that book to be the Missing manual by Mathew Macdonald.

Don't waste your money on Step by step. You can get a much superior product for almost the same price of SBS.

MK

How to find book, September 13, 2009
This is a great book for people who want to know where Microsoft hid all the menu options that we were used to. I don't mean to be belittling to those who thought the book was great but it is clear they don't know what they are missing, literally. I can't see how anyone can think they have a well rounded understanding of Access after reading this book. This book sets the newbie up for a big fall flat on their face. No talk about relationships, the only mention of Tabs has to do with the Ribbon bar. Wait until they start moving fields around and wonder why when they hit the tab key their flying all over the page.

But I guess it is all summed up by the authors cutting their own throats on page 9 under Understanding Database Concepts. They tell you that what makes Access so great is that is a Relational database and not a flat database, but then never once tell you about how to set up those most important relationships. So without that knowledge you are going to be setting up flat databases. For the life of me I can't understand how they missed this critical process especially AFTER they pointed out its importance. And we won't even go into normalization of the data.

And to top it off they drop in VBA code. Scary! Still haven't figured out what they were thinking there.

I will admit it takes you by the hand gently but it hides your eyes from a lot of what is really going on behind the scenes. Guess that is why the authors give you so many different versions of the same data base, so they could load the deck in their favor. I fear newbies will be in for a real shock when they try to replicate what they thought was so simple,(and was), in this book.

Missing information, September 16, 2007
I don't think this book measures up to the previous books in the series.

For example, in Chapter 3 they talk about importing data from a sharepoint service. This takes almost two pages. The trouble is that they don't tell you where to start. The reader is left with a sense that this important stuff but s/he can't get to it. I've found examples of the same thing in Chapters 1-2. Seems like the book got ahead of the product it seeks to describe.

Basically, I've just put it aside and will wait for something better to come along.

Comments for Step by Step Access 2007, December 13, 2009
The book starts out very nicely in the first few chapters but then just becomes an exercise in typing. Explanations as to why you are performing certain steps or what you are trying to accomplish are not thorough enough. The author should bring out a new edition explaining why certain actions are being performed and what the user is trying to accomplish!Also the VBA code which I copied(and pasted, so there could be no mistake) from the enclosed files on the CD that came with the book did not perform as expected. I checked the code several times but could not get the results the author alluded to in the book. After this I could not proceed.There was no troubleshooting hints so got stuck on pg 126).Very disappointing!Am amazed at the inaccuracy of the reviews that touted this book!Microsoftďż˝ Office Access(TM) 2007 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft))

Barely skims the surface, July 6, 2009
I am a bit disappointed in this book as I was hoping it was a little more advanced than it is. Step by Step? Those are some huge steps. After finding much of or more information online this book did not help further my understanding. The exercies are easy to get lost in and at times I just had to give up and went on to the next section. Save your money and just look up tutorials and documents online and you'll get more understanding than you will from this book. One nice thing about the package is that it comes with a pdf copy so it was easy to take with me and not have to lug the book around. Only plus side if you ask me. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The Definitive Guide to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services

Create and deliver data-rich reports across the enterprise using this complete server-based reporting solution. Written by a member of the original Reporting Services development team, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services covers the entire report-building and distribution process, including data extraction, integration with desktop and Web applications, and end-user access. The book explains how to maximize all of the powerful features, including the new Tablix data format, as well as enhanced performance, scalability, and visualization capabilities.

• Install, configure, and customize SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services
• Create SELECT queries to extract data
• Generate reports from the Report Wizard and from scratch
• Add charts, images, and gauges
• Build reusable report templates
• Use the new Tablix data format to create reports with any structure
• Export reports to Word, Excel, PDF, HTML, XML, and other formats
• Enable end-user access to reports via the Report Server and its Report Manager web interface

Reviews

A book that may have really saved my job., June 11, 2009
What a life saver!

I'm a software developer in a small shop and our biggest client is a large law firm with LOTS of data and users hungry for easy to read reports reflecting said data. None of us have much experience with SQL Reporting Services as most of our experience for reporting is in Crystal Reports.

