Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Without being cocky or pretentious, this book is too simple for my current skills and I know that. But I always check for new titles and authors. You will be surprised of how many new things you can learn from "intro" books. However, this book is too simple, even for a newbie. There are also 2 or 3 chapters that I would categorize as fillers and won't add useful T-SQL skills for a newbie, like the one for Performance and Normal forms (very important topics for being barely mentioned on a few pages)
1st, the positive
Nice style. The books reads like a novel. It honors its title so if you're new on the SQL arena, you will learn from this book without getting confused with lot of complex examples or SQL terminology. I also like the RDMS comparisons. I am learning Oracle and MySQL and it is really useful how the author compares similar commands among different engines; as a matter of fact, this is probably one of the things I like most of this book. It reminds me Itzik in some way who is a wonderful SQL writer and programmer but always try to be not code dependent.
The not so positive
I think that without being too complex, author could be a bit more technical. The examples are good but too simple. The Performance Tuning chapter is a joke! About 10 pages? Please ... and does not mention anything specific. For such a complex and important topic, I would remove the whole chapter altogether. Better not mentioning anything about Performance than just write about lot of generic concepts without really teaching something.
Overall, this is an ok book and a nice attempt, but it is too simple, even for the novice. For someone new into SQL arena, I would recommend "Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 T-SQL Fundamentals" instead. But I really like Alex's writing style and how he tries to compare same command across several products. Wish I can give 3.5 starts, so I will round it to 3.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Discovering SQL: A Hands-On Guide for Beginners (Wrox Programmer to Programmer)
Teaching the SQL skills that businesses demand when hiring programmers
If you're a SQL beginner, you don't just want to learn SQL basics, you also want to get some practical SQL skills you can use in the job market. This book gives you both. Covering the basics through intermediate topics with clear explanations, hands-on exercises, and helpful solutions, this book is the perfect introduction to SQL. Topics include both the current SQL:2008 standards, the upcoming SQL:2011 standards, and also how to use SQL against current releases of the most popular commercial SQL databases, such as Oracle, SQL Server, and MySQL.
Introduces SQL concepts, explains SQL statements, and clearly shows how to write efficient and effective SQL code
Uses a hands-on style and a sample database that incorporates all SQL concepts taught in the book; this database will be enhanced through the book as key points and lessons are covered
Covers topics such as how SQL interacts with the sample database via various interfaces, including vendor-provided utilities, programming languages, SQL clients, and productivity software
Includes appendices with primers on database normalization, set theory and bollean algebra, RDBMS software step-by-step setup guides, and database connectivity
Learn how to write effective, efficient SQL code with Discovering SQL: A Hands-On Guide for Beginners.
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