I've heard of SSRS but until recently I didn't have much experience using it. Our client was in great need of a simple report so I went ahead and setup a report server and decided to give SSRS a whirl. Thankfully Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) was easy for me to grasp as I am a C# developer and I was already in comfortable territory (BIDS is really just a reporting solution in Visual Studio afterall).

I was able to create their report in a very short time and the users were comfortable using the Report Manager Website. Of course what happened next is predictable to anyone that has been in a similar situation - I became "The Report Guy" - for better or worse.

Of course our client started demanding more and more reports - increasing in complexity. I only scratched the surface of what SSRS was capable of and during that time I thought a lot of their report specs may be impossible to realize using SSRS. I began to worry. They wanted graphs, complex groupings, drill down style reports... I needed someone to throw me a life raft. Thank you Brian for throwing me that raft!

This book saved me. Even though this book is rather big weighing in at over 860 pages (including index) it was a breeze to work through. Brian has a clean, easy to read writing style and he injects a bit of humor throughout. I thought this book was going to take forever to work through but because Brian is such a good Author it really became a page turner. This book is one of the easier books to absorb. This book starts very simple and increases in complexity. Parts of the book were so relevant to my business needs that it almost seemed like he was right there telling me how to write my reports!

If there was ever a book that may have really saved my job then this is it. I now don't mind being the "Report Guy" - I feel like I can tackle just about any report spec they throw at me - all thanks to Brian Larson.

If you need to learn about SSRS then I don't see how you can do much better then this book.

Another Home Run by Brian, March 6, 2009
I also purchased Brian's book on SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services and moved up to 2008 and the book is an excellent step-by-step recipe book on how to create reports utilizing SQL Server 2008. It is an excellent book on stepping you through the numerous examples and examining how to create complex business reports.

Another great point is that when I was learning SSRS 2005 and had a problem, I emailed Brian, figuring I might hear back from him in a week or so. He replied to my email within the day and explained to me what I had to do to correct my problem. Best of all, it was right and I moved on.

His writing style is clear and concise and he doesn't miss any steps in his tutorials on creating the reports. This is one book that will be "dog eared" due to heavy use.

Effective for getting up to speed with Reporting Services, November 11, 2008
If you are just learning Reporting Services, this is a book targeted for you. It's very effective as a step-by-step tutorial, read cover to cover.

Like many said about the previous version of this book, this book is less useful as a reference. Larson writes with a clear, concise style, providing lots of examples, and doesn't assume that you know anything about reporting. For complete database novices, he even has a chapter on basic database concepts that provides probably all that the layperson needs to know to create basic reports. Having done some work with 2005 Reporting Services already, the basic/conceptual chapters were less valuable for me and I ended up skipping many sections. However, I still found the book quite useful and learned a couple of things that I didn't know Reporting Services could do.

This is a fine book for those having to get up to speed quickly with SSRS. Definitely not material you could get off of SQL Server Books Online.

Excellent Resource for Reporting Services 2008, May 12, 2009
This book is an excellent resource for learning Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services. The author leads you step by step from easy examples to more complex examples. And, the examples work! I am on page 468 of the book, and have zero complaints. He covers easy to complex reports, exporting the report and the different formats, and then Report Serving (getting it out to the customers). His style of writing is easy to understand which is very important. I would highly recommend this book. I can't say enough good about it. It's great!

Good book if you don't have a background with Reporting Services., February 24, 2010
This book was very good for me because I don't have a background in SSRS.
I've tried 3 other SSRS books; but, they all seem to assume you've got a background with SSRS and so the skimmed over the old material and focused on what's new. This book did a very good job in explaining SSRS, it did not presume prior knowledge on the part of the reader. The exercises were clear and informative and I didn't have any trouble installing the Galactic database. I highly recommend this book for people who are starting out with SSRS.

Useful and clear, but little verbose, July 28, 2010
It's a good book for learning, almost from scratch, the Reporting Services 2008 without prior knowledge of them.
The numerous step-by-step procedures (often composed from 50 steps and over) need to keep a pc in front of the book, since it would make little sense to simply read it without trying what explains. Unfortunately, in many pages, the author is rather verbose, and would have been desirable greater concision. A quarter of the book is covered by the appendices, even if those relating to the properties of various controls are almost useless, since such information can be retrieveb from the guide quickly.
The binding and pagination are impeccable. Despite the considerable size of the book is easy to keep it open on the desktop near the pc.

Very good book, June 5, 2010
I am new to SSRS. This book gave me all the information to know the benefits of SSRS, best practice programming tips and all the tools I needed to understand SSRS and explore it in more depth on my own. It is a great book. Very detailed but to the point, well explained and easy to follow examples.

Great Book, July 10, 2009
If you want to learn Reporting Services get this book. I've been reading tech books for 10 years and this is the best tech book I have ever purchased. Brian starts at the begining and teaches you step by step how to use Reporting Services. I have not been able to put this book down since I started reading it. It's easy to follow along with Brian and do the excercises and really learn how to use this technology.

Indispensable Guide and Reference, June 15, 2010
Brian's use of complete real-world examples and superb guidance have made this book an indispensable book for the SSRS developer. The downloadable code and examples make it easy to tailor these working products to meet the needs of you own development projects. I have personally taken the example code, modified to meet my requirements and published finished products to the delight of my online clients. Brian will also stand behind his work and can be reached as an additional resource if needed. I don't purchase books that often any longer, but I'd have been lost without this one.

Love the advanced & custom config depth, February 25, 2010
Above & beyond my expectations.. Even with all the positive reviews already posted here. I'm sort of a control freak, as are my clients, and nothing is left out in terms of custom configuration, advanced security, etc. WITH CODE. Bravo x 10! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Let’s face it--learning the tricks and techniques of database design can be a bit of a slog. But if you’re just starting out with Access, here are five key insights that can help you understand how the database world works. Keep these points in mind, and you’ll be on the inside track to mastering Access.

1. Databases hold database objects. Most people are familiar with tables, the grid-like grouping of data that stores your information (for example, lists of items you own, friends you have, or products you sell through your small business). But tables are just one type of object that an Access database can hold. The other key ingredients are queries (customized search routines that pull out the information you need at the drop of a hat), reports (similar to queries, but nicely formatted and ready for printing), forms (windows that make it easy to review and edit the data in your tables), and macros and modules (miniature programs that can do just about anything—from updating 10,000 records at once to firing off an email).

2. Relationships hold it all together. Access newbies sometimes start out thinking a database is just a glorified spreadsheet. After all, can’t Excel hold long lists with hundreds of thousands of rows? (And yes, it can.) However, Access has a feature Excel can’t duplicate: relationships.A typical Access database holds several tables, and relationships link these tables together. For example, a table of customers might link to a table of orders, which would link to a table of products, allowing you to answer questions like “What customers spent the most money?” and “What is the most popular product for customers living in New York?” Relationships also safeguard your data--for example, they make it impossible for someone to accidentally place an order for a product or a customer that doesn’t exist.

3. There are two ways to work with a database: as a designer and as a user. The database designer is the person who sets up the database. The database designer has the responsibility of laying out the tables, building the queries, and knocking together some nice reports and forms (assuming you want all those features). By comparison, the database user is the person who uses the tables, queries, reports, and forms in day-to-day life. The user reviews records, makes changes, and fills the tables up with data.

Depending on what type of database you’re creating (and what you want to accomplish), you may be both the database designer and the database user. But it’s important to realize that these are distinct tasks. In fact, when using a properly designed database, database users don’t need to be particularly skilled with Access. They can just work with the forms and reports that the database designer created.

4. Sooner or later, you’ll need macros. To become an Access expert, you must first learn to design a logical, consistent set of tables and add the relationships that link them together. Next, you must learn to build the other types of objects--queries, forms, and reports--that make it easier to perform common tasks. At some point, while tackling this second stage, you’ll run into a challenge that forces you to step up to the third level of Access mastery: macros.

Macros are miniature programs that perform custom tasks. The good news is that in Access 2010, you can design your own macros without becoming a programmer. You just need to drag, drop, and arrange a sequence of ready-made macro commands into the Access macro designer. For example, you can use macros to build buttons that send emails, start printouts, make updates, or just take you around your database.

5. Expert user, meet Visual Basic. Some people stop their Access journey at this point, content to use tables, forms, reports, and macros to do all their work. But if you want to see everything Access has to offer, you need to take a look at its high-powered Visual Basic engine.Using VB code, you can do almost anything, from validating a credit card to leading a customer through an order process (two examples that are discussed in Access 2010: The Missing Manual). And if you’re willing to pick up some basic programming concepts, you can use code to transform a simple database into a cohesive database application—for example, something that looks more like the traditional desktop programs you run on your computer.

Reviews

Mostly for beginners, August 28, 2010
I picked this up a few weeks back so haven't read it completely. Still I think not the best book for anyone experienced with MS Access. There's lots of basics but not a good balance of depth. I recommended taking a read through before you pick it up.

An in-depth tutorial. Highly readable., August 1, 2010
Some people think there's only one Matthew MacDonald who writes books about Access, but I know better: I've read "Access 2010 The Missing Manual," and I've seen for myself that there are two Matthew MacDonalds.

The first Matthew MacDonald is a good one, the one who rejected the too-easy idea of merely writing a survey of database concepts or merely writing a survey of the Access user interface. This Matthew MacDonald insisted on writing an integrated presentation of database concepts and associated Access procedures--a presentation perfectly suited to readers building their first serious business database in Access.

The second Matthew MacDonald is an even better one, the one who rejected the idea of merely identifying the various elements shown in the many screen snapshots scattered throughout the book. This Matthew MacDonald wrote full-bodied captions (in sidebar form) that explain exactly how each snapshot illustrates the concepts covered in the text.

Together, the two Matthew MacDonalds have produced a highly readable, in-depth tutorial that makes you feel as though a couple of helpful, knowledgeable friends are guiding you along the way. (These are the type of friends who know you'll want to learn about related tables before learning about lookup lists based on related tables, and that you'll be better off learning about junction tables before learning about multi-value fields.)

The careful unfolding of complex subjects, which is perfectly suited to the needs of readers new to databases in general and to Access in particular, might cause a small measure of frustration for readers who want to dip into the book for quick reference purposes--but only a small measure.

For example, a reader who wants to quickly review everything there is to know about indexes in database tables will discover that the material he or she is looking for is split across two locations. The role of indexes in preventing entry of duplicate data is presented at one location, and the role of indexes in speeding searches is presented at a different location. Fortunately, the book's table of contents and index make it easy to discover where each type of information is located, and cross-references within the text make it easy to jump from one location to the other.

If I were editing this book, I would urge the MacDonalds to avoid quarrels with user interface terminology. One way they could do this is by using expressions such as "To build an expression, choose Build..." rather than "To insert an expression, choose Build...." My argument would be that if Access provides tools for building rather than inserting expressions, you might as well get used to building rather than inserting them.

Readers who have been using Access for years will appreciate sections of the book devoted to Access 2010's new "backstage" view, new navigation controls, revamped macro designer, and new Ribbon customization capabilities. Readers interested in extending the reach of their Access databases will appreciate sections devoted to working with SQL Server, Sharepoint, and the web.

Learn Access 2010 With A Gem Of A Reference Book!!!!, August 13, 2010
'Access 2010: The Missing Manual' by Matthew MacDonald is another gem in the line of Missing Manual books. Filled with 800+ pages of material, if you are new to Access or even a seasoned pro, there is a little bit of something for everybody in this book. A fantastic layout, wonderful content, and one of the most user-friendly books out there, if you use Access for any length of time and want to become a better user or are a new user and want to discover how to use Access, this is the ONLY book for you.

An absolute marvel which richly deserves the title 'Missing Manual' as this keeps up with the past quality works expected from this line.

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Beginners into to Access, August 26, 2010
Maybe I have unrealistic expectations - but so much of the book is devoted to very basic items and so little of the book is devoted to software development. Almost no discussion of Access classes or calling API's; only a token consideration of programming in Access. In my opinion, this book would be excellent for someone not very familiar with Access 2010 that wants to build a database and use standard features to enter data, query it, and produce reports. This book is not quite right for the experienced software developer that wants to use an underlying programming methodology to have precise control and develop professional-looking applications that require no user training.

Excellent!, November 13, 2010
I had all but given up on finding a book that explains how to use Access that is neither too simplistic nor too complex. The tone is very conversational and the author easily explains and introduces complex ideas without making it feel like a textbook or leaving you overwhelmed. I have bought 3 books over the last 5 years on this subject matter and I did not pass chapter 3 in any of them. This is the best of the lot.

Fantastic Coverage, September 18, 2010
This book is well written and is very easy to follow. Both for the novice user and advance. There is quality information for both. I have been programming since the old school days (pascal, cobol, fortran, c, c++ and of course basic). This book simplifies programming and has you up and running in no time ready to add all the bells and whistles to your finished product. Well done Matthew MacDonald and staff for a textbook very well written. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

A good intro and reference, September 27, 2010
As an RDBMS practitioner (MSSQL, PostgreSQL), I was interested in coming up to speed with some of these new alternative data stores. I chose MongoDB initially due the "look and feel" of it's site, documentation, and community. After watching an O'Reilly webcast, I was interested enough to purchase the book.

At around 200 pages, it is concise enough to read cover to cover - something I rarely do with tech books, often preferring to use the longer ones as a reference. The introduction does an excellent job of introducing the concepts behind MongoDB, bridging them to the relational database concepts I already know. It goes into explaining the pros and cons of "No(tOnly)SQL" engines, and mentions some of the datatype "gotchas" one needs to be aware of in using the JavaScript shell, which would not be obvious to one used to using SQL to directly query an engine instead of the JavaScript interface in the Mongo shell.

In subsequent chapters, implementation, administration, and development concepts are covered. There is also a brief internals section that may help the traditional database user understand the inner workings of the MongoDB engine.

It is an enjoyable read, and I expect that this book will continue to be a useful reference after the initial read through, as my experimentation with MongoDB continues.

Good introduction with technical details, October 6, 2010
I am just starting to read this book. It is a good introduction text but at the same time, provides fairly good technical details on using MongoDB.

Some chapters I have looked at:

1) explains why use MongoDB and how it helps application programmer do data storage and forget about shar'ding, and save the cost of buying expensive ultra high capacity hard disk and just add cheap generic server when there is a need to scale up the data storage space.

2) a chapter to give introduction to aggregates, including Map/Reduce, and explain Map/Reduce can be slow and may be best suited to do the calculations, save the data into a permanent collection, and re-use the data, instead of doing Map/Reduce real time.

3) a chapter that gives 4 real application usage of MongoDB, using drivers for Java, Ruby, PHP, and Python. One example talks about using MongoDB to store real time Analytics data.

The book is written by two employees who work for the company which created MongoDB, so the book does have authoritative voice. It is one of the Definitive Guides from O'Reilly that I find fairly well written and enjoyable to read.

Great intro to MongoDB and NoSQL, October 26, 2010
Summary:
If you're coming from a relational database background and wish to learn more about MongoDB or are interested
in it as an example of a NoSQL implementation, this is a great book. I enjoyed reading it and learned quite a bit
in the process. Read below for the full review.


I'm coming from a traditional relational database background, specializing in MySQL over the last 7 years. I was hoping
that this book would be a good introduction to NoSQL in general as well as how to use MongoDB specifically.

It turned out to be all that I was hoping for and more. It's very easy to read and the material is very easy to
grasp. If you're coming from MySQL, things will feel familiar from the get go. For example, I installed mongodb
on Ubuntu 10.10 using apt (version 1.4.4 of mongod) and the default config file was /etc/mongodb.conf and the
default data directory was /var/lib/mongodb. If you're familiar with JavaScript you'll also have a leg up as the
mongo client is a full JavaScript interpreter.

So, all I needed to do was apt-get install mongodb and I had mongodb installed, up and running. I used this quick
install to play with as I read through the book. The book was full of clear and concise examples that I could use
to easily play around with MongoDB and get a feel for using it.

The layout of the book was very good in that the chapters cover the basics while the book still contains the more
detailed information in the Appendixes. I liked this separation of material, a separation of the "book" and the
"reference material" if you will.

In the end, I'm not sure how big a fan I am of MongoDB itself, but I'm a big fan of this book. I had an installation
of MongoDB up and running that I could configure, administer and query. All of this and nothing seemed
difficult or confusing. It was exactly what I was hoping for. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Beats "SQL for Dummies" Hands Down, March 4, 2006
Like everyone else, I'm pressed for time. It's all I can do to keep up with Java, let alone related incidental technologies such as SQL, JavaScript, HTML, Ant, etc. But as one reviewer pointed out: make no mistake, you need to know SQL. And if you don't (hell, even if you do), this is just a flat-out good book to have and read. I had previously purchased and read "SQL for Dummies", but threw that book out when I got this one. (To be honest, it wasn't just this book that made me toss the "Dummies" book; I never really liked it to begin with.)
I like the way "Learning SQL" is written. Sure, facts are presented, but the author does a masterful job of telling you how and why those facts exist. In addition, the conversational tone of the book proceeds along the path you'd expect from a real conversation: from the simpler to the more complex, in a logical and sensical path. (Okay, so most conversations don't fall into that category. But this book sure does, so do yourself a favor and buy it!)
Oh, and one more thing related to being pressed for time: it's not the technical-typical 700+ pages, it's just a few hundred.

grammar-based approach can't get off the ground, August 28, 2006
It seems like most of the people writing reviews for this book already know databases to some degree. I didn't, so I'd like to share my experience.

This book takes an old-school, grammatical approach to the SQL language, grouping related commands into chapters, then explaining each, one by one.

This makes the first part of the book exhilarating. You go to the O'Reilly website and download a database to work on, and immediately you are querying, updating, etc, using the examples from the book. SQL at first seems refreshingly direct and powerful compared to the (OO) programming languages I know.

However, the 'a command followed by long verbal explanation" approach completely falls apart when the content goes even a little deeper. For me, the book took a nosedive at the first "Joins" chapter, and never recovered.

It was then I realized that I had not yet firmly grasped what a 'foreign key" was, so it was hard to get my head around the the idea of a join.

A simple graph would have helped at many points, but there are no graphs.

Nor are the code examples embedded in meaningful contexts or test cases. Indeed, the reasons for writing the code are almost in every case revealed AFTER the code is shown ("in that last query, the intent was..."), and the code is never commented, which makes it harder to understand and retain. And without any context, it is difficult to understand WHY to use one command over another. It seems like you can skin a cat a million ways in SQL--so why prefer one kind of filtering to another? Performance, readability, what?

I guess it sounds like I just wanted this book to be a 'Head First'-type book, and that's true. But even on its own terms, this book is frustrating. Its pure emphasis on the language somehow skips syntax, and the long verbal explanations are constantly seesawing away from themselves ("as we will see", "as we have seen").

I've finished the book and feel reasonably confident about using SQL now. So this book is serviceable...but unnecessarily painful, too.

Programmers, please read!, October 7, 2005
If you're writing any type of database driven code and you think that you don't need to understand SQL, read this book. You do need to understand it, and this book teaches it very well.

Man, I'm so tired of cleaning up bad SQL code. Code that makes hundreds of queries when one would suffice. Or tables that have no primary keys. Or code that never makes use of joins. SQL is not horrible. It's worth understanding and knowing how to write well.

This book is well written, well illustrated, and makes learning SQL as pain-free as it can be. Please, please, please, read this book.

Excellent choice for learning SQL..., October 23, 2005
To all my Notes/Domino developer colleagues, here's a tip you already know... it's time to learn SQL. If it's been on your list of "things to learn or brush up on", I'd recommend the book Learning SQL by Alan Beaulieu. It's an excellent way to get up to speed (or *back* up to speed).

Contents: A Little Background; Creating and Populating a Database; Query Primer; Filtering; Querying Multiple Tables; Working with Sets; Data Generation, Conversion, and Manipulation; Subqueries; Joins Revisited; Conditional Logic; Transactions; Indexes and Constraints; ER Diagram for Example Database; MySQL Extensions to the SQL Language; Solutions to Exercises; Further Resources; Index

Notes/Domino 7 incorporates the ability to store your Domino data in a DB2 repository. Then using Data Access Views, you can create application views that use SQL statements to generate the selection formula. While you don't absolutely *have* to know SQL, it'd be a good time to start adding that skill to your repertoire. Beaulieu's book is a clearly written tutorial on SQL that uses the open source MySQL database package to teach you the necessary skills. I like the decision to use MySQL, as it's something that's free and available to everyone. Trying to get DB2 up and running can be difficult, and it's definitely overkill if you're just trying to learn SQL. When you finish this book, you'll know all the key concepts that will allow you get data out of (and put data into) any relational database table out there. Obviously that's a valuable skill to have in your toolbox...

So... commit to picking up a new skill or two in the upcoming year. I'd recommend that one of those skills be a fundamental knowledge of SQL, and Learning SQL can help you get there.

SQL 101, October 17, 2005
Over the past 30+ years programming languages (popular ones) have come, gone, and new ones seem to appear every couple of years or so. FORTRAN, COBOL, Pascal, C, C++, Java, and now C#... the question isn't IF the next big language is going to come but WHEN. While the way we program has changed, the de facto standard for talking and creating databases hasn't changed much since the early 70s when SQL was created. While refined and standardized several times since its inception, SQL remains the tried and true backbone way of communicating with all databases, whether they are Oracle, SQL Server, MYSql, Access, etc.

For this reason, it is not only important, but I believe ESSENTIAL for all developers in this day and age to come quickly up to speed and learn what SQL is because no matter who you are, at some point (probably sooner than later) you will have to use SQL in your development career. Back when I was introduced to SQL in the mid 90s I knew nothing of what SQL was, thrown into it by immediately looking at SELECT queries, INSERTS, and so on. I would have loved some overview teaching guide to help me get my feet wet, instead learning the hard way.

Have no fear, those days are over.

With 'Learning SQL', Alan Beaulieu gives a great overview of what SQL is and what makes it so important in the world today. More than any other programming language, databases are what keeps the world moving on a daily basis, whether it's the financial sector, health care, government, etc. No matter where you using a computer, you will be accessing a database and for that data to be grabbed and manipulated, you will need to use SQL to make your calls/updates.

O'Reilly has a storied tradition of making great "Learning" books, and the same can easily be said here as well. I find it amazing that it took so long for a Learning SQL book to come out, but sometimes it's better to wait and let the finished product be even better with age.

Highlights include:

History of SQL (background)
Creating and populating a database
Using SELECT statements to get data
Filtering data with conditions
Querying multiple tables at once
Working with sets (UNIONS et al)
Data generation, conversion, manipulation
GROUP statements
Creating subqueries
JOINS in detail
Adding conditional logic
The importance of Transactions
Performance gains via Indexes and Constraints

For anyone that isn't a SQL expert, this is a great refresher for all. For anyone that is new or an amateur in their SQL careers, this book is absolutely a gem.

This should be required reading for all database 101 students, and I give it an A+ for not only the content within but the simplicity with which it is to read.

***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION

HIGHLY RECOMMNDED FOR DATABASE DEVELOPERS AND ADMINISTRATORS!!, April 20, 2006
Are you working with relational databases and writing applications, performing administrative tasks, or generating reports? If you are, you're in luck! Author Alan Beaulieu, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that will show you how to interact with the data in your database.

Beaulieu, begins by exploring the history of computerized databases, including the rise of the relational model and the SQL language. Then, he demonstrates how to create a MySQL database, create the tables used for the examples in this book, and populate the tables with data. The author continues by introducing the select statement and further demonstrating the most common clauses. Next, he demonstartes the different types of conditions that can be used in the where clause of a select, update, or delete statement. Then, the author shows you how queries can utilize multiple tables via table joins. He continues with a discussion about data sets and how they can interact within queries. Then, he demonstrates several built-in functions used for manipulating or converting data. The author continues by showing you how data can be aggregated. Next, he introduces the subquery and shows how and where they can be utilized. Then, the author further explores the various types of table joins. He continues by exploring how conditional logic can be utilized in select, insert, update, and delete statements. Then, the author introduces transactions and shows how to use them. Finally, he explores indexes and constraints.

While this most excellent book demonstrates many of the SQL schema statements, the main focus of this book is on programming features. Filled with example code, you may use some of the code in this book in your programs and documentation. Basically, this book is here to help you get your job done--whatever it may be.

Beginner's Luck, May 20, 2009
Wouldn't it be great if your first study guide on databases covered database theory in general, your own favorite database server in particular, and also the ins and outs of SQL?

Alan Beaulieu's Learning SQL comes as close as possible to covering exactly those three topics, and it covers them with clarity, completeness, enthusiasm, and scrupulous attention to the reader's needs.

When I say the book comes "as close as possible" to covering the designated topics, I'm making allowance for the fact that the examples in the book rely on MySQL Community Server, the no cost, freely available, open source database server.

The author recommends that you download and install MySQL and load the sample database so that you can run the examples and experiment with the data. In most cases, though, the examples will run on Oracle Database and SQL Server without modification, and in any case, when modifications are needed, they are provided in the text. Also, in point of fact, almost all of the SQL statements can be used in any application (e.g., Microsoft Access) that relies on SQL to query data.

The book starts by considering the challenges of storing data efficiently. It very briefly explores the history of computerized databases, including the rise of relational concepts and the development of SQL. Then the book introduces a very simple, easy-to-understand database of banking operations and begins to explore how data in the various tables can be added, modified, and deleted through the power of SQL.

The book's strength lies in its careful unfolding of concepts and examples. At no point are you asked to digest more than one concept at a time, and with each new concept, concrete examples are provided to illustrate the concept and cement your understanding.

The book takes note of the fact that SQL statements can be divided into schema statements, data statements, and transaction statements. The bulk of the book is devoted to explication of data statements, but schema statements are also covered fairly extensively in a chapter on creating and populating a database and in a separate chapter devoted to meta data. Transaction statements also receive a dedicated chapter.

Early in the book, a "Query Primer" demonstrates how to think about and exploit the power of SELECT, FROM, and WHERE clauses of standard queries. From there, the book proceeds to filtering, updating, and deleting, before proceeding to queries involving multiple tables. A chapter on basic set theory ("Working with sets") is very well done and includes highly graphical presentations. Additional chapters cover data generation, conversion and manipulation, aggregation, subqueries, conditional logic, indexes and constraints, and data views (i.e., interfaces to shield users from the complexity of the underlying data).

The entire book is well written and thoughtfully organized. As you read along and follow the examples, your reaction is likely to be, "Aha! This new concept is simple and easy to grasp, just like the last one!" And, indeed, Beaulieu does an excellent job of breaking down the complexities of database theory and the SQL language into fundamental underlying concepts that anyone can understand.

The book is so readable that you won't have any trouble breezing through it from start to finish in the order presented, but if you want to dip into it for reference purposes, the detailed table of contents and extensive index will allow you to do so. Either way, after just 320 pages of highly illustrated text, you will feel in complete command of SQL fundamentals.

SQL Beginners start here, November 12, 2006
Caution, the book presumes readers understand databases organize data in tables and SQL inserts, updates, queries and deletes the data. If you do understand that but struggle with SQL syntax, this book is a great summary of SQL. It is well organized, clearly written with working examples to get you started quickly.

The book is more or less focused on MySQL and Oracle syntax, which means Itzik Ben-Gan's book on T-SQL is a better alternative for SQL Server folks. Also, advanced non-portable features are not well developed for either MySQL or Oracle.

It is rated 4 because it fails to explain the when and why in some places.

my first SQL book, November 4, 2006
I have used a variety of SQL applications for over a decade now, and always used the reference documentation from the vendor. That does work just fine, but it left me ignorant of the greater SQL market, tools that the versions I was using didn't have, and better ways of dealing with common problems.

I have never found such an easy to comprehend explanation of the types of joins. I read this book 3 months ago, and just yesterday pulled it off my shelf to write a moderately complex query. I still could have done the job without it, but then I would have had to write 20 more lines of perl code, instead of one well written query.

I am a better SQL DBA having read the book, and its a valuable reference. How much more could I ask?

Wish all beginner books were like this, July 2, 2006
This book is easy to read, easy to follow and has practice problems at the end of every chapter with the answers in the back. What more could one ask for?
I learned basic to somewhat intermediate SQL very quickly with the help of this book. I highly recommend it! ... Read more